Job’s friends are very uncomfortable at Job’s discomfort. They probably figured that “talk” would ease the tension, lighten the mood, make things the way they used to be. I see this sort of thing all the time at funerals and in hospital rooms: people talk because quiet in the face of pain is just so . . . uncomfortable. Lines of well meaning faces walk somberly past a casket, voice their condolences, and can’t wait to get outside to talk about anything but death. Meanwhile, the sorrowful remain sorrowful – and often, alone.
But sometimes, and surely this is the case with Job, the more you talk, the worse the situation becomes.
Eliphaz said his advice came from God. Bildad, the second friend says his advice is common knowledge. If you are pure, nothing bad will happen to you, and he, like Eliphaz, urges Job to turn to God. “Complaining” to God, as far as Bildad is concerned, is the same as complaining “about” God and turning from God, and that, to Bildad, is evil.
Our God is a big God. There is no evidence that He is insulted when his creation complains. In fact, He wants us to bring our complaints to Him. At least, when we do, we are still talking to Him, and trusting Him for deliverance.