My question is, why was God so angry at Job’s friends?I find helpful and good what they said about God. What wasn’t correct in their speeches about Him that angered the Lord? And why He complimented Job in the end contrary to His friends?
What upset God about Job’s friends is that they misrepresented Him completely. They argued with Job from the humanist position based on human experience, human tradition, and human merit. They were false in their logic and wrong in their conclusions. They believed that man must do things to earn God’s favor and therefore suffering is a sign of God’s displeasure.
While they correctly asserted that sin had to be at the root of Job’s problem, Eliphaz believed that God was punishing Job for not doing enough good, and Bildad thought Job was just whining because he wanted His wealth back. On the other hand, by justifying himself, Job was condemning God as being unjust.
It’s important to remember that all three men were wrong in their arguments. It wasn’t until Elihu came along that we begin to learn of God’s true nature. In chapter 34 he confirmed the Lord’s inability to do wrong or pervert justice, and in 35 Elihu said that our good works don’t help God at all and our sins don’t cause Him loss. They only affect us and those around us.
Then in chapter 38 when God Himself joined the conversation, we see that Job is neither given a bill of indictment nor a verdict of innocence, but his understanding of God was certainly brought into question.
Finally in chapter 42 Job repented, confessed, and was restored. His knowledge of God had gone from his head to his heart and he understood, and he was now in a position to intercede for his friends.