Job 11
Today we meet another of Job’s friends, Zophar the Naamathite. Like Eliphaz and Bildad before him, Zophar tries to defend God, but does so under faulty assumptions and premises. The problem for us is that so much of what Zophar says sounds legit, especially after hearing how Job has characterized God. My natural inclination is to almost completely agree with him, especially in Job 11:7-12 — some words that our arrogantly “enlightened” culture would do well to ponder.
Even the latter half of the chapter (Job 11:13-20) sounds like decent advice that might even be encouraging for Job — until we once again remember that Zophar’s underlying assumption is that God must be punishing Job for some terrible sin, which we know not to be the case. But then again, my natural inclination is to say that even if Job were blameless when disaster first struck, he isn’t so blameless now that he has been casting aspersions on God’s character, and hence it is still good advice! So I have to read ahead to Job 42:7 where God declares that Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar have not spoken of me what is right. I am left trying to figure out what is really true here and what just “sounds good”, and that is a real challenge. In fact, I am not up to the challenge. We need the Holy Spirit to guide us through His Word, for spiritual things are spiritually discerned. (I Cor. 2:14)
I do not claim any particular insight from the Holy Spirit here, but one thing to recognize about Job’s friends is that they do not themselves heed their own advice. Zophar asks, Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty? ( v. 7) Yet he acts as though he himself has a handle on God, that God is in a tidy box that makes easy sense of the world. If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away, and let not injustice dwell in your tents. (v. 14) Certainly that is good advice for everyone. Yet we see no evidence that Zophar has any inkling that he should take that advice himself; his assumption is that since he isn’t suffering, he isn’t guilty. Perhaps all Job’s friends should listen to Jesus first:
Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
Matthew 7:1-5