Zophar Is Offended
Zophar’s
initial comments in this chapter are really important. “I hear censure that insults me.” Zophar’s problem in this chapter is rooted in
the fact that Job’s retort is offensive to him.
And what is Job’s retort? Job’s
constant point is that you cannot judge a person’s righteous by what happens to
them. Righteousness is not what decides
success or failure.
If we
think about it, Zophar’s response really shouldn’t surprise us too much. The world operates on this principle. After all, big churches are all big because
they’re the most blessed by God, right?
Wealthy people are all wealthy because they follow God’s ways,
right? Countries that are wealthy and
have many resources are that way because God loves them more, right?
Now, we
know I’m playing a rather provocative devil’s advocate in that last
paragraph. Just because a church is big
doesn’t make it close to God and just because a church is small doesn’t mean it
isn’t following God’s ways. Just because
a person is wealthy doesn’t mean they are following God’s ways and just because
a person is poor doesn’t mean God doesn’t love them. Just because a country has a bunch of
resources doesn’t mean it is following God’s ways and just because a country is
small and resource poor doesn’t mean it has abandoned God’s ways.
While we
know this to be true, we are actually likely to get offended when people challenge
us on this. How many of us are having a
great day when we make a comment like “God is smiling upon me?” How many of us are having a really bad day
when we make a comment like, “God has it out for me today?” We may be able to talk about not judging a
person’s righteousness by what happens externally, but it is really hard-wired
into every single one of us. Each one of
us innately practices this belief. For
many of us it is on a very subconscious level!
This is my
gripe with Zophar today. He is falling
into the hard-wired rebellion from truth and he is blind to it happening. He says several good things – as have all of
Job’s friends along the way. But he
doesn’t put them together in a complete telling of truth. Instead he puts them together in such a way
as to sound like he knows what he is talking about, but he is really just
rebelling against truth in the end.
Pronouncements Against the Wicked
The rest
of the chapter has more pronouncements upon the life of the wicked. Zophar claims that those who are truly wicked
live miserable lives. He claims that
those who are wicked “get what is coming to them.” Whether it be mankind that does in the wicked
with weapons or nature that does in the wicked with its venom, Zophar’s point
is that the world has a way of catching up with the wicked.
I don’t
agree. I’ve spoken often on this point
already, and Job has much to say about this point in the coming chapter. So for today I’m going to hold off on my
continued rebuttal against this line of thinking from Zophar. I’m going to let you ponder Zophar’s words
for yourself and prepare to respond to Zophar with Job tomorrow.
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