Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk.com.
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
“Are all these words to go unanswered? Is this talker to be vindicated? Will your idle talk reduce others to silence? Will no one rebuke you when you mock? You say to God, ‘My beliefs are flawless and I am pure in your sight.’ Oh, how I wish that God would speak, that he would open his lips against you and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.”
“Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths below —what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.”
“If he comes along and confines you in prison and convenes a court, who can oppose him? Surely he recognizes deceivers; and when he sees evil, does he not take note? But the witless can no more become wise than a wild donkey’s colt can be born human.”
“Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him, if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then, free of fault, you will lift up your face; you will stand firm and without fear. You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by. Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning. You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety. You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid, and many will court your favor. But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; their hope will become a dying gasp.”
Job 11:1-20
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In Job, Chapter 11, we meet the third of Job’s friends who came to be with him after he was afflicted.
It didn’t take long for this friend, Zophar, to rip into Job in response to his words in Chapters 9 and 10. His words were biting as he said:
“Are all these words to go unanswered? Is this talker to be vindicated? Will your idle talk reduce others to silence? Will no one rebuke you when you mock? You say to God, ‘My beliefs are flawless and I am pure in your sight.’ Oh, how I wish that God would speak, that he would open his lips against you and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.”
There are a couple of problems with Zophar’s opening.
First, he doesn’t accurately depict Job’s actions as Job ever mocked God in any of his words. He may have had a load of questions regarding what God was doing to him, wishing he could provide a defense for himself but he didn’t mock God.
Secondly, Zophar talks as if he knows all about God and what He has done in Job’s case. He tells Job that God has “forgotten some of your sin.” How does he know? Truly, it’s little wonder that God rebukes not just Zophar but the other two friends as well in Chapter 42.
Finally, Zophar’s words are nothing short of a condemnation of Job. Was Zophar suddenly appointed as God’s spokesperson? No, he was teeing off on Job on his own, as if he was more righteous than his friend.
And he didn’t stop at just speaking for God in regard to Job’s alleged shortcomings. No, Zophar went on to speak as if he knew exactly what God would do if Job would just repent from his sins. The scriptures tell us he said the following:
“Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him, if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then, free of fault, you will lift up your face; you will stand firm and without fear. You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by. Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning. You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety. You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid, and many will court your favor. But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; their hope will become a dying gasp.”
God never promised us instant brighter noondays or mornings as a result of repentance. That is a fast food spirituality. I order good times and God delivers them. That’s not quite the way it works. God will act on His will and His will alone. We will never understand it but we’re not supposed to fully understand God. We are only supposed to seek His will for us and carry that will out.
Maybe Zophar would have been better suited to take his own words into consideration. He asks Job, “Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?”, knowing Job could not. Neither could Zophar and this is why he couldn’t speak with the level of authority he chose to speak with.
Friends, if we’re not careful as we attempt to support someone who is going through difficulties, we can make the same mistakes as Zophar and the other two friends. Our support can shift to judgment…our encouragement can turn to condemnation. And when we shift that way, we can expect those we are trying to help to reject our words, just as much as Job was rejecting the words of his friends.
In the final translation, no one should feel they have the right to condemn as none of us are that righteous before God to represent Him as a judge. God is more than able to do that Himself.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
No comments:
Post a Comment