#646 Breaking Earth

Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:

2 “Should a multitude of words go unanswered,

and a man full of talk be judged right?

3 Should your babble silence men,

and when you mock, shall no one shame you?

4 For you say, ‘My doctrine is pure,

and I am clean in God's eyes.’

5 But oh, that God would speak

and open his lips to you,

6 and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom!

For he is manifold in understanding.

Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves.

7 “Can you find out the deep things of God?

Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?

8 It is higher than heaven[c]—what can you do?

Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?

9 Its measure is longer than the earth

and broader than the sea.

10 If he passes through and imprisons

and summons the court, who can turn him back?

11 For he knows worthless men;

when he sees iniquity, will he not consider it?

12 But a stupid man will get understanding

when a wild donkey's colt is born a man!

13 “If you prepare your heart,

you will stretch out your hands toward him.

14 If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away,

and let not injustice dwell in your tents.

15 Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish;

you will be secure and will not fear.

16 You will forget your misery;

you will remember it as waters that have passed away.

17 And your life will be brighter than the noonday;

its darkness will be like the morning.

18 And you will feel secure, because there is hope;

you will look around and take your rest in security.

19 You will lie down, and none will make you afraid;

many will court your favor.

20 But the eyes of the wicked will fail;

all way of escape will be lost to them,

and their hope is to breathe their last.” Job 11 ESV

Zophar continues upon the same poor foundation as the other three. Are you right for your many words Job, have you silenced the argument against you? Then he continues the attack upon Job's character, this is why you are here. You are lying, and no matter how colorful or eloquent your words are, be sure that this will not stop me from shaming you. Some truth misapplied, it is often better for us to hold our tongues, to bridle them when anger and passion are their true force. Job is airing out his pain, forming a poem from the bosom of his sorrow. 

In the multitude of words sin is not lacking,

But he who restrains his lips is wise. Proverbs 10:19

You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12: 34-37

Zophar introduces the Job made out of straw, "you say, my doctrine is pure, and I am clean in God's eyes." Job has been most agreeable with them in doctrine, the premise that God rewards the blameless and punishes the wicked. They all seem a bit off in that they relate it strictly to this world and only by certain measure. The Bible says that God causes His rain to fall on the just and the unjust. Job is venting much frustration and trying to understand what he and others would only perceive before as punishment. He has declared himself blameless based on the same premise for their attacks. He is here, horizontally, in this world of sinners, a man who seeks to please God and a man concerned so much with the spiritual state of his family, that he offers sacrifices on their behalf and just in case. He has also in past chapters made clear that while making this claim of blamelessness, he cannot stand before God in the right and would need an Arbiter. 

Now Zophar would like to invoke God to speak to Job, let Him put you in the right, when really what we mean in those times, looking down from our soap box, is "let God show you that I am right." Lord, let fire fall down from heaven, let the earth rumble and quake with my voice, so that this fellow may see me wise. 

But the people there refused to welcome Him, because He was heading for Jerusalem. 54When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” 55But Jesus turned and rebuked them,… Luke 9:53-55

God exacts from all of us less than what we deserve, evidenced in that "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." He is just and so He exacts from Christ that penalty which satisfies His honor. This is poor counsel from Zophar, and the application of such a doctrine should remove from him the incapacity to judge that this may not be some hidden sin, only God's hidden purpose, which he would nod also to, I am sure.  

In verse 7, he ask deep questions, can the finite fully fathom the infinite? But, it seems as if he is incapable or unwilling to turn these questions upon himself. If I was Job, I would be saying, "no kidding, didn't I say that much already?" They and we all have spoken at times beyond what light or measurement is available to us. You have not been to heaven, you cannot even see across the ocean to the other side, nor to every part of it's depth. How can you speak of hell outside of what God has chosen to reveal? It gets a little more insulting in verse 10 - 12. Fools and wicked men don't escape Job, God sees everything, don't pretend to be wise, for your words are vain, don't be a jackass. Don't be wild and unteachable, be broken and contrite before the Lord. 

He appeals for Job to repent, he has surely put him in his place with his abundance of words, that flow without the knowledge of what took place in heaven. Job, prepare your heart, humble yourself man, lift up your hands to heaven and confess your sin, remove the iniquity, make it right. And Job, since it has also affected your family, I'm getting this kind of vibe, this feeling, that you may want to go home and clean out your tent, remove whatever iniquities or injustices that have occurred under your watch. Then buddy, if you do this, God will bless you, you will return to your work once again. It is a blessing to do our work in peace, without the torment or distraction of our enemies or those without understanding, that pretend to be our friends. 

Wickedness will fail, but there is a hope even in this present suffering, a light in this present darkness, and a hope beyond this hope, a place that eye has not yet seen, and herein lies faith. Blessed are they that mourn, are poor in spirit, are persecuted for righteousness sake. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake, hold on Job, hold on. 

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. Hebrews 11:1-3