Job11: ZOPHAR'S ACCUSATIONSIntroduction. Read Job11 One must assume that Zophar was intimate with Job because he spoke his mind in a way that prompted a very forthright response from the sufferer. Job's three comforters did at least encourage him to get things of his chest. Zophar's speech is not without merit. It is succinct, well expressed and holds out some hope for Job. As against this it lacks sympathy and compassion. Zophar accuses Job of verbosity, presumption and guilt. We will look at each in turn and assess the validity of Zophar's accusations. (1) Job's verbosity. See11v1to6. Zophar says that Job:
I am afraid it is all too easy to trash those with whom we differ and to make all sorts of unfounded accusations against our opponents. I myself am tempted to do it of paedobaptists, creationists, Calvinists and the advocates of everlasting torment for unrepentant sinners. The representatives of these view points are tempted to do the same of me! Sadly we all have something of Zophar in us and Satan uses it to provoke bitter and unseemly comment among Christians. Zophar was a 'know it all'. Dana Chau uses the following illustration to demonstrate how unlovely this characteristic is: A lady sarcastically remarked to her friend, “I knew I was marrying Mr. Right. I just didn’t know his first name is ‘Always’.” He has all the right answers, and he believes he is doing everything right, all the time. Even when he is wrong, he at least has right reasons for being wrong. It is very difficult to live with a 'know it all' both in the home and in the church. I used to serve at a Christian camp for young people with old Albert. Now Albert was not without his virtues. He was a kind and faithful man - but he was never wrong. One evening he ventured to the perimeter of the field in which we were camped and fell in a deep and very muddy ditch. When he got back to the tent he shared with his wife in a thoroughly bedraggled state he swore blind that the ditch hadn't been there in the afternoon. Pride in being right has been by far the greatest cause of church disunity. It has resulted in the proliferation of innumerable different Protestant churches all with their distinctive doctrinal basis. They can't all be right!! Zophar reveals his arrogance when he says to Job: "Oh, how I wish that God would speak, that he would open his lips against you." v5. Zophar is in no doubt that God will agree with him! God is on his side! Many Christians down the centuries have been guilty of brutal, contemptuous treatment of fellow believers with whom they differ in the certain knowledge that God is on their side. (2) Job's presumption. See 11v7to10. Zophar asks Job who is he to question God? He says: "Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?" v7. God exists on a higher plain than mortal man. He is not bound by the four dimensions like we are. It is impossible to put limits on his power or wisdom. God is free to do as he pleases. None can thwart his will. If he comes along and confines you in prison and convenes a court who can oppose him?" v10. The truth of Zophar's accusation seems to be born out by how God eventually answers Job. God appears to put Job in his place by pointing out the limits of his, Job's, knowledge, wisdom and power. We shall have to deal with God's approach when we get to it! However I believe Zophar's argument is flawed. We are both made in God's image and since Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil capable of moral judgments. This means we are able to question the decisions God makes. Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah and Jeremiah all questioned God's policy. The example of Moses is particularly instructive. When God was angry with the children of Israel for worshipping the golden calf and threatened to destroy them and make of Moses a great nation Moses said: "O LORD, why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, 'It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth'? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people." We read: Then the LORD relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened. Ex32v9to14. It is wrong to say that God's freedom is unlimited. It is limited by his nature. God cannot be false to himself. God cannot, for example, lie. He must keep his promises. This is something Moses pointed out when God threatened to destroy his people. He said: "Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel to whom you swore by your own self: 'I will make your descendants as numerous as the the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them and it will be their inheritance forever.'" Ex32v13. So I feel entirely justified in opposing Calvinists who say that God of his good pleasure, and for no other reason, elects some to salvation and some to eternal destruction. The Calvinists argue God can do as he wishes and does not have to give reasons for his actions to me or anyone else. But I say God cannot act in such a way because it would be against his nature. To elect some unconditionally to eternal life and others to eternal death would be an act of monumental injustice of which God is incapable. I also feel justified in opposing creationists who assert that the Genesis account of creation must be taken literally. They argue that God has the power and the wisdom to transform a formless, empty, dark and water covered earth into something like its present state in 6 days. But I say that God would not make the earth look old if in fact it was young. There is overwhelming geological evidence that the continents and oceans are old. The nature of the rocks, the arrangement of the rocks and the physical landscape all point to an ancient earth. I cannot believe that God has perpetrated a gigantic con-trick on mankind. What is the purpose of that? God is not silly! God must act true to himself - so he cannot do anything that is silly. Job's guilt. See 11v11to20. Zophar concludes that Job is:
This is a harsh judgment! Perhaps, Zophar feels the patient needs a painful diagnosis before being willing to accept his medicine. So let us look at Dr Zophar's prescription:
In the 1960's John Profumo was Secretary of State for War when he had an affair with a model called Christine Keeler. She also had sexual relations with Yevgeni Ivanov the senior naval attaché at the Soviet Embassy. Eventually Profumo was accused of compromising national security because of his involvement with a prostitute. He denied there was any impropriety in his relationship with Keeler. Finally he had to admit that he lied to the House of Commons and resigned in disgrace. John Profumo's behaviour had been evil, deceitful and witless. But that is not the end of the story! After his resignation, Profumo began to work as a volunteer cleaning toilets at Toynbee Hall, a charity based in the East End of London, and continued to work there for the rest of his life. Eventually, he volunteered as the charity's chief fundraiser. These charitable activities helped to restore the fallen politician's reputation; he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1975, and in 1995 was invited to Margaret Thatcher's 70th birthday dinner. His life perfectly illustrates the possibilities of restoration through repentance. Gerald H Wilson in his commentary on Job writes: It is one of the chief mercies of God when former leaders, brought low by the consequences of their own sin, can be restored to significant service through the process of repentance, humility and accountability. God has a way of using those who have been so humbled by enabling them to use the understanding gained through their experiences to reach out effectively to others who suffer in similar ways. This was very true of the apostle Peter who learned humility through the disgrace of denying his master. So where did Zophar go wrong?
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