Introduction. Read Job12to14

Job makes a lengthy response to Zophar notwithstanding the latter's complaint about his verbosity! In this respect he is like some preachers I have known. Job also includes his other two friends in his remarks which suggests he has been brooding over their remarks as well.

I have chosen to deal with Job's reply to Zophar in one long exposition. I will follow the chapter divisions to break it down into three parts: Job's loss, Job's defence and Job's indignation.

(A) Chapter 12: Job's loss.

(1) Job's self-esteem. See v1to3.

Job was a man of spirit. He had a lot of self-confidence in spite of his humiliating losses and abject condition. He was neither abashed, ashamed nor cowed by the comments of his friends. Job knew that he was the equal of his comforters. They have not said anything that he is not familiar with.

Self-belief is very important when we are criticised from all sides. In Britain today Christianity has many enemies. Believers need to demonstrate some of the confidence possessed by Job who refused to be put down by his critics. However, we need to remember an unshakeable belief in ourselves does not necessarily mean that we are always right - any more than Job was!

(2) Job's anger. See v4to6.

Job was very angry at his condition for three reasons:

• It made him a laughing stock to his friends. They ridiculed his protestations of righteousness and blamelessness. Their attitude was: "Who does Job think he is kidding; he must have done something awful to deserve such extreme misfortune."

• It meant he was held in contempt by his acquaintances. Job is a nobody now - without possessions, family and dignity.

  It is very easy to feel this way about those whose circumstances change for the worse through no fault of their own. Many lack much sympathy for the refugee, the bankrupt or the chronically sick. There remains the sneaking suspicion that it is all somehow their own fault. Even the victims of crime are not given the sympathy they deserve. Rape victims 'ask for it' because of the clothes they wear or their decision to be out late at night.

• It was unjust. Job, a believer in the one true God, suffers but the nomadic marauders carrying their portable gods with them get away with their depredations.

  Job's observation is undoubtedly true. There are innumerable men of the world with no thought for God who prosper, who enjoy a lovely life style and who do just as they please. There is little doubt that they are happy and content. It is foolish for Christians to pretend otherwise. On the other hand there are godly men and women who have one trouble after another. Christians fail in business; Christians see their children go off the rails; Christians get afflicted by severe, painful and debilitating illnesses. It is difficult in these circumstances to be joyful. Job was not joyful!!

Job says: But ask the animals, and they will teach you ..... . Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? v7and9. It is not clear to me what Job is referring to. What is it that the animals teach? What exactly has the hand of the Lord done?

Perhaps Job is inferring that the unfairness of life is so obvious that even the animals, birds and fish know about it. They certainly experience it. Fairness is not a principle nature operates upon. On Friday I was bird watching with my friend Tommy. We were both intrigued to watch a kingfisher bashing a small fish against a post to make sure it was dead before swallowing it. A kingfisher is a wonderful bird. It is a masterpiece of God's creativity. But if that small fish could speak it would probably say, "It's not fair! Why me? I've never done any harm. There are lots of worse fish than me - and I end up a kingfisher's breakfast!"

In nature, in order to accommodate a huge variety of species, a balance has to be struck between predators and their prey. Predators control numbers of a species and actually maintain the health of a species. Consequently nature is red in tooth and claw. It is foolish to wear rose tinted glasses where nature is concerned. I never feel comfortable singing: 'Yes, God is good, - all nature says.' Nature testifies to the cleverness of God but not necessarily to his goodness. A baby antelope does not have much fun when it is being chased by a lion!

(4) Job's bleak assessment of God's role in human affairs. v11to25.

Job does not find much evidence of God's justice in nature. So next he turns to evidence from history. He begins by saying quite incontrovertibly: To God belong wisdom and power, counsel and understanding are his. v13. No Christian would dispute this although Job's complaints must call into question God's wisdom.

Job goes on to catalogue mankind's historical losses. There is the loss of livelihood and life due to drought and flood; counsellors and judges lose their authority, kings their freedom, priests their dignity, nobles their respect, nations their existence and leaders their reason. Job ascribes these losses to God. He is the one who deprives men and women of life and limb, status and authority, standing and dignity. The ancient patriarch does not pretend there is any just cause for these losses - they just happen even as his losses happened.

Job is at fault - as are so many - in assuming God micromanages the affairs of men. He does not appear to be aware of the tension that must exist between God's commitment to justice and his determination to allow men and women their freedom. God cannot step in and rescue good men from the actions of wicked men without compromising our freedom. If God has an objective - like the disintegration of the Soviet Union - he has to achieve it without undermining man's freedom.

We might argue for a safer world - one without earthquakes, hurricanes and droughts - but such a world might not be fit for purpose. A world without earthquakes and volcanoes would be one without mountain ranges. A world without mountain ranges would have a very different climate. We might think we could improve on what God has made but that is only because of our lack of understanding.

(B) Chapter 13: Job's defence.

Job longs to make his case, namely, that his present condition is quite undeserved, before God. But I desire to speak to the Almighty and to argue my case with God. v3.

(1) Job's case against his friends. 1to12.

Job accuses not only Zophar but also Eliphaz and Bildad of:

• Smearing him with lies. His so-called comforters question his relationship with God and his claim to be righteous.

  Sadly this is a tactic employed over and over again by Christians through the centuries. There are always some ready to cast doubt on the genuineness of believers with whom they differ. The great apostle Paul could hardly have disagreed more with the attitude of many in the church of Corinth but not once did he question their faith. A few years ago I was in correspondence with an Australian woman about my website. She began by being very complimentary but as soon as I began to question some of the things she wrote the lady wanted nothing more to do with me. To her horror I wasn't a Christian at all!

• Defending God at all costs. Job says: "Will you show him partiality? Will you argue the case for God." v8.

  I found this very interesting. It is the only place in the Bible where anyone has the nerve to make this point. Job's friends argue God's case for him. They are far more concerned to justify God than to support Job and to do so they ignore the facts of life - that the innocent do suffer unfairly.

  This still happens. Christians think it is commendable to show God partiality. So every misfortune must be deserved if for no other reason than we are fallen creatures. But of course this does not explain why some experience a lot more misfortune than others. God is said to be so holy and to have such a hatred of sin that he can do no other than inflict everlasting torment on the wicked. This view quite overlooks the principle of proportionality. The punishment should fit the crime. If we sin in time why should we suffer for eternity? Even men do not inflict daily torture on those found guilty of crimes against humanity. Calvinists cannot bear to accept that man is responsible for exercising faith in Jesus. They argue that this cannot be the case because it detracts from the sovereignty of God. God has to do it all - otherwise Christians will take credit for their salvation. The Calvinist - like Job's friends - shows God partiality.

• Trotting out dry, useless and outworn arguements. He says: Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defences are defences of clay" v12.

  Job accuses his friends of laziness and falling back on old trite sayings of dubious veracity.

  This is not a practice that has disappeared. I am weary of preachers saying: "All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." Isaiah is probably referring to the quality of righteousness at the time. In the preceding verses of Isaiah 64 he writes: You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways. v5. The chronicler writes of king Uzziah: He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD just as his father Amaziah had done. 2Chron26v4. I am weary of them saying, "Faith is the gift of God," supposedly quoting from Eph2v8. However, most commentators are sure that the 'it' of 'it is the gift of God' refers to salvation and not faith. I am extremely weary of preachers saying, "The clever boys reckon the universe started with a big bang but I believe: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 1Gen1. There is nothing incompatible between the universe starting with a huge outpouring of energy and God being the creator of it.

  Job in making his case against his friends displays great faith in God. Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar had all stood up for God but Job believed God would find against them and not against him. What was his confidence based upon? He considers that they have spoken wickedly and deceitfully on God's behalf. See v7.

  What a lot of trouble has been caused by religious people making judgments on God's behalf. The Jewish religious leaders engineered the death of Jesus because he was guilty in their eyes of blasphemy. They were only defending God's honour. Most Christian martyrs from Stephen onwards have suffered at the hands of men jealous of God's honour. When men show God partiality they do no-one any favours.

(2) Job's eagerness to make his case before God. v13to19.

• Job wants to make his case in spite of the risks involved. The Living Bible makes this plain: "Be silent now and let me alone that I may speak - and I am willing to face the consequences. Yes, I will take my life in my hand and say what I really think. God may kill me for saying this - in fact, I expect him to. Nevertheless I am going to argue my case with him." v13and15.

  Job is desperate to be heard even if the outcome is death. This is a deep felt longing of all those victims of summary justice who suffer imprisonment without trial. It is a disgrace that there are still men held in captivity by the United States who have never been brought to trial. As of August 2013, 164 detainees remained at Guantanamo Bay.

• Job firmly believed if only he could make his case before God he would be vindicated. See v18. The patriarch believed his willingness to submit to God's judgment weighed heavily in his favour.

• Job challenged anyone to with charges to make against him to come forward.

Job's longing to defend himself before the judgment throne of God is not shared by Christians. I do not want to stand there in my own strength, trusting in my own righteousness. Rather I echo the sentiments of the hymn writer:

Answer for me, my Lord;
On Thee my cause I lay;
I dare not stand and plead myself;
Answer for me I pray!

(c) Job rehearses his case against God.

JOB:

• Asks God to ease his suffering. He would be at a significant disadvantage without some amelioration in his condition. How could he concentrate if he was itching all over.

  Many Christians from Paul onwards have made this plea. Paul had a thorn in the flesh he found troublesome and which may have hindered his evangelism. But God refused to remove it. We all have something we wish God would remove: shyness and self-consciousness, lust, asthma, arthritic pain, an overbearing personality, an unprepossessing appearance.

• Challenges God to outline his offences. What are his sins and wrongs?

  When things go awry for the Christian a common plea is: "God, what have I done to deserve this? Come on God spell it out! Tell me where I went wrong."

• Asks God to explain why he has withdrawn from him and treated him like an enemy.

  Even Jesus cried out for an answer to this question: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" As C.S. Lewis discovered when his beloved wife died God is not always there when you need him. It is as if God has slammed the door in your face.

• Accused God of futile behaviour - of tormenting a windblown leaf and chasing after dry chaff.

  I felt just like this as my father declined inexorably with Parkinson's disease. Was there to be no end to the humiliations heaped upon him? What was the purpose of it? How could God so harry a weak and defenceless child of his?

• Complains at the loss of his freedom. He felt both shackled and tagged!

  Many Christians feel trapped. From time to time I have felt trapped. I lost a great deal of freedom when I cared for my father. I am trapped in a declining church because there is no one else to hand the work over to. I am increasingly limited by a bad back which curtails the distance I can walk. Long and glorious rambles in the Suffolk countryside are a thing of the past.

God does not deign to answer Job's accusations! Nor does he answer mine either. But he has provided for us his word, his Spirit and his Son. It is in these we find the answers. For example in God's word we have the story of Joseph. He was trapped, far from family and friends, in the prison of a foreign country. It was but a necessary step in his meteoric rise from slave to Prime Minister of Egypt. His experiences as manager of Potiphar's estate and prison administrator were admirable preparation for his role as Minister of Agriculture.

(C) Chapter 14: Job's indignation.

Job is indignant with God because:

(1) God gives little and expects much. See v1to6.

Job complains: