Today we finally hear from the third of Job’s “friends”: Zophar.

1 Then Zophar the Naamathite spoke up and said:
2 “Should not this abundance of words be answered,
or should this talkative man
be vindicated?
3 Should people remain silent at your idle talk,
and should no one rebuke you when you mock?
4 For you have said, ‘My teaching is flawless,
and I am pure in your sight.’
5 But if only God would speak,
if only he would open his lips against you
6 and reveal to you the secrets of wisdom—
for true wisdom has two sides—
so that you would know
that God has forgiven some of your sins.
7 “Can you discover the essence of God?
Can you find out the perfection of the Almighty?
8 It is higher than the heavens—what can you do?
It is deeper than Sheol—what can you know?
9 Its measure is longer than the earth
and broader than the sea.
10 If he comes by and confines you
and convenes a court,
then who can prevent him?
11 For he knows deceitful men;
when he sees evil, will he not consider it?
12 But an empty man will become wise,
when a wild donkey’s colt is born a human being.
13 “As for you, if you prove faithful,
and if you stretch out your hands toward him,
14 if iniquity is in your hand—put it far away,
and do not let evil reside in your tents.
15 For then you will lift up your face
without blemish;
you will be securely established
and will not fear.
16 For you will forget your trouble;
you will remember it
like water that has flowed away.
17 And life will be brighter than the noonday;
though there be darkness,
it will be like the morning.
18 And you will be secure because there is hope;
you will be protected
and will take your rest in safety.
19 You will lie down with no one to make you afraid,
and many will seek your favor.
20 But the eyes of the wicked fail,
and escape eludes them;
their one hope is to breathe their last.”

REFLECTIONS

Today, I have an uncomfortable thought and a strange thought.

The uncomfortable thought first. What strikes me about Zophar is how easily and confidently he speaks for God. In verses 5-6 he basically says, “If God spoke now, this is what he would say: Job, you’re so sinful that you deserve to suffer even more than you have.” (That’s what he means by, “God has forgiven some of your sins” – in other words, this was only the punishment for some of your sins!)

Zophar is putting words of condemnation and judgment into God’s mouth. I think that’s what Jesus warns us against in Matthew 7:1, where he says, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” He isn’t talking about being wise and discerning. He’s talking about thinking we can condemn a fellow human being to hell.

I find that uncomfortable because my responsibility is to announce God’s Word. But I need to remember (and you probably do too) the difference between telling people what the Bible warns us of – that if you reject Jesus, you cannot be saved – and saying, “You’re going to hell.” We should tremble at the thought of becoming a Zophar.

Here’s the strange thought. In verses 7-9, Zophar described God’s perfection as higher than the heavens, deeper than Sheol, longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. That made me wonder: Did Paul pick up those words and reshape them into his description of the love of Christ in Ephesians 3:18? I think so. Zophar is speaking the words of a fool; and yet his words ended up in Holy Scripture. And God can make the ugly beautiful, and the foulest clean – even with surprising things. Even with me.