Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:

"Should a multitude of words go unanswered,

and a man full of talk be judged right?

Should your babble silence men,

and when you mock, shall no one shame you?

For you say, 'My doctrine is pure,

and I am clean in God's eyes.'

But oh, that God would speak

and open his lips to you,

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

For he is manifold in understanding.

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

"Can you find out the deep things of God?

Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?

It is higher than heaven--what can you do?

Deeper than Sheol--what can you know?

It's measure is longer than the earth

and broader than the sea.

If he passes through and imprisons

and summons the courts, who can turn him back?

For he knows worthless men;

when he sees iniquity, will he not consider it?

But a stupid man will get understanding

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

"If you prepare your heart,

you will stretch out your hands toward him.

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

and let not injustice dwell in your tents.

Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish;

you will be secure and will not fear.

You will forget your misery;

you will remember it as waters that have passed away.

And your life will be brighter than the noon day;

its darkness will be like the morning.

And you will feel secure, because there is hope;

you will look around and take your rest in security.

You will lie down and none will make you afraid;

many will court your favor.

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."

It's interesting because a lot of what Zophar says is probably correct strictly speaking. The first two paragraphs, although overly accusatory, are true when he talks about the incomprehensibility of God and how Job must be humble before him.

The last paragraph is a continuation of Job's friends' prosperity gospel. They believe having worldly success and being in favor with God go hand in hand, and the one doesn't come without the other. Unfortunately I think there may be quite a few people today who believe the same thing. In fact, I think we all do to some extent. There is something in us that tells us that if we are in favor with God we will be blessed in a worldly way, and if we are in sin, then we'll be cursed. While this is sometimes true (and the proverbs will confirm that), it is by no means always true, and as I've said before, is sometimes the opposite.

It is a stange statement in the middle: "But a stupid man will get understanding when a wild donkey's colt is born a man!" I suppose by that he means that the stupid will never gain understanding. It could be that he is insluting Job by saying he's never going to understand. Or it could be just a general statement. I don't know.

Until next time...

All scripture quotations are from the ESV.

Then Job answered and said:

"Truly I know that it is so:

But how can a man be in the right before God?

If one wished to contend with him,

one could not answer him once in a thousand times.

He is wise in heart and mighty in strength

--who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded?--

he who removes mountains, and they know it not,

when he overturns them in his anger,

who shakes the earth out of its place,

and its pillars tremble;

who commands the sun, and it does not rise;

who seals up the stars;

who alone stretched out the heavens

and trampled the waves of the sea;

who made the Bear and Orion,

the Pleiades and the chambers of the south;

who does great things beyond searching out,

and marvelous things beyond number.

Behold he passes by me, and I see him not;

he moves on, but I do not perceive him.

Behold, he snatches away; who can turn him back?

Who will say to him, 'What are you doing?'

"God will not turn back his anger;

beneath him bowed the helpers of Rahab.

How then can I answer him,

choosing my words with him?

Though I am in the right, I cannot answer him;

I must appeal for mercy to my accuser.

If I summoned him and he answered me,

I would not believe that he was listening to my voice.

For he crushes me with a tempest

and multiplies my wounds without cause;

he will not let me get my breth,

but fills me with betterness.

If it is a contest of strength, behold, he is mighty!

If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him?

Though I am in the right, my own mouth would condemn me;

though I am blameless, hw would prove me perverse.

I am blameless; I regard not myself;

I loathe my life.

It is all one; therefore I say,

He destoys both the blameless and the wicked.

When disaster brings sudden death,

he mocks at the calamity of the innocent.

The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;

he covers the faces of its judges--

if it is not he, who then is it?

"My days are swifter than a runner;

they flee away; they see no good.

They go by like skiffs of reed,

like an eagle swooping on the prey.

If I say, 'I will forget my comlaint,

I will put off my sad face, and be of good cheer,'

I become afraid of all my suffering,

for I know you will not hold me innocent.

I shall be condemned;

why then do I labor in vain?

If I wash myself with snow

and cleanse my hands with lye,

yet you will plunge me into a pit,

and my own clothes will abhor me.

For he is not a man, as I am, that I might answer him,

that we should come to trial together.

There is no arbiter between us,

who might lay his hand on us both.

Let him take his rod away from me,

and let not dread of him terrify me.

Then I would speak without fear of him,

for I am not so in myself.

"I loathe my life;

I will give free utterance to my complaint;

I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

I will say to God, Do not condemn me;

let me know why you contend against me.

Does it seem good to you to oppress,

to despise the work of your hands

and favor the designs of the wicked?

Have you eyes of flesh?

Do you see as man sees?

Are your days as the days of man,

or your years as a man's years,

that you seek out my iniquity

and search for my sin,

although you know that I am not guilty,

and there is none to deliver out of your hand?

Your hands fashioned me and made me,

and now you have destroyed me altogether.

Remember that you have made me like clay;

and will you return me to the dus?

Did you not pour me out like milk

and curdle me like cheese?

You clothed me with skin and flesh,

and knit me together with bones and sinews.

You have granted me life and steadfast love,

and your care has preserved my spirit.

Yet these things you hid in your heart;

I know that this was your purpose.

If I sin, you watch me

and do not acquit me of my iniquity.

If I am guilty, woe to me!

If I am in the right, I cannot lift up my head,

for I am filled with disgrace

and look on my affliction.

And were my head lifted up, you would hunt me like a lion

and again work wonders against me.

You renew your witnesses against me

and increase your vexation toward me;

you bring fresh troops against me.

"Why did you bring me out from the womb?

Would that I had died before any eye had seen me

and were as though I had not been,

carried from the womb to the grave.

Are not my days few?

Then cease, and leave me alone, that I may find a little cheer

before I go--and I shall not return--

to the land of the darkness and deep shadow,

the land of gloom like thick darkness,

like deep shadow without any order,

where light is as thick darkness."

I love how in the Bible God's power is always associated with nature. That is how I see God as well. Unfortunately, I don't spend enough time there to appreciate Him as I should. I think modern society doesn't actually. I tend to think that is why urban people are more likely to be against God: because they are so disconnected with the beauty of nature. And for some reason people seem to think how amazing evolution or modern science is instead of seeing how amazing God is when they see awesome stuff in nature. I think both of those things point towards God more, not less, than a world without them.

In this passage, Job totally understands that he cannot understand God. Although he thinks he is in the right and "blameless", he isn't sure, he says, "Though I am in the right, I cannot answer him; I must appeal for mercy to my accuser." and later, "Though I am in the right, my own mouth would condemn me; though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse." Job understands he needs mercy, even though in the eyes of the world, and even God, as we see at the beginning of the book, he is still in a way perverse. Strange, but it rings true with the rest of scripture.

It's interesting that he says in the next verse, "I am blameless; I regard not myself; I loathe my life." I don't know if he means there that his blamelessness is because of his lack of regard for himself, or whether he doesn't regard himself because he doesn't believe his life is worth anything during this suffering. It's interesting to think about the former case, because indeed that is how we become blameless: we have to set ourselves aside and pursue God and other's interests instead of our own. That is what Jesus did perfectly: he didn't regard himself so that he could do God's will and serve us instead.

This passage has a lot more in it than I expected. A couple more points:

Who is the Rahab referred to? Other possible references include later in Job: By his power he stilled the sea; by his understanding he shattered Rahab," or in the Psalms: "You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them. You crushed Rahab like a carcass; you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm," and in Isaiah: "Egypt's help is worthless and empty; therefore I have called her Rahab who sits still," and, "Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in days of old, the generations of long ago. Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made the depts of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over?" So all in all, this appears to be referring to some kind of Hebrew myth associated with the sea. Some kind of creature/person who God overcame. Some quick Wikipediation, and it appears I am correct; some kind of Hebrew sea-demon. Interesting, but not very significant.

I can't help but notice as I read Job's words how sovereign he believes that God is. I can't claim to have read any other ancient writings about other people's gods, but I would venture a guess that they don't attribute as much to their gods as Job does to God here. He believes God fully formed him and is responsible for his sufferings full well knowing the consequences of that. He believes God can rescue him from his suffering but choses not to.

We'll continue next week with the response of Zophar. By the way, I couldn't determine the structure of the book very specifically, but for a while it goes back and forth between Job and his friends.