Job s Answer To Zophar Job 12:1-25. Introduction. We find ourselves a week before Christmas in the book of Job.

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1 Introduction We find ourselves a week before Christmas in the book of Job. Job is a man in pain. His well-meaning friends have become Job s critics. In an earlier chapter Job longs for a mediator; some one who could place their hand on God and their hand on him. Zophar has rebuked Job and reminded Job that God is beyond understanding and comprehension. Like Bildad and Eliphaz Zophar urges Job to confess his sins, renounce his innocence. In the place of pain and despair Job still has traces of sarcasm coursing through his veins. Job will accuse of Zophar of being a know it all (vv.1-2). Zophar said; Can you fathom the mystery of God, or attain to the limits of the Almighty? (Job 11:7 REB). There are some things that the Lord our God has kept secret; but he has revealed his Law, and we and our descendants are to obey it forever (Deuteronomy 29:29 GNB). Job appeals to the fact that even animals are aware that God will sometimes allow evil to scoff at what is good (vv.3-12). Job will remind his critics that he is well aware that God is omniscient and omnipotent (vv.13-25). Remember the books theme; how are the righteous to bear up; to go on; go forward in pain, and sorrow and suffering? Most people want to know the whys of suffering. Few are ready willing or able to go forward with the hows of suffering. Remember Jobs friends are the voices of those who are also trying to make sense of this world. Eliphaz is the person who speaks from a kind of subjective, mystical, spiritual experience. Bildad appeals to tradition, wise sayings, ancient wisdom. Zophar is the young dogmatic, a fundamentalist (in the worst sense of the word). Each argue with Job. Job responds. All of Jobs friends are convinced that God always blessed the righteous and punished the wicked. Even Elihu who will come later suggests that God chastens rather than punishes the wicked and asks Job to submit to God and trust God but his attitude still retains the harsh elements of a judge who does not have all the facts. The book of Job is sometimes frustrating for the reader who wants pat answers to the problem of why people suffer. In the next several chapters Job will make several assertions; Job loves the Lord; calls on him, and trusts him. In the next chapter Job will cling to the fact he really does trust and hope in God. In the 14th chapter Job reveals his great hope that one day he will come back to life and live again. Nobody Likes A Know It All (vv.1-2) Job 12:1 2 (NKJV)1Then Job answered and said: 1

2 Arrogance and conceit are attributes universally despised. We all hate know it alls. Few things are more unattractive than intellectual conceit. 2 No doubt you are the people, And wisdom will die with you Job s friends claimed they knew a lot about God and that Job knew little or nothing about God. Job s comments drip with sarcasm; Job s friends are the ones with a monopoly on wisdom and of course when they died so would wisdom. Job is in a garbage heap true. Job is hurt true. But in spite of the pain, the humiliation, the degradation, Job refutes their know-it-all arrogance and conceit. nicedepwordpress.com had this note: Senator Tom Coburn released the 2013 edition of the annual Wastebook on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, and it is filled with enraging examples of federal spending. Greta Van Susteren wants to know why the federal government thought it was necessary to fork over almost $400,000 to do a study the cognitive abilities of tea party members. The surprising conclusion of the study showed that tea party members have a better scientific comprehension than non tea party members. Wow. Who could have guessed that people who tend to be pro-life, pro-family, pro- oil, hunting, fishing, meat eating, global warming skeptics would have better scientific comprehension than liberals? But- to be fair I m sure libs leave us in the dust in the self-esteem department. Sources Of Information (vv.3-12) 3But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Indeed, who does not know such things as these? Even in pain Job can think and reason. Job was not inferior in wisdom or understanding or the knowledge of God. The so called wisdom and arguments Job s friends embraced were common knowledge; even in Job s day. Job claims to know everything his critics know but the critics do not understand Job s pain (see C. Hassell Bullock (p.97). Preacher s Outline and Sermon Bible; JOB; p. 81; Nothing they had said had been profound or wise, not even original. Everyone knew it. 2

3 4 I am one mocked by his friends, Who called on God, and He answered him, The just and blameless who is ridiculed. Job describes himself as the object of scorn and ridicule. Ask anyone about their beliefs in God. Ask them to list his attributes. Job acknowledges that God is the God who answered his prayers. Anyone can say that God is wise and powerful; but how do you explain suffering? Suffering from one who knew God and received answer to prayers Who is just and blameless? The Christian. We are just and blameless in His sight. Colossians 1:21-22; And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled (v.22) in the body of His flesh through death to present you holy, and blameless, and irreproachable in His sight -(v.23) if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast; and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul became a minister. 5A lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease; It is made ready for those whose feet slip. TEV: You have no troubles, and yet you make fun of me; you hit a man who is about to fall. it is easy for you, living in your comfortable world, to mock me (Ryrie s Notes; Ryrie Study Bible; Job 12:5; p.771). There is a repulsive game being played among certain wicked people; USA TODAY reports: Perpetrators have dubbed the violent practice as the "knockout game," in which young people try to randomly knock out strangers with one punch. Recent attacks in New York, New Haven, Conn., Washington, D.C. and suburban Philadelphia have raised concerns across the country. The violence is not new, though. In 2011, St. Louis had a rash of similar incidents, one of which led to the death of a Vietnamese immigrant. Some of the assaults are recorded and posted on social media by the attackers. 6The tents of robbers prosper, And those who provoke God are secure In what God provides by His hand. 3

4 the last phrase could read, who bring their god in their hand. I.e., the god of robbers is the weapon in their hand. (Ryrie; 12:6). 7 But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you; What does nature have to tell us about God? I read something interesting. Chimps in Tanzania were seen swallowing the unthawed leaves of a tree they normally avoided. Intrigued by why the primates would eat these particular leaves without chewing them, biologists studied the chimp droppings and found that the leaves were not digested. The chimps digestive system simply removed chemicals from the surface of the leaves and these substances killed parasites within the chimp s intestinal tract Another interesting insight comes from the Brazilian woolly spider monkey. The female monkey does not ovulate for about six months after she gives birth so that she has time to raise her baby before becoming pregnant again. After six months however, the female will travel outside of her territory to gorge on the fruit of a specific tree. Biologists found that this fruit is rich in the exact chemical the female needs to ovulate. No wonder the Bible says, But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you (see Letting God Create Your Day; VOL. 3, p.120). 8Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; And the fish of the sea will explain to you. Job mentions zoology, geology, marine biology. I am reminded of George Washington Carver who was asked by Congress how he knew so much about the peanut. Bill Federer writes; On January 21, 1921, Carver addressed the United States House Ways and Means Committee on behalf of the United Peanut Growers Association on the use of peanuts to improve Southern economy. Initially given ten minutes to speak, the committee was so captivated, his time was extended. Explaining the many products derived from the peanut, including milk, mock beef and mock chicken, George Washington Carver stated: If you go to the first chapter of Genesis, we can interpret very clearly, I think, what God intended when he said Behold, I have given you every herb that bears seed. To you it shall be meat. This is what He means about it. It shall be meat. There is everything there to strengthen and nourish and keep the body alive and healthy. After nearly two hours, the chairman asked: Dr. Carver, how did you learn all of these things? Carver answered: From an old book What book? asked the Chairman. Carver replied, The Bible. The Chairman inquired, Does the Bible tell about peanuts? 4

5 No, Sir Dr. Carver replied, It tells about the God who made the peanut. I asked Him to show me what to do with the peanut and He did. 11Does not the ear test words And the mouth taste its food? 9Who among all these does not know That the hand of the Lord has done this, 10In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind? What is Job saying? William MacDonald; If Job s critics tested words as carefully as they tasted food, they would agree with the ancients, who uniformly agreed with what Job had said (see p.523; Believer s Bible Commentary). 12Wisdom is with aged men, And with length of days, understanding. The Attributes Of God (vv.13-25) 13 With Him are wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding. Job affirms God s sovereignty, wisdom, strength, majesty, counsel and understanding. What happens when we consider God s attributes? MacDonald mentions how a study of these attributes produce what he called inexplicable and paradoxical results (see p.523). In 1 Chronicles 28:9 (NRSV) The Lord searches every mind, and understands every plan and thought. In Hebrews 4:13 (CEV) Nothing is hidden from God He sees through everything, and we will have to tell him the truth. Augustine wrote; What man is there who can comprehend that wisdom by which God knows all things, in such wise that neither what we call things past are past therein, nor what we call things future are therein looked for as coming, as though they were absent; but both past and future things together with those actually present are all present. Erwin Lutzer writes; Before God created the universe, he already had you in mind. A.W. Tozer; God dwells in eternity, but time dwells in God. He has already lived all our tomorrows as he has lived our yesterdays. 14If He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt; If He imprisons a man, there can be no release. 5

6 15If He withholds the waters, they dry up; If He sends them out, they overwhelm the earth. 16With Him are strength and prudence. The deceived and the deceiver are His. Matthew Henry: Though men are false, God is faithful. 17He leads counselors away plundered, And makes fools of the judges. Why do we despise God s counsel? We are made in the image of God. Modern Psychology neither appreciates or embraces a Biblical world-view. Psychology s goal is the understanding of self; ministry to self; apart from God and Christ. There are more than 500,000 psychotherapists treating 40 million people at a cost of 30 billion dollars. My friends John Ankerberg and John Weldon point out we have had over a hundred years of psycho-therapy and the world is getting worse. We are hard pressed to imagine how people lived productive and satisfying lives apart from the mental health industry. 18He loosens the bonds of kings, And binds their waist with a belt. 19He leads princes away plundered, And overthrows the mighty. 20He deprives the trusted ones of speech, And takes away the discernment of the elders. 21He pours contempt on princes, And disarms the mighty. 22He uncovers deep things out of darkness, And brings the shadow of death to light. Truly you are a God who hides himself, O God and Savior of Israel (Isaiah 45:15). William Gurnall: The Christian must trust in a withdrawing God. 23He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and guides them. 24He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, And makes them wander in a pathless wilderness. 25They grope in the dark without light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken man. Michael Hollings: The basic faith of Christianity is that the hidden God revealed himself in his world and in history in a very particular way. God became man. Jesus Christ is accepted in faith by Christians as both divine and human. CONCLUSION 6

7 Zophar s question; Can you fathom the mystery of God, or attain to the limits of the Almighty? (11:7 REB). Has a simple answer; NO. And yet Paul in Ephesians 1:9-10 says, He has made know to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. And in Colossians 1:26-27 (KJV) The mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Os Guinness was right when he wrote; Mystery is beyond human reason but it is not against reason. A fully comprehended God is certainly not the God of the Bible. Thomas a Kempis said, If the works of God were such as might be easily comprehended by human reason, they could not be called wonderful or unspeakable. A.W. Tozer: To the frightened, God is friendly; to the poor in spirit, he is forgiving; to the ignorant, considerate; to the weak, gentle; to the stranger, hospitable. William Tyndale: God s goodness is the root of all goodness; and our goodness, if we have any, springs from his goodness. God is an infinite God. Augustine wrote; God is an infinite circle whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere. The Puritan Preacher Richard Sibbes said, How should finite comprehend infinite? We shall apprehend Him, but not comprehend Him. I don t understand God. Exactly. But can you embrace God, lay hold of Him, know Him, love Him? The Bible says yes. Paul spoke of a day; The day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of human hearts through Jesus Christ (Rom.2:16 REB). 7