Get ready to start a journey…a journey through the pages of the Bible and the pages of your life.
In this section of our Job study, we’re exploring Job’s disappointment with God. His words are honest and raw. As we noted last time, God’s willingness to hear us speak from our hearts is a remarkable demonstration of his unconditional love. However, I must emphasize an essential point in this part of the story: Job expresses his disappointment but doesn’t linger there. So, let’s ensure we do the same—learn and continue moving forward.
Job lost his ten children and his means of making a living. Then, the final blow struck when disease ravaged his body. The painful sores forced Job to isolate himself at a garbage dump to cope with both his suffering and the oozing wounds covering his body. Three friends came to help, but their words were as hurtful as his ailments.
Job’s friends did not sit quietly drinking coffee with him. They believed that the tragedies Job was grieving and his afflicted body resulted from his sins. We have examined their counsel to Job—well, their insinuations and accusations. Now, we will explore the themes that emerge in Job’s responses.
Above all, Job loved God. He was upright and blameless, devoted to serving the Lord. He lived a disciplined life of integrity and was the spiritual leader for his large family. He was the most remarkable man in all the East. Then, one day, he lost everything.
Zophar listened to Job respond to Bildad’s second speech and became impatient. He is one of those people who would rather talk than listen. Do you know anyone like that? Zophar said, “My thoughts answer me, because of my haste within me.” He doesn’t listen while others talk. Instead, he thinks about his response and can’t wait to share it. Zophar also noted that he was insulted by Job’s remarks (Job 20:3).
In our study of Job, we have encountered harsh criticism from Job’s friends, Eliphaz and Bildad. Today, we meet Zophar, who essentially reiterates the other two friends’ sentiments.
Writing about the greatness of God, the prophet Isaiah asked, “Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel? Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? (Isa. 40:13-14) The answer to these rhetorical questions is, “No one!” No man or woman can understand the mind of God and all the ways he works in our lives and the world.
Job lost his family, wealth, and health, leaving him to grapple with questions about God. The foundation of his life has collapsed. He is in emotional pain from losing his family. He endures physical suffering due to his deteriorating health. It’s hard for him to breathe (9:18), and he has no appetite (3:24). He is covered in painful, ulcerous sores (2:7). Additionally, he faces spiritual turmoil. What is God doing? Can I trust him? Is he enough?
Yesterday, we considered Eliphaz’s first two messages recorded in Job 4 and 15. Today, our focus is on Job 22. In his final confrontation, Eliphaz tells Job, “You are a sinner!” (Job 22:1-11), “You are a hypocrite!” (Job 22:12-20), and “You must repent!” (Job 22:21-29).
Many people believe that life’s challenges are always the result of sin. They hold a “cause and effect” view of God: sin leads to punishment, while obedience results in blessings. However, our study reveals that Job was “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” God was not punishing Job for sin; instead, he was permitting Satan to test Job’s integrity.
Someone has said you should walk a mile in another person’s shoes before criticizing them. That way, when you criticize them, you’re a mile away and have their shoes! I think that’s worth a chuckle. However, what follows with Job’s three friends isn’t amusing. They began their interaction with severe criticism. They hadn’t walked a mile, not even a yard, in Job’s shoes. Yet, they were convinced that Job had done something terrible to lose his family, health, and livelihood, which led them to reprimand him.
Before we move on to Job 4, let me introduce Job’s friends and present a framework for examining the upcoming chapters of the book.
God and Satan interacted in the courts of heaven. Satan leveled allegations against both Job and God. Reading their discourse reveals a unique perspective, and I want to emphasize that Scripture indicates Satan appears before God continuously. Revelation 12:10 states that Satan accuses us, “day and night before our God.” In the dialogue recorded in Job 2, Satan argued that God secured Job’s love through blessings, which led God to permit Satan to initiate severe tests to prove the charges false.