Job 20 Zophar’s Second Response to Job
“Then Zophar the Naamathite replied: “I must reply because I am greatly disturbed. I’ve had to endure your insults, but now my spirit prompts me to reply.”
First mistake, Zophar! Your spirit prompts you, or Satan prompts you? One of the challenges when dealing with the spiritual world is discerning whether the spirits inspiring our actions are from God or from Satan. Here in Ghana, we have learned the hard way that when someone refers to God, we need to ask “Which God are we talking about?” Remember that when Satan fell from heaven to earth, one-third of the angels fell with him, becoming demons in the process. Those evil spirits are still around, deceiving anybody gullible enough to believe in them. Proverbs 14:29 tells us, “Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.” Once more, we are confronted with another guy standing there fidgeting impatiently until he can spew out whatever is on his mind. Job has not insulted Zophar, but Zophar has emphatically insulted Job.
“Don’t you realize that from the beginning of time, ever since people were first placed on the earth, the triumph of the wicked has been short lived and the joy of the godless has been only temporary? Though the pride of the godless reaches to the heavens and their heads touch the clouds, yet they will vanish forever, thrown away like their own dung. Those who knew them will ask, ‘Where are they?’ They will fade like a dream and not be found. They will vanish like a vision in the night. Those who once saw them will see them no more. Their families will never see them again. Their children will beg from the poor, for they must give back their stolen riches. Though they are young, their bones will lie in the dust.”
Hmm. OK. This guy who has just whined about being insulted is now implying that Job must be a wicked, godless man, and that his family will wind up as beggars and die early deaths. Obviously, Zophar is back to the “If you were really righteous, you wouldn’t be suffering” argument. Is this guy really listening to himself?
“They enjoyed the sweet taste of wickedness, letting it melt under their tongue. They savored it, holding it long in their mouths. But suddenly the food in their bellies turns sour, a poisonous venom in their stomach. They will vomit the wealth they swallowed. God won’t let them keep it down. They will suck the poison of cobras. The viper will kill them. They will never again enjoy streams of olive oil or rivers of milk and honey.”
Interesting. Why does Zophar know so much about the sweet taste of wickedness? Has Zophar been flirting with evil? And why describe the downfall of evil-doers in such lurid detail if he has no experience of wickedness?
1 Corinthians 13:4-5 tells us, “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.” In contrast, Zophar gives us the impression that he is neither patient nor kind. Zophar exemplifies pride and rudeness and wants his own way, hence his scathing criticisms of Job. Evidently, all these years, Zophar has simply been waiting for the chance to lord it over Job. Whether or not Job has actually wronged Zophar, Zophar has obviously been treasuring up every petty grievance, petting them and nurturing them into full-fledged grudges.
“They will give back everything they worked for. Their wealth will bring them no joy. For they oppressed the poor and left them destitute. They foreclosed on their homes. They were always greedy and never satisfied. Nothing remains of all the things they dreamed about. Nothing is left after they finish gorging themselves. Therefore, their prosperity will not endure.”
Zophar, whom are you describing? Have you been living under a rock? All these years, Job has been giving relief to the poor and needy. The last thing Job would do would be to foreclose on anybody’s home. Job has not been gorging himself on other people’s property. Where have you gotten these ideas? Are these sins something YOU have wanted to do but have been too afraid to carry out? When listening to a confirmed liar, watch to see the accusations he levels against others, for frequently, those are the very things he himself is doing.
“In the midst of plenty, they will run into trouble and be overcome by misery. May God give them a bellyful of trouble. May God rain down his anger upon them. When they try to escape an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce them. The arrow is pulled from their back, and the arrowhead glistens with blood. The terrors of death are upon them. Their treasures will be thrown into deepest darkness. A wildfire will devour their goods, consuming all they have left. The heavens will reveal their guilt, and the earth will testify against them. A flood will sweep away their house. God’s anger will descend on them in torrents. This is the reward that God gives the wicked. It is the inheritance decreed by God.”
Well, the gloves are off! Now we see Zophar’s true nature. All these years, Zophar has stood at a distance, envying Job. Now Zophar is positively GLOATING over every imagined sin he thinks Job has committed. You can practically see Zophar rubbing his hands with glee at Job’s misery. At this point, if Job speaks Yiddish, he might be willing to respond, “Lign in drerd un bakn beygl!”: A curse meaning “May you lie in the ground and bake bagels.” To explain, this curse means that you should burn in hell for all eternity and bake bagels that you may never eat.”
If Zophar is willing to say these things to Job’s face, what has Zophar been saying in the community? Sometimes, through no fault of our own, we can find ourselves the target of a pathologic liar. Such a person, if accomplished, can convince people that black is white, righteousness is sin, and that the sun really rises in the west, not the east. No matter how carefully you guard what you say, a really slick liar can twist anything to blacken your reputation. If the liar then promises different groups of people the very things most dear to their hearts, these people, though righteous, can be swayed. Once the promises begin, the liar can then point to YOU as having blocked his ability to fulfill the promises. Before you know it, your reputation can be in tatters and people whom you thought were friends are denouncing you.
Zophar is the very model of a confirmed pathologic liar. Unfortunately, there are always those willing to believe wild stories about socially prominent people, no matter how baseless these stories might be. But despite Zophar’s attempts to portray himself as righteous, he fails miserably.
1 Corinthains 13:6-7 tells us, “It (love) does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”
Corrie ten Boom and her family were betrayed by a Dutch informant, arrested, and sent to concentration camps for sheltering a Jewish family. Corrie’s elderly father died ten days after being sent to one of the camps, while Corrie’s sister Betsie died in the Ravensbruck Camp for women. Corrie escaped through a clerical error, for everyone in that camp was slated for destruction only ten days after Corrie left. After World War II, Corrie began speaking throughout Europe, and at one meeting she encountered one of the former guards at Ravensbruck. But by now, this man had repented and had become a Christian. Corrie testified that shaking that man’s hand was one of the most difficult things she ever did, but when she reached out and took his hand, the glory of God descended and she was able to completely forgive him.
How can we handle a pathologic liar bent on destroying our reputations? First, recognize that the attack is coming from Satan and not just from any human. We can hate what someone is doing or saying without hating them as a person. Second, remember 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proudor rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”
We can pray for those lying about us, even as we do everything to tell the truth. We don’t have to be door mats, but we don’t have to be hateful or vengeful either. 1 Peter 2:21-23 tells us, “For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.” In the end, it is only God who knows the human heart and who can judge justly.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to remain loving and to trust that You will settle all scores. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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