Job 11:1  Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
2  Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified?
3  Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?
4  For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes.
5  But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee;
6  And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.
7  Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?
8  It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?
9  The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.

We are living in an interesting time. Every generation faces different challenges but they are all related. We have heard continuous reports from the earthquakes that have hit Turkey and Syria. The death toll continues to rise and is now close to 30,000 people. A large number of buildings have been destroyed and many of them were for housing people. Many people have been displaced and the temperatures are not as cold as we have in western Canada but it is still cold to be without shelter.
We have also heard one spy balloon that has invaded Canadian and U.S. airspace without being challenged. It was allowed to make its way across parts of Canada and the entire U.S. before finally being taken down off the east coast of the U.S. The U.S. used fire power that was excessive in taking it down. Apparently the cost of the one missile used was over $400,000.00. Apparently they were not very careful in taking it down and they destroyed the equipment that was on that balloon. Since then three other foreign objects have been spotted and two of them have been shot down over U.S. and Canadian airspace.
Then we continue to hear about the continued conflict in Ukraine that has taken in much of the world. Billions of dollars in weapons and supplies have been shipped to Ukraine, but Russia is still poised to win this conflict.
All of this is happening under the watchful eye of the true God. He is reminding us all that He is still in charge. The U.S. is trying to tell us that other spy balloons have flown in its airspace before but some were not detected right away and they never alerted the appropriate sources about it. Nothing that is happening is a surprise to God. He is causing instability in various places to slow down man’s evil plots. God’s timetable is moving forward at His pace, not man’s. Man will not interfere with God’s plan.
God is still not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Many are ignoring the important events that are taking place and choosing to hide their heads in the sand and pursue entertainment rather than God.
We read in the book of Judges that the tribe of Dan was looking to expand its territory. They were travelling to see where they could expand. They found a place called Laish. The Bible tells us that the people there were quiet and secure, at least they thought so. The men of Dan came upon them and destroyed them and took their land. It is not wise to live in a cloud. It is nice to be quiet and secure. However, just how secure are you?
In the book of Job we learn of a man named Job. He was living a quiet life and he was fairly secure as well. Things were going quite well for him but all of a sudden big changes took place. They were changes that Job did not plan for and he did not expect. He lost all his possessions and his family. Then he lost his health. He did not understand what was happening. He was a God-fearing man, but in his distress, he began to doubt his relationship with God. At times he wished he had never been born. Job had built his life on a sure foundation. He knew the Lord. However, in his time of testing, he wondered how sure his foundation was. It was still sure, but he was in doubt.
We are privileged to be able to look at the entire account of Job’s life. We can see things that Job did not see. We are given the opportunity to learn the important lessons that Job learned. We can pay attention to what God is seeking to teach us, or we can assume that all is good and we don’t need to spend our time studying God’s Word. Those who live their lives apart from God are very vulnerable now and will face an eternity in torment. Not a wise choice, yet the choice most are making.
Job had three friends that were friends in name only. Their theology was way off and they were of no help to him. In today’s text we are given further insight into the third friend.
Zophar could have stayed so far away from Job. However, he felt it was his duty to come and “help” Job in his time of need. In verse 2 he began by saying that the many words that Job had spoken needed to be answered. Zophar suggested that Job was a big talker and his talk needed to be challenged.
In verse 3 Zophar went so far as to accuse Job of lying. He was not going to hold his peace. He also accused Job of mocking. Zophar believed it was up to him to make Job ashamed of what he considered to be his mocking.
Job definitely needed some help, but these friends were not fit to help him. Lying needs to be exposed. Mockery also needs to be exposed. However, Job was not guilty of either of these things.
In verse 4 Zophar twisted Job’s words and claimed that he had declared himself to be innocent. Job had stated that he knew he was not without sin. He questioned what God was doing and why, but he did not suggest he was equal with God. Job’s doctrine was certainly more pure than that of his three friends.
In verse 5 Zophar assumed that he knew God pretty good. He wished that God would speak and expose Job for who he really was. God would do that soon. He would also expose these three friends for who they really were. They were not good people.
In verse 6 Zophar continued his rant by suggesting that God was not punishing Job according to what he deserved. Zophar did not know what Job had done wrong, but he assumed it must have been something quite terrible. It is true that Job had been hit pretty hard. His losses were extensive. As we have noted before, his three friends wrongly assumed that the only explanation for these losses was due to Job’s sin. They saw no other reason. They ignored the reality of the devil and his wicked plans. They failed to accept the spiritual warfare that was taking place.
The devil likes to play with people and hurt them as much as he can. God gives the devil some room to manoeuvre but he is limited and he will suffer for all eternity in the lake of fire for his evil. Those who are just, as Job, will suffer for a time on this earth, but they have a home in heaven where they will be free from sorrow and suffering.
In verse 7 Zophar questioned whether Job could find out God by searching. The fact is that God tells us that we can learn many things about Him by searching the Scriptures. We will never know all there is to know but we can get an accurate picture of Who God is. Had Zophar and his friends done some searching, they would not have come with their false theology and accusations.
In verse 8 Zophar correctly stated that God and His wisdom is as high as the heaven. We will never know all there is to know about God on this earth. Job was not boasting of knowing all there was to know about God. He was questioning some things he did not understand but he even admitted that he was not as wise as God.
In verse 9 Zophar continued to speak of the greatness of God. There are many false teachers who make similar claims. They claim God is wonderful in His wisdom and power, but then they do the same as Zophar by claiming they know things about God that nobody else seems to know. Zophar assumed that he knew what God was thinking about Job. He had no Biblical basis for such a statement, but he just knew. He had counselled with his two friends and the suction from the vacuum of their thoughts was so loud that they could not think straight.
They could make some true statements but they corrupted those statements by their arrogance.
As mentioned, there are things we can know about God. There are some things we can know about man if we walk humbly with God and take His Word as our authority. When we become arrogant and full of false ideas because we deliberate among ourselves without truly knowing God or studying His Word, there will be trouble.
Today is the Lord’s Day. I hope you will avail yourself of the opportunity to go to a good church that will honour God’s Word and seek to help you to know the truth. Don’t sit at home and think you can figure life out on your own. Don’t be a surfer who goes here and there and never gets to know the truth because you use your finite mind to determine what truth is.
Take God’s Word as the truth and ask Him to lead you to a true church where you can truly be blessed.
Pastor Bartel