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Introduction
Have you ever found yourself watching a movie or reading a book in which you wonder if this is finally the story where the bad guy wins in the end?
A good storyteller will make you wonder and even doubt that good will triumph over evil, that the hero will come out victorious.
Sure, there are some stories that end with such tragedy, but then it makes you question whether the good character was actually good after all.
We seem to be hardwired to believe that evil always loses.
Last week, I touched on the idea that the lives of the wicked always end in destruction.
This was the view of Bildad, and we see in chapter 20 that it is also the view of Zophar.
We have been exploring the principle of divine retribution throughout the series and we are starting to move from it being merely theoretical.
It is becoming increasingly raw and personal. In chapters 20-21 two worldviews collide.
Zophar’s moral certainties vs. Job’s anguished experiences.
Tucked in this emotional battle is a crucial lesson for us today.
It is a lesson that will increase our wisdom, shape our discernment, and anchor our hope in something more solid than our experiences and more helpful than mere theory or doctrine.
It is a lesson in holding tension. Allowing opposing ideas to co-exist and ideals to be unmet with the trust that God is bringing things into their proper order in his wisdom.
This is the sort of peace that is promised through faith in Christ.
At the end of the service we will respond with communion, which is an act of obedience and trust that God in Christ is with us as we live with the tension of a troubled world.
So, let’s get into Job chapter 20 and see what more Zophar has to say about Job’s situation in his second speech. Let’s start by reading 20:1-5.
Zophar’s Certainties
The rest of Zophar’s speech could be summarized with verse 5: “the mirth [exultation] of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment.”
We are in the final set in the second cycle of speeches between Job and his friends, and this is actually Zophar’s final speech, as he doesn’t give a third speech like the other two friends.
In this speech, Zophar is not responding to Job’s pain. He’s reacting to his protest.
He is far less concerned about compassionately comforting Job and far more concerned with correcting his theology.
The problem, as Zophar sees it, is that Job is thinking wrongly about things and his wrong thinking is leading him down a wicked path.
Job’s constant protesting is colliding with his friends’ understanding of how the world works.
According to them, as illustrated in Zophar’s speech, the wicked:
- Rise quickly
- Are driven by greed and deception
- Don’t ever truly enjoy their wealth and prosperity
- Face inevitable collapse
- Die without legacy
- Are ultimately forgotten
Zophar presents this with certainty. This is always the way of the wicked.
Now, to be fair to Zophar, these are principles which are repeated throughout Scripture, especially in Proverbs.
The idea that the path of the wicked leads to destruction is a principle. And we know because of the teachings of Jesus and his disciples, that this is ultimately true. The wicked will face destruction.
But Zophar is presenting this as a certainty in earthly life. He wants it to be true because it gives him security. Which is why Job’s speech is so offensive to him.
Job’s Counterpoint
Job’s counterpoint is summarized in Job 21:7 “Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?”
He’s not interested in his friend’s theological certainties. He wants to address his lived experience.
He points out some observable facts in his speech:
21:7–10 “Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power? They see their children established around them, their offspring before their eyes. Their homes are safe and free from fear; the rod of God is not on them. Their bulls never fail to breed; their cows calve and do not miscarry.”
21:11–13 “They spend their years in prosperity and go down to the grave in peace.”
21:23–26 “One person dies in full vigor, completely secure and at ease, well nourished in body, bones rich with marrow. Another dies in bitterness of soul, never having enjoyed anything good. Side by side they lie in the dust, and worms cover them both.”
Now, I think it’s fair to say that Job is using hyperbole to emphasize his point. The wicked don’t always grow old and increase in power. Their cows don’t always have perfect births.
But, his argument is based on experience and observation, not mere theory or philosophy. He has seen how the world really works and refuses to ignore what he sees.
He is responding to Zophar with a simple rebuke: “What you claim does not match reality.”
This is an important element of discernment.
Holding Tension
One of the tendencies we have is to try and resolve tensions too quickly. I experience this on a regular basis in my conversations with people.
We want things to be neat and tidy, explainable, solvable and resolvable. We don’t want to wrestle, we want to settle.
We like formulas. Do good, get blessed. Do evil, get punished.
But Job confronts us with complexity. Job is righteous and is experiencing what his friends perceive as punishment.
And he looks up from his dung heap to see wicked people prospering. He sees people who are indifferent to God experiencing happiness and enjoyment of life.
They do not receive the punishment that Job has received. God does not rebuke them. So, something is not right.
This is the tension of a fallen world. It is not neat and tidy. The righteous sometimes suffer. The wicked sometimes prosper.
There are exceptions to formulas and rules. There are mysteries that break apart our dogmas.
Discernment is the ability to live wisely in the middle of that tension. We can accept a statement as true, yet when the world doesn’t operate within that truth, we do not fall to pieces.
How many Christians respond with hostility to scientific theories or historical claims that seem to contradict the Bible?
With discernment, we are able, like Job, to recognize that experience does not always align with our understanding of truth.
And, we can avoid the mistake of making moral judgments about ourselves and others purely on circumstances or experiences that conflict with our beliefs.
Someone’s contrasting beliefs, apparent success or failure are not proof of divine approval or disapproval, or that they have it wrong or you have it right.
Discernment allows for differences without losing confidence in God. We need not make enemies out of people who see things differently or have a different experience than what you think they should have based on their behaviour.
Let me be really clear and succinct by saying that much of our grief and anxiety in life is caused by our certainties or our need to have things figured out. I’ll explain by reminding us of the true purpose of the book of Job.
Most people think Job helps us with understanding or dealing with suffering. While it may do this, it does it not by giving us answers.
The book of Job shows us that the right response to suffering is not to depend on our reasoning or ability to understand why we are suffering.
But rather to respond by sincerely acknowledging the limitation of our reasoning and understanding.
The story of Job presents us with a scene in which Job’s friends attempt to understand and describe the reason for Job’s suffering while Job admits he doesn’t understand.
In the end, God justifies Job because of his honesty in his doubts and condemns his friends because they have not spoken rightly about the situation.
And none of this is about the reason for Job’s suffering. It’s all about the way in which Job and his friends address the situation.
Job’s friends addressed it with confidence, certainty, dogma, and wise sayings from of old. They spoke with authority about the matter, claiming to know exactly what’s going on.
Job addressed it with questions, curiosity, humility, and a faint hope that God has an answer that he doesn’t comprehend.
Can you see the lesson here? It should teach us to be skeptical of people who claim to know all the answers. Yet, we are drawn to those people and think we have to become those people because tension is uncomfortable.
When we experience these sorts of tension, instead of jumping to conclusions, the wise thing to do is ask good questions.
Wisdom Asks Good Questions
Zophar is not asking good questions. He is digging his heels in, asserting what he believes to be true and ignoring what is right in front of him.
He almost seems to be speaking in order to reassure himself. He clings to answers that will affirm his theology.
He is clearly offended in the beginning of his speech (Job 20:2–3 “My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer because I am greatly disturbed. I hear a rebuke that dishonors me, and my understanding inspires me to reply.” )
He starts his argument with a claim to have been prompted by a spirit of understanding within him. If you are reading the NIV, you will see Zophar says “my understanding inspires me to reply.”
It’s interesting that the NIV chose this wording. The Hebrew is more literally said as, “a spirit beyond my understanding answers me.”
Either way, the idea seems to be that he is not claiming truth based on his own understanding but based on a spirit within him, speaking to him, giving him a response with greater authority than himself.
He also appeals to ancient knowledge in Job 20:3–4 “I hear a rebuke that dishonors me, and my understanding inspires me to reply. Surely you know how it has been from of old, ever since mankind was placed on the earth.”
These are common tools of debate. When someone is backed into a corner, they ignore the plain truth in front of them and appeal to ancient wisdom or mysterious revelation.
It’s not as though these are illegitimate sources of understanding, but there is no need to pit them against experience.
Job’s response raises better questions.
He asks in Job 21:29–31 “Have you never questioned those who travel? Have you paid no regard to their accounts— that the wicked are spared from the day of calamity, that they are delivered from the day of wrath? Who denounces their conduct to their face? Who repays them for what they have done?”
Discernment governed by wisdom doesn’t just accept simply explanations but asks good questions.
What if God doesn’t settle every account immediately?
Can you trust God’s justice even when it doesn’t play out how you expect?
Can you place your hope in the certainty of God’s goodness in the midst of difficult circumstances?
Wisdom holds back judgment when reality and ideas collide. Discernment holds a person steady in the midst of tension.
It doesn’t require having answers to all the questions, it just means having the answer to one important question: can God be trusted?
The answer to that question, no matter what the circumstance, is a resounding yes!
Conclusion
2 Corinthians 1:20 “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.”
Though Job is lamenting, he refuses to accept easy answers. He demands a more robust explanation. And he’s willing to sit in the tension and even face the consequences of his demands.
He does this because he’s an honest person, unwilling to compromise his character. For him, to agree with his friends means denying the truth of his situation.
He is being unjustly punished. There was no theological view that supported his claim in those days.
No one could stand with him in agreement with his conclusion. So he stood alone.
Job reminds us that our hope cannot be found in simple solutions. We can ask hard questions and hold onto the tension when they are not immediately answered, or when they are answered unfavourably.
He shows us how to lament without losing faith. We can weep honestly and approach God with our desires.
He teaches us to value character over principles, theologies, or circumstances. Integrity matters, even when it doesn’t pay off immediately.
Zophar presents an answer to Job’s dilemma that is built on a shaky foundation despite his apparent confidence. It is dependant on an unrealistic view of life.
Job shows us that the world is not that simple. Evil sometimes looks like it’s winning. We are a part of a story in which the good guys sometimes appear to be losing.
But the story isn’t over. In the midst of the tension, we can have peace through Christ.
It isn’t the sort of peace that comes when all conflict is removed. It is a different sort of peace that can exist within conflict and in the midst of tension.
John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Philippians 4:6–7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Colossians 1:19–20 “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”
The wisdom of the book of Job and the promises fulfilled through Christ help us look beyond our immediate circumstance and toward the hope that God is truly good.