Job 11:1 Then Zophar, the Naamathite, answered,
2 “Shouldn’t the multitude of words be answered?
Should a man full of talk be justified?
3 Should your boastings make men hold their peace?
When you mock, will no man make you ashamed?
4 For you say, ‘My doctrine is pure.
I am clean in your eyes.’
5 But oh that God would speak,
and open his lips against you,
6 that he would show you the secrets of wisdom!
For true wisdom has two sides.
Know therefore that God exacts of you less than your iniquity deserves.
7 “Can you fathom the mystery of God?
Or can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
8 They are high as heaven. What can you do?
They are deeper than Sheol. What can you know?
9 Its measure is longer than the earth,
and broader than the sea.
10 If he passes by, or confines,
or convenes a court, then who can oppose him?
11 For he knows false men.
He sees iniquity also, even though he doesn’t consider it.
12 An empty-headed man becomes wise
when a man is born as a wild donkey’s colt.
13 “If you set your heart aright,
stretch out your hands toward him.
14 If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away.
Don’t let unrighteousness dwell in your tents.
15 Surely then you will lift up your face without spot;
Yes, you will be steadfast, and will not fear:
16 for you will forget your misery understanding
You will remember it like waters that have passed away.
17 Life will be clearer than the noonday.
Though there is darkness, it will be as the morning.
18 You will be secure, because there is hope.
Yes, you will search, and will take your rest in safety.
19 Also you will lie down, and no one will make you afraid.
Yes, many will court your favor.
20 But the eyes of the wicked will fail.
They will have no way to flee.
Their hope will be the giving up of the spirit.”
Job’s third friend, Zophar has grown impatient listening to Job. He begins gruffly:
Shouldn’t the multitude of words be answered? Should a man full of talk be justified? v.2
Zophar begins by saying: God exacts of you less than your iniquity deserves. v.6 In other words, Job should stop complaining because God is going easy on him. His sins are so great that he deserves more punishment than he is receiving.
According to Zophar it is clear from Job’s ramblings that Job is incapable of grasping the secrets of wisdom v.6 or fathoming the mystery of God. v.7 After all, the mysteries of God are high as heaven…deeper than Sheol … longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. v.8-9
In fact, adding insult to injury, Zophar tells Job that he is an empty-headed man who will only become wise when a man is born as a wild donkey’s colt. v.12 As we might say today, Job is so obtuse that he will only understand when hell freezes over. In other words, Zophar is saying that Job will never understand on his own! But never fear, this is Job’s lucky day, because Zophar, the wise, is here to correct Job’s doctrinal misconceptions. v.4 The mysteries of God might be incomprehensible to ordinary men like Job but Zophar has been able to probe the limits of the Almighty. v.7 Zophar has inside information directly from God. He understands how God has been working in Job’s life. For Job recent events are a mystery but to Zophar things are crystal clear.
Zophar believes in, what today we might call, the prosperity gospel. There are some teachers who emphasize the believer’s ability to transcend poverty or sickness through confession and devotion. Do you remember the formula that Eliphaz and Bildad taught? If you are innocent you will not suffer; you are suffering, therefore you are not innocent. Zophar’s formula is actually the flip side of the original formula. Same coin, different side.
If you set your heart right,
lift up your face without spot,
you will be secure. v.13-18.
Prosperity preachers like Zophar assume that poverty and illness are a result of sin and the lack of faith. So the new formula is simple:
If you confess your sins…
And if you have enough faith,
God will give you the desires of your heart.
God will bless you with money in the bank, a healthy body, a blessed family life, and joy beyond measure. Material possessions are the reward for living a righteous life. You will be secure. Many will court your favor. v.18-19
Another modern-day retelling of the prosperity gospel is the therapeutic gospel, which teaches that though you are broken, hurting, weak, lonely, and fearful you can secure psychological healing and peace. You can set your heart right v.13 if you have enough faith. The subtle twist in both the prosperity gospel and therapeutic gospel is that the focus is on you. These false gospels are all about what faith can do for you– what you can get out of faith. Both are narcissistic because the focus is on you and your happiness.
Of course it is true that God can bless his children with physical prosperity and health and with psychological healing and peace, but Christ warned those who would follow him:
In this world you will have trouble. John 16:33
If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:33
Followers of prosperity and therapeutic brokenness theologies see themselves as victims, ignoring their most fundamental problem, their fallen sinful nature demonstrated by their vile transgressions which have put them at enmity with their Creator. The Gospel is ultimately about this truth: the Lamb of God, Christ, died in our place to redeem us.
God warns that we become like what we worship. Psalm 115:4-8 Those who worship prosperity, healing, and peace become slaves to covetousness. Chasing prosperity and peace is a perversion of the Gospel and will leave you without hope. Those who worship false gods will not only be disappointed but eventually will be consumed by those false gods.
But Zophar argued that if Job would just follow this advice his life will be clearer than the noonday…it will be as the morning. v.17
It is reported that Charles Spurgeon once said:
Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.
Just like prosperity gospel preachers today, Zophar was almost right. On the one hand the Bible teaches Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous. Psalm 5:12 However, the Bible also teaches, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Timothy 6:10
The question for present day prosperity and therapeutic gospel teachers is this:
Does Jesus promise that as a result of his death, burial, and resurrection his followers would be blessed with immense wealth, health, peace and a life free of suffering?
No, the Bible teaches:
If we are God’s children, we will receive blessings from God together with Christ. But we must suffer as Christ suffered so that we will have glory as Christ had glory. Romans 8:17
Alexander Solzhenitsyn, despite the immense suffering and injustice of being imprisoned in Stalin’s Gulag wrote, “Bless you, prison, for having been in my life!” Hardship and pain made him realize the idolatry of prosperity, driving him to Christ. (The Gulag Archipelago)
It is true that God promises blessing. However, the greatest blessing is the guarantee of forgiveness of sins, resurrection, and everlasting life with our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
Our greatest blessing is the forgiveness of sins, not prosperity, or physical or psychological wellbeing.
Wealth and health are fleeting and unreliable. We will all suffer to one degree or another on our earthly journey until we all experience death.
Zophar had part of the picture but he did not actually understand the mysteries of God. He assumed that Job had sins to confess, the sins that caused this calamity, when, in fact, we know, from behind the scenes, that Job was an innocent man being ruthlessly tempted by Satan to abandon God.