Read
Zophar's Second Speech
Your Words Are Disturbing
1Zophar from Naamah said:
2Your words are disturbing;
now I must speak.
3You have accused
and insulted me,
and reason requires a reply.
4Since the time of creation,
everyone has known
5that sinful people are happy
for only a while.
6Though their pride and power
may reach to the sky,
7they will disappear like dust,
and those who knew them
will wonder what happened.
8 They will be forgotten
like a dream
9and vanish from the sight
of family and friends.
10Their children will have to repay
what the parents took
from the poor.
11Indeed, the wicked will die
and go to their graves
in the prime of life.
Sinners Love
12Sinners love the taste of sin;
they relish every bite
13and swallow it slowly.
14But their food will turn sour
and poison their stomachs.
15Then God will make them lose
the wealth they gobbled up.
16They will die from the fangs
of poisonous snakes
17and never enjoy rivers flowing
with milk and honey.
18Their hard work will result
in nothing gained,
19because they cheated the poor
and took their homes.
20Greedy people want everything
and are never satisfied.
21But when nothing remains
for them to grab,
they will be nothing.
22Once they have everything,
distress and despair
will strike them down,
23and God will make them swallow
his blazing anger.
24 While running from iron spears,
they will be killed
by arrows of bronze,
25whose shining tips go straight
through their bodies.
They will be trapped by terror,
26and what they treasure most
will be lost in the dark.
God will send flames
to destroy them in their tents
with all their property.
27The heavens and the earth
will testify against them,
28and all their possessions
will be dragged off
when God becomes angry.
29This is what God has decided
for those who are evil.
Reflect
It wouldn’t be so bad if Zophar were writing an essay in a first year class at theological college. It wouldn’t be so bad if we were reading some kind of attempt to spell out what happens to wicked people in the economy of the Judaic God. It wouldn’t be so bad…though we might well wonder how the professor would mark this essay! It is incredibly fundamental, unfeeling, simplistic.
It is also remarkably visceral, as if Zophar the student had just come from his Anatomy 101 class, and is using the recurring imagery of bellies and vomit (sorry!) to make his theological points.
My point here is that this is primarily to be understood as speech not writing; this is mano, a mano conflict, a fierce and forceful face to face shouting match. The best way to understand this chapter is to hear it as a physical assault. Job is being slammed and hammered.
Oh yes, it’s only words, you may object. “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.”
Not true. Words have a power to destroy and destruct akin to the power of shells and bullets. We have to imagine Job in the despair of verbal violence, cringing beneath this relentless attack. Zophar’s attack is so personal, so violent, so destructive, so shaming.
The wicked, he says, are as impermanent as a dream (v8), as mortal as dust (v11), as sweet as vomit (v15), as satisfied as a convicted thief (v 19). The wicked will grab with greed everything that’s going but they will never know more than the most temporary pleasure. Heaven and earth will rise up against them.
And that’s you, Job! You’re toast, man!
Respond
Oh Father God, protect us from people who want to destroy us. Protect us from people who scorn our faith, belittle our belief, judge our behaviour. And give us a powerful appreciation of how you have rescued us from your wrath in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Michael Pountney
From the Merchant Navy to Moldova, Michael’s career has had a transatlantic diversity. High School language teacher and youth leader in the UK; IVCF staff at universities in BC and Divisional Director in Ontario; Parish Priest in Montreal and Toronto; Principal of Wycliffe College at the U. of T; IFES staff working with leaders in the former Soviet Republic. Retired in Victoria, Michael continues to help plant Anglican Network churches and mentor young leaders. Publications: Bob Goethe and Michael Pountney: “Mars and Venus Go To Church” (2010: Faith Today); Michael Pountney, “At A Distance: Encouragement For Cautious Christians” (2006: Essence Publishing, Belleville, Ontario); “Searching For Home” (2003: GLIA Moldova); Don Posterski and Michael Pountney; “Reconciliation: Seeking Restored Relationships” 2000: Institute For Christian Leadership Formation, World Vision International, Monrovia, California); Michael Pountney, “Getting A Job” (1984: InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois)