“Surely He recognizes deceitful men…” Job 11:11a

In verses seven through twelve, Zophar challenged Job’s erroneous perspective of God (thinking God had it out for him), while being just as wrong in his own judgment of Job! Zophar revealed his own questionable view of God within his inquisition to Job:

“Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of The Almighty? They are higher than the heavens – what can you do? They are deeper than the depths of the grave – what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.” (vv. 7 – 9)

Zophar argued that God can never be understood, neither can His ways be comprehended. Sounds wise, but is it true? Are Zophar’s words meant to put Job in his place by talking down to him? If we know the teachings of Jesus, we might see that Zophar’s judgmental attitude got in the way of his view of God. When Jesus came upon the seen, He often taught about the Kingdom of Heaven. The Sermon on the Mount was God’s way of correcting man’s faulty interpretation of the law. Jesus began sections of His lecture with, “You have heard…”, and then provided a correct view of God’s intent for the law (read Matthew 5-7). Jesus also used another phrase in His teaching, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like”. Through Jesus, we can see that God DOES want to be relatable and His ways understood, which is why He often taught through parables that included the natural order of creation. Scripture tells us to search for scripture’s meaning like hidden treasure (read Proverbs 2:4-6, Matthew 13:44). Though God’s ways are higher than man’s ways (read Isaiah 55:8-9), God visited earth in the person of Jesus Christ to show His love for those made in His image and His desire is to be a part of their lives.

Then, as if to add fuel to the fire of his condemnation of Job, Zophar hurled an implication toward Job as being deceitful, evil and witless! He veiled the insult in his continued description of God:

“Surely He recognizes deceitful men; and when He sees evil, does He not take note? But a witless man can no more become wise than a wild donkey’s colt can be born a man?”

There you have it: all Job’s friends subscribed to the “just-world” theology of how God works: giving people what they deserve, avenging the rebellion of those who thumb their nose at His way. Job’s friends reasoned that his troubles originated from his deceit, hiding evil practices, and never able to embrace the wisdom of God. Why else would all the calamity have come upon Job so suddenly? Surely, he must have deserved it because of some secret sin. The truth is God DOES recognize deceitful hearts, and He DOES take note of evil. However, God’s motivation is not centered on asserting His way or being quick to judge others’ wrongdoing. Instead, God’s motivation is founded upon winning hearts as the lover of man’s soul – shown through the person of Jesus Christ, Emmanuel – God with us.

Job didn’t receive any help from the condemnation by his friends. Instead, it may have fueled his continued decline into shame and the insanity of trying to make sense of calamity. Believers today have an excellent resource on what not to do when others face disaster, misfortune or pain. May our view of God reinforce in others how Christ lives in and through each of us to lend hope and comfort to a hurting world.

Have a blessed day…