Job’s Reply to the Second Speech of Zophar (Job 20-21) WestminsterReformedChurch.org Pastor Ostella March 9, 2014 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said: 2 "Therefore my thoughts answer me, because of my haste within me. 3 I hear censure that insults me, and out of my understanding a spirit answers me. 4 Do you not know this from of old, since man was placed on earth, 5 that the exulting of the wicked is short, and the joy of the godless but for a moment? 6 Though his height mount up to the heavens, and his head reach to the clouds, 7 he will perish forever like his own dung; those who have seen him will say, 'Where is he?' 8 He will fly away like a dream and not be found; he will be chased away like a vision of the night. 9 The eye that saw him will see him no more, nor will his place any more behold him. 10 His children will seek the favor of the poor, and his hands will give back his wealth. 11 His bones are full of his youthful vigor, but it will lie down with him in the dust. 12 "Though evil is sweet in his mouth, though he hides it under his tongue, 13 though he is loath to let it go and holds it in his mouth, 14 yet his food is turned in his stomach; it is the venom of cobras within him. 15 He swallows down riches and vomits them up again; God casts them out of his belly. 16 He will suck the poison of cobras; the tongue of a viper will kill him. 17 He will not look upon the rivers, the streams flowing with honey and curds. 18 He will give back the fruit of his toil and will not swallow it down; from the profit of his trading he will get no enjoyment. 19 For he has crushed and abandoned the poor; he has seized a house that he did not build. 20 "Because he knew no contentment in his belly, he will not let anything in which he delights escape him. 21 There was nothing left after he had eaten; therefore his prosperity will not endure. 22 In the fullness of his sufficiency he will be in distress; the hand of everyone in misery will come against him. 23 To fill his belly to the full, God will send his burning anger against him and rain it upon him into his body. 24 He will flee from an iron weapon; a bronze arrow will strike him through. 25 It is drawn forth and comes out of his body; the glittering point comes out of his gallbladder; terrors come upon him. 26 Utter darkness is laid up for his treasures; a fire not fanned will devour him; what is left in his tent will be consumed. 27 The heavens will reveal his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him. 28 The possessions of his house will be carried away, dragged off in the day of God's wrath. 29 This is the wicked man's portion from God, the heritage decreed for him by God." (Job 20:1-29 ESV) !Then Job answered and said: 2 "Keep listening to my words, and let this be your comfort. 3 Bear with me, and I will speak, and after I have spoken, mock on. 4 As for me, is my complaint against man? Why should I not be impatient? 5 Look at me and be appalled, and lay your hand over your mouth. 6 When I remember, I am dismayed, and shuddering seizes my flesh. 7 Why do the wicked live, reach old age, and grow mighty in power? 8 Their offspring are established in their presence, and their descendants before their eyes. 9 Their houses are safe from fear, and no rod of God is upon them. 10 Their bull breeds without fail; their cow calves and does not miscarry. 11 They send out their little boys like a flock, and their children dance. 12 They sing to the tambourine and the lyre and rejoice to the sound of the pipe. 13 They spend their days in prosperity, and in peace they go down to Sheol. 14 They say to God, 'Depart from us! We do not desire the knowledge of your ways. 15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit do we get if we pray to him?' 16 Behold, is not their prosperity in their hand? The counsel of the wicked is far from me. 17 "How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out? That their calamity comes upon them? That God distributes pains in his anger? 18 That they are like straw before the wind, and like chaff that the storm carries away? 19 You say, 'God stores up their iniquity for their children.' Let him pay it out to them, that they may know it. 20 Let their own eyes see their destruction, and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty. 21 For what do they care for their houses after them, when the number of their months is cut off? 22 Will any teach God knowledge, seeing that he judges those who are on high? 23 One dies in his full vigor, being wholly at ease and secure, 24 his pails full of milk and the marrow of his bones moist. 25 Another dies in bitterness of soul, never having tasted of prosperity. 26 They lie down alike in the dust, and the worms cover them. 27 "Behold, I know your thoughts and your schemes to wrong me. 28 For you say, 'Where is the house of the prince? Where is the tent in which the wicked lived?' 29 Have you not asked those who travel the roads, and do you not accept their testimony 30 that the evil man is spared in the day of calamity, that he is rescued in the day of wrath? 31 Who declares his way to his face, and who repays him for what he has done? 32 When he is carried to the grave, watch is kept over his tomb. 33 The clods of the valley are sweet to him; all mankind follows after him, and those who go before him are innumerable. 34 How then will you comfort me with empty nothings? There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood." (Job 21:1-34 ESV) Introduction We come today to Job’s reply to the second speech of Zophar (20-21) and these chapters give us two main points to cover: Zophar’s second speech and Job’s reply to it.

I. Zophar’s second speech, 20 When we recall the elevated hope of Job that has just bounced off of Zophar’s ears (about the redeemer that lives and restores), we have to agree with Kline who says, although Job struck “chords of redemptive truth as to thrill angels, Zophar, having ears, hears not” (WBC, Job, 476). He thus gives no response to the high theology of 2 resurrection that Job has proclaimed. Instead, he merely repeats the same old story of retribution, responding to Job indirectly for most of his speech, only to reveal his fangs at the end. The speech has three parts: tone, content, and application. A. The tone of Zophar’s speech, 20.1-3, is definitely spirited Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said: 2 "Therefore my thoughts answer me, because of my haste within me [my thoughts are deeply stirred and I answer with hast, seething with anger because]. 3 I hear censure that insults me [you did this Job when you threatened me with God’s sword as you ended your last speech], and out of my understanding a spirit answers me [pulled back and forth within, thus, talking to myself, I am disturbed, passionate, angry, as I come up with my answer]. ! B. The content of Zophar’s speech, 20.4-26 The reiteration of the old worn out theme is evident: judgment by God’s wrath is the reward of ungodliness. To get his point, we can discuss the central sin of the ungodly and the inevitable fruit of ungodliness. 1. The central sin of the ungodly By surveying the entire speech, we only get a few specific example sins that mark a person to be wicked and godless (20.4). He is a person that relishes evil like food that is sweet in his mouth (v. 12), a fitting metaphor for his hungry lust for wealth (v. 15). In turn, swallowing down wealth like delicious food includes selfish crushing of the poor, and stealing houses built by others (v. 19). These things all apply to Job indirectly. The focus is on the wealth he once had. Surely, Zophar surmises, wealth must have been what Job most sought and most enjoyed as his very bread of life. It is as if he has clear vision into to Job’s heart and motives. The outward issues of crushing the poor and stealing houses seem exaggerated, perhaps, they are intended to be metaphors of Job’s bad heart. We only have these examples; otherwise, most of the speech is about consequences. 2. To the inevitable fruit of ungodliness we now turn From the analogies of food, the consequence is unmistakable (especially in the case of Job): the ungodly person may swallow down wealth after relishing its sweetness in his mouth, but God will cause his food “to turn his stomach.” God will cause it to become poison within him, and that will make him vomit until he is sweep away in death (10-16). Accordingly, his pursuit of riches will give him no enjoyment (v. 18); it will not give him contentment in his belly, as he restlessly tries to preserve his delights (v. 19). He consumes all he has in his lust and, therefore, per 21b, his prosperity will not endure; it is mere illusion, deceptive, unsatisfying, and struck down at its peak of fullness when (v. 23): God will send his burning anger against him and rain it upon him into his body. Thus, the content of this spirited speech deals with the central sin of greed and the inevitable judgment of God that occurs in this life. C. The application of Zophar’s speech, 20.27-29 In 20.27, it becomes clear: this sin and its judgment apply to Job: The heavens will reveal his [a wicked man’s] iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him. This is a direct contradiction of Job’s elevated statement of hope that his vindication will be inscribed on the rocks and that His redeemer will stand upon the earth to grant him restoration. Instead, there is no arbiter in heaven; all that is in heaven and on earth (all that exists) will rise up against Job and reveal one thing: his guilt. Zophar is so bent on winning his argument with Job that he cannot pause to ponder and discuss the glorious hope of resurrection. So, he focuses on the sure consequence of Job’s guilt by stating that this is God’s decree for his sin (20.28-29): The possessions of his house will be carried away, dragged 3 off in the day of God's wrath. This is the wicked man's portion from God, the heritage decreed for him by God [this is how God works with the wicked-they suffer; you suffer, so your possessions are lost].

II. Job’s reply to Zophar, 21 In replying to Zophar’s second speech, Job presents what we may call a breakthrough argument against the retribution formula. The breakthrough takes place in Job’s thinking, which is for his benefit, and it is a breakthrough in the debate for us as readers. What we suspect (know) all along is finally revealed. Thus, Job first introduces (opens) the argument, then develops it in steps, and finally, applies it to his opponents. A. The introduction to his breakthrough argument Then Job answered and said (21.2): Keep listening to my words, and let this be your comfort [to me]. If you really want to comfort me, then give me a hearing. I sure do not get any comfort from what you say, but a hearing from you will bring me some comfort. Job seems calm and amiable in contrast to the seething anger of Zophar: Bear with me (v. 3), and I will speak, and after I have spoken, mock on [so, first give me a fair hearing, then, if you are not convinced by my argument, you can mock me all you want]. He then poses some questions that direct attention away from the animosity they have toward each other in 4a: As for me, is my complaint against man? Again, questions imply answers that are affirmations: Job affirms that his complaint is not ultimately about the friends and other people; it is about God. Thus, being innocent and yet afflicted by God, he claims he is justified to complain as radically as he does (v. 4b): Why should I not be impatient? Accordingly, he appeals to them for merciful consideration in the next verse (21.5): Look at me and be appalled, and lay your hand over your mouth in awestruck silence, and give me a true hearing. By reflecting on the real parties of contention (Job and God), Job again feels heart weary (21.6a): When I remember, I am dismayed. When he remembers and ponders the fact that his “beef” is ultimately with God, he trembles at these thoughts (21.6b): shuddering seizes my flesh. This is like saying, “It gives me goose bumps,” but with much more force. He is not fainting in awe as earlier (19.27) but trembling in sober fear of God. It is a sobering thought to raise his argument because he has found a breakthrough in the debate with the friends, but it is sobering because it also raises inexplicable notions about God’s dealing with the wicked and with Job himself in his innocence. A new can of worms is opened and Job trembles. ! B. Let’s now consider his development of this breakthrough argument We can isolate a number of closely related steps. 1. Step One: the major premise is upfront in 21.7 Why do the wicked live, reach old age, and grow mighty in power? This verse clearly shows that Job’s eyes are open to see a crack in the “tidy traditional notion of retribution” (Kline 477). The crystalized formula of sowing and reaping does not really work. How else can you explain the longevity of the wicked with good health to the end? Clearly, the wicked do not have life shortened and health destroyed; that is not always what happens. Moreover, in the context of Job’s belief in God’s sovereignty, his question indicates (hints) that this bothers him, as something inexplicable regarding God’s actions. 2. Step Two: details, 21.8-15 Here, Job summarizes the prosperity that wicked people may experience through life all the way to death at a ripe old age. Happy and healthy, they live to see their offspring established in life safe from fear, and without God’s rod upon them (8-9). Their 4 livestock are healthy too, increasing in number and bringing wealth (10). Their children are not only raised without fear, but they are numerous like a flock and they dance (11). Ungodly people sing and rejoice with musical accompaniment (12). They live a life of luxury and die in peace (13). As for belief in God (as far as knowing God is concerned), they live without God, do not want Him present in their lives and they take no delight in learning the ways of God (21.14-15): They say to God, 'Depart from us! We do not desire the knowledge of your ways. 15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit do we get if we pray to him?'). However literal the idea of speaking to God may be, the sentiment is clear: they wish to escape the presence of God, saying, “Let Him go away and leave us alone.” Moreover, they have in their hearts no desire to know God’s ways. Per Romans 1, they deny the truth they know. Thus, they deny that God is the Almighty and worthy to be served; they deny any profit to prayer, which suggests that if they thought it would increase their wealth to pray, then they might do so. In their wickedness, they prosper! 3. Step Three: conclusion, 21.16 (a conclusion cluster) The question of 21.16a makes an interesting statement: their prosperity [is] in their hand, which means God, who controls their every action, allows them to take their lives into their own hands. That is, they do what they want and make great gains in doing it. The conclusion here is threefold (clustered). First, conclusively, the wicked prosper, even to their death. Second, because this is so, then my ill health, poverty, and short life do not automatically put me in the category of the wicked. Third, since the commitments of the wicked are far from me (21.16b), then I am not to be identified with them (So, Hartley, Job, 315). 4. Step Four: statistical confirmation, 21.17-26 This is the “more often than we might expect” principle that supports Job’s argument. The point is made in verse 17 with the analogy of a lamp: How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out? That their calamity comes upon them? That God distributes pains in his anger? The implication is that more often than we might expect the lamp of the wicked burns brightly into the ripeness of old age. They live long lives without pain and calamity from the hand of God. Similarly, in 18-21, Job makes the point that more often than we might expect, they escape the stormy winds of God’s judgment. ! Thus, Job says, my argument is secure and you ought to consider it and embrace it: since the wicked prosper (more often than we might at first think) and I am not one who prospers, then I am not to be classed with the wicked, not unmistakably. You should not confidently think that I seek to escape God’s presence. True, I want His heavy hand to be lifted from me; I want Him to depart as enemy but only to return as friend. I deeply desire to know His ways, the lack of understanding throws me into turmoil. In 21.22-26, Job plainly makes the statistical point: 22 Will any teach God knowledge, seeing that he judges those who are on high? 23 One dies in his full vigor, being wholly at ease and secure, 24 his pails full of milk and the marrow of his bones moist. 25 Another dies in bitterness of soul, never having tasted of prosperity. 26 They lie down alike in the dust, and the worms cover them. Some wicked prosper, statistically more do than you report and some do not (22-25). In the end, within the sovereign giving and taking of God (per the prologue), both die and return to the dust (26). Notably, this fact breaks the allegedly inalterable formula of sowing and reaping. Since I am about to die without prosperity, neither my death, nor my poverty necessarily put me in the category of the wicked. C. Finally, his application of the breakthrough argument 5 Job turns from the argument proper to apply it to the sages in 21.27-33: "Behold, I know your thoughts and your schemes to wrong me. 28 For you say, 'Where is the house of the prince? Where is the tent in which the wicked lived?' 29 Have you not asked those who travel the roads, and do you not accept their testimony 30 that the evil man is spared in the day of calamity, that he is rescued in the day of wrath? 31 Who declares his way to his face, and who repays him for what he has done? 32 When he is carried to the grave, watch is kept over his tomb. 33 The clods of the valley are sweet to him; all mankind follows after him, and those who go before him are innumerable." I am aware, he says, that your thoughts and tricky efforts to comfort me are really to my harm (v. 27). You do me wrong, you harm and hurt me, when you ask, “Where is the house of the man who was once a prince among us?” Thus, you answer: it is gone like that of all the wicked; Job is one with the wicked. You apply the sowing reaping principle to me. However, it is common street knowledge that the evil man is spared in the day of calamity (29b-30a), but you do not accept it (v. 29b). You do not accept the common street knowledge regarding a host of things. The evil man is rescued in the day of wrath (30b). Often, he is neither rebuked nor repaid for his evil (31). He is given an honorable burial; he is honored at death (32). Personified as if living, the wicked dead person, as it were, finds sweetness in the smells of the clods of earth placed over him; he goes to the grave with multitudes going before him and following after him in procession (33). Therefore, you wrong me by using the crusty retribution formula to place me in the category of the godless who reject God and find no delight in His presence or teachings. Then in v. 34, he concludes: How then will you comfort me with empty nothings? There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood. You are unable to comfort me because your words are empty nothings (empty; meaningless); you answer me with falsehood. There is a strength here in Job’s words; some shuddering to be sure, but on the whole to the point. This is a real breakthrough in the dialogue.

What is an over all point for our hearts in conclusion? It seems odd to say that we can take heart in knowing that the wicked prosper. Job does. How do we take heart in this fact? We can see how Job values this fact on one hand and questions it on the other. It shields him from the crushing retribution formula by crushing it. The fact is some wicked people prosper while others do not. Therefore, suffering, my suffering cannot simply be explained to be the result of evil conduct. For all we know, and especially, for all we do not know their may be some other explanation for my suffering; that is, my friends for all you know, the truth may be what I say it is: I am blameless. The sowing-reaping formula does not work; Job cannot be automatically categorized as wicked, the friends are really being more hurtful than helpful. On the other hand, Job questions the prosperity of the wicked who ought to suffer. It may seem like a simple point to say that there are many facts that I do not know about people, about specific people who may live in some way I do not like or in some alien way toward me. However simple and easy to say, let us make sure we have a good hold on it. In the confusion of all that we do not know, we must stand on the clear teaching of God’s word and commandments. For example, a gay couple may live long and healthy lives together in bonds of happy affection. If I dislike the practice that does not mean it is sinful. Neither does their prosperity tell us that homosexuality has its good forms as long as it is committed and loving. It cannot be loving because love for God and others involves keeping God’s commands. If people 6 prosper when they go outside the boundaries of what God prohibits, that does not neutralize the sin; it in no way tells us that there are types of homosexuality that have God’s approval. Scripture, not prosperous affectional experience is the only authority. Life experience does not tell us what Scripture teaches about homosexuality or any other sin. There are too many unknowns of genetics, early childhood, the deceptiveness of sin, and the cultivation of sin in different people as they grow into adulthood. We must rest on God’s word and not do as these sages of old who drew wrong conclusions about God by resting confidently on their experience and knowledge. By contrast, it is our privilege to have the completed canon to give us a rock under our steps, a light to our path, and a lamp for our feet.

What basic lessons are here in the prosperity of the wicked? Of course, it causes us to thank God for His common grace and common love giving rain and sunshine to both righteous and wicked. Hence, we rejoice with perspective on providence knowing that God is free in His sovereignty, wisdom and power. This perspective helps us love others generally and acknowledge the many good gifts of God given to unbelievers. It helps us love one another better to know that our gifts, gains, and over all prosperity differ by the decision, wisdom, and goodness of our sovereign Lord for our good and His glory.

What is the gospel taught here in the prosperity of the wicked? This is high and astounding. Christ owns our sins: He became sin for us. He became “the wicked” by owning the sins of all of us, but He prospered and was made rich in His death. So, by His resurrection He lives and guarantees that even if the worms destroy our bodies, nonetheless, in our flesh we shall see God in resurrection glory.

May we fall down before the majesty of God in worship and awe because He is great and greatly to be praised; may the Spirit teach us the practical things of life and the real blessings of both common grace and efficacious grace; to the praise and glory of the triune God, amen.