Year 8, Day 106: Job 12

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Job responds to Zophar about the only way that you can respond to a person who uncompromisingly sees the world in black-and-white instead of shades of gray.  There is no discussion with such people, you are either right or wrong. There is no give and take, it is either correct or incorrect.  In this light, Job goes on the offensive.  He sticks up for himself and fights.  He comes after Zophar.

Job calls Zophar on his attitude.  Job tells him that he is considered a laughingstock.  He tells Zophar, rightly so, that he is a righteous man in God’s eyes.  Again, he repeats that he is a laughingstock.  In other words, Job is telling Zophar that he’s right, Zophar is ignorant, and Job will be proven in the end.

Furthermore, Job accuses Zophar of cherry picking.  Job is an easy target.  He’s clearly own and experiencing hardship.  Job asks Zophar how difficult it is for a person to judge the victim when they sit in the ease of their own life.  Job is telling Zophar that his black-and-white perspective is just a synonym for lazy theology.  Rather than take the time to listen, discover the true details, and discern Zophar takes the easy route and simply judges.

I truly have to respect Job here.  He stands up for himself.  He fights for his position.  He is willing to experience the conflict for the sake of truth.  Job doesn’t roll over; he doesn’t walk away.

There is a time and place for this.  I tend to not behave like Job in this instance and find myself wishing I occasionally did.  Sometimes the easier route is to walk away from a challenge instead of fight.  But as we see in the last few chapters, sometimes the easy way has more in common with Zophar than with Job.  There is a time and place for walking away.  There is a time and place for standing up and fighting.  Knowing the difference is where true wisdom resides.

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