Job 11

I have a feeling that the title for this blog will pique the curiosity of more than a few. There may be some who are inclined to "tune out" right from the get-go, but... please don’t! If you disagree with what I have to say about this chapter of Job, I want to hear from you! Please leave a comment, and let’s have a discussion about this important topic.

To me, the theology put forth by Zophar in this chapter is astounding. He is clearly incensed that Job continues to maintain his innocence, and he means to teach him a lesson. Let me quote here from The Message, since Eugene Petersen wrote in such a way as to specifically retain the "flavor" of the original speech: "Now it was the turn of Zophar from Naamath: 'What a flood of words! Shouldn’t we put a stop to it? Should this kind of loose talk be permitted? Job, do you think you can carry on like this and we’ll say nothing? That we’ll let you rail and mock and not step in? You claim, "My doctrine is sound and my conduct impeccable." How I wish God would give you a piece of his mind, tell you what’s what! I wish he’d show you how wisdom looks from the inside, for true wisdom is mostly "inside." But you can be sure of this, you haven’t gotten half of what you deserve.'" (vs 1-6)

Wow. In researching this chapter, I discovered that the idea Zophar is putting forth here is actually an idea still prevalent today (especially in Reformed Theology), known as total depravity. This theology suggests that the whole of a man’s sin—what was inherited from Adam, plus our own personal sin—is so great that one could say of every suffering in life, "God still hasn’t given me half of what I deserve." Therefore, I should be glad that God sees fit to only punish me to a small degree. That’s basically what Zophar was saying: Job, if you’re unwilling to acknowledge your secret sin, at the very least, you should shut up. God hasn’t given you nearly what your wickedness deserves, so you should have nothing but gratitude for Him. Stop your complaining.

It amazes me that more Christians (seemingly) haven’t taken the time to read Job and understand what God means when He says that Job’s friends said of Him what was wrong. This is a great example. Zophar was trying to "teach" Job that God punishes sinners, but Zophar was wrong. Yet, we still hear it preached from the pulpits of Christianity today: God does and will punish sinners.

God does not punish sinners. Let me say that again: GOD DOES NOT PUNISH SINNERS! Sin punishes sinners (Rom 6:23). God, on the other hand, returns good for evil. There are examples of this all throughout Scripture, but let’s just refresh our memory with one example today. Joseph’s brothers did what was evil. They sold Joseph into slavery and then, to cover it up, they lied to their father about it. They let him believe for years that Joseph was dead.

Joseph’s brothers did what was evil. And God punished them, right? No, He saved them! He used their evil deed to bring good to them. Instead of visiting retribution on them for their wickedness, He used what they had meant for evil to bring life to Joseph, to them, and to many other people. God does not punish sinners. Instead, He returns good for evil.

For those of you who still don’t buy this argument, let’s talk for a moment about the difference between punishment and discipline. We don’t differentiate between these two concepts very well in our culture, and that’s why much of what God does in the Old Testament can look like punishment—when, in fact, it may not be.

Look up the definition of punishment in the dictionary, and this is what you’ll find: Suffering, pain, or loss that serves as retribution.

Look up the definition of discipline in the dictionary, and this is what you’ll find: Training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character.

I will be bold today and say that God never punishes anyone because He doesn’t engage in retribution. However, we normally think of punishment when we think of God’s justice, and the reason for that is because our own justice system deals largely in punishment. When faced with a person who has committed a crime, usually we get "justice" by imposing some sort of loss as a tit-for-tat measure.

But God deals in correction, not retribution. In Old Testament history, whenever He imposed consequences or left the Israelites to reap the consequences of their own choices, the purpose was discipline. He was always seeking to redirect their steps, to bring them back to Him. That’s the difference between punishment and discipline. Punishment is retributive. Discipline is redemptive.

Even if God wanted to make sinners suffer for their wickedness, He wouldn’t have to do anything to cause more misery than sin causes on its own. Yes, sin causes its own suffering. I certainly know that from personal experience, and I’m sure you do, too.

I’m glad Zophar was wrong about God. But I’m glad he was also right that we have never gotten even half of what we deserve. For we could have been left to the misery and destruction caused by our sin. But God would not abandon us. Throughout history, He has been working to transform what has been intended for evil into something that can be used for good. Because of His generous and gracious nature, we have not been destroyed by our sin!