After Eliphaz and Bildad, Job’s friends shared in chapters four and eight about how they felt about Job’s tragedy, this chapter 11 writes about what Zophar, his third and last friend, has to say about him as well. Up to this chapter, we might get a little lost or could not remember what was spoken in the previous dialogues between Job and his two friends earlier. From what Zophar is saying here in this chapter, we will get to observe again and appreciate Job’s understanding in contrast to what his three friends feel about Job’s conviction.

Job and all his three friends know and believe about God. The heart of the argument is that they are trying to determine what is the reason of Job’s suffering from the perspective of God. Zophar’s presentation of what he said in this chapter can be divided into three segments. Zophar’s perspective is similar to what the other two friends as they attempt to piece together their understanding of what has happened to Job’s life and how Job should respond.

The first segment from v1-4 seems to imply that Job is trying to rationalize himself before God that he has done no wrong to deserve such calamity. In the second segment from v5-12, Zophar tries to remind Job that God who is all wise and powerful, does not make mistake in His judgment. He would never punish Job if he has done nothing wrong. Last but not the least segment in v13-20, Zophar concludes by saying that what Job needs to do is to repent from his wrongdoing so as to be restored to God.

We have read from Job 1 and 2 that what has happened to Job is God allowing Satan to inflict harm on Job’s children and him as a means to test and refine his faith, period. It is not what the friends has said that God is punishing Job for a sin he has committed. And it is definitely not what Job tried to insist that God has made a mistake in punishing him as he has done nothing wrong.

What we can learn from chapter 11 is that God is God and we are not. Isa 55:8-9 says “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” These verses remind us that God’s thoughts and ways are higher than us. We should and must never be like Zophar who tries to speak as though he knows God’s ways fully. He tried to convince Job that God was punishing him as a result of sin.

Dear brothers and sisters, are you currently going through a trial in your life right? Or perhaps something has happened to you some time back. It is helpful to first evaluate and determine if we have indeed done something wrong at our end. If we are not certain, please pray and ask God for His wisdom in regard to this. And if we have sinned against God, our response is to come before God in repentance and confession. But if we feel that we have not done anything wrong, our next response is to come before God and ask for His grace to go through this difficult trial.

PRAYER : Dear God, I come before you in total surrender of my life. I may not fully understand and make sense of what is happening to me (tell God specifically what has or is happening to you), but I know that I can depend on the grace of my Lord Jesus Christ to help me go through this difficult trial. I pray in His name. Amen.