( Job 11:11–15)self up into self-respecting indignation. Zophar has
60 Baffled to Fight Better
will find Him to be the kind of Refuge Job is referring to. We know nothing about the Redemption or about forgiveness until we are enmeshed by the personal problem; then we begin to understand why we need to turn to God, and when we do turn to Him He becomes a Refuge and a Shelter and a complete Rest. Up to the present Job has had no refuge any-
where; now he craves for it. When a man receives the Holy Spirit, his problems are not altered, but he has a Refuge from which he can deal with them; before, he was out in the world being battered, now the centre of his life is at rest and he can begin, bit by bit, to get things uncovered and rightly related.
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BomBast
Job 11 I have not knowledge, wisdom, insight, thought. Or understanding, fit to justify Thee in thy work, O Perfect. Thou hast brought Me up to this—and, lo! what thou hast wrought, I cannot call it good. But I can cry— "O enemy, the maker hath not done: One day thou shalt behold, and from the sight
Another trick of bombastic religion is to appeal to God in order to back up a position which is obviously questionable. Here, Zophar calls God in as his ally in his attack on Job. We do it in our way of praying; our invocations and iterations often spring from false emotions; they are not spontaneous. Most of us mouth diction before God; we do not pray; we say in prayer what we ought to say, not what is actually natural to us to say. It may sound very interesting and noble, but it is not our own, it is mere sounding brass and clanging cymbals, there is no reality in it.
wilt run."
George MacDonald
1. Stirring of Self-Respecting Indignation ( Job 11:1–4) Then answered Zophar the Naamathite and said, Should not the multitude of words be answered? And should a man full of talk be justified? ( Job 11:1–2)
Another form of spurious invocation affects the idea that God is punishing our nation for certain wrongs, instead of feeling the presence of something more profound. When we are facing problems we must see to it that we are reverent and silent, for the most part, with what we do not understand. The invocation of God is an exercise of the finest spiritual mood, and we are rarely in a sufficiently exalted state of mind for it. To invocate on the assumption that we know God, comes near to blasphemy.
Zophar is manifesting the linguistic characteristic of Job. He begins by accusing Job of using a "multitude of words," thus blinding his mind to the point at stake. If you are annoyed with someone, notice how uncomfortably conscious you are that there is an element in him you cannot reach, and rather than allow the recognition of that element you work yourself up into self-respecting indignation. Zophar has come to the conclusion that Job is wrong, his creed is wrong, and "I alone am justified." This trick of stirring up self-respecting indignation is a very common subterfuge when we are embarrassed by a problem involving our self-respect. The temptation comes to yield to the bombastic mood, and we use terms of righteous indignation to condemn the thing we are not guilty of, while all the time we may be guilty of tenfold worse.
3. Self-Consciousness of Serious Instruction ( Job 11:11–15) If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles. For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be steadfast, and shalt not fear. ( Job 11:14–15)
Zophar tries to instruct Job on an entirely false basis; he declares that Job will never get wisdom. "For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt." This is all the length Zophar gets in dealing with a man who towers leagues above him! First, he stirs up self-respecting indignation, then he takes a religious turn, then an instructive turn, which puts the wrong self on top at once. The characteristic of this kind of instruction is that it is self-conscious. The most valuable instruction in moral life never comes from people who consciously instruct us, for we are not taught morally as we are intellectually. Confusion always results if we take the method of
2. Schemes of Spurious Invocation ( Job 11:5–10) But oh that God would speak, and open His lips against thee; and that He would show thee the secrets of wisdom. . . . Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? ( Job 11:5–7)