The Gaping Hole we Call a Mouth

Read Job 20:1-29

What do you think you would say if you were sitting around in a pile of manure watching a friend scrape his festering boils with a chard of pottery? I am asking that you put yourself in Zophar’s place for just a minute and try to imagine what words would fall out of the gaping hole that obstructs the beauty of most faces. A couple of points about chapter 20 are relevant.

First, verses 1-3. Zophar says, “I hear a rebuke that dishonors me, and my understanding inspires me to reply.” His understanding must have been sorely lacking in logic because, as I will point out later, he gets it all wrong again. Just because someone insults us or rebukes us does not mean that we have to respond no matter how smart we think we are. James wrote, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry….”

Second, verses 4-5. Zophar says, “Surely you know how it has been from of old, ever since man was placed on the earth….” Zophar and his friends have brought up this argument before about the wisdom of the wise men of the past and how those of us now ought to pay attention to them because they are so full of wisdom. Well, I disagree. Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 7:10: “Do not say, ‘Why were the old days better than these?’ For it is not wise to ask such questions.” The wisdom of the past is not always wise nor is it always the best advice nor is it always true. And often it is best left dead.

Third, verses 6-19. Zophar says, “Though his pride reaches to the heavens and his head touches the clouds, he will perish forever like his own dung;” Now, where is the cause for this? When helping someone we should not be talking coarse and angry like this. Paul said it like this, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up one another according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

Finally, verses 20-29. Zophar says, “Such is the fate God allots to the wicked, the heritage appointed for them by God.” This may well be fine and true, but it is irrelevant. No matter how true he may be it has no value or point to Job’s situation. It seems to me that if we are going to say something to someone it at least ought to be relevant. Don’t you think? Perhaps if we are slow to speak, relying on God and not the men of the past, and using building up words, then we will not be so quick to fill up our suffering friends with irrelevant gobbledy-gook. Herein is a profound lesson in how to counsel someone going through a tough time.

Prayer Thoughts on Job 20:1-29

Pray for compassion to be a gift you possess. Not everyone is gifted with the capability to speak compassionate and comforting words. This does not mean you cannot minister to someone in their time of need. It means you need to learn how to minister to them in their time of need. Pray that God will enlighten you as to how you can be a compassionate person without making the errors that Zophar made in his conversation with Job.