And I turn this morning, please, to Job chapter 11. While you're turning, let me take a second and thank everybody for their help and involvement in the annual Bible Academic and Fine Arts event. I mentioned to the folks that were here Tuesday, or actually Wednesday night, because we had that wonderful weather Tuesday, that this was the 27th year that we had hosted it. So, wow. I didn't even realize we'd been doing it that long. Let's go ahead and stand, please. You helped to make it possible. We will read together the entirety of Job chapter 11 this morning. To begin, Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said, Should not the multitude of words be answered? And should a man full of talk be justified? Should thy lies make men hold their peace? And when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed? For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes. But oh, that God would speak and open his lips against thee, that he would show thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is. Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth. Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven, what canst thou do? Deeper than hell, what canst thou know? The measure thereof is longer than the earth and broader than the sea. If he cut off and shut up or gather together, then who can hinder him? For he knoweth vain men, he seeth wickedness also. Will he not then consider it? For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt. Thou prepare thine hearts and stretcheth out thine hands toward him. If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away. Let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacle. For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot. Yea, thou shalt be steadfast and thou shalt not fear. Because thou shalt forget thy misery and remember it as waters that pass away. In thine age shall be clearer than the noonday. Thou shalt shine forth. Thou shalt be as the morning. And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope. Yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety. And thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid. Yea, many shall make suit unto thee. But the eyes of the wicked shall fail. They shall not escape. Their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost. And we will stop there for now. Let us pray. Father, I pray your blessing upon both the reading and the proclamation of your word. You want us to read the Bible, to hear the Bible. You want us to understand it. It is what you say to us. It is what you say to us about you and about us and about our lives. And so please, I beg your spirit to help me and to help us today. And not just today, but in the course of our own lives. And I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. You may, of course, be seated. Well, Job's three friends have come to comfort him. having heard about his experiences. They gather together, they make an appointment, they set a time. They come to visit Job and what they see stuns them. And for seven days they sit silent. Not a word is spoken. And I will mention this again a little bit later on, but we do want to remember that these men are truly friends, and their intentions are good. And it appears, as unbelievable as it seems, that their friendship endures at the end of all this. In the tradition of their world and the culture in which they live, the oldest speaks first, and that is Eliphaz, then Bildad, and now this man Zophar. And again, these are Job's friends, and they have come to comfort him, and they have heard Job make his case. And we have several cycles of speech. There are actually three distinct cycles. Each man, well with the exception of Zophar, he speaks twice. Eliphaz and Bildad speak three times. These men, both Job and his friends, are like we are, products of their age, products of their culture, products of their understanding. We know, but they do not, and they will not accept it, that Job is suffering in innocence. Neither do they understand, I think, the extent to which they contribute to the isolation of Job's suffering, and that is part of the ongoing conversation that he has with them. And all of the men are dealing from a position of ignorance. They know what is happening. They're groping for why it is happening. They're trying to make sense of what is happening. And the consistent response or position of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar is that Job has to have done something wrong. The world only works if righteousness is immediately rewarded and unrighteousness is immediately judged. Since Job is apparently on the receiving end of God's judgment, the only logical explanation is that Job has done something wrong. Now, that really kind of flattens out the issue. One of the problems that we always have, folks, in reading anything is that it is easy to read something, it is simple to read something, without grasping the depth of the emotion that is trying to be conveyed. And here we have not fiction, but fact. This is a real man recounting his real experiences who has real friends who are talking to him. And so they're not speaking in a monotone, and they're not speaking with emotional detachment. And I say all that because the words convey, if we will look at them closely, the words convey the emotional state of those who are speaking them. Job's three friends, right? Here they come. They get word, as we read through the book, they first hear about what has happened to Job. Then the three of them agree somehow together that they will get together and come to see Job. Then they sit in silence for seven days as they observe Job, and then they very quickly turn on him. they very quickly become frustrated that Job refuses to fit into the mold that they have made for him. And so Job on the one hand is dealing with all that God has brought upon him, and Job on the other hand is dealing with the fact that none of his friends have any clue about what's going on, nor do they have any good explanation for it. In chapter number 11 now, right for the first time Zophar speaks, and Zophar joins in the mentality of his friends. We could summarize the entirety of the chapter this way. Zophar shows Job no mercy. No mercy. None of Job's friends ever seem to say anything like this. Job, I am really sorry this is happening to you. This must be heartbreaking. This must be a real challenge to your faith. And again, these are genuinely wise men. They're not being misrepresented. They are great men in their own right. They are not fools pretending to be wise. They are genuinely concerned for Job. They have in their mind his best interest at heart, which again is in their minds very cut and dried. God punishes the wicked. You're being punished. There is some dimension of wickedness. You either need to confess it or you need to find out what it is and address it or else. And of course, we also know what nobody understands until the end of the book, Job 42.7, that these men are seriously wrong. So their wisdom has a limitation. Their compassion has a limitation. Their answer has a limitation. Let's turn our attention quickly to the text, and we've got a lot of material to cover today. We obviously will not read it all, but Job 12, 13, and 14 we will get to are Job's response to Zophar's lack of mercy and lack of compassion. But so far begins in verses one and two, so far the Nehemiathite said, should not the multitude of words be answered and should a man full of talk be justified? I can't let your foolish words go unanswered. I can't just sit here and take this. I have to say something. Verse number six is a harsh judgment. And it is sometimes, and I would not fight against this, it is sometimes used, there are a variety of verses that make the argument that whatever we experience in this life is less than we deserve. And in some senses that's really true because every human being ultimately deserves the eternal condemnation of eternal fire. And anything less than that is less than we deserve. But that is not really the way Zophar is thinking. Verse number six, that he would show thee the secrets of wisdom that they are double to that which is, know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth. And put that into the broader context of what you know. Job has lost all of his children. Job has lost all of his money. Job has lost virtually all of his health. Job has lost his whole reputation. And his good friend Zophar says, for all of that, it's not as bad as what you deserve. This is not much in the way of consolation. And in verses 7 through 12, and I will not go back and reread it, I hope that you are regularly reading through the book of Job in your own devotionally, but rather than show Job any kind of compassion, he actually demeans him. by arguing that he probably knows more about God than Job himself does. And rather than offer real assistance, he gives to Job the same old advice from a different perspective. And that's really the difference between the three men. It's not the position they take, but the way they defend their position. Eliphaz had some mystical experience, something happened to him in the night, some supernatural event that revealed to him that this is the way things are. Bildad referred Job to both biology and history. Look at the science. Zophar takes the more theological route, again, verses 7 through 12. We all know God. We all know this is the way God is. And what you need to do is repent and seek God. It's kind of the equivalent of providing somebody with this very nice sounding, but oftentimes very helpless answer. Well, just pray about it. Just pray about it. And so here is an unfortunate reality to us in our suffering or anyone in their suffering, which is that our very best friends with their very best perspective and their very best of intentions may really be of absolutely no help to us at all. And it is safe to say, folks, as we cycle through the lengthy conversations, which I would remind us again are God's inspired design. Rather than race through this part of the book, this is what God has chosen to record for us the most, are the agony of Job and the response of his friends. Job derives virtually no comfort or consolation from them in anything that they say. So with that now, let's turn our attention to Job 12 and 13. In which Job does, and this again will become a little bit of a pattern if we haven't already discerned it. Job will, number one, talk to his friends because we have men who are having a conversation. And then Job will talk to God. So chapter 12 verses 1 through 6, Job answered and said, no doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you. But I have understanding as well as you. I am not inferior to you. Yea, who knoweth not such things as these? I am as one mocked of his neighbor who calleth upon God, and he answereth him. The just upright man is laughed to scorn, and he that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp to spice in the thought of him that is at ease. The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure, into whose hand God bringeth abundantly. You think you're wise, but you're not, is what Job says. And verses one through three are really sarcastic to Job. I am the one who is being mocked. And you, on the other hand, verse number five, seem to find some pleasure in my misfortune. You seem to find some validation in your position. He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease. My misfortune is like a light to you. He goes on to talk about the reality of life. And this is something that he will return to. He will take exception to these men's view of this well-orchestrated, neat and tidy world in which everything can be explained in stark terms of this is right, this is wrong, you did right, you get right, you do wrong, you get wrong. And Job goes on to argue in verses 7 through 12 that he is simply giving him platitudes. Words that don't help. For instance, verse number 12, with the ancient is wisdom and in length of days, understanding. You just seem to think that you know everything, but you're not giving me any help. You're not. And what Job really wants, folks, what Job wants more than anything is pity. and compassion, not judgment. And in verses 13 through 25, Job goes on to point out to Zophar that this system, this right gets right and wrong gets wrong, seems to be broken and out of order. With him is wisdom and strength. He hath counsel and understanding. Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again. He shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening. Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up. Also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth. With him is strength and wisdom. The deceived and the deceiver are his. He leadeth counselors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools. He looseth the bond of kings and girdeth their loins with a girdle. He leadeth princes away spoiled and overthroweth the mighty. He removeth away the speech of the trusty and taketh away the understanding of the aged. He poureth contempt upon princes and weakeneth the strength of the mighty. He discovereth deep things out of darkness and bringeth out to light the shadow of death. He increaseth the nations and destroyeth them. He enlargeth the nations and straighteneth them again. He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. They grope in the dark without light and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man. God seems to do whatever he want and people have to live with it. If he breaks something, verse number 14, you can't fix it. First he will bring a drought and then a flood, verse number 15. He controls both those who are deceived and the one who is doing the deceiving, verses 16. He removes kings and sets up other powers. He sees what cannot be seen and he brings light out of the darkness. And he builds nations and then destroys them. And all these things, by the way, are absolute fact. They are validated by many other verses. As David will someday write, our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he pleased. Moving into chapter 13 and verses one through nine, Job says to Zophar, I do not want to talk to you anymore. I don't want to hear any more of this. You're not helping. Lo, mine eye hath seen all this, mine ear hath heard and understood it. What ye know, the same do I know also. I am not inferior unto you. Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God. But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value. Oh, that ye would altogether hold your peace, and it should be your wisdom. If you guys would just stop talking, that would be all the wisdom that I need from you. Verse number 13, hold your peace. Let me alone that I may speak and let come on me what will. In verse number 15, verses 14 and 15, which are, by the way, a genuine declaration of faith. But understand the kind of declaration of faith that they are. And here's what I'm getting at, folks. We tend to read verse number 15 as if it's just kind of dangling out there all by itself. As if Job says, well, whatever God does to me, I'm not going to give up my faith. Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. But go back a little bit. Verse number 13 to Zophar. Hold your peace. Let me alone. That I may speak and let come on me what will. Wherefore do I take my flesh and my teeth and put my life in thine hand? Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. Job is not saying there, whatever God does to me, I will trust. Job is saying, I want to talk to him. and I'm willing to take my life in my hand before him to make my case. And if he kills me for doing that, I will still maintain my way before him. I am innocent. I am innocent of your accusations. And in verse number 20, Job then turns his attention away from Zophar, right? Verses 13, verses, 13 all the way through, become kind of transitional. I want to talk to God. I want to talk to God. And in verse number 20, he begins to talk to him. Begins to talk to him. And that takes us through, if you're outlining it, really in chapter 13, verse number 20, down through the end of chapter 14, Job stops talking to Zophar, and he starts talking directly to the Lord. He asked God in verses 20 through 22 to spare, well let's just read it, chapter 13, right? We've already read through verse number 15. He also shall be my salvation, for an hypocrite shall not come before him. Hear diligently my speech and my declaration with your ears. Behold now I have ordered my cause. I know that I shall be justified. Who is he that will plead with me? For now, if I hold my tongue, I shall give up the ghost, only do two things unto me. Then will I not hide myself from thee? Withdraw thine hand from me. Let not thy dread make me afraid. Then call thou, and I will answer, or let me speak, and answer thou me. Right, he is moving away from Zothar. He is moving toward a conversation with Job to God. And here's what I'm asking, right? I want to make my case. I want to make my case to you. And here's what I'm asking. Don't kill me until I'm done talking. Don't kill me until I'm done talking. Let me make my case. Let me make my case. In chapter 13, verse number 23, down through chapter 14 and verse number six, right now he's going to tell God what he wants to tell him if God lets him live. His first question is very simple. Tell me what I have done. Tell me what I have done. How many, verse 23, are mine iniquities and sins? Make me to know my transgression and my sin. Wherefore hidest thou thy face and holdest me for thine enemy? Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? Wilt thou pursue the dry stubble? For thou writest bitter things against me and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth. Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, and lookest narrowly unto all my paths. Thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet, and he as a rotten thing consumeth as a garment that is moth-eaten. Man that is born of woman is a few days and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower and is cut down. He fleeth also as a shadow and continueth not. And dost thou open thine eyes upon such in one and bringest me into judgment with thee? Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean one? Not one. Seeing his days are determined and the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass. Turn from him that he may rest till he shall accomplish as an hireling. his day. Tell me what I've done. It is obvious that sin is an alienating and destructive force. I know that. And it is evident, chapter 14, verses 1 through 6, that men are living in the consequences of that. What have I done? Right, I mean, Job surveys his life. His health is ruined. His children are dead. His bank account is emptied. His reputation is evaporated. His marriage is in shambles. What have I done? Just explain something to me, what I did wrong. I know all the theology. I know about the righteous and I know about the wicked and I know about sin. What have I done? This is what I want to ask you. Why is this happening? Isn't it what we all want to know, folks? Why does this happen to me? We don't just ask, why does it happen? We ask, why did it happen to me? Why did I have to be that one? Then he goes on in verses seven, through verse number 22, what I need from you is a renewed life. What I need from you is a renewed life. Verses seven and 12, through 12, for there is hope of a tree. Remember, we're dealing with poetry, folks. We're dealing with imagery. People are speaking in ideas. in word pictures. There is hope of a tree if it be cut down that it will sprout again and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth and the stock thereof die in the ground, yet through the scent of water it will bud and bring forth boughs like a plant. The man dieth and wasteth away, yea, man giveth up the ghost and where is he? As the waters fall from the sea and the flood decayeth and dryeth up, so man lieth down and riseth not. Till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake nor be raised out of their sleep. A poetical question. Are we worse than trees? You can cut a sprig off of a tree and you can grow a new tree. You can have a tree that looks dead and you can water it and it will revive. Are trees better than men? Are trees better than men? And in verses 13 through 17, he requests for death. Oh, that thou wouldest hide me in the grave. that thou wouldest keep me secret until thy wrath be past it. Thou wouldest appoint me a set time and remember me. If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come. Thou shall call and I will answer thee. Thou will have a desire to the work of thine hands. For now thou numberest my steps, dost thou not watch over my sin? My transgression is sealed up in a bag and thou sowest up mine iniquity. Hide me in death until your anger is passed. Treat me like a barren tree. And then in verses 18 through 22, he simply makes this observation that if this does not happen, If God does not intervene supernaturally, He has no hope whatsoever. Verse 18, Surely the mountain falleth, cometh to naught, and the rock is removed out of his place. The waters wear the stones. Thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth, and thou destroyest the hope of man. Thou prevailest forever against him, and he passeth. Thou changest his countenance, and send him away. His sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not, and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them. But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn. If God is only arbitrary in what he does, then we are truly doomed indeed. And folks, this is an evidence not only of Job's faith, but of his wisdom and understanding of God. If God is just simply arbitrary like that, completely unpredictable, then we are doomed indeed. So we come, as always, folks, and we ask ourselves, I guess pastors ask as they prepare a message, what does the text say? And in what way is it helpful to the people of God? And of course, it is rare indeed that any individual these days suffers to the extent that Job does. But it is equally true that the history of God's people is that they do suffer in their innocence. They suffer because of the righteousness of their lives. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Satan is not only God's enemy, Satan is the enemy of God's friends. All right, so let's jump to the very biggest picture, the hope that Job has, the hope that we have. And that is that the resurrection of Christ and the eternal life of Christ and the undisputed righteousness of Christ are our ultimate hope. And folks, it is not just that our hope in salvation is not found in any other person. It is that our hope is not really found in any other person. At best, at best, a person might be the means through whom God communicates His gracious words, but no human being is the source of the kind of sustenance that our souls need. And although Job does not, and we will get into this without turning it into a big academic debate a little bit later in the book of Job, right? How clearly does Job see what we see very clearly, that God would become flesh and die as a man on the cross for our sins? How clearly does Job see that? I would argue we don't really know, but he does understand this. He needs a supernatural helper. His help is not found just in men. And then there is a word for those of us who would wish to minister to those who suffer. We do not know, there is no record of it, that Job's three friends prayed for him, prayed for him to have God's grace and God's wisdom and God's understanding. I'm not saying they didn't, but their perspective seems to be that they believed they knew all that needed to be said. So certainly we should pray for those who suffer and to the best that we can, we should enter into their suffering. We are to weep with those who weep. But to those who weep, please understand you will weep in solitude for the experiences are yours and yours alone. And certainly we need to be very careful about making harsh judgments. as if we can identify in a way that they cannot how their conduct has brought them harm. Now there are times, folks, and I've got to state this, there are times when our misfortune can be clearly tied to our conduct. That is not what the book of Job is about. The book of Job is about suffering for righteousness' sake. It is a man who has done nothing worthy of God's judgment, experiencing all that Satan can bring. That is the storyline of Job. That is the perspective. But let us be careful not to be harshly judgmental of people and their suffering, but to be as compassionate as we can. Let's pray together this morning. It has been a blessing and at times a conviction for me to observe the suffering of your people and to watch their faith be very strong. A testimony to your work in their lives. Give to us all grace. One of the things that Jesus taught us to pray was to not be led into temptation and be delivered from evil. May that be true for all of us. But may we in the suffering that others experience, may we be sympathetic, compassionate, genuinely helpful. And in our own suffering, may we realize that What we need above all is the consolation of the God of all comfort. And may we seek it at your throne. And I pray this for us in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, as always, thank you for being here this morning. A reminder, of course, 6 o'clock tonight the evening service, 5 o'clock choir practice. Just a couple of announcements. Men's Bible study is