Like a chestnut tree

For he has oppressed and neglected the poor;
He has seized a house which he has not built. (v. 19)

All of Job’s friends appeared to care about him, but they revealed what was truly in their hearts from the beginning. They had no understanding of God or His purpose in all of creation. Job was also in the dark, yet he began to question the reason behind his suffering.

Many Christians today have little understanding of God, even though they actively participate in church activities, including attending services every Sunday. Some go twice, or even three times. Yet they still do not grasp the purpose of creation. In their minds, God is merely a supernatural power who grants them wealth, health, and happiness on earth. They want to believe in heaven and eternal life, but deep down, they cannot. Their obsession with wealth, family, and health reveals that they believe this life on earth is all there is.

Zophar’s logic applies only to those who do not know the kingdom of God. The words of God have no place in their hearts. Most of them do not even have a favorite Bible verse. Some may quote this or that, but they have no real understanding of what the Bible teaches. The most condemnable, however, are the theologians, ministers, and elders.

Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you people do not accept our testimony. (John 3:10-11)

I do not believe in any minister who gets involved in politics. Politics is for the general population; Christianity is for a small number of people—the remnants of God. Those who think they can turn the world into a Christian world are plainly mad. They have no understanding of God. They are merely busybodies, going from place to place, enticing others.

When Jesus came, He found that the Israelites had no one to explain God’s words.

Seeing the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:36)

If all my sufferings were the result of my own actions, I would be living in fear. I would constantly question my thoughts and behavior. But God has freed us from the bondage of sin and death. Yet churches continue to teach that we can lose our salvation because of our actions or thoughts. They overemphasize the law and are filled with hypocrites who believe they are keeping it.

On the other hand, there are people who claim to be Christians and yet commit all sorts of crimes openly. Hypocrites and criminals have the same father—the devil. That is why hypocrites cover up the sins of criminals within the church. They are partners in crime. Hypocrites are criminals, and criminals are hypocrites.

But they cried out all together, saying, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas!” (He was one who had been thrown into prison for a revolt that took place in the city, and for murder.) (Luke 23 :18-19)

Evil people rejoiced when Christ suffered and died.

“He saved others; He cannot save Himself! He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. HE HAS TRUSTED IN GOD; LET GOD RESCUE Him now, IF HE TAKES PLEASURE IN HIM; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” And the rebels who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him in the same way. (Matthew 27:42-44)

Job went through great suffering because God wanted to teach him that righteousness does not come from works. Job’s three friends accused him of things he had never done. They, too, believed that righteousness came through one’s works.

Today, churches are not teaching about the Kingdom. They abandoned sound doctrine a long time ago. True righteousness comes from faith, which is given by God. We believe in God, who sent His only begotten Son to become human like us—yet without sin—to offer Himself as a ransom for our sins and to rise again, giving us new life in Him. There is no other righteousness.

He who was delivered over because of our wrongdoings, and was raised for our justification. (Romans 4:25)

If you say, ‘How shall we persecute him?’
And ‘What pretext for a case against him can we find?’
Then be afraid of the sword for yourselves,
For wrath brings the punishment of the sword,
So that you may know there is judgment. (vv. 28-29)

Many Christians, even theologians and ministers, believe that righteousness is tied to morality – specifically, to the law. As we read the Old Testament, the punishment caused by lawlessness is mentioned repeatedly.

The earth is also defiled by its inhabitants, for they violated laws, altered statutes, and broke the everlasting covenant. (Isaiah 24:5)

And now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have abandoned Your commandments, which You have commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from end to end, and with their impurity. (Ezra 9:10-11)

However, we must understand that God wants mercy, not sacrifice.

Now go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, RATHER THAN SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners. (Matthew 9:13)

Does that mean there are two different Gods in the Bible? No, there is only one God. Did God speak two different things? No, God did not and does not change. True Christians understand that the law was given as a tool to understand God. But it is not the way to know God. Through the law, we know that we have many blemishes.

Even though we are God’s creation, we cannot stand before Him unless we are born again. The first humans chose to rebel against God. Even if we were to become as blameless as Adam and Eve before their rebellion, we would still rebel against God as they did. Our struggle on earth is to understand God’s plan for establishing His kingdom. We must be born again through the only begotten Son of God in order to become His children. There is no hope without Christ’s death and resurrection. We do not become righteous through the law. In this evil age, all churches fight against this truth, claiming that they are righteous by perfectly keeping the law. Christ did not earn righteousness through works of the law, nor did He keep the law perfectly in order to impute righteousness gained by law-keeping. We are children of God because we are one with Christ, the only begotten Son of God. As Christ died, we died. As He was resurrected, we were resurrected and now have new life as adopted children of God.

God shows mercy and desires for us to show others His mercy. However, showing mercy is beyond our natural ability—it is, in fact, impossible. Only God can truly do this. Yet evil people forgive other evil people and claim they are showing mercy. This is happening rampantly in churches worldwide. Evil individuals take leadership positions and are praised by many. Why do they keep adulterers in their churches and claim they are showing them mercy? They assert they are following what the Bible says. They protect other evil people and tell others that it is acceptable to break the law. They teach that it is permissible to steal, murder, covet, and commit adultery. And when anyone opposes them, they accuse that person of breaking the law.

Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said. (Matthew 22:15)

God has sent, and is still sending, His prophets to the churches. However, they are mocked, ridiculed, and ostracized. The kingdom of God is coming, yet evil people do their best to convince others that righteousness comes from the law.

Then the kings of the earth and the eminent people, and the commanders and the wealthy and the strong, and every slave and free person hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the sight of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to stand? (Revelation 6:15-17)

Indeed, the light of the wicked goes out,
And the spark from his fire does not shine. (v. 5)

We read in the Book of Psalms about wicked people, those who live immoral lives and hate God’s law. In this chapter, Job’s friend Bildad talks about the life of the wicked.

Certainly these are the dwellings of the wicked,
And this is the place of him who does not know God. (v. 21)

Indeed, there is no place for wicked people in the kingdom of God. However, we must remember that God does not hate sinners who repent. God hates hypocrites who pretend to know Him and lead others astray. Their destination was set even before they were born, like Judas Iscariot.

Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” (John 6:70)

These hypocrites claim to know God, yet they deny that righteousness comes from the cross of Christ. They overemphasize the law, as if keeping it perfectly makes us righteous. When criticized, they say that Christ has kept the law for us to make us righteous. In doing so, they nullify the power of the cross. They preach a false doctrine called the “Active Obedience of Christ.” Anyone questioning this doctrine is accused of being a heretic, when in fact they are the heretics.

These wicked people in churches live relatively pain-free lives. They boast about their positions in their churches and do not care if wrong messages are preached. They pretend to know and serve God, but in fact, they are their own masters.

For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even as I weep, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who have their minds on earthly things. (vv. 18-19)

Job did not understand that God created the world to train His people for His kingdom. Job focused on life on earth, and God gave him suffering to show that earthly life is only a shadow. Righteousness does not come from works. Job’s three friends rebuked him, but they also did not know God. In God’s eyes, they were worse because they pretended to be righteous but were not.

True prophets suffer from deprivation (not depravity—I apologize that it was mistyped in the previous post) and mockery. Prophets do not always understand what is happening to them or why. False believers pretend to know God. They appear to be kind to us, but they make us feel more miserable.

In this evil age, we must rely solely on God’s words. It sometimes takes time to understand what is going on, but we learn through suffering and our mistakes. I regret my former days. I spent too much time participating in church activities. I put my time, money, and effort into church life. But I now know that it was necessary for me to go through that in order to understand why God is angry at the churches.

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. Now the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free. (John 8:31-36)

My days are past, my plans are torn apart,
The wishes of my heart.
They make night into day, saying,
‘The light is near,’ in the presence of darkness.
If I hope for Sheol as my home,
I make my bed in the darkness;
If I call to the grave, ‘You are my father’;
To the maggot, ‘my mother and my sister’;
Where then is my hope?
And who looks at my hope?
Will it go down with me to Sheol?
Shall we together go down into the dust? (vv. 11-16)

There are times in our lives when we feel hopeless. Things that we think are important are gone—money, houses, families, jobs, health, etc. We sometimes think we have no hope in life. Many prophets lived lives of deprivation. They were mocked and ridiculed by those who called themselves children of God. Job’s lament is that of a man who has lost all hope.

Job wants to seek help from God, but he knows it is God who made him suffer. He tried to live a blameless life. He was better than anyone in terms of morality. Yet, he had received all those disasters at once. If there were a sin he needed to confess, he would have confessed it. But those who commit crimes live better lives than he does. Is God unjust? Is God merciless?

When we hit rock bottom in our lives, we realize that our life on earth is just a shadow. We are given eternal life through faith in God, who will fulfill everything that He said in the Bible. We believe in the promise that God gave to Abraham—salvation through Jesus Christ.

Job had to suffer in order to understand God and His promise of salvation. This life is only a shadow. We undergo training. God gives us things to enjoy in this life. However, over time, we slowly become less interested. As we age, we lose the ability to taste, hear, and see. We have fewer things that we enjoy in our lives. Although our bodies become weak, our hope for eternal life grows stronger.

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish, and he said,

“I called out of my distress to the Lord,
And He answered me.
I called for help from the depth of Sheol;
You heard my voice.
For You threw me into the deep,
Into the heart of the seas,
And the current flowed around me.
All Your breakers and waves passed over me.
So I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight.
Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple.’
Water encompassed me to the point of death.
The deep flowed around me,
Seaweed was wrapped around my head.
I descended to the base of the mountains.
The earth with its bars was around me forever,
But You have brought up my life from the pit, Lord my God.
While I was fainting away,
I remembered the Lord,
And my prayer came to You,
Into Your holy temple.
Those who are followers of worthless idols
Abandon their faithfulness,
But I will sacrifice to You
With a voice of thanksgiving.
That which I have vowed I will pay.
Salvation is from the Lord.” (Jonah 2:1-9)

The wicked person writhes in pain all his days,
And the years reserved for the ruthless are numbered.
Sounds of terror are in his ears;
While he is at peace the destroyer comes upon him.
He does not believe that he will return from darkness,
And he is destined for the sword.
He wanders about for food, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows that a day of darkness is at hand.
Distress and anguish terrify him,
They overpower him like a king ready for the attack,
Because he has reached out with his hand against God,
And is arrogant toward the Almighty. (vv. 20-25)

For I was envious of the arrogant
As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
For there are no pains in their death,
And their belly is fat.
They are not in trouble like other people,
Nor are they tormented together with the rest of mankind.
Therefore arrogance is their necklace;
The garment of violence covers them.
Their eye bulges from fatness;
The imaginations of their heart overflow.
They mock and wickedly speak of oppression;
They speak from on high.
They have set their mouth against the heavens,
And their tongue parades through the earth. (Psalm 73:3-9)

The words of Job’s three friends sound right. But the wicked do prosper in this life. They chase after money and fame. It appears that disasters don’t come to their life. So they stay arrogant. And pride is the worst thing that can happen to anyone. The proud do not know God. They don’t want Jesus Christ.

Many of us go to church to feel a sense of assurance and security. However, many churches do not care about proclaiming the gospel. They talk much about the gospel, but ministers and theologians do not speak the truth. They teach people that we have eternal life through Jesus’ perfect keeping of the law. They boast that they have read many books. They repeat the same lies that their ancestors spoke without shame. What they are doing is what Israel’s leaders did in the Old and New Testaments.

This is what the LORD of armies says: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; They tell a vision of their own imagination, Not from the mouth of the LORD. (Jeremiah 23:16)

Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. (Matthew 7:15)

Going to church and learning about God should free us from sin and guilt. Every day we are challenged but we overcome temptations through the words of God. However, church leaders only care about their reputations and money. However, church leaders only care about their reputations and money. They try to maintain control over their communities. But they do not care about the people in the church community. Indeed, they are ravenous wolves.

We should not judge people by their appearances. But we do. Trusting our own judgements make us go astray. We must remember that Jesus Christ did not have the appearance that people admire.

For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of dry ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we would look at Him, Nor an appearance that we would take pleasure in Him. (Isaiah 53:2)

Strangely, many ministers and theologians care so much about their appearances. Christians pour money into building a grande and fancy church building.

When the messengers of John had left, He began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the [o]wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who are splendidly clothed and live in luxury are found in royal palaces! But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. (Luke 7:24-26)

Are they prophets as they claim? I doubt it. In fact, we know this by what they say and do. They preach and believe in salvation by works. They say everyone should belong to a church because it is a living organism. But why should I be a part of a body that is perishing? God sent me to different churches to show me what they are doing. I spoke the truth but they did not want to hear it. So I shook the dust off my feet and left.

And whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that city. And as for all who do not receive you, when you leave that city, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them. (Luke 9:4-5)

For there is hope for a tree,
When it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And its shoots will not fail.
Though its roots grow old in the ground,
And its stump dies in the dry soil,
At the scent of water it will flourish
And produce sprigs like a plant.
But a man dies and lies prostrate.
A person passes away, and where is he? (vv. 7-10)

Is a human’s life indeed worse than that of a tree? Job did not have knowledge of the Savior; it was hidden from him. He only wanted a peaceful and prosperous life on earth. He wanted to be praised and respected by others, so he worked hard to earn these things. However, his efforts came to nothing; God took them away from him. Job is no longer praised by others, not even by his closest friends. He tried to live a righteous life, but now everyone thinks he has done something wrong to deserve the disasters he received from God. His life is threatened because of illness.

The LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds firm to his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.” Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has, he will give for his life. (Job 2:4)

Job now feels that death is at his doorstep. And he thinks a man’s life is worse than that of a tree because there is no hope of resurrection.

Water wears away stones,
Its torrents wash away the dust of the earth;
So You destroy a man’s hope.
You forever overpower him and he departs;
You change his appearance and send him away.
His sons achieve honor, but he does not know it;
Or they become insignificant, and he does not perceive it.
However, his body pains him,
And his soul mourns for himself. (vv. 19-22)

Everything Job has worked for is for his life on the earth. Job’s lament is somewhat similar to that of the writer of Ecclesiastes.

“Futility of futilities,” says the Preacher,
“Futility of futilities! All is futility.” (Ecclesiastes 1:2)

God planned the salvation through Jesus Christ before creation. However, the secret is hidden from Job.

Yet there will still be a tenth portion in it, And it will again be subject to burning, Like a terebinth or an oak Whose stump remains when it is cut down. The holy seed is its stump. (Isaiah 6:13)

For a man to resurrect to a new life, he must die. He must take off the old garment and wear a new one. However, most people do not want to take off their old garment.

And no one, after drinking old wine wants new; for he says, ‘The old is fine. (Luke 5:39)

If we had been given a choice, most of us would have chosen a prosperous life on earth over a painful and sad one. However, no one can understand the secret of the kingdom of God without suffering. Why would anyone dream of resurrection if their life on earth is prosperous? Why would you wait for the kingdom of God if you are praised by others, have wealth, happy children, and good health? Many Christians boast that they have prosperity on earth because they are good. However, I saw that in the Reformed Church, they were prosperous and proud, yet were not afraid to cover up their own sins and the sins of others.

God could have let Job live a peaceful and prosperous life. Job could have continued to live an upright and blameless life, but then he would have died without the hope of the kingdom of God. Job could have died without knowing God, but God chose Job before creation and made Him know Him. Life experiences are very important in a Christian’s life.

We have freedom in Jesus Christ because God is faithful. Sufferings in our lives are beneficial, even though we do not like them. They are beneficial because life on earth is only a shadow of the true life in the kingdom of God.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. (Matthew 16:24-25)

Be silent before me so that I may speak;
Then let come upon me what may.
Why should I take my flesh in my teeth,
And put my life in my hands?
Though He slay me,
I will hope in Him.
Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him.
This also will be my salvation,
For a godless person cannot come before His presence.
Listen carefully to my speech,
And let my declaration fill your ears.
Behold now, I have prepared my case;
I know that I will be vindicated.
Who could contend with me?
For then I would be silent and die. (vv. 13-19)

Remove Your hand from me,
And may the dread of You not terrify me.
Then call and I will answer;
Or let me speak, then reply to me.
How many are my guilty deeds and sins?
Make known to me my wrongdoing and my sin.
Why do You hide Your face
And consider me Your enemy?
Will You scare away a scattered leaf?
Or will You pursue the dry chaff?
For You write bitter things against me
And make me inherit the guilty deeds of my youth. (vv. 21-26)

Can any creature be guiltless before God? The answer is no. Theologians and ministers say that Adam was perfect before eating the forbidden fruit or getting tempted. But if he was so perfect, why did he betray God? If he was perfect, why couldn’t he resist the temptation? Why did he trust in the lie? Believing that Adam was perfectly moral and holy leads us to a man-made god. And most churches follow this idol.

The Reformed theology has become the Roman Catholic by focusing on the law and the punishment. Ironically, the Protestant and the Roman Catholic churches do not keep the law. They think keeping the law has to do with deeds and self-will. But keeping the law is from understanding God, having the Spirit of God. The Spirit does not teach what they teach.

God does want us to follow the law and be obedient to Him. But we do not serve God as slaves but as the children of God. The Father punishes His children for discipline. But He never casts them out of His house. In God’s plan, everything was made for His kingdom. Therefore, everything will be wiped out in the end. Only the kingdom remains. And the kingdom is the church founded by Jesus Christ.

Be silent before the Lord God!
For the day of the Lord is near,
Because the Lord has prepared a sacrifice,
He has consecrated His guests. (Zephaniah 1:7)

In chapter 13, Job does not yet know why the world was created so he speaks only about his virtue and integrity. God knows that Job is blameless and upright. However, He never used the word “righteous” to describe Job.

The LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” (Job 1:8)

On the other hand, Abraham was righteous.

Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:4-6)

Righteousness is about being one with God. Only God is righteous. The saints are called righteous because of the faith gifted to them. We must ask then: what do we believe? Our faith must be from our understanding of God and His plan. Abraham believed in the promise of the Saviour. Therefore, our righteousness is tied to that faith. The Saviour died and was resurrected so that we would be reborn as the children of God. If we think the cross of Christ is not enough for our righteousness, we are not righteous. Many renowned theologians and ministers from the Protestant and Roman Catholic churches deny that our righteousness is from the cross of Christ. They say that it is not enough. They believe we are righteous because of Christ’s perfect law-keeping. The theory is called the Active Obedience of Christ. They try to take us back to Egypt, the land of the dead.

He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, That we may live before Him. (Hosea 6:2)

He who is at ease holds disaster in contempt,
As prepared for those whose feet slip.
The tents of the destroyers prosper,
And those who provoke God are secure,
Whom God brings into their power. (vv. 5-6)

But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps had almost slipped.
For I was envious of the arrogant
As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
For there are no pains in their death,
And their belly is fat.
They are not in trouble like other people,
Nor are they tormented together with the rest of mankind.
Therefore arrogance is their necklace;
The garment of violence covers them.
Their eye bulges from fatness;
The imaginations of their heart overflow.
They mock and wickedly speak of oppression;
They speak from on high.
They have set their mouth against the heavens,
And their tongue parades through the earth. (vv. 2-9)

Job knows and believes that God is the most powerful and He can do whatever He wants to. It appears to him that God protects the evil while gives suffering to the innocent like himself. However, there is nothing Job can do about it because God is God. Many Christians believe that suffering is the results of a divine judgement. Job thinks he did nothing to deserve the disasters poured upon him although he is not perfect before God. Job’s three friends try to convince him that he must have done something wrong and he is not righteous.

Does God make evil people prosper? The answer is yes. Is God unjust in this? The answer is no. God is just, and this is unchangeable. Job’s idea of righteousness is still earthly. He cares only about life on earth.

Nicodemus responded and said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you people do not accept our testimony. If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven, except He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes will have eternal life in Him. (John 3:9-15)

Through suffering, God teaches Job what He had planned before the time began. Can God pour out wrath on a person when he did not sin? The answer is yes. Jesus Christ suffered on behalf of Christians. He is the only mediator of the New Covenant. He changed our status through suffering on the cross. Therefore, our life is no longer on the earth but in the coming kingdom of God. Although innocent, Christ went through much suffering to take away our sins. Was God just in doing this? The answer is yes. People judge others who are just or not by human standards and wisdom. However, Christians understand that God is just because we are now one with Him. We understand and know Him through the Holy Spirit.

It is sad to see that many people have wrong understandings of God. What we call Prosperity Gospel or American Gospel is rampant. Unbelievers have wrong understandings of Christianity because of lies preached everywhere. The gospel is no longer good news but bad news. People think their lives will be good on the earth and they will go to heaven after death if they dedicate themselves to their churches. They do not care if their churches preach lies. They are happy as long as they have wealth and health. So they refuse to repent.

Until I entered the sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their end.
You indeed put them on slippery ground;
You dropped them into ruin.
How they are destroyed in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors!
Like a dream when one awakes,
Lord, when stirred, You will despise their image. (Psalm 73:17-20)

If you would direct your heart rightly
And spread out your hands to Him,
If wrongdoing is in your hand, put it far away,
And do not let malice dwell in your tents;
Then, indeed, you could lift up your face without moral blemish,
And you would be firmly established and not fear.
For you would forget your trouble;
Like waters that have passed by, you would remember it. (vv. 13-16)

In this chapter, Job’s friend Zophar argues with Job. Job is wrong to think that he is more righteous than God. But his friends fail to explain why Job is wrong. In fact, their words made God angry.

It came about after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is trustworthy, as My servant Job has. Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him so as not to do with you as your foolishness deserves, because you have not spoken of Me what is trustworthy, as My servant Job has.” (Job 42:7-8)

Our task is to understand why his friends are wrong. Many theologians and ministers fail to explain this. Many think Job’s friends are right. However, we already know that they spoke lies about God according to Job 42:7-8.

But if only God would speak,
And open His lips against you,
And show you the secrets of wisdom!
For sound wisdom has two sides.
Know then that God forgets part of your guilt. (vv. 5-6)

Zophar does not know that God does speak and remembers all our sins. His ideas of God are again tied to morality. This morality is determined and judged by humans. All humans have some sense of morality. We know what is right and wrong. For example, hurting someone is morally wrong and this idea is shared by all humans. We have heard and read many stories where morally good people are rewarded with wealth and health. Zophar thinks Job was punished because of his sins. He thinks Job has to DO something – becoming morally perfect. His idea is connected to the conditional covenant. All conditional covenants in the Bible were broken because no one could meet the conditions. Zophar tells Job that he needs to try harder to meet the conditions to gain peace, health, and prosperity.

We often think we have peace and prosperity because we did something good. We boast that we have faith in God and do many good works. And we judge others that they have done wrong if they go through difficulties in their lives. We avoid them like curses as if they would make us impure and sinful.

Many prophets went through much suffering. They were humiliated and killed by those who call themselves God’s children. No one is indeed morally perfect before God. For the saints, suffering is education. We certainly do not enjoy it when we go through it. We often blame ourselves and think about our bad actions and thoughts that might have triggered God’s wrath. However, we must remember that God makes us suffer for our education. Our question should be: “What is God teaching me?” and not “What did I do wrong?”. Sin and punishment make us live in the past, not the future. That is what the Reformed theology is doing at present. Ministers and theologians talk about the glorious Adam in the Garden of Eden. However, we must talk about our new life in Jesus Christ and the new kingdom.

For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13)