Reading for Today:

• Job 11:1 Chapter 11 1 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said, –12:25
• Psalms 94:1-11 Chapter 94 1 O Jehovah, thou God to whom vengeance belongeth, Thou God to whom vengeance belongeth, shine forth. 2 Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: Render to the proud `their' desert. 3 Jehovah, how long shall the wicked, How long shall the wicked triumph? 4 They prate, they speak arrogantly: All the workers of iniquity boast themselves. 5 They break in pieces thy people, O Jehovah, And afflict thy heritage. 6 They slay the widow and the sojourner, And murder the fatherless. 7 And they say, Jehovah will not see, Neither will the God of Jacob consider. 8 Consider, ye brutish among the people; And ye fools, when will ye be wise? 9 He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see? 10 He that chastiseth the nations, shall not he correct, `Even' he that teacheth man knowledge? 11 Jehovah knoweth the thoughts of man, That they are vanity.
• Proverbs 22:24-25 24 Make no friendship with a man that is given to anger; And with a wrathful man thou shalt not go: 25 Lest thou learn this ways, And get a snare to thy soul.
• Romans 10:1-21 Chapter 10 1 Brethren, my heart's desire and my supplication to God is for them, that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law unto righteousness to every one that believeth. 5 For Moses writeth that the man that doeth the righteousness which is of the law shall live thereby. 6 But the righteousness which is of faith saith thus, Say not in thy heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down:) 7 or, Who shall descend into the abyss? (That is, to bring Christ up from the dead.) 8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach: 9 because if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus `as' Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved: 10 for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be put to shame. 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek: for the same `Lord' is Lord of all, and is rich unto all that call upon him: 13 for, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 and how shall they preach, except they be sent? even as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that bring glad tidings of good things! 16 But they did not all hearken to the glad tidings. For Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? 17 So belief `cometh' of hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. 18 But I say, Did they not hear? Yea, verily, Their sound went out into all the earth, And their words unto the ends of the world. 19 But I say, Did Israel not know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy with that which is no nation, With a nation void of understanding will I anger you. 20 And Isaiah is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I became manifest unto them that asked not of me. 21 But as to Israel he saith, All the day long did I spread out my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.

Notes:

Job 12:2–4 you are the people, and wisdom will die with you! Job responded with cutting sarcasm directed at his know-it-all friends (v. 2) and then reminded them that he understood the principles of which they had spoken (v. 3), but they were irrelevant to his situation. On top of that, he despaired at the pain of becoming a derision to his friends, though he was innocent (v. 4).

Psalm 94:1 to whom vengeance belongs. Vengeance from God is not in the sense of uncontrolled vindictiveness, but in the sense of just retribution by the eternal Judge for trespasses against His law. shine forth. Make an appearance. He may even be asking for a theophany (Pss. 50:2; 80:1).

Romans 10:4 4 For Christ is the end of the law unto righteousness to every one that believeth. Christ is the end of the law. Although the Greek word translated “end” can mean either “fulfillment” or “termination,” this is not a reference to Christ’s having perfectly fulfilled the law through His teaching (Matt. 5:17, 18) or through His sinless life (2 Cor. 5:21). Instead, as the second half of the verse shows, Paul means that belief in Christ as Lord and Savior ends the sinner’s futile quest for righteousness through his imperfect attempts to save himself by efforts to obey the law (3:20–22; Is. 64:6; Col. 2:13, 14).

Romans 10:9 9 because if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus `as' Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved: confess…the Lord Jesus. Not a simple acknowledgment that He is God and the Lord of the universe, since even demons acknowledge that to be true ( James 2:19 19 Thou believest that God is one; thou doest well: the demons also believe, and shudder. ). This is the deep personal conviction, without reservation, that Jesus is that person’s own master or sovereign. This phrase includes repenting from sin, trusting in Jesus for salvation, and submitting to Him as Lord. This is the volitional element of faith. God has raised Him from the dead. Christ’s resurrection was the supreme validation of His ministry ( John 2:18 18 The Jews therefore answered and said unto him, What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? –21). Belief in it is necessary for salvation because it proved that Christ is who He claimed to be and that the Father had accepted His sacrifice in the place of sinners (4:24; Acts 13:32 32 And we bring you good tidings of the promise made unto the fathers, , 33; 1 Pet. 1:3, 4).Without the resurrection, there is no salvation (1 Cor. 15:14–17).

DAY 10: How was Zophar’s argument right and wrong regarding Job’s situation?

In Job 11:1 Chapter 11 1 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said, –20, Zophar the Naamathite stepped in to interrogate Job. He chose to pound Job with the same law of retaliation. Job must repent, he said, not understanding the reality. He was indignant at Job’s protests of innocence. And he moved the allegations against Job to a new level. Not only was Job guilty and unrepentant, he was also an empty talker (vv. 2,3). In fact, Job’s long-winded defense of his innocence and God’s apparent injustice was sin worthy of rebuke, in Zophar’s mind.

In v. 4, Zophar claimed that Job had said, “I am clean in your eyes.” Job never claimed sinlessness; in fact, he acknowledged that he had sinned (7:21; 13:26). But he still maintained his innocence of any great transgression or attitude of unrepentance, affirming his sincerity and integrity as a man of faith and obedience to God. This claim infuriated Zophar (v. 5).

Zophar was correct that Job would have been much wiser if he had only known the unknowable secrets of God (v. 6). In this case, the scene in heaven between God and Satan would have clarified everything. But Job couldn’t know the secret wisdom of God (vv. 7–9). Zophar should have applied his point to himself. If God’s wisdom was so deep, high, long, and broad, how was it that he could understand it and have all the answers? Like his friends, Zophar thought he understood God and reverted to the same law of retaliation, the sowing and reaping principle, to again indict Job. He implied that Job was wicked (vv. 10, 11) and thought he was wise, though actually he was out of control as if he were a “wild donkey man” (v. 12).

Zophar set out 4 steps of Job’s repentance in vv. 13, 14: 1) devote your heart to God; 2) stretch your hands to Him in prayer for forgiveness; 3) put your sin far away; and 4) don’t allow any sin in your tent. If Job did these things, he would be blessed (vv. 15–19). If Job didn’t repent, he would die (v. 20). Zophar was right that the life of faith in God is based on penitence and obedience. He was right that God blesses His people with hope, security, and peace. But, like his friends, he was wrong in not understanding that God allows unpredictable and seemingly unfair suffering for reasons not known to us. He was wrong in presuming that the answer for Job was repentance.

From The MacArthur Daily Bible Copyright © 2003. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson Bibles, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc, Nashville, TN 37214, www.thomasnelson.com.

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