Difference between revisions of "Sermon for March 30th, 2014"
(Created page with "As I noted last week, we tend to do the same with Job's friends, and I want to talk a little more about that today, before we get to Friend #2 (Bildad) in particular. Now, I ...") |
|||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| − | + | ==Job 2:11-13== | |
| + | |||
| + | 11When the three friends of Job heard of all this misfortune that had come upon him, they came each one from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, Zophar the Naamathite. They agreed to come together to console him and to comfort him. 12When they lifted up their eyes from afar but could not recognize him, they lifted up their voices and wept. They rent, each one his cloak, and sprinkled dust over their heads towards the heaven. 13They sat down with him on the ground, seven days and seven nights, but no one said a word to him, for they saw that the suffering was very great. | ||
| + | |||
| + | In our sermon series on "Job: The Other Voices" today we come to Zophar. He is the last of Job's three friends, although not the last voice we'll hear from in the series. Next week we'll hear from Elihu, the young wisdom teacher who is not included in the list of friends we just read about in chapter two, and who appears rather suddenly on the scene after Job's friends have concluded their words. Elihu is a bit of a mystery, actually...but that's all next week. This week is Zophar's week. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Before we get into his story, however, I'd like to share a little bit more of my own. Today I'm going to tell you the story of how I learned what my name means (apologies to those of you who have heard this story before). Most of you know me as Neal, or "Pastor Neal" but Neal is actually my middle name. My first name is Ira. I was named after my great-grandfather, Ira Ashley. I actually like my first name quite a bit, but ever since I can remember, my parents and pretty much everyone I know has called me by my middle name, Neal. The only time I really get to hear my first name is on the first day of a class (in high school, college, seminary) when the professor would take attendance, call out "Ira Locke?" and I would politely respond, "Actually, I go by Neal." And that would be the end of it. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Until about four years ago, on my first day of Hebrew class in Seminary. You see, Ira is a Hebrew name. And the professor of this class just happened to write the Hebrew textbook that most seminaries in the country use today. And he also happened to be | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Job 11:1-6== | ||
| + | 11:1Then Zophar the Naamathite responded and said: 2Should an abundance of words go unanswered? Or must a talker be in the right? 3Should your babblings silence people, So that you mock without anyone to expose you? 4You said, “My discourse is pure; And I have been clean in your eyes.” 5But would that God speak, And open his lips with you, 6And tell you the secrets of wisdom - That resourcefulness is double-edged. Then know that God would make you obvlivious because of your guilt. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Job 11:7-11== | ||
| + | 7Can you discover the profundity of God, Or reach the limit of Shaddai? 8It is higher than the heavens – what can you do? It is deeper than Sheol – what can you know? 9Longer than the earth in length; Broader than the sea. 10If he sweeps by or delivers up, Or calls an assembly, who can restrain him? 11For he knows the people of delusion; When he sees trouble, will he not perceive it? | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Job 11:12- | ||
| + | 12But a hollow person may be heartened, <> A wild ass of a man may be formed. 13If you direct your heart, And spread your hands to him, 14If trouble is in your hands, remove it, And do not permit malice to dwell in your tent, | ||
| + | 15Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish, And you will be made firm and not be afraid. | ||
| + | 16Surely you will forget misery; You will remember (it) as waters that have passed. 17And life will appear brighter than noon; And as for (its) flicker, it will be as morn. 18And you will be confident, for there is hope; When you have searched, you will lie down in confidence. 19You will be in repose, with none to disturb (you); Many will implore your favor. 20But the eyes of the wicked will fail, And there will be no escape for them, And their hope will expire. | ||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | I generally hear Job's friends criticized for one of two different reasons. One view is slightly more charitable than the other, but both still paint the friends in a pretty negative light. | ||
The first (and worst) judgment is that WHAT the friends say is to Job is wrong: Their theology is just bad, flawed, not in line with scripture, wisdom, or good teaching of any sort. The second (slightly better) judgment is that WHAT the friends say is ok, but HOW they say it is wrong. They had good intent, put poor execution. They weren't sensitive enough to Job's situation. They had poor bedside manner. I think both of those arguments disappear when we actually read what the friends have to say, and how they say it. | The first (and worst) judgment is that WHAT the friends say is to Job is wrong: Their theology is just bad, flawed, not in line with scripture, wisdom, or good teaching of any sort. The second (slightly better) judgment is that WHAT the friends say is ok, but HOW they say it is wrong. They had good intent, put poor execution. They weren't sensitive enough to Job's situation. They had poor bedside manner. I think both of those arguments disappear when we actually read what the friends have to say, and how they say it. | ||
| Line 5: | Line 30: | ||
The first, that WHAT they say is wrong, is based on God's words at the end of the book, where he tells the friends, "You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has." But that whole understanding hinges on one little preposition: OF (or in some translations, ABOUT). Prepositions in most languages are pretty ambiguous. This preposition, in Hebrew, is אל. Brown, Driver Briggs Hebrew dictionary defines it as "to, toward, unto, into, in, among, toward, against, in addition to, concerning, in regard to, in reference to, on account of, according to, at, by, in between, and within." I hope you realize by now that Biblical translation isn't an exact science. In any case, I prefer to use the very first definition given here. Not "of" but rather "to." You have not spoken TO me what is right. You spoke to Job what was right, but you ignored me. Job, on the other hand, spoke directly to me, and even though what he said about me (his theology) was completely messed up and wrong (that's why I gave him a four-chapter-long lecture) at least he was addressing me to my face. | The first, that WHAT they say is wrong, is based on God's words at the end of the book, where he tells the friends, "You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has." But that whole understanding hinges on one little preposition: OF (or in some translations, ABOUT). Prepositions in most languages are pretty ambiguous. This preposition, in Hebrew, is אל. Brown, Driver Briggs Hebrew dictionary defines it as "to, toward, unto, into, in, among, toward, against, in addition to, concerning, in regard to, in reference to, on account of, according to, at, by, in between, and within." I hope you realize by now that Biblical translation isn't an exact science. In any case, I prefer to use the very first definition given here. Not "of" but rather "to." You have not spoken TO me what is right. You spoke to Job what was right, but you ignored me. Job, on the other hand, spoke directly to me, and even though what he said about me (his theology) was completely messed up and wrong (that's why I gave him a four-chapter-long lecture) at least he was addressing me to my face. | ||
| − | Now, this may seem to actually support the idea it wasn't WHAT Job's friends said, but HOW they said it that was the problem. But remember that God's point is how the friends speak (or do not speak) to God, not Job. We've already seen how Job's friends sat with him in silence and sympathy for seven days and seven nights. We saw last week how Eliphaz, the first of the friends, speaks with gentle, thoughtful concern for his friend, balanced with appropriate reverence for God | + | Now, this may seem to actually support the idea it wasn't WHAT Job's friends said, but HOW they said it that was the problem. But remember that God's point is how the friends speak (or do not speak) to God, not Job. We've already seen how Job's friends sat with him in silence and sympathy for seven days and seven nights. We saw last week how Eliphaz, the first of the friends, speaks with gentle, thoughtful concern for his friend, balanced with appropriate reverence for God. |
Revision as of 06:37, 28 March 2014
Job 2:11-13
11When the three friends of Job heard of all this misfortune that had come upon him, they came each one from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, Zophar the Naamathite. They agreed to come together to console him and to comfort him. 12When they lifted up their eyes from afar but could not recognize him, they lifted up their voices and wept. They rent, each one his cloak, and sprinkled dust over their heads towards the heaven. 13They sat down with him on the ground, seven days and seven nights, but no one said a word to him, for they saw that the suffering was very great.
In our sermon series on "Job: The Other Voices" today we come to Zophar. He is the last of Job's three friends, although not the last voice we'll hear from in the series. Next week we'll hear from Elihu, the young wisdom teacher who is not included in the list of friends we just read about in chapter two, and who appears rather suddenly on the scene after Job's friends have concluded their words. Elihu is a bit of a mystery, actually...but that's all next week. This week is Zophar's week.
Before we get into his story, however, I'd like to share a little bit more of my own. Today I'm going to tell you the story of how I learned what my name means (apologies to those of you who have heard this story before). Most of you know me as Neal, or "Pastor Neal" but Neal is actually my middle name. My first name is Ira. I was named after my great-grandfather, Ira Ashley. I actually like my first name quite a bit, but ever since I can remember, my parents and pretty much everyone I know has called me by my middle name, Neal. The only time I really get to hear my first name is on the first day of a class (in high school, college, seminary) when the professor would take attendance, call out "Ira Locke?" and I would politely respond, "Actually, I go by Neal." And that would be the end of it.
Until about four years ago, on my first day of Hebrew class in Seminary. You see, Ira is a Hebrew name. And the professor of this class just happened to write the Hebrew textbook that most seminaries in the country use today. And he also happened to be
Job 11:1-6
11:1Then Zophar the Naamathite responded and said: 2Should an abundance of words go unanswered? Or must a talker be in the right? 3Should your babblings silence people, So that you mock without anyone to expose you? 4You said, “My discourse is pure; And I have been clean in your eyes.” 5But would that God speak, And open his lips with you, 6And tell you the secrets of wisdom - That resourcefulness is double-edged. Then know that God would make you obvlivious because of your guilt.
Job 11:7-11
7Can you discover the profundity of God, Or reach the limit of Shaddai? 8It is higher than the heavens – what can you do? It is deeper than Sheol – what can you know? 9Longer than the earth in length; Broader than the sea. 10If he sweeps by or delivers up, Or calls an assembly, who can restrain him? 11For he knows the people of delusion; When he sees trouble, will he not perceive it?
==Job 11:12- 12But a hollow person may be heartened, <> A wild ass of a man may be formed. 13If you direct your heart, And spread your hands to him, 14If trouble is in your hands, remove it, And do not permit malice to dwell in your tent, 15Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish, And you will be made firm and not be afraid. 16Surely you will forget misery; You will remember (it) as waters that have passed. 17And life will appear brighter than noon; And as for (its) flicker, it will be as morn. 18And you will be confident, for there is hope; When you have searched, you will lie down in confidence. 19You will be in repose, with none to disturb (you); Many will implore your favor. 20But the eyes of the wicked will fail, And there will be no escape for them, And their hope will expire.
I generally hear Job's friends criticized for one of two different reasons. One view is slightly more charitable than the other, but both still paint the friends in a pretty negative light.
The first (and worst) judgment is that WHAT the friends say is to Job is wrong: Their theology is just bad, flawed, not in line with scripture, wisdom, or good teaching of any sort. The second (slightly better) judgment is that WHAT the friends say is ok, but HOW they say it is wrong. They had good intent, put poor execution. They weren't sensitive enough to Job's situation. They had poor bedside manner. I think both of those arguments disappear when we actually read what the friends have to say, and how they say it.
The first, that WHAT they say is wrong, is based on God's words at the end of the book, where he tells the friends, "You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has." But that whole understanding hinges on one little preposition: OF (or in some translations, ABOUT). Prepositions in most languages are pretty ambiguous. This preposition, in Hebrew, is אל. Brown, Driver Briggs Hebrew dictionary defines it as "to, toward, unto, into, in, among, toward, against, in addition to, concerning, in regard to, in reference to, on account of, according to, at, by, in between, and within." I hope you realize by now that Biblical translation isn't an exact science. In any case, I prefer to use the very first definition given here. Not "of" but rather "to." You have not spoken TO me what is right. You spoke to Job what was right, but you ignored me. Job, on the other hand, spoke directly to me, and even though what he said about me (his theology) was completely messed up and wrong (that's why I gave him a four-chapter-long lecture) at least he was addressing me to my face.
Now, this may seem to actually support the idea it wasn't WHAT Job's friends said, but HOW they said it that was the problem. But remember that God's point is how the friends speak (or do not speak) to God, not Job. We've already seen how Job's friends sat with him in silence and sympathy for seven days and seven nights. We saw last week how Eliphaz, the first of the friends, speaks with gentle, thoughtful concern for his friend, balanced with appropriate reverence for God.
