Sermon for March 30th, 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 an enthusiastic onomatologist (onomatology is the study of names, their meanings and origins). I'm sure there were plenty of Hebrew names on his roster that day--names like Michael, Daniel, Rebecca, Sarah, David, etc. But when he got to mine, he stopped, looked up, and when I started to respond, he said "Do you know what your name means?"

Of course I did. I had a fancy little card hanging in my bedroom with my name meaning on it, and I had seen my name in countless "baby name books" through the years. Proudly, I told him, Ira means "watchful." He just shook his head and firmly said, "No." I was perplexed, but I remembered another meaning I'd come across somewhere in another baby name book, and said (more cautiously this time) "does it mean descendant?" Again, "No." At this point I realized I wasn't going to win this argument, so (with a slight touch of annoyance) I said, "Ok, what does Ira mean?"

My professor walked out from behind his lectern, down the classroom aisle right next to my seat, and then he leaned over as if to whisper to me (but then he spoke loud enough for the entire class to hear), "Ira means...Ass."

And there it was. That was my first day of Hebrew class, etched forever in my mind (and probably the mind of all my classmates, too). It was a humbling experience. Later that night, a quick search in the Hebrew dictionary (which is a bit more reliable than those baby name books) revealed that my professor was, in fact, quite correct. Ira means Ass. As in "donkey" but also with some of the same additional connotations it has today--stubborn, a little bit pompous, arrogant (no wonder the baby name books felt a need to just fabricate meanings from thin air on this one!).

Believe it or not, all of this does have a point. While the name Ira appears a few times in the bible as a proper name (mostly minor characters), there are two notable places where a variant (specifically "wild ass") is used to desribe a person. One is used by God himself, in the book of Genesis. Abraham has two sons -- Isaac and Ishmael, and he promises to bring forth a great nation from each of them (we tend to focus on Isaac, and forget about Ishmael). In the promise to Hagar (Ishmael's mother) God also says that Ishmael will grow to be a "wild ass of a man."

The second place that description is used is in the book of Job. Zophar, in today's scripture passage, calls his friend Job a "wild ass of a man." For reasons that I'll get into in just a moment, I think Zophar's description of Job is a good one. But then, I suppose it takes an Ira to know an Ira.

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.

So far, I've gone to great lenghts to give Job's friends the benefit of the doubt; to see them as good friends who offer good, helpful, kind, respectful, and biblically sound wisdom. All three friends sit with Job for seven days and seven nights, just listening to him in silence. When they finally speak, Eliphaz is complimentary and compassionate. Bildad is optimistic and encouraging. They do what good friends are supposed to do. So far. Or, should I say...Zophar?

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.