#zophar

Job Responds to Zophar

7 Instead, ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds, and they will tell you. 8 Or speak with the earth, and it will teach you. Even the fish will relate [the story] to you. 9 What creature doesn't know that the LORD's hands made it? — Job 12:7-9 | God's Word Translation (GWT) The Holy Bible, God’s Word® Translation Copyright 1995 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission. All rights reserved. Cross References: Psalm 19:1-4; Psalm 104:24-25; Proverbs 6:6-8; Isaiah 40:26; Isaiah 45:12; Jeremiah 10:12; Matthew 6:26-30; Luke 12:24; Romans 1:20; Acts 14:17; Colossians 1:16

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The Wrath of Elihu

Artist: Circle of John Linnell (English, 1792-1882)

Artist: After William Blake (English, 1757–1827)

Date: n. d.

Medium: Watercolor and black ink on moderately thick, slightly textured, cream wove paper

Collection: Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT, United States

The Wrath of Elihu

Elihu condemns Job’s friends and Job’s claim of being without sin, declares God’s justice, condemns Job’s attitude toward God, and exalts God’s greatness. Elihu’s four-part speech is followed by God breaking His silence to directly answer Job. In Job 42:7 the Lord condemns Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. Elihu is not mentioned again after he finishes his speech, but, significantly, he is not rebuked by God.

Zophar the Naamathite really isn't listening

After Job is practically pleading with his friends to look at him, pity him and admit that he is maybe possibly not the wicked man who deserves to see his children die and his health go (because this isn't the Netflix version of Fall of the House of Usher), you'd think that they'd respond with some sympathy, maybe a different tact.

Nope.

Remember the Red Letter Media videos on the prequels and how in The Phantom Menace there should be some emotional impact from Quigon Jin dying but instead they go back to the well-choreographed flipping instead? Yeah, that's what this chapter feels like.

Because Zophar CLAIMS that he feels the need, the desire, the compulsion to speak and he's even a little insulted by Job's reproof. And then he just goes on with the same bullshit theme about how the ways of the wicked are fleeting.

Like seriously Bildad was a dumbshit for responding to Job with evidence that he was only listening to Eliphaz but Zophar is the king of the dumbshits because no matter how beautiful and how poetic he sounds when he's talking about how the wicked will suffer no matter how much they seem to be prospering, he's not fucking listening to Job.

Reminds me of how William S. Burroughs wrote about how everyone talks but never listens so they should just cut out the middle man and record themselves talking. So they can have fights between their recorded arguments. They can go to parties with tape recorders. Sure you might think of something new to say but you can always go to the bathroom and record something new.

Really ruined parties for me. For at least a couple months.

Now that said, there's some really cool imagery here. The food in his bowels becoming asps is a particularly neat one. Basically, it's the same theme of the wealthy sinner who reaches the heights and then disappears (I guess this was before they could put their names on buildings and have Prager U say how they were awesome). He flies away like a dream and his children end up poor. Or they ingratiate themselves with the poor which I guess means they are trying to seem poor? I don't think it refers to the philanthropy where rich people try to look like they are generous when they are not paying their taxes.

Eventually he just gives away his money and dies and he will see that his life is ruined because he oppressed the poor.

I wonder if this is some resentment against Job for when he was rich. Like the current meme about how there are no good billionaires. The fact that Job was wealthy meant that there were others who lost. But this is before capitalism. Still there were other methods of hoarding resources.

Either way, this is Job's friend. Seriously, what the hell dude.

But maybe he's talking about the wealthy wicked that isn't Job. Like he's trying to say that everything is fair. No really, it is fair.

The ending of this bit seems interesting. Like "When he has all his fill, the shit will come" is a fascinating line since one truism is that if you aren't satisfied, nothing is enough. We cackle at the wealthy who can afford housing, food, entertainment without ever checking their bank account or credit line when they still feel poor, but it's still an issue.

But once he's satisfied everything will come down. Bronze arrows and blades through his guts. He will burn and heaven will expose him. Earth will rise up against him. Look, the rich guy is going to have some shit happen to him. Zophar seems to have been thinking of what will happen to the wickedly wealthy for a long time.

Which I guess is fair. Ask your average liberal "what do you want to see happen to Trump" and I'm sure that imagination will take over as long as you keep letting them speak. Also the Koch Brothers. Hell, the rightwingers are freaking out over George Soros so hating the rich is a fun game for everyone.

And of course, Zophar is not even talking to Job. He's talking to himself and having a fun time imagining the fate of the wicked. Do not do this at home.

I noted that the first chapters when his friend sit silent with him were the basis for sitting shiva. This is what you do NOT do when you come to a shiva call. Or any furneral. Really don't go "hey I know your loved one is dead...the wicked will die in a lot of nasty ways and let me tell you all about it."

Zophar the Naamathite is getting impatient

Unlike previous chapters there's a wealth of pretty good material on this guy. Zophar is not just saying that Job is a man of bad faith but also going a little farther by telling Job that he shouldn't be too bothered by getting punished for the sins that he didn't commit since he's also not being punished for the sins that he committed.

But before he gets to the 'you know you weren't punished for stealing candy when you were 10 so maybe you should shut up about God being unfair" he goes on about Job prattling on and being a big old blowhard. Like damn, I kind of like this one. The other two are all toxic positivity but Zophar is "life sucks and you're full of sin so suck it up buttercup."

Apologies for the cliche.

Anyhow the rest of his speech is more the same. You don't know God. You really can't discern what God is all about and you really shouldn't speak about God as if you know what is going on in the universe.

And then wraps it up with the ever popular "if you just find God and act upon your iniquity maybe your life won't be so shitty" with a proverb about about the wicked are always going to suffer and they are just going to wait for death. It feels like it was quoted from somewhere. Like i'm sure I read it in Proverbs just a few weeks ago. I'm not sure, but most of the Proverbs that impressed me were basically talking about Dunning-Kruger.