“Shall a multitude of words go unanswered and a talkative man be acquitted?” Job 11:2
As we continue our Reading through the Book of Job, we are given a glimpse into the nature of the Heart of Men; even those we might have thought were our friends! Today we are introduced to Job’s 3rd friend, Zophar. Like Bildad, Zophar doesn’t mince words and right out of the gate goes for the jugular in Friend Insensitivity! Listen to him: “Shall a multitude of words go unanswered and a talkative man be acquitted?”, “Shall your boasts silence men? And shall you scoff and none rebuke?”, and “But would that God might speak and open His lips against you”. Not the most endearing of relationships, is it?
As I mentioned earlier, he and his 2 friends had previously sat for 7 days saying nothing. Why should anything have changed? “Hey Zophar”, limit your words to “Job, we’ll be praying for you”, and then move on. Or, how about, “Job, is there anything we can do to help while you’re down and out?” But his opening statement reveals what is truly in his heart;
No Respect!!! There comes a point when “Iron sharpening Iron” becomes Iron beating incessantly on wood.
The Overriding Lesson so far in Job is: “Don’t Be Like His Friends”! The temptation is always before us to provide counsel to others where it’s not asked for. May this help us to avoid that Pitfall!