Job 11

“Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said: ‘Should not the multitude of words be answered? And should a man full of talk be vindicated? Should your empty talk make men hold their peace? And when you mock, should no one rebuke you?’” Job 11:1-3 (NKJV)

In today’s chapter, another of Job’s “friends” offers his counsel in the form of a rebuke.  It seems he feels like a little “tough love” is in order. Now, there is nothing wrong with tough love. There are times when sin must be directly confronted. And things get more complicated when we have to confront sin in our friends’ lives.  

Let’s remember that one of the most “friendly” and compassionate things we can do is to lead a friend back to repentance. We should always be gracious and compassionate when intervening in such issues, especially with friends. Still, we must be willing to risk friendships (possibly losing those friends forever) to lead people back to the right relationship with the Lord. Ultimately, it is for their benefit. Godly rebuke is a blessing to those who will accept correction.

But what about the scenario where a “counselor” has departed from God’s Word? This is an all-too-common experience. It is doubly worse when such “counselors” claim to speak from the Bible! Here, we can learn from Job’s friends. Once a person distances himself from a correct understanding of God’s Word, he also distances himself from the attributes of a believer who has a right standing with the Lord, namely, compassion, grace, mercy, gentleness, and empathy.

But notice how cold and hateful Tzofar the Na’amati is! They don’t say, “Job, help me understand why you feel this way.” This “friend” launches straight into accusation and condemnation. You see, a departure from God’s Word leads to bad theology. Bad theology leads to wrong assumptions, and wrong assumptions lead to false counsel and ham-fisted delivery.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” Proverbs 1:7 (HCSB)  

I generally do not receive rebuke with immediate contriteness & humility. I don’t know anyone who does. It is because sin is foolish, and it takes a moment for God’s Spirit to override our foolishness and convict us of our actions and attitudes. But, once we accept God’s Word on the matter, we turn from that sin. Rightness has been restored.

Things get complicated when we have experienced a history of “wrong rebuke,” where people have misused the Bible and given us false counsel. We tend to throw up our defenses even when a true believer with proper knowledge of Scripture corrects us. That is why we must seek the Bible ourselves: to know God’s Word and live according to it. At times, we will even be called to discern the difference between Godly Biblical counsel and those who misinterpret or misuse Scripture.