Job 20:1-3 (ESV)
Then Zophar
the Naamathite answered and said:
“Therefore
my thoughts answer me,
because
of my haste within me.
I
hear censure that insults me,
and
out of my understanding a spirit answers me.
This is Zophar’s second response to
Job. Like Bildad, Zophar’s response is prompted by his own ego. “I hear censure
that insults me,” he says. When did this
become about Bildad or Zophar? Zophar’s whole argument is that bad things happen
to bad people. His implication is that if bad things are happening to Job, then
Job must be bad. That’s been said over and over by Job’s friends. What is
fascinating in this chapter is that Zophar answers out of his own feeling of
being insulted, and out of his own understanding.
Zophar says, “out of my
understanding a spirit answers me.” Shouldn’t that raise an eyebrow? His
thoughts are spinning even before he begins to speak. Then, apparently a spirit
speaks to him. Does he mean that his own spirit is speaking, or is he referring
to an angel or demon? Why is a spirit answering Zophar out of his own
understanding? Wouldn’t you expect that if a spirit or angel from God is
speaking that you would learn something new? Why is it that this spirit only
affirms what Zophar already thinks?
It is amazing what people do not
see when they are not expecting to see anything, or what they do see when they
expect to see something. I have a video I show people in some of my classes.
Most people miss the most obvious things in the video because they are looking
for something else. The same is true about God and his word. How often we pray
and read the word only to find exactly what we already knew! We don’t learn. We
don’t grow. We just affirm what we already think. That is the height of
arrogance. It is self-focus, not God focus. It is reading through our own egos.
Like Zophar, we hear what we already think. The spirit speaks out of our own
understanding.
When we come to the Word of God… when
we come to God in prayer, we need to come with humility, not ego. We need to
come listening well. We need to come with no axe to grind, nor position to
defend, but with a heart inclined to hear from God. If you go looking for
verses to defend your position, you will find them. If you come with an open
heart God might teach you, stretch you, and give you a fresh perspective.
We are not talking about embracing
heresy or immorality. We are not talking about opening our minds to whatever
comes along. But we need to stop putting God in a nice comfortable box where he
meets my needs, fits with my expectations, and keeps me feeling comfortable. He
is not a safe God, but he is a good God. He is not a finite God. He is
infinite. He is not a God limited by my knowledge and experience. I need to
stop hearing what I expect him to say, and actually listen. I need to get out
of the way and let God speak. Father, open my heart and mind today. Help me to
hear.
Comments
Post a Comment