Today, I am reading and commenting on Job 11-15.

In yesterday’s passage, Bildad made a claim which is a lot like what I call “prosperity gospel”.  In today’s passage Zophar does the same thing.  So, what do I mean by “prosperity gospel”?  As I use the term, “prosperity gospel” means that if we do the right things, if we faithfully follow God’s commands, we will be healthy, wealthy, and popular, that all of our suffering will go away.  Zophar does say some good things about God which set us up to accept what he says next.  Zophar is right when he tells us that we cannot fathom the wisdom of God, that we cannot find His limits, and that we are powerless compared to Him.  However, after saying that he tells Job that if he devotes himself to God and turns from sin all of his troubles and suffering will be a thing of the past.  Job answers the veiled accusation in Zophar’s words by asking if Zophar could withstand scrutiny by God; would Zophar be revealed as any less sinful if his life was thoroughly examined?  I know that I would not.  For all of that, Job says that he still puts His hope in God.  Eliphaz responds to Job with something which is the opposite side of “prosperity gospel”, and just as wrong.  I don’t have a term for it, but Eliphaz claims that the wicked suffer torment continuously, that they do not know a moment when they are not suffering.  This is just as mistaken as prosperity gospel.  Whatever we face in life we need to place our hope in God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.