Job's third friend, Zophar, rebukes Job (Job 11: 3-17)

So what can you do when you know so little, and these mysteries outreach the earth and the ocean? If God puts you in prison or drags you to court, what can you do? God has wisdom to know when someone is worthless and sinful, but it's easier to tame a wild donkey than to make a fool wise. Surrender your heart to God, turn to him in prayer, and give up your sins - even those you do in secret. Then you won't be ashamed; you will be confident and fearless. Your troubles will go away like water beneath a bridge, and your darkest night will be brighter than noon.

Zophar is the third of the friends to speak. He comes across as a merciless opponent; he treats Job as a fool and charlatan, and the arguments he uses are purely human ones. We could say he is a rationalist. He takes as his keynote Job's claim to be blameless and he will have none of it. What he says will give rise to another series of interventions, in which the friends merely recite the doctrine of retribution all over again. He insists in his speech that Job is responsible for all of his suffering.

Daily Prayer: Times of testing are most troubling for a believer. I know that God does not punish Christians, but he does discipline them. When trouble comes, and it will come, confess those sins that you know in your heart and those that you cannot know must be trusted to be forgiven as well, because I believe in the justice of God and the redemption of the Son. In Jesus name I pray Amen.