Job 11:4

4 For thou hast said ['amar], My doctrine [leqach] is pure [zak], and I am clean [bar] in thine eyes [`ayin]. KJV-Interlinear

4 'For you have said, 'My teaching is pure, And I am innocent in your eyes.' NASB

Zophar makes accusations that are typical of someone who does not himself listen. Job is accused of saying thing that he never said. And of the things that Job has said, Zophar is twisting their meaning.

Job has stated that he felt sound in his faith and in his beliefs in which he has been taught. Job has also stated that he is a sinner, just as is everyone who has ever lived. But Job also said that he was not wicked, which in his meaning refers to those who by habit of their pattern of life, are habitually wicked people.

Anyone who lives their daily life out of fellowship, is by definition, wicked.

One can only live within the fellowship sphere which God has designed, or one can live outside of the fellowship sphere.

Those are the only two environmental choices that are available to everyone, by the way.

All unbelievers live outside of the fellowship sphere. That should be obvious. All believers have the choice of living in one or the other. Most by default and by not confessing regularly, live out of fellowship.

Fellowship is the place, which God has designed for our living in our spiritual life. By definition then, in fellowship means living in a sphere of perfection. That is because one has confessed his sins, sins which Christ has already paid the price for, and therefore by confession, the believer receives forgiveness. Forgiveness is the process of restoration to spiritual perfection.

That does not make you perfect of course. This is simply our compliance in obedience with Gods plan.

He says confess, and we do.

When a person sins, then he becomes wicked. Anything which is short of Gods 'good,' is wicked.

Job has followed a pattern of making the necessary offerings for confession throughout his life. And this is what he means when he says that he is not wicked. Anyone who systematically obeys Gods commands, is not wicked per se.

We all have our bad days, naturally, but it is our daily pattern of life that dictates our spiritual status, not our occasional failures, or successes for that matter.

You can look at anyone in this world and call them wicked and be correct, but here Zophar is only emphasizing the negative in order to win the argument.

Zophar is out to win, at the expense of Job. Job is not competing for anything in this conversation. Why should Zophar be so offended? And yet Zophar will escalate his argument throughout this chapter, as though he has personally been offended, and that God has been offended, and Zophar is obligated to defend Gods honor.

Zophar has already accused Job of speaking empty words. He has already accused Job of mocking him. A rather sensitive attitude. And now Zophar accuses Job of calling himself perfect. How arrogant of Job!

By the way, when God finally does speak, who do you suppose he will rebuke? Will he rebuke Job, the three friends, all of them, or just one or two of them? Well, Job is the only one who is not rebuked. All of the others are totally out of line.

Zophar is out of line. Of the things he is accusing Job, he himself is guilty. Zophar might as well be criticizing himself. Who is really whistling, or something else, in the wind?

As far as the purity of Jobs doctrines, and doctrine means teaching by the way, Jobs teaching, or better stated, the teaching with which Job was raised and with which he lives by, in his daily life, these things are sound and correct.

Job studied the scriptures, in whatever form they existed back in his day. Job abided by Gods mandates as he had learned them. Job was obedient to the offerings and sacrifices as required in his day. In short, Job tried to pursue his spiritual life to the best of his ability, and in that, he has a sound life.

The first two friends have made their accusations of secret sinning and hypocrisy. And to this Job has defended himself as being not guilty.

Whatever the reason for his current predicament, Job knows very well that it is not due to spiritual failures in his life.

Of course his friends don't buy this, and thus they are determined to get a confession out of Job. A confession for their benefit, not for Jobs.

Now is the time to post a prayer.