Job 11:1 - Meaning and Application

It is sad to see how strong feelings can carry even wise and good men too far in a debate. Zophar is an example of that here. Eliphaz began with a gentle opening (Job 4:2), and Bildad was somewhat harsher (Job 8:2). But Zophar attacks Job without mercy and speaks very badly of him: “Should a man full of talk be justified? Should your lies make men keep silent?” That is not the way to comfort Job, and it is not the way to convince him either. It does not fit someone who claims to speak for God and defend his justice. People who enter arguments will find it hard to keep a calm spirit. All their wisdom, caution, and self-control will barely be enough to keep them from the kind of rudeness Zophar shows here.

First, Zophar describes Job in a false and unfair way (Job 11:2, Job 11:3). He wants Job to seem idle, pointless, and fond of hearing himself talk. He even calls him a liar and a mocker. He does this so that it will seem right to punish him. When people want to quarrel with a brother and attack him, they often paint him in the worst possible light and make him look hateful, whether it is true or not.

But if we have read Job’s speeches in the earlier chapters, we know they were full of good sense and stayed close to the point. Job’s beliefs were right, his reasoning was strong, and many of his words were serious and important. If some of his speech showed heat or passion, a little patience and charity would excuse it. Yet Zophar unfairly presents him as a man who never thought before speaking, only piled up many words to make noise and carry his case. “Should not a multitude of words be answered?” Sometimes silence is the best reply to foolish talk, and it shows the greatest contempt for it. “Do not answer a fool according to his folly.” But if you do answer, let reason and grace do it, not pride and anger.

Zophar also speaks as if Job should be judged for his many words. “Should a man full of talk be justified?” That is, should a man be approved just because he talks a lot? No, for “in many words there is no lack of sin.” Many words do not make a strong case. A person does not win by speeches and fine phrases. God does not accept that kind of speech, and wise people do not either (Matthew 6:7). Zophar also charges Job with lying, as if Job hoped to silence his opponents by bold falsehoods: “Should your lies make men keep quiet?” He calls him a mocker, as if Job played tricks on everyone and dressed falsehood in fair colors. But Job was not out of his mind. He spoke words of truth and good sense, and still he was badly misunderstood. Eliphaz and Bildad had already answered him and tried to shame him, so it was no act of generosity for Zophar to strike so hard against a man who was already under such pressure. Three were set against one.

Second, Zophar puts words in Job’s mouth that Job never said (Job 11:4). He says, “You have said, ‘My teaching is pure.’” And even if Job had said that, it would not have been wrong, because Job did hold the true faith and spoke more rightly about God than his friends did. If he had spoken too confidently at times, that would not make his teaching false. Zophar also claims Job said, “I am clean in your eyes.” But Job had not said that. He had said, “You know that I am not wicked” (Job 10:7), and he had also admitted, “I have sinned.” He never claimed to be without sin. He did insist that he was not a hypocrite, as his friends charged, but that is very different from claiming spotless perfection. We should read our brothers’ words in the best way they can reasonably bear, but arguers are often tempted to twist them the other way.

Third, Zophar appeals to God and wants God to come out against Job. He is so sure Job is wrong that nothing will satisfy him unless God himself steps in to silence and condemn Job. People are often too quick to drag God into their disputes and assume that, if he spoke, he would side with them, as Zophar does here. “Oh that God would speak!” he says, as if God would certainly open his lips against Job. In fact, when God did speak later, he spoke in Job’s favor against the three friends. We should indeed leave every dispute to God’s judgment, because his judgment is always true. But those are not always right who are most eager to appeal to that judgment and decide ahead of time that it supports them.

Since Zophar cannot persuade Job himself, he wants God to teach Job two things that it is good for all of us to remember, especially in suffering. First, he wants Job to see the deep mystery of God’s purposes. Zophar cannot explain them, but he wants God to show Job enough of divine wisdom to make him understand that it is far greater than he can grasp. There are hidden things in God’s wisdom, like state secrets. “His way is in the sea. Clouds and darkness are around him.” He has reasons for what he does that we cannot understand and should not try to pry into. What we know about God is far less than what we do not know. What is hidden is more than twice what is seen (Ephesians 3:9). Thinking about the depth of God’s purposes, which we cannot measure, can calm us under his afflicting hand. Some understand this to mean that God knows much more evil about us than we know about ourselves. When God gave David a full sense of his sin, David said that God had made him know wisdom in the hidden part (Psalm 51:6).

Second, Zophar wants Job to see the complete justice of God’s dealings. “Know this,” he says, in effect, “no matter how severe your punishment is, God is giving you less than your sin deserves.” Some take it to mean that God is forgiving part of his guilt and not dealing with him according to its full weight. The point is plain: when duty is not paid, it is just to demand punishment. And whatever suffering comes on us in this world, we must admit it is less than our sins deserve. So instead of complaining about our troubles, we should thank God that we are not in hell (Lamentations 3:39; Psalm 103:10).