The last of Job’s friends to speak is Zophar, the Naamathite (Job 2:13). He is listed last, probably because he is the youngest of the three friends, and in that culture, wisdom should have come with age, so the eldest was always given first place, when speaking. The youngest always spoke last, after he listened to the messages of his wiser peers. Zophar wasn’t one to mince words, and he delivered his counsel straight from the shoulder for maximum impact. Although each of the friends thought Job was a great sinner, Eliphaz was much gentler with his words of rebuke, and while Bildad was less mild in his remarks, even he used more tact than Zophar.
Zophar seems to be what we might refer to as a common man who expressed the common sense of the street. He was moral, but also very direct. If Eliphaz was a poetical spirit, speaking of visions and dreams, Zophar was a rapper who “tells it like it is.” If Bildad was a man who respected authority and admired the wisdom of tradition, Zophar was the self-appointed scholar, unafraid to stand alone and “give it to you straight!” Although each spoke to Job from three different vantage points, they were united in the presumed fact that Job was a great sinner.
If one is ever in the position of challenging a belief that has been long held as true, the sad result is that brethren, once friendly, often resort to the most unfriendly words to accuse their brother in Christ.[1] Zophar begins his reply to Job by saying he’s a blowhard. He is full of speech, but he proves nothing (Job 11:1-2). The remarkable fact coming out of this debate is that Job’s friends accuse him of great sin, but never identify his sin. In other words, they begin with the premise that what **they** believe is the truth and base all their conclusions upon that premise without offering any other evidence to support their case. Therefore, to deny their understanding of truth is to be a sinner. Such is the manner of many today who try to defend their cause through circular reasoning, which can be put thus: “We know Job is a sinner, because he is suffering. He is suffering because he’s a sinner!” Now, how can anyone argue with that? Nevertheless, this seems to be the premise of Job’s friends’ argument, and is, likewise, very much in use today for proving truth.
Zophar’s issue of Job’s long speeches seems unjustified in the fact that Eliphaz’s first reply is similar in length to Job’s. Indeed, Job’s defense is longer, but not by much. Moreover, Eliphaz’s first reply is nearly twice as long as Job’s opening remarks in Job 3. So, I don’t see Zophar’s point here. I must conclude, therefore, that he is dismissing Job’s remarks, simply because they are longer than either Eliphaz’s or Bildad’s. The idea behind Zophar’s accusation is that men who are full of words are sinners (Proverbs 10:19). Yet, Zophar doesn’t show how Job has sinned, nor does he offer any evidence to show why we should consider Job’s replies too lengthy. He tells us Job is a liar, but doesn’t identify Job’s lies, and he accuses him of being a mocker, but doesn’t identify his mockery (Job 11:3).
What Zophar does do is quote Job as saying: “My doctrine is true, and I am clean in my own eyes!” (Job 11:4), which isn’t quite true. It is an exaggeration, and this manner of debate, vis-à-vis exaggeration, is often used today by folks who wish to establish their idea of truth, but are unable to prove what they claim. In our present context, Job claimed he wasn’t as great a sinner as the Lord’s wrath upon him seems to testify. In other words, Job didn’t deny he was a sinner. In fact, he claimed no man is just before God (Job 9:2). Therefore, it would be futile to argue with the Lord’s judgment, because how could the unjust correct the Just One? So, if Job argued that his sin wasn’t so great that he deserved such judgment, there must be something else going on, and whatever that something else might be, it isn’t judgment against Job’s sinful nature. Such a thing is easily known to Job, because he knows he isn’t the great sinner the friends want to believe him to be, in order that they might maintain their system of belief.
Zophar then plays the “God is on our side” card, saying he wished that Job would have his wish and come face to face with God (Job 11:5). The Lord would then show Job his great error, and in doing so, show that all the suffering, which he has been made to endure and complains is too heavy, when placed alongside his sin, was, in fact, the grace of God. In other words, Job’s suffering was light, when compared to what he should have been made to endure (Job 11:6).
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[1] For example, what does the reader suppose would occur, if he or she challenged the doctrine that abortion isn’t necessarily a sin, or, if it is a sin, it isn’t murder? What kind of words would be used by brethren to admonish the reader, should he or she challenge this doctrine? Such it the gravity of this debate between Job and his friends. A doctrine, long held as true, is being challenged by Job, and his friends are expressing their objection, often in a most unkind fashion.
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