Zophar concludes his first reply to Job by saying: “If you prepare your heart…” In other words, he was telling Job to direct his heart in a different direction than what he had been doing. He began his reply by accusing Job of being full of words (Job 11:2), which indicates he was a sinner (Proverbs 10:19), but not merely a sinner (past tense), but in the act of sinning. That is, Zophar accused Job of fighting with God, which is the opposite view that Job put forth (Job 10:2). In other words, Zophar was accusing Job of not having a right heart toward God. According to Job, God fought with him, that is, the Lord was the aggressor. However, Zophar accused Job of picking a fight with the Lord. His wickedness is what caused the Lord to respond in judgment.
Therefore, Job needed to repent and change his attitude toward the Lord, and lift up his hands in worship (Job 11:13; cp. Psalm 63:4; Ezra 9:5). However, he must not do so while still sinning. Zophar advised Job to put his sin far from him and stop contending with God and admit his sin. Not only so, but by telling Job not to let iniquity dwell in his tents (plural; Job 11:14), he indicated Job was probably the leader of a band, who preyed upon the innocent, and it was through his wickedness that he had gotten his wealth. So, if he dared to stretch forth his hand in worship to God, while he yet led this band of men, God would know it. Repent, therefore, and set your heart aright before the Lord.
Zophar, at this point, seems to point to Job’s admission of his confused state of mind, and couldn’t hold up his head, even if he was righteous (Job 10:15). He tells Job, if he took his advice to set his heart aright before God and stop fighting him, and he would, indeed, be able to hold up his head “without spot,” which doesn’t mean spotless, but is used in the sense that Job’s sins wouldn’t be those of a wicked, perverse man but of an erring son of God (Deuteronomy 32:5). Repentance, then, would bring hope, strengthen him and give him a pleasant demeanor, forgetting his wicked past, as one forgets the water of a brook before him that immediately flows downstream (Job 11:16).
Zophar then paints a picture of the results of Job’s repentance. He claims that Job’s wealth would be restored, and his life, although presently hopeless and full of darkness (Job 10:20-22), would be bright again, like that of the noonday sun. Even though he was presently in confusion, it would be like the darkness of the morning that continually becomes brighter and brighter as the sun travels to the peak of the heavens (Job 11:17; cp. Proverbs 4:18).
Hope is a wonderful thing when it is possessed, perhaps the best of all possessions. Without hope, one has nothing but confusion and darkness (cp. Job 10:2, 20-22). Zophar promises Job that, should he repent, he would have hope. He would dwell in security, and, after he searches or looks after his property, he would know all was well, for the Lord would be with him (Job 11:18-19)
However, true to his nature, Zophar couldn’t end his reply on a positive note. He felt like he just had to get one more jab in, straight from the shoulder, so he ends his reply, as he had begun (cp. Job 11:6). “The eyes of the wicked shall fail…” (Job 11:20). In other words, Zophar once again declared Job was, indeed, a wicked man, and just as the only hope of the wicked is death (cp. Job 10:20-22), so this would be the end of Job, if he didn’t repent. Without repentance, he would not escape his present condition, and his only hope lay in the grave, which he, himself, seemed to crave (cp. Job 3:21-22; 6:8; 7:15; 10:1, 18).
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