Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:
Job has poured out his heart and begged his friends for pity. What comes back is not comfort but a bitter speech, and its opening words show what drives it.
The Speaker
Zophar is the last of Job's three friends to speak. One writer sets him beside the other two:
Samuel RidoutIt has been thought likely that Zophar was the youngest of the three friends. He is the last to speak. His speech is much like the other two in character, but more intense. It lacks the dignity of Eliphaz and the reasoning power of Bildad. He makes up in heat what he lacks in reason, and this leads him into harshness and brutal rudeness that could never soothe the sore spirit of the sufferer. On top of this, he fails, as the others do, to explain the dark riddle of Job's trouble. His theory that suffering comes from sins committed only plunges the already distressed man deeper into darkness.
What Provokes Him
Job's confession changed nothing in his friends:
William KellyDid Job's confession touch the hearts of his friends? Far from it. What follows is an unusually bitter speech from Zophar. Morally he seems to have been the lowest of the three. As often happens, he was also the most presumptuous in what he said and the least broken in spirit.
Another writer traces the anger back to the closing words of Job's last speech:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinZophar begins his reply to Job with impatient haste. Job's words, probably those found in chapter 19:2-3, and the last two verses, have made him angry. He boils over with indignation. He is ready now to confirm the testimony already given and wound the suffering servant of God still more.
"My Thoughts"
Zophar names his own source. He does not claim a word from God — he says his own thoughts are answering for him:
William KellyHe gives us his "thoughts." It was not the fear of God that moved his lips, nor any zeal for His grace and truth. What we get is his own thinking: "Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I make haste" — which a believer does not do.
Another writer weighs what Zophar relies on instead of the Spirit of God:
Leslie M. GrantSomething had stirred him deeply — not the Spirit of God, but his own misguided thoughts. Job had asked for some pity, but Zophar thinks he deserves the opposite. He had heard Job's rebuke, which shamed him, but he makes it clear that he will take no rebuke. He fights back with the spirit of his own understanding, not by the Spirit of God.
The Danger of Haste
Zophar admits he is in a hurry. One writer shows where haste leads, and what Zophar never stopped to ask:
William KellyYes, and that is just where haste lands us. It is easy for people who are not in trouble to speak, and to suspect evil of a man who is in the depths… Did Zophar know nothing of God's dealings for the trial and good of His children here on earth? Had he no thought of God disciplining us?
The rush to speak may also cover something less noble than zeal:
Samuel RidoutHe is not the first man to mistake heat for argument. His haste to pour out his feelings shows poverty of thought, not weight of truth… In fact, wounded pride may be the real reason he is so eager to speak.
Where the Speech Fails
What Zophar goes on to say about wicked men is not false in itself. The failure lies elsewhere:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinHis description of the wicked is excellent. No one can fault what he says about the ungodly… But Zophar made two serious mistakes. Job had pleaded for pity, and not a word of pity comes from Zophar's lips. The whole speech is meant to tell Job, "You are that man!" Here is the second mistake: he never once considers that Job's words could not come from the lips of an ungodly person, but only from someone who knows God.
Summary
- Stung. Job's words make Zophar angry, and he boils over with indignation.
- Hasty. He admits he is in a hurry, and haste to speak signals poverty of thought, not weight of truth.
- Self-sourced. His own thoughts and his own understanding are his authority, and neither is the Spirit of God.
- Pitiless. Job had asked for pity. Zophar's whole reply says only, "You are that man."
- True but misapplied. Nothing he says about wicked men is wrong. He knows only one cause of suffering, and he aims it at a righteous man — right truth in the wrong place drives a sufferer deeper into the dark.