The heavens will reveal his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him.
Zophar has been painting a picture of the wicked man's ruin, and here he calls two witnesses against him: the sky above and the ground below. The question is whether the claim is true, and whether Zophar had any right to aim it at Job.
Zophar's One Rule
Zophar's whole case rests on one rule: God punishes wicked men here and now, in plain sight. One commentator answers that the rule does not match the world as it is.
William KellyZophar keeps this up. The great fact, for him, is this: there is a righteous God above, there are unrighteous, wicked people below, and God always deals with these wicked people now. That was not true. God has always allowed a large part of the world to seem to prosper in their evil, and the reason is that the time of judgment has not yet come.
Heaven Turned Against Him
Earlier in the book, Job had called on heaven and earth to speak up for him. Zophar now turns the same two witnesses around.
Samuel RidoutThe heavens are against him; their holy light only reveals his iniquity. Job had appealed to heaven and earth to witness to his righteousness (Job 16:18-19). Zophar hints the exact opposite. The heavens only declare his sin, and the earth rises up in judgment against him. He ends his frightening picture with the mention of wrath appointed by God.
Another writer follows the verdict through to what the man is left with.
William KellyThe heavens and the earth must give their evidence firmly against him. Everything his house has gained passes away like short-lived things in the day of God's wrath. This is the lot the wicked man receives from God, and the heritage God awards him is that he should lose all and be lost himself.
True Statement, Wrong Target
Commentators agree that the sentence itself is sound doctrine. The fault lies in the man Zophar pinned it on.
Leslie M. GrantIt is true enough that the heavens would reveal the iniquity of the wicked, and even the earth would rise up against him. All that he has gained on earth will depart, nothing left to show for his life here, in the day of God's wrath. So Zophar ends his speech by calling this the portion God gives a wicked man, the heritage God appoints him. There was a good measure of truth in what he said. But he took Job to belong to that class of evil-doers, and that was not only unfair; it was inexcusably false.
This is the danger of a correct principle used as a weapon.
Truth Without Pity
Job had asked for sympathy. What came back was a courtroom.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinJob had pleaded for pity. Not a word of pity comes from Zophar's lips. The whole address is meant to tell Job, "You are that man!" His second mistake is this: he does not consider Job's words for a moment. They could not come from the lips of an ungodly person. They come from someone who knows God.
Where Certainty Comes From
Each of the three friends leaned on something other than God's word. One commentator names what Zophar leaned on, and the cure.
William KellyHere we see how important it is for us to get the mind of God. Neither experience will do, nor tradition. Bildad was as fond of tradition as Eliphaz was of experience; but Zophar, I think, was pretty much confident in himself. And this self-confidence makes a man even more biased than either weakness: thinking too much of the wisdom of old age, or too much of the tradition handed down to us. No, God will have His own word. We honour God when we receive His word and apply it, not just to other people, but above all to ourselves.
Summary
- Witness. Job called heaven and earth to testify for him. Zophar turns the same two witnesses against him.
- True. The statement stands on its own: for the wicked, the heavens expose sin and the earth joins the case against him.
- Wrong man. True words aimed at the wrong man still do damage. Zophar's verdict on Job was "inexcusably false."
- No pity. Job asked for pity and got an accusation. Right doctrine without pity does not help a sufferer.
- Test. Experience, tradition and self-confidence all failed Job's three friends. Only God's word, applied to yourself first, gives a safe verdict.