In Job, chapter eleven, verse one, Zophar harshly accused Job of self-righteousness, as in verses four to six, and stubbornness in verses thirteen through twenty, telling him that he deserved to suffer even more than he had in verse six. Zophar maintained that if Job would turn from sin, his sufferings would immediately cease, and security, prosperity, and happiness would return, as in verses thirteen through nineteen. Zophar’s speech contained errors. The Bible nowhere guarantees a life “clearer than the noonday,” as in verses seventeen for the faithful believer. However, “we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God,” as in Acts fourteen through twenty-two.
Zophar, the third friend of Job, has a clearly defined character, distinct from the others; he is the ordinary and commonplace moral man who expresses the thoughts and instincts of the many. Eliphaz was the poet and spiritual man who saw visions and dreams. Bildad was the man who rested on authority and appealed to tradition; Zophar was the man of worldly wisdom and common sense. In some respects, he is the most offensive of the three. To Zophar’s astonishment, Job, by the replies of Eliphaz and Bildad, thinks he can do no less than help to silence him. Therefore, he at once begins with “a multitude of words,” “full of talk,” “lies,” and “mockery.” Zophar stands on a lower level and drags Job down to it. He refracts his protestations of innocence against himself and charges him with iniquity in making them. His longing also to come into judgment with God, as in chapter nine, verse thirty-two, he turns back upon himself, confident that it could not fail to convict him were he to do so.
Zophar attacked Job with great intensity. He represented him as a man who loved to hear himself speak, though he could say nothing to the purpose, and as a man who maintained falsehoods. He desired God would show Job that less punishment was exacted than he deserved. We are ready, with much assurance, to call God to act in our quarrels and to think that if he would but speak, he would take our part. We ought to leave all disputes to the judgment of God, which we are sure is according to truth, but those are not always right who are most direct to appeal to the Divine judgment.