The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV, page 249
11:2, 3 a man full of talk be vindicated. The allegations against Job moved to a new level. Not only was Job guilty and unrepentant, he was also an empty talker. In fact, Job’s long-winded defense of his innocence and God’s apparent injustice was sin worthy of rebuke, in Zophar’s mind.
11:4 clean in your eyes. Job never claimed sinlessness; in fact, he acknowledged that he had sinned (Job 7:21; 13:26). But he still maintained his innocence of any great transgression or attitude of unrepentance, affirming his sincerity and integrity as a man of faith and obedience to God. This claim infuriated Zophar, and he wished God Himself would confirm the accusations of Job’s friends (v. 5).
11:6 secrets of wisdom. Job would have been much wiser if he had only known the unknowable secrets of God; in this case the scene in heaven between God and Satan would have clarified everything. But Job couldn’t know the secret wisdom of God (vv. 7–9). Zophar should have applied his point to himself. If God’s wisdom was so deep, high, long, and broad, how was it that he could understand it and have all the answers? Like his friends, Zophar thought he understood God and reverted to the same law of retaliation, the sowing and reaping principle, to again indict Job. He implied that Job was wicked (vv. 10, 11) and thought he was wise, though actually he was out of control as if he were a “wild donkey man”! (v. 12).
11:13, 14 Zophar set out 4 steps of Job’s repentance: 1) devote your heart to God; 2) stretch your hands to Him in prayer for forgiveness; 3) put your sin far away; and 4) don’t allow any sin in your tent. If Job did these things, he would be blessed (vv. 15–19). If Job didn’t repent, he would die (v. 20). Zophar was right that the life of faith in God is based on penitence and obedience. He was right that God blesses His people with hope, security, and peace. But, like his friends, he was wrong in not understanding that God allows unpredictable and seemingly unfair suffering for reasons not known to us. He was wrong in presuming that the answer for Job was repentance.
11:13–20 Zophar started out this section speaking directly to Job, “If you would…” and concluded speaking proverbially, “But the eyes of the wicked….” In so doing Zophar avoided directly calling Job wicked, but succeeded with even greater force by being indirect. In the end, he told Job that his sin would bring about his death.
Job 12
12:1—14:22 Job responded in his defense with strong words, completing the first cycle of speeches.
12:2–4 you are the people, and wisdom will die with you. Job responded with cutting sarcasm directed at his know-it-all friends (v. 2) and then reminded them that he understood the principles of which they had spoken (v. 3), but they were irrelevant to his situation. On top of that, he despaired at the pain of becoming a derision to his friends, though he was innocent (v. 4).
12:4 The just and blameless. If this sounds like presumption, one only needs to recall that this was God’s pronouncement on Job (1:8; 2:3).
12:5 A lamp. As a torch is to a wanderer, so Job was to his friends. When all was at ease with them, they didn’t need him, and even mocked him.
12:6 God provides. Job refuted the simplistic idea that the righteous always prosper and the wicked always suffer, by reminding them that God allows thieves and sinners to be prosperous and secure. So, why not believe He may also allow the righteous to suffer?
12:7–10 All these elements (animals, birds, plants, and fish) of creation are called as illustrations that the violent prosper and live securely (v. 6). God made it so that the more vicious survive.
12:12 Wisdom is with aged men. The questioning force of the preceding verse may carry over to make this a question also. “Shouldn’t aged men be wise?” If this is true, then v. 12 is stinging sarcasm against Job’s aged friends who gave unwise advice (cf. 15:10), and heard and spoke only what suited them (v. 11).
12:13—13:3 This section gives vivid definition to the wisdom, power, and sovereignty of God (v. 13). Job, despite his questions about his suffering, affirms that God’s power is visible in nature, human society, religious matters, and national and international affairs. Job, however, expressed this in terms of fatalistic despair. Job knew all this and it didn’t help (13:1, 2); so he didn’t want to argue with them anymore—he wanted to take his case before God (v. 3).
Job 13
13:4–19 Job addressed his ineffective counselors.
13:4, 5 Job couldn’t hold back from a blistering denunciation of his useless counselors, telling them that their silence would be true wisdom (cf. v. 13).
13:7 wickedly for God,…deceitfully for Him. He accused them of using lies and fallacies to vindicate God, when they asserted that Job was a sinner because he was a sufferer.
13:8 Will you contend for God? “Are you wise enough to argue in God’s defense?” he asked. To think that is very brash and really mocks God by misrepresenting Him (v. 9) and should lead to fear of chastening (vv. 10, 11).
13:12 ashes…clay. Ineffective and worthless.
13:14 A proverb meaning “Why should I anxiously desire to save my life?” Like an animal who holds its prey in its mouth to preserve it or a man who holds in his hand what he wants to secure, Job could try to preserve his life, but that was not his motive.
13:15 Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Job assured his accusers that his convictions were not self-serving, because he was ready to die trusting God. But still he would defend his innocence before God, and was confident that he was truly saved and not a hypocrite (v. 16).
13:17–19 declaration…case…vindicated…contend. The language of a courtroom came out strongly. He could not just be silent and die (v. 19). He finished strongly before turning to God in prayer (13:20—14:22).
13:20—14:22 Job turned to reason with God (v. 3) and pleaded his case.
13:20–22 Job asked God to end his pain and stop frightening him with such terrors (cf. v. 24), then speak to him. He was concerned with his misery, but even more with his relation to the God he loved and worshiped.
13:23 How many are my iniquities and sins? Job wanted to know how many so that he could determine if his measure of suffering matched the severity of his sin, and he could then repent for sins he was unaware of.
13:26 write bitter things against me. This a judicial phrase referencing the writing down of a sentence against a criminal, used figuratively for the extreme suffering as if it were a divine sentence as just punishment for extreme sin. Job felt God may be punishing him for sins committed years earlier in his youth.
13:27 watch closely all my paths. In another context these words would speak of protection, but here, Job questioned whether or not God had not held him on too tight a leash. The comment amounts to saying, that God is being overly-rigorous toward Job’s sin, as compared to others.
13:28 This general comment on the plight of man should not be separated from 14:1ff., which it introduces.
Job 14
14:1–12 Job embraced the fact of God’s control over the issues of this life, but challenged their meaning. Life is short (vv. 1, 2), all are sinners (v. 4), and days are limited (v. 5), then comes death (vv. 7–12). In light of this, Job asked God for a little grace instead of such intense judgment (v. 3), and a little rest from all the pain (v. 6), and suggested that a tree has more hope than he did (v. 7).
14:13–17 Job asked to die and remain in the grave until God’s anger was over, then be raised to life again when God called him back (vv. 13–15). If he were dead, God wouldn’t be watching every step, counting every sin (v. 16); it would all be hidden (v. 17). Here was the hope of resurrection for those who trusted God. Job had hope that if he died, he would live again (v. 14).
14:18–22 Job returned to his complaint before God, and reverted to a hopeless mood, speaking about death as inevitable (vv. 18–20), and causing separation (v. 21). He was painfully sad to think of it (v. 22).
Job 15
15:1—21:34 The second cycle of speeches given by Job and his 3 friends. Job’s resistance to their viewpoint and his appeals energized them to greater intensity in their confrontation.
15:1–35 Eliphaz returns for his second session (See Job 4, 5).
15:1–6 He began by accusing Job of sinning by attacking God with his complaints. He felt Job was guilty of empty words and had not exhibited godly fear and righteous prayer (v. 4), but rather was sinning in his prayer (vv. 5, 6).
15:7–13 Eliphaz condemned Job for rejecting the conventional wisdom, as if he had more insight than other men (vv. 7–9) and could reject the wisdom of the aged (v. 10) and the kindness of God (v. 11).
15:14–16 A strong statement with regard to the sinfulness of man (cf. Rom. 3:23), that attacked Job’s claim to righteousness. Verse 15 refers to holy angels who fell and brought impurity into the heavens (cf. Rev. 12:1–4). The truth is accurate, that all men are sinners—but irrelevant in Job’s case, because his suffering was not due to any sin.
15:17–35 Eliphaz once again returned to the same perspective and indicted Job for sin because Job was suffering. To support his relentless point, he launched into a lengthy monologue about the wicked and their outcomes in life, including many parallels to the sufferings of Job. He had pain, and didn’t know when his life would end (v. 20). He suffered from fear, every sound alarmed him, and he thought his destroyer was near (vv. 21, 22). He worried about having food (v. 23). His suffering made him question God (vv. 24–26). Once well-nourished, housed, and rich (vv. 27–29), he would lose it all (vv. 30–33). Eliphaz concluded by calling Job a hypocrite (vv. 34, 35), saying that this was the reason things were going so badly.
Job 16
16:1—17:16 Job responded with his second rebuttal.
16:2–5 Miserable comforters are you all! Job’s friends had come to comfort him. In spite of 7 blissful days of silence at the outset, their mission had failed miserably, and their comfort had turned into more torment for Job. What started out as Eliphaz’s sincere efforts to help Job understand his dilemma had turned into rancor and sarcasm. In the end, their haranguing had heightened the frustrations of all parties involved. If the matter were reversed and Job was comforter to his friends, he would never treat them as they have treated him. He would have strengthened and comforted them.
16:6–9, 12–14 These poignant thoughts from Job lamented his suffering as severe judgment from God, who had worn him out, withered his strength, and chewed him up by severe scrutiny (“sharpens His gaze”). Job refers to God as “my Adversary,” who had shattered, shaken, shot at, and sliced him (vv. 12–14).
16:15–20 He had no one to turn to in his sorrow, except God (v. 19), who was silent and had not vindicated him.
16:21 plead for a man with God. The pleading would be for a verdict of innocent on behalf of a friend or neighbor in a court setting before the judge/king. God anticipated the need of an advocate, and He has provided One in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Tim. 2:5; 1 John 2:1, 2).
Job 17
17:2 mockers. The would-be counselors had become actual enemies and the provocation for Job’s tears (cf. 16:20).
17:3 pledge. He called on God to promise (by a symbolic handshake) that his case would be heard in the heavenly court.
17:4 not exalt them. The blindness of Job’s friends toward his innocence came from God, so Job asked that God would not let them succeed in their efforts against him.
17:5 speaks flattery. This Heb. term came to mean “a prey,” so that Job was referring to someone who delivers up a friend as prey to some enemy.
17:6 a byword. This refers to shame, reproach, and a reputation that is extremely bad (cf. Deut. 28:37; Ps. 69:11). spit. The most disdainful act a person could commit to heap scorn and shame on someone as a wicked and unworthy person. Job’s friends were aiding him in getting such a reputation (vv. 7, 8).
17:9 Yet the righteous will hold to his way. Job, and other righteous people who find themselves in a similar situation, must remain righteous. If they do, Job knew, the suffering would produce strength (cf. 2 Cor. 12:7–10).
17:10 Job was not unteachable. He invited his friends to speak again if they had something wise to say, for a change, but not to talk about his restoration because he was done (vv. 11–16).
17:15 Where then is my hope? Job’s hope was in God alone.
17:16 gates of Sheol. A reference to death, also used by our Lord in Matt. 16:18.
Job 18
18:1–21 Bildad, like his predecessor, ruthlessly attacked Job in his second speech (cf. chap. 8) by telling Job to stop complaining and to become sensible (v. 2). Next he turned to scorn (vv. 3, 4). Then he turned to another long tale of the bad outcomes the wicked experience (vv. 5–21).
18:13 The firstborn of death. A poetical expression meaning the most deadly disease death ever produced.
18:14 the king of terrors. Death, with all its terrors to the ungodly, personified.
18:21 who does not know God. This describes “know” in a redemptive sense and is here applied to an unbeliever.
Job 19
19:1–29 Job’s response to Bildad’s second speech was desperate.
19:1–5 He began with the anguished cry that his friends have become recalcitrant and relentless for mentors (vv. 2, 3), and they have had no effect on his dealing with the sin they imagine is present (v. 4).
19:5–7 Job confessed that if God sent him friends like Bildad, who needs enemies? He feared there was no justice.
19:8–21 Job rehearsed his suffering. God had closed him in, stripped him, broken him, and turned against him (vv. 8–12). His family and friends had failed him (vv. 15–19), so that he was to be pitied because God had caused this to occur (vv. 21, 22).
19:12 build up their road against me. In the ancient world conquering armies often had their own road crews level out the rough places so that their military forces could attack.
19:20 skin of my teeth. This was the origin of a common slang phrase, referring to skin that is thin and fragile. The idea is that he had escaped death by a very slim margin. The loss of all his family, as well as the abuse of his friends was added to the terror of God-forsakeness which had gripped him.
19:23–29 At the point of Job’s greatest despair, his faith appeared at its highest as he confidently affirmed that God was his Redeemer. He wanted that confidence in the record for all to know (vv. 23, 24). Job wished that the activities of his life were put into words and “inscribed in granite,” so all would know that he had not sinned to the magnitude of his suffering. God granted his prayer. God was his Redeemer (cf. Ex. 6:6, Pss. 19:14; 72:14; Is. 43:14; 47:4; 49:26; Jer. 50:34), who would vindicate him in that last day of judgment on the earth when justice was finally done (cf. Jer. 12:1–3; John 5:25, 29; Rev. 20:11–15).
19:26, 27 Job had no hope left for this life, but was confident that “after” he was dead, his Redeemer would vindicate him in the glory of a physical (“in my flesh”) resurrection in which he would enjoy perfect fellowship with the Redeemer. That Jesus Christ is that Redeemer is the clear message of the gospel. See Luke 2:38; Rom. 3:24; Gal. 3:13; Eph. 1:7; Heb. 9:12.
19:28, 29 Job warned his friends that their misjudgment of him and violence against him could bring punishment on them.
Job 20
20:1–29 Zophar spoiled it all again for Job with his second and last speech (cf. 11:1–20), in which he admonished Job again to consider the fate of the wicked.
20:5, 6 wicked…hypocrite…haughtiness. The application of Zophar’s words about this wicked, hypocritical, proud person were aimed at Job. He would, like others so wicked, suffer the consequences of his sins (vv. 7–29).
20:11 The wicked die young.
20:12–22 Evil in a life takes away all the enjoyment, implying that Job had no joy because of sin, such as that in v. 19.
20:23–29 Zophar concluded that more than just losing the enjoyment of life by sin, the wicked fall under the fury of God determined for such wickedness.
Job 21
21:1–34 Job’s reply to Zophar’s last speech, ending the second cycle of speeches, refuted the simplistic set of laws by which the mockers lived. He showed that the wicked prosper, and since it is clear that they do (they had argued that the wicked only suffer), then by inference, perhaps the righteous suffer. This presented serious problems for their supposed open and shut case against Job.
21:1–16 Job called for his friends to be quiet and to listen to some amazing and terrifying truth (vv. 1–6), namely that the wicked do prosper (vv. 7–13) though they deny God (vv. 14, 15), and they prosper not by their doing, but God’s (v. 16).
21:17–22 Playing off Bildad’s sentiment (see 18:5, 6, 18, 19), this whole section repeats the assertions of Job’s friends regarding the judgment of sinners. To refute that perspective, Job suggested that his friends were guilty of telling God how He must deal with people (v. 22).
21:23–26 Some of the wicked live and die in prosperity, some don’t, canceling the absolutist nature of his counselors’ argument.
21:27, 28 Again Job referred to the statements of his friends, Zophar in this case (see 20:7), who were trying to prove their “sin equals suffering” idea.
21:29–33 Job knew they would not listen to him, so he suggested they ask travelers, any of whom would tell them that wicked people prosper sometimes in this life, but there will be a day of doom for them when they die.
21:34 The boastful words of the counselors were contradicted by facts.
Job 22
22:1—31:40 The third cycle of speeches is given by Job and his friends, with Zophar abstaining.
22:1–30 Eliphaz’s last speech got nasty with Job, as his frustration rose.
22:2–4, 12–14 This counselor repeated the emphasis on the almighty nature of God, saying that God was so lofty and transcendent that He had no direct concern at all with Job. God didn’t care personally about his complaints and claims to righteousness. God was not involved in the trivia of his life.
