V 11:2-3 Sets the stage for the rest Chapter 11.   

·       V2 Zophar believed as many commentators believed Job was giving God an ear full of hypocritical words.

·       V3a Should thy lies .  .   Zophar called Job a liar

·       V3b Could it be Zophar felt Job was mocking Eliphaz and Bildad. And mocking God. In Chs 9 & 10

·       V3c Zophar felt someone had to make Job ashamed of his lies. Zophar felt that he was just the man to do it.

V4 Zophar pointed out what he believes is the main lie of Job

·       My (Job’s) doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine (God’s) eyes. Job said in 6:30 “Is there iniquity in my tongue? cannot my taste discern perverse things?” Job knew he had not committed some terrible sin that caused his troubles.

Vs5-6 Zophar: Oh that God would speak. Zophar wanted Job to believe he knew what God would say if he spoke to him. God’s wisdom would show Job that he received far less punishment from God that he deserved. (see Isa 54:5 with Ezra 9:13-15)

·       If everything came upon Job to punish him what more could be done to Job by God that that was done?

·        Possibly take his life? Boy that would teach Job.

Vs7-10 Zophar stated the truth; you can not have a perfect understanding of God or a perfect understanding of God’s action.  

·       Isa 55:8-9; Ec 3:11; Ro 11:33

 V11-12 Another true statement, even though vain men are born dumb to the perfect understanding of God’s ways, He will not overlook their wickedness.

*Zophar’s hypocrisy: he said no one can have a perfect understanding of God, just after he wanted Job to know he knew the wisdom of God stated what God had done to him was far less than Job deserved. Job knew Zophar and the others believed they were speaking in the wisdom of God. He mocked them in 12:2.

**If God spoke in a way that Zophar and the others heard him speak, what would they have heard God say about Job? (Vs 1:1,

V13-14 Zophar had called Job a liar, a self-righteous hypocrite, and again lets Job know he is speaking for God: “Job, in the wisdom of God, I know who you are and just what you must do!”

In these verses Zophar does express the key to salvation, both Old Testament and New.

·       Rom 10:10-11; Isa 28:16; Jere 17:7

V15-19 Zophar to Job: What will happen if you obey V13-14.

·       Bildad in Job 8:21-22 (11:19 and 6:22)

V11:20 “But” the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.

·       After telling Job how he could get his life in order, Zophar seemed to tell Job you can not escape your wickedness, your hope of redemption is dead.

·       When one dies in his sin without the righteousness of God accounted unto him, the hope of redemption dies with him, it is dead hope.

Ø    Rom 4:3, 23-25. Notice the “IF” in V24. The hope of redemption is dead hope for those who do not believe as Abraham believed. Also notice in this verse “him that raised up Jesus”, Abraham believed the same God that must be believed on today.

·       Pr 11:7 ¶ When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth.

·       Zophar placed Job in this category of wicked men as did Bildad in 8:13-14 and Eliphaz in 5:12 and 15:34.

·       Job had stated his hope of death over and over. To Job death brought redemption from his suffering.

It appears on the surface that Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar are concerned about Job’s iniquity and they want Job to go to God and get his heart right. But Job realized this was not so. In 6:27 & 9:30-31 Job told them that they only wanted to keep him polluted by his sin and force him into a pit from which he can not escape.

Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar each had spoken once. They just could not believe that all this trouble had come upon Job without cause and that God was wroth with Job over his sin.