Job 12 - 14

Job Answers Zophar

In these three chapters, Job answers Zophar and the others.  Additionally, he makes his case before God.  Job is not impressed with Zophar, Bildad, or Eliphaz.  He openly and sarcastically rebukes them at the beginning of chapters 12 and 13. "You people really know everything, don't you?" he asks sarcastically.  There sayings are nothing new.

They provide no comfort to Job or show any compassion. They make no attempt to empathize with his plight or to understand what the Lord's purpose is in testing Job.  They just automatically assume Job is a sinner and then start to spout off already recognized truths. They attempt to show how spiritual they are by comparing their condition to Job's condition.  Since they are not suffering, then they cannot be wrong, thus it is only Job that is incorrect.

Job recognizes that true wisdom and power, true knowledge and strength are found in God alone (12:13, 16).  He dismisses all that his friends have said and challenges them to prove they are worthy to argue God's case to Job. In 13:20-28, Job makes his case to God. He asks the Lord to remove his hand from him and not to terrify him.  He asks the Lord to reveal to him his sin.

Chapter 14 is a beautiful lamentation on resurrection and hope of eternal life. Man's life is a flower, breif, fragile, subject to death.  Job sees resurrection in nature (v. 7-9), but wonders what happens to a man when he dies.  Is the grave it? Does man live again after death? (v.10, 14).  If man can live again, then Job has hope.  He welcomes death if resurrection is possible.

In this answer to Zophar, we see growth in Job's thinking.  This is the least fatalistic of all the responses Job has given to date.  He stills agonizes over why he is suffering, but he begins to understand that if there is hope after the grave, perhaps there could be hope in the present, even while suffering (v. 15).

May God bless you and bless the reading of His Word.