Job 11 WHAT BRINGS SUFFERING Like Eliphaz and Bildad, Zophar's theme in his first discourse is that it is only sin that brings suffering. As far as he is concerned, the righteous prosper and the wicked suffer. There are no other reasons to consider as far as this egotistical man who is in essence a bigot, is concerned. He gives his dogmatic opinion and considers it to be right because in his mind, he thinks he knows how God does things. To him, there are two classes of people: contrite worshippers and arrogant sinners. His opinion is that job was in the last class of people because of the rash words he used in his complaint.
As a legalist who had in mind the idea that God is limited as to how He does things, and why, Zophar can only see that God will do the same thing in the same way in any given situation. He is like a geologist who looks at some rocks and thinks he knows how old the earth is without considering any other thoughts or any extenuating circumstances or events that would be out of the ordinary. Testing as to age by carbon-testing was considered the final word until that test determined that the fossils and strata on Mt. St. Helens indicated it erupted thousands of years in the past, when it actually happened less than twenty years before. Scientists emphasize "laws" and do not take into consideration other causes and effects beyond what they think is always the same. Such people speak with legalistic and dogmatic finality, not considering anything by faith can be real unless they can prove it scientifically.
Zophar was in no way a courteous friend, and he seemed to be full of anger against Job, and that job deserved worse than he was getting. He had an answer for everything but was totally insensitive to Job's situation. Like the other "friends," he was sure Job's suffering was because of Job's sin of being deceitful and hiding secret faults. In his opinion Job will only prosper again if he repents of hidden sin. Zophar was saying that Job was trying to talk his way out of his difficulties.
Actually, much of his premise was not wrong in that we know God sees every sin. Even the "thoughts and the intents of the heart" are known by God. Whatever we sow, we reap, is a principle of life. But that is not the only reason suffering happens to God's people, and that is what was wrong with Zophar. His mind was closed to anything but what he considered was common sense. He was both hard-hearted and hard-headed.
Specifically, Zophar accused Job of talking too much and was resisting the wisdom of Almighty God by asking questions. He thought God puts such a person in the "prison" of suffering and condemns him. Job should prepare his heart, repent of his wickedness and then after that God would remove his suffering. If he would do that, he would remember all that he went through in pain and suffering as merely "water under the bridge" that passes away as a vague memory.
Job had made it clear that when a man was in his condition of suffering so greatly that he wanted to die, he is not going to try to hide anything from God. He was not trying to be subtle and talk his way out of his difficulties or try to manipulate the Judge as Zophar intimated. Zophar said that if Job would "dig around you" he would find that what was happening to him fair. He went farther than Bildad who said Job was a hypocrite, by saying he was both a hypocrite and a liar, and that was why he was suffering.
Like some people indicate today, Zophar took the position of being on the inside track with God, and he knew what God will do in each circumstance. As far as he was concerned, Job was on the outside and should listen to him because he had the final word as to what God does. Some people today think that what they say is the Holy Spirit speaking through them exclusively and we should consider their words and comments in the same way we listen to, and obey, the words of the Bible. Their opinion is, "After all, those who wrote the scriptures were only men like we are."
"Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?" is certainly a true statement. We can't fathom God, and know what He does and what will always happen. We can't reach, even in our minds, the limits of the Almighty. We know that God is revealed to us, not discovered by us. A statement that is made may be true, but if it does not apply to a given situation it does not help at all and is meaningless in that context. We can talk about God, study what the Bible says about God and know some of what God does, and still not know God.
Zophar made lofty and sometimes true statements that to him indicated he had the answer to Job's suffering, but like the other two friends before him he was no help at all. Eliphaz considered himself a man of experience and wisdom; Bildad considered himself an expert in accepted tradition, and now Zophar's opinion was that common sense had the answer to Job's problem. They all agreed that Job was hiding sin in his life. If he would just deal with the sin and quit fighting the suffering, he would be fully restored. Zophar concludes that there will be absolute and complete judgment on Job unless he confessed to secret sin.
It is true that when we sin, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." To claim sinlessness is foolish and not true, but suffering and difficulties in life are not always because of sin. We have an implacable enemy - the devil. If he could he would have us in hell already, but by the mercies of God we have been preserved from losing our soul, so he would seek to have us lose our lives of testimony by putting us under the pressure of his opposition, either open or underhanded.