The Third Cycle of Speeches   (22:1 – 31:40)

The Third Speech of Eliphaz   (22:1-30)

22:1-11
Eliphaz responded to Job with the direct and heartless precision of a sniper. He pointed his finger in Job’s face and accused him of a multitude of sins, including: taking pledges from his brothers (22:6), stripping others naked (22:7, a reference to taking a man’s garment in pledge for a debt and then foreclosing on him), withholding food and water from the needy (22:8), and rejecting widows and crushing orphans (22:9). Notice that Eliphaz offered absolutely no supporting evidence whatsoever for his charges. Like the Devil himself, Eliphaz barraged Job with a shower of vague and unsubstantiated charges. He tried to play the Holy Spirit in Job’s life. Eliphaz’s philosophy was simple: “Only the wicked suffer. Job is suffering a lot. He must be really wicked!”

Note: Read Job 29:12-17 where Job spoke of his contribution to society.

22:12-20
Eliphaz sarcastically asked Job if he intended to continue traveling down the path of the wicked (22:15) which led to certain destruction (22:16). He asked if Job intended to continue to travel the path of those who reject God and act as though they are above the law (22:17). Though they have an abundance of things, they will lose it all and the righteous will rejoice (22:19-20).

22:21-30
Eliphaz pressed Job to “yield” (22:21), “receive” (22:22), “return” (22:23), and “remove” (22:23). He told Job to get right with God. He tried to pressure a confession out of Job. If Job would just confess his sin, Eliphaz suggested, then everything would once again be great in Job’s life (22:25-30). Again, the clear implication is that Job was guilty of some sin that brought trouble to his life.

Job’s Reply to Zophar   (21:1-34)

21:1-16
Job responded to Zophar by telling him that he was out of touch with reality. The
wicked do prosper and the righteous do suffer! The wicked are not always overtaken by punishment and the righteous do not always enjoy prosperity. Some become very powerful (21:7), enjoy large families (21:8) and secure homes (21:9), prosper (21:10, 13), and enjoy their children and music (21:11-12), and all the while scorning God to their dying day. Job was pointing out that if even a few cases of the lifelong success of the ungodly could be pointed out, the argument of his friends was flawed.

21:17-21
Job argued that while the wicked may or may not see the punishment of God, their children will certainly see it. “But,” argued Job, “what good does that do? Surely it doesn’t matter to the wicked man after he is dead and gone!” Job’s point was that not all injustices are righted in this life.

21:22-26
Job said that in some cases the wicked die happy while others (including the righteous) die bitter deaths, never having tasted anything good in life. And, in the long run, both the wicked and the godly will end up in the same pit where they will be eaten by worms.

21:27-34
Job anticipated the response of his friends (21:27-28). He said they would probably say that the wicked are reserved for calamity. Job told Zophar and his friends to face the fact that there are cases where wicked men live prosperous lives, are buried with honor, and remembered with fondness. In light of these cases, of which even foreign travelers could testify, Zophar’s argument was off the mark and offered no comfort to Job.

The Second Speech of Zophar   (20:1-29)

20:1-11
Zophar responded to Job in impassioned and fierce language. He told Job that he must surely be aware of the end that awaits the wicked. Though the wicked may appear to prosper he will one day suddenly disappear forever and be remembered no more. At best, the prosperity of the wicked is short-lived.

20:12-19
The wicked will give up all of their ill-gotten gain. Sin, which is sweet in the mouth of the wicked, will turn into poison in his stomach. It will lead to his swift and certain destruction.

20:20-29
The wicked, whose eyes are never satisfied, will one day find himself under the judgment of God. He will be unable to escape and his iniquity will be uncovered before the world.

Job’s Reply to Bildad   (19:1-29)

19:1-6
Job lamented the treatment he had to endure from his counselors (19:1-2). They were heartless and did not hesitate to attack and look down upon Job (19:3). They had involved themselves in a matter that was between Job and God (19:4-6).

19:7-12
Job further lamented his mistreatment at the hand’s of God. He said God would not listen to him (19:7), restricted his travel (19:8), stripped him of honor (19:9), uprooted his hope (19:10), and treated him as an enemy (19:11-12).

19:13-22
Job felt utterly forsaken by his family, friends, and servants. He felt that no one cared for him. He had become a loathsome sight to both children and acquaintances. He had become a topic of discussion. He even felt abandoned by God. In the light of such terrible misfortune, Job asked his friends why they could not be more understanding, sympathetic, and compassionate.

19:23-24
In spite of the fact that he felt completely forsaken by all who were dear to him, Job maintained his innocence. He wished that the testimony of his innocence could be permanently inscribed on a rock for all to read.

19:25-27
Job believed that if he died without being vindicated, the day would come when God Himself would stand to declare him innocent. Job soared from the depths of despair to the heights of hope. He spoke with great conviction regarding his belief that God Himself would step in as his kinsman redeemer and legally clear him of all charges. “God will have the final word,” declared Job.

19:28-29
Job warned his counselors to beware of God’s punishment for their heartless treatment of him, a victim of gross misfortune.

The Second Speech of Bildad   (18:1-21)

18:1-4
Bildad, whose name means “son of contention,” responded angrily to Job. He was upset that Job thought him and his companions stupid. He told Job that he was not going to change the facts with his mindless anger.

18:5-14
Bildad proceeded to graphically describe the fate of the wicked. Nothing better than calamitous misfortune awaits the wicked who will ultimately be brought down to destruction. He insinuated that, like the wicked, Job was being hunted down by God. He felt confident that Job had stepped into the trap of God’s judgment, like an animal, because of his sin. According to Bildad the Brutal, Job was getting exactly what he deserved.

18:15-21
Bildad unmercifully and coldly proceeded to tell Job that the wicked will be destroyed (18:15-16) with nothing remaining of his memory (18:17). He will perish from the earth (18:18) and leave no posterity (18:19). The end of the wicked will be so disgraceful as to attract the attention of neighbors to the west and to the east (18:20). He even went so far as to say that such is the fate of those who do not know God (18:21), obviously digging at Job. Bildad refused to accept Job’s protests of innocence and believed that his refusal to repent must be an indication that Job must have much repenting to do. Job was guilty in the eyes of his friends, until proven innocent. With friends like that, who needs enemies? They believed the worst about him. Such calamity as Job was experiencing could not possibly happen to one who truly knows and is right with God (18:21).

Job’s Reply to Eliphaz   (16:1 – 17:16) — continued

17:1-5
Job was weary of both his illness and the cruel counsel of his friends. Job asked God to furnish him with the guarantee that his innocence will be made evident.

17:6-9
Job expressed the feeling that he had become a byword, the butt of jokes to others (17:6). He had grown weary of his condition (17:7) which even appalled the upright (17:8-9).

17:10-16
Job rejected the false hope of recovery held out to him by his friends who promised that night would turn into day if he would only confess his sin and get right with God. At this point, the only hope Job saw was the relief that would come from the grave (even if it meant he would experience no vindication before his death).

Job’s Reply to Eliphaz   (16:1 – 17:16)

16:1-5
Job told his friends that they were the ones who were full of hot air and worthless advice. They had offered him no encouragement or solace. They had not helped to ease his pain. They were, in fact, “sorry comforters” (16:2).

16:6-17
Job graphically described his situation. He said his awful appearance testified that he was the object of God’s wrath (16:6-8). He likened himself to an animal hunted down and torn apart by God (16:9). He felt as though God had handed him over to a band of ruffians (16:10-11) and as though he was God’s target (16:12-14). As a result, Job was clothed in sackcloth and fallen to the ground (16:16), like a fallen bull whose horn is buried in the ground. And yet, Job insisted, he had done nothing to invite such calamity to visit him (16:17).

16:18-22
Job refused to be overcome by despair. He asked that somehow his cry might be heard and that he might have the opportunity to obtain a hearing before God before his death. Job tenaciously held on to the conviction that he was innocent. He asked that, if he died without being vindicated, his blood might cry out and declare his innocence.

The Second Cycle of Speeches   (15:1 – 21:24)

The Second Speech of Eliphaz (15:1-35)

15:1-6
The first to open the second round of talks was Eliphaz (15:1), whose name means “God dispenses judgment” (how about that for the name of someone trying to comfort you). His words lack any compassion or sympathy and rule out any possibility that Job might be right in what he had said. His language took on an abusive tone. Eliphaz accused Job of being long-winded and full of hot air (15:2). He told Job that his argument was empty (15:3), irreverent (15:4), invalid (15:5), and sufficient enough to condemn him (15:6).

15:7-16
Eliphaz continued by telling Job: “Who do you think you are? Do you possess wisdom that is greater than ours or the great thinkers of our day? How can you possibly say such things about God? Don’t you know what you are? You are a sinner? How can you challenge God who doesn’t tolerate such nonsense from His angels, much less sinful man?”

15:20-35
Eliphaz challenged Job’s contention that wicked men do prosper in this life. He described the various of troubles that beset and overtake the wicked. Eliphaz contended that the success of the wicked is short-lived and that they receive their punishment in this life. The implication, once again, is that Job must be suffering because he is wicked.

Job’s Reply to Zophar (12:1 – 14:22) — continued

14:1-12
Job lamented the brevity of life and the certainty of death. He described his life as…

• a withering flower (14:2a) that is here today and gone tomorrow.
• a shadow (14:2b) that moves and is gone.
• a hired laborer (14:6) that longs for rest.
• a cut-down tree (14:7) has the hope of sprouting again unlike man who “dies and lies prostrate” (14:10).
• evaporating water (14:11a) which ascends to the heavens.
• a dried-up river (14:11b) which is empty and dry at the end.

Job wondered why God did not look less rigorously on mere men who lives were so quickly moving to an end (14:5-6).

14:13-22
Job said it would be better to rest in Sheol’s embrace than to continue living such a harsh existence (14:13). Job looked forward to the day when death would overtake him and he would go on to live in the life beyond (14:14). Job understood that our physical bodies wear out like eroding mountains and stones (14:18-19). He understood that as a man ages he undergoes a change of appearance (14:20), loses interest in the events in the lives of his children (14:21), and becomes preoccupied with his own aches and pains (14:22).

Job’s Reply to Zophar (12:1 – 14:22) — continued

13:1-12
Job told his friends (critics) to quit looking down their long theological noses at him (13:1-2). He called them “worthless physicians” (13:4) unable to render a proper diagnosis and prescribe a proper cure (13:3-4). It would be better if they all just kept silent (13:5-6). Job accused them of misrepresenting God (13:7-11) and branded their counsel as worthless as ashes and brittle clay (13:12).

13:13-19
After answering his accusers, Job turned to speak to God. He told his friends to let him speak without interruption (13:13) while he argued his case before God. Job said it would be better to cast himself upon God, even if it cost him his life (13:14-15), than to listen to his heartless friends. Job wanted to be vindicated by God alone. He was more concerned about what God had to say than what his friends had to say.

13:20-28
Job wisely and humbly asked God to reveal to him anything in his life that was sinful and rebellious so that he might deal with it. Jeremiah 17:9 states, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” Job wanted to know from God if what his critics said about him was really true. He wanted to know why God was treating him like an enemy (13:24). He was, after all, just a mere human being as frail and defenseless as “a driven leaf” or “dry chaff” (13:25). He asked God if he was being punished for some sins he might have committed as a youth (13:26). “Why,” Job asked, “am I being treated like a criminal in stocks, rotting away in a forgotten prison” (13:27-28).