Commentary - Job 20:1-3

Bird's-eye view

In this brief but revealing introduction to his second speech, Zophar the Naamathite lays bare the corrupt foundation upon which his entire subsequent argument is built. He is not speaking out of a calm and settled wisdom, nor out of a genuine concern for Job's soul. Rather, he confesses that his words are the product of internal agitation, emotional haste, and a deep sense of personal offense. He has listened to Job's defense, particularly the magnificent confession of faith that concluded chapter 19, and has interpreted it as a personal dishonor. In response, he claims to be moved by a "spirit of understanding," but the context makes it clear that this is the spirit of a man whose pride has been wounded. This preamble is a textbook case of someone baptizing their fleshly, emotional reaction in the waters of supposed wisdom, and it serves as a critical warning about the dangers of engaging in theological debate when one's own ego is on the line.

Zophar's agitation prevents him from hearing what Job has actually said. Instead of engaging with Job's profound hope in a living Redeemer, Zophar reduces Job's entire discourse to a personal insult. This sets the stage for the harsh and impersonal tirade that follows, a speech that describes the fate of the wicked in vivid detail, with the unstated but obvious assumption that Job fits the description perfectly. The introduction in these three verses is therefore the key to understanding the worthlessness of the counsel that follows; it is an answer from the spleen, not from the Spirit of God.

Outline

Context In Job

This passage marks the beginning of the second cycle of speeches. Eliphaz and Bildad have already had their second turn, and their arguments have grown colder and more accusatory. Job has just concluded his reply to Bildad in chapter 19 with one of the most glorious confessions of faith in all of Scripture, declaring, "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth" (Job 19:25). This is a staggering statement of hope in the midst of unimaginable suffering. One might expect a godly counselor to seize upon this glimmer of faith, to encourage it, to fan it into flame. Zophar does the precise opposite. He completely ignores Job's confession and instead reacts to the perceived insults within Job's speech. His response is not to Job's faith, but to his own wounded pride. This demonstrates the spiritual deafness of Job's friends; they are so locked into their rigid theological system that they are incapable of hearing anything that falls outside of it, even a desperate cry of faith.

Key Issues

An Answer from the Spleen

There is a kind of man who mistakes the churning in his stomach for the moving of the Holy Spirit. Zophar is such a man. In these opening verses, he gives us a transparent look into the engine room of his theology, and what we find there is not a heart at rest in the wisdom of God, but rather the sputtering, overheated engine of personal agitation and wounded pride. He is about to deliver a long and detailed speech on the fate of the wicked, but before he even begins, he disqualifies himself as a wise counselor. He is not speaking because he has a word from the Lord; he is speaking because he is in a hurry to vent his "disquieting thoughts."

This is a permanent warning for all of us. When we feel that internal, agitated pressure to respond, that "haste within," it is almost never the Spirit of wisdom. Wisdom is patient, calm, and slow to speak. The flesh is hasty, agitated, and desperate to vindicate itself. Zophar dresses up his emotional turmoil in the noble robes of "understanding," but it is a thin disguise. He is preaching from his spleen, and the result is a sermon that is full of sound and fury, signifying nothing of any real value to a suffering soul.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said,

The formal introduction sets the stage. This is the second round for Zophar, the third of the three friends. In his first speech (chapter 11), he was blunt and harsh, accusing Job of hidden sin and calling him to repent. After hearing Job's further protestations of innocence, and particularly his defiant hope in a Redeemer, Zophar is back, and his disposition has not improved.

2 “Therefore my disquieting thoughts make me respond, Even because of my haste within me.

Zophar begins with a startlingly honest confession, though he does not see it as the disqualifying admission that it is. The word therefore connects his response directly to what Job has just said. Job's words have stirred him up. The thoughts that compel him to speak are "disquieting" or "troubling." This is the language of inner turmoil, not settled conviction. He is agitated, and this agitation creates an internal pressure, a "haste," to speak. The wise man in Proverbs is slow to anger and slow to speak (Prov 14:29, 15:18). Zophar is the opposite; he is a man in a hurry. He feels he must speak now. This is a massive red flag. Counsel that is born from a spirit of anxious haste is almost certain to be foolish counsel. He is not being led by wisdom; he is being prodded by his own turbulent emotions.

3 I listened to the discipline which dishonors me, And the spirit of my understanding makes me answer.

Here we get to the root of the agitation. Zophar has interpreted Job's words as a personal attack, a "discipline" or "reproof" that brings him "dishonor." Job has been defending his own integrity against their accusations, but Zophar has made it all about himself. His pride is wounded. He feels he has been shamed, and he must now respond to vindicate his own honor. This is the second red flag. He is not entering the conversation to comfort Job or glorify God, but to defend himself. Then comes the capstone of his self-deception. He attributes his impending speech to "the spirit of my understanding." He is attempting to sanctify his fleshly, prideful reaction. He is claiming that his emotional outburst is actually a product of profound insight and wisdom. But this is not the Spirit of God, which gives true understanding. This is the spirit of Zophar, the spirit of a man who has been insulted and is now lashing out. He has mistaken his own offended ego for a source of divine revelation.

Application

Zophar's introduction is a gift to us because it provides a perfect negative example. It teaches us how not to counsel, how not to argue, and how not to speak about the things of God. The application for us is straightforward and deeply searching.

First, we must learn to diagnose the source of our own speech. When we feel that urgent, disquieting need to correct someone, especially in a theological dispute, we must stop and ask: is this the calm, settled wisdom of the Spirit, or is this the "haste within me" that comes from the flesh? Are my thoughts ordered by Scripture, or are they the "disquieting thoughts" of a man who feels threatened?

Second, we must be ruthless in mortifying our pride. Zophar's whole project is derailed because he takes Job's suffering as a personal insult. He cannot hear Job's pain because the ringing of his own wounded honor is too loud in his ears. How often do we do the same? We stop listening to the substance of what someone is saying because we have caught a whiff of disrespect. A man who is more concerned with his own honor than with the truth of God is useless as a counselor.

Finally, we must never confuse our own reasoning or emotional reactions with the "spirit of understanding." True understanding comes from God, through His Word, and it is characterized by the fruit of His Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, and gentleness (Gal 5:22-23). Zophar's spirit is one of agitation, haste, and offense. The only cure for the spirit of Zophar is the Spirit of Christ, who, "when he was reviled, did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly" (1 Peter 2:23). That is the spirit of true understanding, and it is the only spirit from which we should ever dare to speak.