Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?
Job 11:3 belongs to Zophar's first speech urging Job to repent, within the extended debate between Job and his three friends over his afflictions spanning chapters 4-31. In the verse Zophar openly accuses Job of lying and mockery, charging him with dishonesty as a guilty sinner trying to cover his sin and insisting that his suffering comes from sin. The accusation was false and misapplied, for although evil is ultimately punished and good rewarded, Job's suffering did not prove that God was displeased with him.
The speeches of Job's friends about Job and God must not be treated as reliable merely because they are recorded in Scripture, but must be tested against other inspired teaching. Their judgment that suffering proves sin illustrates how people are prone to misjudge others. Their unjust accusations and reproach contributed to Job's impatience and loss of footing.
Job 11:3 belongs to Zophar's first speech urging Job to repent, within the extended debate between Job and his three friends over his afflictions spanning chapters 4-31.
In the verse Zophar openly accuses Job of lying and mockery, charging him with dishonesty as a guilty sinner trying to cover his sin and insisting that his suffering comes from sin.
The accusation was false and misapplied, for although evil is ultimately punished and good rewarded, Job's suffering did not prove that God was displeased with him.
The speeches of Job's friends about Job and God must not be treated as reliable merely because they are recorded in Scripture, but must be tested against other inspired teaching.
Their judgment that suffering proves sin illustrates how people are prone to misjudge others.
Their unjust accusations and reproach contributed to Job's impatience and loss of footing.