Job 11:20

Zophar concludes by setting in opposition to this picture another, the fate of the wicked.

their hope shall be as the giving Rather, shall be the giving up of the ghost; death is what they have to look for. Perhaps Zophar adds these words by way of warning to Job. Eliphaz allowed no streak of darkness to cloud the brightness of the prospect he anticipated for Job, ch. Job 5:19-26; Bildad spoke of perishing, but it was of Job's enemies, ch. Job 8:22; Zophar throws out his warning more generally, and Job may accept it if it fits him.

The problems that trouble us are not new. These ancient disputants graze at least the edges of most of them. Under Zophar's speech lies the question, If the affirmations of a man's conscience or of his consciousness be contradicted by the affirmations of God, what does it become a man to do? Job's conscience declared that he had not been guilty of sins, while God by his afflictions was clearly intimating that he had. It may be safely concluded that a real contradiction of this kind will never occur. Both Zophar and Job were under a false impression when they supposed that God by His affliction of Job was affirming his guilt. They put a wrong meaning on his afflictions. Zophar, however, thought that a man must bow to God. But as Job's consciousness spoke to a fact, which was to him indubitable, he felt that he was unable to submit. The history of Job teaches us that the wise course in such circumstances is to raise the prior question, Is this supposed affirmation of God really His affirmation? It may be that we are putting a wrong construction on His words or providence And as such supposed contradictions will not usually be, as in Job's case, in regard to simple facts but to moral judgments and the like, there is much room always to raise the prior question also on the other side, Is this affirmation of conscience, which seems opposed to the intimations of God, a true affirmation of conscience? the affirmation of an enlightened, universal conscience? As none of us, unfortunately, is in possession of this universal conscience of mankind, but only of our own particular one, which must, however, be our guide, perplexities may occasionally arise in our actual religious experience.