Mar. 04, 2026

“TRIED AND TESTED”

“WISDOM OR THE LACK THEREOF”

JOB 10:1-14:22

The Book of Job could also be called "a grief observed," for his family, wealth, status, and physical well-being have been taken from him without a word of explanation from God.

Job's words to God in chapter ten are similar to his speeches in chapters six and seven. We will not go into all the details of chapter ten, but here are some of his important thoughts that stand out:

• Job doesn't understand why God would give him life and then not respect him as one of His creations. Job 10:3 “Does it seem good to You that You should oppress,
  That You should despise the work of Your hands.”
• Job no longer wants an umpire; he wants a deliverer. Job 10:7 “Although You know that I am not wicked,
  And there is no one who can deliver from Your hand?”
• Job has a profound appreciation for the creative process that brought him into existence. Job 10:8-12 “Your hands have made me and fashioned me, An intricate unity; Yet You would destroy me. 9Remember, I pray, that You have made me like clay. And will You turn me into dust again?
  10Did You not pour me out like milk, And curdle me like cheese, 11Clothe me with skin and flesh, And knit me together with bones and sinews? 12You have granted me life and favor, And Your care has preserved my spirit.”
• Job feels like a marked man, being watched every moment by God. Job 10:14 “If I sin, then You mark me,
  And will not acquit me of my iniquity.”
• Job doesn't understand why God would bring him out of his mother's womb to live such a purposeless life. Job 10:18 “Why then have You brought me out of the womb?
  Oh, that I had perished and no eye had seen me!”
• Job is so desperate that he asks God for just a few moments of peace before he dies. Job 10:20-21 “Are not my days few? Cease! Leave me alone, that I may take a little comfort, 21Before I go to the place from which I shall not return, To the land of darkness and the shadow of death.”

Zophar is a mudslinger. He throws everything he can think of at his friend without any concern or compassion about how it will affect him.

1.  ZOPHAR’S THREE ACCUSATIONS- JOB 11:1-20

*Job’s “Iniquity”- Job 11:1-4

Job 11:1-4 “Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said: 2“Should not the multitude of words be answered? And should a man full of talk be vindicated? 3Should your empty talk make men hold their peace? And when you    mock, should no one rebuke you? 4For you have said, ‘My doctrine is pure, And I am clean in your eyes.”

*Job’s “Ignorance”- Job 11:5-12

Job 11:5-12 “But oh, that God would speak, And open His lips against you, 6That He would show you the secrets of wisdom!
For they would double your prudence. Know therefore that God exacts from you Less than your iniquity deserves. 7“Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty? 8They are higher than heaven—what can you do? Deeper than Sheol—what can you know? 9Their measure is longer than the earth And broader than the sea. 10“If He passes by, imprisons, and gathers to judgment, Then who can hinder Him? 11For He knows deceitful men; He sees wickedness also. Will He not then consider it? 12For an empty-headed man will be wise, When a wild donkey’s colt is born a man.”

Zophar considered Job to be ignorant of the wisdom of God.

*Job’s “Inflexibility”- Job 11:13-20

Job 11:13-20 “If you would prepare your heart, And stretch out your hands toward Him; 14If iniquity were in your hand, and you put it far away, And would not let wickedness dwell in your tents; 15Then surely you could lift up your face without spot;
Yes, you could be steadfast, and not fear; 16Because you would forget your misery, And remember it as waters that have passed away, 17And your life would be brighter than noonday. Though you were dark, you would be like the morning. 18And you would be secure, because there is hope;
Yes, you would dig around you, and take your rest in safety.
19You would also lie down, and no one would make you afraid;
Yes, many would court your favor. 20But the eyes of the wicked will fail, And they shall not escape, And their hope—loss of life!”

Supposedly to motivate Job to repent, Zophar tells Job nine things he could experience if he would only confess:

He could lift up his face without spot. (verse 15)

He could be steadfast and not fear. (verse 15)

He could forget his misery. (verse 16)

His life would be brighter. (verse 17)

He would be like the morning. (verse 17)

He would be secure. (verse 18)

He would have hope. (verse 18)

He would not be afraid. (verse 19)

He would be courted by many. (verse 19)

2.  JOB’s THREE AFFIRMATIONS- JOB 12-14

*The Greatness of God- Job 12

Job begins his appeal by displaying how small and insignificant

man is when compared to a great and holy God.

1. Job's Rebuke- Job 12:1-6

Job 12:1-6 “Then Job answered and said: 2“No doubt you are the people, And wisdom will die with you! 3But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Indeed, who does not know such things as these? 4“I am one mocked by his friends,
Who called on God, and He answered him, The just and blameless who is ridiculed. 5A lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease; It is made ready for those whose feet slip. 6The tents of robbers prosper, And those who provoke God are secure— In what God provides by His hand.”

2. Job's Ridicule- Job 12:7-12

Job gets even more pointed and sarcastic when he tells his friends to look for godly wisdom in three other places.

* Ask the Animals- Job 12:7-8

Job 12:7-8 “But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
And the birds of the air, and they will tell you; 8Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; And the fish of the sea will explain to you.”

• Ask Anyone- Job 12:9-11

Job 12:9-11 “Who among all these does not know That the hand of the Lord has done this, 10In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind? 11Does not the ear test words And the mouth taste its food?”

• Ask the Aged- Job 12:12

Job 12:12 “Wisdom is with aged men, And with length of days, understanding.”

3. Job's Reverence- Job 12:13-25

• God Is Shrewd- Job 12:13

Job 12:13 “With Him are wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding.”

• God Is Strong- Job 12:14-15

Job 12:14-15 “If He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt;
If He imprisons a man, there can be no release. 15If He withholds the waters, they dry up; If He sends them out, they overwhelm the earth.”

• God Is Sovereign- Job 12:16-25

Job 12:16-25 “With Him are strength and prudence. The deceived and the deceiver are His. 17He leads counselors away plundered, And makes fools of the judges. 18He loosens the bonds of kings, And binds their waist with a belt. 19He leads princes away plundered, And overthrows the mighty. 20He deprives the trusted ones of speech, And takes away the discernment of the elders. 21He pours contempt on princes, And disarms the mighty. 22He uncovers deep things out of darkness, And brings the shadow of death to light. 23He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and guides them. 24He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, And makes them wander in a pathless wilderness. 25They grope in the dark without light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.”

3.  The Goodness of God- Job 13

• Job's Hostility Toward His Friends- Job 13:1-12

• I Am Not Inferior to You- Job 13:1-2

Job 13:1-2 “Behold, my eye has seen all this, My ear has heard and understood it. 2What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you.”

• I Am Not Impressed by You- Job 13:3-5

Job 13:3-5 “But I would speak to the Almighty, And I desire to reason with God. 4But you forgers of lies, You are all worthless physicians. 5Oh, that you would be silent, And it would be your wisdom!”

• I Am Not Intimidated by You- Job 13:6-12

Job 13:6-12 “Now hear my reasoning, And heed the pleadings of my lips. 7Will you speak wickedly for God, And talk deceitfully for Him? 8Will you show partiality for Him? Will you contend for God?
9Will it be well when He searches you out? Or can you mock Him as one mocks a man? 10He will surely rebuke you If you secretly show partiality. 11Will not His excellence make you afraid, And the dread of Him fall upon you? 12Your platitudes are proverbs of ashes, Your defenses are defenses of clay.”

• Job’s Honesty About Himself- Job 13:13-19

Job 13:13-19 “Hold your peace with me, and let me speak, Then let come on me what may! 14Why do I take my flesh in my teeth,
And put my life in my hands? 15Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him. 16He also shall be my salvation, For a hypocrite could not come before Him.
17Listen carefully to my speech, And to my declaration with your ears. 18See now, I have prepared my case, I know that I shall be vindicated. 19Who is he who will contend with me? If now I hold my tongue, I perish.”

Job says that he will still trust the Almighty. What a picture of faith!

• Job's Humility Before God- Job 13:20-28

Job 13:20-28 “Only two things do not do to me, Then I will not hide myself from You: 21Withdraw Your hand far from me, And let not the dread of You make me afraid. 22Then call, and I will answer; Or let me speak, then You respond to me. 23How many are my iniquities and sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin. 24Why do You hide Your face, And regard me as Your enemy? 25Will You frighten a leaf driven to and fro? And will You pursue dry stubble? 26For You write bitter things against me, And make me inherit the iniquities of my youth. 27You put my feet in the stocks, And watch closely all my paths. You set a limit for the soles of my feet. 28“Man decays like a rotten thing, Like a garment that is moth-eaten.”

4.  The Grievance Against God- Job 14

• The Grievance Over the Brevity of Life- Job 14:1-2

Job 14:1-2 “Man who is born of woman Is of few days and full of trouble. 2He comes forth like a flower and fades away; He flees like a shadow and does not continue.”

In order to get his message across, Job uses some picturesque metaphors about life.

• Man Is Like a Soon-Cut Flower- Job 14:1-2a

"He comes forth like a flower and fades away" (verse 2a).

* Man Is Like a Shadow- Job 14:2b

"He flees like a shadow and does not continue" (verse 2b).

• Man Is Like a Servant/Laborer- Job 14:3-6

Job 14:3-6 “And do You open Your eyes on such a one, And bring me to judgment with Yourself? 4Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one! 5Since his days are determined, The number of his months is with You; You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass. 6Look away from him that he may rest,
Till like a hired man he finishes his day.”

Job 14:7-12 “For there is hope for a tree, If it is cut down, that it will sprout again, And that its tender shoots will not cease. 8Though its root may grow old in the earth, And its stump may die in the ground, 9Yet at the scent of water it will bud And bring forth branches like a plant. 10But man dies and is laid away; Indeed he breathes his last And where is he? 11As water disappears from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dries up, 12So man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more,
They will not awake Nor be roused from their sleep.” 

• The Grievance Over the Mystery of Death- Job 14:13-17

Job 14:13-17 “Oh, that You would hide me in the grave, That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past, That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me! 14If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, Till my change comes. 15You shall call, and I will answer You; You shall desire the work of Your hands. 16For now You number my steps, But do not watch over my sin. 17My transgression is sealed up in a bag, And You cover my iniquity.”

The truth is that everyone will live somewhere forever.

• The Grievance Over the Uncertainty of Hope- Job 14:18-22

Job 14:18-22 “But as a mountain falls and crumbles away, And as a rock is moved from its place; 19As water wears away stones,
And as torrents wash away the soil of the earth; So You destroy the hope of man. 20You prevail forever against him, and he passes on; You change his countenance and send him away.
21His sons come to honor, and he does not know it; They are brought low, and he does not perceive it. 22But his flesh will be in pain over it, And his soul will mourn over it.”

If you want to have hope for life after death, you will find that hope in Jesus Christ and in Him alone.