I have heard a rebuke that insults me, and my understanding prompts a reply. I have heardThis phrase indicates an active listening and reception of words. In the context of the Book of Job, it reflects the ongoing dialogue between Job and his friends. The Hebrew root for "heard" is "שָׁמַע" (shama), which implies not just hearing but understanding and internalizing. This suggests that Zophar, the speaker, is not merely passively receiving Job's words but is deeply affected by them, prompting a response. a rebuke
The term "rebuke" comes from the Hebrew "מוּסָר" (musar), which can mean correction or discipline. In the ancient Near Eastern context, a rebuke was often seen as a necessary tool for maintaining social and moral order. Zophar feels that Job's words challenge the traditional understanding of divine justice, prompting him to respond with what he perceives as necessary correction. that insults me
The phrase "that insults me" reveals Zophar's personal reaction to Job's discourse. The Hebrew word "חֶרְפָּה" (cherpah) is used here, meaning disgrace or reproach. This indicates that Zophar feels personally attacked or dishonored by Job's assertions. In the cultural context of the time, honor and shame were pivotal, and an insult could have significant social implications. and my understanding
The word "understanding" is derived from the Hebrew "בִּינָה" (binah), which refers to insight or discernment. Zophar claims a level of wisdom or insight that compels him to respond. This reflects the broader theme in Job of the search for wisdom and understanding in the face of suffering and divine mystery. inspires a reply
The phrase "inspires a reply" suggests a compulsion to speak. The Hebrew root "שׁוּב" (shuv) means to return or to answer. Zophar feels driven to respond, not out of mere reaction, but from a place of perceived moral and intellectual obligation. This reflects the dialogical nature of the text, where each character feels the need to assert their understanding of God's justice and human suffering. Persons / Places / Events 1. Zophar the NaamathiteOne of Job's three friends who comes to comfort him. Zophar is known for his harsh and direct approach, often emphasizing God's justice and the need for repentance. 2. JobThe central figure of the Book of Job, a man of great faith and integrity who undergoes severe trials and suffering. Job's responses to his friends' accusations are central to the account. 3. The DialogueThis verse is part of the ongoing dialogue between Job and his friends, where they attempt to explain Job's suffering through their understanding of God's justice. Teaching Points The Impact of WordsWords have the power to wound or heal. Zophar's rebuke is an example of how words can insult and provoke rather than comfort and support. Understanding and WisdomTrue understanding should lead to wise and compassionate responses. Zophar's understanding inspires a reply, but it lacks empathy and insight into Job's situation. The Role of Friends in SufferingFriends should offer support and encouragement, not judgment. Zophar's approach serves as a cautionary tale for how not to support someone in distress. The Importance of ListeningBefore responding, it is crucial to listen fully and understand the other person's perspective. Zophar's failure to do so leads to further conflict. Responding to CriticismJob's experience teaches us to consider criticism carefully, discerning what is true and what is not, and responding with integrity. Bible Study Questions 1. How does Zophar's approach to Job's suffering reflect or contradict the biblical principles of speaking with love and wisdom? 2. In what ways can we ensure our words are a source of healing rather than harm, especially when addressing someone in distress? 3. How can we apply the principle of being "quick to listen, slow to speak" in our daily interactions, particularly in challenging situations? 4. What can we learn from Job's response to Zophar about maintaining integrity and faith in the face of unjust criticism? 5. How do other scriptures, such as those in Proverbs and James, guide us in offering support to friends who are suffering? Connections to Other Scriptures Proverbs 15:1This verse highlights the power of gentle words versus harsh words, which can be related to the way Zophar's rebuke affects Job. James 1:19Encourages believers to be quick to listen and slow to speak, a principle that Zophar might have benefited from considering before responding to Job. 1 Peter 3:15Advises believers to be ready to give an answer with gentleness and respect, contrasting with Zophar's approach. People Job, ZopharPlaces UzTopics Answereth, Answers, Arguments, Cause, Causeth, Censure, Chastisement, Check, Dishonors, Ear, Inspires, Insults, Listened, Makes, Puts, Putteth, Putting, Reply, Reproach, Reproof, Shame, Spirit, Understanding, Wind, WisdomDictionary of Bible Themes Job 20:2-3 5893 insults Library June 9 Evening
The triumphing of the wicked is short.--JOB 20:5. Thou shalt bruise his heel.--This is your hour, and the power of darkness.--As the children are partakers of flesh and blood he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.--Having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily PathThe Christian Urged To, and Assisted In, an Express Act of Self-Dedication to the Service of God.
1. The advantages of such a surrender are briefly suggested.-- 2, 3, 4. Advice for the manner of doing it; that it be deliberate, cheerful, entire, perpetual.--5. And that it be expressed with some affecting solemnity.--6. A written instrument to be signed and declared before God, at some season of extraordinary devotion, reposed. The chapter concludes with a specimen of such an instrument, together with an abstract of it, to be used with proper and requisite alterations. 1. AS I would hope, that, …
Philip Doddridge—The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul Whether the Ashes from which the Human Body Will be Restored have any Natural Inclination Towards the Soul which Will be United to Them?
Objection 1: It would seem that the ashes from which the human body will be restored will have a natural inclination towards the soul which will be united to them. For if they had no inclination towards the soul, they would stand in the same relation to that soul as other ashes. Therefore it would make no difference whether the body that is to be united to that soul were restored from those ashes or from others: and this is false. Objection 2: Further, the body is more dependent on the soul than …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica God.
GLORY OF GOD. God is the chief good--good so as nothing is but himself. He is in himself most happy; yea, all good and all true happiness are only to be found in God, as that which is essential to his nature; nor is there any good or any happiness in or with any creature or thing but what is communicated to it by God. God is the only desirable good; nothing without him is worthy of our hearts. Right thoughts of God are able to ravish the heart; how much more happy is the man that has interest in …
John Bunyan—The Riches of Bunyan The Hardening Operation of Love.
"Being grieved for the hardness of their heart."--Mark iii. 5. Love may also be reversed. Failing to cherish, to uplift, and to enrich, it consumes and destroys. This is a mystery which man can not fathom. It belongs to the unsearchable depths of the divine Being, of which we do not wish to know more than has been revealed. But this does not alter the fact. No creature can exclude itself from the divine control. No man can say that he has nothing to do with God; that he or any other creature exists …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit Tit. 2:06 Thoughts for Young Men
WHEN St. Paul wrote his Epistle to Titus about his duty as a minister, he mentioned young men as a class requiring peculiar attention. After speaking of aged men and aged women, and young women, he adds this pithy advice, "Young men likewise exhort to be sober-minded" (Tit. 2:6). I am going to follow the Apostle's advice. I propose to offer a few words of friendly exhortation to young men. I am growing old myself, but there are few things I remember so well as the days of my youth. I have a most …
John Charles Ryle—The Upper Room: Being a Few Truths for the Times The Barren Fig-Tree;
OR, THE DOOM AND DOWNFALL OF THE FRUITLESS PROFESSOR: SHOWING, THAT THE DAY OF GRACE MAY BE PAST WITH HIM LONG BEFORE HIS LIFE IS ENDED; THE SIGNS ALSO BY WHICH SUCH MISERABLE MORTALS MAY BE KNOWN. BY JOHN BUNYAN 'Who being dead, yet speaketh.'--Hebrews 11:4 London: Printed for J. Robinson, at the Golden Lion, in St. Paul's Churchyard, 1688. This Title has a broad Black Border. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. This solemn, searching, awful treatise, was published by Bunyan in 1682; but does not appear …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 A Few Sighs from Hell;
or, The Groans of the Damned Soul: or, An Exposition of those Words in the Sixteenth of Luke, Concerning the Rich Man and the Beggar WHEREIN IS DISCOVERED THE LAMENTABLE STATE OF THE DAMNED; THEIR CRIES, THEIR DESIRES IN THEIR DISTRESSES, WITH THE DETERMINATION OF GOD UPON THEM. A GOOD WARNING WORD TO SINNERS, BOTH OLD AND YOUNG, TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION BETIMES, AND TO SEEK, BY FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST, TO AVOID, LEST THEY COME INTO THE SAME PLACE OF TORMENT. Also, a Brief Discourse touching the …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 An Exhortation to Love God
1. An exhortation. Let me earnestly persuade all who bear the name of Christians to become lovers of God. "O love the Lord, all ye his saints" (Psalm xxxi. 23). There are but few that love God: many give Him hypocritical kisses, but few love Him. It is not so easy to love God as most imagine. The affection of love is natural, but the grace is not. Men are by nature haters of God (Rom. i. 30). The wicked would flee from God; they would neither be under His rules, nor within His reach. They fear God, …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial Man's Misery by the Fall
Q-19: WHAT IS THE MISERY OF THAT ESTATE WHEREINTO MAN FELL? A: All mankind by their fall lost communion with God, are under his wrath and curse, and so made liable to all the miseries in this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell for ever. 'And were by nature children of wrath.' Eph 2:2. Adam left an unhappy portion to his posterity, Sin and Misery. Having considered the first of these, original sin, we shall now advert to the misery of that state. In the first, we have seen mankind offending; …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity Job
The book of Job is one of the great masterpieces of the world's literature, if not indeed the greatest. The author was a man of superb literary genius, and of rich, daring, and original mind. The problem with which he deals is one of inexhaustible interest, and his treatment of it is everywhere characterized by a psychological insight, an intellectual courage, and a fertility and brilliance of resource which are nothing less than astonishing. Opinion has been divided as to how the book should be …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Job 20:3 NIVJob 20:3 NLTJob 20:3 ESVJob 20:3 NASBJob 20:3 KJV
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