Job 21:1 Commentary and Bible Study

Chapter 21 gives us Job’s more gracious reply to Zophar. Since the great encouragement of chapter 19 Job never succumbs to quite the same depths to which he fell before. There is a new spirit in him. His foes’ thoughts are handled in a much better way. The theme is the whole issue of the delayed judgement of God. One of the religious views of the friends is that suffering is definitely one of the signs of the judgement of God, and especially religious hypocrites will be given very severely punishment. They keep coming back to this like a dog to bone. Almost nothing Job says makes any impression on them. He reminds them that the wicked often prosper. He has said it before but they don’t appear to listen, but instead make these relentless speeches.Job now expects little from the three friends, for they have shown themselves so implacably opposed to him and so unwilling to open a chink of their minds towards him that he really cannot hope they will suddenly start to handle his case fairly and offer him any real comfort. Nevertheless it would be some comfort to him if they were at least to listen to him and be restrained enough to take seriously what he said. They had supposedly come to him to give him consolation, but had utterly failed and had only made themselves the tools of Satan. Now, he says, it would at least be some consolation to him – let this be your consolation, comfort, to me – if they were to listen attentively. After that, let them carry on with their mockery.