John Mark Hicks

Zophar is seething. He can’t stand it.  Does Job really think he can dispute with God? Zophar’s zeal for the righteousness of God demands that he “rebuke” this mocker.  “Will no one rebuke you,” Zophar retorts, “when you mock?” (11:3b). Zophar’s speech may be divided into three sections:  (1) his rebuke of Job’s insolence (11:2-6), […]

Who can contend with God?  No one, Job answers (9:3). But the problem is that God is contending with (prosecuting) Job (10:2). His response to Bildad is not direct. As I read him, he basically replies to Bildad’s first question.  It is enough to set Job on fire–”How long will you say such things? Your words […]

Whatever God does is just. God destroyed your life. Therefore, you deserved it.  That is a summary of Bildad’s response to Job’s harrowing lament and plea for wisdom as well as sympathy from his friends in Job 6-7. The hidden premise is that God only destroys the life of the wicked. Somebody, somewhere sinned. With shocking […]

Is this how you react, Job asks, to a “despairing man”?  Whoever withholds “kindness” from a friend, according to Job, “forsake[s] the fear of the Almighty” (Job 6:14). Job did not give up the fear of God but Eliphaz did not practice it in how he has approached Job in his suffering. Job’s response to […]

The narrator provides the frame of mind with which to read this magnificent and stunning poem—rather than cursing God (which is what the satan expected), Job curses the day of his birth. The narrator’s introduction underscores that the satan was wrong about Job. At the same time, Job wishes he had never been born or at […]

The story narrated by the Prologue is symmetrical and artistic.  It is neatly structured into two encounters between Yahweh and Satan bounded by an introductory affirmation of Job’s character and a concluding mourning with friends.  We may outline it in this manner. A. Introduction: Job’s Character (1:1-5) B.  First Encounter between Yahweh and Satan (1:6-12) […]

This semester at Lipscomb I am teaching an intensive Bible Major class on Job and Ecclesiastes. I am excited about the class and literally am sitting on the edge of my seat to see what God does every class period with myself and sixteen students. Over the semester, I hope to blog a bit about […]

Continuing my quest to post previously published or presented materials, I have uploaded some new items–well, some old items (1990s) that are now newly offered on this website.  🙂 Baptism and Alexander Campbell. The 1990 book Baptism and the Remission of Sins (College Press), edited by David Fletcher, contained three articles I authored. They are […]

My previous posts in this series have examined the mistakes of Eliphaz and Bildad in their first responses to Job’s laments. Now I turn my attention to Zophar (Job 11) and Job’s reaction to his “comfort” (Job 12-14). Zophar’s Counsel Zophar is seething. He can’t stand it.  Who does Job think he is that he […]

In my first post, I enumerated Eliphaz’s pastoral mistakes (Job 4-5) and Job’s response to his “friend.” In this post Bildad responds to Job’s rejection of Eliphaz’s counsel (Job 8 ) and Job reacts to Bildad (Job 9-10). Bildad’s “Counsel” Whatever God does is just. God destroyed your life. Therefore, you deserved it. With shocking pastoral insensitivity […]