Job 20

Previously, in Job 1-2 the stage is set for the drama of Job's sufferings.

Job 3-14 is the first set of speeches where we hear Job followed by a friend in dueling monologues.

This pattern is continued in Job 15-21 with a second set of dueling monologues.

Here in Job 20, we hear Zophar give his second speech ...

Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer
because I am greatly disturbed.
I hear a rebuke that dishonors me,
and my understanding inspires me to reply.
Surely you know how it has been from of old,
ever since man was placed on the earth,
that the mirth of the wicked is brief,
the joy of the godless lasts but a moment.
Though his pride reaches to the heavens
and his head touches the clouds,
he will perish forever, like his own dung;
those who have seen him will say, 'Where is he?'
Like a dream he flies away, no more to be found,
banished like a vision of the night.
The eye that saw him will not see him again;
his place will look on him no more.
His children must make amends to the poor;
his own hands must give back his wealth.
The youthful vigor that fills his bones
will lie with him in the dust.

Do you think what Zophar says is true?

Indeed, death is the great equalizer. The good and the bad, the great and the lowly, the rich and the poor, all of us share the same fate.

True enough. But does it address where Job is at?

Job knows this is true. What he is complaining about is, where is God?

Job's concern is: I've really tried my best to live a right life and my situation seems just as bad or even worse than the fate of wicked people. What gives?

Zophar goes on ...

Though evil is sweet in his mouth
and he hides it under his tongue,
though he cannot bear to let it go
and keeps it in his mouth,
yet his food will turn sour in his stomach;
it will become the venom of serpents within him.
He will spit out the riches he swallowed;
God will make his stomach vomit them up.
He will suck the poison of serpents;
the fangs of an adder will kill him.
He will not enjoy the streams,
the rivers flowing with honey and cream.
What he toiled for he must give back uneaten;
he will not enjoy the profit from his trading.
For he has oppressed the poor and left them destitute;
he has seized houses he did not build.
Surely he will have no respite from his craving;
he cannot save himself by his treasure.
Nothing is left for him to devour;
his prosperity will not endure.
In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him;
the full force of misery will come upon him.

Do you think Zophar is taking a jab at Job?

One could say that Job was "In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him; the full force of misery will come upon him..."

Indeed, distress and misery overtook Job. In Zophar's paradigm, it is the price to be paid by the wicked.

When he has filled his belly,
God will vent his burning anger against him
and rain down his blows upon him.
Though he flees from an iron weapon,
a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him.
He pulls it out of his back,
the gleaming point out of his liver.
Terrors will come over him;
total darkness lies in wait for his treasures.
A fire unfanned will consume him
and devour what is left in his tent.
The heavens will expose his guilt;
the earth will rise up against him.
A flood will carry off his house,
rushing waters on the day of God's wrath.
Such is the fate God allots the wicked,
the heritage appointed for them by God.

Zophar mobilizes very vivid word pictures to describe the fate of the wicked.

I think this passage, along with a lot of other ones where Job's friends speak, illustrates the perils of making judgments about people's lives.

In isolation, what each of Job's friends say is mostly true. But in the context of Job's life, what they say is not pertinent.

The wrong lesson to draw from Job is to say we never make determinations about people's lives.

In life, we are asked to be discerning. After all, Jesus, in one of many picturesque statements, says, Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

Jesus could be as tough as nails as he was with the religious leaders of the day. He could also be compassionate like he was in the various people he healed. And in some interactions, he was a mix of both.

So indeed, it may be cliche to say, what would Jesus do?

But he is our example.

We have to be honest and admit Jesus did have tremendous advantages in that he had a hotline to God the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit!

We have access as well through prayer and the filling of the Holy Spirit, but humility demands I acknowledge that my heart isn't always pure, nor is my mind constantly focused God-ward and I'm a broken and leaky vessel for the Holy Spirit to be poured into.

Thus, I come to exercise discernment about people's lives with great caution and humility. Yet, we are asked to help each other in life and when necessary helping may mean reading someone the riot act. Hopefully, we will do a better Job than Job's friends.

Lord, clear the clutter of my mind so I focus on you. Keep working on my heart clearing away things that are wicked within me. Strengthen my will to want what you want. Nurture the coals within me that burn for you and stamp out the ones that lead me away from the paths of righteousness. Help me to be wise in how I lead others onto that same path. Amen.