October 11
Reading: Job 20
1 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:
2 “Therefore my thoughts answer me,
because of my haste within me.
3 I hear censure that insults me,
and out of my understanding a spirit answers me.
4 “Do you not know this from of old,
since man was placed on earth,
5 that the exulting of the wicked is short,
and the joy of the godless but for a moment?
6 Though his height mount up to the heavens,
and his head reach to the clouds,
7 he will perish forever like his own dung;
those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
8 He will fly away like a dream and not be found;
he will be chased away like a vision of the night.
9 The eye that saw him will see him no more,
nor will his place any more behold him.
10 His children will seek the favor of the poor,
and his hands will give back his wealth.
11 His bones are full of his youthful vigor,
but it will lie down with him in the dust.
12 “Though evil is sweet in his mouth,
though he hides it under his tongue,
13 though he is loath to let it go
and holds it in his mouth,
14 yet his food is turned in his stomach;
it is the venom of cobras within him.
15 He swallows down riches
and vomits them up again;
God casts them out of his belly.
16 He will suck the poison of cobras;
the tongue of a viper will kill him.
17 He will not look upon the rivers,
the streams flowing with honey and curds.
18 He will give back the fruit of his toil
and will not swallow it down;
from the profit of his trading
he will get no enjoyment.
19 For he has crushed and abandoned the poor;
he has seized a house that he did not build.
20 “Because he knew no contentment in his belly,
he will not let anything in which he delights escape him.
21 There was nothing left after he had eaten;
therefore his prosperity will not endure.
22 In the fullness of his sufficiency he will be in distress;
the hand of everyone in misery will come against him.
23 To fill his belly to the full,
God will send his burning anger against him
and rain it upon him into his body.
24 He will flee from an iron weapon;
a bronze arrow will strike him through.
25 It is drawn forth and comes out of his body;
the glittering point comes out of his gallbladder;
terrors come upon him.
26 Utter darkness is laid up for his treasures;
a fire not fanned will devour him;
what is left in his tent will be consumed.
27 The heavens will reveal his iniquity,
and the earth will rise up against him.
28 The possessions of his house will be carried away,
dragged off in the day of God’s wrath.
29 This is the wicked man’s portion from God,
the heritage decreed for him by God.”
After Zophar’s earlier speech, Job said that his advice was dumber than the beasts. “With you, wisdom will die!” (Job 12:2) It appears that Zophar has taken personal offense. He is insulted and is going to defend “the spirit of my understanding.” (Job 20:3) This is never a good place to be if you wish to confront or encourage a brother.
Zophar, beginning in verse 4, sets out to illustrate how the wicked man always gets humbled.
- The success of the wicked man is short. (vss. 4-11)
- The wicked man speaks evil, and his words will choke him. (vss. 12-13)
- The wicked man’s gluttony will make him sick. (vss. 14-19)
- The wicked man’s greed will backfire. (vss. 20-23)
- The wicked man’s violence will be his own destruction. (vss. 24-29)
This seems to be little short of an accusation. Is Zophar calling Job a wicked man? There is no question that Job will think that is what he is doing. The logic is backwards.
- God takes vengeance upon the wicked.
- God’s vengeance means ultimate personal destruction.
- You (Job) have experienced ultimate personal destruction.
- Therefore, you are a wicked man.
Zophar’s thinking moves what ought to be a premise to the conclusion. It is a common syllogistic fallacy. There are other logical problems as well. Zophar is not listening to Job, in confident in his own reasoning, and therefore plays the fool.
“For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness. Rather, fear God.” (Ecclesiastes 5:7)
“Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him.” (Ecclesiastes 10:12)
Sometimes people say true things at the wrong times to the wrong person and it does damage. Sure, God judges sin, but it is unhelpful to say this to someone without pointing out specific sins that you know of, and doing so gently. If sin is Job’s issue, he has already made it clear that he would like to know so that he can confess it and repent.