SUCH IS THE FATE GOD ALLOTS THE WICKED

Job 20:1-29 / Keywords 20:29

Such is the fate God allots the wicked, the heritage appointed for them by God.

Zophar

20:1 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

2 “My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer

    because I am greatly disturbed.

3 I hear a rebuke that dishonors me,

    and my understanding inspires me to reply.

4 “Surely you know how it has been from of old,

    ever since mankind[a] was placed on the earth,

5 that the mirth of the wicked is brief,

    the joy of the godless lasts but a moment.

6 Though the pride of the godless person reaches to the heavens

    and his head touches the clouds,

7 he will perish forever, like his own dung;

    those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’

8 Like a dream he flies away, no more to be found,

    banished like a vision of the night.

9 The eye that saw him will not see him again;

    his place will look on him no more.

10 His children must make amends to the poor;

    his own hands must give back his wealth.

11 The youthful vigor that fills his bones

    will lie with him in the dust.

12 “Though evil is sweet in his mouth

    and he hides it under his tongue,

13 though he cannot bear to let it go

    and lets it linger in his mouth,

14 yet his food will turn sour in his stomach;

    it will become the venom of serpents within him.

15 He will spit out the riches he swallowed;

    God will make his stomach vomit them up.

16 He will suck the poison of serpents;

    the fangs of an adder will kill him.

17 He will not enjoy the streams,

    the rivers flowing with honey and cream.

18 What he toiled for he must give back uneaten;

    he will not enjoy the profit from his trading.

19 For he has oppressed the poor and left them destitute;

    he has seized houses he did not build.

20 “Surely he will have no respite from his craving;

    he cannot save himself by his treasure.

21 Nothing is left for him to devour;

    his prosperity will not endure.

22 In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him;

    the full force of misery will come upon him.

23 When he has filled his belly,

    God will vent his burning anger against him

    and rain down his blows on him.

24 Though he flees from an iron weapon,

    a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him.

25 He pulls it out of his back,

    the gleaming point out of his liver.

Terrors will come over him;

26     total darkness lies in wait for his treasures.

A fire unfanned will consume him

    and devour what is left in his tent.

27 The heavens will expose his guilt;

    the earth will rise up against him.

28 A flood will carry off his house,

    rushing waters[b] on the day of God’s wrath.

29 Such is the fate God allots the wicked,

    the heritage appointed for them by God.”

Footnotes

a. Job 20:4 Or Adam

b. Job 20:28 Or The possessions in his house will be carried off, / washed away

 

1. Like Bildad, Zophar also begins his second discourse by expressing his displeasure with Job’s answers. Rather than trying to understand Job, Zophar is concerned about being properly honored. He is more interested in his own understanding, and getting Job to submit to it, than to counseling, comforting, or simply supporting his friend. What a contrast with Jesus, who, in his incarnation, chose dishonor, humiliation, all to serve the lost.

 

2. What is this great understanding that Zophar is convinced is so important for Job to understand? He begins with the reiteration of simple justice, much like that presented in the Proverbs, whereby the wicked perish and are removed from the earth. Their evil is turned back on them, their judgment swift and complete, and all this ensured by the hand of God, who will carry out this judgment (15, 23, 29). No one can escape God’s judgment.

 

3. But applying this to Job misses the mark: Job is NOT wicked; so why is God pursuing him? Zophar’s comments, wise as they are, have no relevance to Job, nor do they reflect the true mind and heart of God, who does not delight in destroying the wicked. He would rather redeem them, offering a very different fate (Col 1:13).

 

Prayer Father, thank you for redeeming me into a heritage in your holy family through Jesus. Help me share this story with someone today.

One Word Our heritage is to be in God’s family