The
First Sunday after The Epiphany.
The
Collect.
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O
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LORD, we beseech thee mercifully to
receive the prayers of thy people who call upon thee; and grant that they may
both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace
and power faithfully to fulfil the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Job 20
King James Version (KJV)
20 Then
answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
2 Therefore do my thoughts cause me to
answer, and for this I make haste.
3 I have heard the check of my reproach,
and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer.
4 Knowest thou not this of old, since man
was placed upon earth,
5 That the triumphing of the wicked is
short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?
6 Though his excellency mount up to the
heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds;
7 Yet he shall perish for ever like his own
dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?
8 He shall fly away as a dream, and shall
not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.
9 The eye also which saw him shall see him
no more; neither shall his place any more behold him.
10 His children shall seek to please the
poor, and his hands shall restore their goods.
11 His bones are full of the sin of his
youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust.
12 Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth,
though he hide it under his tongue;
13 Though he spare it, and forsake it not;
but keep it still within his mouth:
14 Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it
is the gall of asps within him.
15 He hath swallowed down riches, and he
shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly.
16 He shall suck the poison of asps: the
viper's tongue shall slay him.
17 He shall not see the rivers, the floods,
the brooks of honey and butter.
18 That which he laboured for shall he
restore, and shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the
restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein.
19 Because he hath oppressed and hath
forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he
builded not;
20 Surely he shall not feel quietness in his
belly, he shall not save of that which he desired.
21 There shall none of his meat be left;
therefore shall no man look for his goods.
22 In the fulness of his sufficiency he
shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.
23 When he is about to fill his belly, God
shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he
is eating.
24 He shall flee from the iron weapon, and
the bow of steel shall strike him through.
25 It is drawn, and cometh out of the body;
yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him.
26 All darkness shall be hid in his secret
places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is
left in his tabernacle.
27 The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and
the earth shall rise up against him.
28 The increase of his house shall depart,
and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath.
29 This
is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by
God.
How greatly do men's minds divide over established Truth? The misapplication of
truth can be as damaging, or more so at times, than an outright lie – for truth
misapplied is a great lie. Good Christian men and women are divided in Christ
because they misinterpret the Words that Christ taught us. Greater issue is
made over the definition of `wine' than over the so-called right to abort
innocent babies, in today's churches; and more battles are fought over infant
baptism than in the nurturing of the convert in the faith AFTER baptism. If
Godly folk would take upon themselves the Mind that was in Christ, the division
would cease. Need I remind you that those saints who die in the Lord will then
be members of One Church only, and not be stretched between Baptist, Methodist,
Presbyterians, Lutherans, and Anglicans – in ascending order of Godliness of
course? (*___~)
So we see Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and even Job misinterpreting the meaning of
God's truth. Though all three friends speak wise words, their basis is rooted
more in the humanistic application of godly principles than those of Job. Job,
though he errs at logic at times, does base both his understanding, and
misunderstanding, upon what he perceives to be God's will. Though many churches
today claim the Bible to be the Word of God, they take a very licentious view
thereof in feeling that they have acquired a greater knowledge of Christ than
the apostles had, and they feel free to alter the Bible according to their
foolish deceptions. But, as a common Alabama proverb goes, "It ain't
over `til its over!" Our great LORD shall bring everything into
judgment and set all things right that are amiss in the end times. We may judge
from the midsection that a fish is a fish, but we will not know which direction
it is headed until we have seen the head and tail. So with the persevering Job.
Our lives are, as our friend, Shakespeare says, like a play. We enter the
theater at mid play and leave before the play is over. So how can we judge the
play and its ending? "All the world's a stage, And all the men and
women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in
his time plays many parts."(As You Like It – Wm.
Shakespeare).
Zophar violates a cardinal rule of wisdom in speaking his wisdom – he
speaks in haste! 2 Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for
this I make haste. Please note the contrasting reverence in which God is
held by Job as opposed to that of his three friends. Job KNOWS God even if he
misinterprets God's will at times. The assertions of the three friends of Job
are constantly condemning Job more than uplifting the God whom Job fails not to
honor. Not a single word of Job's three friends rises to the zenith of beauty
and truth of Job's single claim in the last chapter: For I know that my
redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And
though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.
(Job 19:25-26) We often quote the beauty of expression of Job, but seldom of
his friends.
The cause of Zophar's hasty answer is a quick temper! 3 I have
heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causeth me
to answer. He essentially blames, now, Job of speaking too harshly
against him, but suggests that he will respond to a harsh reproach with a
reasoned understanding. What follows is no more than a recycle train of charges
and allegations against Job. The dung beetle recycles dung, and it is the
strongest bug known. It never gives up or quits in its dirty business. Of
course, the polytheists of ancient Egypt considered such a bug of filth to be
sacred. It was called a scarab. It is unfortunate today that the religious zeal
of many Bible-believing Christians is so much harsher than Christ ever spoke
that their efforts result in a greater, not less, ignorance and love of God. 4 Knowest
thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth, 5 That
the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a
moment? 6 Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and
his head reach unto the clouds. Is Zophar harboring a dormant
jealousy for Job's earlier prosperity? Job, as we all know, triumphed early in
the favor of God. He was then tested by Satan (not God), but this is not the
END of the story – a vision that has escaped Zophar. One other point: the
prosperity of the wicked is not always so fleeting as Zophar implies. There are
evil men born into wealth and live their entire lives in opulence. I believe
that is the prosperity to which Zophar makes reference, but erroneously as to
duration. The true fact is that the wicked NEVER triumph except in the myopic
eye of lost men. They may gather many false gems to their purses, but their
hearts remain a wilderness of burning and unsatisfied desire. He comes nearer
truth in his next statement: 7 Yet he shall perish for ever like
his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he? 8 He
shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away
as a vision of the night. 9 The eye also which saw him shall
see him no more; neither shall his place any more behold him. Of
course, Zophar means these words to apply to Job, but he is simply spitting
against the tide.
10 His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands
shall restore their goods. The children of the prosperous wicked
man shall attempt to appease the misery their father causes the poor. The
repayment of offences will be repaid at the cost of the children. Here comes
some truly fire and brimstone preaching sans any satisfying grace of
God: 11 His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which
shall lie down with him in the dust. 12 Though wickedness be
sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue; 13 Though
he spare it, and forsake it not; but keep it still within his mouth: 14 Yet
his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him. 15 He
hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast
them out of his belly. 16 He shall suck the poison of asps:
the viper's tongue shall slay him. 17 He shall not see the
rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter. 18 That
which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down:
according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice
therein. So-called "Fire and Brimstone" preaching often
leaves out the solution that to which the wicked may turn just as a detour sign
that fails to point out the alternate route.
Words to describe the bitterness expressed in Zophar's half-truth defy solid
expression. It is tantamount to my coming upon a good and faithful friend who
has had an auto accident on the highway. He is hurt with many wounds and broken
bones – then I say: "Well, old boy, do you not know that sudden
destruction comes upon all wicked?" My question is right, but its
application is way out of line.
19 Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because
he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not; 20 Surely
he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he
desired. 21 There shall none of his meat be left; therefore
shall no man look for his goods. 22 In the fulness of his
sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon
him. 23 When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast
the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.
These words are not counsel to Job – they are darts of fire – and unjustly
thrown. Somewhere along the way, though the three came out of friendship, they
ceased to be the friends of Job and became his demons. As they chatted, their
old jealousies arose, and their pride of present prosperity compared to Job's
predicament got the better of them. They, like Eve, began to listen to the
wrong voice.
Listen below to the obvious animosity clothed in the supposedly Godly counsel
of Zophar: 24 He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the
bow of steel shall strike him through. 25 It is drawn, and
cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall:
terrors are upon him. 26 All darkness shall be hid in his
secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him
that is left in his tabernacle. 27 The heaven shall reveal
his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him. It would be
a delight to be a fly on the wall of Zophar's heart when the end of Job's story
comes. He has laid stronger judgment against Job than any I have read in the
Old Testament – yet it was all erroneously said, and spitefully contrived. See
how he compeletly misses the target next: 28 The increase of his
house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath.
29 This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage
appointed unto him by God. Yes, it is true, but perhaps more about
Zophar than of Job. At this point, I wish that I could sling the final chapter
of Job before Zophar's eyes and watch him melt, as the snail at noon, into the
ground. The Redeemer to which Job made reference in chapter 19 will speak that
which Zophar needs so badly to hear now: Judge
not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
(John 7:24)
