Job 20:21–25

The last of the three speakers comes forward once more. He even admits the haste, if not the irritation, that drove him to deal with Job. Zophar's main point is how short-lived the wrongdoer's triumph is. Such a man may seem to rise fast to the highest peak of prosperity. But that rise ends only in a sudden fall to the lowest pit of misery and disgrace, where he is the obvious object of God's anger.

What he had worked for he gives back, and does not swallow it. The wealth he traded for gives him no joy. For he ground down and abandoned the poor. He seized a house he was not to build, and was cut off before his plans were ripe and he could enjoy them. Inside him is a greed that nothing satisfies. So he would not escape with what he values most — nothing was left over from his eating — and his prosperity does not endure.

Reading Job 20, we can see what runs underneath his statements about various acts of wickedness. He is hinting that Job had been guilty of them. It was Job who had worked to swallow down other people's property and to oppress the poor. It was Job who had violently taken away a house he had not built, and so on. The fact is that a man who bases his argument on his own intuition is always very dogmatic and cocksure. He has to be, to make up for the lack of outward evidence that would back up his claims.

There is, as already noted, an intensity in Zophar that gives his words a distinct character. He fiercely denounces evil, leaving no doubt that he means Job. He paints the certain doom of the wicked in language so heated that it soon uses up everything he has to say... Everything he says is true. His own unforgivable error is that he tries to apply it to a righteous man.

"Nothing is left for him to eat," Zophar says. His prosperity will not last. His self-sufficiency will only mock him, and misery would come at him from every side (vv.21-22)... Job felt that this was in effect what God was doing to him, and Zophar seemed glad to rub it in, to make Job all the more miserable. But this could not convince Job that he was wicked, for he knew such accusations against him were false.

Sometimes wicked men are cut off, but some wicked men live and grow old and become mighty in power above others (v.7). Why? Their children often get on well with hardly a setback (v.8)... They seem to have nothing to fear, and the discipline of God's rule seems not to apply to them (v.9)... Asaph observed this too, as he records in Psalm 73:3-9. In verses 16-17 he added, "it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end." He learned that God does not settle His accounts in this life: there is a future to reckon with.

Zophar would discourage Job from ever expecting any good to come out of his afflictions. How little he knew the heart of God! God later moved Paul to write, "For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison" (2 Cor. 4:17).

As already noted, there is an intensity in Zophar that gives his words a distinct character. He fiercely denounces evil and leaves no room for doubt that he means Job. He describes the certain doom of the wicked, and the sheer force of his language soon exhausts what he has in mind. This seems to be why he ends all he has to say with this second address. The fiercer the fire, the quicker it burns out. All that he says is true; his own unpardonable error is that he tries to apply it to a righteous man. This address can be divided into seven parts; the last is only a closing word. (1) Brief triumph of the wicked (vv. 1-5). (2) He is soon cut off (vv. 6-11). (3) Poisoned with his own venom (vv. 12-16). (4) Past prosperity unavailing (vv. 17-20). (5) Retribution (vv. 21-25). (6) Lasting wrath (vv. 26-28). (7) Conclusion (v. 29).

A wicked man could find his own wickedness recoiling on him. He could find no help in his past experiences. And he could also expect harsh retribution from the hand of God. "Nothing is left for him to eat," Zophar says. His prosperity will not last. His self-sufficiency will only serve to mock him, and misery would come on him from every hand (vv. 21-22). He intends to fill his stomach in self-satisfaction. But God would cast on him the fury of His wrath, and rain His anger on him while he is eating (v. 23).

The world is enough to busy us, not to fill us. "In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits" (Job 20:22).

Zophar enlarges on the thought of retribution in this portion. Covetousness means ultimate ruin. The very ones he oppressed (the "needy," rather than the "wicked," v. 22) will line up against him. And, above all, God will pour out the fury of His wrath on him, like the fiery rain that fell on Sodom.

See how Zophar paints the final scene! In the fullness of his plenty, says Zophar, his distress comes: there is not one wretch who does not stretch out his hand against him. God will give him plenty, but it will be the burning of His wrath, raining it on him with his food. Does he try to dodge some weapon of iron? The bow of copper pierces him through. The language is most telling.

The description of the wicked is great. No one can fault what he says about those who are ungodly... But the serious mistake Zophar made is twofold. Job had pleaded for pity. Not a word of pity comes from Zophar's lips. The whole address is meant to tell Job, "You are that man!" Here is the second mistake. He does not consider Job's words for a moment. They could not come from the lips of an ungodly person. They come from one who knows God.

How blinding is religious prejudice, which could think this of Job! Wrath is cruel, anger is outrageous, and who is able to stand before envy or jealousy? But error in religious judgment may be the most cutting of all. It cuts all the more when a person holds it with great earnestness. The thought of God is then abused to shut out every atom of human kindness, let alone brotherly kindness.

Zophar springs to reply, as a young man would. He felt he had plenty of thoughts to meet all Job's statements, and to convict him of the wickedness they charged against him. He is not the first man to mistake heat for argument. His haste to express his feelings shows poverty of thought, not the weight of truth. ... In fact, wounded pride may be the real reason for his eagerness to speak.

Look how Zophar paints the final scene! At the height of the man's plenty, his troubles come: every wretch stretches out a hand against him. God will give him plenty, but it will be the burning of His wrath, raining it on him with his food.

The man means to fill his stomach and satisfy himself. But God would cast on him the fury of His wrath, and rain His anger on him while he is eating (v.23). Job felt that this was in effect what God was doing to him. Zophar seemed glad to "rub it in," to make Job all the more miserable. But this could not persuade Job that he was wicked, for he knew such accusations against him were false.

Zophar holds to this great fact: there is a righteous God above, and there are unrighteous, wicked people below. And God always deals with these wicked people now. That was not true. God has always allowed a large part of the world to seem to prosper in their evil. The reason is that the time of judgment has not yet come. There may be judgments. There may be exceptional dealings with the wicked, just as Job's case was very exceptional — in the severity of his trial, and in the way God challenged Satan to do his very worst. And God was secretly holding Job up, even while Job was finding fault with Him and thinking He was hard on him.

The description of the wicked is great. No one can fault what he says about those who are ungodly... In the end, wrath comes upon him. Such is the portion of the wicked man from God. But the serious mistake Zophar made is twofold. Job had pleaded for pity. Not a word of pity comes from Zophar's lips. The whole address is meant to tell Job "You are that man!" His second mistake: he does not consider for a moment what Job has said — words that could not come from the lips of an ungodly person, but from one who knows God.

True things, misunderstood and misapplied, may do more harm than many a false thing. Misapplied truth lends the apparent authority of God to an error, and that error carries all the more weight because it comes as the truth. If someone says a foolish thing, or a plainly false one, people dismiss it. But no believer can take the truth of God lightly. So when the truth of God is misused — when someone applies it to crush a person who is the object of God's deep concern at that very moment — how foreign and offensive to His mind!

The words are nechosheth or nechushah, and are often translated 'brass.' Copper, or some alloy, is most likely. It is not what we now call steel, though the first three passages say 'a bow of steel.' 2 Samuel 22:35; Job 20:24; Psalm 18:34; Jeremiah 15:12.

"He will flee from an iron weapon" (v.24). This may remind us of Joseph, who "was laid in irons" (Psalm 105:18). The iron speaks of hard, unyielding circumstances. In Joseph's case they found him submissive. In Job's case they made him want to flee. Like most of us, he wanted to avoid the hardness of trials. One might ask, would Zophar feel submissive if an iron weapon threatened him? or would he want to flee from it? But he was not in Job's position, and could speak quite confidently about others. "A bronze bow will pierce him through" — this evidently means the arrow from the bow. So he is pierced through with terror.

As he flees from the weapon of iron, the deadlier arrow pierces him. It is "as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him... and leaned his hand against the wall, and a serpent bit him" (Amos 5:19). The arrow strikes home with perfect aim, deep into the terrified man, and there is no escape.

Error in religious judgment can be the most cutting of all, and it cuts in proportion to how earnestly it is held. The thought of God is then abused to shut out every bit of human kindness. See how the final scene is painted!... God will give him plenty, but it will be the burning of His wrath, raining it on him with his food. Does he seek to avoid some weapon of iron? The bow of copper pierces him through.

There is an intensity in Zophar that gives his words their own character. He denounces evil fiercely, leaving no room for doubt that he means Job. He describes the certain doom of the wicked, and the sheer force of his language soon uses up all he has to say. This seems to be why he ends everything he has to say with this second address. The fiercer the fire, the more quickly it burns out. All that he says is true; his own unpardonable error is that he seeks to apply it to a righteous man.

The serious mistake Zophar made is twofold. Job had pleaded for pity. Not a word of pity comes from Zophar's lips. The whole address is meant to tell Job, "You are that man!" The second mistake is this: he does not consider for a moment what Job has said, which could not come from the lips of an ungodly person, but from one who knows God.

Does he seek to avoid some weapon of iron? The bow of copper pierces him through. The language is most telling. It is drawn, and at once it comes out of his flesh, the glittering sword out of his gall. Some understand "He is gone! terrors over him," which certainly fits the vivid suddenness of the ruin described. But the older versions are against Rosenmüller, Schultens and others, who take it that way.

He flees from the iron weapon, and the deadlier arrow pierces him: "as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him, … and leaned his hand against the wall, and a serpent bit him" (Amos 5:19). The shaft strikes the vital organs of the terror-stricken man with perfect aim. There is no escape.

"He will flee from an iron weapon" (v.24). This may remind us of Joseph, whose "neck was put in a collar of iron" (Ps. 105:18). The iron speaks of hard, unyielding circumstances. Joseph met them with calm submission, but they made Job want to flee. Most of us are the same: we want to avoid the hardness of trials. One might ask: would Zophar be submissive if an iron weapon threatened him? Or would he want to flee from it? But he was not in Job's situation, and could speak confidently about others. "A bronze bow will pierce him through" — this speaks of the arrow from the bow. So terror pierces him through.

There is an intensity in Zophar that gives a distinct character to his words. He denounces evil with heat, and leaves no room for doubt that he means Job. He describes the certain doom of the wicked in language so forceful that it soon exhausts what he has in mind. This seems to be the reason why he ends all he has to say with this second address. The fiercer the fire, the more quickly it burns out. All that he says is true; his own unpardonable error is that he seeks to apply it to a righteous man.

Zophar has completed his terrible charges. He has pursued without pity a bruised and apparently dying man. He has refused Job's appeal for pity. He has ignored Job's claim of unshaken integrity. He has pressed his suspicion with an iron hand into the soul of the poor sufferer. And all of it comes under the plausible excuse of piety pleading for God! However it may end, we feel that Zophar and those like him are no help at all. And we are not sorry that we shall hear no more from him — until he comes back in a very different spirit, to ask the prayers of the friend he has slandered.

Here then, we see how vital it is that we get the mind of God. Neither experience nor tradition will do. Bildad loved tradition as much as Eliphaz loved experience. But Zophar, I think, was quite confident in himself. And this self-confidence biases a man even more than the other two weaknesses do — thinking too much of the wisdom of old age, or of the tradition of those before us. No, God will have His own word. We honour God when we receive His word and apply it — not just to other people, but above all to ourselves.