Job 20

Verse 1-11:

"Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

2 “I must reply
because I am greatly disturbed.
3 I’ve had to endure your insults,
but now my spirit prompts me to reply.

4 “Don’t you realize that from the beginning of time,
ever since people were first placed on the earth,
5 the triumph of the wicked has been short lived
and the joy of the godless has been only temporary?
6 Though the pride of the godless reaches to the heavens
and their heads touch the clouds,
7 yet they will vanish forever,
thrown away like their own dung.
Those who knew them will ask,
‘Where are they?’
8 They will fade like a dream and not be found.
They will vanish like a vision in the night.
9 Those who once saw them will see them no more.
Their families will never see them again.
10 Their children will beg from the poor,
for they must give back their stolen riches.
11 Though they are young,
their bones will lie in the dust."

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In the grand scheme things, verses 4-5 carries some truth. When Jesus returns, anyone not with Him is against Him and Scripture is frighteningly descriptive of what awaits those who fall into this category.

Verses 12-21:

12 “They enjoyed the sweet taste of wickedness,

letting it melt under their tongue.
13 They savored it,
holding it long in their mouths.
14 But suddenly the food in their bellies turns sour,
a poisonous venom in their stomach.
15 They will vomit the wealth they swallowed.
God won’t let them keep it down.
16 They will suck the poison of cobras.
The viper will kill them.
17 They will never again enjoy streams of olive oil
or rivers of milk and honey.
18 They will give back everything they worked for.
Their wealth will bring them no joy.
19 For they oppressed the poor and left them destitute.
They foreclosed on their homes.
20 They were always greedy and never satisfied.
Nothing remains of all the things they dreamed about.
21 Nothing is left after they finish gorging themselves.
Therefore, their prosperity will not endure."

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It's really hard for me to find a whole heck of a lot out of discourses such as this. I feel like they're there more so to supplement the surrounding verses/chapters and the rest of the book, to help the account of Job flow better and more smoothly.

Verses 22-29:

22 “In the midst of plenty, they will run into trouble
and be overcome by misery.
23 May God give them a bellyful of trouble.
May God rain down his anger upon them.
24 When they try to escape an iron weapon,
a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce them.
25 The arrow is pulled from their back,
and the arrowhead glistens with blood.
The terrors of death are upon them.
26 Their treasures will be thrown into deepest darkness.
A wildfire will devour their goods,
consuming all they have left.
27 The heavens will reveal their guilt,
and the earth will testify against them.
28 A flood will sweep away their house.
God’s anger will descend on them in torrents.
29 This is the reward that God gives the wicked.
It is the inheritance decreed by God.”

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Just reading this convicts me of the things I do wrong. Think about God doing this. Kind of frightening, huh? Could you imagine if God physically came around on the earth, shooting the wicked in the back with arrows? I can't help but bet that many people today, myself included, would be much more careful about committing the wicked things that we do.

"Father thank You for Jesus. I pray that You would forgive us for the wicked things we think and do. I pray that Your Spirit would give us the strength to resist temptation and choose the godly way out of difficult situations. We love You so much, and it's in Jesus' name that I pray, amen!"