Difference between revisions of "Sermon for March 27th, 2022"

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Job 20:1-29 (OT p.468)

1 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:

2 “Pay attention! My thoughts urge me to answer,
    because of the agitation within me.
3 I hear censure that insults me,
    and a spirit beyond my understanding answers me.
4 Do you not know this from of old,
    ever since mortals were placed on earth,
5 that the exulting of the wicked is short,
    and the joy of the godless is but for a moment?
6 Even though they mount up high as the heavens,
    and their head reaches to the clouds,
7 they will perish forever like their own dung;
    those who have seen them will say, ‘Where are they?’
8 They will fly away like a dream, and not be found;
    they will be chased away like a vision of the night.
9 The eye that saw them will see them no more,
    nor will their place behold them any longer.
10 Their children will seek the favor of the poor,
    and their hands will give back their wealth.
11 Their bodies, once full of youth,
    will lie down in the dust with them.

12 “Though wickedness is sweet in their mouth,
    though they hide it under their tongues,
13 though they are loath to let it go,
    and hold it in their mouths,
14 yet their food is turned in their stomachs;
    it is the venom of asps within them.
15 They swallow down riches and vomit them up again;
    God casts them out of their bellies.
16 They will suck the poison of asps;
    the tongue of a viper will kill them.
17 They will not look on the rivers,
    the streams flowing with honey and curds.
18 They will give back the fruit of their toil,
    and will not swallow it down;
from the profit of their trading
    they will get no enjoyment.
19 For they have crushed and abandoned the poor,
    they have seized a house that they did not build.

20 “They knew no quiet in their bellies;
    in their greed they let nothing escape.
21 There was nothing left after they had eaten;
    therefore their prosperity will not endure.
22 In full sufficiency they will be in distress;
    all the force of misery will come upon them.
23 To fill their belly to the full
    God will send his fierce anger into them,
    and rain it upon them as their food.
24 They will flee from an iron weapon;
    a bronze arrow will strike them through.
25 It is drawn forth and comes out of their body,
    and the glittering point comes out of their gall;
    terrors come upon them.
26 Utter darkness is laid up for their treasures;
    a fire fanned by no one will devour them;
    what is left in their tent will be consumed.
27 The heavens will reveal their iniquity,
    and the earth will rise up against them.
28 The possessions of their house will be carried away,
    dragged off in the day of God’s wrath.
29 This is the portion of the wicked from God,
    the heritage decreed for them by God.”

Other Voices in the Book of Job: Zophar

One day at the gates of hell, the devil himself is greeting new arrivals, and he is in a rather good (albeit devilish) mood. So he tells the latest newcomer, "Your actions and choices in life have earned you an eternity of torment. But I'll make you a deal: You get to choose between three options. He leads the man to door number one, the classic fiery furnace where inhabitants are being perpetually roasted in agony. The man nervously asks to see what's behind door number two. The devil opens the second door, which reveals a vast and desolate wasteland. In the distance, the man can see scattered inhabitants, exhausted, and constantly pursued by frightening demons. The man says, "Well, that's a slight improvement, but let's see what's behind door number three." As soon as door number three is opened, out comes an almost unbearable stench, and the man sees the inhabitants of the room standing waist high in what looks like a combination of cow manure, rotten sewage, and (again for classic effect) burning sulfur. But there's one more faint aroma coming out of the room: Coffee. The man sees that each of the inhabitants is drinking from a small cup of coffee. "This one definitely seems like the lesser of three evils," says the man, somewhat relieved. "I'll choose this room." "Popular choice," says the devil with a snicker, as he shoves the man inside the room. And just before the devil closes the door, he yells out in a loud voice to all in the room: "Coffee break's over--back on your heads!"