Destitute

Job 20:19-23 – For he has oppressed the poor and left them destitute; he has seized houses he did not build. “Surely he will have no respite from his craving; he cannot save himself by his treasure. Nothing is left for him to devour; his prosperity will not endure. In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him; the full force of misery will come upon him. When he has filled his belly, God will vent his burning anger against him and rain down his blows on him.

Deuteronomy 15:11 – There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.

Zephaniah 1:18 – Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord’s wrath.” In the fire of his jealousy the whole earth will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live on the earth.

Numbers 11:19-20 – You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it—because you have rejected the Lord, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’”

Application:

• ·         Even in the best of societies under the most enlightened laws, the uncertainties of life and the variations among citizens result in some people becoming poor.
• ·         In the day of God’s judgment, material wealth cannot buy deliverance from punishment.
• ·         The Israelites failed to demonstrate proper gratitude to the Lord, who was in their midst and who was their constant source of good.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Linger In His Mouth

Job 20:11-18 – The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie with him in the dust. “Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he hides it under his tongue, though he cannot bear to let it go and lets it linger in his mouth, yet his food will turn sour in his stomach; it will become the venom of serpents within him. He will spit out the riches he swallowed; God will make his stomach vomit them up. He will suck the poison of serpents; the fangs of an adder will kill him. He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream. What he toiled for he must give back uneaten; he will not enjoy the profit from his trading.

Numbers 11:19-20 – You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it—because you have rejected the Lord, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’”

Psalm 36:8 – They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights.

Application:

• ·         The principal issue was not meat at all, but a failure to demonstrate proper gratitude to the Lord, who was in their midst and who was their constant source of good.
• ·         The vivid imagery of Psalm 36:8, depicting God’s control over, and gift of, the waters from heaven, which feed the rivers and streams of earth to give life and health wherever they flow, is the source of the symbol of “the river of the water of life” that flows from the temple of God.
• ·         “What he toiled for…he will not enjoy” was a common theme in wisdom literature.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Give Back His Wealth

Job 20:3-10,18 – I hear a rebuke that dishonors me, and my understanding inspires me to reply. “Surely you know how it has been from of old, ever since mankind was placed on the earth, that the mirth of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment. Though the pride of the godless person reaches to the heavens and his head touches the clouds, he will perish forever, like his own dung; those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’ Like a dream he flies away, no more to be found, banished like a vision of the night. The eye that saw him will not see him again; his place will look on him no more. His children must make amends to the poor; his own hands must give back his wealth…What he toiled for he must give back uneaten; he will not enjoy the profit from his trading.

Amos 2:7-8 – They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed. Father and son use the same girl and so profane my holy name. They lie down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge. In the house of their god they drink wine taken as fines.

Application:

• ·         “What he toiled for…he will not enjoy” was a common theme in wisdom literature.
• ·         To care for the “poor…oppressed” and to protect them from injustice were clearly commanded by Israel’s law; also, throughout the ancient Near East, kings were supposed to defend such people.
• ·         Israelites who broke the laws protecting the powerless brazenly used their wrongly gotten gains even in places supposed to be holy.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Greatly Disturbed

Job 20:1-2 – Then Zophar the Naamathite replied: “My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer because I am greatly disturbed.

Job 15:35 – They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb fashions deceit.”

Job 18:21 – Surely such is the dwelling of an evil man; such is the place of one who does not know God.”

Psalm 42:5 – Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Application:

• ·         Once initiated, sinful thoughts develop quickly into evil acts.
• ·         Having no intimate knowledge of God is synonymous with being wicked.
• ·         “Praise Him” for His saving help.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV