ophar speaks of the short joy of the wicked. (1-9) The ruin
of the wicked. (10-22) The portion of the wicked. (23-29)
Verses 1-9: Zophar's discourse is upon the certain misery of the
wicked. The triumph of the wicked and the joy of the hypocrite
are fleeting. The pleasures and gains of sin bring disease and
pain; they end in remorse, anguish, and ruin. Dissembled piety
is double iniquity, and the ruin that attends it will be
accordingly.
Verses 10-22: The miserable condition of the wicked man in this world
is fully set forth. The lusts of the flesh are here called the
sins of his youth. His hiding it and keeping it under his
tongue, denotes concealment of his beloved lust, and delight
therein. But He who knows what is in the heart, knows what is
under the tongue, and will discover it. The love of the world,
and of the wealth of it, also is wickedness, and man sets his
heart upon these. Also violence and injustice, these sins bring
God's judgments upon nations and families. Observe the
punishment of the wicked man for these things. Sin is turned
into gall, than which nothing is more bitter; it will prove to
him poison; so will all unlawful gains be. In his fulness he
shall be in straits, through the anxieties of his own mind. To
be led by the sanctifying grace of God to restore what was
unjustly gotten, as Zaccheus was, is a great mercy. But to be
forced to restore by the horrors of a despairing conscience, as
Judas was, has no benefit and comfort attending it.
Verses 23-29: Zophar, having described the vexations which attend
wicked practices, shows their ruin from God's wrath. There is no
fence against this, but in Christ, who is the only Covert from
the storm and tempest, (Isa 32:2). Zophar concludes, "This is
the portion of a wicked man from God;" it is allotted him. Never
was any doctrine better explained, or worse applied, than this
by Zophar, who intended to prove Job a hypocrite. Let us receive
the good explanation, and make a better application, for warning
to ourselves, to stand in awe and sin not. One view of Jesus,
directed by the Holy Spirit, and by him suitably impressed upon
our souls, will quell a thousand carnal reasonings about the
suffering of the faithful.
ophar speaks of the short joy of the wicked. (1-9) The ruin
of the wicked. (10-22) The portion of the wicked. (23-29)