He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream. He will not enjoyThis phrase indicates a deprivation of pleasure or satisfaction. In the Hebrew context, the word used here can imply a lack of experiencing or partaking in something desirable. Theologically, this suggests a divine judgment or consequence for wickedness, where the sinner is denied the joys and blessings that God provides. It serves as a reminder of the moral order established by God, where sin leads to a loss of true joy and fulfillment. the streams
Streams in the ancient Near Eastern context were vital sources of life and prosperity. They symbolize abundance and sustenance. In the biblical narrative, streams often represent God's provision and blessing. The absence of enjoyment from these streams signifies a withdrawal of divine favor and a life devoid of spiritual and material nourishment. the rivers
Rivers, much like streams, are emblematic of life and fertility. In the Hebrew Scriptures, rivers often denote a continuous and abundant flow of blessings. The imagery of rivers here underscores the magnitude of what is being lost. The wicked, in their pursuit of sin, are cut off from the continuous flow of God's grace and abundance. flowing with honey and cream
Honey and cream are symbols of richness and delight. In the ancient world, these were considered luxurious and desirable, representing the best of what the land could offer. The phrase evokes the idea of a land flowing with milk and honey, a common biblical metaphor for the Promised Land and God's abundant provision. The denial of such richness to the wicked highlights the stark contrast between the life of righteousness, which enjoys God's blessings, and the life of sin, which is barren and unfulfilled. Persons / Places / Events 1. Zophar the NaamathiteOne of Job's three friends who comes to comfort him. In this chapter, Zophar is speaking, offering his perspective on the fate of the wicked. 2. JobThe central figure of the book, a man of great faith and integrity who undergoes severe trials and suffering. 3. Streams and RiversSymbolic imagery used by Zophar to describe abundance and prosperity, which he claims the wicked will not enjoy. 4. Honey and CreamMetaphors for richness and delight, representing the blessings and pleasures of life that Zophar argues will be denied to the wicked. 5. The WickedA general term used throughout the book to describe those who live in opposition to God's ways, often contrasted with the righteous. Teaching Points The Illusion of Earthly PleasuresEarthly pleasures, symbolized by honey and cream, are temporary and can be deceptive. True satisfaction comes from a relationship with God. The Consequences of WickednessZophar's speech serves as a reminder that living in opposition to God's ways leads to a lack of true fulfillment and joy. The Importance of Righteous LivingWhile Zophar's understanding is limited, his words highlight the biblical principle that righteousness leads to lasting joy and peace. The Need for DiscernmentBelievers must discern between temporary pleasures and eternal joy, seeking God's wisdom to navigate life's choices. Trusting God's JusticeEven when the wicked seem to prosper, trust that God's justice will ultimately prevail, and true blessings come from Him. Bible Study Questions 1. How does Zophar's description of the wicked's fate in Job 20:17 challenge or affirm your understanding of God's justice? 2. In what ways can the imagery of "streams, rivers flowing with honey and cream" be seen in today's pursuit of pleasure and success? 3. How do other scriptures, such as Psalm 36:8 and Isaiah 55:1-2, deepen our understanding of true satisfaction in God? 4. Reflect on a time when you pursued something that seemed sweet but ultimately left you unfulfilled. How can this passage guide your future choices? 5. How can we, as believers, encourage one another to seek lasting joy in God rather than temporary pleasures? Connections to Other Scriptures Psalm 36:8This verse speaks of the abundance and satisfaction found in God's presence, contrasting with the lack of fulfillment for the wicked as described by Zophar. Proverbs 5:3-4These verses warn against the deceptive sweetness of sin, which ultimately leads to bitterness, paralleling Zophar's assertion that the wicked will not enjoy true sweetness. Isaiah 55:1-2This passage invites people to seek true satisfaction in God, contrasting with the fleeting pleasures that Zophar claims the wicked will miss. People Job, ZopharPlaces UzTopics Brooks, Butter, Buttermilk, Cream, Curd, Curds, Floods, Flowing, Honey, Milk, Oil, River, Rivers, Rivulets, StreamsDictionary of Bible Themes Job 20:17-19 5846 enjoyment Job 20:17-20 8810 riches, dangers Library June 9 Evening
The triumphing of the wicked is short.--JOB 20:5. Thou shalt bruise his heel.--This is your hour, and the power of darkness.--As the children are partakers of flesh and blood he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.--Having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily PathThe Christian Urged To, and Assisted In, an Express Act of Self-Dedication to the Service of God.
1. The advantages of such a surrender are briefly suggested.-- 2, 3, 4. Advice for the manner of doing it; that it be deliberate, cheerful, entire, perpetual.--5. And that it be expressed with some affecting solemnity.--6. A written instrument to be signed and declared before God, at some season of extraordinary devotion, reposed. The chapter concludes with a specimen of such an instrument, together with an abstract of it, to be used with proper and requisite alterations. 1. AS I would hope, that, …
Philip Doddridge—The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul Whether the Ashes from which the Human Body Will be Restored have any Natural Inclination Towards the Soul which Will be United to Them?
Objection 1: It would seem that the ashes from which the human body will be restored will have a natural inclination towards the soul which will be united to them. For if they had no inclination towards the soul, they would stand in the same relation to that soul as other ashes. Therefore it would make no difference whether the body that is to be united to that soul were restored from those ashes or from others: and this is false. Objection 2: Further, the body is more dependent on the soul than …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica God.
GLORY OF GOD. God is the chief good--good so as nothing is but himself. He is in himself most happy; yea, all good and all true happiness are only to be found in God, as that which is essential to his nature; nor is there any good or any happiness in or with any creature or thing but what is communicated to it by God. God is the only desirable good; nothing without him is worthy of our hearts. Right thoughts of God are able to ravish the heart; how much more happy is the man that has interest in …
John Bunyan—The Riches of Bunyan The Hardening Operation of Love.
"Being grieved for the hardness of their heart."--Mark iii. 5. Love may also be reversed. Failing to cherish, to uplift, and to enrich, it consumes and destroys. This is a mystery which man can not fathom. It belongs to the unsearchable depths of the divine Being, of which we do not wish to know more than has been revealed. But this does not alter the fact. No creature can exclude itself from the divine control. No man can say that he has nothing to do with God; that he or any other creature exists …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit Tit. 2:06 Thoughts for Young Men
WHEN St. Paul wrote his Epistle to Titus about his duty as a minister, he mentioned young men as a class requiring peculiar attention. After speaking of aged men and aged women, and young women, he adds this pithy advice, "Young men likewise exhort to be sober-minded" (Tit. 2:6). I am going to follow the Apostle's advice. I propose to offer a few words of friendly exhortation to young men. I am growing old myself, but there are few things I remember so well as the days of my youth. I have a most …
John Charles Ryle—The Upper Room: Being a Few Truths for the Times The Barren Fig-Tree;
OR, THE DOOM AND DOWNFALL OF THE FRUITLESS PROFESSOR: SHOWING, THAT THE DAY OF GRACE MAY BE PAST WITH HIM LONG BEFORE HIS LIFE IS ENDED; THE SIGNS ALSO BY WHICH SUCH MISERABLE MORTALS MAY BE KNOWN. BY JOHN BUNYAN 'Who being dead, yet speaketh.'--Hebrews 11:4 London: Printed for J. Robinson, at the Golden Lion, in St. Paul's Churchyard, 1688. This Title has a broad Black Border. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. This solemn, searching, awful treatise, was published by Bunyan in 1682; but does not appear …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 A Few Sighs from Hell;
or, The Groans of the Damned Soul: or, An Exposition of those Words in the Sixteenth of Luke, Concerning the Rich Man and the Beggar WHEREIN IS DISCOVERED THE LAMENTABLE STATE OF THE DAMNED; THEIR CRIES, THEIR DESIRES IN THEIR DISTRESSES, WITH THE DETERMINATION OF GOD UPON THEM. A GOOD WARNING WORD TO SINNERS, BOTH OLD AND YOUNG, TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION BETIMES, AND TO SEEK, BY FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST, TO AVOID, LEST THEY COME INTO THE SAME PLACE OF TORMENT. Also, a Brief Discourse touching the …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 An Exhortation to Love God
1. An exhortation. Let me earnestly persuade all who bear the name of Christians to become lovers of God. "O love the Lord, all ye his saints" (Psalm xxxi. 23). There are but few that love God: many give Him hypocritical kisses, but few love Him. It is not so easy to love God as most imagine. The affection of love is natural, but the grace is not. Men are by nature haters of God (Rom. i. 30). The wicked would flee from God; they would neither be under His rules, nor within His reach. They fear God, …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial Man's Misery by the Fall
Q-19: WHAT IS THE MISERY OF THAT ESTATE WHEREINTO MAN FELL? A: All mankind by their fall lost communion with God, are under his wrath and curse, and so made liable to all the miseries in this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell for ever. 'And were by nature children of wrath.' Eph 2:2. Adam left an unhappy portion to his posterity, Sin and Misery. Having considered the first of these, original sin, we shall now advert to the misery of that state. In the first, we have seen mankind offending; …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity Job
The book of Job is one of the great masterpieces of the world's literature, if not indeed the greatest. The author was a man of superb literary genius, and of rich, daring, and original mind. The problem with which he deals is one of inexhaustible interest, and his treatment of it is everywhere characterized by a psychological insight, an intellectual courage, and a fertility and brilliance of resource which are nothing less than astonishing. Opinion has been divided as to how the book should be …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Job 20:17 NIVJob 20:17 NLTJob 20:17 ESVJob 20:17 NASBJob 20:17 KJV
Job 20:17 Commentaries
Bible Hub |
