the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary? the triumph of the wickedThe Hebrew word for "triumph" here is "רִנָּה" (rinnah), which can also mean a shout of joy or jubilation. This suggests that the wicked may experience moments of apparent victory or success, but these are superficial and fleeting. Historically, the wicked often seem to prosper, as seen in various biblical narratives, yet their triumph is not enduring. The Bible consistently teaches that true victory belongs to those who are righteous before God. This phrase serves as a reminder that any success achieved through wickedness is ultimately hollow and temporary. has been brief
The Hebrew word "קָטָן" (qaton) is used here, meaning small or insignificant in duration. This emphasizes the transient nature of the wicked's success. In the grand scheme of God's eternal plan, the time during which the wicked seem to prosper is but a fleeting moment. This perspective encourages believers to focus on eternal values rather than temporary gains. The brevity of the wicked's triumph is a recurring theme in Scripture, underscoring the ultimate justice and sovereignty of God. and the joy of the godless
The term "joy" in Hebrew is "שִׂמְחָה" (simchah), which refers to gladness or mirth. The "godless," or "חָנֵף" (chaneph), are those who are morally corrupt or impious. This phrase highlights the deceptive nature of the joy experienced by those who live without regard for God. While they may appear to be joyful, their happiness is shallow and lacks the depth and permanence found in a life aligned with God's will. The joy of the godless is often rooted in material or worldly success, which is ultimately unsatisfying. momentary
The Hebrew word "רֶגַע" (rega) means a brief instant or a moment. This word reinforces the idea that the pleasures and successes of the godless are ephemeral. In the context of eternity, the momentary joy of the godless is insignificant. This serves as a powerful reminder to believers to invest in what is eternal and lasting, rather than being swayed by the temporary allure of worldly pleasures. The fleeting nature of the godless's joy is a call to seek the enduring joy that comes from a relationship with God. Persons / Places / Events 1. Zophar the NaamathiteOne of Job's three friends who comes to comfort him. Zophar is known for his blunt and often harsh speeches, emphasizing God's justice and the fate of the wicked. 2. JobThe central figure of the Book of Job, a man of great faith and patience who endures immense suffering and loss. His account explores themes of suffering, justice, and faith. 3. The WickedIn this context, refers to those who live in opposition to God's ways, often experiencing temporary success or joy. 4. The GodlessThose who live without regard for God, often equated with the wicked in biblical literature. 5. The Book of JobA poetic and philosophical book in the Old Testament that addresses the nature of suffering and the justice of God. Teaching Points The Fleeting Nature of WickednessThe success and joy of those who live apart from God are temporary. This should remind believers to focus on eternal values rather than temporary gains. God's JusticeZophar's assertion reflects a belief in divine justice, where the wicked will ultimately face consequences. Believers can trust in God's timing and justice. Endurance in SufferingLike Job, believers may face trials and see the wicked prosper temporarily. Faithfulness and patience are crucial during such times. Eternal PerspectiveChristians are encouraged to maintain an eternal perspective, valuing spiritual riches over worldly success. Avoiding EnvyBelievers should guard against envying the temporary success of the wicked, focusing instead on their relationship with God and His promises. Bible Study Questions 1. How does understanding the temporary nature of the wicked's success help you in your personal walk with God? 2. In what ways can you apply the principle of God's justice to situations where you see wrongdoing seemingly going unpunished? 3. How can the account of Job encourage you during times of personal suffering or when witnessing the prosperity of the wicked? 4. What practical steps can you take to maintain an eternal perspective in your daily life? 5. How do other scriptures, such as Psalm 37 or Proverbs 24, reinforce the message of Job 20:5, and how can these insights be applied to your life? Connections to Other Scriptures Psalm 37This Psalm contrasts the temporary success of the wicked with the enduring inheritance of the righteous, echoing the theme of the fleeting triumph of the wicked. Proverbs 24:19-20These verses advise against envying the wicked, as their lamp will be snuffed out, reinforcing the idea of the temporary nature of their success. James 1:10-11James speaks of the rich fading away even while they go about their business, similar to the fleeting joy of the godless. People Job, ZopharPlaces UzTopics Brief, Evil-doer, Exultation, Exulting, Godless, Hypocrite, Joy, Lasts, Minute, Moment, Momentary, Pride, Profane, Short, Singing, Sinner, Triumphing, Ungodly, WickedDictionary of Bible Themes Job 20:5 5845 emptiness
8710 atheism Job 20:4-5 4030 world, behaviour in 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 20:5 NIVJob 20:5 NLTJob 20:5 ESVJob 20:5 NASBJob 20:5 KJV
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