Sunday Morning Service (Matthew 21:1-17)

Matthew 21:1-17

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"Presenting: Your King!" • 3.28.21 • Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service

Intro.

- The gospel of Matthew is focused on the evidence that presents Jesus as the King, the long awaited Messiah of Israel.

- Matthew has taken great care in unveiling these details to the Jewish nation specifically. Jesus comes from the right family line. His miracle working power was predicted by the prophets.

- The Lord's principles have been put on display in the Sermon on the Mount and His promises pertaining to future events are about to be captured in the Olivet Discourse.

- In the section before us, Jesus walks into the very center of Jewish life, into Jerusalem at the Passover feast, where the scrutiny and the criticism will be at it highest.

- Let's begin where our chapter begins, with the "Presentation Of The King." Verse 1.

Text

• Matthew 21:1a : "Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives," : The Lord has been slowly traveling south from the Sea of Galilee over a period of 9 months.

- He has been walking with His disciples, journeying from place to place. Just yesterday, Jesus opened the eyes of two blind men in Jericho.

- Today, He joins an untold multitude in pilgrimage to Jerusalem. During a feast, especially one like the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread, the city could be overrun with visitors.

- Scholars estimate that 2-3 million people swelled into the city. This is why Jesus is stopping at Bethphage, on the Mount of Olives, right across from the entrance into Jerusalem.

- "Bathe-fagey" is translated as the "house of unripe figs." Fascinating place to stay, given the spiritual pulse of the Nation and the King who has come to inspect her!

- Jeremiah 24 speaks of the state of the nation at the time of Nebuchadnezzar's first campaign against Israel. God compares the nation to figs, some good and some rotten.

- The Lord is about to find out which were which! Before this commences, the Lord sends His disciples on a curious mission. Verse 2.

• Matthew 21:1b-3 : "Then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, 'Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.'" : Without much explanation, the Lord instructs His disciples to secure some transportation for Him. They are told where to go, the village opposite of them and what they would find.

- Most believe the village to be Bethany, where Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha lived.

- Whenever Jesus came into this area, He stayed with them and made a few other friends in the process. The Lord will have known of this donkey and it's colt.

- He instructs His disciples to loose them and bring both to Him. If anyone stopped them, they would only need to say that the Lord had need of them. That would settle the issue!

- Matthew doesn't record any obstacle, but both Mark and Luke reveal that someone did question them and immediately peacefully withdrew at their answer. (Mark 11:4-6, Luke 19:31,32)

- It happened as their Lord had said. Jesus has just walked hundreds of kilometers to get to the border of Jerusalem, but He needs a donkey and it's colt now? Why? Verse 4.

• Matthew 21:4,5 : "All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: 'Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.’" : Jesus

didn't just want to rest His feet. This information is provided for us to reveal the intricacies of divinity.

- This entire episode exists in the record to reveal how committed God is to fulfilling His Word, which He has magnified, exalted above His own Name! (Psalm 138:2)

- I point that out because fulfilled prophecy runs through this passage in incredible ways.

- This particular scripture comes from the book of Zechariah. Zechariah 9 begins as a prophecy regarding the nations surrounding Jerusalem. Verse 9 turns it's attention to Israel.

- Israel is to rejoice and shout because it's King was coming to them! How would they recognize Him? First, He would come and be lowly, speaking of humility.

- Unlike the Kings of the Nations, those who have ruled on the Earth, Israel's King will be known for His humility when He appears. He's the anti-thesis to human governors and Kings.

- He will be known for His humility. This will be His primary characteristic at this visitation.

- The second part of this prophecy speaks of His transportation. In a typical Roman Triumph, a conquering King would be preceeded by a parade of soldiers with incense torches at hand.

- The King himself would ride on the largest and most majestic horse that he could find! Israel's King will arrive on a young donkey, the ultimate service animal!

- His countenance would be marked by humility, His carriage would speak of service! Zechariah 9:10 completes the thought.

• Zechariah 9:10 : "I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem; The battle bow shall be cut off. He shall speak peace to the nations; His dominion shall be ‘from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.’" : This King is not here on this day as a conqueror. He is calling for peace!

- In this season of time upon the Earth, men and women from every nation, are beckoned to peacefully surrender to this King of Kings! His second coming will not offer this option!

- When Jesus mounts this colt and rides into Jerusalem, the stage is set, as the Lord publically, unashamedly proclaims Himself to be the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9.

- He is Israel's King, their Messiah, who offers Himself in peace to them. Verse 6.

• Matthew 21:6-11 : "So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: 'Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!' And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, 'Who is this?' So the multitudes said, 'This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.'" : The disciples completed their task and laid their outer clothes across the donkey and colt. Then, they set Jesus upon them without realizing what was happening!

• John 12:16 : "His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him." : As Jesus made His ascent on that Sunday, a multitude began to respond by laying their clothes and palm frawns down before Him.

- They recognized what was happening which is revealed by what they cried out. "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Save now, Oh descendant of David!" They have found the ultimate Son of David!

- This is a specific Messianic title, tied to the promises of God in II Samuel 7, known to Bible students as the "Davidic Covenant." God would establish David's Kingdom forever in Christ!

- The people are crying for their Messiah to take His proper place and begin His rule over Jerusalem and the nations that surrounded her.

- Their gestures reveal that they are ready to submit to Him, but they also speak of what they don't understand about Him or His mission.

- About a hundred years or so prior to this, Judas Maccabeus came into Jerusalem with the same kind of fanfare. People waved and then dropped palm branches before him.

- Judas Maccabeus was a hero to the people of Israel because of the successful revolt he led.

- It's not strange to believe that many of those gathered on this day believed the exact same thing was about to take place. In fact, many of the same political integers were in place.

- In place of the Syrians, the Romans now exerted power over Israel. Jesus, being far more than a revolutionary, was credited among the people with divine works.

- The Passover that they were beginning to celebrate was in fact, the dominate redemption drama of the Old Testament, where God delivered His people from Egypt!

- No wonder they cried out in concert with Psalm 118:26. Blessed is He who comes in the Name, the power, of the Lord to bring salvation!

- The problem is that it wasn't the salvation they were looking for! We'll talk a bit more about that in a moment. For now, note a few more items that were taking place at this time.

- As you know, the Lord has prescribed the reading of certain texts throughout the year and the Passover was no different.

- As Jesus is ascending into Jerusalem, the Priests are reciting the words of Psalm 24:8-10.

• Psalm 24:8-10 : "Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory." : The priests are singing these words while the people are calling out for Jesus to establish His Kingdom. What a picture!

- In the air above, God's Word is confirming Christ's identity, while the throngs below seek a Messiah of their own making and for their own desire!

- There was genuine excitement, but complete misunderstanding of what God means by salvation! Their minds saw political freedom. God's heart envisioned spiritual freedom!

- This misunderstanding is critical to consider. One could see this in the emotional impact that was being experienced by Jesus Himself. Please turn over to Luke 19.

- With all of this fanfare and excitement, you'd think that the Lord would be pleased. To Him, it was an occasion for great sadness.

• Luke 19:41-44 : "Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, 'If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.'" : Notice those words: "If you, even you had known!

- This was their day! They had the best vantage point, the most evidence and they missed it! They had the Lord's official records, living eyewitness testimony to His works.

- They even lived on "this day!" Jesus is referring to yet another prophecy that was being fulfilled at that very moment!

- Daniel 9 contains one of the most important prophecies in scripture with regard to the Jewish nation. God tells Daniel that there is a specific day when Messiah the Prince will enter Jerusalem.

- The countdown will begin with the command to rebuild the city of Jerusalem, which occurred when Artaxerxes sent Nehemiah to restore the walls of Jerusalem in 445 B.C. 

- From here, you have 69 units of years, equaling out to 483 years or 173,880 days. Guess which day that lands on? The very day that Jesus was entering into Jerusalem!

- The specificity of that prophecy makes it impossible for any other person to claim to be the Messiah because they would have had to have been there in Jerusalem on this very day!

- We know this now, but it was hidden from the eyes of the nation. What a tragic story. They had all of the emotions, but none of the knowledge of what was happening.

- Sadly, this is exactly where many people are today. They settle their relationship upon emotions, but have very little knowledge of the historical facts that make Christianity true!

- Jerusalem was moved emotionally as if it had experienced an earthquake, but it didn't comprehend who Jesus was, nor the work that He was doing! Listen to their own words.

- The Priests had asked who this was and the Psalm said, "the King of Glory." The people replied, this is Jesus, not the King, but the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee! What a sad testimony!

- They did not understand who was standing before them and their failure to bow their knees to Him would cost them their earthly Kingdom! We have witnessed the "Presentation Of The King."

- As we move into the next section, we'll take note of the "Power Of The King." Verse 12.

• Matthew 21:12,13 : "Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, 'It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.'" : There are so many interesting pieces to this story. First, recall that Jesus is entering into the Temple on the Day of Preparation.

- This is the day when Jewish households procured their sacrificial lamb. God prescribed that His people inspect their lambs for spots and blemishes from the "10th to the 14th." (Exodus 12:2-6)

- They were not to eat of a lamb with a birth defect or an injury picked up in their lives. From the moment they chose the Lamb, they were to meticulously inspect the lamb, ensuring it's perfection.

- Unbeknownst to the people, Jesus is the King, who is also the Lamb that God has selected! He will be examined like no other Lamb in history! But the type is not fulfilled at this moment.

- God's people need lambs! Because many were coming from distant lands, God's people opted to purchase "pre-approved, formally inspected" lambs from the Temple court.

- Of course, for the convenience, most would pay nearly three times the price for such a spotless and unblemished lamb. A temple lamb was sold to you at Amusement Park prices!

- Jesus is coming into the land on this very day and will be inspected by all of Jerusalem for four days. It takes Jesus two seconds of inspection to find what He was unhappy with!

- It's important to note where this actually took place. This was the court of the Gentiles, the only place where Gentile men and women could go if they wanted to approach God.

- When Jesus saw this gaudy scene, He took the merchant's tables by the hands and threw them over. What made this so galling to Jesus?

- First, this was the second time that He had cleansed the Temple. Matthew does not record it in his gospel, but John records it at the beginning of the Lord's ministry. (John 2:13-22)

- This was His house and the people who had the right of residence were not representing His wishes at all!

- The second problem was with the messaging that was taking place. The only way to get to God was through these shifty priests, who gouged the people before they came!

- This leaves us with what was the most offensive issue of the day. Notice that phrase at the end of verse 12: "the seats of those who sold doves!"

- Leviticus 5:7 prescribed doves as a poor person's sacrifice. Luke 2:24 reports that the Lord's family brought this exact sacrifice with them when Jesus was consecrated!

- His own Father and Mother had barely enough to bring to God and it was galling to the Son that these men could treat people like His family this way!

- Everything that these people did closed the way for people to worship God. What Jesus was about to accomplish would open that way forever!

- He says to all in the final verses of Revelation, that they should come and drink from the water of life freely! (Revelation 22:17) Jesus has paid the way for all who would come!

- What Jesus saw was corruption, exploitation and the merchandising of God's people and He would not have it! This is the passion of the Christ, who knows what God’s house is meant to be.

- The Jews were to choose a Lamb on the first day, as well as remove leaven from their houses! (Exodus 12:15) Jesus won't tolerate anything that would draw a person into sin.

- He is zealous about the space that He shares with His people. He wants His home to be holy!

- I would wish that we had the same attitude of intolerance toward any action or attitude that would mar His presence of grieve His Spirit! These men had made God's house a den of thieves!

- The way into Jerusalem for many people was fraught with danger from robbers, who holed up in caves along the roads.

- Jesus is telling the crowds here that they were safer out on the roads than they were in God's house! This is again a fulfillment of prophecy, as Jesus quotes from Jeremiah 7:11.

- In that chapter, Jeremiah indicts the people of God for their attitude when coming into the temple.

• Jeremiah 7:8-11 : “Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations’? Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,’ says the Lord.”

- They have treated God with disrespect. His house was meant to be a place where prayer would take place. The religious leaders used the coming to His house as a pretense to rip people off!

- They set up and made prey out of the people of God and Jesus was not going to take it! Once His home was clean again, note what took place. Verse 14.

• Matthew 21:14 : "Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them." : With the money changers out of the way, the way was clear for the Lord to touch His people. When the way was clear, the blind and the lame came to Him!

- Had the Priests been there, these people would have been excluded from the Temple. These didn't have money or influence to enter. They didn't need any because the Master was in His house!

- They walked right in and the God of the Universe healed them right there in the Temple! The blind could see, the lame could walk, a fulfillment of Isaiah 35:5,6. What a scene!

- Please note that God's salvation, the One that He is offering now, has to do with what He does in His people. Jesus healed His people, He did not heal societal woes!

- The salvation that God brings deals with the transformation of His people's hearts.

- Instead of changing governments, God changes the voting ethics within His people, making them sensitive to His agenda

- Instead of healing racism, God makes brothers out of men from different skin colors. This is the whole way of God during this time between comings!

- When He comes the second time, He'll change everything we know about government policy and He will do so on a universal scale!

- Until then, know that what He wants to do now will be done in obedient, human hearts!

- This is very telling, as the people who would subvert Christianity's teachings today show their true colors in their response! Verse 15 and our final section revealing the "Praise Of The King!"

• Matthew 21:15-17 : "But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, 'Hosanna to the Son of David!' they were indignant and said to Him, 'Do You hear what these are saying?' And Jesus said to them, 'Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?' Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there." : Do you see that? They saw the wonderful things that He did!

- The words intone a miraculous occurrence that was indisputable. They were witnesses to divine miracles and there were those standing around confirming it with their praise!

- Look at the contrast. The powerful chief priests, men endowed with position and knowledge.

- Next to them are the scribes, the proverbial lawyers who spent all their days examining texts of scripture in order to know how to govern God's people. Next to them are children.

- The word indicates boys that served in the Temple, much like the altar boys in Catholicism do. They shouted aloud, "Save Now Son of David!"

- These children had a fraction of the rulers knowledge, but the eye test was enough for them to shout out their praise to Jesus! That left the rulers beside themselves in anger!

- The word refers to being "bent." One could say that they were all bent out of shape! "Do you hear them Jesus? Do you hear what they are saying?"

- The religious leaders were angry because in their eyes, this man, and He was only a man, was not stopping people from saying these blasphemous things in the temple.

- Jesus is doing what the Messiah would do, but He was a poor Nazarene. The religious leaders, predisposed to non-belief, will not let any proof change their hearts.

- What they were watching was yet another fulfillment of prophecy. Jesus hears what they are saying and is wondering if they have ever read their Bibles, specifically Psalm 8:2!!

- The Messiah will not be worshipped, acknolwedged or loved by the establishment. The proof that He is Messiah will come from the infant, the babe that God would teach to praise Him!

- God has allowed praise to function as a means of silencing His enemies. In essence, they are drowning out the voices of the skeptical, forcing them to see the reality of their blindness!

- On that note, Jesus left His own house back in their hands and went where He could feel at home, among those that valued His presence.

- Ultimately, Jesus will not sleep in Jerusalem until He has come back to sit as King within her!

Conclusion

- Palm Sunday is the day when Jesus presented Himself as Israel's King. He is humble and has come to serve His people with His salvation.

- It is not a salvation of liberation or social justice. It is a salvation from sin. All who surrender to Him will receive His gift and will live forever in His peace.

- On Palm Sunday, His power was displayed as He cleansed His house. Jesus removed every obstacle and made the way for outcasts to be healed. He touches and heals them all!

- He has not come to install a government, but to instill a governed heart! His Spirit will indwell His people and their obedience will lead them to represent His choices in life decisions!

- The proper response to Him is praise. Let the nursing infant tell the story. When He comes into your heart, there will and must be praise!

- Those children were merely getting a head start for eternity! We are joining them now and will do so forever when our King sits on David's throne forever!

Sunday Morning Service (Job 20-Job 21)

Job 20-Job 21

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“What About The Wicked!?” •  3.21.21  •  Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service

Intro.

- Chapter 20 opens on the heels of a wonderful and dynamic statement of faith. Job has declared that he knows that His Redeemer is living and that He will be the last to stand on the Earth.

- With the eye of a prophet, Job sees Jesus from His pre-Incarnate state to His post-Tribulation glory, when He alone stands on the Earth as the final Judge of Mankind!

- That knowledge brings comfort to Job and a warning to his friends. They need to be careful of what they say on God's behalf, lest they fall into judgment before Him.

- Apparently, that warning didn't penetrate Zophar's heart. He comes in hot and will usher in the final part of "Round Two." Listen carefully, as these are also his final words in the book! Verse 1.

Text

• Job 20:1-3 : "Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said: 'Therefore my anxious thoughts make me answer, because of the turmoil within me. I have heard the rebuke that reproaches me, and the spirit of my understanding causes me to answer." : Job's rebuke has hit a nerve with Zophar. He has been emotionally stirred and is compelled to respond.

- He is moved by a compulsion to reply, not because he wants to comfort Job, to ease his pain, but because he has been personally insulted! "I have heard the rebuke that reproaches me!"

- "The spirit of my understanding." Zophar is speaking of his commitment to his worldview. Job's resistance forces Zophar's hand. He must speak again on behalf of his understanding.

- This is a recipe for disaster! If you are one who is easily insulted, it is better for all involved if you stay to the side until you have recovered your self-control! Zophar will have none of that.

- His dignity and theological honor force him to rage against Job again. Verse 4.

• Job 20:4-11 : "Do you not know this of old, since man was placed on earth, that the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment? Though his haughtiness mounts up to the heavens, and his head reaches to the clouds, yet he will perish forever like his own refuse; Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’ He will fly away like a dream, and not be found; Yes, he will be chased away like a vision of the night. The eye that saw him will see him no more, nor will his place behold him anymore. His children will seek the favor of the poor, and his hands will restore his wealth. His bones are full of his youthful vigor, but it will lie down with him in the dust." : "Don't you know!?"

- Zophar is accusing Job of ignoring the lessons of Earth's history! The wicked hypocrite will succeed but only ever for a moment!

- The "wicked" is a moral criminal, one who is committed to enjoy what God terms to be wrong. The hypocrite is one who is soiled with sin. He's defined by being "profane" and "impious."

- These words are related and are synonymous with one another in this passage.

- I'd be careful in thinking however, that wickedness or hypocrisy is repulsive merely because of the degree. This person is a wicked hypocrite because he is a murderer or adulterer or kidnapper.

- These are undeniably great degrees of wickedness, but the wicked and the hypocrite are so by virtue of their failure to honor God as God.

- A man who is thoroughly moral, loves his family, but rejects God's authority is wicked as well.

- In that arrogance, he might suceed for a while. His head will grow toward the clouds, but in the end, his life is a waste! He's no better than his own trash, the word may also refer to his dung!

- People will wonder at him, but he'll eventually only exist as a distant memory or a fragment from a dream. Nobody will be able to find him! Society forgets him and his family is left in a mess.

- His children think that they are set for life, but they are set up for failure! They will fall from having it all to seeking help from the poor around them!

- The wicked man might be in the flower of his youth, full of strength. What will that matter if his healthy bones are buried with him? Zophar continues in verse 12.

• Job 20:12-22 : "Though evil is sweet in his mouth, and he hides it under his tongue, though he spares it and does not forsake it, but still keeps it in his mouth, yet his food in his stomach turns sour; It becomes cobra venom within him.  He swallows down riches and vomits them up again; God casts them out of his belly.  He will suck the poison of cobras; The viper’s tongue will slay him.  He will not see the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream. He will restore that for which he labored, and will not swallow it down; From the proceeds of business he will get no enjoyment. For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor, he has violently seized a house which he did not build. Because he knows no quietness in his heart, he will not save anything he desires. Nothing is left for him to eat; Therefore his well-being will not last. In his self-sufficiency he will be in distress; Every hand of misery will come against him." : Some have suggested that the wicked man hides his evil in his mouth. He is unwilling to disclose his wickedness. He keeps from confessing it.

- Those that practice such a thing will eventually see that hiding evil only eats one alive!

- This is true as many in the legal profession see men get away with murder until they confess!

- "Nobody ever gets away with the big ones," they say! This is entirely true. I might offer a different perspective and interpretation here. Evil, sin of any kind, is initially sweet.

- It seems to me, that the wicked are seeking to prolong their enjoyment. They don't chew their sweet. They let it slowly dissolve in their mouths.

- When it finally goes down into their spirit, that wickedness begins to turn from sweet to sour and inevitably, from sour to deadly poison! Zophar is right in what he says about wicked men!

- God did not create men to be so committed to evil. What Zophar describes is the inevitable consequence that is attached to sin.

- Sin always begins sweet, but when it is taken in, it always turns sour. When it is allowed to remain in our systems, it will poison the person that God intends us to be!

- The writer of Hebrews tells us that sin is pleasurable for a season. (Hebrews 11:25) It begins with a sweet temptation but will end with sudden death! (James 1:15)

- Sin isn't bad because it's forbidden. It's forbidden because it is bad! This is why Jesus came to this Earth, to free us from this awful, destructive reality that would enslave us.

- Ultimately, the wicked one will die from his own self inflicted addiction. The viper, the serpent, Satan will have slain him! Everything that he was promised himself will vanish from before his eyes.

- Sinfulness always looks like the Promised Land! "Look at those streams! Oh, the river of cream and honey!" That will never be the destination.

- Either he will be caught and forced to restore all that he has stolen or he will be robbed of his enjoyment by another entity. Why? Because of how he received it.

- Zophar sees that he came against the poor. He oppressed or crushed them. He deserted them. Or he outright plundered, stole, from a home that wasn't his.

- God will not allow us to enjoy that which we gain through unseemly means. In the case of the wicked, whatever they think that they will gain will be of no use to them.

- Don't miss that Zophar is insinuating that Job's wealth came from taking advantage of the poor. Somehow, without any external witness, Zophar has come to believe this about his friend.

- He must account for the tragedy that has befallen Job. He assumes that his vast financial success was built by oppression of the poor.

- In verse 20, you hear this proclamation from Zophar, that the wicked one has no quietness in his heart. The word reflects a lack of ease. He can never simply sit and be without care.

- Because of that he is restless to spend and is soon left without anything. "In his self sufficiency, he will be in distress!" The CSB translates this first part, "at the height of his success." - He will have attempted to build his empire using every shortcut, but his ventures can only end in misery. He describes that miserable road beginning in verse 23.

• Job 20:23-29 : "When he is about to fill his stomach, God will cast on him the fury of His wrath, and will rain it on him while he is eating.  He will flee from the iron weapon; A bronze bow will pierce him through. It is drawn, and comes out of the body; Yes, the glittering point comes out of his gall. Terrors come upon him; Total darkness is reserved for his treasures. An unfanned fire will consume him; It shall go ill with him who is left in his tent. The heavens will reveal his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him. The increase of his house will depart, and his goods will flow away in the day of His wrath. This is the portion from God for a wicked man, the heritage appointed to him by God.'" : You've heard of the phrase "raining on one's parade?" We come close it here in verse 23.

- You can feel the excitement of the wicked man. He's about to have his cake and eat it too, when God allows the rain of His wrath to fall right on him! This is the inevitable end!

- Wicked people believe that they will escape and just when their out of reach of the iron weapon, a bronze bow pierces through their liver. They live in constant terror of this reality.

- Somehow, someway, someone is going to get them! That's the lot of the wicked! Their wealth will fare no better. They are scheduled for utter darkness!

- Zophar says that a flame will come out of nowhere to bring ill upon the people that associate with him. "You know Job, just like your employees!" All of creation will rise up to witness this!

- Everything that he has "worked" for will run from him like a flood when God pours his wrath out upon him. That's the inheritance that God has kept ready for the wicked.

- Much of what we have just read is an apt description of what happens to the wicked, but keep in mind that none of it applies to Job! He responds in chapter 21.

• Job 21:1-6 : "Then Job answered and said: 'Listen carefully to my speech, and let this be your consolation. Bear with me that I may speak, and after I have spoken, keep mocking. As for me, is my complaint against man? And if it were, why should I not be impatient? Look at me and be astonished; Put your hand over your mouth. Even when I remember I am terrified, and trembling takes hold of my flesh." : Job only has a little more to share with his friends. They can take comfort in the fact that they only have to put up with him a little while longer and then they can continue their mockery.

- Job has no expectation that they will give in. They have heard his words, but haven't listened to his heart. His objections are their ammunition against him!

- He's not there to lodge a complaint against them or any other man. If that were the case, he wouldn't have to wait long. He knew how to settle an account with a human being.

- His issue is with God, the One who he believed responsible for treating him this way.

- "Just have a second look. You'll be unable to comprehend what has happened!" These men haven't looked much at their suffering friend. They have only sought to argue their point!

- It would be a great benefit to take a second look at your friend from time to time. Don't look at them through the lens of how they speak. Look at what they have endured!

- When Job thinks about what has happened, he can barely hold it together! He can hardly believe what has become of him. His own story is a horror to remember!

- What makes matters worse is that his friends have gone from believing him to be righteous to believing him to be wicked. They say that his situation is a result of his wickedness.

- As Job has been enduring that line of thinking, he's come to want them to explain a few realities to him. Verse 7.

• Job 21:7-10 : "Why do the wicked live and become old, yes, become mighty in power? Their descendants are established with them in their sight, and their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them. Their bull breeds without failure; Their cow calves without miscarriage." : All of this time, Job's friends have asserted that the wicked are dealt with swiftly. That has become a much more insistent motif in this second round.

- Yet, as Job thinks about their position, he sees an interesting contradiction. The wicked do not always die prematurely. Some live and some actually live to become old and powerful!

- This is the opposite side of a mystery that has to be reckoned with and has often been pondered by philosophers and scholars.

- Eliphaz and company believe that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. This is Kindergarten Theology 101. Our world is much more complex.

- In real life, there are bad things which happen to good people and good things which happen to bad people! Even this consideration is flawed, as there are no good people.

- All of humanity exists in a fallen state before God and all of mankind are consigned to being slaves to sin naturally, until the supernatural work of regeneration is applied through belief in Christ.

- That being said, in our day, there are untold numbers of wicked people who fit into this category of "powerful old" men or women.

- What about the "dirty politician?" What does one say about the drug kingpin who eludes capture? Has anyone every wondered how dictators maintain a foothold for decades at a time?

- These were realities that were evident in Job's day. Their lives are seemingly secure and their children are following in their footsteps, often inheriting the family business!

- Their homes are located in gated communities or are along unpassable roads.

- The rod of God, the emblem of God's discipline isn't anywhere to be found. In fact, the Bible will later make it clear that God only disciplines His children. (Proverbs 3:11,12)

- If we do not receive chastening of the Lord, it proves that we are not His! (Hebrews 12:5-8) Is it any wonder then that their animals breed successfully? It is their best life now! Verse 11.

• Job 21:11-16 : "They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. They sing to the tambourine and harp, and rejoice to the sound of the flute. They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us, for we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways. Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?’ Indeed their prosperity is not in their hand; The counsel of the wicked is far from me." : I know that many of us have wondered about the homes of the wicked. Surely, they are dens of misery! Not so fast! The children of the wicked live a charmed life.

- They are tended to as if they were a flock of sheep. They are surrounded by joy and entertainment. Their parties are legendary!

- Whatever money can buy, it buys for them all of their days. When their days are up, they die suddenly, in a moment. The word "moment" refers to a wink of the eye.

- To add insult to injury, many of the earlier manuscripts use the phrase which indicates that their death is a peaceful one. How can that be?

- It doesn't seem to Job that they linger long toward death. They just pass without experiencing any suffering! Ah, but there must be terror in the final moments? Not according to Job!

- They reject God's presence. They don't want anything to do with Him. They have no desire to know His ways!

- It has long been suggested that there is a God shaped hole in the heart of men. That part is true. God made men to worship Him. The part that is not true is that men seek to fill it with God!

- We lie to ourselves and to others when we exclaim that there are people that are "close" to coming to God. That is highly unusual! The World is better represented here, as being dismissive.

- They die with the words "depart" from me. They die with an unjustified arrogance. "Who is the Almighty that we should serve Him?" Is this not reminiscent of the Pharaoh's statement to Moses.

- "Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice?" (Exodus 5:2) The wicked will die in ignorance and then raise in the sheer terror of knowledge when they discover who He is!

- Remember this statement. Let this ring in your ears: Eternity is a long time to be wrong!

- For those who would put off knowing about the Lord in this life, please let this be a sober warning: It's better to get to know Him now while you have the chance!

- Know who He is now and joyfully enter into eternity. Fail to make that your priority and you will enter eternity with great and unrelenting sorrow. It's your choice today!

- What a sad commentary on a human life, not to know one's Maker, nor to care for the wisdom and comfort of a prayer life! The wicked regard any spiritual discipline as a waste of time!

- Job doesn't share in their counsel or subscribe to their feelings. He is telling Zophar not to lump him in with these folks. Verse 17.

• Job 21:17-21 : "How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does their destruction come upon them, the sorrows God distributes in His anger? They are like straw before the wind, and like chaff that a storm carries away. They say, ‘God lays up one’s iniquity for his children’; Let Him recompense him, that he may know it. Let his eyes see his destruction, and let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty. For what does he care about his household after him, when the number of his months is cut in half?" : When you think about it, how many times have you heard in the evening news of a sudden outbreak against any of Hollywood's elite?

- Who can you say was destroyed suddenly? It's not that they are made of indestructible material. They are like straw and chaff, vulnerable, but not seemingly ever destroyed.

- The argument then will be, "Well, at the very least, God will make their children pay for their sins." Job's problem is that God doesn't take out his wrath upon the ungodly in their lives!

- They blaspheme the Name of Jesus! They persecute His people. They act as if there will be no retaliation and for Job, it's not sufficient to allow them to die peacefully!

- Why doesn't God recompense them? Why don't they see their own destruction? The wicked aren't worried about what will take place after they die!

- Why would God's judgment upon their families post mortem be effective? Job argues here that it isn't. He pushes the issue further in verse 22.

• Job 21:22-26  : "Can anyone teach God knowledge, since He judges those on high? One dies in his full strength, being wholly at ease and secure;  His pails are full of milk, and the marrow of his bones is moist. Another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, never having eaten with pleasure.  They lie down alike in the dust, and worms cover them." : I love verse 22. "I'll teach God a thing or two!" You can't!

- Job is essentially admitting that he doesn't have a clue! He's in over his head. He knows he's out of his league. Of the things that God cannot do, the chief among them is learn!

- The most powerful cases are easily considered in His presence. But can't someone teach Him this? Job has two men in mind. They both go the way of the Earth.

- Death is the great equalizer, though there are diverse circumstances as in his case study.

- The first man dies, as the CSB translates, "in excellent health." The second man dies is abject poverty. He's never even had a great meal! The first man has rarely had a bad meal!

- He has plenty of milk, a luxury item in the time of the ancients, stored away. The NLT adds that he is "vigorous and fit." Both men share the same fate. Both lie down in the dust.

- The end of each man's journey was to be covered in worms that ate their flesh. Verse 27.

• Job 21:27-34 : "Look, I know your thoughts, and the schemes with which you would wrong me. For you say, 'Where is the house of the prince?' and where is the tent, the dwelling place of the wicked?’ Have you not asked those who travel the road? And do you not know their signs? For the wicked are reserved for the day of doom; They shall be brought out on the day of wrath. Who condemns his way to his face? And who repays him for what he has done? Yet he shall be brought to the grave, and a vigil kept over the tomb. The clods of the valley shall be sweet to him; Everyone shall follow him, as countless have gone before him. How then can you comfort me with empty words, since falsehood remains in your answers?" : None of their insinuations are being missed. Job is hearing them loud and clear. He understands that they are talking about him. He knows what they are thinking.

- In their minds, he is wicked and what has happened has been deserved. He sees their scheme all too clearly. They keep offering their proof that God deals this way with the wicked.

- "Princes live in houses. The wicked dwell in tents." Job wants to know if they have asked the people who actually travel the roads, the merchants who look for their addresses!

- No friends, the wicked rarely taste the wrath of God in this life. God's grace is such that He waits and waits, lovingly offering repeated opportunity to repent.

- God calls out the church of Thyatira for their tolerance of a false teaching prophetess, who was herself guilty of sexual immorality. God didn't just wipe her out.

- He tells them that He gave her time to repent even though she did not. (Revelation 2:21)

- God's greatest testimony in history is that He makes family out of enemies! His family room will testify to a grace and mercy that none of us can truly comprehend.

- But when that grace and mercy is spurned, there is only one reality left. The wicked are reserved for a day of doom and God's wrath. They shall be brought out on the day of wrath!

- The word "brought out" refers to being conducted or carried along with violence. They will be "escorted" to their judgment and that without gentleness! This takes great faith to see!

- What we see are men who are committed to great wickedness and nobody stands up to them in life! Who condemns him or seeks to repay him for his crimes? Most of us stay clear of such men!

- Consequently, when they die, they are accompanied by great crowds and, as the NLT says, "an honor guard keeps watch at his tomb!"

- "The clods of the valley shall be sweet to him." The wicked man can afford the nicest plot of dirt. It will fall upon him softly while a giant procession mourns at his resting place.

- Job has seen this countless times! There are many wicked who have died in this way. How is any of this a comfort to Job?

- These are merely empty, vain cliches. Their answers are fraught with falsehoods.

Conclusion
- Job's friends insist that God deals swiftly with wickedness. Job sees a different story. God endures the wicked, offering them chance after chance to repent, to know His Name and His life.

- He stretches out His hand toward the wicked and promises to forgive him of his sin if he will look to Jesus Christ, the innocent Lamb who has taken the sin of the world upon His shoulders.

- God's grace is greater than our sin and He saves to the uttermost those that will humbly turn to Him for salvation! Unfortunately, there will be men and women that will reject His offer.

- "Who is the Lord that we should serve Him? Depart from us!" Some will utter this on their final day, only to awaken to a full knowledge of God, who will tell them to depart from Him!

- God's love will be vindicated and God's justice will be served! Let us be grateful that we can experience His love and never know His justice!