*Why did the airplane get grounded? It had a bad altitude.

Parents have to use discipline for their children and many use the strategy of grounding. Maybe the child did something wrong or had a bad attitude so they keep them from going out to meet with friends as a form of punishment.

Reading today in Job 20, Zophar speaks for a second time as he responds Job’s comments. The tone of his reply seems to be coming from a feeling of being rebuked for what Job considers as bad advice.

As was the case in the first talk with Job, Zophar believes it is Job that has the problem and has done something wrong or lacks discipline towards the way of God. Zophar is blaming Job for his hardship and like a child being grounded by a parent, believes Job is being disciplined.

Zophar reiterates the theme of his previous talk to Job which is the argument of short-term success for those who do wrong and assumes that Job had obtained his wealth from being a dishonest person and now has lost it all because of his sin.

Zophar uses more illustrations for explaining his viewpoint. He says that evil is sweet in the mouth for a short time but then turns sour in the stomach to become the venom of serpents within (v. 12-14). Prosperity does not endure because distress begins to overtake as God rains down blows to the body and arrows start to pierce the skin all the way into the internal organs (v. 23-25). Terror will overcome the psyche of the wicked and God will bring His wrath which will overwhelm much like a flood that destroys their house (v 26-28).

Even though Zophar does not know the full story about Job and that it is Satan causing Job’s hardship, it is true that Zophar does make some sense because our wealth on earth is temporary and God’s judgment is certain. We must keep in mind that God is the judge and we must not accuse others like Zophar did.

These metaphors Zophar uses sometimes are fulfilled in our current society and sometimes they are not. For some, there is much pain when they lose it all but many times, people are never punished during their lifetime on earth. They are punished at the end of life on earth when God delivers His judgment. 

That’s why it’s so important to focus on the intangible qualities of Christ. The true treasures in life here on earth are spiritual in nature. The intangible qualities of faith, hope, and love that Christ demonstrated to us while physically walking on earth.

The purpose is to become a champion for God by developing a disciplined process and by following the perfect model, Christ. In the movie “The Karate Kid”, the mentor taught karate in a different way. Not the way the student thought. The student learned karate by doing menial task as the repetition was burned into his mind with the movements that are also used in karate. So it is with reading God’s word, we are learning with repetition so the Word is engrained into our mind and used as a weapon against the enemy.

This day with You Lord, we have read Your Word and day by day through repetition, are disciplined Your Way. Your Word gives us a model to follow in gaining eternal treasures that are needed now for making the world a better place and also stay with us throughout eternity. Amen.

^*Jokes for days. (2021). Funny Editor – Jokes for Days. https://www.funnyeditor.com

Photo – Taken at Austin – Bergstrom International Airport as my family waited for our flight to Disney World in June of 2011