How can Job 20:7 encourage believers to focus on eternal rather than temporal? Setting the scene Job 20 records Zophar’s warning that the apparent success of the wicked is short-lived. Verse 7 paints the most graphic picture of that truth: “he will perish forever like his own dung; those who had seen him will ask, ‘Where is he?’” The vivid image in Job 20:7 • “Perish forever” stresses total, irreversible loss. • “Like his own dung” underscores disgust and worthlessness. • “Where is he?” shows how quickly society forgets temporal glory once it disappears. Why this matters today • Earthly acclaim, wealth, or power can vanish overnight. • God’s verdict, not public opinion, is what endures (Luke 12:20–21). • Remembering the end of the wicked guards our hearts from envy (Psalm 73:17-20). Eternal perspective checkpoints 1. Temporary prosperity: – Enjoyed for a moment, then gone (James 1:10-11). 2. Eternal destiny: – Fixed forever after death (Hebrews 9:27). 3. True riches: – “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:19-21). 4. Invisible but lasting: – “We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen… what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). Practical ways to focus on the eternal • Evaluate goals: do they matter a hundred years from now? • Invest resources—time, talents, finances—into Gospel and people (1 Timothy 6:17-19). • Cultivate contentment; let fleeting success of others remind you of eternity rather than provoke envy. • Speak often of future hope: resurrection, Christ’s return, the new creation (1 Peter 1:3-4). Living it out Job 20:7 jarringly reminds us that every temporal trophy eventually rots on the trash heap of history. Let that image redirect aspirations toward what can never spoil or fade. In Christ, the believer’s life “is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3-4); when He appears, that hidden glory will be revealed forever. |
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