Many of us remember how the White Witch gives Edmund delicious Turkish delight to entice him to betray Aslan, in C. S. Lewis' famous book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It was sweet to his taste, but poisonous to his heart.

In the same way, Zophar now portrays evil as sweet in the mouth but deadly in its effects. In some ways, this next speech of Zophar (Job 20) is rather similar to Bildad's speech in chapter 18. Most of it consists of a vivid description of the punishment of God on the wicked. As with Bildad's speech, the similarities to Job's own experience are very strong; again, the implication is that Job must be a wicked man.

Zophar focuses first on how the enjoyment that wicked people get is short-lived. You need to understand, he says to Job, ″that the mirth of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment″ (Job 20:5). The wicked man may laugh, but he will not have the last laugh. He may enjoy successful pride, so that his ″head touches the clouds″ (v. 6); he may even become, Zophar might have implied, ″the greatest man among all the people of the East″ (1:3). But it won't be long before God brings him down (as He has done with Job), and he will simply disappear from this life (20:5-11).

Then, in verses 12-19, the focus moves to a picture of evil as something that tastes sweet but turns sour and proves poisonous (vv. 12-14). It may seem fun to oppress the poor and seize houses, but the fun won't last (vv. 19-22). Indeed, it will lead to God's burning anger, which the wicked man cannot escape (vv. 23-25).

How do these descriptions of hell speak to us today? First, they tell us, in very vivid and memorable terms, what hell will be like. Hell will be every bit as bad as Zophar, and Bildad in chapter 18, describe it. We need to urgently proclaim the gospel to a world that is heading for hell.

Second, they help us understand not only the pain of Job, but also something of what it cost the Lord Jesus to endure the wrath of God against sinners; for Jesus endured it though He did not deserve it, as Job had before Him.

Third, we are called in some way to share in the sufferings of Christ (Romans 8:17), and therefore the sufferings of Job. When we do, we will not be surprised.