The Benefits of the Prosperity Gospel
Job 20-21
January 10, 2016
My mom recently shared a blog on her Facebook page entitled:
“The One Thing Christians Should Stop Saying”
It was written by a man named Scott Dannemiller
And in it he talked about how his business had a good year.
Someone asked him about his business and he responded “God is blessing me”
And he talked about how quickly we throw that phrase out there today.
• This new car is such a blessing
• We finally closed on the house…feeling blessed
• Just got back from a mission trip. Realizing how blessed we are in this
country.
But he then went on to write about
How the theology behind those statements is so flawed.
How do you suppose the Guatemalan Christian would respond to that?
You know the man who is so poor he only owns the clothes on his back
And works for a dollar a day.
If God has blessed you with that new car,
Then what does it say about what God has done for him?
The man makes a solid point.
Can I give you the truth that might shock you a little bit?
Those poor believers in Guatemala
Are every bit as “blessed” as we are.
You say, “What?!?” “No”
TURN TO: EPHESIANS 1:3-14
Did you catch what Paul said was true for ALL believers?
We all have “every spiritual blessing”
Like what?
• Election (4)
• Adoption (5)
• Redemption (7)
• Revelation (9)
• Inheritance (11)
Notice “house” and “car” were not on the list.
Our blessing from God comes in the form of
Our spiritual state before Him and our eternal inheritance in Christ
And every believer on the planet shares equally in that blessing.
It might be that temporal gain, temporal money, temporal comfort
Aren’t really blessings at all.
I mean consider what Paul told Timothy
1 Timothy 6:6-10 “But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
And again:
1 Timothy 6:17-19 “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.”
• I’m not trying to paint things like earthly wealth or comfort as bad or evil.
• I’m not even telling you not to enjoy the good things you have.
• I’m not even going to tell you that those things didn’t come to you from God.
My point is that those things should not be considered “blessings”.
Jesus said they can even be HINDRANCES.
Matthew 19:23-24 “And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. “Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Now, this is not a sermon on money and what to do with it.
This is A SERMON ABOUT THE MINDSET that God blesses the faithful with temporal good and punishes the wicked with temporal bad.
We call that mindset: THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL
And you’ve learned by now that Job’s friends believed it.
They looked at Job’s suffering through the lens of the prosperity gospel
And decided that Job must have been wicked.
Tonight it’s Zophar’s turn to continue working against Job.
Tonight we will also see Job’s answer.
#1 ZOPHAR’S CLAIM
Job 20
I realize it’s been about a month since we last looked at Job,
But the last time Job spoke he was very direct to his three friends.
He had told them that despite his confusion and complaining
He knew his eternal fate was certain and secure.
Job 19:23-27 “Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! “That with an iron stylus and lead They were engraved in the rock forever! “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth. “Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God; Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me!”
Job knew that he was going to be just fine.
Furthermore he warned his friends that if they didn’t cool it with all the attacks they were going to be in trouble.
Job 19:28-29 “If you say, ‘How shall we persecute him?’ And ‘What pretext for a case against him can we find?’ “Then be afraid of the sword for yourselves, For wrath brings the punishment of the sword, So that you may know there is judgment.”
We likened it to what Jesus told the religious elite in Matthew 7
Matthew 7:1-2 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.”
It’s obvious that Zophar didn’t like the rebuke,
For he responds to Job by saying:
(1-3) “Then Zophar the Naamathite answered, “Therefore my disquieting thoughts make me respond, Even because of my inward agitation. “I listened to the reproof which insults me, And the spirit of my understanding makes me answer.”
Zophar didn’t like Job’s insulting reproof so he stands to fire back at Job.
And Zophar’s response is simple.
That it is obvious and common knowledge that it is the wicked who suffer.
(He’s just firing right back at Job;
Reminding him that his suffering is a consequence of his wickedness)
And to make his point Zophar reveals three truths about the wicked.
1) THEIR INEVITABLE FALL (4-11)
We don’t have to dwell on every word here spoken by Zophar
Because his point is clear.
It doesn’t matter what heights the wicked may attain to,
One thing is certain, they will come crashing down.
• (5) “the triumphing of the wicked is short”
• (5) “the joy of the godless momentary”
• (7) “he forever perishes like his refuse”
• (8) “he flies away like a dream”
• (9) “his place no longer beholds him”
Those all speak of an inevitable fall.
• He may reach great heights
• He may obtain great wealthy
• He may achieve great things
But rest assured, he’ll come crashing down.
(10-11) “His sons favor the poor, And his hands give back his wealth. “His bones are full of his youthful vigor, But it lies down with him in the dust.”
In other words, his sons will give back all his ill-gotten gain
And he will die young.
The IMPLICATION of Zophar is obvious.
• God won’t put up with the wicked very long.
• When He sees what they are doing, He will yank them down off their perch and throw them into the grave.
• He’ll kill them for their wickedness and then give their wealth back to those they took it from.
Zophar’s ACCUSATION is also obvious.
Zophar might as well say that
God has yanked Job down because of his wickedness,
Has seized his wealth, and is about to kill him for his godlessness.
After all, this is what God does to the wicked.
(According to Zophar)
Their Inevitable Fall
2) THEIR IMMEDIATE FUTILITY (12-19)
Here Zophar gives peculiar insight.
He actually reveals the enjoyment that the wicked receive
From all of their worldly endeavors and ill-gotten gains.
One must wonder how Zophar knew this.
None the less, Zophar reveals that even though the wicked may obtain riches and honor, God does not let them enjoy it.
(14) “his food in his stomach is changed to the venom of cobras within him.”
(15) “he swallows riches but will vomit them up”
(18) “He returns what he has attained…he cannot enjoy them.”
The wicked may cheat people and obtain wealth but God won’t let them enjoy it.
God will cause it to rot in their stomach until they are miserable and vomit it up.
Zophar is certain that this is reality for the wicked.
Everyone knows this…
Again, you hear the accusation framed right at Job.
Zophar is saying that Job’s bitterness and lack of comfort
Is simply a consequence for his wickedness.
All the wealth that Job had amassed has obviously turned against him and God has cast him down to the ground.
The wicked Inevitably Fall,
They experience Immediate Futility
3) THEIR INESCAPABLE FATE (20-29)
(21) “Therefore his prosperity does not endure.”
• Even when he gets “plenty” (22) “he will be cramped”
• (22) Everyone’s hand will be “against him”
• (23) “God will send fierce anger on him”
• He may flee (24) but he won’t escape.
• (26) An “unfanned fires will devour him”
• (27) “the earth will rise up against him”
• (28) “The increase of his house will depart”
Can you feel the negativity here?
Everything is going to go south for the wicked.
They may obtain riches, but God will not let him enjoy them,
Will eventually take them back, and then will punish him severely.
The wicked have it terrible in life.
Then if you want ZOPHAR’S POINT, he is very clear about it.
(29) “This is the wicked man’s portion from God, Even the heritage decreed to him by God.”
According to Zophar
• Wicked people don’t get to enjoy their wealth
• Wicked people end up losing their wealth
• Wicked people are hated by everyone and judged by God
And since all of those things have happened to Job,
Zophar asserts that obviously Job must be wicked.
That is Zophar’s claim.
And we don’t have to rehash again
How prevalent such thinking is EVEN IN OUR WORLD TODAY.
It is not uncommon for people to think that God rewards them with material gain when they are good and takes that stuff away when they are bad.
It is not a new thought.
It was happening all the way back in Job’s day.
Zophar’s Claim
#2 JOB’S CONFUSION
Job 21
Here from Job we also have a brief personal opening statement.
(1-6) “Then Job answered, “Listen carefully to my speech, And let this be your way of consolation. “Bear with me that I may speak; Then after I have spoken, you may mock. “As for me, is my complaint to man? And why should I not be impatient? “Look at me, and be astonished, And put your hand over your mouth. “Even when I remember, I am disturbed, And horror takes hold of my flesh.”
It is Job’s ever familiar request for them
To stop accusing him,
To see how bad he is suffering,
And to offer him some comfort.
(5-6) “Look at me, and be astonished, And put your hand over your mouth. “Even when I remember, I am disturbed, And horror takes hold of my flesh.”
He just wants compassion, but as you know by now, he isn’t getting any.
So Job determines to respond to the sermon of Zophar.
Zophar said that the wicked have:
• An Inevitable Fall
• Immediate Futility
• Inescapable Fate
As you read chapter 21 you can almost hear Job respond like this:
“Well then I am confused.
Tell me, where exactly do you see that happening?”
• You claim the wicked aren’t allowed to enjoy their wealth, show me the wicked man who doesn’t.
• You claim the wicked are pulled down from their lofty heights, show me one who was.
• You claim the wicked are hated by everyone, judged by God, and die young. Do you have an example?
Because frankly I’m confused.
I just don’t see what you’re saying actually happening.
So just as Zophar had three points, JOB HERE ANSWERS THOSE THREE POINTS.
1) WHERE IS THIS IMMEDIATE FUTILITY? (7-16)
(7) “Why do the wicked still live, continue on, also become very powerful?”
That’s a pretty good question to consider.
Zophar said that God will knock them down,
Job wants to know why He ever lets them ascend to begin with.
• Why even let them stay alive?
• Why even let them get rich?
• Why let them grow to power?
Beyond that Zophar attested that even when the wicked do prosper, they don’t get to enjoy it.
Job says, that’s not what I see.
(8-13) “Their descendants are established with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes, Their houses are safe from fear, And the rod of God is not on them. “His ox mates without fail; His cow calves and does not abort. “They send forth their little ones like the flock, And their children skip about. “They sing to the timbrel and harp And rejoice at the sound of the flute. “They spend their days in prosperity, And suddenly they go down to Sheol.”
“suddenly they go down to Sheol” doesn’t mean God kills them quickly.
It means that they don’t endure prolonged suffering in death.
They die in peace.
Zophar said the wicked are miserable with their wealth,
And Job says, “No they aren’t”
• “their houses are safe”
• “the rod of God is not on them”
• Their oxen mate “without fail”
• Their cows don’t “abort”
• Their children are happy as they “skip about”
• “They spend their days in prosperity”
• And they die in peace.
WHAT A MISERABLE LIFE!
What makes all this strange is that
They enjoy all this happiness while turning their back on God.
(14-16) “They say to God, ‘Depart from us! We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways. ‘Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, And what would we gain if we entreat Him?’ “Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand; The counsel of the wicked is far from me.”
They live happy and they live without God.
They reject Him, mock Him, question Him, and refuse to seek Him.
Job says, “Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand”
That is to say their prosperity is not of their own doing.
They reject God, and yet it is God who makes them rich.
(This is why Job doesn’t emulate them, he knows that it’s not their plan that works,
It is that God made them rich)
AND THAT IS WHERE JOB IS CONFUSED.
• Zophar says that the wicked don’t enjoy their wealth
• And Job says, “Yes they do”
They are wicked but God makes them rich and then lets them enjoy it.
And I should probably add that Job
Wasn’t the only one to ever make this observation.
Psalms 73:3-12 “For I was envious of the arrogant As I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pains in their death, And their body is fat. They are not in trouble as other men, Nor are they plagued like mankind. Therefore pride is their necklace; The garment of violence covers them. Their eye bulges from fatness; The imaginations of their heart run riot. They mock and wickedly speak of oppression; They speak from on high. They have set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue parades through the earth. Therefore his people return to this place, And waters of abundance are drunk by them. They say, “How does God know? And is there knowledge with the Most High?” Behold, these are the wicked; And always at ease, they have increased in wealth.”
Asaph saw the same thing Job was seeing.
Zophar said the wicked didn’t get to enjoy their wealth,
But Job said, “that’s not what I see.”
Where is the immediate futility?
2) WHERE IS THIS INEVITABLE FALL? (17-26)
Zophar said the fall from their heights and come crashing down.
Job says, (17) “How often is the lamp of the wicked pu tout, or does their calamity fall on them?”
When do you see that?
Zophar acted like it was a concrete and regular occurrence,
Job would like to know where.
(17b-18) “Does God apportion destruction in His anger? Are they as straw before the wind, and like chaff which the storm carries away?”
Job’s obvious answer is “No”
The wicked seem to be doing just fine.
The best I can tell God isn’t judging them,
They aren’t being destroyed,
They aren’t being scattered,
They aren’t being removed.
If you want to honestly open your eyes and look at the world,
You’ll come to Job’s conclusion that the wicked are doing just fine
Zophar’s reasoning is obviously flawed.
Job goes on:
(19-21) “You say, ‘God stores away a man’s iniquity for his sons.’ Let God repay him so that he may know it. “Let his own eyes see his decay, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty. “For what does he care for his household after him, When the number of his months is cut off?”
Zophar attested that a man will get rich, die
And then God will take all that wealth from his children.
Job says, “well, that’s pointless!”
If you really want to teach the wicked a lesson
Then you at least ought to do it will the wicked man is still living.
The wicked don’t care what happens to their kids.
The simple fact is that God is not destroying the wicked.
This inevitable fall you speak of simply isn’t true.
When we went to Zimbabwe for the first time back in 2005
We were told about a wicked president they had named Robert Mugabe. Many in Zimbabwe even think the man is demon possessed.
In 2005 he was 81 and had throat cancer.
11 years and two rigged elections later, they’re still waiting for him to die.
There is quote from him out on the bulletin board in the hall that says, “I have died many times, this is how I’ve beaten Christ”
If Zophar was right that man should have been kicked out of office and killed years ago, but he’s still there.
That’s the point.
• Where is this immediate futility?
• Where is this inevitable fall?
It just isn’t happening.
Instead, Job maintains that God works in mysterious ways
That just don’t seem to make sense to us.
(22-26) “Can anyone teach God knowledge, In that He judges those on high? “One dies in his full strength, Being wholly at ease and satisfied; His sides are filled out with fat, And the marrow of his bones is moist, While another dies with a bitter soul, Never even tasting anything good. “Together they lie down in the dust, And worms cover them.”
That is to say suffering and prosperity make no sense to us.
• Why does one man suffer and another not?
• Why does one die in comfort and another in pain?
There is no reason to this; only God understands why.
But you cannot say that it is determined by whether or not a man is wicked, because that simply is not the case.
This immediate futility and inevitable fall you speak of just aren’t happening.
3) WHERE IS THIS INESCAPABLE FATE? (27-34)
Job begins here by getting personal with Zophar.
“Behold I know your thoughts, and the plans by which you would wrong me. For you say, ‘Where is the house of the nobleman, and where is the tent, the dwelling places of the wicked?”
• I know what you’re thinking.
• I know how you are accusing me.
You say, “the wicked have their houses destroyed, by the way Job, where’s your house?”
I get what you are implying.
But you are still wrong.
• They don’t have immediate futility
• They don’t’ have an inevitable fall
• And here they don’t have an inescapable fate.
Remember Zophar held that they would hated, punished, and killed.
• Zophar spoke like they would be outcasts in the world.
• Zophar made it sound like their bodies would be cast aside in mass graves beside the road.
Job 20:27 “The heavens will reveal his iniquity, And the earth will rise up against him.”
Well again Job says, “That’s not what I see.”
(29) “Have you not asked wayfaring men, and do you not recognize their witness?”
It’s a tricky verse.
It’s easier to understand if you translate that last word like the NIV
And call it “accounts”
In other words.
You say the wicked are destroyed and lose their homes and live in futility.
But have you ever stopped
And asked one of these travelers coming through.
(generally these travelers had a fair amount of money
And were typically considered dangerous or wicked – strangers)
Job wants to know, did you ever ask them HOW they got their money?
The reality is, the wicked just don’t suffer like you say.
(30-33) “For the wicked is reserved for the day of calamity; They will be led forth at the day of fury. “Who will confront him with his actions, And who will repay him for what he has done? “While he is carried to the grave, Men will keep watch over his tomb. “The clods of the valley will gently cover him; Moreover, all men will follow after him, While countless ones go before him.”
Verse 30 makes it sound like they wicked will be destroyed and we certainly understand why the translators would word it that way.
However, that translation really misses the point of what Job is saying.
I prefer again the NIV here which says, “the evil man is spared from the day of calamity, that he is delivered from the day of wrath.”
The context of the story tells us that is a favorable translation.
(it’s not always about the specific word, context matters too)
If I tell you Carrie is “hot”
You had better listen to the context to know what I mean.
• She could be good looking
• She could be sweating
• She could be angry
• She could have a fever
• She could be impatient
So it is here.
Job’s point is that the wicked
Don’t ever seem to be getting what they deserve.
They always seem to escape trouble, not fall into it.
• According to verse 31, no one confronts or punishes them.
• According to verse 32, they aren’t rejected at death, instead people guard their graves.
• Verse 33 says their burial is peaceful and the way they die makes other people follow their path.
I mean, come on, ever been to the funeral of a wicked man?
• It’s not awful.
• People don’t cheer.
• They weep, they cry, they tell fond stories, they bury them with respect, and tell other people to be like them.
This notion that the wicked live in futility, fall from their perch,
And suffer at the hands of the world simply isn’t true.
And then comes Job’s point.
(34) “How then will you vainly comfort me, for your answers remain full of falsehood?”
“Why would I listen to you, you don’t know anything about anything.”
In short, your theology DOESN’T HELP
Let that sink in for a minute.
Zophar’s theology did not help Job.
AND WITH THAT WE SUM UP THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL.
IT DOES NOT HELP
Jeremiah 23:25-32 “I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy falsely in My name, saying, ‘I had a dream, I had a dream!’ “How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart, who intend to make My people forget My name by their dreams which they relate to one another, just as their fathers forgot My name because of Baal? “The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain?” declares the LORD. “Is not My word like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock? “Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the LORD, “who steal My words from each other. “Behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the LORD, “who use their tongues and declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ “Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams,” declares the LORD, “and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and reckless boasting; yet I did not send them or command them, nor do they furnish this people the slightest benefit,” declares the LORD.”
There is no benefit to you or to anyone else
For you to believe even the smallest part of the prosperity gospel.
It isn’t true and it doesn’t help.
Telling people they are blessed because they are rich is not true.
Telling people they are cursed because they are poor is not true.
And if you’ll listen to the writers of the New Testament,
They are screaming this.
I want to close with you turning to: 1 Timothy 6:3-19
• (3-10) Paul there condemns anyone who preaches the prosperity gospel
• (11-16) Paul tells Timothy what we should pursue
• (17-19) Paul explains the perspective those who are rich should have
That is helpful, the prosperity gospel is not.
Because it simply isn’t true.
There are no benefits to the prosperity gospel.
