May 15, 2025

Because we know Job didn’t do anything to deserve the tribulation that came upon him at the hands of Satan, our hearts go out to him. We feel sorry for his situation; from this, we know that even God’s most faithful servants go through trials and tribulations. However, his friends think he has done something wrong, and when he continued to glorify God and argue back instead of accepting their ill words against him, they became even more insulting. Zophar was the next to speak and described the fate of an evil person, assuming Job was such a person, which was the life Job was now living. I found one point in the scripture that describes hell’s fire very interesting. We often assume that those who end up there will melt in the hot flames, but Zophar describes it differently, which makes me think that though hell is hot, there are no flames. An example might be your oven set to 1000 degrees; the body will show the effects of the heat, but no visible sign of it. Here is the scripture:

All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle. Job 20:26

The descriptions of hell that God gives us may help to teach someone their fate without Jesus. If they think hell is just a party, they may not be concerned about where they are going. Malachi describes it this way:

For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. Malachi 4:1