Matthew Henry Commentary Job 20:23-29

"When he is about to fill his belly, [God] will cast the fierceness of his wrath upon him, And will rain it upon him while he is eating. He shall flee from the iron weapon, And the bow of brass shall strike him through. He draweth it forth, and it cometh out of his body; Yea, the glittering point cometh out of his gall: Terrors are upon him. All darkness is laid up for his treasures: A fire not blown [by man] shall devour him; It shall consume that which is left in his tent. The heavens shall reveal his iniquity, And the earth shall rise up against him. The increase of his house shall depart; [His goods] shall flow away in the day of his wrath. This is the portion of a wicked man from God, And the heritage appointed unto him by God." — Job 20:23-29 (ASV)

Zophar, having described the troubles that attend wicked practices, shows their ruin from God's wrath. There is no defense against this, except in Christ, who is the only shelter from the storm and tempest (Isaiah 32:2). Zophar concludes, "This is the portion of a wicked man from God"; it is allotted to him.

Never was any doctrine better explained, or worse applied, than this by Zophar, who intended to prove Job a hypocrite. Let us receive the good explanation and make a better application, for warning to ourselves, to stand in awe and sin not. One view of Jesus, directed by the Holy Spirit and suitably impressed by Him upon our souls, will quell a thousand carnal reasonings about the suffering of the faithful.