Job 20:26Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Unlike earthly fire, which requires material fuel to burn—needing constant tending with wood and maintenance—hell's fire, although it physically consumes the condemned, lacks any reliance on human effort. Once ignited, it exists eternally, unquenchable and ever-burning, independent of kindling or fuel. Thus, it is rightly said of the ungodly: the fire that is not fanned shall consume him; this reflects the justice of the Almighty, who foresaw future transgressions and from the very beginning established the fires of hell to commence upon the wicked and yet shall never cease to burn. It must also be acknowledged that all the children of perdition, who have sinned in body and spirit, will endure torment in both realms. The Psalmist declares, Thou shalt make them as a furnace of fire in the time of Thy wrath (Psalm 20:10). The Lord has united them in His fury, and fire shall consume them. While ‘the furnace’ is heated from within, the one who is ‘consumed by fire’ suffers from without. The Scripture indicates that the lost experience burning both internally and externally, as they are described as ‘devoured by fire’ and ‘made like a furnace of fire,’ signifying that their anguish is both physical and spiritually bitter. Thus, when it is said that the fire which is not fanned shall consume him, it is immediately followed by a reference to his spirit: He that is left in his tent shall go in evil with him (Job 20:26). The 'tent' of the wicked refers to his flesh, in which he finds pleasure and seeks to remain forever. In contrast, the righteous, whose joy is rooted in the hope of heavenly rewards, engage in heavenly matters while still in their mortal bodies, living as if they are no longer bound to earthly flesh since they do not indulge in its pleasures. Therefore, some were told, But ye do not live according to the flesh, but according to the spirit (Romans 8:9), implying that those who received this counsel were indeed in the flesh, but ‘not being in the flesh’ means they do not cling to the desires of worldly pleasures. Conversely, the wicked, having fixed all their pleasure in earthly existence, are confined within their fleshy ‘tent.’ This very flesh, which they will reclaim in the resurrection, will also endure the flames of hell with them. In that time, they will wish to escape their suffering and abandon that which they cherished, yet having preferred the worldly over God, they face divine judgment and find themselves forever scorched in the fire. In this life, they resist relinquishing it and are unwillingly pulled from it; in the hereafter, they will want to abandon it while being held tightly within it for punishment. Thus, to intensify their agony, here they are removed from the flesh against their will, yet there they are bound to it when they desire liberation. Their spirit, in its prolonged torment, yearns to be free from the flesh it once clung to, compelling the words, He that remains in his tent shall go in evil with him. As he continues his condemnation, he speaks plainly: