JOB

April 5, 1992

Today, we're going to break just a bit from our pattern in our study of Old Testament characters. Up to this point we've looked basically at personalities who made ever so brief appearances in the Bible. On occasion there might be oh three or four chapters about an individual we studied, remember Gideon, that was his case. There have been a few times when we looked at people who appeared in only one chapter of God's Book, such was the case with Abigail. And there were even a few times when we looked at a character who was only in two verses. Remember Jabez, the man who was literally named Pain? He is only found in two verses in the whole Bible.

Well, today we are going to make an exception to that rule. Today's character has a whole book written about him, in fact a lengthy book, 42 chapters. And the book bears his name. Our character today is Job. And he is one of the most famous and one of the most fascinating characters to be found anywhere in the Bible.

You might not know that liberal scholars question the reality of Job, whether or not there really ever was a man by that name. Now there's some reasons for that, for one thing we have no idea when Job lived, some think he lived in the patriarchal days, others said perhaps in the Mosaic dispensation. Frankly, there's not a lot of evidence either way. Secondly, there's no mention of him anywhere else in Scripture. Third, it appears to us to be a unique and unusual situation doesn't it?---that God and Satan would actually talk about a human being by name, look at his particular circumstances what would be done to him. And then finally the Book of Job, and you and I don't see this because we see it in English and not in Hebrew, but its poetic in its nature, it's in verse causing some scholars to question whether or not it's meant to be literal.

Well our purpose today, is not to offer a detailed apologetic for the book of Job. We could do that but time prohibits. But those of us who believe the Bible, we accept its personalities as real and as fact. And I propose to you today as we look at Job's story, the man lived, and so did his wife, and so did his friends. And within his life there are great lessons for us to learn.

Now let's look at his story. First of all, turn with me to Job, Chapter 1 and let's see his circumstances. Job was a blessed and wealthy man. The first five verses of the book tell us that, "He had seven sons and three daughters," he had a big family. He also had, seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and a whole host of servants. He was a wealthy man. But then in the verses that you heard a moment ago, verses 6 through 12 of chapter 1, Satan and God have a conversation. And in that conversation, God literally holds before Satan, Job, and says, "Have you ever considered this servant? He is just, he is faithful, he has done no evil in my sight." And Satan said, "Well sure God, you always put a hedge around him, you've always blessed him, but you take that away and you take your hand away and I wonder what Job will do to you then." And then one of the most unusual verses in Scripture, verse 12, God allows that to happen.

And so beginning in verse 13, the tests begin. Do you remember what they were? A servant comes running into Job one day and said, Job, do you know the oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing but the Sabeans came and they took them all and killed your servants that were there. A few moments later apparently another servant runs in and said, Job you won't believe this but fire came from the sky and devoured all seven thousand of your sheep and killed the servants that were watching. Moments later in runs another and said, Job do you know the Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and they came down and they took all of your camels and again killed the servants. And if that weren't enough another servant comes in and said, Job, your sons and your daughters were feasting at the house of the oldest brother and a wind came and caused the house to collapse and Job, we're sorry but all ten of your children were killed. Boy, you talk about Murphy's Law, it ought to be called Job's Law. What else could happen?

It's interesting to see how Job reacted to that. Look at the last three verses of Chapter 1, Verses 20-22. At this Job got up and tore his robes and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said, "'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.' In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing." That's amazing, but it's not over. We're just in Chapter 2 of a 42-chapter book.

Satan and God have another conversation and this time God looks at Satan and said, Well (if you will allow me to paraphrase) I told you so. And Satan said, "Yes, but you wouldn't allow me to touch him. If I could touch his life, if I could take his health away from him, then let's see what Job would do. And so God's response was, I will allow it, only make sure you spare his life. And so in the early part of that second chapter of the book, we find that Job is covered from the top of his head to the soles of his feet with sores and boils. And verse 8 says that even sat naked in a pile of ashes with a broken piece of pottery scraping the boils and the pus off his body. You know that was really the last straw for his wife. She couldn't take any more and so in verse 9 she says, "'Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!'" But Job replied, "'You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God and no trouble?' In all this, Job did not sin in what he said."

Now, let's stop a minute and consider what we've said. What we've looked at up to this point frankly opens up a whole can of worms. There are all kinds of questions going through your minds right now. For example, some of you are thinking, does Satan and God talk? Do they do that very often. Has God allowed others than Job to be subject to Satan's personal attack? Does he allow that today? And by the way, those are good questions some of which we've looked at before and I can assure you in time, we will look at again, but we are not going to look at them today. And not because they are not worth talking about, but because number one, some of those questions we don't know the answer to. And even beyond that, our study today is about the man, Job, the man, not the theology around him, the man, his response---not the circumstances. I want you to see the man. What was his response?

Well, after what we've just read beginning in Chapter 3, Job responded with griping and questions. Now does that surprise some of you that never really read the book? He questioned and he griped. We sometimes talk about the patience of Job. Let me tell you something, Job was not patient in the sense that you and I usually associate with that word. When we talk about patience, you and I usually talk about quiet fortitude. We think about somebody who endures without a peep. Let me tell you something, that was not Job. Look at Chapter 3, beginning at Verse 1, "After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. He said: 'May the day of my birth perish, and the night it was said, 'a boy is born!' That day---may it turn to darkness; may God above not care about it; may no light shine on it.'" Look down at verse 16, "...why was I not hidden in the ground like a stillborn child, like an infant who never saw the light of day?" Job's saying I wish I was never born. Verses 25 and 26 of Chapter 3, "'What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has come to me. I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.'" Listen to me, Job was not patient. But you know what he was? He was perseverance.

Now Job had three friends who come on the scene at this point and time, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. And they come to Job and they try to reason with him and their reasoning reflected the ancient Hebrew thinking of the day. In short they were saying to Job, now Job you're suffering and we know God is a God who blesses his people and those who suffer as much as you suffer must be out of kilter with God so Job why don't you "fess" up. That was it in a nutshell. In fact just to give you a summary or an exemplary statement of those conversations, which by the way occupy about 35 chapters.

In Chapter 22, beginning at Verse 4, listen to what his friend Eliphaz tells him. He says, "Is it for your piety that he rebukes you and brings charges against you? Is not your wickedness great? Are not your sins endless? You demanded security from your brothers for no reason; you stripped men of their clothing, leaving them naked." They are accusing Job here, but they don't know what they're talking about. You gave no water to the weary and you withheld food from the hungry though you were a powerful man owning land, an honored man living on it, and you sent widows away empty-handed and broke the strength of the fatherless. This is why snares are all around you and that is why peril suddenly terrifies you. See they are accusing.

Listen to Job's response in the next chapter, Chapter 23, verse 11. Job says, "My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside. I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread." Job is just telling the truth. He is saying, friends I tell you what, if I have that hidden sin I will share it. I'm not perfect, but I'm not an evil man. And he says, I don't find that and I don't understand why I'm suffering. Oh, I wish we had time to keep looking.

But, at the end of the book, Job and his friends go through this great puzzlement about why all this is happening. The Lord, God, comes upon the scene in Job, Chapter 38 and in Chapters 38 through 41, you find the most marvelous speech in all the Bible. Job is sitting there questioning God, wondering why all this could happen and God's voice comes to him in a storm and I love what he says. Let's read just the beginning of that speech, Job 38, beginning at verse 1. "Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm. He said: 'Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?'" Look at verse 3, I love it. God says to Job, "'Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you will answer me.'" Listen to the questions he asked. Where were you Job when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know. Who sets the measuring line across it? On what were its footings set? Or who laid its cornerstone why the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy. Who shut up the doors of the sea when it burst forth from the womb? When I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, when I said this far you may come and no farther? Doesn't that give you chills? Where were you Job when all that was happening? You've got the audacity to question me? Let me ask you to give some explanations. Oh, it goes on and on, beautiful examples from nature. The next chapter he says, "Where were you when I put that eagle on its wing?" Isn't that something to think about?

Turn to Chapter 42 and look at Job's response. Bless his heart in Chapter 42, old Job he takes one big gulp! And read with me what he says, verse one. "Then Job replied to the Lord: 'I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?'" Look at his confession, "'Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. You said, 'Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.'" I love verse 5, look what Job says, "'My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.'" What does he mean when he says my ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you. He means Lord I've got a deeper understanding now. I see your majesty, I've got no more questions.

By the way, the happy ending didn't originate in Hollywood. Did you know in the story of Job and those last few verses of Chapter 42, all of his earthly blessings doubled, the camels, the sheep, the oxen, and you know that he also had ten more children, God blessed him with twenty overall. And God let old Job live to see his children's fourth generation.

Our time is almost up, but what are the lessons from the life of Job? Let me share just a few with you. Number one, don't you think that Satan or God overlooks you. You know we didn't answer the questions about this conversation between God and Satan, but one thing is clear from that, we are the battleground folks, we are the prize. Two times in the first two chapters of Job, the Bible says that Satan was roaming over the face of the earth. What was he roaming for? He was looking for people like Job. He was looking for prizes and trophies for his kingdom. Don't misunderstand, there may be five plus billion people on this earth, but the devil knows who you are, but the good news is so does God. In fact it was God who even pointed out Job to Satan, you remember? He said, Satan you probably forgot Job, look at him. Matthew, Chapter 6, God knows a sparrow when it falls. He knows the number of hairs on your head. The bad news is Satan's after you. The good news is God knows where you're at.

The second thing I see from this story that I want you to note, is you will not likely know from whence calamity comes. Did you hear that? I want you to hear that lesson. In the case of Job, it came from Satan, but everybody around him was telling it came from God. Isn't that right? They were wrong. They were messed up. But, sometimes discipline does come from God, that's what Proverbs 3, verse 11 says. "Do not despise God's discipline." Hebrews, Chapter 12, verse 10 says, "God disciplines those he loves." Sometimes your hardship could be God's discipline.

And let me tell you the third thing. A lot of time it just happens because there is evil in this old world and it has a domino effect. Let me give you the point. When hardship comes your way, don't try to analyze it, because you won't be able to any more than Job was able to. I hear a lot of comments now attributing every bad thing to the devil and to his demons. Somebody has minor illness in their home or financial difficulty and they it credit to Satan. It may not be. Be careful about saying where adversity comes from. We don't have that wisdom. We've not seen the foundations of the earth being laid. Third thing though, it is all right to hurt and to ask God why. Job never sinned by looking at God and saying, "God, I don't understand." But it is sin to accuse God of wrongdoing or to hold him responsible for evil because he has nothing to do with evil. It's sin to demand from him an explanation because he's the Almighty God.

And then finally, don't ever forget this. It's never beyond God's hand. Have you had a tough day today? Do things seem out of control in your life? Are you at the end of your rope? Best material in the world for you to read is Job, Chapters 38 through 42, that great speech that God made. It reassures you that you will never, never be tempted beyond what you are able to bare, I Corinthians 10:13. Trust in the Lord, that's the message of Job. Let's close our class today with a word of prayer.