The Book of Job

What's left of this summer, we have truly been blessed with a very incredible year.

It may be hot outside, but it's rather cool and comfortable in here.

Today, I would like to talk about what is believed by many to be the oldest book in the Bible.

A book so old, it's even older than the five books that Moses wrote, the Pentateuch.

It's a book written about a group of individuals who were not Israelites.

It's a book that is considered to be profoundly wise. It's a book that, to this day, people read and study and scholars study, and they say to themselves, my, this is deep, I don't know what he's saying, but it's truly deep.

And I'm really learning something from this. Of course, the book that I'm talking about is the Old Testament book of Job. Many people do believe that it's the oldest book in the Bible.

Indeed, the book of Job, more than any other book in Scripture, gives us a glimpse a little bit into the actual relationship that God and Satan have together, because we find out in the book of Job that they do communicate with one another, that they do, even though we could say they're arch enemies, to use as a human term, they communicate and they talk to one another. They have an open means of communication. And indeed, it's the book of Job that probes the deepest theological question that we can ask ourselves as we live in this world, and that is, why do bad things sometimes happen to good people? Why do individuals in Southeast Asia, minding their own business, have a tsunami that suddenly shows up unannounced that kills hundreds of thousands of souls?

Why do very good people who attend Sabbath services every week suddenly get a disease, a terrible disease, and struggle with it? Why do good things happen sometimes to bad people?

And on the other hand, why do bad things sometimes happen to very fine people, the people that God loves, the people that God has a relationship? These are pretty deep theological questions, and they're touched upon, and the answers are touched upon in the book of Job. So that's what we would like to look at today. You obviously can begin turning to Ezekiel 14 in verse 12, because we're going to see that God had a lot of respect for Job. It is believed that the book was written if we have to give it a time frame of about 2000 BC. Job is rather parallel to Abraham at this time.

Abraham lives in Canaan, and he's wealthy, and he has lots of sheep and lots of material possessions. And apparently about this same time, in a land that's a little bit southeast of Canaan, and a land today that we would know is the modern nation of Jordan, is another man who also is wealthy and has lots of possessions and also has a relationship with God, also sacrifices animals to God. And his name is Job. So there's a good chance that they literally were contemporaries and lived about the same time.

As I mentioned a little while ago, Job and his friends are not Israelites. They're from Job himself is from the land of Uz, which is southeast of Palestine on the borders of what later would become known as Edom. Later, the descendants of Esau would settle in this part of the world.

So let's take a look at Ezekiel chapter 14 and verse 12, and we'll see the Job before we get into the actual book, is one of the most respected individuals mentioned in Scripture. Oh, if only God could say this about us. Ezekiel chapter 14 and verse 12, the word of the Lord came again to me saying, speaking to Ezekiel, son of man, when a land sins against me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out my hand against it.

I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. And of course, we know that eventually this is going to occur to our beloved United States because of our persistent national sins and unfaithfulness to God's way of life. But here's what he says in verse 14, even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness, says the Lord God. That's a pretty profound compliment by God. He's saying that these individuals were righteous.

Now, to understand the book of Job, we have to begin by defining what is meant in the book of Job by righteousness, because we have a tendency to define righteousness differently. We are New Testament Christians. Jesus came to magnify the law, and he said, the letter of the law isn't enough. Your actions and what you do in the outside isn't enough. What's important to me is what's in your heart and on the inside. But when the book of Job talks about righteousness, and when you read that Job was righteous or that he maintained his righteousness, it's not talking about what's going on inside of the heart.

We only found out about that when Jesus Christ came to magnify the law. In the book of Job, when it talks about righteousness, what it basically means is someone whose physical acts are good, acts like worship, sacrifice, helping the poor, helping widows and orphans, being a fair and an honest individual, being kind to others, living a good life, being a good person on the outside, revealed by your actions, but not necessarily perfection on the inside.

Not every thought, every attitude, and every intent being judged. But in the Old Testament context, particularly in this book, righteousness is talking about keeping God's law outwardly by how you conduct yourself and being faithful to worship Yahweh. So we need to understand that. That's very important. Let's now go to James 5 and verse 10. And we'll see here where James in the New Testament also complements Job. James chapter 5 and verse 10. And I'm going to read this from the translation God's Word for today. James writes, brothers and sisters, follow the example of the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. They were patient and they suffered unjustly. We consider those who endure to be blessed.

You have heard about Job's endurance. Your translation may say, the patience of Job. It's a compliment. James continues, you saw that the Lord ended Job's suffering because the Lord is compassionate and merciful. So Job is held up as an example to have had character so strong to have righteousness in a physical sense so strong that he was obedient and faithful. And even though everything he had was taken away from him, as we'll read, he never cursed God. He never blamed God. He continued to do what he thought was right patiently for a long time as he went through a very difficult and severe trial.

Now let's go to the book of Job. If you'll turn to chapter 1 and verse 1, the text never speaks of Job as the author of the book, but as obviously the main subject, the main character of the book of Job. Thus it's been concluded by many that Job was written by Elihu, one of the three friends. Or it may have been written by an anonymous writer of a later age. We don't know those facts. We don't know the details of all of those things, but we do know that the Jews highly respected this book in the Old Testament. It was considered one of the wisdom literature by the Jewish people. So let's go into the book of Job, find out a little bit more about the author or the main character Job himself, and learn a little bit more about God through the process. Job chapter 1 and verse 1, it says, there was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. So if you looked at this man's life, he was the pinnacle of good character. He sacrificed to God. He sacrificed even when he thought there may be a sin involved. We'll read about that in a minute. He did that for his children.

We won't go into the particular verses, but he cared for the widows. He cared for the orphans.

He was a generous man. He had a lot of integrity. He had a reputation for being honest and kind and just, and all the qualities that we find admirable in a human being. Verse 2, and seven sons he had and three daughters were born to him. Also his possessions were 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large household. So that this man was the greatest in all of the people of the east. He was renowned, respected, honored, and this obviously is east of Palestine or east of the land of Canaan, where perhaps Abraham himself was dwelling at this time.

Verse 4, and his sons would go and feast in their houses, each one on his appointed day, and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. Now, when it says the term here appointed day, it is not talking about birthdays. An appointed day, and these obviously were a young partying crowd, the appointed day was, we'll go to your house and we'll celebrate today, and next week we'll go to your house and we'll celebrate at your place, and two weeks later we'll go to your house and we'll all celebrate and gather there at your place. So they, the children, the impression is that Job's sons were a partying crowd. They had a good life. They obviously had a father who was wealthy and blessed, and they were blessed as well because he had been so blessed. Verse 5, so it was when the days of feasting had run their course that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, it may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.

Thus Job did regularly. He was such a righteous man, he even gave sacrifices on what might be.

Not just what obvious, obvious, but even what might be. That's how righteous this man was. We also need to realize that understanding and terms of what sin was is even acknowledged in these ancient times. Before there's a law, before there's a covenant, before there are 10 commandments given by Moses to the Israelites, mankind knows what sin is. Sin is the transgression of God's law, because God's law is eternal and existed before the 10 commandments were codified and written down.

So that's important for us to understand it well. So we find here, and in human terms, Job is a man with a fine amount of tremendous character, one who worships God faithfully. He's even concerned about his family, and he offers sacrifices just in case they're sinning while partying with each other. Perhaps he was concerned that they were drinking too much, or they were carousing, or whatever it may have been. Obviously, the scriptures don't go into a lot of detail.

Picking it up in verse 6, now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. So the sons of God, who it says later in the book of Job rejoiced when the earth was created, appeared before God's throne, and they are giving reports to God about what's going on in the universe. Let's continue what it says here, verse 7, and the Lord said to Satan, From where do you come from? So Satan answered the Lord and said, from going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth of it. Now this gives us an understanding of a relationship that exists between God and Satan. First of all, they're talking to one another, which might be a good lesson for us. If we have someone that we perceive to be an enemy, maybe there is a good lesson there that if God and Satan, of all beings, arch enemies, can talk to one another and be civil and have an open line of communication, why can't we?

There was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came among them. And again, the Lord said to Satan, Where are you coming from? And Satan tells him he's just going to and fro and walking back and forth on the earth. So God is listening to reports provided by the sons of God, and here comes Satan, rather uninvited to this meeting, for lack of a better term that's going on. So Satan shows up, and it had to be kind of an interesting relationship, because God looks at Satan and says in so many words, You know, at one time you ruled all this. Do you see on our church seal, the earth on our church seal?

I want you to picture the heavenly realm, and God says, You know, at one time you were an archangel, and you ruled all this. And the only thing you have left is this little ball hanging down here.

That's the only dominion you have left that you can rule. You had it all! You managed the universe for me. And the only thing I allow you to have left is that little ball down there. And that's even what I allow you to do on that little ball. So that is the groundwork, the foundation of the power that God has compared to what Satan has. So many times we have this myth that unfortunately was fostered in the Protestant world, that there's this great spiritual war going on, and that every day souls are being shoveled into hell because God is losing this battle for human souls. No, he's not. Of course, God has a plan, and he's working everything out in the world according to his plan. But there is no great spiritual battle going on. God has already won. He has cornered his arch adversary and allowed him for a time to have a little speck, a little mothball in a huge black universe that he still has a little dominion over.

The good news is that he's confined to that little mothball, that little speck in the universe.

The bad news is that you and I are living on it.

So at one time, Satan had managed the entire universe as an archangel.

Now his domain is only limited to earth and only to those areas within the earth that God tells him it's okay to do something. So Satan's going back and forth to see what kind of trouble and dissension he can stir up on earth. And that's what he tells God. I'm just going to and fro on the earth, walking back and forth. I'm looking at areas that I can create violence. I'm looking at areas where I can just stir things up, where I can create aggravation, where I can create controversy, where I can create anxiety throughout the world. And then now in verse 8, Then the Lord said to Satan, If you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil. So Satan answered the Lord and says, Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not made a hedge about him, about his household, and about all that he has in every side? You've blessed the work of his hands and his possessions, and you've increased the land. So first of all, notice how critical Satan is.

His character is always looking for fault. He's always looking for an ulterior motive in everybody and in everything. He's always looking for flaws, always looking for blemishes in everything that exists. So Satan begins by accusing God of having an unfair bargain with Job. He tells God that Job only lives righteously because you've blessed him. You take away those blessings, he'll curse you to your face. Who wouldn't bless you if you sit there and give them all the goodies in life?

Big deal! Of course, he's an upright man because every time he turns around, he gets more sheep, or he gets more servants, or he gets more goodies in life. He accuses Job of only being obedient so he can attain more material possessions and riches. In essence, Satan tells God that Job is God-fearing only because he says Job has a selfish motive. You give him the good things.

Take that away from him and he'll laugh at you, God. Verse 11, But now stretch out your hand and touch all that he is, and he will surely curse you to your face.

Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not lay a hand on his person.

So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. Again, it's important to realize that God is in complete control of everything going on in the universe, including on earth. But he does give Satan wide latitude in what occurs in this world. Verse 13, Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, and a messenger came to Job and said, The oxen were plowing, and the donkeys feeding beside them, and the Sabeans raided them and took them away. Indeed, they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you. While he was still speaking, another came and said, The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you. While he was still speaking, another also came and said, The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and killed the servants by the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.

While he was still speaking, another also came and said, Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness, struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead.

Ten lives snuffed out, and I alone have escaped to tell you. Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, fell to the ground, and worshipped. And he said, Naked, I come from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this, Job did not charge God with wrongs.

The beautiful thing is, and what a sterling example, is he doesn't blame God, at least not at this point yet. He does not blame God. You know, brethren, he experiences a rapid series of crushing blows that most of us will never face in our lifetimes. To have all of your children, and all of your possessions, everything you worked for in a lifetime to be swept away within a few minutes is something that probably no one in this room will ever experience. He lost his wealth, his loyal workers, and his chin children are all suddenly and immediately gone.

But he didn't curse God. He didn't do what Satan assured God that he would do.

He remained steadfast and faithful. Now let's go to chapter 2 in verse 1. Again, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord. And the Lord said to Satan, same words as we read earlier, with a little twist at the end, from where do you come? And Satan answered the Lord and said from going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it. And the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil, and still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without cause. In essence, what God is saying here is, You were wrong, Satan. You said that he would reject me, that he would question my existence, or that he would curse me when these things were taken away from him. And you know what? You were wrong. Even though you incited me to allow you to do this, he still hasn't done it. He is a remarkable man. Isn't he, Satan? And Satan answered and said to the Lord, this is verse 4, Skin for skin, yes, all that a man has he will give you for his life. But stretch out your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh and he will surely curse you to your face.

And the Lord said to Satan, Behold, he is in your hand. Again, this little ball here in the universe that you have dominion over. It's in your hand. You can do what you just said, but you cannot take his life. So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and he struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head and he took for himself a pot shard with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes. Verse 9, and his wife said to him, Do you still hold fast to your integrity, curse God, and die? But he said to her, You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and shall we not accept adversity?

In all this, Job did not sin with his lips. Now, he was beginning to have thoughts on the inside that weren't real healthy. That'll be revealed in a little bit. But with his lips and the outward of his conduct and what's coming out of his mouth, he's a very righteous man. Verse 11, Now when Job's three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his place, Eliphaz, the Temanite, Bildad, the Shuhite, and Zophar, the Nemathite. And all of these areas, by the way, are around Arabia or near the ancient land of Edom. So we can't call them neighbors because they might have been separated by many, many miles, but it was in that part of the world, again southeast of the Palestine area. For they had made an appointment together to come and mourn with him and to comfort him. And when they raised their eyes from afar and did not recognize him, they lifted their voices and wept. And each one tore his robe and sprinkled dust on his head toward heaven. So they sat down on the ground seven days and seven nights. And no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great. So we see here in this group of scriptures that God allows Satan to afflict Job with a hideous physical disease to test his faithfulness. His wife is so disgusted at his appearance that she thinks he would be better off dead. Now, before we judge his wife too harshly, as sometimes we traditionally have, I want you to consider that Mrs. Job also lost 10 children. Mrs. Job once had a husband who was strong and virile and a respected, healthy individual, and she's looking now at a sack of flesh hanging off of a human skeleton. What she sees is that her entire world, his well, is under conflict.

She's under trial just as much as Job is. And she says, you know, why don't you just end it all, end all your suffering, curse God, and you'll die, and you won't be suffering anymore.

So we have to be careful, I believe, not to judge her too harshly. Well, Job has three friends, and they meet together, and they come to comfort him, and they are so appalled and shocked by his appearance. And again, he looks like a dead man walking. He looks like it. Maybe the closest thing we could come out to it is in the 20th century, some of the Jews who walked out of the concentration camps. This man just has a pussy disease eating away at his flesh, and he is a pathetic human being.

Imagine the creativity of Satan if he's told that you can do anything you want to him physically, you just can't take his life. So you think Satan would just give him a little boo-boo?

No. Satan's going to the max. Whatever he can do to wound physically this man and make him as hideous and as disgusting and putrid as possible and yet still breathe and draw breath, that's exactly what Satan was going to do to this man and what he did. Chapter 3 and verse 1, after this Job opened his mouth and he cursed the day of his birth. He's beginning naturally in the beginning to get into self-pity. He's feeling sorry for himself. His whole world has been turned upside down. And Job spoke and he said, verse 3, May the day perish in which I was born, and the night in which it was set a male child is conceived. May that day be darkness. May God above not seek it, nor the light shine on it.

May darkness and the shadow of death claim it. May a cloud settle on it. May the blackness of the day terrify it. And as for that night, may darkness seize it. May it not rejoice among the days of the year. May it not come into the number of the months. Oh, may that night be barren. May no joyful shout come into it. He says, I'm just disgusted even with the day I was born. If I hadn't been born, I wouldn't be feeling the pain and the grief and the wretchedness that I'm feeling right now. So Job broke his silence after seven full days of his friends just looking at him without saying a word, seven days and seven nights. And he breaks his silence with a long discourse on how pitiful he is and how much pity he feels for himself. Then in the book of Job, one by one, his three friends begin a discourse with Job on why he was suffering. And this is where the book of Job gets interesting because everyone has an opinion. Everyone thinks they have figured God out. Everyone who's about to speak doesn't realize that, in essence, a wager occurred, a spiritual wager, between God and Satan. And that isn't God's will that this is happening. God simply allowed it to happen. That these are happening because Satan has caused these afflictions upon Job. And they're just assuming in the tired old myth that they believe that every time you do something bad, that's God that comes down and clobbers you. That every time you do something bad, that it's God who curses you. Well, we know that's not the case here because we read about the wager that occurs between God and Satan earlier in the book of Job. So we're going to see as we look at some of the statements that we see from his friends that they all have the same basic theology. And that is that, yeah, you know, you look good on the outside, but you have a sin. There's something really obvious about you that's bad, and God has just cursed you. You need to repent of this sin that you have, and then God will forgive you. So they're looking at the world from a very narrow point of view, and they are imputing motives to God, his friends, and blaming God for something that was not his will, simply something that he has allowed. As we'll see a little later on, there's a big difference between what God wills and what God allows. So let's begin here in Job chapter 4 and verse 1. We'll take a look at his first friend, the most philosophical, Eliphaz. Eliphaz the teamanite answered and said, If one attempts a word with you, will you become weary? But who can withhold himself from speaking? Surely you have instructed many, and you have strengthened weak hands. Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, and you have strengthened the feeble knees.

But now it comes upon you, and you are weary. It touches you, and you are troubled. Is not your reverence your confidence and the integrity of your ways your hope? Remember now whoever perished being innocent, or where were the upright ever cut off? Even as I have seen those who plow iniquity and so trouble reap the same. By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his anger they are consumed. Now the remarks of Eliphaz, much like his associates, is a mixture of some real fine wisdom blended with some pretty deep stupidity. He says, Remember now, who has ever perished being innocent? I'll tell you who have. Millions have. Every day two-year-olds get leukemia and die. What sin are they guilty of? A friend of mine at Ambassador College, his name was Joe Pyle.

He was the son of a minister whose name was Norville Pyle. My last memories of Joe was he was in his early 20s, 20, 21 years old, strapping strong, vigorous, blonde hair. He looked like he should be one of the beach boys. Genuinely a nice human being. Left Ambassador College, he got married. In his mid-20s, one day he woke up and you noticed a little pimple on his face. Unfortunately, the pimple was a cancer. He went through some mutilating surgeries that disfigured him, and eventually he died. In his mid-20s, leaving a wife and a small child. Now, what did he do wrong?

So, is it true what this man says? Remember now, whoever perished, being innocent, what was he guilty of? A few years before I attended Ambassador College and I worked on the electrical crew, a young man who worked in the electrical crew was carrying this tall metal pole in Big Sandy.

And the pole was too tall, and as he was walking it touched one of the high voltage electrical wires.

4,160 volts transversed through his body, and he instantly fell dead. What was he guilty of?

You see, this philosophy that this individual has of everything is just black and white. If you suffer from something, you must be bad. If you're going through an affliction or trial, God is cursing you. It's just that easy. It's just that simple. And no, brother, it's not.

Now, they don't understand what happened between God and Satan that's leading up to this. They don't understand what's going on behind the backgrounds, but they're continuing their mindset that something bad must have happened here. Many, many years ago in the Church of God, at that time known as the Radio Church of God in the late 1960s, a couple who attended services were in a terrible automobile accident. And they were both injured, and I believe that one of their children died in the automobile accident. And unfortunately, the minister, who would not be around much longer after making this remark, said that this occurred to them, he implied that this occurred to them because they must have had evil or sin in their lives. And that is contrary. That mindset, that attitude, is contrary to what is being taught here in the book of Job. What is being taught here is, don't impute motives to God. Don't be cocky or arrogant and think you know what God knows.

Don't think you have God figured out because when any organization or person thinks they figured God out, that's when the great fall begins. That's when the descent and the chaos and calamity begins for an individual or for any organization. So let's now pick up the story here, going to Job 6, verse 24. We saw here that the remarks of Eliphaz is a mixture of wisdom and foolishness. He's telling Job that bad things happen only to wicked people, that everything is black and white. You're suffering, therefore you must have sin in your life, and God has cursed you for being a bad person. But as we know, brethren, that's not the way it is in the real world.

Sometimes very bad things happen to good people. Sometimes scoundrels and evil people die wealthy quietly in their beds at age 90. So not everything is fair. Not everything just works out in a black and white world that you either are blessed or cursed. I mean, there are basic principles we know in the book of Leviticus that certainly fall true for the world in general and for us, but we have to be very careful not to put God in a box and say this is the way that it always is, because that's not the way that it always is. So Job replies, chapter 6, verse 24, Teach me, and I will hold my tongue, cause me to understand wherein I have erred. How forceful are right words, but what does your arguing prove? Do you intend to rebuke my words in the speeches of a desperate one which are as wind?

Yes, you overwhelm the fatherless, and you undermine your friend. He's making some accusations here.

Now therefore be pleased to look at me, for I would never lie to your face. Yield now, let there be no injustice. Yes, concede, my righteousness still stands. So Job says, you know, you're making these accusations. Tell me what my sin is. If you're so smart that I'm being punished because of a sin that I have, just tell me what it is. He can't. No one is able to point out particularly what this sin is in this righteous man, not the three friends, not the fourth friend that shows up later on, the fifth individual in this line of communication. So Job basically says, point out to me the sin that I've committed, or stop judging me. Do one of the two. Chapter 8, Bildad speaks, which is the second friend. Bildad the shoe-hite, who needs a class in the sensitivity and tact.

Bildad the shoe-hite answered and said, how long will you speak these things?

And the words of your mouth are like a strong wind. Well, that's comforting to a man who's just lost, you know, recently lost everything he owns, who's clinging on in the human life, that basically tell your friend that I think you're a windbag.

That's real comforting, isn't it? Does God subvert judgment, or does the Almighty pervert justice?

If your sons have sinned against him, he has cast them away for their transgression.

So he is making judgments dogmatically. Your kids are dead because they sinned.

His children weren't dead because we know the real reason they're dead, don't we?

Because God had allowed Satan to afflict Job and to get to Job, he took away everything that was dear to him, including his children. They did not die because they had committed some terrible sin.

But here we are with Bildad the know-it-all, explaining to them, black and white world, you're bad, you have a sin, therefore you're being punished. It's just that easy to understand, Job. Continuing, if your sons have sinned against him, he has cast them away for their transgression.

If you would earnestly seek God and make your application to the Almighty, if you were pure and upright, surely now he would awake for you and prosper your rightful dwelling place, though your beginning was small, yet your latter end would increase abundantly. The good thing he says is you need to repent. You need to examine yourself and your own self.

You need to examine yourself and repent because there's something wrong, and there is something wrong. But the accusation that he gives against Job is not fair. Job responds, chapter 10, My soul loads my life. This is chapter 10, verse 1. I will give free course to my complaint. I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. I will say to God, Do not condemn me. Show me why you contend with me. Does it seem good to you that you should oppress, that you should despise the work of your hands and smile on the counsel of the wicked? Do you have eyes of flesh, or do you see as man sees are your days like the days of a mortal man? Are your years like the days of a mighty man that you should seek from my iniquity and search out my sin? So Job is beginning to get off track. He has two difficulties. He's beginning to venture in a wrong area. Number one, he assumes that it's God's will that he is suffering, that God directly inflicted him with these trials. And we know, of course, because we know what's going on in the background, that that's not true.

God didn't initiate it. He's only allowing it. Secondly, and this is the real mistake that he's making, is he's beginning to question God's wisdom and his motive. He's getting the point where he's beginning to say, you know, God, you and I need to have a talk because you obviously there's something you don't grasp. There is something lacking about you, God, and if only you and I could talk to one another and I could plead my case before you with how righteous I am, then you would reconsider what you have done to me. And that's a problem.

Now, Zophar speaks, chapter 11 and verse 1, the third so-called friend. Zophar, the name Matthite, answered and said, Should not the multitude of words be answered? Should a man full of talk be vindicated? Should your empty talk make men hold their peace? And when you mock, should no one rebuke you? So again, there's also not a lot of tact or compassion here towards Job.

Zophar continues in verse 13, If you would prepare your heart and stretch out your hands towards him, if iniquity were in your hand and you put it far away and would not let wickedness dwell in your tents, then surely you could lift up your face without spot. Yes, you could be steadfast and not fear. So again, it's the accusation this friend said, there's obviously wickedness in your life that God has done this to you. There's wickedness that's dwelling in your tents. Job, what is the secret sin that you're holding on to that you haven't been telling us about? Kind of sounds like the National Enquirer trying to talk to John Edwards, doesn't it? But this friend says there's some wickedness dwelling in your tents. That's why you're suffering, Job. It's all your fault.

Well, for the next 20 chapters, and we're certainly not going to go through all of them, Job and his three friends exchange philosophy and talk about theology and they insult each other and they continue blending some very fine wisdom and some deep thoughts into some other statements that are complete imposility. Again, much of this is due to the fact that they have a very limited view and understanding of who and what God is and what God is doing down below. They believe that God directly punishes people who do wrong. That there's a God of vengeance. That this God is always standing, hovering, waiting for somebody to do something wrong and then, pow, you get cursed.

Or you get something bad that happens to you. That he's always out looking for sin and looking to crush people who do something wrong. Again, they don't grasp the difference between what God wills and what God allows. We'll talk about that in a little more detail in just a few minutes.

The three friends believe that God directly has cursed Job because he must have a pretty obvious sin. Maybe something he's doing in his tent, but he has a pretty obvious sin. Here's the problem with the ideas and the comments of the three friends. When anyone imputes motives or actions to God, they risk using God's name in vain. And that's why they have to offer sacrifices.

Later on, Job has to pray for the three friends because they are using God's name in vain.

To say that God is responsible for something that God is not directly responsible for, to say God has done this and God directly didn't do that is using God's name in vain.

And that's pretty dangerous ground when we used God's name in vain. Do you remember what the commandment says? The Lord will not hold him guiltless who uses his name in vain to pretty severe sin. And that's exactly what the three friends of Job are guilty of. As the discussions continue in the next 20 chapters, Job exposes that he's self-righteous because he can't understand in his mind why God is cursing him. And he says, I want my day in court. I want to talk to God.

I want to confront God about this issue because I've come to see and understand that God just has incomplete knowledge. There's something that's missing in God. And if only I could talk to him face to face, we could work this out together. He could understand who and what I am.

Well, sometime during these discussions that were going on between Job and his three friends, a fourth friend or a fifth individual in this group that are talking over this period of time shows up. And for a while now he's been listening to the discourse between Job and his three friends.

And his name is Elihu. Let's pick it up in Job 32, verse 1. It says, So these three men ceased answering Job because he was righteous in his own eyes. And that's not necessarily a good thing on Job's behalf, because he says, I want my day in court with God. I want to confront God on why this has happened to me because God shouldn't do this to me. Then the wrath of Elihu, the son of Berachal, the buzzite of the family of Ram, was aroused against Job. His wrath was aroused because he justified himself rather than God. Also against his three friends, his wrath was aroused because they had found no answer and yet had condemned Job. They couldn't point out one sin in his life. Not one! Yet they were the first ones to stand up and condemn him and judge him.

So you're an evil person. There's evil in your life. There's evil in your tent.

There's evil going on somewhere, or else God wouldn't have done this to you.

Verse 4, Now because they were older than he, Elihu had waited to speak to Job. When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was aroused. So Elihu, the son of Berachal of the buzzite, answered and said, I am young in years and you are very old. Therefore, I was afraid and dared not to declare my opinion to you and said age should speak and multitude of years should teach wisdom. But there is a spirit in man and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding. Verse 9, Great men are not always wise. Bingo! Nor do the aged always understand justice. As he says, age should speak. Age should have a multitude of wisdom. Through years of experience, age should have something deeper to offer than other people. But in this case, as this young man says, this isn't to be found. I have found you, as he says in verse 10, listen. Therefore, I say, listen to me and I will declare my opinion. And his opinion is as good as everyone else's opinion because they might all be wrong. So Elihu gives four speeches and he believes that Job should accept his punishment as an expression of God's displeasure. And he tells him, you just need to repent. Even if you don't know exactly what it is, there's something wrong here and you need to repent. That's what he tells God. Continuing in Job chapter 37 and verse 9, as he's giving his last speech, Elihu, there's a storm that's brewing in the background and you can see him refer to it as he's talking. What's happening? God is showing up. God is beginning to arrive because he's going to have a little heart-to-heart, or as God says, take it like a man. Discussion with Job. So here's what Elihu says, from the chamber of the south comes the whirlwind and cold from the scattering winds of the north. By the breath of God, ice is given and the broad waters are frozen. Also with moisture, he saturates the thick clouds. He scatters the bright clouds and they swirl about, being turned by his guidance, that they may do whatever he commands them on the face of the whole earth. He causes it to come, whether for correction or for his land or for mercy. Listen to this, O Job.

Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God. Do you know when God dispatches them in what causes the light of his cloud to shine? So as he's finishing up his speech, they could sense that nature is changing. It's getting dark outside. It's getting windy. Rain is becoming. Though the whole environment of the sky is changing. Why? Because the great eternal God is showing up to have a just a glimpse, a little display of his mighty power in front of all of these people that are sitting there.

First, chapter 28, verse 1, then the Lord appeared to the Lord, answered Job, out of the whirlwind, this very whirlwind that Elihu was speaking about. And he said, Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now, prepare yourself like a man. You want your day in court, God says, in essence? You think you're macho and you want to have a talk with me? Okay, let's go to the woodshed and let's have a little talk together, Job, just you and I. Prepare yourself as a man.

I will question you and you shall answer me. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?

If you're so smart, so bright and knowledgeable, then why don't they call you Eternal One?

Tell me if you have understanding who determined its measurements? How wide is the earth? God says, I know. How deep are the deepest waters of the sea? I can tell you that. Who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fashioned? When you look at that little ball hanging in space, what holds the earth in space? How come it just doesn't fall? Who made those laws?

Who created thermodynamics? Who was the creator and sustainer of all of these things that exist?

So he's beginning to try to challenge Job and get him to think. When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy, where were you, Job? So God is appearing in a storm cloud because no one can directly look at God and live. So God has to mask his great presence and his power.

He has to have a shield so that only a little bit of God's glory can be revealed to these individuals sitting here or else they would have all died. And he discusses here the marvels of his creation, and he basically asks Job—we're not going to look at all the verses that follow this—but he basically asked Job, Job, here's what I did if you're so smart. Could you have done any better? Could you have created anything more beautiful, powerful, or magnificent as what I have created? Tell me, Job, do you have the ability to do this? Could you have done it better than I did? And of course we know the answer is no.

Chapter 40, verse 1, Moreover, the Lord answered Job and said, Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Are you, Job, going to tell me that I lack knowledge? You are going to tell me that I don't understand what you're going through?

You're going to tell me that somehow if we can just talk it out, that you could tell me things that I don't know, that I don't understand. Are you kidding me? Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it. Then Job answered the Lord and said, Behold, I am vile. What shall I answer you? I lay my hand over my mouth. Once I have spoken, but I will not answer. Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further. Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, Now prepare yourself like a man, and I will question you, and you shall answer me. Would you indeed annul my judgment? Would you condemn me that you may be justified? God says, I am not anyone's scapegoat. Don't blame me for problems going on in life that you created. Or don't blame me for things that weren't my will, but are going on in the world because you don't understand why. God says, I may be a lot of things, but I refuse to be a scapegoat for other people's problems. Have you an arm like God, or can you thunder with a voice like his? And again, we won't go into these particular scriptures, but God takes a look at the hippopotamus and the creations, the crocodiles and his creation, and he explains in my detail the instinct and the characteristics they have that make them so magnificent. And he reminds them, he reminds Job, that he controls everything, that he is not unjust, that he does not live in error, he's not wrong, and he talks about specifically the creatures he made in the world. And again, he asks Job, could you have done any better? Could you, Job, have created anything as marvelous as I have? Job, chapter 42, verse 1, then Job answered the Lord and said, I know that you can do everything, and that no purpose of yours can be withheld from you.

You asked, who is this who hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore, I have uttered what I did not understand. He says, God, you're right, I'm wrong. There are things going on in the universe that I don't even know or comprehend or understand, and I shouldn't be jumping to conclusions, and I shouldn't be blaming you for things going on in my life that were not your explicit will.

Things continue in the Scripture. Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Listen, please, and let me speak. You said I will question you and you will answer me. I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes seize you. I see just a touch of your presence from behind those storm clouds. Therefore, I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes. Job comes to see that he was wrong to question God's motives. He was wrong to believe that God was somehow unjust or lacking in knowledge. Job realizes that he's self-righteous because he thought he was right, and he thought God was wrong. Even though Job had not sinned with his lips, remember when that Scripture was? It was in chapter 2, verse 10. His heart was not pure.

God uses this experience to go beyond what you see in the outside, the physical righteousness.

He teaches Job a powerful lesson that it's on the inside that also counts. That's also important.

The inside has to be pure and cleansed and do what's right and think what's right, just like the outside. God is interested not only in what we say, but he's interested in what's going on within our heart and within our thoughts. So, verse 7, and so it was, After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to life as the team and night, My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right as my servant Job has. Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bowls and seven rams. Go to my servant Job and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering. And my servant Job will pray for you, for I will accept him lest I deal with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of me of what is right as my servant Job has.

They believed that God was a cruel God, that every time something wrong happened, that it was God directly who was cursing individuals in creating these things in the world, and God says, They have not spoken of me which is right. That may be true sometimes, but God says, You just can't make that statement and impute motives on the Creator. You can't think you know at all and just assume that because you want to believe something, you can use God's name in vain.

You cannot do that. So they misunderstood God and his will, and they sinned by imputing motives to God and to Job, and for this they needed forgiveness. Final group of Scriptures here in Job, before we look at some lessons from the book. Verse 10, And the Lord restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed, the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before than all his brothers and his sisters and all those who had been acquaintances before came to him and ate food with him in his house, and they consoled him and they comforted him for all the adversity that the Lord had brought upon him. And again, not that that was brought upon by God's will, but that adversity was brought upon him because God allowed it to happen. Everyone gave him a piece of silver, and he should ring of gold. Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning, for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, one thousand female donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters. Picking it up in verse 15, in the land there were found no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job. That's in contrast to how hideous he looked when he was afflicted by Satan with the disease. And in the end, with the disease that he had. And their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers, which is something that wasn't done in the Near East at this time in history. After this, Job lived one hundred and forty years, and he saw his children and grandchildren of four generations.

So Job died old and full of days. So that's our quick review of the book of Job. Very interesting book, but there are lessons, and that's what I'd like to spend the next fifteen minutes, as we finish up the sermon today, looking at some of the lessons that we can learn from the book of Job. Some of the things I'm about to say would not make as much sense if we had not gone through a quick survey of the book of Job. There are four basic lessons, and here's lesson number one.

This book reveals that God and Satan regularly communicate with one another. They have an open line of communication. Now, is that that unusual? Well, later, when Christ walked on earth, after he was baptized, he was led into a wilderness, and he was tempted, and he openly communicated with Satan. So Jesus Christ, the Son of God, walked on the earth and also had an open line of communication with Satan. So this shouldn't surprise us. Later on, Jesus also openly communicated with demons as he would cast them out of people. He sometimes would talk to the demons.

And the lesson that we should gain from this is if God has an open line of communication with even his arch enemies, then who are we to snub people, to cut off other people, because they no longer fellowship with us? Who gives us the right to act that way? Where does that come from?

It's certainly not a biblical concept. The biblical concept is the example that God gives us.

So that's lesson number one. Lesson number two is that Satan is shown in his character to be restless, to be violent, and to always be looking for flaws and weaknesses in others. Satan is extremely critical. He's judgmental. He's critical. He's a fault finder. He's always been that way, and he will continue to until something occurs in the future as revealed in Revelation 12 and verse 10.

I don't need for you to turn there, but I'll read the Scripture in Revelation 12 and verse 10.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, Now salvation and strength in the kingdom of God and the power of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren who accused them before our God day and night has been cast down.

So he indeed is the accuser of the brethren, and his character is revealed here in the book of Job.

Always has been, always will be. He's a nitpicker. He's a fault finder. He's a very critical being who wants to permeate restlessness and violence and agitation throughout the world.

The third lesson we can learn is that God has complete sovereignty over the entire universe.

Yes, he allows Satan to have dominion over the earth for a while, for a while longer, but Satan has limitations on what God will permit on the earth.

God is sovereign over the universe.

The fourth point is the one that's most detailed that I'd like to spend a little time on, because I have noticed recently that still within many of us in God's church we don't understand that there's a vast difference between what is God's will on one hand and what God allows.

Not realizing this causes people to misunderstand what God is doing on the earth.

It also misguides people into imputing motives and actions upon God that he, frankly, is not responsible for. And brethren, it's dangerous. It is risking using God's name in vain to say that God, it must be God's will that something happened.

Whereas we learned in the book of Job, it probably isn't God's will at all.

He's allowing it. He's allowing that being who dominates that little ball down there to do something, but it may not be God's will at all. God's will is what he directly desires, usually as his first choice. His will is typically a positive event and a reflection of his character.

The thing to realize is that God's will is rarely done on earth.

That is why Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6 and verse 10. He said, "'Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.'" Why were we taught to pray that? Because his will is rarely done on earth as it is in heaven.

So that's one thing we need to understand. God's will is something that he desires.

It's his first choice. It's the best choice. It's something usually that is good.

Over a period of time, obviously, if sin occurs, though God is patient, but if sin continues to occur over and over again, God's will will certainly be the punish, much like he'll have to do to our beloved nation after a period of time. So again, God's will is what God directly desires as his first choice. On the other hand, and this is the world that most of us live in, is what God allows.

What God allows is an entirely different matter. God allows many foolish and negative things to happen in spite of his will. He allows things to happen that are harmful, painful, that may lead to disease, that may lead to a lot of terrible things that are contrary to what his will is. Why? Because he looks at human development in the long term. He says, I will work out whatever happens, hopefully my will, but what I allow, I will still work it out to the end result, to the character development, and the personal growth, and the lesson, and the moral, and the message, whatever it is, I will still work it out because I am God, and I have the ability to do that. God will use the events he allows to fulfill his purpose. Turn with me quickly to Romans chapter 8 and verse 28. Romans chapter 8 and verse 28.

Paul wrote, the scripture we're all very familiar with, Paul wrote to the Roman congregation, and we know that all things work together. All things meaning things that are God's will, and things that God just allows that aren't his will. We know that all things work together for good to those who love God and who called according to his purpose, because God has a plan that he's working out, for whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he predestined, those whom he called, he's also justified, and whom he justified, these he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things, whether they're God's will, or whether it's just something that God allows? What shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? God will work it out. God will see us through. God will make whatever events we're going through, whether they're his will or simply what he allows. God will work it out to our benefit so that we're part of his plan, so that it all works the way it's supposed to in the end. Let me give you some examples of the difference between God's will and what God allows. I could give you thousands of examples from Scripture, but for the sake of time, I'm just going to give you a few to give you to mull over a little bit.

God did not want Abraham to try to fulfill the promise of having an error by having sexual relations with his handmaid Hagar Didi. That wasn't God's will.

God's will was that he had enough faith and patience until Sarah became pregnant, and he would go ahead and have an error. God's will was that he would remain faithful to his wife and patiently to the promises God made, no matter how old he was getting. God allowed him to try to do things his way through his handmaid. Difference between what God wills and what God allows. By the way, God still worked with Abraham in spite of the fact that Abraham didn't do what God's will was.

God didn't want Israel to have a king to be like other Gentile nations. He said in 1 Samuel chapter 8 that Samuel, they rejected me. I want to be their leader. I want to be their king. That was God's will, but you know what? He still allowed them to have a king, didn't he? He still worked with Saul. He still worked with David. It's what he allowed. It wasn't what his will was. His will was that he would have continued to be their leader and be their king. It wasn't God's will that the life of a gifted deacon named Stephen, be cut short by martyrdom in Acts chapter 8.

This was an individual who had tremendous gifts, was an inspiration, and the kind of leader that the early church of God needed. It wasn't God's will that he'd be martyred, yet God allowed it to happen because there was a man who was a witness to the martyrdom of Stephen named Saul, who saw the grace and the dignity and character of this man Stephen as he died.

And as this Saul went on a road to Damascus, something happened that would change his life forever. And he became the man that God was able to use to preach the gospel to the Gentile world.

God can take any negative event. God can take something that's not his will, that he simply allows to happen like the martyrdom of a deacon, and he can turn lemons in the lemonade and work things out according to his will. It wasn't God's will that Job had the terrible trials that he did.

Unlike what his friends told him, God did not personally reach down and curse him because he was evil. However, God did allow Satan to afflict Job because he could use the events to take Job to a higher level. He could take these events that weren't his will but something he allowed to help Job to see something in himself and to learn something about himself that he didn't know. And I think that's important. When God did finally directly intervene, when it was God's will to do something, he blessed Job and he restored his health and his possessions.

Now, brethren, in a similar way to these examples, not everything we do as a people or even as the Church of God is God's will. I hope that doesn't shock you, but not everything is.

We pray that it's God's will, but sometimes people and organizations make mistakes.

And instead of something being God's will, God allows it to happen. But whatever that is, God is going to use that decision in order to fulfill his purpose for us. As it said in Romans 28, all things work together. We need to realize that God allows events to occur. He allows things that are contrary to his will to occur every day because he's going to still use that to teach us whatever it is that he wants us to learn, whatever is of growth and benefit for us.

If we want everything to be according to God's will, there are two things we must do.

And if you're saying to yourself, I would like my life, everything in my life, to be according to God's will, then I say to you that there are two things that we must do. Number one, which is the easier the two, is we must diligently pray for it as Jesus taught us in Matthew 6, verse 10, that it will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The second thing is a little more difficult.

We have to be willing to dramatically change what we have casually accepted as true, some things we become comfortable with, some things that maybe we're so sure about and knowledgeable about, and we have to be teachable because God's will oftentimes is in touch with us.

God's will oftentimes is in conflict with the way we are now. When the young man came to Christ and he said, what must I do to be a disciple? And Jesus said, well, if you want to be a disciple, that's real easy.

My will is that you sell everything you have and give it to the poor.

You see, he wasn't willing to make that sacrifice. He wasn't willing to change his lifestyle or whatever he was doing in order to conform to what God's will was. That's what seeking and receiving God's will often requires.

The ability, the acceptance of dramatic change in our lives. But that's the price we pay. That's what it takes.

Our final scripture, 1 Thessalonians 5 and verse 16. 1 Thessalonians 5 and verse 16.

Paul gives us a little glimpse as to God's will with some, again, some very positive characteristics.

Paul wrote to this Thessalonian, Thessalonica congregation in chapter 5. He says in verse 16, rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and everything give thanks. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Do not quench the spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things. Hold fast what is good.

Obtain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely.

And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Brethren, let's be thankful and praise God that he does have a plan, that he is so marvelous and wonderful, that even when human beings do things contrary to his actual will, that he still works everything out according to his plan for each and every one of us. Indeed, what a wonderful and magnificent God we're able to worship. Have a great Sabbath day.