Elihu's Response to Job

Thank you, Mr. Keener, and thank all of you for your singing here. I just thought I said I would have mentioned a little more about Mrs. Wilson, and I didn't do it. I do want to ask that you be praying for Mrs. Wilson. She, of course, has had this shoulder, giving her lots of trouble, and has had now three surgeries on it. We hope that this will be the last surgery that she has on this shoulder altogether. But she has had to replace the joint there in her shoulder. And then, the problems that she has been suffering since having that surgery has been to be sure that the muscles and the tendons and ligaments, that they all work correctly, and they have not been working like the doctors want them to. And that's why she had another surgery a few months ago, and then this one this past Wednesday. As I understand it, I talked with her husband last night and the night before. She was anticipating going home Thursday. She hoped that she'd be able to go home the next day. But they did keep her another day, until Friday, and then yesterday they determined they ought to keep her until today. So she's anticipating going home today. I know that her husband is, you know, he said he came down expecting to be here a day or two, but he needed to go home and change clothes and be able to do that. And be able to come back and get her today. So I do ask that you be thinking about, be praying about Joanne Wilson. I know that she has gotten, this has actually lasted about a whole year since she first started having this problem and had the surgery initially. So I know that she gets tired of not being able to do what she would like to do. And of course, that's understandable. But I'm glad to see that several of you who have been ailing are back in the congregation. And I hope that everyone will be able to stay well and be able to feel just fine as we get into the spring. Maybe getting away from winter and into spring will help us all feel better.

Well, if you'll recall, I actually spent a couple of months ago now, it was really back into the first part of December, I believe, that I gave a sermon here regarding the book of Job. Regarding Job, a patriarch that we read about in the Old Testament. And I want to follow up on that sermon. I think I told you I had two or three sermons that I wanted to give about Job. There are at least two that I want to give because I think this one is really a very important sermon to be able to give at this time. As we are preparing for the Passover, as we are looking at the type of examination that God wants all of us to do, I think that there's a great deal to learn in the book of Job. And I'd like to just point out that when I gave this earlier sermon, I mentioned that there were several lessons there that we directly learned about Job. Of course, Job was a very powerful individual. He was a very influential individual. It appears he was some type of ruler or king. He probably lived in the time when, maybe shortly before or after, the time when Israel would have been in Egypt. Even though I don't know that we know all of the information about Job, it says that he was from the land of us, which appears to be over in the area of where the Euphrates River would be at this point. And so, it doesn't tell us just everything we might like to know. But we do find that one of the things that clearly stood out about Job was that he was a very good person. He was very righteous. He was very honorable. And of course, in many ways, he let you know it. He gave you that information. He said, I help the poor. I take care of those who are in need. I work with those who have conflicts. I help people. I rule with equity. I mean, he made a lot of appeals about how good he was. And yet, what we found, when you read through here, you found that Job was self-righteous. Now, I think all of us would know that. If we were to write down, well, what's the lesson in the book of Job? That's what we would write. That Job was self-righteous. He was actually, as it says in chapter 32, righteous in his own eyes. And of course, this is a part of what we want to avoid. And clearly, if we read Job and we get that message, well, then that's helpful to us.

But it also said that Job justified himself rather than God. This is not a good situation. Job justified himself rather than justifying God.

If we ever get into a frame of mind, and as Mike was mentioning in the sermonette, about how it is that Satan can influence people, how it is that he is the accuser, he is the deceiver. In a sense, we might deceive ourselves into thinking that we're justified in what we're doing. And yet, that's exactly what Job was doing. Job tried to justify himself. And I'm going to point out how that that is impossible. It's absolutely impossible. And of course, what his friends were wanting him to see was, well, you need to look at God differently. And of course, that's what we find actually happened. What you also find is that Job approached God in an arrogant, irreverent manner.

He said some things that just make your teeth fall out. Make my teeth fall out. Maybe your teeth won't fall out. But it makes my teeth fall out because he is so arrogant. And he is so opinionated about his own viewpoint that he doesn't seem to be able to see anything else.

And he certainly approached God in a very arrogant, irreverent manner. And of course, what we also find, and this is in chapter 23. I'm not wanting to go through all of these again. I think we went through some of these before. In chapter 23 of Job, you see Job stating his case and somehow feeling that he had the prerogative to argue with God.

And as he pointed out, if I could just plead my case before God, I would win. God would be shown to be wrong, and I would be shown to be right, and I would actually win a court case against the great God. That's pretty appalling. It's pretty appalling.

We also learn, of course, in the very last chapter in chapter 42, that Job did repent. Now, that's a good sign. That's the wonderful side about the book of Job, is that Job did repent. Job yielded to God.

And what it says, and what he claimed about himself, is that, I have heard of God with the hearing of my ear, but now my eye sees Him. See, he saw God in a much different frame of mind. He saw God in a much different light.

He saw God in a much more respectful, much more appreciative, much more grateful way than he had ever seen God before. He said, therefore, I repent, seeing that I'm just dust. I am dust and ashes. He says, I repent, and I do so in dust and ashes. Seeing that I'm dust and ashes, that's what we find about Job. And so, all of those are good lessons to learn from the book of Job. But I want to point out something that I don't know whether we've thought about a lot before. But I would say that perhaps God allowed Job to go through the suffering that he did. And as you know the story, he suffered a great deal. He suffered the loss of his property. He suffered the loss of his family. He ultimately suffered the loss of his health. And all of these were kind of successive, bringing him down. But perhaps God was allowing Job to go through this suffering as a way to be able to show him how to examine himself. That's what I want to put out to you today. God may have been showing Job the things that he needed to see in a sense to help him examine himself. And as all of us are looking toward the Passover, what can we learn about examining ourselves by taking a look at what Job went through? And I think we also might ask, do we even see the Gospel preached in the book of Job? Would you be able to find that anywhere? Is that something that's actually there? Do we have any insight about a person's need for Jesus Christ in their lives? This doesn't immediately stand out, I don't think, in most people's minds whenever they read the book of Job. But I hope to show you today that this can explore and maybe expand our relationship with God and our appreciation of Jesus Christ our Lord. I'd like for us to go to chapter 32 and 33 and 34 and 35 and 36 and 37. If you're familiar with the book of Job, that you realize that what I'm referring to here is the statements that Eli-Hugh made to Job. And I hope that we can see this in a way that can be helpful to us, because Eli-Hugh, as he listened to Job and as he listened to Job's friends, now that takes up most of the book, as you know, takes it all the way up almost to chapter 32. And in chapter 32, you see Eli-Hugh starting to speak. Now, Eli-Hugh was a younger man. He held back, he didn't want to say what he thought.

And yet, he wanted to listen to what the others had to say, wanted to listen to what Job said. And yet, what we find is that after Eli-Hugh speaks, then God intervenes. God intervenes in Job's life, and he appears in a whirlwind, and then starts asking Job questions that there is no way that Job is going to be able to answer them.

And it didn't take Job very long. It didn't take him very long to realize, I just simply need to be quiet. I don't need to be saying anything more. I don't need to be justifying myself. I don't need to be approaching God like I am. And that's what you find in chapter 38, 39, 40, 41, as God is directly speaking to Job. He really has Job's attention. But see, I would say, as we read through this, that we're going to see that God got Job's attention through Eli-Hugh. Clearly, God got his attention out of the whirlwind, and asking things he would never be able to answer. But see, God had sent Eli-Hugh as his servant. That's the illusion that we have from the statements that Eli-Hugh makes. And Eli-Hugh was able, as a human being, as a human servant, to reach out to Job and to show him that, well, Job, you are a powerful ruler. You are a righteous, perhaps, king of some type. I don't know exactly what role it says he was a ruler of the East. He says, you're very impressive, and you certainly have an ability to serve and help other people, which you tend to do. But what we find that Eli-Hugh, he has a mission. He wants to be able to show Job the light. That's what he wants to be able to show Job. We don't find Eli-Hugh telling Job that this thing that he did is wrong and that thing that he did is wrong, or as his other friends had said, well, Job, you've got to be wrong. You've got to be doing things wrong. We're not seeing it, but you've got to be doing things wrong. Eli-Hugh had a different outlook. I'd like for us to look here in chapter 32. Eli-Hugh says in verse 17, I'm also going to give an answer. I'm going to declare my opinion, but I'm full of words, and the Spirit within me constrains me. My heart is indeed like wine that is no vent like new wineskins. It's ready to burst. So, Eli-Hugh had been listening to all of this, and he could see that Job's friends weren't making any headway. Job was still stubbornly pigheaded about his desire to plead his case with God. And then Eli-Hugh says, I've just got to speak. In verse 20, I must speak so that I can find relief. I'm going to open my mouth, my lips, and answer. I'm not going to show partiality to any person or use flattery toward anyone. He said, I know who Job is, and I know I'm a young man, and I don't know everything, but I do have something to say. And so over in chapter 33, you also see a little more about how Eli-Hugh was viewed. In verse 3, he says, My words declare the uprightness of my heart, but my lips know they speak sincerely. The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty has given me life. Eli-Hugh was just pointing out that I know that God has given me life and breath. I know that God is the one who is guiding and directing me. And actually, if you look on over to chapter 36, chapter 36 in verse 1, Eli-Hugh is continuing to say, Bear with me a little, and I will show you, for I have yet something to say on God's behalf. I will bring my knowledge from far away. I will ascribe righteousness to my Maker. See, here you find that Eli-Hugh felt like he was moved from God to be able to tell Job what he needed to know.

And I would say that we can recognize that Eli-Hugh was being used as a servant. He was being used as a messenger. He did have a mission. And yet, he also had a sincere desire to help Job see something that he was not seeing. And that, of course, perhaps is a message to all of us. So, if we're going to serve God and if we're going to reach out to other people as God's servants, then we need to do that out of love, out of service. This appears to be the way that Eli-Hugh was approaching Job. So, I'd like for us to look at what it was that Eli-Hugh was able to say. What you actually find is, throughout these chapters, Eli-Hugh points out to Job that you're really not looking at God in the right way. Here in chapter 34, in verse 10, you find that Job had been saying that, well, God is just not just. God is not right. He is bringing upon me these calamities, and I don't deserve it. These have been brought upon me for no reason. God doesn't do that. God would bring blessing on people who are right with Him, and He would bring curses upon those who are wrong. And that's not the case with me. I'm not wrong. I'm right. And then God is doing something that's unjust. Certainly, you could tell why Job might think of it that way. But one of the things that Eli-Hugh had to tell Job was that God is very just. God is actually always just. Now, it is true, if we look at verse 10, therefore hear me, you who have sense, far be it from God that He should do wickedly. Far be it from the Almighty that He should do wrong. Whatever God is doing, however God is dealing with Job, is not wrong. It is right. It has purpose. In verse 11, according to their deeds, He will repay according to their ways. He will make it befall them. See, that was the common thought. And that's, I think, in many ways our thought today. That according to the deeds that we do, that we kind of reap what we sow. And this is a common way that God normally works with people. He blesses us as we honor Him. And if we disobey Him, then we may run in trouble.

But that isn't always the case. That's sometimes the case. But it goes on to say of a truth, when you think about God, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice. He will always do what is in our best interest. And we don't control God. See, this is what Job was contending. I need to be able to plead with God and be able to show Him where He's wrong. Elihu wanted to uphold God's justice. Over in chapter 36, you can read through the entirety of this chapter. And what he proclaims is that not only is God just, God is good, and God is majestic.

Down here in chapter 36, in verse 24, he says, Remember, Job, to extol God's work. Remember to extol His work, of which mortals have sung. All people have looked on it. Everyone watches it from far away. Surely, God is great, and we don't know Him. He's far beyond us.

He has ways and He has works that need to be respected, that need to be extolled. In verse 27, He draws up the drops of water. He distills the mist and rain. And of course, He talks about all the different things that we even see God doing today.

He's sending a little beautiful snowflakes down today. That's what God does. He said, God is way beyond. His work needs to be extolled. And yet, when you get to the last part of this chapter in verse 36, when He's starting to talk about God being in control over the elements, over the rain, and over the clouds, and over the thunderings, in verse 30, it says, See, He scatters His lightning around Him and covers the roots of the sea.

And by these, He governs people. He gives food in abundance. He covers His hands with lightning and commands it to strike the mark. It's crashing, tells about Him. And He's jealous with anger against iniquity. To hear it, Elijah, He's kind of getting excited. He's kind of getting excited, and I think the reason why He started to get excited, because this big, huge storm started to brew back behind He and Job. Because in the first part of chapter 37, He says, At this, my heart trembles.

My heart leaps out of its place. Listen! Listen to the thunder of His voice, the rumbling that comes from His mouth. See, I believe that Elijah, as he was talking to Job, and as he was telling him the words of God, words from God, he said, I have something to say from God. I believe that this big storm was brewing behind him, and even though I knew He was taking a look at that, and He says, look at this.

Have any of us been close to a tornado? Have any of us been close, that close, to just violent storm? I know I've seen a few tornadoes in my time. I grew up in Oklahoma, so that's Tornado Alley, not only there, but here in Kansas.

Some of you may have been directly, even more than I have, directly close to tornadoes, but I've been very close to a couple of tornadoes, and your heart does leap out of its chest. I mean, it is such an awesome, awesome power that is being unleashed in a huge whirlwind, like we see God actually bringing up, and here in chapter 38, it says, God answered Job out of the whirlwind, and started to ask him questions there was no way he could answer. But see, like you, was trembling as He was telling Job, you need to really surrender to God.

You need to really yield to the great God, because you are not seeing everything that you need to see about God. This is what he was telling him, and of course, he was, I think, watching this big storm brewing, and then, of course, as he stops talking here in chapter 37, God intervenes and starts talking to Job. But what I really want to focus on is what he says here in chapter 33. Now, clearly, he had the message from God to show Job, well, you need to look at my greatness, you need to look at my goodness, you need to look at my majesty, you need to surrender to me.

That clearly is a description of what Elijah was saying. But here in chapter 33, you've got some very revealing statements that I want us to cover here today. Starting in verse 6, Elihu was talking to Job, and he says, See, before God, I am just like you are. I too was formed from the piece of clay, and so no fear of me should terrify you. My pressure will not be heavy on you. See, Elihu told Job, well, Job, look, I know I'm a younger man, and yet I've got a message.

I've got a mission. I need to tell you something. And yet I'm just like you. I've been made out of the dust of the earth just like you. See, this was a good thing to remind Job of, not so much about Elihu, but even more about himself. You've been made out of the dust of the ground.

You're a great man. You're a righteous man. You're a good man. But you've been made out of the dust, just like me. And so what you find is that Elihu was not talking down to Job. He was telling him, look, I'm just like you. You don't have to feel any pressure from me. I'm sure you're going to feel some pressure eventually, and that pressure may be coming from the whirlwind. But I want you to realize that what I'm saying to you, I'm saying out of love. I'm saying this because I want you to see something that you don't see yet. It goes on in verse 8, "...Surely you have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard the sound of your words." See, Elihu says, well, I've listened to what your friends have said, but I've also listened to you defend yourself.

I've listened to you justify yourself. I've listened to you counter everything that they had to say. And admittedly, later on, God says that those guys didn't know what they were talking about. That's what He says. He says they weren't able to help. But He doesn't say that about Elihu. He doesn't directly say anything about what Elihu had to say. And Elihu says, I've got some words from God. And so I think perhaps we should hear these. See, I've been listening to what you say, Job. And in verse 9, He says, you say, you say, Job, I'm clean, I'm without transgression, I'm pure, and there is no iniquity in me.

Look! He finds occasion. God finds occasion against me. God counts me as His enemy. He puts His feet, or my feet, in the stocks, and He watches all of my paths. See, now, Elihu was just relaying something he'd heard Job say. You can go back and you can find what Job was saying, and that's clearly what he said. He was saying, I'm not wrong, I'm not doing this, I'm not doing that, I don't deserve this, I need to plead my case. This is the way Job was.

But he says in verse 12, in this Job, you are not right. See, he had actually repeated some of Job's own words about how pure, about how innocent, how without transgression, how without iniquity he was, and yet he was able to just make a very plain statement.

In this Job, you are not right. I'm going to answer you, and I'm going to explain to you that God is greater than any mortal. See, this apparently was something that Job was either not knowing or forgetting. He was not impressed with God. He was impressed with himself, but he was not impressed with God. He says, I want to tell you, Job, you are not right.

Why do you contend with God saying that He won't even answer my words? He won't answer my questions. This is quite an arrogant attitude that Job had, where he was approaching God almost as I'm equal with God. I could get in an argument with God, and I could actually win. That's what you find back in chapter 23. But he lied. You had to tell him, you're wrong. See, this is not something that Job was very good at admitting. He was not good at admitting, I'm wrong.

And you know, brethren, I'm not very good at admitting that either. And I would venture that many of us are not real good at doing that. You know, I guess I don't need to bring my wife here to testify.

I'm not real good at saying I'm wrong, because oftentimes I think I'm right. And whether or not I am, that's immaterial. I need to realize many times I am wrong. And I think it is something that many of us maybe can learn from what Elijah told Job.

He said, Job, you need to get used to the fact that you are wrong. You actually need help. You need help from God. You need help from the One who can give you what you actually need. And then he's going to go ahead and tell him what it is he really needs. He goes on in verse 14 to say that God speaks in one way or He speaks in another, though people do not perceive it. I'm going to read this in the New King James, which I know most of you have. Well, I'll go on and read some of this out of the New King James a little bit later.

But I'm going to go ahead and read this section out of the version that I'm reading. He said, God speaks to people in one way or another whether they perceive it or not. This is actually what Elijah had to say. He says, I want you to pay attention to this, Job, because there are things that you're not seeing. God may speak or communicate to someone in a dream or in a vision of the night when deep sleep falls on mortals while they slumber on their beds. Then He opens their ears and terrifies them with mornings.

Now, that would sound like a nightmare to me. And I don't know that God commonly works through dreams or visions like that. That's something that would be very unusual. And yet what Elijah was pointing out to Job was that, well, Job, you're an upright man. But God can work with people however He happens to want to. Whatever He happens to want to do, He can do.

He goes on to say, God can work with people either through a dream or a vision. He may open their ears. That He may turn them aside from their deeds and keep them from pride. God could do a lot of things to help us see that we're caught up in our own arrogance and our own pride. To spare their souls from the pit, their lives, from traversing the river. See, this is the way that Job was being reached by Elihu. And he said, verse 19, "...people might be chastened with pain upon their bed, with continual strife in their bones, so that their lives loathe bread, and their appetites dainty food, and their flesh might be so wasted away that it cannot be seen, their bones, once visible, may stick out.

Their souls may draw near the pit in their lives to those who bring death." See, here he was trying to get Job to see that, well, God could choose to work with people however He happens to want. Whether He sends some kind of a vision or a dream, whether He even allows pain, not unwarranted pain, but pain that just comes for whatever reason, it may be that God wants you to see something that you've not yet seen. This is really what Job had already experienced.

He said, I've been in pain for a long time here. That's what's so wrong here. I've not done anything to deserve this. And Elihu says, well, no, that's just the way God is. God is able. He is just, and He is actually trying to help you.

He says then in verse 23, He points out something that's really important to Job. Something that I don't think Job had really ever thought about because he had never really brought this up. This was never something that Job seemed to have any perception of.

But Elihu says, God can deal with people and He can bring them to an awareness of their own pride. He can bring them, even through pain, to see things that they didn't see before about themselves. But he says then in verse 23, God may send a messenger.

He says if there is a messenger for Him, if there is a mediator, one among the thousand, to show man God's uprightness, then He is gracious to Him. And He says deliver Him from going down to the pit.

See, this is the statements that Elihu is making to Job that Job has not really thought about before. He has not really considered the fact that, well, I might need a mediator. I might need one to declare me upright. See, he did that on his own. He said, I can declare myself upright. I can declare my own abilities, my own power, my own goodness. I don't need somebody else to do that. But what Elihu is pointing out is, if there is a messenger or a mediator that comes, who can declare a person upright. One in verse 24 who says that this person is gracious and says deliver this person from going down to death because I have found a ransom. See, this is the important part of what Elihu had to tell Job. He says, I have found a ransom. If there is a pardon being extended, if an individual is being bought back, if a ransom is available that has paid for your sins, well then you want to appreciate that ransom. He says, your flesh will be young like a child's and you shall return to the days of your youth. See, it isn't a matter of how righteous someone is, even though God does want us to seek His righteousness.

It's a matter of us understanding that He is the one who has provided a ransom for every individual, everyone. And it says, an individual who comes to understand their need for a ransom is going to say in verse 26, he will pray to God and he will actually delight in God. See, this is talking about a transition that God wanted to see take place in Job. He didn't want him to defend himself. He didn't want him to justify himself. He wanted him to recognize that, well, just being a human being, being a descendant of Adam, you're in need of a ransom. You're in need of a ransom. And whenever you recognize that need, whenever you see how much I need the mercy and the forgiveness and the grace that comes from God, well, then we're going to pray to God, we're going to delight in God, as it says in verse 26. The other translation that I have here says, He will pray to God and He will be accepted by God. See, clearly Job was in opposition to God. He was in conflict with God. He was claiming God is wrong. But if he would ever come to see that he needs forgiveness, that he needs to be ransomed, then he would pray to God, he would delight in God, he would see his face with joy, for he restores to man his righteousness.

And then he would look at other men, he would sing to others and say, I have sinned and I have perverted what was right, and it did not profit me. It was not paid back to me. See, brethren, that's where we are today. That's where we all are, just like Job was.

See, he didn't recognize that as he just simply acknowledged his sin, as he acknowledged his arrogance toward God, as he acknowledged his protests that were wrong. If he acknowledged that I have sinned and I have perverted what is right, and yet I'm not getting what I deserve, which would be death, this is what Elijah was talking to him about. And it goes on to say in verse 28, He will or he has redeemed his soul from going down to the pit. See, if a person cedes their need for the ransom, if they see their need for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, if they see their need for mercy and forgiveness to be extended to them, then they're going to have the potential of having a right approach toward God. And it says in verse 28, he will redeem his soul from going down to the pit, and his life shall see the light. See, now, apparently, this is somewhat difficult to translate in English. It's not real clear as we read it. But I think it should be clear as we read what it is saying and what Elijah had to say. He says, Job, I want to help you. I want to justify you. You can't do that yourself. The only way you can do it is to repent and then receive from God forgiveness and mercy, understanding how that a ransom has been paid for you, and that you stand before God upright, forgiven, accepted, and whole, because you see the light. He goes on to say, Behold, God works in verse 29, all these things, twice, in fact, three times with a man to bring back his soul from the pit, that he may be enlightened with the light of life. He said, Listen, Job, give ear to this. Hold your peace and don't speak anymore. If you have anything to say, say it. But of course he didn't. He said, Speak, because I desire to justify you. See, that's what Elijah had to say to Job. That's what he wanted him to acknowledge. He wanted him to recognize that as an individual, as a person, every man, including you, Job, needs a Redeemer. Every one of us need the redemption that God provides for us through Jesus Christ. See, whenever he mentions, I want to show you the light. I want to show you the light of life. That ties directly back to the way that Jesus is described in John 1. Jesus is described as the light of the world. If we go back there in John 1, John 1, in verse 4, it says, In him was life, and the life was the light of all people, and the light shines in darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it. This is a description of the way that Jesus was as he came into the world as the Savior of mankind. In verse 6, there was a man sent from God whose name was John, and he came as a witness to testify to the light, to testify to the Word, to testify to Jesus Christ, so that he might believe through him. And he himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light, and that true light which enlightens everyone was coming into the world.

And we see down in verse 14, The Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen His glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son, who is full of grace, who is full of truth. And John testified to him and cried out, He said, This was He of whom I said, He who comes after me rants ahead of me. And from His fullness we have all received grace upon grace. So this was the testimony that John made of Jesus Christ. He was the true light. And actually here in chapter 8 verse 12, John chapter 8 verse 12, Jesus said, I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. This is exactly what Eli was telling Job. Job, Job, you're trying to justify yourself, and you can't do that. The only way you can be justified is by admitting that I've sinned and that I need help. That was the only way Job could be justified. And clearly that's the only way we can be justified as well.

By seeing that we have sinned, that we have fallen short of the glory of God. I mean, all of this was going to be written later into the New Testament, as we know in the book of Romans. But see, this is what Eli was preaching to Job. He was telling him, look, you need to repent. And as you do, you will see God in a different light. You will see God with the seeing of your eyes, not just hear God with the hearing of your ears, as Job later said.

He says, I've seen a little bit about God, but I see a whole lot more about God right now. And see, this was because Job was being shown that you simply have to be repentant. You have to see how much you need God, how much you need Jesus Christ in your life. In Psalm 32, we've got a section of Scripture here that's written and then repeated in the book of Romans. But in Psalm 32, David writes about this same thing. Psalm 32, verse 1, it says, Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity and whose spirit there is no deceit or no guile.

See, this is what Paul would later write in the book of Romans about. That's the type of a blessing. That's the type of a graciousness that God is the only one that can make us upright. He's the only one who can declare us upright and forgiven and full of the grace of God. That's what comes through Jesus Christ. And of course, I think we're all familiar with what we find here in 1 Corinthians 6. Again, a New Testament description of what Elihu was telling Job. Here in 1 Corinthians 6, verse 19, he says, Don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? That Spirit is in you which you have come from God, and you are really not your own.

For in verse 20, you have been bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God's. This is what Elihu was telling Job. As you see your need for God, as you see your need for forgiveness, as you recognize that you have sinned and that you have really not been given what you deserve, the ransom has been paid for you. As we appreciate that, as we're grateful for that, as we're thankful for that, the more we appreciate it, I think the more God expands our understanding of how awesome He is, how powerful He is, how blessed we are to have the knowledge of God, the truth of God, and even as Job was having that revealed, in a sense he was having a Gospel preach to him, that there's good news.

You can be forgiven. Through Jesus Christ, you can be forgiven. He also mentions, and I'm not going to go through that, but I think it's in chapter 34, he talks about kings and priests ruling forever. That has to be an allusion to the future, I'm sure. But primarily, what I want to focus on today is just simply the fact that as Job was listening to Eli Hugh, and as God was then going to intervene in an impressive way, God didn't have to work on him very long.

He just simply had to tell him, you need to sit down and be quiet. And Job said, yes, sir, I'm with you. I see something that I have never seen before. I see that I'm wrong. I see that I have started saying things that there is no way I ever should have been saying.

I see that I need you. I need your forgiveness. I need your mercy. I need the light of life. And so he was understanding that God was the one who would extend that, and we know that that's extended to all of us through Jesus Christ our Lord. So I would hope that as we examine ourselves, because we all are told that we want to do that here prior to the time of the Passover, and I know you're doing that. I know that you're doing that, and so I offer this as just another way.

If we can analyze ourselves in light of God's law, that's a part of what we do. We analyze to see if we're missing the mark. If we're not obeying God, then we need to try to do that. We need to strive to do that, but we really ought to examine our approach toward God. We ought to examine, well, what kind of faith has God been causing to grow in me?

See, I can pray and ask God to increase my faith. That's one of the things that the disciples actually were told. You need to pray. You need to ask, increase my faith. See, that's a part of an examination. See, Job didn't think he needed any faith. He obeyed God. God gave him everything he needed and wanted. That wasn't near enough.

He needed to recognize that he needed a Redeemer. He needed to recognize he had been bought, or a ransom had been paid, or it would be paid in order to justify him. And that's what's happened for all of us. We can also examine the type of humility that we live with.

What kind of humility did Jesus have? Well, we've read about that in Philippians 2, and I won't go into that now, but that's something that we could certainly examine. We could examine what kind of husband we are, if you're a husband. You could examine what kind of wife you are, if you're a wife.

We could examine what kind of love is God displaying in my life. What kind of service? How much service is God displaying in my life as I desire to serve others and love others, but as I desire also to reach out to others who desperately need the Gospel message, which is what the church is striving to preach and teach to the best of our ability. We want to do that with all of our heart. And as all of us are behind that and all of us are clearly united in doing that, then God is going to create great exploits. He's going to achieve things. Jesus even told the disciples, You've seen me perform miracles greater things than these can be done. If you just look to me in faith, if you ask me for help, if you recognize that you need help, and that was really the problem that Job had, he didn't realize he needed help. And I think most of us realize we need help. And yet, primarily, that was what Elijah was sent from God to tell him, that you need a ransom, you need to be bought back, and you actually are not being given what you deserve, but you've been given far more. You've been given life. You've been given the privilege of seeing the light of life. And so, there were clearly things about God that Job didn't yet understand. A very righteous man, but he didn't understand how much he needed God.

And so, whenever he began to see the greatness of God, whenever he began to extol God instead of criticize God, whenever he exalted God's power and God's might, what do we see in the last part of the book of Job? Job is used as a servant, once again. Maybe we could look at that in Job 42.

Job 42, verse 5 and 6, we see Job having come to repentance, having come to see how much he needed God, how much he needed a ransom. But here in chapter 42, he says, I repent. I despise myself and repent, seeing that I am dust and ashes. And it says down in verse 7, the Lord spoke these words to Job, and he said to his life as, and to his friends, he says, My wrath is kindled against you and your friends, for you've not spoken of me what is right as my servant Job has.

See, they really didn't get to the point. They didn't really point out to Job. They were still judging Job, actually, is what they were doing. They were judging Job instead of really trying to help him. And what Elijah did was to tell him, Job, you simply need help. You need the help of a ransom, and that ransom comes from God. Forgiveness comes from God. And of course, Jesus had not yet come to the earth, but at least the example was there in Job's life.

When you see how much you need me, well, then I'm willing to forgive you. I'm willing to give you everything as he goes on to say, I want you to take, he says to the friends, I want you to take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up for yourself a burnt offering, and my servant Job will pray for you, for I will accept his prayer, not to deal with you according to your folly.

For you have not spoken of me what is right as my servant Job has done. What God said was that as Job is seeing now that he needs me, he needs my help, he needs my forgiveness, he needs the ransom paid for him. He says, I want you to go. And of course, they did. They did exactly what he said. And when they did that, the Lord accepted Job's prayer.

He was able to communicate with God. See, it wasn't that Job was a bad person at all. He was actually a good person. But that good person and every good person, no matter how good any person is, they still have to know, I need help. I need forgiveness. I need mercy that comes from God. And the only way that I can stand before God and feel joyous, feel happy, feel delighted, is to do so knowing that I need that forgiveness, that I need that mercy extended to me.

And of course, God restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends and he gave Job twice as much as he had before. Now, it wasn't that he didn't have to do that. He'd already gotten through to Job, and I think the lesson that we find in Job is that Job learned. He learned because he listened to what God said about how much he needed him. And I think that can go a long way in helping us as well. So I hope that as we think about this, as we examine ourselves, that it can expand or develop our relationship with God our Father and with our Lord Jesus Christ.

He's the one who came. He's the one who died. He's the one who offered Himself as a ransom for us. And He's the one who is the right hand of God today, wanting us to come to Him, to appreciate Him, to be grateful for Him, and actually to examine the relationship that we have with God, and actually ask God that He will increase.

He will increase our understanding of God because, you know, I think Job probably didn't think he needed to know anything more. And yet God showed him, yeah, there's more to learn. There's more that you can learn.

And I would guess that all of us, we all have a ways to go. We all have more to learn. That's why God's still working with us. So thankfully, you know, we do have a Redeemer, and that ransom has been paid. And so we appreciate that as we look forward to the Passover that we'll observe here in just a few weeks.