Lessons of Job

Well, good luck, Kurt, on the next adventure. Wish you all the best, and also Brett as well. Glad that you could join us and you could see what your brother's been experiencing here. A little taste of it. And I guess they're going on, is it to Wisconsin and Michigan, or to see family from here? So, yeah, we'll wish you safe travels. Sounds like if you're leaving soon, it might be a little adventurous. I guess there is some sleet and snow on the way here as the storm system travels from west to east. I guess Rich Fauchler was mentioning to somebody, was it Mr.

Ewell possibly, that they're starting to sleet a little bit over in Dover, Minnesota? So we thought we'd go ahead and get started. All right, I've got a topic here that I think is going to be, oh, hopefully beneficial to all of us as we go through it. We're going to talk about some of the lessons from the book of Job as we go through the Bible study.

We're going to talk about today a book that many believe is one of the, oh, my wife is giving me, yes, yes, we do need to start with prayer, don't we? We need to ask for God's blessing. Yeah, so we'll go ahead and start with prayer. So if you just bow your heads, we'll ask for God's help as we begin the study. Almighty God, our Father, and our elder brother, Jesus Christ, we want to thank you, God, for all that you are doing, the work that you are doing and what you are building.

We want to thank you for the calling out of this world to enter possibly your kingdom, your family. And we're grateful for your word and the things that you have shared with us, not only life itself, but also a way of life. And we ask for your blessing today on this Bible study as we go through the book of Job and some of the lessons that you have for us in it. We ask for your inspiration through the power of your spirit to help us to understand, and also not only to understand and to learn, but also to apply the things that you are about to share with us.

So, we're grateful for this opportunity, for this holy day you've set aside for us to focus on you and on your ways, and ask for your blessing upon it in the name of our coming King, Jesus the Christ. Amen. I want to thank everyone for all the wonderful things that they brought. It is amazing how much food showed up. And it seemed like we went through the line, and there was still almost as much there as before we even started.

So, your generosity is really appreciated. Thank you for everyone and all that you did to make that special after the service. We're going to talk today about what many theologians think is possibly one of the oldest books of the Bible. A book so old that it may be older than the first five books.

There is some discussion about that, and that is this book of Job. So, we're going to cover that today. And indeed, the book of Job, more than any other book in Scripture, gives us a glimpse into a lot of things. It gives us a glimpse into even the actual relationship that God and Satan have together, because we find out in the book of Job that they communicate with each other. They talk with one another even though they are enemies, arch enemies.

And we'll look at that here a little bit in a moment. And indeed, the book of Job also probes some of the deepest theological questions that we could ask when we go through life. As we live in this world, we may ask, why is it that bad things happen?

Why is it that there were sufferings? Why is it that there are difficulties? How is it that these things happen? And what does God play and role in all of this? Why is it that individuals maybe in Southeast Asia, in a moment's time, are wiped out by a tsunami, men, women and children, that happened in Sri Lankan parts of India? Why is it that these things happen? Why do very good people who attend Sabbath services every week suddenly start having terrible trials or a terrible disease or illness, life-threatening things?

You know, why do some of these things happen? Why do good things sometimes happen to bad people? And why do sometimes bad things happen to good people? People of God, that God loves? Why is it that some of these things happen? These are pretty deep questions, and these sometimes are some of the deep questions that it's hard to answer. You know, when somebody asks you this, what would you say? So, we'll look at some of those things today. We'll spend some time this afternoon reviewing some of the lessons of the book of Job.

Let's begin, not with Job, but let's begin with Ezekiel chapter 14 and verse 12. Ezekiel chapter 14 and verse 12. And when we turn here, we'll see that God had a lot of respect for Job. Ezekiel chapter 14 and verse 12. Now, it's possible that Job and Abraham were contemporaries. There is some discussion about that, though they did not live in the same part of the world, that they may have been alive at the same time.

It's also possible, it's been speculated, that Moses even possibly was a contemporary. But the thought is it's possibly that's Abraham. We don't know for sure. Now, at this time, Abraham lives in Canaan. And he's wealthy. He's got a lot of sheep. He's got a lot of wealth, a lot of cattle, a lot of material possessions. And apparently, at about the same time, in an area that is southeast of Canaan, Job possibly is a contemporary at the same time in a different part of the world.

He's also wealthy and has a lot of possessions. And he also has a relationship with God.

And he also has a lot of wealth and sacrifices to God to honor and respect him. And his name, again, is Job. Now, as I mentioned earlier, or maybe I haven't mentioned, that Job and his family were not necessarily Israelites. We're not necessarily sure about that because, again, the Israelites pretty much came from Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel. And it's most likely that Job preceded that and that he was not an Israelite or a Jew, so to speak.

We see, and I'll just reference Lamentations chapter 4 and verse 21, that Job is from the land of Oz, UZ, which is southeast of Palestine near the borders of what would become known as Edom. And later descendants of Esau would settle in this part of the world. Lamentations chapter 4 verse 21 says, Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, you who dwell in the land of Oz. UZ.

So it's not the land of Oz, it's the land of Oz. And I don't know, maybe that's where they got that. I don't know. So let's begin reading here in Ezekiel chapter 14 verse 12 before we actually get to the book of Job. We'll see that Job was one of the most respected individuals mentioned in Scripture. And if only God could say this about you and me. It says, The Word of the Lord came again to me, saying, Son of man, when a land sins against me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out my hand against it. God says after a while, He's just going to intervene. If they're persistent. I will stretch out my hand against it. I will cut off its supply of bread. I will send famine on it and cut off man and beast from it. Now that's kind of a sobering thing because God says that that's what He's going to do and it may happen possibly to the United States of America. For God says He's going to just stretch His hand against it. He's not going to allow persistent unfaithfulness to continue. We know we've had some persistent national sins that have been going on for a while. But now let's notice verse number 14. Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in this land, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness, says the Lord God. Now that's a pretty big compliment that God pays that these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job. He's basically saying that these men had characteristics of God, that they had righteousness. Now to understand the book of Job, we have only to begin by defining what is meant in the book of Job by righteousness because we have a tendency sometimes to define righteousness in a New Testament way of thinking because we are, I suppose, New Testament Christians.

Jesus Christ came to magnify the law. He said that the letter of the law was not enough. He said that our actions and what we do on the outside is not enough. What's important, God says to me, is also what's going on on the inside, what's going on in our hearts. Jesus came to magnify the law and to make that honorable. But when the book of Job talks about righteousness, and when we read that Job was righteous or that he maintained his righteousness, it's not talking about what's necessarily going on inside of his 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 acts are good. Acts like worship. Acts like sacrifice.

Acts like helping the poor, helping widows, helping orphans, being fair, being honest as a person.

As an individual, being kind to others, living a good life, being a good person. You know, on the outside, those things can be revealed by your actions, but it's not necessarily meaning that we're perfect on the inside. Not every thought, not every attitude, not every intent, you know, is always known. But in the Old Testament context, particularly in this book of Job, righteousness is talking about keeping God's law as it can be viewed outwardly from the outside. How you conduct yourself in being faithful to God, in the worship of God.

Let's turn also to one other scripture before we begin. James 5 and verse 10, and we'll see how James in the New Testament also complements Job. James 5 and verse 10.

Look at James, it's right before Peter.

James chapter 5 and right after Hebrews, verse 10.

My brethren, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed, when we count them blessed, who endure, you have heard of the perseverance of Job. That's a compliment that he's giving here. And seeing the end intended by the Lord.

What was God's intention? And seeing the end of the intention of the Lord, that the Lord is compassionate and merciful. So here, Job is held up as an example to you and me to have had a character so strong and to have righteousness in a physical sense, so strong that he was obedient and faithful, as we will read soon, that even though he had everything taken away from him, that he never cursed God. He never blamed God. He continued to do what he understood to be right, patiently for a very long time, even though he went through a very difficult and severe trial.

Okay, now let's turn over to the book of Job. And if you'll turn with me to chapter 1 and verse 1, the text never speaks of Job as being the author of the book, but it obviously speaks of Job as the main subject, the main character of this book.

The author has been speculated to be Eli who, one of the friends of Job, but the actual author is unknown. And although we don't know about the facts or details about the author, what we do know is that the Jewish people have always highly respected this book in the Old Testament.

Alright, so let's go to the book of Job, chapter 1, verse 1. We'll find out a little bit more about the main character, Job himself, and learn a little bit more about God in the process.

Job 1, verse 1. There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless, and upright, one who feared God and shunned evil. So when you looked at this man's life, he was the pinnacle of righteousness. He walked up rightly. He feared God. He was blameless, and he shunned. He just got away. He tried to get away from evil. He stayed as far away as possible. Let's notice verse 2. He had a reputation as we go forward, being honest and kind and just. Let's take a look, and I guess those are qualities we'd all like to have. And verse 2, and seven sons and three daughters were born to him. So he had ten children, seven sons and three daughters. And also his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels. That's a lot of camels. We went to the Middle East. I don't think we saw a hundred camels. He had three thousand of them. Five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all of the people of the East. He was known. He was renowned. He was respected.

And again, this is all happening in the southeast part of Canaan.

Verse 4, and his sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day, and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

Now, when it says here appointed day, I know sometimes we have thought that maybe this is they were celebrating the birthday. But that's not necessarily the case. That could possibly be an explanation. But it's possible that it is not necessarily a birthday celebration. When it says here appointed day, it could be that this is just something that they made an appointment. Let's get together.

Let's rotate. We'll kind of socialize. We'll go around, and you know, this will be your month, and the next one's, you know, there were 10 kids. Maybe we each get together once a month. It's hard to know.

You know, you'll get together at my house, and then three or four weeks later, you know, it's your turn. That type of thing.

There's nothing here about birthdays.

We have speculated that possibly it could be. But not necessarily. So we have to look at the Scripture as it is.

What we do know, that when it came to Job's sons and daughters, that they were a banqueting crowd.

That they would spend time getting together, socializing and feasting and talking and enjoying one another's company.

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 sacrifices. He'd offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all.

For Job said, it may be, he didn't know for sure, but it may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. Thus, Job did regularly. You know, he was such a righteous man that he thought, well, maybe my family has, possibly in their hearts, cursed God somehow during the course of this feasting.

And I'm going to offer a sacrifice to God.

That's how righteous a man he was.

And notice also, it says that Job says he, that Job acknowledges what sin was.

Okay? You see, it says he may, it may be that my sons have sinned. So Job knew what sin was.

And this is happening long before the codification of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai.

This is happening long before that.

Before Moses gave the Ten Commandments to the Israelites.

So God is pretty much letting us know that there were those among mankind who knew what sin was.

That there were things that were wrong.

That sin was the transgression of God's way, of his law.

God's law is eternal.

It existed before it was codified and written down and given to the Israelites on Mount Sinai. And that's how important it is for us as well.

So we find here in human terms that Job is a fine example of tremendous character.

One who worships God faithfully, even concerned about his family, and even offers sacrifices, just in case they might have sinned when they were making their rounds with each other, banqueting.

Notice 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, which it says later in the book of Job, says they were rejoicing when the earth was created. And we'll hopefully get to that. They appear before God's throne.

The sons of God appear before his throne. And they're giving reports to God about what's going on around the universe.

Verse 7.

And the Lord said unto Satan, From where do you come from? So Satan answered the Lord and said, I'm going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.

Now this gives us a little bit of an understanding between God and Satan, first of all, that they talk to one another. They have a conversation with each other, which might be a good lesson for us.

You know, in a sense, if we have an enemy, or someone that we perceive to have an enemy, maybe there's a lesson here that if God and Satan as arch enemies talk to one another, maybe we can talk with someone that necessarily isn't of the same understanding as we are, that we can still have an open line of communication.

So anyhow, the Lord says to Satan, verse 7, where do you come from? And Satan answered and said, I'm going to and fro on the earth, and walking back and forth on it.

So God is listening to the reports provided by the sons of God, and here comes Satan, rather uninvited, I suppose, to this meeting.

So he shows up, and it's an interesting relationship, because God looks at Satan and says in so many words, you know, I suppose that there was a time when you were helping me to manage the universe.

You know, you were one of the covering caroms, and now you're here. You're just here on this little ball of the earth, and that's where you are.

That's what you have left at this time. That's the only dominion that you have left, is this little ball that we find ourselves on.

You had it all.

You had most all. You helped me manage the universe.

And now the only thing that God says I'm going to allow you to be able to have dominion over is this little orb that's in this vast universe.

And God says, that's the only thing I'm going to allow you to have for now.

So that's the groundwork, the foundation of the power, I suppose, that God has as compared to Satan.

As far as what God rules and has dominion over, and what Satan has at this time.

You know, I think in a way it's unfortunate we have this myth, I think has been maybe possibly fostered a little bit by the Protestant world, that there is a great spiritual war going on between God and Satan, and that everyday souls are being moved into hell or what have you, because God is losing this battle for human beings. He's losing this battle for souls.

Well, of course, he's not.

He's not.

God has a plan, and he's working everything according to his plan.

But there's not really a great spiritual battle that's going on.

God is much more powerful, that he can have him here on this little orb, and he stays here in the vast universe.

In a sense, this battle that's going on, God has already won.

He's just allowing this to carry on for a while, so that his sons and daughters can learn some lessons.

He's quarantined here.

The good news is he's quarantined here.

The bad news is, is that's also where we are.

We're here on this little orb as well. So, at one time, Satan had helped God manage the entire universe as an archangel, and now his only domain is limited to this earth.

And then, in only those areas, that God tells him that he can do or allows him to do.

So, Satan is going back and forth on the earth, see what kind of trouble and dissension he can stir up, because that's what he does.

And then, he says in verse 7, from going to and fro on the earth, walking back and forth in it.

He's looking for ways to create violence, division, to destroy, to aggravate.

Let's notice verse 8.

Then 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? Very close to what we read in the book of Ezekiel.

So, Satan answered and he said, Does Job fear God for nothing?

Have you not made a hedge around him, and around his household, and around all that he has, and that hedge is on every side? You've blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

Notice how critical Satan is.

You see what he's doing? He's always looking for fault. You know, the reason that Job is fearing you is because you've given him so much. You've blessed him with so much.

You know, Satan is always looking for an ulterior motive in someone.

He's looking for that. Always looking for flaws.

Always looking for blemishes in everything that exists. So, Satan begins by accusing Job, I suppose, or maybe even accusing God of being too fair, or being overly generous to him.

It's an unfair arrangement with Job. He tells God Job only lives righteously because you've blessed him. You've given him everything.

Verse 11, But now, Satan says to God, you stretch out your hand. Satan's implying, God, you do this to him.

You stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.

You know, who wouldn't bless you is basically what Satan is saying if you give him all the goodies, if you give him all the blessings, if you've given this hedge, if you give him all these possessions. Who wouldn't fear you, God, is what he's saying.

You know, every time he turns around, you're giving him more sheep, you're giving him more cattle, you're giving him more material wealth and possessions.

Satan accuses Job of only being obedient to God because of the blessings.

He accuses God of more than fairly treating him, more than somebody else. He's accusing both of them at the same time. He accuses Job of only being obedient in order to get these blessings. That's the only reason he's obedient to God.

Satan tells God that Job is God-fearing only because Job has a selfish motive.

I want the blessings.

You give him the good things Satan says and take away from him these good things and he will surely curse you.

Verse 11.

But now, stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.

And the Lord said to Satan, Behold, all that he has is in your power, or some translation say in your hand, only do not lay a hand on his person.

In other words, don't harm him physically.

So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

You know, I think we have to emphasize again, it's important to realize that God is in complete control of the universe, everything that goes on, including this earth.

But he does give Satan latitude, sometimes wide latitude, and what occurs in the world.

Let's notice verse 13.

Now, there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking.

They 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 were feeding beside them.

When the Sabians 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.

And while he was still speaking, another also came and said, the fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone am escaped to tell you.

And while he was still speaking, verse 17, another servant came and said, the Chaldeans formed three bands. They raided the camels. They took the three thousand camels away. Yes, and they killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.

And while he was still speaking, another came and said, your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house.

And suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness, and it struck the four corners of the house and it fell on the young people, and they are dead.

And I alone have escaped to tell you.

What did Job do? Verse 20.

Then Job arose. He tore his robe.

He shaved his head, and he fell to the ground.

And it says, and he worshipped.

And he said, naked I came 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.

And in all of this, Job did not sin nor charge God with any wrong.

And all of this is of what happened.

Now, in all of this, brethren, it's really a sterling example, a huge example. He does not blame God.

Now, we'll see as we go on, he begins to weaken a little bit, and we'll cover that as we go forward. But at this time, he doesn't blame God.

You know, here he experienced a series of crushing blows.

I mean, can you imagine going through what he went through?

He and his wife went through?

Most of us will never face that in our lifetimes.

To have all of our children and all of our possessions gone.

Everything that we worked for, for a lifetime, raising 10 children.

I can't imagine going through anything like this, all swept away in a few minutes.

You'd be stunned. I'd be stunned.

He lost not only his 10 children, he lost a good portion of his servants. He lost almost all of his wealth, suddenly and immediately he was gone.

But he didn't curse God, and he did not do what Satan said he would do.

You take all that he has, and he will certainly curse you to your face.

He did not do what Satan accused him that he would do.

Satan, the accuser.

He remained steadfast, and he remained faithful.

Job 2, 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, from where do you come from? And Satan answered the Lord and said it from going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.

Then the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil, and still he holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without cause?

In essence, what God is saying is this. You were wrong, Satan.

You told me that if I laid my hand against him and took away everything that he had, which I did not do, I allowed you to do it. But you said that he would curse me.

And you were wrong, Satan.

Even though it says you incited me to allow you to do this, he still has not done this. He is a remarkable man. Isn't he, Satan? Is what God is saying.

Verse 4.

So Satan answered the Lord and said, I'll skin for skin.

Yes, all that a man has, he will give for his life. Now we're taking it to the next level here.

Satan was wrong about the material possessions and all the rest of the things that he had. But you know what? Skin for skin. Yes, all that a man has, he will give for his life. But stretch out your hand now and harm him physically.

You know, skin for skin.

Touch his bone.

Touch his flesh. And he will surely curse you to your face.

And the Lord said to Satan, Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.

So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

You know, he's very good at what he does.

As terrible as it is, you can imagine what he's about ready to do.

To Job. Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and he struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot from the bottom of his feet to the top of his head. He was covered completely with these boils.

Verse 8, And Job took for himself a pot shard with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes.

And then his wife said to him, Do you still hold fast your integrity?

She basically, and this is a pretty famous statement that you may have heard over the years, Just give it up.

Curse God and die.

Job 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? And in all this, Job did not sin with his lips.

Now, he is beginning, though, to have some thoughts, though, brethren, on the inside, as we'll get to here in a little bit in a moment.

You know, that we'll see that it reveals a little bit that he begins to question God's understanding of the situation or his justice. We'll cover that in a moment.

But with his outward conduct, what's coming out of his mouth, he's not done anything wrong. He's not cursed God.

He's maintaining his integrity.

Verse 11.

Now, when Job's three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place.

Eliphaz, the Temanite, Bildad, the Shuhite, and Zophar, the Nehemathite, for they had made an appointment together to come and mourn with him and to comfort him. So they're coming to help. They're his friends. They're coming to help and to comfort and to mourn.

And verse 12. And when they raised their eyes from afar, and they did not recognize him. I can't imagine what Satan has done to him.

They could not recognize him.

They lifted up their voices and they cried.

They wept, it says, and each one tore his robe.

And they sprinkled dust on his head towards heaven.

And they sat down with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him.

For they saw that his grief was great.

Brother Job was going through some really difficult times here. And they were astonished. That's like they couldn't even recognize who they were talking to.

So we see here that God allows Satan to inflict Job, to inflict him with a hideous physical disease in order to test his faithfulness.

In fact, his wife was so overwhelmed with everything that happened. And then with Job's appearance, and with the grief that he was going through, she says, why don't you just curse God and die? This is too overwhelming.

Now before we judge Job's wife too harshly, and I think possibly traditionally that we may have done that, some of us, I want you and me to think about the fact that Job's wife had lost 10 children, that she had raised, helped raise with her husband.

And now she had a husband who at one time was so strong and such a vile and strong personality, a man of character and a respected individual.

And now she's looking at a man, basically, who's now become a sack of flesh hanging on a skeleton. What she sees, this whole picture has changed. She's lost her children. Her husband is not anything like what he was before.

Her entire world has basically fallen apart.

Confusion, conflict.

She's probably under as much of a severe trial as Job is under.

And then she says to him, why don't you just end it all? You're suffering. Why don't you just curse God? And go to sleep. You won't be suffering anymore.

So we maybe, if we've been guilty of maybe having that thought about her, maybe we have to be a little bit more careful not to be too much of a judge. It's not really our job to judge. It's God's judge. He's the judge.

Maybe some of us, including myself, have judged her a little too harshly in the past.

So Job's three friends come to comfort him. And they're so appalled and shocked by what they see.

Again, this bag of flesh, a pussy disease eating away at his body, it is flesh. He's become a pathetic-looking human being, to be honest. He just couldn't even recognize it.

Imagine the creativity of Satan.

If he is told you can do anything to him physically, just spare his life.

You think Satan would just give him a minor ailment?

Now, it appears Satan's going to go and take this all the way.

He's going to take it to the max.

Whatever he can do to wound this man and make him as hideous, disgusting, and putrid as possible.

Yet still breathe, draw breath, and be alive. That's how far he's going to take it with this man. So far, he did take it.

Let's go to chapter 3 in verse 1.

After this, this is seven days now, Job opens his mouth. He's the first one, apparently, to talk.

After this, Job opened his mouth, and he cursed the day of his birth.

He's beginning to feel a little sorry for himself and to have some self-pity.

And Job spoke and said, May the day perish in which I was born, and the night in which it was said, A male child is conceived.

May that day be darkness.

May God above not seek it, nor the light shine upon it.

May darkness in the shadow of death claim it.

May a cloud settle on it. May the blackness of the day terrify it.

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.

O, may that night be barren.

May no joyful shout come into it. Wow!

You know, I'm just disgusted that I was even born. If I hadn't been born, I wouldn't be feeling the pain and the grief of what I'm feeling right now and what I've been through.

So, Job breaks the silence after seven days here with his three friends, just looking at him without saying a word.

Seven days of silence. And then Job begins a long discourse here of how pitiful he is and how much pity he's beginning to feel for himself.

Then in the book of Job, his three friends, one by one, begin a discourse with him on why he is suffering.

And this is where the book of Job begins to get interesting because everyone has an opinion.

Everyone thinks they've figured God out.

They all have their thoughts and their ideas on what God is doing.

Everyone that speaks does not realize in essence that there has been, oh, I suppose for lack of a better word, a wager that has occurred, a spiritual wager between God and Satan. But they don't know that that has been going on behind these scenes.

And it isn't God's will necessarily that all of this is happening. God has simply allowed it to happen.

If it wouldn't have been for Satan, it this may not have been happening at all.

This is happening because Satan has caused these afflictions upon Job.

And they're just assuming these three friends of his, in a tired old myth, that they may believe that every time something happens that is bad, that it is God that has come down to punish, or to clobber, or to correct.

That every time that something bad happens, it is God that curses, or that curses you and me.

Well, we know that's not the case here.

Because we read about this agreement, or this understanding, or this wager that occurred between God and Satan earlier in the Scriptures.

So we're going to see, as we look at some of the statements that we see from some of these friends, that they all have the same basic understanding, the same theology, I suppose you could put it that way.

That, yeah, you look pretty good on the outside, Job, but there must be something wrong going on in the inside. There's got a sin that we don't see that God sees, and He's punishing you for it.

And you need to repent of this sin, and when you have, God will forgive you and things will change.

So they're looking at the world from a different point of view, a certain perspective, and in a way, they're imputing motives to God.

And that's where they start to get off track.

They are imputing motives to God, blaming God for something that was not necessarily His will, but something that is He simply allowed.

And we'll see later there's a big difference between something that God wills and something that He allows. Let's notice Job 4, verse 1.

Then Eliphaz the Temanite 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, Job, have strengthened the feeble knees, but now it comes to you. And you are weary, and it touches you, and you are troubled.

Is not your reverence your confidence and the integrity of your ways your hope?

Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright ever cut off?

Even as I have seen those who plow iniquity and sow trouble will reap the same.

By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his anger they are consumed.

These are remarkable statements by Eliphaz, one of his friends and his associates.

It's a mixture, really, of some wisdom and some pretty deep stupidity.

He says in verse 7, Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright ever cut off? I'll tell you who has. Millions of people, millions die every day, innocent, young people, children, others, young children getting cancer, leukemia, other terrible diseases.

And they die. And what sin were they guilty of?

There are other examples of people, maybe you know in your life, that have died prematurely. What were they guilty of? You see, the whole philosophy that these individuals have is that everything is black and white. If you're unrighteous, you get cut off.

Where do the innocent ever perish? It's a philosophy that's black and white. If you suffered from something, you must have done something bad.

You must have sinned. If you're going through an affliction, or if you're going through a trial, it must be because of something you did.

God is cursing you. It's just that simple, is what they're saying. And no, brethren, it's not that simple. It's not the way that it works.

Now, they don't understand what's happening behind the scenes.

They don't know that there was something that happened between God and Satan that led up to this.

They don't understand that background. They are just continuing their mindset that Job must have sinned.

And God is punishing him for that. And they're imputing motives to God, aren't they?

So we have to be careful. One of the lessons of the book of Job is, is don't impute motives to God.

To be cocky and arrogant and think we've got it all figured out, and we know what God knows. Don't assume that we necessarily have God figured out.

Because when a person or an organization or a group of people feel they've got God figured out, that's when great fallout can begin. So let's pick up a story here in verse 24 of Job chapter 6.

We've seen these remarks by Eliphaz that they're a mixture of wisdom and foolishness. Telling Job bad things happen only to wicked people. It's black and white, simple. You're suffering, you must have had a sin. We know that's not the way it is in the real world because sometimes very bad things happen to good people.

And yes, I have to admit, the book of Deuteronomy does talk about blessings and cursings. Blessings for obedience and cursings for disobedience.

But we have to be very careful not to put God in a box and say that's the way it always is.

Because that's not the way that it always is. So Job replies here in verse 24 of chapter 6, Teach me, and I will hold my tongue, cause me to understand wherein I have erred. He says, you know what? Help me to understand where I've made my mistake. I don't see it.

Verse 25, How forceful are your right words? I think he's speaking a little tongue in cheek.

But what does your arguing prove?

Do you intend to rebuke my words and the speeches of a desperate one, which are as wind?

Yes, you overwhelm the fatherless and you undermine your friend.

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.

Job says, if you're so smart, show me where my sin is.

But they could not show him. They couldn't see it. No one was able to point out the sin that Job apparently had committed in their minds.

Job basically says, point out the sin that you see or stop judging me.

Let's go on to chapter 8.

We're going to see this is one where his second friend, Bill Dad, begins to speak. Bill Dad, the shoe-hike, who we'll see, needs a little bit of a classroom instruction intact as we begin to go through this. As we read it, I think you'll see. Job 8, verse 1.

Then Bill Dad, the shoe-hike, answered and said, How long will you speak these things? And the words of your mouth be like a strong wind.

You know, how comforting. You're just a windbag, is what they're telling Job.

Your mouth is just like a strong wind. Verse 3.

Does God subvert judgment?

Or does the Almighty pervert justice?

If your sons have sinned against Him, He's cast them away for their transgression.

That's the reason your children are dead. Job is because they sinned because of their transgression.

Verse 5. If you would earnestly seek God and make your supplication to the Almighty, if you were pure and upright, surely now He would awake for you and prosper your rightful dwelling place.

Basically saying, Job, repent.

Repent for what you did.

Verse 7. Though your beginning was small, yet then your latter end would increase abundantly.

Let's jump to chapter 10, in verse 1. Job begins to speak here.

Job 10.

In verse 1.

My soul loathes my life.

You know, there's a lot that's said in just those few verses.

I will give free course to my complaint. He says, you know what? I'm going to start to really let it out. I'm going to start to give free course now. I've got some complaining to do.

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?

God, He's basically saying, does it seem good to you should oppress me and despise me on 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 for my iniquity and search out my sin?

Now, Job is beginning to get a little bit off track now.

Number one, he assumes that it is God's will that he is suffering, that God directly afflicted him with these trials.

And we know, of course, because we know what's going on in the background, we've seen the bigger side of the story, that this simply is not true. God did not initiate this.

He is only allowing it.

Secondly, and this is a great mistake that Job is making, he's beginning to question the wisdom of God and God's motive.

He's at the early stages of beginning to question the wisdom of God and God's motive here.

He's getting to the point where he's beginning to reason, you know, God, you and I need to have a talk.

There's obviously something that you don't fully grasp here, in the way you're dealing with me.

There's something that's lacking.

And if only we could talk this out, we could come to an understanding, we could begin to be able to come to, I can maybe let you in on a little something, that maybe you don't necessarily see.

And I'd have the chance to plead my case before you, about really how righteous I am, and that you would maybe reconsider what you have done to me.

And that's a problem area that Job is beginning to head down. It's an area of Tanavana Street, he's beginning to head down.

Now let's jump to chapter 11 and verse 1. Zophar begins to speak, the third friend begins to speak to Job.

Job 11 and verse 1.

Then Zophar, the neomathite, answered and said, Should not the multitude of words be answered? No, I've heard a lot here, and I think these multitude of words need to be answered.

And 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?

Again, there's not a lot of compassion towards Job here, or a lot of tact towards him.

And Zophar begins to speak to him. And let's jump to verse 13.

If you would prepare your heart, Job, and stretch out your hands towards God, if iniquity were in your hand and you put it far away, and you would not let wickedness dwell in your tents, then surely you could lift up your voice without spot. You know, if you want to do the other things first, get this repentance thing out of the way. Let's get this sin out and repent of it.

Then, then maybe we'll listen to you.

That's basically what he's saying.

Verse 15, then surely you could lift up your face without spot. Yes, you could be steadfast and not fear.

Again, in the accusation that there's something wrong.

And that's why God has done this to you.

Basically, Job, what's that secret sin that you have? That you're not letting anybody know about.

Because that's why you're suffering, Job. It's your fault, Job, that you are suffering. So now they're imputing motives to Job.

Well, we could spend a lot of time going through the next 20 chapters, but we're going to jump ahead here. We're not going to go through all that.

Job and his three friends exchange philosophy. They talk about theology. They speak harshly sometimes to each other, and they continue to blend some really old-fashioned wisdom with some foolishness and some stupidity.

And again, much of this is due to the fact that they have a very limited understanding of what's really going on behind the scenes.

They believe that God is directly punishing Job because Job did something wrong.

And they're basically accusing both the motives of God and Job. It's something that he did.

But they're not grasping.

Here, they don't know the whole story. They're not grasping the difference between what God wills and what God allows.

The three friends believe that God has directly cursed Job because of an obvious sin.

And here's the problem with these three friends. When anyone imputes motives to God, false motives or actions to God, they risk taking God's name in vain.

When you or I impute false motives to God, we risk taking His name in vain.

And we'll see you later on. That's why these friends had to offer sacrifices.

And later, Job had to pray for them. God said that your friend, that you are falsely accused, needs to pray for you because they had been imputing false motives to God and to Job. And they were taking God's name in vain.

To say that God is responsible for something that He's not responsible for is another way of taking His name in vain.

Say that God has done this when God did not do it is another way of doing that. It's pretty serious to do something like that.

And that's exactly what the three friends here were being held accountable for.

Well, as the discussions continue, let's jump to Job 32.

In the next 20 chapters, Job exposes that he is self-righteous because he cannot understand in his mind why God is cursing him. And he says, I want my day in court.

I want to be able to sit down at the dining room table and plead my case.

I want to confront God about this issue because there's something he doesn't totally understand. He has incomplete knowledge. There's something God is missing.

And if only I could talk with him face to face, we could work that out.

Let's pick up the story now in Job 32, verse 1.

And now we see there's a fourth individual that shows up on the scene who's younger than all the others.

He comes into this circle of people for a while, and he's listening for quite a while of this discourse. And his name is Elihu.

Verse 1 of chapter 32. So these three men ceased answering Job because he was righteous in his own eyes.

And then the wrath of this new young man comes in, his anger. The wrath of Elihu, the son of Baruchel, the Buzite, and the family of Ram was aroused against Job. And his wrath was aroused because Job justified himself rather than God.

So we see that Job was getting off track.

Verse 3.

Also against his three friends, his wrath was aroused because they had found no answer, and yet they condemned Job. Nothing to condemn him for that they could find, but they had condemned him.

His friends had not found one sin in Job. They'd found nothing, and yet they condemned him. They kept pressing him to confess whatever it was.

They kept accusing him of sinning when he had not, concluding that this was the reason God had done this to him.

And yet they couldn't find anything in all of his discussions.

Verse 4.

Now because they were years 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 Baruchel, the Buzite, answered, he said, I am young in years, and you are very old. Therefore I was afraid, and I dared not declare my opinion to you.

I said age should speak, and the multitude of years should teach wisdom.

But there is a Spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.

Great men are not always wise, nor do the aged always understand justice. Therefore I say, listen to me, and I will declare my opinion.

So Elihu goes on to say several things. He makes about four different speeches, and let's just touch on a few points of the things that he made in some of his speeches. Let's jump to chapter 34 and verse 1.

Elihu further answered and said, Hear my words, you wise men, and give ear to me, you who have knowledge. For the ear tests words as the palate tastes food. Let us choose justice for ourselves. Let us know among ourselves what is good. For Job has said, I am righteous, but God has taken away my justice. So he understood what Job was saying. Job was saying, I am righteous, but God has taken away justice from me. Verse 6. Should I lie concerning my right?

My wound is incurable, though I am without transgressions. So Job was saying, I don't see anything I'm doing wrong. Verse 7. What man is like Job, who drinks scorn like water, who goes in company with workers of iniquity and walks with wicked men? For he has said, it profits a man nothing that he should delight in God. Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding. Far be it from God to do wickedness.

To do wickedness. And from the Almighty to commit iniquity. For he repays man according to his work, and makes a man define a reward according to his way. Surely God will never do wickedly, nor will the Almighty pervert justice. So as we look back at the latter part of verse 5, Job was saying God has taken away justice, and Elihu comes to God's defense and says God the Almighty will never pervert justice.

That's just not what he does. Chapter 35 and verse 1. Moreover, Elihu answered and said, Do you think this is right? Do you say, My righteousness is more than God's? For you say, What advantage will it be to you? What profit shall I have more than if I had sinned? So Job was beginning to get off track. Now let's jump to chapter 37 and verse 1. This is Elihu's final speech to Job, and he proclaims God's majesty, and begins to set the stage, actually for God Himself, to come and talk to Job.

Psalm 37 and verse 1. At this also my heart trembles and leaps from its place. Here attentively the thunder of His voice and the rumbling that comes from His mouth. He sends it forth under the whole heaven, His lightning to the ends of the earth. After it, a voice roars. He thunders with His majestic voice, and He does not restrain them when His voice is heard.

God thunders marvelously with His voice. He does great things which we cannot comprehend. For He says to the snow, Fall on the earth. Likewise to the gentle rain and to the heavy rain of His strength. He seals the hand of every man, that all men may know His work. The beasts go into dens, and they remain in their lairs.

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 His 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. Let's jump to chapter 38 in verse 1. This is where God Himself now begins to speak. Job 38, in verse 1, Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man.

God says, You want your day in court? Here's your chance. You think you're macho? You want to talk with me? Okay, let's have a little talk together, on the way to the woodshed. Just you and me. Verse 3, Now prepare yourself like a man. I will question you, and you shall answer me. Job, where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Job, if you're so smart, and have all the answers, then why don't you just call you the eternal one?

Why don't you just answer some of these questions, if you know so much? Tell me if you have understanding. Verse 5, Who determined its measurements? Surely you know. God is getting a little tongue-in-cheek here, too. Or who stretched the line upon it, and to what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid the cornerstone? When the morning stars, verse 7, sang together, talking about the sons of God. When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy, when this was done, this jewel that we know as the earth.

Where were you, Job, when I did all of this? And how did I do it? Surely you know. You're so smart. Could you have created this, Job? Could you have made anything so beautiful as this? Tell me, Job, do you have the ability to do this?

Let's jump to chapter 40, in verse 1. Moreover, the Lord answered Job and said, Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? You know, Job just wanted to help God to see things a little bit better, a little more clearly, and correct God's understanding. And God says, Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Are you, Job, going to tell me that I lack knowledge?

Are you going to tell me that I don't understand what you're going through? Are you going to try to tell me that if somehow we could talk it out, that you could tell me things that I don't know? Job, that I don't understand? Job. Verse 2, Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? He who rebukes God, in other words, Job, let him answer it. Job, I want you to answer. You're rebuking me.

I want you to answer. Then Job answered, starting in verse 3, and he said, He's beginning to see, Behold, I am vile. God, I don't even compare to you. 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. I'm just going to be quiet. God. And the Lord answered out of the whirlwind. He's not quite done with Job yet. And He said, Now prepare yourself like a man, Job.

And I will question you, and you still, I'm going to be expecting an answer from you. Verse 8, Would you indeed annul my judgment? Would you take away my judgment, Job? Would you condemn me in order that you might be justified? Job, you've been condemning me in order that you might be justified. God says, I'm not anyone's scapegoat. Don't go blaming me for problems that are going on in this world and in your life.

And don't blame me for problems that were not my will, but are going on in the world because you don't necessarily understand why. Don't blame me. God says, I may be a lot of things, but I refuse to be a scapegoat for other people's problems. Verse 9, Have you an arm like God? Can you thunder with a voice like His?

If you can, then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor, and array yourself with glory and beauty, and disperse the rage of your wrath. Look on everyone who is proud, Job, and humble them. Because God says, that's what I'm going to be doing. Look on everyone, Job, who is proud, and bring him low, and tread down the wicked in their place. Hide them in the dust together, bind their faces in hidden darkness. Then I will also confess to you that your own right hand can save you. You do all those things, Job, then I'll confess that your right hand can save you. Verse 15, Look now at the behemoth, which I made along with you.

He eats grass like an ox, and God goes on. He goes on to talk about the beauty and the power of the things that He's made, the wonder of the things that He's made, the wonder of the animals. And He asks Job, could you have made all of this? And the universe and the earth. Let's jump to chapter 42. Job 42, verse 1, then Job answered the Lord. God asked Him to answer, so He's answering.

In verse 2, I know that you can do everything. Job came to a much deeper understanding about God and what He can do. He said, I know that you can do everything, anything that you want to do. And that no purpose of yours can be withheld from you. You asked Me, who is this who hides counsel without knowledge? It's Me. He's basically saying, I have uttered things which I didn't understand. Job says to God, you're right, and I'm wrong. There are things going on in the universe that I do not understand.

There are things going on in the world that I don't comprehend. And I should not have been jumping to conclusions. And I should not be blaming you for things that are going on in my life that is not your explicit will. Job 42, verse 4, Listen, please, and let me speak. You said, I will question you, and you shall answer Me. I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now My eye sees you.

Apparently, for the first time, Job actually sees God, the one who became Jesus Christ, because no one has seen or heard the Father's voice at any time or seen the Father. I have heard of you, all this before, he'd only heard about God. He'd been worshiping Him, honoring Him only through what maybe he read or heard. But now he says, I see you. In verse 6, therefore, I abhor Myself, and I repent. Job repented, and he repented in dust and in ashes. That's where he was. That's where he was sitting.

Job comes to see that he was wrong. He comes to see that he was imputing wrong motives to God. He was wrong to conclude that somehow God was not necessarily passing right judgment or justice here. That God was lacking maybe some of the understanding, and that Job had become self-righteous, because he thought he was right, and he thought God was wrong. Even though Job had not sinned with his lips, his heart was not entirely pure, and God uses this experience to help him, to teach him a little bit more about what should be going on in the inside. God teaches Job a powerful lesson, doesn't He? It's about what's going on in the inside and a deeper understanding about what's maybe happening around us in the world.

God is not only interested in the things that we say, but He's also interested in what's going on in our hearts and on the inside. Job 42, verse 7, And so it was, after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My anger is aroused against you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.

Now therefore take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering, and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me what was right. They were imputing wrong motives to God, as My servant Job has. So they had concluded that sometimes, or every time when something happens, it's bad that God's punishing someone for what they've done. And God said, they have not spoken of Me what is right when it comes to that. And it may be true sometimes, that's true, that you can't make blanket assumptions and impute motives on the Creator.

You can't think you know it all and just assume that you know what God is doing.

When you don't. And you impute false motives to God and take His name in vain. And because of what Job's friends had done, they imputed false motives to God and to Job. And for this, they needed to repent and receive forgiveness. Let's notice the final verses in Job before we look at some of the lessons here from the book. Job 42, verse 11. Then all of his brothers, Job's brothers and all of his sisters, and all those who had been his acquaintances before, came to him.

And they 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. Each one gave him a piece of silver and each a ring of gold. Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. For now, he had 14,000 sheep. He had 6,000 camels. There were 3,000 before. There were 1,000 yoke of oxen, I think there were 500 before, and 1,000 female donkeys.

Notice verse 13, and he also had 7 sons and 3 daughters. Exactly what he had before. 10 children. And verse 14, and he called the name of the first Jemima, and the name of the second, Keziah, and the name of the third, Karen, and all the land were found, no women, so beautiful as the daughters of Job, and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. And after this, Job lived for 140 years and saw his children and his grandchildren for 4 generations.

So it went for quite a few generations. And verse 17, so Job died, old and full of days. Well, that's a quick review of the book of Job, a fascinating book, I think it's full of important lessons to us. And what I'd like to do, maybe in the final 15 minutes that we have, as we finish up the Bible study today, is I'd like to look at some of the lessons that we can learn, or maybe have already touched on in the book of Job.

Basically, 4 lessons that I'd like to touch on here as we finish up. Here's lesson number 1. This book reveals that God and Satan actually communicate with one another, that they have an open line of communication. Now, does that seem a little unusual to you and to me? Later, when Christ walked the earth after His baptism, He was led to the wilderness and He was tempted after 40 days and 40 nights.

And He also had a communication with our enemy, Satan the Devil. He had an open line of communication. Later, Jesus, when He would cast demons out of people, would openly talk to them when He cast them out. Now, the lesson is this, if God has an open line of communication with His archenemy, then who are we to cut off communication from people, maybe snub others that no longer have communion with us, or no longer believe the way that we do, that we can possibly have fellowship with them, as we try to work things out together and understand what God is doing.

Who gives us the right to act in a way where we snub others? Where does that come from? It's not necessarily a biblical concept, and we've had certainly a lot of that going on lately, with different organizations and different groups. It was a different biblical concept that God gives to us in the Scriptures. That's lesson number one. Lesson two, Satan has shown his character to be restless, to be violent, to have no truth in him, to have total darkness, to be an accuser.

He's always looking for the flaws. He's always looking for the shortcomings. He's critical and judgmental, and he's a fault finder. We see all of that in the Scriptures. I'll just refer to Revelation 12, verse 10, that it talks about, Then I heard a loud voice, saying in heaven, Now salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come. Godspeed that day. There's a coming of time when that will actually be a reality. Salvation, strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren is cast down.

That's what he is. He accused them, it says, before our God day and night. And he's been cast down. Point number three, God has complete sovereignty over the entire universe, including the earth. Yes, He allows Satan to have dominion over the earth for a while. But Satan has limitations on what God will permit him even to do on earth. God is sovereign over the entire universe. There is a reason why one of His names is the Almighty. Point number four, it's a point I'd like to spend a little bit more time with, spend some time with, because I've noticed recently that there's still a misunderstanding even among some of God's people.

And we don't understand that there is a difference between what God's will is and what He allows. Not realizing this causes people to misunderstand. About what God is doing, what He's doing on the earth. And it also misguides people, imputing motives and actions to God. And frankly, sometimes things that God is not even responsible for. And I think, brethren, we have to be careful, because that is dangerous to impute motives to God, that God is not responsible for.

As we read in the book of Job, some things are probably not God's will at all. He wouldn't have even thought about it. He allows certain things. And that's something that we need to realize, that God's will is sometimes rarely done on earth, as it is in heaven. I think that's why Jesus taught us to pray that in Matthew 6 and verse 10. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Why are we taught to pray that? Because His will, I think, is rarely done on earth, as it is in heaven.

So that's one thing we need to understand. God's will is something He desires. It's His first choice. It's the best choice. It's something that's usually good. Always good, really. And over a long time, if His creation continues to sin without repentance, He will eventually punish for that. God's will is something that He directly desires as His first choice.