Why Does God Allow Us to Suffer?

A very wise man. However, he had a catastrophe happen to him that he could not understand. He had something occur that he just couldn't get a grip on. If you ever had a trial, if you ever had a difficulty that you could not understand, we all go through the sufferings of Job from time to time. Why does God allow things to happen to us? Sometimes we ask the question, Why me, Lord? Why is this happening to me? Why does it happen to my family? Why do we suffer? Why does God allow humans to suffer at all? Job complained loudly about his trial. His three friends came along and they accused him of many evils, many sins. His friends told Job, well, you got it all wrong. They accused him of sinning and not obeying God, and so they thought they had it all figured out. Job's outlook was mainly correct and was mainly right, but yet he still didn't understand what God was doing. Along came another friend, a young man, and he said, look, you've all got it wrong, and he gave them a better analysis of the situation. Finally, God spoke to all of them, and especially to Job, and when it was all over, Job's attitude was completely different, and he had a completely different approach. So hopefully, after the sermon today, you will be able to look at it in much the same way. The book of Job, the story of Job, is a story that we need to review from time to time. It's one of those sections of the Bible that's written for our admonition. Job is a type of why we suffer. When we ask, why do I have to suffer? Well, the book of Job helps to explain that. He's an example to help to explain suffering to all mankind. Why does God allow those who are the closest to Him, His sons, His daughters, to suffer? Why does He allow His children and His family to go through severe trials and tests? Well, you'll find that Job represents all believers in our struggle to cope with the hardships of life, maintain our trust and our confidence in God, come what may, that we trust God. We're going to rely upon Him. So with all of that in mind, let's go back to Matthew 24. Matthew 24 will begin to read in verse 3. Let's notice some of the events that are going to transpire at the end time. We'll see how all of this ties in with the book of Job as we move along. Matthew 24, beginning in verse 3, says, As He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things be? What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age? So they have the same type of questions that people are always asking today. How close are we? Can you give me a date? Can you tell me the year? When is Christ coming back? And so Christ began to give some signs. And in verse 4, Jesus answered and said to them, Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, saying that I am the Christ, and will deceive many. So one of the first things that Christ brings out is that there will be a lot of deceivers who will come along. They will manipulate people. They will try to influence people in the wrong way. And basically you will find that most deceivers are out to get a following after themselves. They want people to follow them. And they're in it for the money, the prestige, power, whatever it might be. Then He goes on to say, You will hear wars and rumors of wars. See that you're not troubled, for all these things will come to pass. The end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famine, pestilence, earthquakes in various places. These are the beginning of sorrows.

So Christ said, Look, there will be troubles, there will be wars, there will be difficulties, there will be big problems. These are the beginning of sorrows. But the end isn't here yet when those things occur. And we've seen the First World War, we've seen the Second World War, we've seen the Korean War, Vietnam War, there have been all kinds of wars in the Middle East, all over in the last century. So what Christ said is taking place. But notice in verse 9, it begins to get a little more personal.

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and they will kill you, Christ said, and you will be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then many will be offended and betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. Why is it that the very people who are trying to do the best, talking about God's people, you, who are trying to obey God, keep the Sabbath, the Holy Days, tithe, pray, study, live by God's law? Why is it that the very people who are trying to do the best become the subject of hatred, are persecuted, or lied about, and look down upon, and eventually have to go into some type of tribulation? Why are we confronted and faced with those type of problems? We know that today religion in this country is very much looked down upon, ridiculed, made fun of. And as verse 12 goes on to say, because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end, the same will be saved. So what you find is because lawlessness, a way of life in our culture that is lawless, disobedient, because that will abound. It will affect every one of us, and it does affect people. And you find that we begin to tolerate more today than we would have 10 years ago, 20 years ago, simply because things don't seem... things keep getting worse. We say, well, we're not that bad, and yet we begin to compromise if we're not careful. Let's go back to the book of Revelation chapter 3. Last time I was here a couple weeks ago, I spoke on Revelation chapter 3. But let's turn to verse 18 here, Revelation 3.18.

And I want to illustrate a point from here. We know that Jesus Christ is speaking to the Church. This is His revelation. He is revealing His message to us. And in verse 18, to the land of sins Christ said, I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich in white garments, that you may be clothed, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed, and anoint your eyes with eyesab that you may see. So we find, again, symbolically, He asks them to buy gold refined in the fire. Gold is something that symbolizes value. Gold is a precious metal, and it has value. And so it's a symbol of the character that we should be developing. And not only just gold, but purified gold. When you put gold into the fire, and you melt it, and you go through the smelting process, you find the impurities are eliminated. And what's left is a pure metal. Well, that is exactly what our character is to be like. We go through sufferings. We go through difficulties. We go through trials. And as we go through them, they purify us. They perfect us. They eliminate the dross. They eliminate what's not good about our character. And so purified gold symbolizes not just the tribulation in the future, but the suffering, persecution, difficulties, and trials that all of us as Christians have to go through. Truly converted people who have God's Spirit, who are striving to live God's way, go through trials. All of us do. We all have problems. And you find here in the book of Revelation what Jesus Christ is doing here is trying to get the church ready, prepared for the end time to show us what we need to work on and that at the end of that there will be a reward. But the trials come first. He goes on in verse 19 to say, As many as I love I rebuke and chasten, therefore be zealous and repent. He said, I am standing at the door knocking where to open. And then verse 21, to him who overcomes I will grant to sit with me in my throne. So he points out what the reward will be. What is God's objective for us going through trials and tests?

Well, to understand that, let's go back to Job. Who was Job? Now in the past, when I say the past, in the worldwide church of God there were a number of articles written about Job and the indication was at that time they thought he might have been kiosks in Egypt. I don't think we believe that anymore. Let me show you what the Bible does reveal about Job. When you understand Job and understand the book, then you need to ask yourself, when did Job live? Who wrote the story of Job and why was it written? Why is it included in the Bible in Scripture? Some critics of the Bible claim that Job is a fictitious person and the story was just simply concocted by the Jews to illustrate a lesson and that Job was not a real person. Yet in James 5 and verse 11 in the New Testament, James 5.11, we read this, You have heard of the perseverance of Job and you've seen the end intended by the Lord that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. So James, the brother of Jesus Christ, thought that Job was a real person and he cites him as an example of one who had patience, one who perseveres and endures. Let's go back to the book of Ezekiel chapter 14 beginning in verse 14. Chapter 14 beginning in verse 14. Ezekiel 14.14, we have another example of a prophet of God who wrote this, Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, he says, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness, says the Lord. And then going on in verse 20, And even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they would deliver neither son nor daughter, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness. And so we find that Job is directly mentioned by one of the prophets of God as an illustration of a man who was righteous, who did what was right. And we know that that means he kept the commandments.

Now, if you'll turn to the book of Job, Job chapter 1, and Job the first chapter, and verse 1, we read this, There was a man in the land of us, whose name was Job. Okay, Job lived in the land of us. Us, from what we can know, was in Arabia, the Lord part of Jordan, to the Sinai Peninsula. The media nights lived in that area. Now, back in Genesis chapter 10, it's interesting. You'll sometimes wonder why are all of these genealogies in the Bible? Well, occasionally you'll find a genealogy, if you turn back and read, reveals something. And in Genesis 10, verse 22, we read here about the sons of Shem. The sons of Shem were Elam, Asher, Arphaxad, Ludd, and Aram. And the sons of Aram were Us. Notice, his first son is named Us. So, Us was the son of Shem's son, Aram, the father of the ancient Armenians, Arcereans. Now, also in chapter 22, that's one possibility. In chapter 22 of the book of Genesis, in verse 20, we read this. Now, it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham saying indeed, Milka, who also was born children to your brother Nahor. So, Abraham's brother Nahor, notice, Hus, H-U-Z, was the firstborn. Commentaries mention that Hus is essentially the same name as Us. So, the firstborn of Abraham's brother Nahor. So, what we find is the land of Us, that the people who dwelt there could be relatives of Abraham. There's another scripture in Lamentations 4.21 that says, Edom was in the land of Us. So, Edom or Esau, the descendants of Esau, dwelt in the land of Us. The Expositors Bible Dictionary says this. It seems that Us might have been the name of a region east of Palestine, including the Edomites and the adjacent tribes. So, we're talking about the area of the Mideast, somewhere around Palestine, probably east of there. So, the land of Us is where Job lived. Now, does the Bible give a clue as to who Job was, and to when he lived? When did he live? Breathe air. Well, the evidence points that Job lived sometime during the patriarchal period of time, probably toward the end of what we would call the patriarchal time. Who were the ancient patriarchs? Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, those individuals. You find, for instance, Job offered up sacrifices. Yet, in the period after Israel became a nation, sacrifices were performed only by the Levitical priests. This would indicate that perhaps Job lived prior to that time. In Job chapter 1 in verse 3, notice what it says here.

Job 1 verse 3, his possessions were 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all of the people of the east. So, notice he was exceedingly wealthy, and he is referred to as the greatest of the people of the east. When it says east, it's most likely, speaking in perspective, east of the land of Israel, as we know it, using Palestine as the focal point, east of there. So, he dwelt somewhere east of Palestine in the land of us, and another clue as to whom he was were his friends. You find his three friends who came to visit him were from the tribe of Esau and the family of Katura. Now, let's go over to chapter 2, verse 11 of the book of Job, where we can see a little information on this. Chapter 2, verse 11. Now, when Job's three friends heard of his adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place. Eliah faz the demonite, bildad the shewheit, and zophar the namethite. For they had made an appointment together to come and mourn with him and to comfort him. As we will see, they were very poor comforters. But, you know, they did mourn with him, to start with. Who was Eliah faz, and who were the demonites? Okay, in Genesis 36, again, we come back to a genealogy. Beginning in verse 4, Genesis 36, verse 4. Well, verse 1 says, now this is the genealogy of Esau, who is Edom. So, we have the genealogy of Esau here. Now, it says, now, Edom bore Eliah faz to Esau. And then, let's notice in verse 11, and the sons of Eliah faz were Timon, Omar, and it goes on to mention the rest of them. But notice, Eliah faz here had a son named Timon. And then, in verse 15, these were the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliah faz, the firstborn of Esau, were chief Timon, chief Omar, and so on. So, we find that Timon was a tribal chief, and his descendants were called Timonites. And so, we have Eliah faz, the Timonite, was apparently an Edomite, identified with Esau, a descendant of Abraham. Now, notice also in Genesis 49 verse 7, you can just jot that down. Jeremiah 49 7 asks the question, is wisdom no more in Timon? Apparently, at one time, the tribe of Timon was a very wise tribe, but apparently their wisdom had disappeared. So, the question is asked by the prophet, is wisdom no more in Timon? That would be a part of Turkey today, the area where Esau would have dwelt. Now, who was Bildad the Shuhite? Well, in Genesis 25 beginning in verse 1, we read this, Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Katora. After Sarah's death, he apparently married Katora, and she bore him Zimram, Joksham, Midan, Midian, Isbak, and Shua.

Now, apparently the Shuhites were descendants of Shua, a son of Abraham, by his last wife, Katora. And you go on and find that Joksham begot Sheba and Dedan, and the sons of Dedan mentions them. Then in verse 4, the sons of Midian are mentioned. But notice Abraham, in verse 5, gave all that he had to Isaac. Isaac was the one who was going to inherit the wealth of Abraham. So what he did to keep from having a fight after his death, you'll notice in verse 6, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, while he was still living, and he sent them eastward, away from Isaac his son to the country of the east. Now, what does it say about Job? The Job was the greatest man of the east.

So apparently Job grew up among these individuals. He was probably a tribal chief. He could have been a descendant. We don't know for sure. He could have been a descendant of Katora, Esau, the Midianites. He lived in the general area where all of these tribes resided, and he was the greatest of the men of the east. And so here we find Abraham sending the children of Katora and sons of the concubines he had, sent them over to the land of the east. These people are all related to Abraham. Now, Laiaphas' identity as a Temanite dates the story of Job at least a few generations after Jacob and Esau, most likely when the Israelites were in Egypt.

So we probably have a scenario where the Israelites are in Egypt. They're in slavery at this time. You find the descendants of Esau and Katora are over here in the eastern east of Palestine, and among them is this great man called Job. Now, we find that there's another major character, the young man, Eli-Hew. Eli-Hew is the one who stood around, listened to all of the debate going on between Job and his three friends, and finally he speaks up. He is described as being the son of Baratia the Buzzite. Okay, let's go back to Genesis 22 and find out who were the Buzzites. Genesis 22, verse 20. We read this in verse 20. Now, came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, saying indeed, Melchizedek also is born children to your brother Nahor, Huz his firstborn, and Buzz his brother. So, here we have Huz and Buzz. You know, sound like good old southern boys here, but the Buzzites apparently came from Nahor, the brother of Abraham. So, we find, you know, all of these characters here are individuals seem to be related one way or the other, and perhaps descendants of Abraham. So, all of this helps to substantiate the conclusion that the book of Job was set among Abraham's non-Israelite descendants and related family a few generations after Jacob and Esau, and again, probably while Israel was in Egypt. So, at least it helps us to locate the general vicinity. Now, there is another clue in the book of Job. Let's notice with Job 1-1.

Job 1-1 says, there was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was, notice, blameless, and upright, one who feared God shunned evil. Verse 8, Then the LORD said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shunns evil? Okay, there was none like him on the earth. So, he did not live during Noah's day. He didn't live while Shem was alive, because there was nobody else on earth like this man. He didn't live while Abraham was alive, or Isaac, or Jacob, because they were righteous men, tried to obey God, shun evil. Moses comes along. Aaron comes along. They certainly obeyed God. So, what we have is there's an interim period between the time when Jacob dies, and Joseph is no longer on the scene, and Moses comes along. The end of what would be called the patriarch period before God chose Israel and brought them out of Egypt. Because it says that he was blameless, and there was none like him in the earth. So, apparently, he was the only one at this time who was serving God and obeying him to the degree and to the extent that Job did. So, he lived after Jacob, probably before Moses. The tradition is that Moses wrote the book of Job. Moses could have met Job or people who knew Job. Because when you begin to get the first-hand account of what Job says and then what this one says, you know, somebody either wrote this down or had a good memory, or, you know, there was something going on here. You find that Moses was twice in Median. Among the Medianites, he went over there, if you remember, when he had killed an Egyptian. He fled out of Egypt, stayed there for 40 years, got married, and then came back through there with the Israelites. So, he could have met this man or at least someone who knew this man. Jewish tradition credits Moses, and you'll find during the New Testament period of time, they also subscribe to the fact that Moses wrote this book. So, it gives you a good indication of the time period. Now, with all of that in mind, let's go over to Revelation 12. Revelation 12 Revelation 12 and verse 9. Rather than there's coming a time in the future, and I believe it's staring us in the face, you know, not too distant future here, when we're going to begin to see some of these prophecies take place. Let's notice in verse 9, Revelation 12.9. So, the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. So, there's going to come a time in the future where Satan is going to try to once again rise up against God. God's going to cast him back down with all of his cohorts. And in verse 13, what is he going to do? Well, when the dragon saw that he'd been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. Now, God then protects the woman, but I want you to notice before she's protected the wrath of Satan the devil is going to be turned against the church, and the people of God will be greatly persecuted. So, there is coming a time when the true servants of God will be persecuted.

Now, Job felt persecuted unfairly. He could not understand why he was going through the trial and the test that he was. Will people at the end time think this isn't fair? You know, I'm obeying God. I'm keeping his commandments. I'm doing what he tells me to do. And look at all of these problems, all these difficulties, all these tests that I'm going through. The time when Satan will try to get rid of anyone who keeps the commandments of God or obeys those commandments. If you'll remember the story of Job, Job lost everything. Lost all of his children, his wealth, everything except his wife, and she told him, curse God and die. So, he lost everything. What was Job's problem?

Job's problem can be summarized in one statement. He could not see what God was doing. He simply could not understand what God was doing with him. At the end time, we're told in Revelation 3, God speaking to the lay of his sins, he says, Anoint your eyes with eyesab that you may see. Well, see what? Well, see what you need to change, where you need to grow, overcome, have understanding. He says, Be zealous and repent. So, people sometimes, and this is true of all of us, have difficulty seeing. Why? Why am I going through this? Why this trial? Well, you'll find that today, too often, there is what is called the health and wealth gospel, the health and wealth prosperity. And if we're not careful, we can succumb to this. You'll find many evangelists on TV today. They will stand up and they'll tell you. Now, if you do what God says, if you do what I tell you, I promise you'll be blessed, you'll have all this wealth. Well, the health and wealth prosperity gospel goes something like this. If things go well with you, then God's with you.

If not, God's not with you. Now, that's not true, because many of the servants of God who obeyed God have had to go through severe trials. What about the Apostle Paul? What about the original twelve apostles? Eleven of them were martyred. How many true servants of God have been martyred and killed over the years? How many? I mean, we read all the time in the announcements about individuals we're asked to pray for, and we find that God has allowed someone to die in the faith who's gone through a severe trial. So, the health and wealth gospel is, you know, if you're doing what's right, then you'll be blessed. If you have trials, if you have problems, then you must be doing something wrong. You know that people who do what is right still go through trials, because we must have our characters perfected. Why does God allow Satan to do these things? What is God doing?

Job had to repent. Job had to repent of not seeing God's purpose. He didn't know what was going on. Job felt persecuted, hated. He felt picked on, looked down on. He was falsely accused, and at the end time, God's people will be falsely accused. We will be persecuted.

There's a relationship between Job and the Church of God at the end time. While Job went through, and what many of us may have to go through at the end time, with Job, God gave Satan permission to persecute him. And yet, Job remained true to his values. He didn't say, okay, I'm going to stop obeying God. I'm going to give up the Sabbath. I'm going to stop keeping the commandments. No, he continued to obey. Let's go back and read the story of Job. We've already read the first three verses here. He was a man who was blameless, upright, feared God, shunned evil. And as verse 3 says, he was the greatest of the people of the east. So he was a great tribal chief. Now in verses 4 and 5, we find he was very diligent. He says, his sons would go and feast in their houses, each one on his appointed day, apparently his birthday, and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when their days of feasting had run the course, then Job would sin and sanctify them. And he would rise early in the morning all for burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, it may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. Thus, Job did regularly. So he thought, well, maybe they've sinned. And so he would ask God for mercy, forgive them. And so he was very diligent.

Now notice beginning in verse 6, now there was a day when the sons of God came and presented themselves before the Lord and Satan came among them. The Lord said to Satan, from where do you come? So Satan answered the Lord saying, well, going to and fro, you know, just walking up and down, back and forth, you know, just taking a stroll. The Lord said to Satan, now I want you to notice, out of all the people on the earth, there's only one obeying God. He's blameless. He's upright. He's doing what God says. And God points him out to Satan. He says to Satan, have you considered my servant Job? There is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil. So Satan answered the Lord and said, does Job fear God for nothing? I want you to notice Satan's logic is very simple. Job only serves you because he gets something from you. See, that's why Satan accuses us. The only reason these people are obeying you is for what's in it for them. You take away what's in it for them and they'll curse you. So verse 10, well, you've made a hedge around him, his household, around everything that he has. You bless the work of his hands and the possessions and increase and his possessions and have increased in the land. But now stretch out your hand, touch all that he has and he'll surely curse you. And God said to Satan, behold, all that he has is in your power. See, God could have said, nope, not going to allow that Satan. Get away, leave him alone. But God didn't do that. God allowed Satan to try him. And then beginning in verse 13, we find the disaster that came upon him all of his oxen. We find here were taken or are killed. Fire falls down. You know, the donkeys, the camels, everything ripped away. All of his children are killed. And in verse 22, well, let's read verse 21. He said, Naked, I came from my mother's womb. Naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, the Lord is taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. And all of this, Job did not sin nor, nor charge God wrong. He didn't say, God, you're wrong. He didn't curse God. He didn't accuse God.

Though in his mind, he may have felt God was unfair in doing this. Now, beginning in verse 11, again, we find his friends come to comfort him. They sit around for seven days once they arrive, and they're just dumbstruck. Notice in verse 12, they raise their eyes from afar. They couldn't even recognize him.

They lifted their voice and wept. And each one tore his robe, sprinkled dust on his head towards the heaven. So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him. For they saw that his grief was very great. So, you know, there they are. They're just looking at him, and he's suffering so much they don't know what to say to the man. They just sit there. Finally, after seven days, Job breaks the silence. And then Job begins to say, I don't know why I'm still alive. Why am I living? I don't get it. Why doesn't God allow me to die? He wasn't having suicidal thoughts, but he was certainly wondering why he was ever created. Notice verse 1. After this, chapter 3, verse 1, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. And Job spoke and said, May the day perish on which I was born. The night when it was said, a male child is conceived. Verse 11, Why did I not die at birth? Why did I not perish when I came from the womb? So he cursed the very day he was born. Brethren, we've all seen members in the church who've had horrible diseases, who've lingered, and haven't died quickly. And maybe we say, Well, if I'm going to die at the end time, I don't want to suffer, you know, let me die quickly. And here was Job. This was not a test that had happened just for a few days. This apparently went on for months. Could have gone on for years. I don't know, but it went on for a while here with Job. Job went through this partially for our sake. You and I are to learn from this, brethren. Why is God allowing you and me to continue to live? Why do we go through what we go through?

Now his three friends, you know, after Job spoke, began to debate him. And they had the same philosophy that Satan does. They said, Look, the reason you're suffering, let me tell you why you're suffering, is because you're a great sinner. Because people don't suffer unless they're sinning. You got to be doing something wrong. And then they began to tell Job everything he's doing wrong. You've got to be abusing the widows. You're not feeding the poor. You know, you're not paying your servants the wages they should get. And they went on and on and on. They began to list things that they thought he was doing wrong. Because the idea is the only reason that we suffer is because of our own disobedience. Now we suffer plenty for our own disobedience, don't we? I mean, that is true. We do that. But in this case, that was not Job's problem. And yet, this is what they accused him of. Chapter 4 and verse 7, let's notice their approach. Job 4 verse 7, Remember now whoever perishes being innocent. Do you know anybody who is innocent and perishes?

So you're not innocent is what they're saying. Or where were the upright ever cut off? So if you're upright, you wouldn't be cut off. Even as I have seen those who plow iniquity so trouble and reap the same. By the blast of God they perish. By the breath of his anger, they are consumed. So they said, okay, Job, you're reaping what you've sown. Now if you'll just tell us what you're doing wrong and admit it, then maybe God will forgive you and everything will be hunky-dory. This was the health and wealth gospel. Their approach was a lie and a falsehood. They argued with him. They knew that God would forgive you if you sin, but they missed the point of what God was trying to do with Job, and Job missed it also. Job did not understand what God was trying to do either, and Job goes through the book explaining how careful he was not to sin. He said, what you're accusing me of is not right. I'm not doing those things. Chapter 10, let's notice, beginning in verse 1. Chapter 10, verse 1, Job goes on to ask the question, why is all this happening to me? My soul loaves my life. I will give free course to my complaint. I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. I will say to God, do not condemn me. Show me why you contend with me. Does it seem good to you that you should oppress, that you should despise the work of your hands and smite 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? Although you know that I'm not wicked, there's no one who can deliver from your hands. So he said, look, I'm not wicked. I'm not doing what all these my friends are accusing me of. So he said, look, I'm serving God, but look, I'm still going through these trials. You can find that it's easy to become bitter, to become frustrated, to become hostile toward God. Today in our society, anyone who serves God, there's a hostility towards those who try to obey God. Job asks the question that everybody asks today. Job asks, why? Why am I going through this? And people want to know why. God is not treating me fair, he said. Finally, a lie who comes along. He's the young bystander. He said, look, all of you are older than me. And I thought, well, wisdom should speak. Turn back here to chapter 35 of the book of Job. And he then takes on the three companions of Job, beginning in verse 1. Job 35. Mover, a lie who 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? Now notice the problem. What advantage is it? Job said, look, I'm doing all of these things. I'm doing everything that's right, everything that's good. I'm keeping the law. And yet, what advantage is it to me? I'm going through trials just like everybody else.

Brother, can we fall into the same pitfall? Can we say, what advantage is it to me? I keep the Sabbath. I obey the holy days. Your eye tithes. I do what God tells me to do. And I still have problems. What advantage is it to serving God? What profit shall I have more than if I'd sinned? In other words, I could be going through all these problems and be sinning. Because he could look around. He could see all the people out there who were sinning and disobeying God. And many of them weren't going through the same problems he was. So what advantage? What profit is it to me? In verse 4, he says, I will answer you and your companions with you. And then he begins to tell them to look to the heavens. He tells them, are you more righteous than God? Here we find the temptation under trial that we all face. That we begin to look at the prophet of serving God now. See, this is what Satan began to accuse Joe. Well, the only reason he's obeying you is for what's in it. Take it away and he'll curse you. Do we only serve God for what we can get now? For the advantages in this life instead of serving God, looking to the future and what we will get for all eternity.

We have to look at our perspective. So often as human beings, we look at the short term right now. And all we can see is the boil, the problem, the difficulty, the lack of work, whatever it might be. We can see that. We can look at the short term. And yet God is looking at what? God looks at eternity. He looks at the long term. He looks at where we're going, where we're headed, why he called us. He's called us to eternal life. He's called us to make it into his kingdom. Job did not have to repent of what his friends had condemned him of doing. He was not sinning in the manner that they articulated. He did not understand God, what God was doing, and how God sometimes works with human beings. Now we find finally God speaks up over here in Job 38. God speaks out, and he begins to put everything in its proper perspective. Beginning in verse 1, 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, and I will question you, and you shall answer me. You've been asking me all these questions. Now let me ask you something. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding. Who determines its measurements? Surely you know. Or who stretched out the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Or who shut in the sea with its doors when it burst forth, and issues from the womb? And then God goes on to describe the creation that he's made.

God, asking some very obvious questions, demonstrated to him, first of all, the limitation of human understanding. You and I tend to view things from our limited perspective. From our human perspective. This is why God has given us this book. This book has been given to us to view things from God's perspective, from his outlook, how he sees it, what he's doing. And you and I can read the book of Job, and we can realize that there are times that we may have difficulties and problems in trials, that we didn't necessarily bring on ourselves, but they're there to help perfect us, to purify the character we have, to purify the goal tried in the fire, so that we can have the proper character. Well, when God got through talking with Job personally, and explained to him his limited understanding, and began to explain to him what was going on, notice Job in chapter 42. Job 42, beginning in verse 1, Job answered the Lord and said, I know that you can do everything, and that no purpose of yours can be withheld from you. You ask, who is this who hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore, I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. So Job admitted and realized what I was saying, even, and I didn't understand what you were doing. And in verse 5, he says, I've heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you. Therefore, I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. Job had to repent of the way he was thinking, his attitude that he was beginning to have towards God, and his three friends had to repent of their wrong accusations. They were accusing him of sinning, doing things wrong. And notice, they took Satan's approach. In verse 7, See, Job spoke what was right. They did not. Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls, seven rams, go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourself 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 is right, as my servant Job has. So they had spoken incorrectly. They had to acknowledge their faults. And they had to be forgiven by Job, and Job had to pray for them. Job was not portraying God as being evil. He just didn't understand. Now, what Job did is that he quit looking to God as to the future.

When we go through trials and tests, brethren, it's easy to forget the future, is it not? It's easy for us to forget our reward, the coming kingdom of God. We must always look to the purpose of life, the calling of God, why we're here. We always have to stop and ask ourselves, why did God call me now? Why am I in his church now? What is this all about? Why was I born? And we know that God is going to give every human being who's ever lived an opportunity for salvation, but he's called us out ahead of time. He's giving us the opportunity to understand now, to qualify for positions in his kingdom of great responsibility. God wants to share his life, eternal life, immortality with us. And so it's easy to get focused on the now and what we're going through and not the future. We have to look to the future. And again, God's Word is the Word of authority that we acknowledge. We can look down the road and we can see the reward.

You see, when we finally go through our trials, we will have eternal life that God will give to us. Notice here in verse 10, So God didn't do this until he prayed for his friends. Then all his brothers and sisters and all those who had been his acquaintances before, came to him and ate food with him in his house. And they consoled him and comforted him, for all the adversity that the Lord had brought upon him. Each one gave him a piece of silver, and each one a ring of gold. Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job, more than the beginning, and it lists here his wealth. In verse 16, after this, Job lived 140 years, saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. So Job died old and full of days. So God restored to Job his great power, his influence, and he had more than he had before. Job was blessed again and lived for 140 years.

Brother, we have something to look forward to. Also, when we finish our trials, our tests, this life, we won't just have an extension of physical life that we're looking forward to. We will have eternal life waiting for us, not just an extension of human life. So let's realize that God has given us the book of Job, and that whenever we go through a test or a trial, we need to go back and read it, and to realize that Job, what he went through, is a type for all of us so that we can learn to put our trust in God and receive comfort and strength from him.