“By Faith – Job”

Scripture: Job 2:1-10; 42:1-6

Today, we begin a 6 week series on how others have lived their life in faith, and what faith can be in our own lives. Our examination will consider the lives of seven people in scripture whose faith and faith expression has served to inspire believers for 2,000 years. And during this next month and a half, the one question that I want each of us to keep alive in our hearts is this – “Does my life in faith inspire others?”

We begin our series with Job - a man who had everything that he could possibly desire, and then lost it all. And this tragedy seems to have begun when God was recounting Job’s faithfulness to the satan, and when satan complained that of course Job was faithful, because God was protecting and blessing everything he did! But the Lord knew the depth of Job’s faith and trust, so he agreed to let satan torment the man. All of his 1,000 oxen and 500 donkeys are stolen by the Sabeans, fire from the sky destroyed all of his 7,000 sheep, his 3,000 camels were stolen by the Chaldeans, and when a freak storm struck the house his children were in, it collapsed and all 10 of them were killed. And as each of these calamities occurred, his servants were also killed. (Job 1:6-19)

And even as his losses mounted, Job never lost faith in his God.

Read Job 2:1-6

The satan is still out making mischief, and isn’t very pleased that his initial onslaught against Job wasn’t successful. The conversation that God and the satan have is very similar to their initial exchange regarding Job, except that God places the entire blame for Job’s situation on the Devil, and tells him that there was no reason whatsoever for the pain that the man is going through.

I expect that each of us has gone through our own “Job Trial” at some time in our life. It may have been the loss of a loved one, or the loss of a job and financial security, or possibly a life-threatening illness. And the thought that runs through our minds is “Why is God letting this happen to me?”, or maybe even “Why is God doing this to me?” The first lesson of Job is this – that it isn’t God who wreaks havoc on our lives – it is Satan! And the Lord knows that there is no Godly reason that it should happen.
Could the Lord intervene and stop the agony? Of course – but that is seldom what happens. Instead, just as in Job’s case, God places a limit on how far Satan can go in causing us pain and suffering. But during those times when the trial is very great, we read in Matthew 11:28-30, that when the burdens of this life become overwhelming, Jesus and the Holy Spirit will be there, not just comforting and encouraging us, but actually helping us through the trial. The Lord uses the image of a yoke, in which the stronger one will carry the greater part of the load, helping the weaker one to survive. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)

In Job’s case though, Satan isn’t done yet – he wants to begin to attack the man physically, and God sets the parameters – that his life must be preserved. In his own words, Satan is quite certain that Job will blame God for the calamities, if his own body is assaulted. Of course, he also thought that before the first round of tribulation, and it didn’t work then, and he should have known that it wouldn’t work this time either. But now it is now apparent that the only reason for Job’s predicament is to turn him away from the Lord. Satan could care less about the man – his only purpose is to diminish Almighty God!
And when we go thought similar circumstances in our lives, we need to remember that the only reason for it is to tear us away from our Precious Savior. We mean nothing to the Devil – his hatred is always directed toward the One who has already overcome that hateful plan of death.

Read Job 2:7-10

Sores that covered his entire body, from the bottom of his feet to the top of his head! How painful must that have been! And not only would there be physical pain, but there would have been spiritual pain, too. In Deuteronomy 28:15-48, we read of the any curses that will come upon all who disobey God’s will. One of them in verse 35 is this - “The Lord will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.” Satan was playing with Job’s mind and heart, as well as with his spiritual being.

But there isn’t a single word - no laments, no accusations, no cries out to God for relief – it is almost as though Job is resigned to his condition, and may even have received a peace about it. He knows that he has lived a life that honors and reflects his God, and that there must be another explanation for his predicament.

And then Job’s wife comes onto the scene. This is the first we have seen her, and will never see her again, and she has two words of advice for her husband – first, stop being so dedicated and righteous, your integrity is gaining you nothing (!) – and second, curse God and let him finish you! There has always been a lot of disagreement over the reason for her bitter words. Were they implying that integrity and honor for God is a false hope? Was she simply expressing her overwhelming pain and loss – remember that the children who were lost were hers, too, and the wealth that had been taken from them brought comfort and respect to her life as well as to Job’s. Or was it that she had become an unwitting accomplice to Satan’s deeds?
We aren’t given any “rhyme nor reason” for her outburst, but it could have simply been the anguish over her husband’s condition that drew the words out of her, and that her only intent was to end the man’s suffering. We’ll never know, but we do get Job’s reply, in which he takes the high moral road. He fully acknowledges that the Lord had given them all of the goodness they had enjoyed in years past, and he knows that it had all been God’s to give. And for some reason, he might have needed to take it all back. No one knows the ways of the Almighty, but Job saw fit to rejoice in his Lord during his great time of trial just same.

In plenty and in health, give thanks. In nothing and in misery, still give thanks.

For the next 35 chapters, Job has to deal with one more trial – the help of 4 “friends”. There would be Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, Zopher the Naamathite, and finally, Elihu the Buzite. Each one, in turn, takes a shot at Job’s integrity. They strive to convince him that he isn’t as righteous as he thinks he is. They want him to confess his sins and to throw himself on the mercy of God.

But Job will have none of it. From time to time, he expresses the possibility that he may have unknowingly sinned against God, but I think he never actually believed that. He prays that his agony will end, whether by death, or by mercy, but it seems to continue unabated. But through it all, Job never blames his Lord for the problems he is facing.
Elihu is the last to speak, and makes one last attempt to convince Job that it is his sinful ways that have brought all this pain and loss into his life. He challenges Job to explain the ways of God if he still thinks that he is so righteous, and to teach them what to say if he is so holy, because they, his friends, admit that they are sinful and don’t have the Lord’s ways in their hearts. Just tell us why Job, if you can!

But God never allows Job to respond this time, for Almighty God Himself will take on the arrogance of the four. For the next four chapters (Job 38-41), we read those marvelous words of “Where were you”, and “When did you”, and “Have you ever”, and so on. These four who have been challenging Job to admit that he has sinned, who, in essence, were taking the place of God, would have to hear of the true might and glory of the Lord. But just as in our lives, God always has the last word (Job 41:33-34) – “Nothing on earth is his equal – a creature without fear. He looks down on all that are haughty; he is king over all that are proud.”

The four friends would not have missed the message that was directed at each of them, that God is God, and that they are not, so why ae they conspiring to condemn Job? God has ways that they will never understand. Justice and mercy do not describe God, but that he defines them. And the men are silent.

Job is allowed one last opportunity to respond, but his words are to the Lord, and not to his friends.

Read Job 42:1-6

At the beginning of this book, the satan was absolutely certain that if Job lost everything - his family and possessions and prestige and respect and health, he would also surrender his faith. But the Lord knew the depth and certainty of Job’s “integrity” and conviction – God knew Job, and Satan did not.
Those four verses weren’t only for Eliphaz and Bildad and Zopher and Elihu – while they were words of chastising for these friends, they would be words of encouragement and blessing for Job. And in Job’s reply, he quotes two of the commands that God brings.

First, he remembers God’s words in which he asked “Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?” (v.3) Job, to his credit, doesn’t assume that this was only for his friends – he confesses that he, too, may have overreached in some of the things he said. Job’s integrity is intact.
Second, he reflects on the words “… I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.” In hearing of the grandeur that is God, those words that were spoken directly from the Divine heart, Job now understands. Faith is no longer an assumption for him – it is certainty. The divine goodness that had blessed him for so many years was no longer a memory of days gone by – goodness was a reality and eternally his, no matter what may come against him. And in his hearing and new found understanding, it would be the same as actually seeing his God. He was in that Presence, and he knew that even with this incredible experience, he was still unworthy of the blessings that were his.

We talk about the patience of Job, but personally, I think the word that describes this man of faith best is “absolute trust”. Job never doubted God, regardless of what came against him. There were times that he would doubt himself, but never would he doubt his God.

How great is our trust of the Lord? Do we ever feel that Satan is attacking us? Then look to the Lord for strength to endure. Do we ever feel that God has abandoned us because of some sin we have committed? Confess it and seek the Lord’s forgiveness. Are we confused, and believe that we are suffering needlessly and for no good reason, and wonder why God is doing this? Remember that we live in a fallen world, and that all people – good and bad alike - will suffer, but that those who live by faith of Jesus Christ have received the promise that suffering is only a temporary condition, and that life in him is eternal.

This is the lesson of Job – that the Lord has no obligation to make our lives easy and cushy. But the love, the compassion, the mercy that defines our God is always present in those who remain faithful to him. And in faithfulness, we will know him in a way that others can only hope for.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4-7) Rejoicing is never the same as happiness! Rejoicing is a celebration of the goodness that surrounds us, even when life seems to be falling apart. And the faith-filled joy that sustained Job throughout his trial is the same joy that fills all of God’s faithful, from now to eternity. Praise the Lord.