Thanks guys. My name is Alistair. I'm the assistant here and I'm going to continue our reading in Job chapter 10.
This is Job speaking and he now turns his attention to God.
In Job chapter 10 verse 1 it says,
I loathe my very life, therefore I will give free reign to my complaint and speak out of the bitterness of my soul.
I say to God, do not declare me guilty, but tell me what charges you have against me.
Does it please you to oppress me, to spurn the work of your hands while you smile on the plans of the wicked?
Do you have eyes of flesh? Do you see as a mortal sees?
Are your days like those of a mortal and your years like those of a strong man?
That you must search out my faults and probe after my sin.
Though you know that I am not guilty and that no one can rescue me from your hand.
Your hands shaped me and made me. Will you now turn and destroy me?
Remember that you molded me like clay.
Will you now turn me to dust again?
Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese?
Clothed me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews?
You gave me life and showed me kindness and in your providence watched over my spirit.
But this is what you concealed in your heart.
And I know that this was in your mind.
If I have, if I sinned, you would be watching me and would not let my offense go unpunished.
If I am guilty, woe to me.
Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head.
For I am full of shame and drowned in my affliction.
If I hold my head high, you stalk me like a lion and again display your awesome power against me.
You bring new witnesses against me and increase your anger towards me.
Your forces come against me wave upon wave.
Why then did you bring me out of the womb?
I wish I had died before any eye saw me.
If only I had never come into being or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave.
Are not my few days almost over?
Turn from me so that I can have a moment's rest before I go to the place of no return to the land of gloom and utter darkness.
To the land of deepest night of utter darkness and disorder, where even the light is like darkness.
That is a very long and difficult passage.
So let's turn to our great God in prayer and ask for his strength as we focus on it.
Let's pray together.
Father, we come to passages like this and we have so many questions.
We have so many thoughts.
And Lord, we ask this morning that you would still our hearts.
That you would take distractions away from us.
And Lord, would you help us focus on your word.
Father, I pray that I would decrease and you would increase.
And may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be pleasing to you, our rock and our redeemer.
Amen.
It'll be really helpful if you have that passage open in front of you as we focus on it this morning.
But I wonder if you've ever heard the rhyme.
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.
You've probably heard that before.
It often gets thrown around on playgrounds at school.
Maybe like me, you yourself have even used it when you were called names or teased as a child.
But the more experience we have under our belts, the more we go on in life,
we realize that words can do more harm than physical attacks.
And the scars that they leave, whilst they aren't visible, can be just as damaging.
If we are constantly hearing the same harmful words,
then there will come a point where we actually start to believe it's true.
Maybe you've been told lies repeatedly over the years that you're worthless.
That you're a waste of space.
That you're nothing.
Those are lies.
But they leave a lasting impression on a person.
They leave unseen wounds that hurt and continue to hurt years later.
And so a more realistic rhyme is,
sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will hurt forever.
That's what we're going to think about this morning in Job chapter 8 through to chapter 10.
And Job is sitting on the ash heap, remember, with his friends or so-called friends all around him.
Eliphaz has spoken to him from a kind of philosophical, uber-spiritual approach,
saying that he had a vision and he understands Job's suffering.
He knows what's going on.
And so whilst Eliphaz wasn't nice in what he said to Job in chapters 4 and 5,
the way he said it was reasonably nice.
It was okay.
But this morning we listen into the conversation between Bildad and Job.
And Bildad proves that words do hurt.
In fact, it's as if Bildad is deliberately trying to inflict more pain on Job.
So if Eliphaz's response was a bit more philosophical,
Bildad's response is that of a traditionalist who has zero sympathy
and offers no comfort to his friend in pain,
but instead seems to pour lemon juice on an open wound.
So we're going to look at Job 8 to 10 under two headings,
words that wound and the words of the wounded.
So the first thing we see in this section of Job in chapter 8 are words that wound,
words that wound.
So Eliphaz was the subtle voice who was measured in his tone to Job.
In contrast to that, Bildad is like a wrecking bull.
He is a bull in a china shop or a vicious dog who goes right for the jugular.
Bildad comes to essentially the same conclusion as Eliphaz,
that Job is suffering because of some sin in his life,
but his approach is slightly different.
And that's why studying these cycles of speeches is really helpful
because it gets us thinking through how we understand suffering today
and the worldviews that we let influence us.
And these speeches tell us how not to speak to a friend in that pain.
So Bildad starts, read with me, in verse 2.
To Job he says,
How long will you say such things?
Your words are a blustering wind.
And so he sees his friend in agony on an ash pile.
And basically he says,
Job, snap out of it.
How long are you going to keep going on like this?
And then he insults him by saying at the end of verse 2
that he's just full of hot air.
Bildad is angry.
He is frustrated at Job's response to Eliphaz
and he is impatient.
See, Job has been on that ash heap for months.
Bildad and his friends have arrived on the scene about a week or so ago
and Bildad has already lost the rag with Job.
He has no desire to comfort him
and no desire to sympathize with him.
Now comforters are supposed to be patient
and we are supposed to be in it for the long haul.
Don't get me wrong.
It is hard to comfort people over the long haul.
It isn't easy.
As you sit with those who suffer,
you need to know that their suffering won't be over in a week.
You need to stick it out with them.
We need to make the conscious, self-sacrificing decision
to walk alongside those who are suffering
and to sit with them in their pain.
For those of us who are looking on
on someone else's suffering,
it's really easy to become impatient, isn't it?
And to think that the event
or the cause of that suffering took place in the past,
so surely they should be fine by now.
As comforters, we can move on very quickly
from things that have happened.
But for those who have been affected directly by suffering,
it can take time
and those wounds may never actually heal properly.
The death of a loved one
will always leave a void in someone's life.
Past trauma can leave scars
that make every single day difficult.
Illnesses can make what seems to be a simple task
impossible to us.
Our job as a community,
who are called to care for each other well,
is to be patient.
We need to be in it for the long haul.
We cannot be impatient like Bildad
and expect people just to get over their suffering.
And so Bildad has listened to Job's lament
and his outpouring of grief.
And his response is he's fed up.
He's angry because he thinks that Job's questioning
is a sign of unfaithfulness.
And so Bildad insults Job out of anger
and we see why in verse 3.
Bildad says,
does God pervert justice?
Does the Almighty pervert what is right?
And so Bildad's assessment of God
is 100% correct.
God is completely just.
There is no measure of wavering in him.
And this is the difficult thing with Job's friends
because some of the things they say are spot on.
They get it right.
But often, and most of the time,
the conclusions that they draw from that
are completely wrong.
So this is the foundational statement of Bildad's argument.
God is completely just.
But it only takes the next sentence
to see how wrong his conclusion is.
Read verse 4 with me.
Bildad speaking to Job says,
Bildad says,
Job,
your kids are dead because they sinned
and if you keep going like this,
you're next.
Bildad has no idea what's going on.
He has no idea that this is Satan's attempt
to trick Job into cursing God.
Bildad doesn't know that this is God's test
to prove the genuineness of Job's faith.
Friends, we need to be very, very careful
of the words we use
and the conclusions that we draw
about someone suffering
because our wounds,
our words can wound.
In verse 4, Bildad says,
God is just, Job.
That is why your kids died.
In verses 5 to 7, he says,
turn to God, do good,
and he will restore you,
very much focusing on material possessions.
He has a very black and white worldview.
So for Bildad, if you do good,
God will reward you.
And if you do bad,
you will be punished.
And we see this worldview
all over the place today, don't we?
Maybe it's a worldview
that we even have ourselves.
As Christians,
often when things go wrong in our lives,
we're tempted to think
that God is punishing us for our sins,
either past or present.
So often we're tempted to think
that God is afflicting us
because we deserve it.
But friends, the problem with that worldview
is that it leaves no room for forgiveness.
It leaves no room for redemptive suffering.
In short,
that worldview leaves no room
for Jesus Christ.
To believe God rewards good
and punishes evil
in the lives of his people
now is simplistic.
And it is not what the Bible teaches.
But it is what many Christians believe today.
I've been told that if only I had enough faith
and prayed more,
I could have healed all of my illnesses.
I was in a wheelchair at one point
and was told that I would be able to walk
pain-free if only I asked for forgiveness
and started living the proper Christian life.
I've had friends.
Friends who lost a child.
And in the middle of that suffering,
someone said to them,
if only you'd had enough faith
and prayed,
that child would still be alive.
Friends, that is a false gospel.
And it puts all the responsibility
on us.
Weak human beings
and not on the completed work
of the ruling and reigning Jesus Christ.
Now maybe you've said these things
to people before.
And if you have,
I would encourage you to go
and ask them for forgiveness
and say,
that's not what the Bible teaches.
That's not what God is like.
Because the only way
we can get through this life
is because of the hope
that God gives us
through the gospel.
The life and death
and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Suffering is often the thing
that causes us
to come to the end of ourselves.
And in that moment,
we have to run towards God.
The rest of the Bible says
suffering is to be expected in life
and that it has a purpose.
It has a meaning.
We may not know what that is.
We may never know.
But it is not meaningless.
And Christians do not suffer now
because God is punishing his people.
So how has Bildad come
to that conclusion?
Well, as a traditionalist,
he looks to the past.
We see that in verse 8
where he says to Job,
ask the former generations
and find out what their ancestors learned.
For we were born only yesterday
and know nothing
and our days on earth
are but a shadow.
So the former generations
and their apparent wisdom
are the traditions of moral
and religious people.
Now learning from the past
is not a bad thing.
But the problem is
that Bildad doesn't see
that the wisdom of his ancestors
is still imperfect.
Just because something happened
in the past
doesn't mean that it is
the wisest and best thing
for all of time.
But also,
only looking back,
as Bildad is telling Job to do,
leaves no room for what God
might be doing in the present.
Bildad is too busy
feeling like he needs
to defend God's honour.
So he comes up
with the right answer
that God is just
but with the wrong conclusions.
And to drive his point home,
Bildad uses three illustrations.
Plants in verses 11 to 13,
a spider's web
in verses 14 and 15
and a shallow-rooted plant
in verses 16 and 19.
Bildad is saying
that the wicked
are those who put their trust
in stuff
rather than God.
And like a spider's web,
it is all fragile
and it will collapse.
Or that they are like flowers.
The wicked are like flowers.
That they have the appearance
of life.
But that their wickedness
will lead to death.
It's kind of like a bouquet of flowers
that you buy from the shop
and put on your dining room table.
They look nice for a few days
but they've been severed
from their roots.
And so,
they are actually dead.
And it will only take
a few days
for those signs of death
to show themselves.
That's like the wicked,
Bildad says.
And in verse 13,
he says to Job,
Job, basically,
that's you.
Everything that has been
stripped away from you
because you've forgotten God
and because you're wicked.
And so,
with blow after blow,
Bildad rains his attack
on Job
and he ends it in verses
20 to 22
where he says,
Surely God does not
reject one who is blameless
or strengthen the hands
of evildoers.
He will yet fill your mouth
with laughter
and your lips
with shouts of joy.
Your enemies will be
clothed in shame
and the tents of the wicked
will be no more.
Bildad says,
Job,
if only you were a good guy.
If only you did
what was right
in front of God,
none of this
would be happening to you.
These are words
that wound.
Words devoid
of grace
with no concept
of undeserved suffering,
no idea of suffering
for God's glory
and no concept
of forgiveness.
Job's suffering
is not as black
and white as that.
We know
that life
is not as black
and white as that.
Even for those
who have completely
messed up
and gone against God
every single opportunity
they can
in their lives,
there is still
forgiveness
and grace
through Jesus Christ.
let's never be
those friends
who pour more
insults on open wounds
without any godly wisdom
because it misrepresents
God
and it hurts
our friends.
Half the time
the reason people
move churches
is not because of
theological
differences
but because of
hurtful words
of other Christians.
Now we need
to sit
with those
who are in pain.
We should never
assume
we know
the reason
behind their
suffering
but we are
to point them
to the hope
that is found
in the gospel.
The promised
presence of God
even in the trenches
and midst
of great suffering
and we need
to be that shoulder
for people
to cry on
in their times
of need.
Bildad is arrogant
and he thought
that he knew
what was going on.
His words
were daggers
that were plunged
into Job's heart
inflicting pain
and because
Bildad wasn't
suffering
he thought
he was wise
and he had
all the right answers.
Friends,
please never
be a Bildad.
Let's not be
Bildad.
Let's not assume
we know everything
but let's be patient
with those
who suffer
and let us
support them
well.
So Bildad
spoke words
that wound
and the second
thing we see
in this passage
are the words
of the wounded
in chapters 9
and 10
the words
of the wounded.
In the midst
of great suffering
we don't always
say what we
actually think
right?
So we may know
that something
is true
but in that
moment of agony
logic seems
to just go
out the window.
the pain
is overbearing
and the words
that often
leave our mouths
without thinking
it through
properly
is quite normal.
What we say
isn't always
right
and that is
the same
with Job.
In these two
chapters
and in other
parts of the book
Job says
things about
God that
aren't right
and aren't
true.
But at the
end of the book
in Job
chapter 42
verse 7
God commends
Job for
having spoken
what is right.
So how do we
handle this
apparent contradiction?
Because God
affirms in both
the beginning
and the end
of the book
of Job
that he is
a genuine
believer.
So this
apparent
contradiction
can be resolved
by understanding
that whilst
Job knows
the truth
about God
and he
believes the
truth about
God
in the midst
of his pain
he doesn't
feel it.
And so he
says wrong
things about
God and if
you have
suffered at
all in
your life
you know
how easy
it is to
be swept
up in
the feelings
of pain
and in
the emotions
of suffering.
We might
say that
God is
unloving
that he
has abandoned
us even
though that
is not
true.
We might
say that
God doesn't
care.
because we
don't
understand
what's
going on.
That's
not true.
We might
even say
that God
doesn't
love us
because he
is allowing
such great
suffering to
happen in
our lives.
Friends,
that is
not
true.
You are
never
ever
beyond
the love
of God.
And in
those moments
of suffering
we need to
remember the
truth about
who God
is and
the truth
that our
circumstances,
our pain,
our suffering,
our emotional
and mental
turmoil,
our shame,
our guilt,
our feelings
of despair
are in no
way,
absolutely no
way,
a representation
of how God
views us.
so let's
listen to
the words
of the
wounded.
Read
chapter 9
verse 2
with me.
Job says,
Indeed,
I know
that this
is true,
but how
can me
immortals
prove their
innocence
before God?
Though
they wished
to dispute
with him,
they could
not answer
him one
time out
of a
thousand.
Job
says,
I know
that God
is just.
I know
that he
is right
in all
that he
does.
I know
that the
wicked
receive
judgment
from God.
I know
that God
is perfectly
just.
But what
I don't
know,
Bildad,
is why
I'm
suffering.
And in
these two
chapters,
Job uses
courtroom
language.
He wants
to take
God to
court,
basically,
to put
him on
the stand
and ask
his
questions.
Job
wants to
make a
defense of
his own
innocence
because he
sees no
sin in
his life
that
deserves
such
great
suffering.
But he
realizes that
he cannot
stand before
God because
God is so
mighty.
That's what
verses 4 to
10 of
chapter 9
are all
about.
Speaking
about God,
Job says
that he
is wise
in heart
and mighty
in strength
in verse
4.
That he
can move
mountains,
verse 5.
That he
commands the
sun in
verse 7.
That he
put the
stars in
space in
verse 9.
Job is
saying this
is how
big God
is.
No one
can contend
with him.
He is so
mighty that
no amount
of words
could even
scratch the
surface of
his greatness.
He is so
wise that
all the
wise people
in the
world
couldn't
even begin
to compare
to how
wise God
is.
And God
is beyond
comprehension,
Job says in
verse 11.
Now these
verses in
any other
context would
be a
wonderful
declaration
of praise.
And yet in
this moment
to Job
it's a
lament.
Because he
says,
he thinks
that this
mighty,
this powerful
God has
turned against
him.
Job is
saying,
how can I
even dream
of standing
before this
kind of God
and question
him?
He is
too
great.
And so he
sits on the
ash heap and
as he looks
over his
life and
his suffering
he's crying
out and
he's asking
why?
Why has
this great
powerful God
turned
against me?
Job then
wrongly
concludes in
verses 12
to 21 of
chapter 9
that God
is unjust.
In the
midst of
his
suffering
Job is
coming to
the wrong
conclusions
because he
doesn't see
how his
suffering could
bring him
any good.
He knows
that he
is innocent
and yet he
says in
verse 20
that even
if he is
innocent God
would pronounce
him guilty
anyway.
And it
brings Job
to the point
of despair
and he
despises
his life.
And the
lament continues
in chapter 10.
Job's
friends have
basically been
telling him
to fake it
until you
make it.
Slap a fake
smile in your
face and get
on with life.
And so Job
says in
chapter 10
verse 1
I loathe
my very
life.
Therefore
I will give
free reign
to my
complaint and
speak out
in the
bitterness of
my soul.
And I
say to
God do
not declare
me guilty
but tell
me what
charges you
have against
me.
Tell me
why?
Does it
please you
to oppress
me, to
spurn the
works of
your hands
while you
smile on
the plans
of the
wicked?
Job doesn't
see what's
going on.
He knows
that God
is just
but his
situation
is sending
him into
a spiral
of confusion.
In
verses 8
to 12
Job speaks
about how
he is one
of God's
creations.
Verse 11
you clothe
me with
skin and
flesh.
You have
granted me
life and
steadfast love.
Verse 12
So why,
why am I
suffering?
Verses 13
to 17
Job says
if it's
because I've
sinned and
I'm deserving
of this agony
reveal it to
me.
Show me
what I have
done.
Show me
your evidence.
Bring it
to the
courtroom and
let's chat
it out
together.
Let's sort
it out.
But he
sees no
sense and
he loathes
his life.
So he
says in
verse 18
of chapter
10,
why then
did you
bring me
out of
the womb?
I wish
that I
had died
before any
eye saw
me.
If only
I had
never gone,
never come
into being,
or had
been carried
straight from
the womb
to the
grave.
Are not
my few
days almost
over?
Turn away
from me
so that I
can have a
moment's joy
before I
go to the
place of
no return,
to the
land of
gloom and
utter
darkness.
Job says,
God,
leave me
alone.
Give me
a few
minutes of
rest before
I breathe
my last
and enter
into an
eternity of
darkness and
despair.
In his
suffering,
Job has
lost all
hope of
eternity with
God.
God,
he can't
see the
hope for
all the
despair in
his life.
Job is
consumed with
the question
why.
Friends,
have you
been there?
That place
where you're
looking at the
situation around
you and you're
consumed by it
and you see
no hope,
is the
question of
why eating
you alive and
all you want to
do is scream
it out?
There is
nothing wrong
with voicing
your frustrations.
There is
nothing wrong
with asking
the hard
questions.
They are
not a
sign of
unfaithfulness.
They are
not a
sign of
doubting
God.
It is a
sign that
you are
genuinely
wrestling with
the situation
and you want
to understand
what God's
doing.
That is a
good thing.
but you
need to know
that the
answers may
never come.
We may
never truly
understand what
is going on
but regardless
of the outcome
God never
changes.
God is
good.
God is
faithful.
And in the
midst of
suffering it
is important
to keep on
talking to
God.
Do not
shut him
out.
keep on
asking for
the suffering
to be
gone.
Keep on
asking for
strength.
Keep
listening.
God is
listening.
He has
not
abandoned
you.
Talking
to him
in the
midst of
great
pain
is
important.
And to
accuse God
of being
unjust
means that
we think
God owes
us a
good life.
A life
of joy
and happiness
all the
time that
it's
unfair for
any kind
of suffering
to come
our way.
But the
book of
Job isn't
here to
tell us
that life
is fair.
It's
here to
tell us
that even
in this
extreme
suffering
God is
good.
God is
sovereign.
God is
wise and
God is
100%
just.
So friends
in your
pain ask
the hard
questions.
God is
God's
love for
or approval
of you.
There is
nothing you
can do
to stop
you being
his child.
Job saw
this mighty
awesomeness
wisdom and
power of
God and
declares that
it is impossible
to stand
before him.
in chapter
9 verse
2 he
says how
can a
man be
in the
right before
God?
In chapter
9 verse
33 he
cries out in
frustration if
only there
was someone
to mediate
between us.
If only
there was
someone who
could bring
us together.
If only
there was
one who
could
plead my
cause before
this holy
God.
Brothers and
sisters we
have that
mediator.
we have
that person
who is
perfect,
who is
righteous,
who is
fully God
and fully
man.
The only
one who
can stand
before a
holy God
on our
behalf.
We have
Jesus.
We have
a mediator
who stands
before God
and when
Satan the
accuser comes
with his
list of
sins that
we commit
every single
day and
he says
look at
Alistair
God,
the greatest
sinner of
them all,
Jesus says
paid for.
Jesus says
God the
curse of
your righteous
wrath that
Alistair
deserves
was taken
on me as
I hung on
that cross.
And so
Satan's
accusations
are muted
because
Jesus wins.
Job thinks
that he needs
a mediator
because in
this moment
he is not
seeing the
whole picture.
He's standing
at the back
of the
tapestry
seeing all
the chaos
and all
the mess,
all the
cords leading
nowhere and
it makes no
sense.
But God
is the good
and loving
father who
stands at
the front of
the tapestry.
He sees
the whole
picture and
he is in
control.
God is
weaving a
glorious picture
in your life
that we don't
see yet.
We don't
fully understand
and we may
never comprehend
it in this
life but
we are in
the hands
of a good
God.
Jesus is
the perfect
mediator who
being fully
God stepped
in and took
the ultimate
suffering that
we deserve.
Friends,
this is the
mediator that
Job wanted.
This is the
mediator that
we have.
And in the
middle of
suffering,
in the middle
of the open
wounds and
the agony,
in the middle
of despair
and the
emotional,
physical,
mental pain,
do not
forget Jesus
Christ who
bridged the
gap between
you and
God.
Jesus,
God in the
flesh,
stepped into
our suffering
world,
took on
suffering
himself
so that
we may be
reunited with
God and
have eternal
hope where
suffering,
sin and
death are
no more.
Sticks and
stones may
break my
bones but
words will
never hurt
me is
nonsense.
words matter.
The words
we hear in
our suffering
matter, the
words we
say in
our suffering
matter.
But the
most important
words that
you must
remember as
you're in the
trenches in the
despair of
suffering is
the cry of
Jesus Christ
on the cross
as he said,
it is
finished.
that is the
comfort that
you need in
your suffering.
That is
that there is
an end to
it all because
Jesus paid
it all.
Jesus paid
it all,
all to him
I owe.
Sin had
left a
crimson stain
and he
washed it
white as
snow.
And when
before the
throne I
stand,
in him
complete,
Jesus died
my soul
to save,
my lips
shall still
repeat.
Jesus paid
it all.
Let's pray
together.
Father, we
come before
you and we
ask that in
the good
times and
the bad,
in the
joys and
happiness of
life and
in the
sorrows and
despair of
suffering and
turmoil,
would you
by your
spirit help
us remember
the wonderful
truths of
who you
are.
And
Father, if
there is
anyone here
in the
building or
listening at
home who
thinks that
their
circumstances
are a
representation
of your
love for
them,
Lord, I
ask that by
the power of
the spirit you
would transform
their minds,
that you
would help
them cling to
that wonderful
truth that
Jesus has
paid it all
and it is
only through
him that
we can stand
boldly and
declare that
we belong to
you, that
we are part of
your family
because of
Christ.
Father,
remind us of
those truths in
the difficulties
of life.
we ask
this in
Jesus'
holy and
precious name.
Amen.