Well, happy Father's Day. It's good to see all of you this morning.
And I just want to begin by just saying thank you to all of you for your prayers
! And for your interest in our family and interest in me particularly as I had surgery and recovery
and all of that, I can tell you that you have been an encouragement. I have been blessed
because of being part of Maranatha and I'm grateful for every one of you. Thank you for
the way that you have prayed for us, encouraged us, blessed us, not just me but my family.
And so it's great to be back with you this morning. The other joy of what we got to experience
the last six weeks is the ministry of the Word by capable men who brought the Word to us
and helped to emphasize the power of the Word over a particular speaker. And that, of course,
is a blessing too. So I'm grateful to be at Maranatha where we have so many gifted men who
can preach the Word and encourage us in the Scriptures every week. I want you to know that
that is unique. That is special about this church and I'm grateful for all of the investment that's
happened through the years and the way that God has drawn certain individuals to our fellowship
and the way that they are able to apply the Scriptures to our hearts. What a blessing it is to be here.
So it is Father's Day and it just reminded me this past week during the soccer camp that moms and dads
are different. Even in how they drop off their kids. It was very interesting to me.
You know, the moms tended, and by the way, I'm generalizing here. Not every mom or every dad was
this way. But moms tended actually to park a ways away. And I think partly because they didn't want
to hit any kids as they were driving up closer. It was easier for them to walk. But it also gave them
space. So the kids could pile out of the cars. They could spray them down with the bug spray.
They could tie their shoes. They could make sure their shorts were straight. Their jersey was on.
Their hair was put up. And they had the sunscreen on. And when everyone was ready and the hugs were
given, they could finally make their way up to the sign-in station. Now dads, efficiency is a little bit
more important to us. Okay? So we tend, as dads, we kind of park up close. And the kids hop out of the car.
And we make our way directly to the registration. And when it's finished, we turn around and we go back.
Mission complete. Job done. And what was even kind of interesting, sometimes a mom and a dad of the
same family would drop off their kids. And it was, you know, kind of the alternate days.
The dad left the other kids in the car because it just wasn't efficient to get them out of their seat
and to take them with. But mom made sure to bring the kids when she dropped off. It was just,
it was fascinating to me the way that God has made moms and dads different. And by the way,
that's by design. Praise the Lord for moms and dads. Praise the Lord for God's design for families.
And that's another joy of being here at Maranatha is the joy of seeing strong, healthy, godly families,
moms and dads that are modeling Christ for their kids. And what a blessing that is.
Well, this morning, I want to just draw your attention. We're back in the book of Job. And if
you're using the Pew Bible, I would encourage you to turn with us there. If you're using the Pew Bible,
I believe it's on page 417. We're going to pick it up in chapter 2 today. There's so much to say
about moms and dads, but I want to draw attention to fathers because dads, you have a unique
responsibility. A unique responsibility of modeling God to your family, of representing God to your family.
It is not a mistake that you're called a father and that God is father. That is by design.
And you have a unique and special role. A great burden of responsibility in your life to reflect God
appropriately, accurately, and faithfully. Now, of course, we're not going to do that perfectly, right?
We make mistakes, but hopefully in humility, we fess up to those mistakes. We call attention to them.
And there's humility that goes along with it. But what a unique responsibility that we have as dads to represent
God, the father, to our families. But it doesn't end there. It's interesting that we also represent God
in Christ to show Christ's love to the church. And husbands, your responsibility to show Christ to your wife
in the same way. You show the father, you show the son, of course, through the power of the spirit
who is helping to fashion those fruits of the spirit in your life and empowering you to do
what only God can accomplish in your life. And so we come to Job, okay? And what struck me
this past week in my study of the book of Job is that the commendation we're going to see in chapter 2,
chapter 2, verse 3. Just look at there briefly with me. God is calling out Job, and this is what he says.
Have you considered my servant Job? There is none like him on the earth. None like him on the earth.
And then he kind of fills that out. A blameless man, upright, fears God, turns away from evil. And by the way,
that includes Job's fathering and includes Job's husbanding. Job was an exemplary man in every way.
He was a dad who loved his kids. You see that show up in his family. And I promise you that with this
kind of commendation, he was also the kind of husband that loved and cared for, nurtured, supported,
and led his wife. He did that faithfully. So that's going to be important for us as we make our way
through this study this morning. And I want to draw attention, not so much to Job himself, but I want
you to understand, and you already know this. I'm just reminding you of what you already know. When we
look at Job this morning, we're looking at God's work in the life of Job, okay? So when we draw
attention to his character, it's because of God's work in Job that we see these things. But as dads,
as husbands, as men, whether you're married or single, young or old, I believe God has called us to this
kind of life. This is the kind of life that God takes notice of. And so this is the kind of life
that every man and every woman should aspire to, okay? That's just kind of what I want to encourage
us with as we start this study, okay? We're going to look at, first of all, Job, who was a man of
integrity. Job, a man of integrity. It's another word for blamelessness. We see that in the first
several verses. Chapter 2, join me with, there with me at verses 1 to 6. It says this,
Again, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord.
And Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. The Lord said to Satan,
From wherever you come? Satan answered the Lord and said, From going to and fro on the earth and
from walking up and down on it. And the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job?
There is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from
evil. He still holds fast his integrity. Although you incited me against him to destroy him without
reason. Then Satan answered the Lord and said, Skin for skin, all that a man has he will give for his
life. But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh and he will curse you to your face.
And the Lord said to Satan, Behold, he is in your hand only. Spare his life. A man of integrity. And we're
going to see here at the very beginning God's commendation of Job's life, his character, his
integrity. That God himself will highlight and feature the integrity of Job. We find this formula
here even at the beginning of this chapter. Again, there was a day. And it reminds us of kind of what
we've seen up to this point, right? This transition between a man and a day that we've seen here
since chapter 1. It begins in chapter 1 verse 1, there was a man. And then in verse 6, that there
was a day. And then we're going to find again here in chapter 2 verse 1, there again, there was a day.
This transition that's taking place. And right at the outset, and now we've seen this for the third time,
that the writer to, of this book of Job, wants us to understand something about his integrity.
If you go back to chapter 1, beginning there in 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 turned away
from evil. We don't even get to the story. We don't even know what's going to happen. But the author
wants us to know something about Job's integrity, his character. I appreciated what Pastor Paul
Boothby said last week in kind of alliterating this for us. He talked about Job's faith. He was
blameless. He was upright. He feared God. He turned away from evil. It spoke of the faith that he had.
We learned about his family. He's got seven sons and three daughters. For anyone living at that time,
that was a mark of a blessed life. Someone who had enjoyed the benefits of God's goodness to them.
We saw his fortune. 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen and donkeys. And then in today's estimate,
as we found out last week, somewhere between $50 million and $200 million, this guy had it all.
We learned about his fame, that he was the greatest man in the East. We learned about his friends. We'll
learn about them more today. And as we move our way through this study, the friends of Job, particularly
Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. But we come to this new day. And what I love about the book of Job is like
no other book that you will find in the scripture, there's this uniqueness about God kind of pulling
the curtain back and giving you a peek into the heaven's court and seeing what's happening there.
Like, wow, that's really happening, that Satan is standing before God and there's accountability.
That's how this is explained and this is how it works out. Of course, it reminds us of what Paul
says to the church of Ephesus in Ephesians 6, 12, when he says, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness,
against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. And while the conflicts that you have may
seem very physical, God wants us to understand there is a supernatural force behind them.
And here in chapter 2, we find another day, another day of accounting. And the repetition here,
it's fascinating that the description and the words that are used in chapter 2 are almost identical to
the Hebrew phrases that we find in chapter 1. And you're like, why bother going through all the same
stuff? And of course, no word is wasted in the scriptures. So it's here for a reason. And I believe
the reason that it's here is to help us understand, emphasize once again, God is in control. God's
authority is on display. That the supernatural powers and in the future, all of human powers are subject to
his divine authority. And just to help you know that this isn't just a one-time thing taking place in
chapter 1. It's repeated for us in chapter 2 to assure our hearts and encourage us, God is in control.
You can trust him. God is ultimate in authority. He's over his creation. So we can rest in the fact
that God's supreme, that nothing happens in this life. And as we continue to work our way through
this passage, nothing happens in this life that he doesn't know about. And he hasn't at least given
permission to take place. God says to Satan, have you considered? Have you considered? Literally, this is,
have you set your heart on him? Have you made him the focus of your attention? Have you looked at his
life? Have you zeroed your focus, narrowed your focus? Have you understood that there's something
unique about his life? And of course, Satan had taken notice. And God draws attention to him as being a
blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. And the commendation, there is none
like him on the earth. Wow! Can you even imagine that? I can think very easily, even in this
fellowship, the number of people that are more godly and more mature spiritually than I am. And yet, Job
himself, God draws attention to everybody on the earth. Nobody like this guy. Nobody. Not one person.
He calls attention to his blamelessness, which speaks of his standing before the Lord.
God. And blamelessness, of course, isn't perfection. But blamelessness is sincerity. It's authenticity.
It's that Job was the same person on the inside as he was on the outside. What you saw in Job is what
you got. And there was purity about him. There was this integrity about his life. Authenticity.
You knew what to expect. You knew the kind of person he was. He wasn't two-faced. He wasn't something
over here and something different over there. The posture of his standing before the Lord.
But not only that, but also he was upright, which speaks of his standing before men.
Shifts its focus a little bit so that we understand there wasn't just a vertical relationship with God
that was in line, but it transcended to this horizontal relationship with others that was also
in line. That Job treated others with respect and kindness and also with the kind of compassion
and tenderness that you would expect. He dealt with them fairly, but he feared God.
And the reverence that is expressed here is his posture towards God himself.
Turning to him. Respecting him. And you get the sense of this real presence that Job was aware
of God's presence to such a degree that he couldn't even imagine himself doing the wrong thing
because he knew God was there and he feared how God would respond.
So he feared God. He worshipped God. He was devoted to God. But he also turned away from evil.
And that was kind of the response, the other reaction. So he's turning to God. Turning away from evil.
And he's holding fast. He's holding fast when things are really, really hard.
And we got a sense of how hard things were in the first chapter.
Wave upon wave upon wave of tragedy that crashes down on his life.
He hears one word of tragedy and losing the things that God has blessed him with.
And before he can catch his breath, before he can get his bearings,
it crashes down again with another wave upon his life.
Losing his sheep.
Silence that followed instead of an interruption.
And that was by design as well.
The trouble and difficulty and confusion of this scenario must have been challenging for Job
because whether it was coming from a human standpoint
or whether it was coming from a divine standpoint,
like this fire of God that came down on his sheep,
consumed them, there was nothing left.
And then the wind that comes and hits the four corners of the house.
And by the way, those of you who know wind, wind doesn't do that.
Wind strikes a side of the house, not the corners, and all the way around.
This was by design meant to showcase or at least confuse Job, deceive him into thinking,
this is from God.
God's responsible.
And so since God is responsible,
you must have done something to show that God is now against you.
So God's commendation.
And then we move to Satan's accusation in verses 4 and 5.
Satan answered the Lord and said, skin for skin.
All that a man has, he will give for his life.
But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh,
and he will curse you to your face.
We've heard that before.
Satan demands that God removes now all the boundaries.
He's demanded that God remove boundaries in chapter 1.
And God has graciously removed some of those boundaries.
But this is the one boundary that was left.
We see that in chapter 1, verse 12.
It says,
So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
And so now Satan demands that this last boundary,
this last obstacle, this last barrier is removed
so he can have all of Job for himself.
Satan's accusation to God is,
you are still holding out.
You are still holding back.
You are still buying him off.
This is all of your fault.
You're just trying to insulate him from the inevitable.
You take this away,
and he's going to curse you to your face.
But you know that,
so you're not going to remove that barrier.
And so in his manipulating, accusatory tactics,
Satan is actually accusing God of wrong.
God, you're not pure.
You're not righteous.
And you remove this edge,
it'll be all over.
Satan's accusation.
He is now pulling out all the stops.
He unloads his entire arsenal against him.
And by the way,
don't be misled to think
that what we're going to see here
is just a physical trauma on Job's life.
It is total.
It's comprehensive.
Yes, it is physical.
But there is emotional trauma.
There is spiritual trauma.
There is psychological trauma.
There is relational trauma.
He's going to experience it all
because let me tell you,
God giving permission to Satan
to do whatever he wants,
just don't take his life,
that's the only boundary.
You can better believe
Satan is going to do everything
that's in his power.
I am going to bring him down.
Just you watch.
That was Satan's accusation.
And so he says,
skin for skin.
Let me touch his body.
And then we'll see how much he loves you.
Yeah.
And those of you who know
a little bit about
having a skin disease
or know somebody with a skin disease,
even for just a little bit,
you know that the things that happen
outside of you,
however difficult they might be,
those things that are loss of family,
loss of job,
loss of income,
all those things,
they're hard.
They're devastating,
but they can be covered up.
You can find an escape
for those things,
but when it is your life,
when it is your body,
there is no relief.
And then it becomes very personal
and very hard.
This is what we're talking about.
And so Satan is interested
in bringing Job down.
And so he will do whatever it takes.
He's going to say,
let him suffer in this way
and he will curse you to your face.
And by the way,
this is an interesting word in the Hebrew
and I want to spend a whole lot of time here,
but the word curse is the word barak,
which is also the word for bless.
We have now seen this for the fifth time
in this passage, okay?
So bless and curse,
they're used interchangeably already
throughout the first chapter.
Let me just give you a couple examples.
Job 1, 5, okay?
The very end of the verse,
it says,
it may be that my children have sinned
and cursed God in their hearts.
That's the word barak.
That's also the word bless.
And then in verse 10 of chapter 1,
it says,
you have blessed the work of his hands
and his possessions have increased in the land.
And then in verse 11,
Satan will use the same word barak,
only he'll use it in the word,
in the sense of to curse.
He says this,
stretch out your hand and touch all that he has,
he will curse you to your face.
And then in Job chapter 1, verse 21,
it says,
naked I came from my mother's womb,
naked I'll return,
the Lord gives,
the Lord takes away,
blessed be the name of the Lord.
That's the same word.
What is going on here?
I think it's a great reminder for us
of how easy it is for us to teeter
between blessing and cursing.
We know that.
James,
the half-brother of Jesus,
draws attention to that
when he talks about the dangers of the tongue.
He says,
you know,
with the mouth we curse and we bless.
How is it possible
for sweet water and bitter water
to come out of the same place?
Why do you allow your tongue
to be the source of blessing and cursing?
It shouldn't be.
But that is our nature, is it not?
We teeter between the two.
But dads,
you lead with your mouth.
I want you to realize,
you lead with your mouth.
You lead with the things you say.
You lead with the words
that either bless or curse.
You lead with the words
that are either affirming and encouraging
or critical and condemning.
You lead with the words
that are words of faith,
that we believe in God,
that he is good,
we can trust him.
Or you say,
oh man,
I don't know what we're going to do.
The bottom has fallen out.
My life is a mess.
What will you do with your words
to lead your families?
It's so important.
The balance beam is so critical.
The toggling between blessing and cursing
is so delicate in our lives
and so important nonetheless.
And Jesus will draw attention to that
as he's talking to his audiences.
He says to the Pharisees,
for out of the abundance of the heart,
the mouth speaks.
Out of the abundance of the heart,
the mouth speaks.
I know and people can know who you are
by the consistent pattern of the words
that come out of your mouth,
especially your family.
Lead with words.
And it will echo the heart
of one who loves God,
I trust.
And that's why the psalmist says this
in Psalm 19, 14.
He says,
let the words of my mouth
in the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O God,
my strength and my redeemer.
Let the consistency,
integrity,
blamelessness of my heart,
may it show up in how I live
and how I speak.
May there be consistency
between the two.
So that people know
I'm a person of integrity.
How will God respond now?
The accusation has flown.
Will you say,
no, Satan, I'm sorry.
You've had your chance.
Or, no, Satan,
he belongs to me.
He's suffered enough.
Let him go.
No, actually,
God grants permission.
And by the way,
God may grant permission
to the enemy
to allow you to suffer.
God grants permission.
We see that in verse 6.
The Lord said to Satan,
behold,
he is in your hand.
Only spare his life.
Last week,
Pastor Paul made a clear distinction
that's worth repeating.
He helped us to be reminded
of the fact
that Satan,
while he may have power,
he is not all-powerful.
Remember that?
And Satan,
while he may know some things,
he is not all-knowing
like our God is.
And Satan,
while he is present,
he is not omnipresent
or all-present.
He's limited.
And Satan,
while he has
some measure of power
that he can exercise
in this world
and in this life,
it is all under
the accountability
of God himself.
He answers to God.
God grants permission.
The Lord said,
behold,
he is in your hand.
only spare his life.
And we see
that God not only
grants permission,
but it helps to provide
maybe some answers
for verse 3,
the last part of verse 3,
which may seem
a bit confusing to us.
It says this,
although God says to Satan,
you incited me against him
to destroy him
without reason.
What?
What does that mean?
You incited me?
And I think the challenge
is that in our English vocabulary,
incite kind of has
the idea of force.
You forced me into this.
You backed me into a corner.
You have manipulated me
into doing this.
You've influenced me
and I could not push back.
But that's not the concept
that we're talking about here.
It is a concept
of accountability.
And God
is ultimately
and supremely
in authority
over every circumstance.
Although he may not be
the instrument
for pain,
the instrument for sin,
he is
ultimately accountable.
And that raises,
too,
really encouraging things
I want to just draw
to your attention
before we move on.
And that is this.
Every trouble you face
is under the watchful eye
of God.
Every trouble you face
is under the watchful eye
of God.
You will not experience
anything in this life
or the next,
by the way,
that God hasn't sanctioned
or permitted.
Satan does not have
unlimited,
free access
to you.
It is all under
the authority of God.
Under his watchful eye.
He knows.
He loves.
It's his design.
He is able
to help.
Second,
every trouble
you face
has a way
to enjoy
and experience
the strengthening power
of God
to endure.
every trouble
you face,
for lack of a better way
to put it,
is endurable.
Okay?
1 Corinthians 10.13
says this.
No temptation
has overtaken you
that is common to man.
God is faithful.
Can you say that with me?
God is faithful.
He will not let you
to be tempted
beyond your ability,
but with the temptation
he will also provide
the way of escape
that you may be able
to endure it.
Dads,
men,
young and old,
no pressure
that you face
is a pressure
that you cannot endure
with the help
and strength
of God.
You can do it
with God's help.
But,
here's the thing.
Is God,
oh,
he allows
the pressure
to come
so that we
as men
can finally say,
okay,
uncle,
we need help.
We let go.
We need you
to help carry us,
Lord.
He will apply
that pressure
until we get
to that point.
So get to that point
sooner than later,
okay?
But every trouble
you face
is endurable
because God
will carry you
if you trust him.
God still allows
this attack
and God,
this is the other
amazing part
about this book,
God already knows
the outcome,
okay?
So God permits
Satan
to attack
in every way
imaginable
and the challenge
is
he is going
to curse you
to your face,
he's not going
to remain true,
he's going
to fail,
he's going
to be destroyed,
I'm bringing him
down,
he's going
to curse you
but God's like,
no,
he's not
because I'm
going to carry him
and you can't
touch this.
You can't come
against this power,
I'm in control.
So every,
every suffering
you face
is endurable
because of the
power of God.
Alright,
that was
Job,
a man of integrity,
now we have
a couple minutes
to talk about
Job,
a man of endurance,
a man of endurance.
Verses 7
to 13,
so Satan
went out
from the presence
of the Lord
and struck
Job with
loathsome sores
from the sole
of his foot
to the crown
of his head.
Okay,
sole of his foot
to the crown
of his head.
Totality
of this physical
suffering now
that he's going
to experience.
And he took,
speaking of Job
now,
a piece of
broken pottery
with which to
scrape himself
while he sat
in the ashes.
Job,
a man of endurance,
that's what we see.
And this,
a sudden attack
from the enemy.
First,
a sudden attack
from the enemy.
Almost simultaneously
with getting permission,
now Job is afflicted.
This instantaneous
affliction
that pops out
all over Job's body
and it is horrendous.
It is awful.
It's horrific.
It's described
throughout this book.
We see that,
especially in Job
chapter 7.
We see the restless
nights that Job
endured.
He says,
when I lie down,
I say,
when shall I arise?
But the night
is so long
and I'm full of
tossing until the dawn.
In verse 5
of chapter 7,
it talks about
his skin.
My flesh
is clothed
with worms
and dirt.
Imagine.
Clothed
with worms
and dirt.
My skin
hardens,
then breaks
out afresh.
Job 7,
14.
You scare me
with dreams
and terrify me
with visions.
In chapter 7,
verse 15.
I would choose
strangling in death
rather than my bones.
In chapter 16,
verse 8,
he says,
he has shriveled me up,
which is a witness
against me
and my leanness
has risen up
against me.
It testifies
to my face.
In chapter 30,
verse 30,
he says,
my skin
turns black
and falls
from me
and my bones
burn
with heat.
Commentators
have surmised
what kind
of illness
or disease
that Job had
and I think
that's probably
a wasted effort
and the reason
why is because
this was a
Satan-infused
disease.
Nobody
on the face
of the earth
has ever
experienced
this kind
of torment,
at least in
this physical way.
Job did
because God
gave him
permission.
By the way,
I'm not talking
about Jesus.
Of course,
Jesus endured
suffering,
but I'm talking
about the kind
of physical
torment
to his body
in this way
and this was
a Satan-infused
disease,
the worst
of the worst,
as bad as
Satan could
throw at Job
and how given
permission,
you can better
believe that
Job is going
to be doing
everything short
of Job's
life being
taken away
because that
was the one
boundary.
So everything
up to that
point is
what God
has allowed
Satan to
do.
This was not
a localized
problem.
It was from
the sole of
his foot to
the crown of
his head.
There was no
place that Job
could find that
was comfortable.
His dreams,
his sleep,
were haunted.
He couldn't
even find relief
in the night
where most of us
say, well,
at least I can
go to bed
and then
worry about
this tomorrow.
No, not
Job because
Job is going
to experience
this kind
of pain
relentlessly
enduring
all the time.
There is
no relief.
By the way,
no antibiotics,
no pain
relievers,
no special
ointments,
no one to
give attention
to his wounds,
no surgeons
to remove
the dead skin,
no specialized
dressing,
no anti-
inflammatory
drugs,
no nerve
blockers.
He is
experiencing
the breadth
and the depth
of this
with no
relief
and no
end in sight.
And what
makes this
the worst
is that
Job will
think
and his
friends will
say,
God is
against you.
That was
the hardest
thing.
But Job
continues to
maintain his
integrity.
Children
or not,
friends or
not,
regardless of
pain and
loss and
confusion and
by the way,
the silence
of God,
Job remains
true.
He
endures.
His heart
remains
loyal to
God.
Next,
a moment
of weakness.
I want
to deal
with this
quickly,
but I
don't want
to run
through this
and you're
going to
have to
bear with
me
because
what I'm
about to
share with
you is
probably not
agreed on by
most commentators.
Okay?
So,
you can just
take it for
what's worth,
check out for a
couple of
minutes,
then check back
in when we
finish our
last point.
But here we
go.
Verse 9,
it says this,
then his wife
said to him,
do you still
hold fast
your integrity?
Curse God
and die.
But he said
to her,
you speak
as one of the
foolish women
would speak.
Shall we
receive good
from God
and shall we
not receive
evil?
In all this,
Job did not
sin with his
lips.
And by the way,
as we've just
learned,
he didn't sin
with his lips
and he hasn't
sinned with his
heart because
the lips are an
expression of
what's going on
inside.
Okay?
But I want
to just,
I want to
pause for a
moment and
talk about
Job's wife.
Okay?
And I want
to talk about
a moment of
weakness.
I believe this
is a response
of weakness.
I believe,
it's my
personal conviction
that she is
responding in
pity to her
suffering husband.
Job's wife
is here,
by the way,
to show us
what every
single one
of us would
do.
Every one
of us would
do in the
same situation
because remember,
remember what
God says of
Job,
there is no
one like him
on the earth.
I think Job's
wife was runner
up,
by the way.
That's my
personal opinion.
But she got
to the breaking
point.
She couldn't
bear it
anymore.
Now,
why do I
say that?
Well,
I say that
for a couple
of reasons.
First,
I say that
because of
what I know
about God's
commendation of
Job and what
I see in his
family.
This was an
epic family.
This was an
ideal family.
You read
through this,
you're like,
man,
how did they
do it?
And by the
way,
you realize
these things
don't happen
by themselves.
Older brothers
caring for
younger sisters
in that
culture.
The closeness,
the unity,
the oneness,
they're almost
finding excuses
to get together.
The spiritual
following after
their dad
who does
sacrifices for
them.
And knowing
that Job
is a godly
man means
that he's a
godly father,
but he's also
a godly
husband.
And I
believe that
requires that
he's leading
his wife.
And she's
responding.
Especially since,
by the way,
we've heard
this statement
behind every
great man
is a great
woman.
I've heard
that before.
That's not
just a good
phrase.
That's something
we find in
the scripture.
Proverbs 31
woman,
you see the
results of her
husband and
the way he's
lifted up in
the gates and
the way that
he's revered
and respected.
Well,
that's because
his wife is
like killing
it everywhere.
And women
in that day
were responsible
for the home.
It was their
domain.
It wasn't
that the dads
never had anything
to do with it,
but let me
tell you,
you see these
things in
the family,
you better
believe they
were true
about Job's
wife.
That's my
perspective.
Not to mention
the fact,
notice how Job
corrects her.
Notice in
verse 10,
he says,
you speak as
one of the
foolish women
speak.
What did he
not say?
You are a
foolish woman.
He doesn't
say that.
He says,
you're speaking
like the
foolish woman.
This isn't
you.
You know
better.
What are you
doing?
Well,
she had a
moment of
weakness.
She succumbed
to a Satan
inspired message.
And I say
Satan inspired
because the
word of God
to Satan
was,
have you
noticed he
hangs on to
his integrity?
And then the
words that are
repeated back.
Why do you
hold on to
your integrity?
And then
Satan's
accusation,
well,
he will curse
you to your
face and
then Job's
wife curse
God and die.
Can we
appreciate that
she experienced
the same
suffering?
The loss of
property,
the loss of
friendships,
the loss of
dignity in the
community.
And now
what seemed
to eclipse
it,
especially for
people of
compassion,
is to now
look on
somebody who's
in great
pain and
your heart
breaks for
them.
And it's
like,
I cannot
bear this
anymore.
I can't
do it
anymore.
Just end
it now,
Job.
Get it
over with.
That's what I
think is
happening.
And I say
that, by the
way, because
at the end
of the book,
this is a
spoiler alert,
at the end
of the book,
Job's wife
is restored
along with
Job.
Her family
restored.
Her property,
her dignity,
her standing
in the
community.
All of that
is restored
to her
too.
So,
it's a
reminder,
it's a
reminder to
us not to
get too
arrogant.
Look at
his wife
and say,
what a
messenger of
Satan.
Well, she
was, but
every single
one of us
in this
room have
been there.
You have
been a
messenger of
Satan too.
And we're
going to
learn about
that more
in a couple
of weeks.
Okay.
A moment
of silence.
That's where
we're going to
finish with.
Very quickly.
A moment
of silence.
This is
Job's
friends.
Now, when
Job's three
friends heard
of all the
evil that
had come
upon him,
they came
each from
his own
place.
Eliphaz,
the Temanite,
Bildad,
the Shuhite,
Zophar,
the Namathite.
By the way,
have you heard
the joke?
Here's the
shortest guy
in the
Bible.
Bildad,
the Shuhite.
He's only
the Shuhite.
They made
an appointment
together to
come to show
him sympathy
and comfort.
And when
they saw
him from
a distance,
they did
not recognize
him.
And they
raised their
voices and
wept.
They tore
their robes
and sprinkled
dust on their
heads towards
heaven.
They sat
with him
on the
ground
seven days
and seven
nights,
and no
one spoke
a word
to him,
for they
saw that
his suffering
was very
great.
This was
the very
best they
could ever
do.
This is
the best
they will
ever be
in this
book,
by the
way.
What's
significant
is we
don't know
exactly where
they're from,
but it's
likely they
were from
Edom,
which was
just to
the west
of Uz.
And it's
significant
because Edom
was known
as a,
is renowned
for its
wisdom.
And so here
are the
aged,
here are
the wise,
they're coming
to bring
wisdom and
comfort.
They've
arranged a
time in
the schedule
to come
and to
meet with
Job.
And make
this appointment.
And then
they round
the corner
and they
see Job
in the
worst place
he could
possibly be
with open
wounds,
sitting on
the ashes,
scraping himself
with a piece
of pottery.
And they
lose it.
They're so
broken over
the scene.
They can't
even recognize
their friend.
Face swollen,
sores oozing,
blackened skin,
this emaciated
form.
who is
this guy?
What tragedy
has befallen
him?
And the
wisest thing
that they do
is keep
their mouth
shut.
And we're
going to
learn about
this more
in a couple
of weeks.
But when
God does
not speak,
be quiet.
The silence
of God
should be a
clue to us
that we also
must be silent.
God
and sometimes
the best thing
that we could
possibly do
is sit
and cry
and pray
and just
be a friend
that's there.
I tried to
find this story
and just bear
with me.
I'm just going
to retell it.
I was reading
in a book
and it was
interesting.
The author of
this book
talked about
a tragedy
that he
experienced
where his
wife had
died because
of an
illness and
he was so
broken and
troubled and
grieving.
And he gets
this call from
a friend and
he answers the
call and the
friend just
says,
listen,
I'm in town,
I'm staying
at the hotel,
I just want
you to know
I'm here
and if you
need me,
you know
where to
find me.
I would love
to come over,
I would love
to listen to
what you're
going through,
I want to
pray with you,
I want to
put my arm
around you
and give you
a hug,
but I'm just
here to be
for you.
If you don't
need me,
I'll just turn
around and go
back home
the end of
this week
and it'll
be fine.
I wonder
if we can
learn a
lesson from
his friends
here and
learning the
example of
quietness when
God has not
spoken,
learning to be
quiet and
learning the
significance of
just keeping our
mouth shut and
maybe praying for
this individual,
putting your arm
around them,
crying with
them,
tossing up some
dust to the
heavens,
whatever the
expression of
grief is,
join them in
that process
and just be a
listening,
tender,
sympathetic
ear.
Let me pray
for us.
I'm going to
let you watch
a quick testimony
video.
We're going to
do a baptism
and then I
will dismiss
you.
All right?
Father, thank
you for the
example of
Job.
Thank you for
his enduring
heart that was
full of
integrity.
God, I
pray that you
would help
us as men,
as fathers,
as single
guys, young
and old,
wherever we
might fit into
the continuum.
I pray that you
would help us,
Lord, to be the
kinds of men
that you take
notice of because
we're filled up
with the spirit.
We're strengthened
by your word.
We're moving in
the right direction
because we're
following the
scriptures.
May that be
the expression of
our life and
may, God, we
use that to
encourage and
strengthen the
people around us.
We pray in
Jesus' name.
Amen.
Thank you.