Thrust statement: When tragedy strikes the true worshiper can still say, “God is good.”

Scripture reading: Job 2:1-10

            Is Job righteous only because it pays?  Are you serving God because you think you will prosper financially?  Are you zealous for God because you believe your obedience will preserve you from illness? Are you wholehearted for God because of His love for you? Are you enthusiastic for God because of your love for Him?  If you should lose your job tomorrow, would you still praise God?  If you should lose your wife or husband in death, would you still serve Him?  If your husband or wife should divorce you, would you still devote your life to God? If you should develop some dreadful disease, would you still promote the gospel of peace?  Can anyone or anything separate you from the God of heaven?  These are questions that everyone must deal with in his/her relationship with the Father of Lights.

JOB: FACT OR FICTION

            This message centers on Job and his reaction to the horrors in his life. Is the book of Job genuine or fiction? It is not uncommon for individuals to deny that Job actually lived.  For example, Elizabeth Achtemeier wrote: “Once upon a time, . . .and it is clear that the story is meant to be just that—a story, a popular tale, rather than an historical account.  We are reading a make-believe story.”[1]  In spite of Achtemeier’s scholarship, there is no indication from the book that it is a work of fiction.  The author of the Book of Job did not write as if the book is fiction.  For the author of this book, Job lived in a particular geographical location and had sons and daughters.  He writes:

 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East (Job 1:1-3). [2]

            The author of Job leaves the impression that Job was a historical person living in the land of Uz.  Job probably lived about 2000 BCE.[3]  This is approximately the same time frame as Abraham’s age (2166 BCE)[4] When God called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldeans (Genesis 11:31), God already had a people of His own that were serving Him.  In fact, Moses records that after Abraham rescued Lot from his captors (Genesis 14:1-17), “Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, ‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.’ Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything” (14:18).  The generation of Abraham was approximately 700 years before Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt (1406 BCE). 

Another factor that gives credence to the story of Job as a historical person was his encounter with the Chaldeans.  Not only does one become acquainted with the Chaldeans through Abraham who left Ur of the Chaldeans, but one also bumps into the Chaldeans in the Book of Job.  This book (Job) relates the story of a messenger (servant of Job) who barely escaped being slaughtered by the Chaldeans: “While he was still speaking (an earlier messenger), another messenger came and said, ‘The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!’” (Job 1:17). 

Job was no more a fictitious person than Noah, Abraham, or Melchizedek.  Just as Abraham and Melchizedek had a relationship with God, so also Job and his friends who came to give him comfort experienced a bond with the creator of the heavens and the earth. Yes, not only was Job a faithful child of God, but his three friends (Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Namathite) were also acquainted with God (2:11-13).  Job was a man that was “blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil” (1:1).   The author of Job informs his readers that Job “was the greatest man among all the people of the East” (1:3).

As noted above, this book says that Job had ten children—seven sons and three daughters—and that he lived in the land of Uz (1:1-2).  Job was just as real as Noah, Daniel, and Abraham.  God spoke to Ezekiel (593 BCE) over 1400 years after the time of Job as a real person.  For example, God in speaking of the utter destruction of Jerusalem says, “as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, even if Noah, Daniel and Job were in it, they could save neither son nor daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness” (Ezekiel 14:20).  In this same chapter, God earlier spoke of judgment as inescapable concerning Jerusalem for its rebellion against God.  But in speaking of this judgment, God called forth the names of Noah, Daniel,[5] and Job:

The word of the LORD came to me:  “Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful and I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its food supply and send famine upon it and kill its men and their animals, even if these three men—Noah, Daniel and Job—were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign LORD (Ezekiel 14:12-14).

            Twice in the book of Ezekiel, God mentions Job’s name.  Job is a historical person who walked with God.  Even James, our Lord’s brother and son of Mary, calls upon Job as an example of perseverance in the face of suffering.  James speaks of Job as a real person, not a fictitious character.  In fact, he calls attention to the blessings God bestowed upon him following his firmness in the face of adversity.  Listen to James as he summons Job as a case in point of how to deal with calamity in one’s life.

Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!  Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy (James 5:7-11).

Job: Blameless and Upright

            As one turns his/her attention to the sufferings of Job, one stands in amazement since one knows about Job’s faithfulness to God.  The Scripture says that Job was “blameless and upright” (Job 1:1).  Are you blameless and upright before God?  Just what does it mean to you to be blameless and upright?  Perhaps, the rest of this verse tells the answer: “he feared God and shunned evil.”  It is in this same vein that Solomon once said: “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).  Not only was Job concerned about himself, but he also was apprehensive about his ten children in their relationship to God.  His children often got together to eat and drink.  Their behavior was of such an alarm to Job that he would send for his children and have them purified (Job 1:5).  How did Job accomplish this feat?  Listen to the rest of the story: “Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, ‘Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.’ This was Job’s regular custom” (1:5).

            How disturbed are you about unrighteousness?  Are you troubled about your spouse, your children, and your neighbors? Do you pray for them? Have you shared Jesus with them? Do they see God in your life?  Do you fear God and shun evil?  Well, Job did just that.  He was upright because he turned away from evil and exercised right conduct in his walk with God.  Almost two thousand years after Job, God called Paul as an apostle to the Gentiles.  In his ministry, Paul also called upon individuals to

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.  Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.  Therefore do not be partners with them (Ephesians 5:1-7).

Job: His Dilemma and Faithfulness

            As you reflect upon Job’s faithfulness, do you come away with disbelief that God would allow suffering to fall upon a man that is “blameless and upright”?  Does faithfulness to God secure freedom from suffering or abundant wealth?  Man’s reaction to calamity in one’s life is often associated with sin.  John, one of the chosen twelve, recounts an incident that divulged this mindset: “As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life’” (John 9:1-3).

            The reader of Job is able to see things that Job could not see.  The person who reads is allowed to catch sight of what is going on behind the scenes.  He/she can hear the conversation(s) between God and Satan.  Glancing at the prologue is like reading someone else’s mail.  The narrator enters the inner sanctum:

 One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them.  The LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.” Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”  “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied.   “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”  The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger” (Job 1:6-12).

One observes in this scene that Satan goes about the earth and accuses human beings before God.  In this particular case, he accuses Job of serving God because of his blessings from God.  Take away his good fortune and he will not serve God, so Satan asserted.  Is this the picture that Peter seeks to convey when he writes: “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings” (1 Peter 5:8-9).  How do you react to adverse circumstances in life?  Is God still with you in spite of unfavorable circumstances in your spiritual journey?  Serving God does not exempt one from misfortune.  Pay attention to Paul as he enumerates to the Corinthians his sufferings:

Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying.  In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands (2 Corinthians 11:23-32).

Would you praise God if you had to go through this kind of treatment?  Or do you only praise God when things are going your way?  Reflecting again on Job’s dilemma, one should again call to mind the unspeakable horrors of Job’s life.  The narrator captures the details in very concise language:

One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”  (Job: 1:13-19).

Job: Skin for Skin

God allows the Adversary to destroy in a day all of Job’s possessions and children.  In all of this misery, Job never lost his faith in God’s kindness.  He did not haul God over the coals, but rather worshipped God:

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship   and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”  In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing (Job 1:20-22).

This was just the beginning of Job’s suffering; the worst was yet to come.  Job did not bend, Job did not bow, but he remained faithful to God.  At this point the Adversary approached God with another proposition.  This “skin for skin” brings us to the original text (2:1-10).  The Lord enters into another conversation about His servant Job: “Then the LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason’”  (Job 2:3). In spite of Job’s loss, still he did not lose his integrity.  But Satan thinks that he can still bring about Job’s fall.  Satan schemes another plot: ‘“Skin for skin!’ Satan replied. ‘A man will give all he has for his own life. But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face”’ (2:4).

God allowed Satan to touch the body of Job.  Job was afflicted with “painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head” (2:7).  His wife also questioned him as to his hold on his integrity (2:9); she wanted him to “Curse God and die!” (2:9).  But Job did not waver in his concept of God’s righteousness.  Job responded to his wife by saying, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (2:10).  Why do you worship and obey God?  Is it for material blessings?  Or is it because God is God?  Do you worship God in grateful response to all of the spiritual blessings He has extended to you and to all those who put their trust in Jesus as Lord?  When trouble comes, do you say, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” 

CONCLUSION

Job walked with God; Job had friendship with God.  Christians today also have friendship with God through Jesus Christ.  This friendship also comes through immersing himself/herself in God’s written revelation and communing with Him in prayer.  God is to be loved for Himself beyond all payback that one might gain.  When disaster strikes, as it struck Job, one can still say, “God is good.”  Job knew a fellowship with God that outlasted all his misery.  Do you know a fellowship with God that can outlast all your struggles? Do you cling to the fellowship of God in the face of uncertainty and deprivation and disgrace and dreadful conditions and death?

Again, I ask the following questions: Is Job righteous only because it pays?  Are you serving God because you think you will prosper financially?  Are you zealous for God because you believe your obedience will preserve you from illness? Are you wholehearted for God because of His love for you? Are you enthusiastic for God because of your love for Him? 

Remember, Christians worship a God who is love—a love manifested in His Son who took all our suffering upon Himself.  God does care!  In the book of Job, God stooped down to speak to a man devastated and sitting in a city dump (Job 38—41).  It is this same God that “so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  God stooped down to save us through His Son.  Because of what God has done for mankind through His Son, then every Christian should encourage others to set Christ apart as Lord in their hearts and in their lives (1 Peter 3:15).  Have you set Christ apart as Lord in your heart?  Have you set Christ apart as Lord in your life?  One should never forget the words of Peter to the Christians “scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood” (1 Peter 1:1-2):

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen (1 Peter 5:8-11).

 

 

 

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