Sunday School Lesson for February 27, 2022 - Job and the Just God: Printed Text: Job 42:1-6, 10-17 NLT; Background Scripture: Job 42 NLT Devotional Reading: Job 42:1-11 NLT

 

Unit 3: Justice and Adversity

Key Verse:

Job 42:3b-c NLT

 

3b-c It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about,

    things far too wonderful for me.

 

 

We come to the table with trust issues.

 

“Lord,

 

Help us!”

 

 

 

What you need to know

 

 

Romans 12:2 ESV

 

2 Do not be conformed to this world,[c] but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.[d]

 

. Through testing comes enlightenment, then humility and trust…

 

 

Job 38:1-2 NLT

 

1 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind: 

2 “Who is this that questions my wisdom

    with such ignorant words?...”

After a lengthy narrative that engendered so many unanswerable questions, God shows up. He shows up to focus our minds and to settle our hearts. It’s what He did for Job. Through the Book of Job, it’s what He’s done for us.

 

Amen.

 

 

Prelude

Job 40:1-2 NLT

1 Then the Lord said to Job,

2  “Do you still want to argue with the Almighty?

    You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?”

Ouch! Is that a winnable argument on any level? Is that a rhetorical question? When God asks a question of you, doesn’t he already know the answer? What does it say about Job, that God is questioning him in this manner? Would you trade places with Job? Have you ever been in Job’s seat before God? For the last few moments Job has been listening as God has upbraided Him. From within a whirlwind, no less? Job’s proverbial goose could be cooked. 

On a more serious note, aren’t you glad God doesn’t deal with us according to what we deserve? Aren’t you glad God gave us the Holy Ghost to indwell us in this Church age? Are you sensitive to the Holy Ghost’s leading and gentle correction? As we close the book on Job, are we guilty of a level of judgementalism that would have landed us in Job’s very predicament? Are we better than Job? Paul framed it thusly:

1 Corinthians 4:7 NLT

7 For what gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?

I’m just saying….

The Lesson

Job 42:1-2 NLT

1 Then Job replied to the Lord:

2 “I know that you can do anything,

    and no one can stop you.

 

Job is now beginning to understand the position he is in. We serve God… as in… God…. God, who created the heavens and the earth. This is no small matter. His response in verse two is…at last… the appropriate one. His response is one that acknowledges the preeminence and sovereignty of God Almighty. “God, You can do anything.” “Anything!”. Nothing is outside of the purview of God, not even Hell. There is nothing He does not know, nor is there anything He cannot find out. He is God. 

 

 

Job 42:3 NLT

 

3 You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’

    It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about,

    things far too wonderful for me.

And suddenly, it dawns on Job, that he is not…God. He has presumed too much. He has presumed out of ignorance. He has presumed because of pride. There’s something about looking into the face of eternity that puts everything into perspective. How must have the first astronauts on the moon have felt as they looked back at earth? How small they must have then felt as they turned and looked into the expanse of outer space and realized how tenuous their hold on life must have been as they contemplated the long journey back to earth. Looking into the whirlwind, Job must have come to the stark realization that the very next few moments could be his last.

Job 42:4 NLT

4 You said, ‘Listen and I will speak!

    I have some questions for you,

    and you must answer them.’

And now God, Very God commands Job’s full, undivided attention. And what does God demand of Job? That he listen. Stop talking and…listen. Stop guessing and…listen. Before all else, listen. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

God then tells Job that after hearing, an exam will follow. Job must answer God and ultimately he must answer to God. These are the moments that make us most uncomfortable. The moments where God puts us under the looking glass and forces us to examine ourselves. It is in this light that we understand our true standing before God; that we rely on him for every morsel of our existence. Much like a caring Physician, God shows us the problem, then He explains to us the solution. Beloved, that’s what Love looks like. God is Love personified. In His great love for Job, He speaks to Job in love and He exposes Job… to Job.

Job 42:5 NLT

5 I had only heard about you before,

    but now I have seen you with my own eyes.

Imagine. Job attained a special place in God’s heart and received blessing and favour from God, having only heard about Him. But now, in God’s presence, Job is experiencing God on an entirely different level. He will come away from this experience with an entirely new perspective. God is Faithful. His name is Faithful. Job knows this now. He knows it from the innermost part of his being. From now on, he won’t waver in his confidence in the…Master.

Job 42:6 NLT

6 I take back everything I said,

    and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”

Full repentance involves putting everything on the table. No hedges. No reservations. Full repentance means just that, “I repent!”, “I’m willing to accept the consequences of my actions.”, “I place myself at your mercy!” Having seen himself under God’s spotlight, Job surrenders. That’s what repentance is: full surrender. “Lord, save me!”  Job repented before God and made every effort to demonstrate to God that he was fully repentant.

Job 42:7-9 NLT

7 After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has. 8 So take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer on your behalf. I will not treat you as you deserve, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has.” 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite did as the Lord commanded them, and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.

(verses seven through nine are included so as to shed light on a significant event involving the restoration of Job and three of his friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar.)

I won’t spend a lot of time here, as this passage is not a part of the original lesson. I would like to point out the considerable offering that God required of Job’s three friends in order for them to return to a place of right standing with Job and with God. Seven (adult) bulls and seven (adult) rams are a substantial offering. Why did God require such a sizable burnt offering? Beloved, I believe it is because God sees friendship as covenant relationship. Focus…

Psalm 133:1-2 NLT

1 How wonderful and pleasant it is

    when brothers live together in harmony!

2 For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil

    that was poured over Aaron’s head,

    that ran down his beard

    and onto the border of his robe.

Proverbs 17:17 NLT

17 A friend is always loyal,

    and a brother is born to help in time of need.

Beloved, there are four Greek words for love used in the Bible:

Philia - Brotherly love

Eros - Erotic or Romantic love

Storge - Familial love (father, mother, sister, brother, family)

Agape - Unconditional, selfless love. The God kind of love

All four of these kinds of love are representative of covenant relationships. When Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar falsely accused Job, they broke covenant with Job. They broke covenant with Job, and ostensibly, with God. And, in fact, God required that they bring a substantial offering of seven adult bulls and seven adult rams as a burnt offering in order to repair the breach that occurred because of their broken fellowship with Job. God saw their accusations as betrayal. Restoration required sacrifice. Beloved, we see friendship, God sees covenant. How then ought we to regard one another before God as brothers and sisters in Christ?

Job 42:10 NLT

10 When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before!

And so we see that when relationship is restored, so then can an individual’s health and wealth be restored also. Job forgave his friends. Because he forgave, he could be restored. Beloved, forgiveness provides healing for your own soul. Dr. Martin Luther King once stated, “I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” Beloved, love, and forgiveness are hard sometimes, but they bear sweet fruit. Love. Forgive.

Job 42:11 NLT

11 Then all his brothers, sisters, and former friends came and feasted with him in his home. And they consoled him and comforted him because of all the trials the Lord had brought against him. And each of them brought him a gift of money[a] and a gold ring.

In fact, if we are paying attention we notice a pattern developing: Relationship, then blessing. Relationship, then blessing. Relationship before wealth. God restored relationships. Blessings followed. Job’s family (storge love) and friends (philia love) come to him to bring fellowship and healing and restoration, and then wealth.

Job 42:12 NLT

12 So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.

Listen Beloved, it was a test. Job 1:8 tells us so. Why? For Job’s benefit and for ours. What have we learned? God’s care and concern for us never wavers. We can take Job’s lesson here. We don’t have to relearn it. God loves us. Even when He disciplines us, He does so in love. In Job’s case, God restored everything that had been taken away from Job, including his health and his good name. Job had to start over, but see how God blessed the reboot. God is always good. Always.

Job 42:13-15 NLT

13 He also gave Job seven more sons and three more daughters. 14 He named his first daughter Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. 15 In all the land no women were as lovely as the daughters of Job. And their father put them into his will along with their brothers.

And God gave Job ten more children. Interestingly, his sons go unnamed, while his three daughters are identified by name. God wants to emphasize the stature that he has restored to Job’s name. So much so, that even his daughters were women of prominence.

Job 42:16-17 NLT

16 Job lived 140 years after that, living to see four generations of his children and grandchildren. 17 Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, full life.

To close, God blessed Job with long life. He lived to see four generations of his offspring: a full one hundred and forty years after his time of testing. Obviously, God was just as pleased with Job after his testing as He was before. All we know about Job is that he was blessed. Beloved, be reminded. God loves you. Just as He blessed Job (and his friends), He will bless us. We need never question His great love for us. He demonstrated that by sending Jesus to redeem us. Job’s Redeemer still has the power to redeem. Rejoice!

Selah,

wb

Job 19:25-27 NLT

25 “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,

    and he will stand upon the earth at last.

26 And after my body has decayed,

    yet in my body I will see God!

27 I will see him for myself.

    Yes, I will see him with my own eyes.

    I am overwhelmed at the thought!

Sunday School Lesson for February 20, 2022 - Bildad Misspeaks God’s Justice: Printed Text: Job 8:1-10, 20-22 NLT; Background Scripture: Job 8 NLT Devotional Reading: Job 8:1-10, 20-22 NLT

 

Unit 3: Justice and Adversity

Key Verse:

Job 8:1-2 NLT

 

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied to Job:

2 “How long will you go on like this?

    You sound like a blustering wind…”

 

 

What’s that saying? “With friends like these…”  Hang on tight. This will require a little blind faith…

 

 

 

What you need to know

 

 

Job 1:8 NLT

 

8 Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.”

 

 

. Only what God thinks of you matters…

 

 

The Lesson

Job 8:1 NLT

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:

All of the clues offer that Bildad was a descendant of Shuah, son of Abraham, from his second marriage to Keturah (after the death of Sarah) (Genesis 25:1-2). Certainly, he had the credentials to be a participant in this narrative. With such a great progenitor as Abraham, Bildad knew what blessing looked like. I am sure he could offer accurate analysis on just how someone should walk before the Lord in such a way that blessing and favor would rest upon them. Additionally, Bildad’s name means ‘Old friend’, thus implying that he and Job had covered a lot of life’s ground together. They shared common life experiences, rejoiced over common blessings, and, as we find in today’s lesson, mourned over common sorrow. With old friends, if one stubs his toe, they both feel the pain of it. Shared suffering accompanies ‘old friendships.

Job 8:2 NLT

2  “How long will you say these things,

    and the words of your mouth be a great wind?”

Job has just completed a long soliloquy bemoaning his sorry state. Additionally, Job reprimanded the first of his friends, Eliphaz, the Temanite for not being more supportive in his tone. It is here that Bildad breaks into the conversation, rebuking Job for his empty words and his complaints against friends who have just come to lament his situation.

Job 8:3 NLT

3 “Does God twist justice?

    Does the Almighty twist what is right?”

Then Bildad poses a question: “Does God twist (pervert) justice?” He repeats himself for emphasis, “Does the Almighty twist (pervert) what is right?” These are rhetorical questions meant to elicit an assumed response. Everybody knows... God is not the author of confusion. He is not the Father of lies. The Bible tells me that He is light and that there is no shadow of turning in Him. The beauty of Bildad’s statement is that this was what was known about God, even before Moses gave us the Pentateuch. God is just and He is the Father of justice. Right after this, Bildad veered off course…

Job 8:4 NLT

4  “Your children must have sinned against him,

    so their punishment was well deserved.”

“♫ He’s making a list. He’s checking it twice.♫ He’s going to find out who’s naughty or nice…”♫

Yes, we know the song. Sadly, most peoples image of God is distorted by the theology of Santa Claus. Like God, Santa is portrayed as a fatherly figure. Unlike God, Santa keeps a list. He judges people according to their works and not according to their faith. Listen, if God judged us solely on works, we would all be doomed. God is not only just, He is merciful.

Bildad upbraids Job according to His limited understanding of God’s mercy and grace. In his mind, there must be a reason that Job’s children were killed. They must have sinned. That’s the only answer available. According to Bildad, it must be so. And for those of you that will posit the example of Achan or others of God’s people who fell to God’s severe judgment, I would argue that all of those were within the dispensation of the law. Job, Bildad and friends all preceded the law. As such, they were covered by faith… faith in God. I could argue from the Book of Job, but that would be cheating. Bildad didn’t know what God knew. Neither did Job.

Job 8:5-6 NLT

5 “But if you pray to God

    and seek the favor of the Almighty,”

6 “and if you are pure and live with integrity,

    he will surely rise up and restore your happy home.”

Again, Bildad seems to be on point, however, do you notice his accusatory tone? “If you do such and such…”, as though Job was not doing these things. Wasn’t Bildad one of Job’s oldest friends? How could he so subtly question Job’s character? He, of all people, would know better.

I’ve been in Bildad’s seat before. I’ve been just as quick to accuse someone of sin. Some that I accused were politicians or dignitaries of some sort. Athletes, actors, entertainers, people in the news. We’re all professional critics when it comes to the rich and famous. We’re all entitled to our opinions, aren’t we?

But let’s make this more personal. Yes, I have been in Bildad’s seat. I’ve sat in judgment of friends in need of help, comfort, or solace. I came to offer support, but only if, with a full confession, they proved me, somehow, right. I’m there to help, but… how could they have let this happen? What were they thinking? It’s in these moments that I become an erstwhile prophet. Feeling led by the Spirit, I’m quick to offer ‘sage advice’, the words and wisdom’ gleaned from the very scriptures themselves. The old folks have a saying, “If you’re pointing a finger, remember that there are three pointing back at you.” IJS…

Job 8:7 NLT

7 “And though you started with little,

    you will end with much.”

Bildad continues on an encouraging note. Line up with God’s Word and He will bless you. This truth is revealed repeatedly throughout the Word of God. God promises blessing to those (of us) who profess their love for Him. But must blessings always be about wealth? Asking for some friends…

Job 8:8-10 NLT

8 “Just ask the previous generation.

    Pay attention to the experience of our ancestors.”

9 “For we were born but yesterday and know nothing.

    Our days on earth are as fleeting as a shadow.”

10 “But those who came before us will teach you.

    They will teach you the wisdom of old.”

Suddenly, Bildad makes a turn. Earlier in the dialogue, he has conducted himself as one who is an expert in the things of God. However, in verses eight through ten, Bildad calls on the wisdom of generations past. But what would those elders have told them? That they had made mistakes song the way, but God… The elders will tell you that no one is perfect. Interestingly, we remember how well the elders finished, but we forget how they struggled song the way,... like Job. Suddenly Bildad is not the expert, but he’s calling on the memories of elders' past for examples of God’s faithfulness.

Job 8:20-22 NLT

20 “But look, God will not reject a person of integrity,

    nor will he lend a hand to the wicked.”

21 “He will once again fill your mouth with laughter

    and your lips with shouts of joy.”

22 “Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,

    and the home of the wicked will be destroyed.”

The lesson skips to verse twenty and closes with the passage above. Bildad continues to stand on the Word of God that he knows. He continues to testify to the goodness of God. Importantly, as wrong as Bildad has been, he’s also been right. Can’t I extend mercy, grace, and understanding to him? Isn’t that the larger lesson of the Book of Job? Doesn’t Bildad deserve our forgiveness? We know Job is being tested. Aren’t his friends being tested as well?  Isn’t Bildad under God’s watchful, loving gaze? Aren’t we all deserving of God’s judgment? Aren’t we all thankful that He instead, extends to us grace and mercy? How can we call judgment laced with mercy perverse? We can’t. None of us get what we deserve. In that, God is just.

What then? The Book of Job is denoted as the oldest book in the Bible. As such, it offers the earliest lessons on the majesty, wisdom, and power of God. It tells of his great love for all of creation and, in doing so, it informs us that God’s justice must make room for all of creation. All things work together for the good of those who love the Lord, who are the called according to His purpose. ‘All things’ means all things. Our response must be to trust God in all things. 

How then, should I respond to those who reach out to me for help? Help them. Love them. Comfort them. Don’t compound their problem with my judgments, even if I think I’m right. Don’t assume. Just love them, sometimes, in spite of themselves. Don’t be Bildad. In fact, be thankful for the lessons learned from Bildad. Don’t make those same mistakes. Love covers a multitude of sin. Justice will be served. Within your metron, love like God loves.

Selah,

wb

Philippians 4:8 NKJV

8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 NKJV

11 Therefore [b]comfort each other and [c]edify one another, just as you also are doing.

Romans 12:14-16 NKJV

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.