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!
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