From Bad to Worse

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,

Job 1:21

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.

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

Job 7 · chapter mention

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.

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.

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.

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.