God reveals Himself in suffering

We are into our last sermon on Job.

We've done three weeks of it so far.

And you've probably discovered much about Job's life,

which aligns with your own in terms of suffering.

Also discovered there another link between me and Job

and that he had three, the most beautiful daughters in all the land.

And so I'm happy to claim that one as well.

Well, it's been a great journey for three weeks.

We've been growing in wisdom as we have journeyed with Job,

particularly in the face of suffering.

It has helped us see the pathway to wisdom

when the world is not as we would want it to be.

I said right at the beginning of this series

that wisdom is knowing how to live well in God's world.

It's knowing how to live well in every situation.

And last week we turned in Job 28

and discovered the nature of wisdom,

of what it means to live well in God's world.

And it said there right at the end,

the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

The fear of the Lord is not a psychological

or an emotional response to God.

It is in fact a total commitment to God

within the boundaries of the relationship

that he has set up between us and him

through the Lord Jesus Christ.

That is what it means to fear the Lord.

It's a total commitment to the God

who has established relationship with us

through the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so I would suggest to you

that to treasure Jesus,

as our mission statement says,

is in fact the wise life.

That is wisdom.

To treasure Jesus is wisdom.

Because wisdom is not knowledge,

it is relational.

We will see that the wise life

is demonstrated in these final chapters of Job.

Job 28 · chapter mention

Chapter 28,

which is where Sam was with us last week,

is part of the final protest

that Job makes against his three mates

and their cruel and naive reasoning

to why he is suffering.

Job's protest goes from chapters 26 to 31.

And in his protest,

he almost demands that God show up

so he can talk to God himself about his suffering.

And instead of God showing up,

we hear from a young man named Elihu

who appears in chapter 32

for the very first time

and he speaks all the way to chapter 37.

He's got a lot to say.

Elihu says that he has been listening for some time

to Job and his three friends,

dialoguing and arguing and backing

and toing and froing.

And he says that because he's younger,

he doesn't want to be disrespectful to his elders

and jump in.

But he soon forgets that and he jumps in.

Finally, in chapter 38,

after Elihu's gone on this long monologue,

God himself speaks.

And in chapter 38, verse 2,

he criticizes those who have spoken words

without knowledge.

And in one of the most remarkable descriptions

of his work of creation,

God paints a picture

of his unique and sovereign power.

In these chapters,

he considers the many things he has made

from the sea to the stars,

from the ostriches to the oxen.

And then at the beginning of chapter 40,

God speaks to Job directly.

Will the one who contends with the Almighty

correct him?

Let the one who accuses God answer him.

In other words,

who are you to question me?

Did you put the stars in their place?

Did you create the oxen?

And Job's response to that is very simple.

Have a look there in chapter 40,

verses 4 and 5.

I am unworthy.

How can I reply to you?

I put my hand over my mouth.

I spoke once,

but I have no answer twice.

But I will say no more.

God replies to him in verse 8,

Would you discredit my justice?

This is the very thing

that Job's been crying out for

the whole way through the book.

Would you discredit my justice?

Would you condemn me

to justifying yourself?

Do you have an arm like God's?

And can your voice thunder like his?

Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor

and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.

Unleash the fury of your wrath.

In the remainder of chapters 40 and 41,

God continues to instruct Job

and the others about who he is.

Have a look there in chapter 41,

verses 10 and 11.

This is sort of the summary of it.

Who then is able to stand against me?

Who has a claim against me

that I must pay?

Everything under heaven belongs to me.

You see what he's saying?

I am the owner of it all

and I am no man's debtor.

I don't owe anyone anything.

And at the beginning of chapter 42,

very last chapter,

we have Job's response

to God's mighty self-revelation.

And notice there at the beginning of chapter 42,

Job doesn't say,

Oh, now I understand.

Oh, now I get it.

Now all the questions have been answered

and I get the big picture now.

Verse 2,

I know that you can do all things

and no plan of yours can be thwarted.

You see, Job is finally assured

that God's power and justice are in fact established

across all of the creation.

Even though his specific questions of why

have not been addressed by God,

he is content with what he has heard

from the mouth of God.

His contentment is revealed

as he summarizes God's argument

and throws it back at God.

In verse 3,

You asked,

Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge

and without even trying to justify himself at all?

Job responds in the second half of verse 3

See what he's saying there?

Even if you answered my questions,

you are so great,

I would not understand the answers.

Even if you told me the reason,

I couldn't comprehend it.

And his contentment comes from who God is,

not from God's explanation of himself.

Now there is no doubt

that God's reply to Job's questioning

is powerful and it is overwhelming.

But,

it is not destructive.

There has been a massive self-disclosure by God

and as a result of God's revelation,

Job now sees

that human events are part of a cosmic whole.

Job now sees the intimate connection

between God and his world.

He has a new appreciation of the scope

and the harmony of God's creation,

of which he is but just a teeny, teeny part.

The world is both beautiful and terrifying

and God is in it everywhere,

seen to be powerful and wise.

He now sees God's careful

and detailed superintendence of his world.

And so all mechanical views of God

and his power and his sovereignty

have been pushed aside by Job.

God's sovereignty is not something to be argued about

and theologized about.

It is the very basis of his survival.

Job now knows God differently.

You see it there in verse 5

of chapter 42.

You see Job here contrasts his presence,

seeing of God

with what he had only heard of God in the past.

There is a greater knowledge

and intimacy with God.

Do you remember what Job's hope was back in...

I know it's a long way to think back.

Back into chapter 19.

Job's hope back in chapter 19 was this.

Let me read it to you.

He says,

His heart was burning to see God.

And here in chapter 42,

he says,

Now I have seen God.

His desire to see God

is partly fulfilled here in chapter 42.

You see, he longs to see God in the flesh

and he will through his Redeemer.

His Redeemer means that

when his flesh rots,

when he dies

and his Redeemer brings him into the presence of God,

he will see God physically.

But right now he says

that he has seen God

through God's self-revelation

by his word.

God has spoken to Job

and he has seen God

in his word.

Job has been overwhelmed

by the gracious presence of God

through his word

and what he has revealed about himself

and his purposes.

Ironically,

now that God has revealed himself to Job

and that God has made himself known,

he is much more mysterious to Job now

than what he was before.

much more mysterious

than when he was dimly discerned

and theologized about.

It's interesting,

when I first became a Christian

and, you know,

I knew the gospel

because I knew two ways to live

and I figured that was

kind of all that you need to know.

And so when I read passages

about the mystery of Christ,

I used to think,

what mystery?

I know Christ,

I know what he's done,

there's no mystery there.

And 18 years later,

there is a whole lot more mystery there

as God has slowly

and gradually revealed himself

through his word to me.

There's a lot more mystery now

than what there used to be.

Job has received

a great revelation of God

and he is delighted to see God.

But,

he is also ashamed.

He has seen the magnificence of God

and so he bows in humility

in verse 6.

Therefore,

I despise myself

and I repent

in dust and ashes.

That verse,

right there,

that is the wise life.

He's finally arrived at wisdom.

Job has grown in wisdom.

He has grown in wisdom

because he has grown

in relationship with God.

He sees God for who he is

and with that now,

he understands himself

and so,

the response is

repentance.

That's wisdom.

He, in fact,

treasures God

more than the answers

that God will give him.

Now,

let's not get confused here.

Job's three mates

weren't right after all.

Job is not now

finally admitting

to a life of hidden sin

that resulted in his suffering.

What he is repenting of

is the demanding

that God give him

a thorough answer

to the reason

for his suffering.

It was a fault

to be corrected,

not a sin

that need punishing

because Job

doesn't actually

confess any sin here.

A better way

to understand it

is instead of

Job repented,

a better use

is Job

relented

is, in fact,

a better translation

of the word.

It's like

I'm at a bakery, right?

I'm there to buy

some bread

and in the corner

of my eye

I see an apple slice

and it's $3

and I get a glint

in my eye

and I start justifying

the fact it's $3,

that's a good deal

and it's only one slice,

it can't hurt you.

I mean,

it's apple after all,

we're meant to eat fruit.

But there's a lot

of sugar in it as well

and that's not good

for a diabetic.

But surely it's balanced out

by the goodness

of the apple.

And then I think,

no, stop,

enough.

I'm not going to get it.

I relent

of the course of action

I was heading towards.

I hadn't done

anything wrong

up until that point.

But I was edging

towards a decision

that would have been

bad for me

and it's that kind

of idea

when it talks

about Job

repenting.

Job relented,

if you like.

He realized

that he was walking

down a path

that would have led

him to conclude

that God

has done wrong.

But what Job

has realized

is that he's dealing

with a God

who speaks

about planets

and stars

like they are

decorations

on a Christmas tree

to be arranged

and played

with

at his will.

Job has finally

seen God

for who he is

and he's saying,

he's not saying here,

I haven't been

beaten into submission.

I have just

finally realized

who it is

that I'm dealing

with.

And Job

finally finds

comfort.

It's as if

the contentment

which has eluded

him for so long

has been found

in submitting

himself to

this God.

Job has found

peace with God

and it's through

humble submission

to God.

and that's

wisdom.

That's wisdom.

And Job's mates

are about to

grow in wisdom

too.

Have a look

there in verse

7.

After the Lord

had said these

things to Job,

he said to Eliphaz,

I am angry

with you

and your two

friends because

you have not

spoken to me

what is right

as my servant

Job has.

So now

take seven

bulls and seven

rams and go

to my servant

Job and

sacrifice a

burnt offering

for yourselves.

My servant

Job will pray

for you and

I will accept

his prayer and

not deal with

you according

to your folly.

You have not

spoken of me

what is right

as my servant

Job has.

So Eliphaz,

Bildad and

Zophar did

what the Lord

told them

and the Lord

accepted Job's

prayer.

You see

right through

this book

from chapter

three onwards

Job's longing

was for his

day in court

so that he

would be

vindicated

and in those

verses Job's

vindicated.

It's finally

come.

In verse

eight we see

that God

still regards

him as he

did back in

chapter one

and two.

He calls him

here my

servant.

verse seven

has God

saying that

it is Job

who has in

fact spoken

right of

him.

No matter

how foolish

he may have

said it,

Job was

looking for

a God

big enough

to comprehend

his suffering

experience.

And on the

other hand,

however eloquently

they have

spoken,

his friends

were upholding

a God

small enough

to conform

it to their

minds.

And there

is one

very subtle

but very

big difference

between Job

and his

friends.

Get this.

His mates

were always

talking about

God.

But Job

in talking

about God

keeps turning

to God.

God

is

the

difference

between

theologizing

and

relationship.

God's

assessment

is that

they had

not spoken

what is

right about

him.

And my

friends,

let's be

very clear

about that,

that statement

right there

ought to

come crashing

down on us

right now.

Right now.

As we are

gathered in

the middle

of corporate

worship,

right now,

in the

last 55

minutes,

we have

spoken of

God and

to God

in corporate

worship and

how easily

we babble

stuff about

God without

giving any

thought to the

fact that our

words will be

weighed by

God.

God

is

weighed by

God.

And what is

weighed is not

just the

correctness of

what we say

and what we

sing and

what we

pray.

speaking of

God demands

great care of

us so that

we do not

distort,

trivialize,

or pervert

what is

true about

the God

who will

weigh our

words.

His

mates were

wrong about

God with

their simplistic

tit-for-tat

merit theology.

theology.

They have

not allowed

for the

mystery and

the majesty

of God

and crucially

their tit-for-tat

view of God

leaves no

room for a

forgiving,

gracious,

and merciful

God.

That's the

thing that gets

dropped out

in their

theology,

the grace

of God.

The roles

are now

reversed as

Joe's

vindication

goes public

in the

course of

their speeches.

Not one of

Joe's mates

ever hinted

that they

might be

the object

of God's

anger and

in need of

his grace.

And it is a

delightful

irony that

they now

need grace

from the

God who

in their

theologizing

was not

big enough

to be

gracious to

the wicked.

And it is a

further

delightful

irony that

grace must

be mediated

by the

very one

that they

had treated

as in

such need

of their

spiritual

resources.

And so

here is

Job's final

trial in

the book.

This is

Job's final

trial of

wisdom,

his last

test.

Will he

lay down

the weapons

of revenge

and accept

the terms

of God's

treaty and

extend forgiveness

and fellowship

to his three

friends in

the way that

God has?

Will he

say,

you got

what you

deserved?

And play

into their

tit-for-tat

theology?

And reveal

that he's

learned nothing?

Or will

he find

his vindication

in God

and humbly

intervene for

his friends

who have

treated him

so badly?

There's a

whole lot of

application just

there.

We see at

the end of

verse 9 that

Job has in

fact grown in

wisdom.

The Lord

accepted Job's

prayer.

The drama

ends with

the massive

restoration of

Job.

His wealth

is restored.

He is given

a new family

and all the

old honour

which is

held previously

is restored.

And in fact,

everything is

increased dramatically

for Job.

Don't you just

love the

happy ending

of Job?

It's like a

Hollywood ending

except for those

movies like

Arlington Road

which don't have

the Hollywood

ending where

the bad guys

win and the

good guys

don't.

You go,

oh that's

bad.

It makes

you feel

awful.

But don't

you think

there's something

really strange

about the

way this

book ends?

The ending

of Job is

frustrating,

happy and

confusing all

at the same

time.

It is

frustrating

because there

are so many

loose ends

that need to

be cleared

up.

You see,

Job's three

mates get put

in their

place but what

about the

young punk

Elihu?

Nothing's

ever said of

him.

And what

about Satan?

He's such a

major player

there in the

first couple

of chapters,

he doesn't

even get a

mention at

the end.

None of

Job's questions

about suffering

ever get

answered and

let's be honest,

they're the

sort of

questions that

we have and

want answers

to.

But it is

also a happy

ending because

things work

out the way

we want them

to work

out.

You see it

there in

verse 12,

the Lord

blessed the

latter part of

Job's life

more than

the first.

Family,

wealth,

health,

they're all

back and

the last

sentence leaves

us with a

feeling of

just completeness

of life and

so he died

old and full

of years.

happiness.

But the

happiness of

the ending

contributes to

the confusion.

Up until

now the

book has

been saying

that Job's

mates are

wrong because

their life is

so neat,

their theology

is so neat,

innocent

suffering can

happen and

good people

don't necessarily

have good

things happen

to them.

And yet all

of a sudden,

here at the

end of the

book, Job

repents or

he relents

and good

things happen

to him

again.

So were

Job's

friends right?

Job has

been vindicated

by God and

now we see

God doing

good things for

a good person.

I mean,

come on!

God

and so

with the

end of the

book,

we are

left with

the same

confusion

that we

had at

the beginning

and such

is the

experience of

life.

It is the

mysterious

aspect of

life that

takes us

right to

the heart

of what

the whole

book of

this Job

is about

and so

what we

need to

do as

a final

point,

we need

to see

the end

of the

book of

Job in

light of

it all,

the whole

lot.

What was

Job's

major issue

in the

book?

It wasn't

so much

tell me

why I'm

suffering,

his major

issue,

give me my

day in

court that I

might be

vindicated.

my integrity

is at stake.

That's his

issue.

And one

of the

points that

we find

here at

Job is

it's finally

brought to

bear,

in the

end the

people of

God are

vindicated.

God is

a just

God.

Life has

purpose and

meaning,

life is not

random,

God is a

merciful God

and he

does not

ask his

people to

suffer without

vindication.

He doesn't

call us

into self

denial and

sacrifice

without the

promise of

heaven.

Evil might

be mysterious

right now

but the

point of the

end of Job

is that it

won't be

triumphant

in the

end.

Evil

won't be

triumphant.

Christians are

not spiritual

masochists who

find pleasure

and fulfilment

in suffering.

If there is

any delight in

suffering,

it is that we

delight in

following the

Lord Jesus

who suffered.

Even the

Lord Jesus

did not

delight in

suffering.

Hebrews 12

tells us that

the pioneer

and the

perfecter of

our faith

was the

one who

for the

joy set

before him

endured the

cross scorning

its shame

and sat down

at the right

hand of the

throne of God.

The joy that

was before him

was the

presence of

his father

in heaven

and that

is why he

endured the

suffering of

the cross.

Suffering was

not the

end and

the end of

Job confirms

that suffering

will not be

the end.

Justification and

vindication and

restoration will

come and it

will be better

than before.

It will be

final.

It will be

complete.

It will be

eternal.

The end of

Job does not

promise that

it will

happen now

but it

does confirm

the character

of a good

and compassionate

and merciful

God

who will

restore

all things.

James 5

tells us

what the

stance of

the Christian

should be

while we

wait for the

day of

vindication.

it is to

stand firm

in faith

in the

one who

has perfected

our faith.

Be patient

then brothers

and sisters

until the

Lord's coming.

See how the

farmer waits

for the land

to yield

his 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.

Both Job

and James

call us

to stand

firm in

Christ in

the face

of suffering

and one

of the

important

lessons here

is the

need for

us to

turn to

God in

the face

of suffering.

Don't just

theologize

about him

but to

turn to

him

turn to

his word

to seek

his face

to seek

his revelation

of himself

to cry

out to

him in

tears

until you

are able

to say

we Job

I see

him

I see

him

oh that

we might

see him

until we

see him.

May the

Lord grant

us grace

to learn

that while

his ways

may not

be our

ways and

his thoughts

may not

be our

thoughts

yet they

are the

wisest of

all and

his ways

are full

of mercy.

So stand

firm

persevere

be patient

until the

Lord comes.

Job

affirms

that in

the confusion

and the

uncertainty

of life

and the

pain

and the

tears

the Lord

is in

fact

good

and to

live well

is to

fear him

because the

Lord is

full of

compassion

and mercy.

Let's

pray.

Father who

am I to

say these

things about

you?

Father we

pray that

we would

cling to

you in

the moments

of trial

we pray

Father that

you would

rescue us

if we are

trivialising

you

perverting

you

and what

you have

revealed about

yourself

Lord we

pray that

you would

rescue us

from babbling

and theologising

about you

we pray that

we might be

a church that

speaks true

things about

you

that we

might humbly

submit to

you

that we

might treasure

you

that we

might turn

to you

Father we

pray that

you would

grow us

in wisdom

that we

might fear

you the

Lord of

compassion and

mercy and we

ask it for

your glory

Amen