Why?

Well, I had intended to speak this morning on the subject of government and how we as

Christians should relate to the government, but with the tragic events of last Sunday,

I felt drawn to a different book of the Bible for this Sunday's message.

I'd like to share with you this morning the story of a man named Job.

In the land of Uz, there lived a man whose name was Job.

This man was blameless and upright.

He feared God and shunned evil.

He had seven sons and three daughters.

And he owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 donkeys, and had a large number of servants.

He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.

His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified.

Early in the morning, he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking,

Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.

This was Job's regular custom.

One day, the angels came to present themselves before the Lord,

and Satan also came with them.

The Lord said to Satan,

Where have you come from?

Satan answered the Lord,

From roaming throughout the earth,

going back and forth on it.

Then the Lord said to Satan,

Have you considered my servant Job?

There is no one on earth like him.

He is blameless and upright,

a man who fears God and shuns evil.

Does Job fear God for nothing?

Satan replied.

Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has?

You have blessed the work of his hands,

so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.

But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has,

and he will surely curse you to your face.

The Lord said to Satan,

Very well then.

Everything he has is in your power.

But on the man himself do not lay a finger.

Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

One day when Job's sons and daughters were feasting

and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house,

a messenger came to Job and said,

The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby,

and the Sabaeans attacked and made off with them.

They put the servants to the sword,

and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you.

While he was still speaking,

another messenger came and said,

The fire of God fell from the heavens

and burned up the sheep and the servants,

and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you.

While he was still speaking,

another messenger came and said,

The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties

and swept down on your camels and made off with them.

They put the servants to the sword,

and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you.

While he was still speaking,

yet another messenger came and said,

Your sons and daughters were feasting

and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house,

when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert

and struck the four corners of the house.

It collapsed on them,

and they are dead.

I am the only one who has escaped to tell you.

At this, Job got up and tore his robe

and shaved his head.

Then he fell to the ground in worship

and said,

Naked I came from my mother's womb,

and naked I will depart.

The Lord gave,

and the Lord has taken away.

May the name of the Lord be praised.

In all this,

Job did not sin

by charging God

with wrongdoing.

The story of Job is a difficult one.

Job was a very prosperous and successful man.

He was a man of character,

a man of integrity.

According to God himself,

Job was upright

and blameless.

Meaning not that he was perfect,

but that on the whole,

he was a good and honorable man

who sought to do right,

who treated others well,

who avoided wrongdoing.

He had a deep reverence for God.

He was such a good man

that he even offered sacrifices

for his ten adult children,

just in case they had sinned

in their feasts and parties,

which means he loved his children dearly.

And as Job was living his life,

and all was going well,

something happened in the heavenly realms

that he knew nothing about.

God had a meeting

with some of the angels who had fallen.

And the chief leader of those angels,

Satan,

the devil,

was among them.

It was God who brought Job up

in the conversation.

And we wonder,

why?

Satan taunted God.

He basically said,

Job only fears you.

He only respects you.

He only honors you.

He only loves you

because of how you've blessed him

and prospered him.

You've made him wildly successful.

Of course he reveres you.

But take all of that stuff away

and he will curse you to your face.

Now at this point in the story,

we really wish,

for Job's sake,

that God had simply said,

that's enough, Satan.

I don't need to prove anything to you.

Get out of here.

Yet,

for his own reasons,

God decides to grant

what Satan suggested.

And he gives Satan authority

to take all of it

away from Job.

This is perhaps

one of the hardest things

to stomach

in this whole story.

And again,

we wonder,

why?

Why God?

Why would you do this?

Why would you grant him

power to afflict

this blameless

and upright man?

Even to take the lives

of his children?

Are we not tempted

in reading this

to accuse God

of wrongdoing?

Are we not tempted

here

to condemn God

for allowing

a blameless

and upright man

to suffer?

Are we not tempted

to judge

the motives

of God here

and suspect

him of

bringing this

horrible tragedy

upon Job's family

just to win

a worthless bet?

Well, Satan

would have loved

Job to come

to this conclusion

about God.

That's what this

was all about.

For Job,

the crushing blow

is dealt

when the final messenger

comes in

and tells him

that all ten

of his adult children

are dead,

killed,

all at once

in a freak

accident windstorm.

Upon hearing this,

Job

tears his robe

and shaves his head.

These are cultural

acts of mourning.

It's a visceral response

which reflects

what's going on

in his heart.

His heart

is torn

and he's been

utterly

humiliated,

brought low

and yet,

surprisingly,

after doing

these things,

it says

he fell

to the ground

in worship.

Now remember,

Job doesn't know

anything about

the exchange

between God

and Satan

in the heavenly realm.

all he knows

is the freshness

of his grief

and loss.

And is God

still worthy

of worship?

Is he still

worthy of praise?

Job's answer

is yes.

he says,

naked

I came

from my mother's

womb

and naked

I will depart.

The Lord

gave

and the Lord

has taken away.

May the name

of the Lord

be praised.

is God

still good

when calamity

strikes?

Is he still

just

in all he does?

Is he still

right

in what he

decides,

permits,

allows

and grants?

Job's answer

through the tears

was yes.

I came

into this world

and started

this life

of mine

with nothing.

Naked

not even

the clothes

on my back

which means

that all

I was given

by God

for every day

that I've had

up until now

was a gift

from him.

I can't

take the credit

for any of it.

I can't

claim it

as my right

or my due.

And by God's

sovereign decision

he has taken

it all away.

He's reduced

me again

to how I

started out

in this life.

May the name

of the Lord

be praised.

Is Job

grieved?

Yes.

Is he in

anguish?

Yes.

does he see

God

is ultimately

responsible

for having

permitted this

to happen?

Yes.

Does he

blame God

for doing

wrong

by all

this?

Amazingly

no.

in all

this

it says

Job

did not

sin

by

charging

God

with

wrongdoing.

Job

knew

that it

was in

God's

power

to prevent

this.

He knew

his life

had gone

so well

till now

because of

God's

blessing

and favor.

But now

had God

wronged him

by taking

the hedge

of protection

away.

By allowing

the devil

to do

his worst.

No.

If this

wasn't

difficult

enough

already

for Job

the same

thing

repeats

itself

in chapter

two.

Yet

this time

the devil

is permitted

to afflict

Job's

health

and his

body.

And God

allows this

too.

By the

end of

chapter

two

Job

is not

only

bereaved

of his

children

but he

is in

physical

pain

from head

to toe.

And to

make matters

worse

his own

wife

turns on

him

in the

midst

of all

this.

She

tells him

to just

give it

up already.

Curse

God

and die.

God

can't be

good.

He

can't

love

you

Job.

Look

at what

he's

brought.

Look

at what

he's

allowed

to

happen

to

you

after

all

you've

done

for

him.

Curse

him.

He's

not

worthy

of our

worship

anymore.

And

again

amazingly

Job

responds

with

this.

You're

talking

like a

foolish

woman.

Shall

we

accept

good

from

God

and

not

trouble.

Aren't

we

tempted

in

moments

of

great

loss

like

this

to

blame

God

and

to

accuse

him

of

wrongdoing

even

to

speak

evil

of

him.

And

yet

it

says

in

all

this

Job

did

not

sin

in

what

he

said.

The

chapter

ends

with

three

of

Job's

friends

coming

to

see

him.

And

they

come

to

show

their

sympathy

and

their

comfort

to

Job.

First

they

weep

with

him.

They

too

tear

their

clothes

and

sprinkle

dust

on

their

heads

sharing

in

Job's

brokenness

and

self

humiliation.

And

for

seven

days

it

says

that

his

friends

just

sat

there

in

silence

with

him.

They

didn't

even

try

to

say

a

word

to

him

because

they

saw

how

great

his

suffering

was.

And

I

think

in

this

they

were

wise.

They

were

good

friends

to

Job.

Sometimes

there

are

no

words.

Loss

is

loss.

Grief

is

grief.

There

is

a

time

to

mourn.

And

we

do

right

in

these

times

to

mourn

with

those

who

mourn.

It's

okay

to

be

sad.

It's

okay

to

be

upset.

It's

okay

to

feel

pain,

anguish,

even

regret.

there

is

a

time

to

mourn.

It's

not

a

time

to

try

and

fix

what's

broken

or

to

help

people

find

joy.

It's

not

a

time

to

point

out

that

the

glass

is

somehow

still

half

full

or

that

there's

a

silver

lining

to

this

tragedy.

finally

after a

week

of

silence

Job

opens

his

mouth

and

this

is

what

he

says

in

chapter

three

after

this

Job

opened

his

mouth

and

cursed

the

day

of

his

birth

he

said

may

the

day

of

my

birth

perish

and

the

night

that

said

a

boy

is

conceived

that

day

may

it

turn

to

darkness

may

God

above

not

care

about

it

may

no

light

shine

on

it

may

those

who

curse

days

curse

that

day

may

its

morning

stars

become

dark

may

it

wait

for

daylight

in

vain

and

not

see

the

first

rays

of

dawn

for

it

did

not

shut

the

doors

of

the

womb

on

me

to

hide

trouble

from

my

eyes

why

did

I

not

perish

at

birth

and

die

as

I

came

from

the

womb

why

is

life

given

to

a

man

whose

way

is

hidden

whom

God

has

hedged

in

for

sighing

has

become

my

daily

food

my

groans

pour

out

like

water

what

I

feared

has

come

upon

me

what

I

dreaded

has

happened

to

me

I

have

no

peace

no

quietness

I

have

no

rest

but

only

turmoil

it's

here we

get a

glimpse

of

just

how

deep

Job's

anguish

was

over

the

loss

of

his

children

these

are

some

of

the

deepest

words

of

anguish

in

the

Bible

did

he

blame

God

for

wrongdoing

well

not

here

but

was

the

pain

and

anguish

so

unbearable

that

he

wished

he

wasn't

alive

yes

in

fact

he

expresses

a

wish

that

he

had

never

been

born

when

deep

tragedy

strikes

and

our

hearts

are

utterly

torn

apart

it

is

normal

to

desire

escape

from

the

pain

of

great

tragedy

Job

did

it's

normal

not

to

have

peace

to

not

be

able

to

rest

this

is

the

story

of

Job

unfortunately

Job's

friends

decide

after

the

seven

days

are

up

to

open

their

mouths

and

correct

Job

for

feeling

like

this

they

try

to

make

sense

of

this

for

him

they

try

to

get

to

the

bottom

of

it

they

try

to

help

him

figure

out

what's

happening

to

him

with

their

wisdom

and

understanding

first

Eliphaz

speaks

and

Job

responds

to

him

and

Job

answers

back

to

him

and

this

cycle

repeats

itself

almost

two

full

times

throughout

the

book

of

Job

with

the

friends

each

speaking

and

Job

responding

to

them

eventually

Job

kind of

just

says

what

he's

thinking

and

feeling

this

kind of

sums

up

his

feeling

towards

his

friends

Job

replied

I have

heard

many

things

like

these

you

are

miserable

comforters

all

of

you

will

your

long

winded

speeches

never

end

what

ails

you

that

you

keep

on

arguing

it

ends

up

that

Job's

friends

did

far

more

harm

than

good

they

got

so

focused

on

trying

to

fix

his

perspective

they

tried

to

tell

Job

the

possible

answers

to

the

big

question

of

why

God

allowed

or

brought

all

this

in

his

life

the

three

friends

think

themselves

wise

and

imagine

themselves

to be

helping

Job

it

starts

with

these

very

subtle

questions

and

it

progresses

to

a

full

blown

declaration

Job

you

must

have

done

something

wrong

otherwise

God

wouldn't

have

let

all

this

happen

to

you

the

stuff

that's

happened

to

you

Job

that's

the

way

that

God

deals

with

the

wicked

they

said

and so

you

must

be

among

them

God

would

never

allow

all

this

to

happen

to

an

upright

and

blameless

man

who

fears

him

he'd

be

unjust

if

he

did

therefore

the

fault

must

lie

with

you

Job

if

if

Job

hadn't

already

suffered

enough

his

friends

just

made

it

worse

they

added

to

the

anguish

they

turned

on

him

as

the

conversation

goes on

between

Job

and his

friends

eventually

Job

loses

his

innocence

at

several

points

Job

charges

God

with

wrongdoing

he

accuses

God

of not

handling

his

case

justly

and I

know

some

people

debate

this

whether

or not

he

fully

did

the

truth

is

we're

so

eager

to

see

Job

as

the

good

guy

who

never

sins

and

yet

in

his

anguish

he

did

and

much

of

the

story

comes

to

hinge

on

this

Job's

friends

tell him

plead

your

case

with

God

he

will

hear

you

he

will

answer

you

if

you're

innocent

and

Job

basically

says

well

I'm

trying

I'm

calling

out

to

him

and

yet

he

doesn't

answer

me

if

I

had

the

opportunity

to

make

my

appeal

to

him

I

know

that

he

would

rule

in

my

favor

and

Job

lays

the

blame

on

God

for

not

granting

him

this

opportunity

for

mishandling

his

own

case

the

clearest

statement

from

Job's

own

lips

charging

God

with

wrongdoing

comes

here

19

verse

5

and

6

he

says

to

his

friends

if

indeed

you

would

exalt

yourselves

above

me

and

use

my

humiliation

against

me

then

know

that

God

has

wronged

me

and

drawn

his

net

around

me

and

as

we'll

see

later

God

himself

comes

to

accuse

Job

of

discrediting

his

justice

after

quite a lot

of back

and forth

Job's

three

friends

finally

decide

to

give

up

they

think

Job

must

be

guilty

of

some

secret

great

sin

to

deserve

all that's

happened

to him

and they

think that

Job is

self-righteous

and unwilling

to hear

correction

in chapter

32

a young

man

named

Elihu

has

been

sitting

and listening

to some

of this

and he

pipes up

and he's

upset

for two

reasons

he's

upset

with Job

because

according

to Elihu

Job

has

accused

God

of

wrongdoing

but he's

also upset

with the

three

friends

because

it seems

like

they're

condemning

Job

for the

wrong

reason

Elihu's

speech

to Job

could be

summed

up

with

these

words

in

chapter

34

he says

listen

to me

you men

of

understanding

far

be it

from

God

to

do

evil

from

the

almighty

to

do

wrong

it's

unthinkable

that God

would do

wrong

that the

almighty

would

pervert

justice

the

almighty

is

beyond

our

reach

and

exalted

in

power

in

his

justice

and

great

righteousness

he

does

not

oppress

therefore

people

revere

him

for

does

he

not

have

regard

for

all

the

wise

in

heart

now

Elihu

may

not

have

been

a

perfect

counselor

but

he

does

remind

Job

of

at

least

one

thing

that's

true

God

is

good

God

is

just

God

is

righteous

God

never

does

wrong

and

it

may

seem

impossible

to

understand

that

in

a

situation

like

Job

is

going

through

right

now

or

in

a

situation

like

has

happened

in

our

town

with

the

Klaassen

family

but

far

be it

from

the

almighty

to

do

wrong

it's

unthinkable

that

he

would

pervert

justice

that

he

would

oppress

we

may

not

understand

God's

ways

or

reasons

but

we

cannot

condemn

him

at

this

point

in

the

story

of

Job

God

himself

finally

shows

up

it

was

much

later

and

longer

than

Job

had

hoped

for

but

he

finally

shows

up

we

read

in

chapter

38

verse

1

that

Yahweh

the

Lord

speaks

to

Job

out

of

a

storm

and

I'm

just

going

to

read

a

good

chunk

of

this

here

the

Lord

says

to

Job

who

is

this

that

obscures

my

plans

with

words

brace

yourself

like

a

man

I

will

question

you

and

you

shall

answer

me

where

were

you

when

I

laid

the

earth's

foundation

tell

me

if

you

understand

who

marked

off

its

dimensions

surely

you

know

who

stretched

a

measuring

line

across

it

on

what

were

its

footings

set

or

who

laid

its

corner

stone

while

the

morning

stars

sang

together

and

all

the

angels

shouted

for

joy

who

shut

up

the

sea

behind

doors

when

it

burst

forth

from

the

womb

when

I

made

the

clouds

its

garment

and

wrapped

it

in

thick

darkness

when

I

fixed

limits

for

it

and

set

its

doors

and

bars

in

place

when

I

said

this

far

you

may

come

and

no

farther

here

is

where

your

proud

waves

halt

have

you

ever

given

orders

to

the

have

you

journeyed

to