When God's People Suffer: From Suffering to Healing

Job 42, it's on page 542, and Kirsty is going to come and read for us there.

Okay, Job chapter 42, verses starting at verse 7.

Job 42 · chapter mention

After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Tamanite,

I am angry with you and your two friends because you have not spoken of 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 the Tamanite, Bildad the Shuite and so far the Namathite did what the Lord told them and the Lord accepted Job's prayer.

After Job had prayed for his friend, the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before.

All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house.

They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought upon him and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.

The Lord blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first.

He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys.

And he also had seven sons and three daughters.

The first daughter he named Jemima, the second Keziah and the third Keren Hapuk.

Nowhere in all the land where there found women as beautiful as Job's daughters.

And their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.

After this, Job lived 140 years.

He saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.

And so he died, old and full of years.

Hang on, hang on.

Well, there's sheets and pens going round.

And if you want to make use of them, you can take notes.

So we get to the end of Job.

And thankfully, after many weeks of lots of suffering,

suffering turned to healing and celebration.

And that's what we're going to be thinking about.

So have your Bibles open there at Job chapter 42.

Job 42 · chapter mention

And we'll just ask for God's help as we look at this together.

Let's pray.

Our Father God, we thank you for this great book.

The life story of a man who suffered much.

Thank you for all that it has been able to teach us and instruct us.

And we pray now that, again by your Holy Spirit,

you would be teaching us afresh and helping us to see with fresh eyes

the wonder of the new creation,

of the healing that you bring to your people

that is found in Christ.

So please encourage us all today.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

Well, Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty,

do you remember them?

Some of the great fairy tales that I'm sure you've all heard.

But do you remember how they all finish?

And they all lived happily ever after.

That's what makes them great stories.

That's why children love to listen to them.

And that's why parents love to tell them to their children.

It's what we all dream of.

Because we all know what happily ever after means.

It means the end of all the bad things that break and destroy our lives.

And it means the end of all the suffering, heartache and pain.

But the problem is that they are just fairy tales.

They're not real tales.

Real life does not always end happily ever after.

During these weeks of going through Job,

the book that I've mentioned to you before,

A Place of Healing by Joni.

As a teenager, she suffered a terrible accident,

which has left her in a wheelchair for over 40 years,

paralysed from the neck down.

Listen to what she says about her desire for things to end well.

Through all the years of my paralysis,

I have longed, yearned, ached, wept and prayed for God's healing in my broken body.

After 40 plus years in a wheelchair, however,

I have settled into the realisation that in his love,

sovereignty, far-reaching, perfect, but often incomprehensible plan,

he has chosen to gently but firmly say,

no child.

Not now.

Not yet.

In fact, rather than discovering healing in her life,

there seems to be more suffering in her life.

Throughout the book,

she tells how she's now dealing with excruciating pain,

and in the epilogue of the book,

she tells how she's just got news of breast cancer.

It seems that real life is not a fairy tale.

Real life does not always end with

and they all lived happily ever after.

But there is a story.

It's not a fairy tale.

It's a true story where everything does end happily ever after.

Again, listen to Joni on this,

as she thinks about happily ever after.

Children seem to know.

They realise that the world is full of wolves, trolls and big bad bears.

They're aware that things aren't quite right,

that's something wrong with the world.

And we all want, we long,

for that time when we will live happily ever after.

When the prince will finally kiss us

and we will wake up from this strange dream

and enter true happiness and joy forever and ever.

That's why faith in Jesus Christ

is so satisfying,

so fulfilling,

for only in Christ is every longing fulfilled.

every hope realised,

every yearning for peace and wellbeing

finally answered.

In Christ is the culmination of that classic struggle

and the defeat of all things evil

when our wonderful Saviour will right every wrong

and the Prince of Peace will be our King of Kings.

There is a happy ending ahead.

The true story of Job that we're looking at

tells us what that happy ending is.

In fact, the ending of Job in some ways

is also our story.

It's our story because it's the Gospel story.

Because what happens to Job

is a picture,

it gives us a glimpse of the ultimate healing

that is yet to come

where God's children

will live happily ever after.

And in the epilogue of Job,

these last few verses,

we are given three pictures,

or I've put together three pictures,

that guarantees

our ultimate healing.

The first picture is this,

that is about the suffering of Job

and the sacrifice of Jesus.

Job, as we've seen through the book,

has suffered terribly.

And to add to his personal grief and pain,

he had three so-called friends who came along

and for 21 chapters,

they add insult to injury.

This was their so-called comfort or wisdom to Job.

This is, in a nutshell,

what they were saying to him.

They were saying,

God punishes sin.

Job, you're suffering.

Therefore, Job, you need to repent

so that you can be healed.

But the reality is,

as we've been seeing,

that Job is actually innocent.

He has done nothing wrong.

Look at what God has to say about this in verse 7.

42.

Chapter 42, verse 7.

After the Lord had said these things to Job,

he said to Eliphius the Temanite,

I am angry with you.

My judgment is upon you

and your two friends

because you have not spoken of me what is right,

as my servant Job has.

You see, it's not Job who's been in the wrong.

It's the three friends who have been in the wrong.

They are the ones who actually deserve to suffer.

They're the ones who are guilty.

They're the ones that have spoken wrong against God.

Now, you place yourself into Job's shoes.

After all of these things that have happened,

how would you treat these so-called friends

after everything they've said and done?

Go on, secretly,

what would you like to do to them?

Hmm?

Pull their fingernails off one by one or something?

Hmm?

Well, how Job responds to his friends

is actually a picture

of how Jesus responds to us.

Look at the middle of verse 8.

Look at how he responds to them.

Middle of verse 8.

My servant Job will pray for you

and I will accept his prayer

and not deal with you

according to your folly,

to your sin.

You have not spoken of me what is right

as my servant Job has.

So Eliphaz, the Temanite,

Bildad, the Shuite,

Zophart, the Namathite

did what the Lord told them

and the Lord accepted Job's prayer.

You see, how Job responds to his friends

in this instance

is a picture, I think,

of how Jesus responds to us.

Job has been the innocent one.

Yet he is the one who prays for his friends.

He acts on this occasion

almost as a mediator

between God and the friends

so that they can be forgiven.

Look what it says in the middle of verse 8.

So that God will not deal with them

according to their folly.

They deserve to suffer.

They deserve God's anger,

as it says in verse 7.

But in turn,

they are shown mercy

and grace.

Now whenever we suffer,

one of the first complaints we make is,

God, that's not fair,

or it shouldn't happen to me.

As if somehow we have a right

in this world

not to suffer.

As if something about our lives

says that we should never have

trouble or hardship.

But the big surprise

as we've seen through the book

is not that we suffer,

but why is God so gracious

and merciful with us

when we have rejected

and rebelled against God so much?

The question is not

why do we suffer,

but why do we not actually suffer more

when we see the lives

that we live?

Like Job's three friends,

we deserve so much more,

but yet God responds

with grace and mercy

to his people.

He doesn't treat us

as we deserve.

And this is the beauty

of the gospel story.

These are the things

we long to read about

and are true

when we look at God's word.

Job's friends

had to make a sacrifice.

We see that in verse 8.

The seriousness of their sin

is seen by the cost involved.

Verse 8.

So they are to take

seven bulls

and seven rams.

Go to my servant Job

and make a sacrifice,

a burnt offering

for yourselves.

Now an offering like this

was loaded

with symbolism.

The friends would

take this animal,

one of the animals,

and they would place

their hands on the animal

as an act of identification.

And then symbolically,

not literally,

it's like my sin

being transferred

to this animal.

So that what happens

to this animal

should actually happen

to me.

So when this animal dies,

when that throat is slit

and the blood pours,

they are saying,

this death

is in place of my death.

I am the one

deserving to die.

That's what's going on

with this sacrifice.

But of course,

all of this was to point forward

to the real hero

of the story

who came to be

our sacrifice,

the complete sacrifice.

Jesus was the one

who beyond Job

was truly innocent

and suffered.

He never did anything wrong.

But yet he entered

into this suffering world.

He came into this world

to take my sin.

He came to take your sin.

He came to suffer

the punishment

that you and I

deserve to suffer.

And by faith,

which is this act

of identification

again with the Lord Jesus,

our sins are transferred

from us to Jesus.

And if we could picture

Christ on the cross,

it's like we take the hammer

and the nails

and we crucify Jesus.

With every blow of the hammer

as the nails go into

the hands and the feet,

we are saying,

this death

is in place of

my death.

I deserve to die.

But yet we are forgiven.

We are not treated

as our sins deserve.

Instead,

we receive mercy

upon mercy

and grace

upon grace.

This is the first step

to our ultimate healing.

as we find acceptance

and forgiveness

with our God

and how we can live

happily ever after.

The second picture

is one of a feast.

The feast of Job

and the welcome

of Jesus.

Thankfully,

Job's suffering,

it didn't last forever.

It soon turned

to celebration.

Verse 10.

After Job had prayed

for his friends,

the Lord made him

prosperous again

and gave him

twice as much

as he had before.

What an amazing

turn of events

for this man.

His life has been

completely restored

and to celebrate,

he throws a party,

a great feast.

Verse 11.

All of his brothers

and sisters

and everyone

who had known him

before came

and ate with him

in his house.

and they comforted

and consoled him

over all the trouble

the Lord

had brought upon him

and each one

gave it a piece

of silver

and a gold ring.

What an occasion

that would have been.

After all the suffering,

all of that heartache

and pain,

Job is in his home

surrounded with his friends

and his family

celebrating God's

amazing goodness

to him.

But what's incredible

about this feast is

Job is celebrating

this feast

with those friends

because they're there too

who had caused him

so much trouble.

Job has opened his house

as it were.

The welcome has been given

and they are there

welcomed in

to eat

and to drink with him.

And again,

I think it gives us

a picture

of how this feast

of Job

is like the great feast

of Jesus

who welcomes

people

like you and me.

We don't deserve

to be there

but yet we are invited

and we are welcomed.

It's as if Jesus

has thrown open

the doors

of his home

so that together

we can eat

and drink

with him.

This picture

of this feast

is common

through scripture

and it's carried

on through the Bible.

Have a look at Isaiah

Isaiah 25 · chapter mention

chapter 25

it's on page 708.

Keep your finger

in Job

go to Isaiah 25

it's on page 708.

Isaiah 25

starting at verse 6

On this mountain

the Lord Almighty

will prepare

a feast

of rich food

for all peoples

a banquet

of aged wine

the very best

the best

of meats

and the finest

of wines

on this mountain

he will destroy

the shroud

that enfolds

all people

the sheet

that covers

all nations

he will swallow

up death

forever

the sovereign

Lord will wipe

away the tears

from all their faces

he will remove

the disgrace

of his people

from all the earth

the Lord

has spoken

what a feast

that is going

to be

and this feast

in Isaiah

is the same feast

that Jesus promises

to all

who will come

to him

go to Luke

Luke 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15

it's on page

1049

the story

is familiar

the prodigal son

the one who had left

who had gone away

and it gives us

that picture

of the son

returning

and the celebration

and the feast

that takes place

we'll pick it up

in verse 20

Luke 15

Luke 15:20

verse 20

so the son

got up

and went

to his father

but while he was

still a long way

off

his father

saw him

and was filled

with compassion

for him

he ran

to his son

he threw his arms

around him

and kissed him

the son

said to him

father

I have sinned

against heaven

and against you

I am no longer

worthy to be

called your son

but the father

said to his servants

quick

bring the best robe

put it on

and put a ring

on his finger

and sandals

on his feet

bring the fattened cap

and kill it

let's have a feast

and celebrate

for this son

of mine

was dead

and is alive again

he was lost

and is found

so they began

to celebrate

that's what the good news is

that's what the gospel story

is all about

people like you and me

who do not deserve

to be there

get welcomed in

to join in the feast

and as it was in Job

to share in that feast

was a sign of acceptance

and belonging

to join in that celebration

is that seal of approval

that you are forgiven

that you are treasured

and of course

this feast of Job

with his friends

is a glimpse

of that ultimate

and final feast

the feast of heaven

with God's people

a feast where like Job

look at verse 11 of Job

a feast like Job

where we are comforted

and consoled

not by friends

and family

but by God

our Father

who wipes away

every tear

this is the feast

that we have been

welcomed to

so this is the second

step to our

ultimate healing

and how we can live

happily

ever after

the third picture

is one of the

blessing of Job

and the promise

of Jesus

Job's suffering

does come to an end

and he experiences

a complete renewal

and restoration

look at verse 12

the Lord blessed

the latter part

of Job's life

more than the first

he had 14,000 sheep

6,000 camels

a thousand yoke

of oxen

and a thousand

donkeys

double

everything that he

had before

and he also

had seven sons

and three daughters

verse 16

after this Job

lived

a hundred

and forty

years

he saw his

children

and the

grandchildren

to the fourth

generation

and so he died

old

and full

of years

how different

this is

to chapter 1

isn't it

where he experienced

the loss of his

family

the loss of all

his wealth

the ruin

of his health

this is a

complete

and utter

reversal

of what has

happened

in fact

his life

that he has

now

can't be

compared

to his

pre-suffering

days

it's an

amazing

transformation

now we've

got to be

very careful

as we read

this

not to read

in what we

call a

prosperity

theology

into this

and by that

I mean

the kind

of teaching

that says

God rewards

you

and God

is going

to bless

you

if you

do good

things

that's

not what

happens

to Job

look at

verse 10

after Job

had prayed

for his

friends

the Lord

made him

prosperous

again

and gave

him twice

as much

as he

had

before

Job

prays

for his

friends

not for

what he

can get

from God

but because

he loves

his God

there's no

ulterior

motive

he obeys

God

because he

simply

loves

God

and wants

to do

what's

right

God

never

promised

to Job

Job

look

I know

your friends

have been

pretty bad

to you

but if

you pray

for them

if you

could just

bring

yourself

to pray

for them

I'm

going to

make you

prosperous

no he

never says

that

there's

no such

promises

Job

does

what is

right

and God

in his

grace

gives him

more than

he could

ever

imagine

this is

not a

reward

for something

good he's

done

this is

just

simply

the

extravagance

of God's

grace

just as

Job's

suffering

is not

a sign

of a

disobedient

life

so Job's

healing

is not

a sign

of an

obedient

life

God

responds

in grace

simply

because of

who God

is

not because

of what

we are

or who

we are

but once

again

what we

see happen

to Job

here and

the blessing

that comes

to his

life

is a

picture

of what

Jesus has

promised

to his

people

God

in his

grace

has

blessed

us

beyond

our

wildest

dreams

let's

just

take a

look

at what

the

risen

Jesus

has

promised

to his

children

let's

go to

Revelation

Revelation 21 · chapter mention

chapter 21

at the

very end

the

ultimate

healing

of Job

comes

at the

end

just as

our

ultimate

healing

will come

at the

end

Revelation

21

let's pick

it up

in verse

3

and picture

this

this

is

what

is

promised

this

is

the

blessing

that

is

for

all

those

who

love

and

trust

the

Lord

Jesus

verse

3

and I

heard

a loud

voice

from

the

throne

saying

now

the

dwelling

of

God

is

with

you

and

he

will

live

with

you

and

you

will

be

his

people

and

God

himself

will

be

with

you

and

will

be

your

God

he

will

wipe

every

tear

from

your

eyes

there

will

be

no

more

death

there

will

be

no

more

mourning

or

crying

or

pain

no

more

Job

stories

to be

told

for

the

old

order

of

things

has

passed

away

no

more

suffering

no

more

heartache

and

he

who

was

seated

on

the

throne

said

I

am

making

everything

new

chapter

22

verse

1

we get

another

picture

of what

this

promised

life

is

going

to

be

like

22

verse

1

then

the

angel

showed

me

the

river

of

the

water

of

life

as

clear

as

crystal

flowing

down

from

the

throne

of

God

and

of

the

lamb

that's

Jesus

down

the

middle

of

the

great

street

of

the

city

on

each

side

of

the

river

stood

this

tree

of

life

bearing

twelve

crops

of

fruit

yielding

its

fruit

every

month

a sign

of

prosperity

and

goodness

and

blessing

and

abundance

but

here

it

is

and

the

leaves

of

the

tree

are

for

the

healing

of

the

nations

all

suffering

gone

all

that

heartache

and

all

that

pain

all

the

battles

with

sin

all

the

trouble

that

we

live

with

in

the

world

the

leaves

of

the

tree

are

for

the

healing

all

gone

a

distant

memory

not

even

a

memory

all

gone

the

blessing

that

Job

experienced

at the

end of

his

life

is going

to be

our

experience

this

is what

is

promised

to

God's

children

this

is what

is

guaranteed

this

is the

third

step

to our

ultimate

healing

and

how

we

can

live

happily

ever

after

the

truth

is

we

all

love

fairy

tales

because

it's

what

we

all

dream

of

each

one

of

us

in

our

lives

we

long

we

yearn

for

our

lives

to be

made

better

and

for

this

broken

world

that

we

live

in

to

be

put

right

where

evil

is

banished

where

suffering

is

no

more

and

we

all

get

to

live

happily

ever

after

but

thankfully

there

is

a

real

story

there

is

a

true

story

where

our

dreams

do

come

true

that

story

is

the

story

of

Job

because

through

Job

we

actually

get

to

see

Jesus

we

see

Jesus

the

God

who

sacrificed

his

life

for

our

life

the

one

who

has

prepared

a

feast

for

us

and

has

welcomed

us

in

to

celebrate

it

the

one

who

has

blessed

us

and

promised

us

and

guaranteed

a

wonderful

future

of

course

God

may

choose

to

bless

us

now

we

may

experience

healing

in

some

measure

we

can

pray

for

healing

in

our

lives

and

we

should

pray

for

healing

but

sometimes

God

answers

no

my

child

not

now

not

yet

but

be

absolutely

assured

of

this

God

in

his

grace

and

mercy

is

upon

you

the

Lord

Jesus

will

keep

you

he

is

going

to

hold

you

in

your

hands

he

will

not

let

you

slip

or

let

you

fall

he

will

bring

you

home

you

will

feast

with

him

you

will

enjoy

eternal

blessings

together

God's

people

will

live

happily

ever

after

let's

pray

father

we want

to

give

our

thanks

to

you

for

taking

us

through

the

story

of

Job

for

helping

us

to

face

up

to

our

suffering

in

whatever

shape

or

form

it

is

in

our

lives

or

will

come

in

our

lives

we

thank

you

for

giving

us

the

picture

that

you

are

the

sovereign

God

with

absolute

power

and

supreme

authority

over

all

things

and

therefore

we can

trust

you

and

we

thank

you

today

for

giving

us

a

little

picture

a

little

glimpse

a

little

taste

of

our

ultimate

healing

that

is

to

come

all

because

of

Jesus

Christ

so

we

praise

you

we

acknowledge

you

we

say

thank

you

and

may

this

fill

our

lives

with

joy

may

it

change

us

and

transform

us

that

there

would

never

be

an

ounce

of

bitterness

or

anger

with

what

we

go

through

but

we

will

continually

look

to

you

and

praise

you

and

thank

you

and

find

grace

and

mercy

in

abundance

we

thank

you

in

Jesus

name

Amen