Text: Job 1:6-12<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. If someone asked you what the book of Job was about, how would you answer?<\/p>\n
A. Most of us would point out that it deals with the question of human suffering.<\/p>\n
1. The book tells the story of a man who loses everything<\/p>\n 2. He suffers greatly and wrestles with the apparent injustice of all that has\nhappened to him.\n 3. Friends come to comfort him, but they add to his misery by stating that his\nmisery was caused by his sins\n 4. They tell Job that if he would repent of his sins, God would release him\nfrom his misery.\n
5. But through it all Job maintains his innocence.<\/p>\n 6. Eventually God speaks to Job and Job acknowledges that he said things he\nshould not have said. He repents and God restores his prosperity.\n
B. But this is only a partial view of the book of Job<\/p>\n
1. The suffering of Job is only a secondary consequence of the main issue.<\/p>\n
2. How could I come to that conclusion?<\/p>\n
3. When you look at the end of the book, when God speaks, <\/p>\n
a. God never explains to Job why he suffered.<\/p>\n b. He doesn’t say that Job’s friends are correct and that Job indeed\nhad sinned.\n
c. Nor does He say that Job is right and has suffered unjustly.<\/p>\n d. He doesn’t even tell Job about the conversation God had with\nSatan that lead to Job’s suffering.\n
e. Job never learns why things happened to him as they did.<\/p>\n
II. The initial question<\/p>\n A. The book of Job introduces us to Job and his character, but quickly switches to a\nscene in heaven where Satan challenges God – Job 1:6-11\n
1. Herein is the central question: “Does Job fear God for nothing?”<\/p>\n 2. Satan is stating his opinion that God bought Job’s loyalty through the\nblessings God has given him\n a. Thus, Satan is saying that Job’s faith is so shallow that if those\nblessings were removed, Job would curse God.\n b. But a more subtle challenge is that Satan is claiming that there is\nnothing in the nature of God that would cause men to fear God in\nand of itself.\n c. In other words, Satan is claiming that God is so low that He cannot\ncommand respect, so He buys it from men by giving them gifts.\n B. Therefore, the book is primarily about the nature of God and the suffering of man\nis a secondary issue.\n
III. The evidence<\/p>\n
A. Satan took everything from Job – his herds, his children, his servants.<\/p>\n
1. And Job’s response? – Job 1:20-22<\/p>\n 2. He didn’t blame God! God retained Job’s respect even when those\nblessings were removed.\n
B. Satan then claims the suffering wasn’t personal enough – Job 2:3-6<\/p>\n
C. Still Job did not blame God – Job 2:9-10<\/p>\n D. As Job defends himself from the accusations of his friends, we find him slipping\nfrom his confidence in God\n 1. He wants to bring his complaint before God, not to people who think they\nhave the right to speak on behalf of God – Job 13:3-12\n
a. The questions he wants to ask – Job 13:18-26<\/p>\n
b. Job desires to know why.<\/p>\n
2. He believes that his suffering is unjust – Job 19:4-7<\/p>\n
a. But he still looks for salvation from God – Job 19:23-27<\/p>\n
3. He knows he shouldn’t complain, but … – Job 23:1-7<\/p>\n
a. Still, he knows the terror of God – Job 23:13-17<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
IV. Elihu’s rebuke<\/p>\n
A. Elihu is the fourth man to visit Job. <\/p>\n
1. He remained silent as the older men debated – Job 32:6-9<\/p>\n 2. He found the words of Job’s friends had avoided the issues Job raised – Job\n32:11-12\n
3. But Elihu will answer because he is a prophet – Job 33:1-7<\/p>\n
B. Job’s claim of innocence is not right – Job 33:8-12<\/p>\n
C. God has the right to discipline men – Job 33:13-30<\/p>\n
D. God does not act unjustly – Job 34:10-15<\/p>\n
E. God doesn’t act out of ignorance – Job 34:21-23<\/p>\n
1. But Job has – Job 34:35-37<\/p>\n
2. Job righteousness or sinfulness doesn’t change God – Job 35:2-8<\/p>\n
F. Here then is the theme – God is exalted in His power – Job 36:22-26; 37:5, 13, 23-24<\/p>\n
V. God’s answer<\/p>\n
A. In chapters 38-41 God does not discuss Job’s sufferings<\/p>\n
B. He tells of His power and wisdom by revealing the universe God has created<\/p>\n
1. The limits He has set<\/p>\n
2. The patterns He established for good<\/p>\n 3. How the animals were equipped for their lives, and although they each\nhave limitations and suffer hardships, God provides them with food,\nstrength, and the ability to achieve.\n 4. God demonstrates that His knowledge is vastly beyond man’s\ncomprehension.\n
VI. And Job’s answer? – Job 40:3-4; 42:1-6<\/p>\nVII. Is there anything in the nature of God what would cause us to fear Him, even if He did not\nbless us, even if we suffer terribly?\n
A. Job learned that the answer is “yes!”<\/p>\n B. If God did not give us material blessings, families, and health, we should still fear\nHim\n C. If God had not sent His son to die for us, if there was no promise of heaven, we\nshould still fear Him because He is God.\n
D. God doesn’t need to bribe us to fear Him.<\/p>\n E. We should bow before the Almighty whether our lives are good or filled with\nsufferings from Satan.\n
F. Job 1:20-21<\/p>\n
[Based on “Finding the Heart of Job” by Bob Hutto]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Text: Job 1:6-12 I. If someone asked you what the book of Job was about, how would you answer? A. Most of us would point out that it deals with the question of human suffering. 1. The book tells the story of a man who loses everything 2. He suffers greatly and wrestles with the apparent injustice of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[752,182,188],"class_list":["post-10942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-job","tag-suffering","tag-trials"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":60876,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/compassionate-and-merciful\/","url_meta":{"origin":10942,"position":0},"title":"Compassionate and Merciful","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford There are many different opinions about the point of the Book of Job. Some say that it proves that man will serve God for nothing. Others posit that it is about the incomprehensible nature of suffering. Personally, I am partial to the explanation provided in James\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52101,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-elihu-tell-job-that-his-suffering-was-a-chastisement-from-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":10942,"position":1},"title":"Why did Elihu tell Job that his suffering was a chastisement from God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In Job 33:19 Elihu tells Job that his pain and suffering are a chastisement from God. What did Job do to cause God to put this sickness upon him to start with? Thank you. Answer: Elihu scolds Job for complaining that God has caused him to suffer without explaining\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13194,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/which-book-is-the-oldest-in-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":10942,"position":2},"title":"Which book is the oldest in the Bible?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 3, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Which book is believed to be\u00a0the oldest book in the Bible? I found the following points: Many scholars agree that Job is the oldest book in the Bible, written by an unknown Israelite about 1500 B.C. Others hold that the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":44973,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/which-book-should-be-first-job-or-genesis\/","url_meta":{"origin":10942,"position":3},"title":"Which book should be first, Job or Genesis?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 29, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm confused. A brother mentioned what I understood to mean that Job was to be the first book in the Bible and not Genesis. Since then I have done my own research and am now seriously confused. The way I see it is \"Does it really matter?\" There are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":85572,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-we-have-a-flawed-theology\/","url_meta":{"origin":10942,"position":4},"title":"Do We Have a Flawed Theology?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 12, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Perry Hall Studying Job, we find two conclusions his friends repeatedly made concerning Job, which are theologically flawed. This is because they believed in an unyielding law of retribution from God: Sinners are cursed and, therefore, suffer; the righteous are blessed and, therefore, live a life of ease. This\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20655,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-job-a-gentile\/","url_meta":{"origin":10942,"position":5},"title":"Was Job a Gentile?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Was Job a Gentile? Answer: The word Gentile means \"belonging to a nation, tribe, or clan.\" The Israelites used it to refer to people who were not Israelites, foreigners who belonged to other nations. Job is believed to be a contemporary of Abraham because of some of the references\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10942"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10942\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}