Today we'll be studying the book of Job so you can go ahead and turn in your Bibles to the book of Job. This begins the next to last section of the Old Testament in our survey of the scriptures. This section of the Bible is by some called the poetic books. It's sometimes called the wisdom literature of the Old Testament and Actually, in the Hebrew Bible, they're simply just called the Ketevin, which means the writings. And those books would be Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. And that's the English canonical order, and that's what we'll be working through them in. And these books of wisdom literature are especially precious, and ought to be especially precious to us, as they will speak to the situation of your life. They will speak to your heart in a way that other parts of scripture, not that they don't plumb the same depths of your heart, but in a different way. Wisdom literature is more pointed directly, piercingly so, at your heart. And there are applications to the heart, yes, from the Pentateuch, the historical books and all those, but those books are also unfolding a story for you. I don't know quite the right word to say to capture it, but it is piercing more directly to your heart. Now, part of the problem with the poetic books is that because they aren't narrative, and we tend to only think in narrative ways when we're reading the Bible, that leads to a lot of misunderstanding that Robs them of their depth that robs them of their beauty and their richness and this will come out A lot next week when we look at the book of psalms Because the book of psalms is a lot more complex Than it's usually given credit for I think we tend to think of there's 150 psalms and they're all as connected maybe as our hymnal, meaning there's not necessarily one that leads into the other. They're independent thoughts. There's a sense in which that's true, but there's also a deeper structure that's there that will help us to appreciate them in a deeper way. But Job is also similar to that. in that it's so often misunderstood and robbed of deeper meanings. Like so many books in the Old Testament, Job is formally anonymous as to its authorship. We don't know for sure who wrote it. There are, of course, theories about that. But before we discuss author and date, let's talk chronology real quick. When did these events take place? We've been in the last several weeks, uh, orienting really our whole study around one, uh, big event in the history of God's people. What was that? Anybody? I know we had a week off, but we spent like six weeks on this. What's the big, uh, historical event that's, that's been the background of all of the books we've studied. So not so far, but the last several weeks, the exile, the Babylonian captivity and a lot of people, think that Job was written during the Babylonian captivity to comfort the exiles. Does anybody know why that might be a problem? Anyone want to take a guess? Why are God's people in exile? Simply put, one word. Go ahead. Sin. Exactly right. What's the whole conundrum for Job's suffering? Sin. No. Satan. Satan, yes. The conundrum is Job is suffering despite having not sinned. Now we don't mean perfectly without sin, but we mean he didn't do a sin that's the direct cause of his suffering. Does that make sense? And we'll talk about that more as we get into it. So the Babylonian captivity is not really a good fit for when Job would have been written or when it would have taken place. A better fit, is that we're actually going to go all the way back and kind of reset our chronology. Job is most likely written to chronicle events at the time of the patriarchs, at the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And we know this for a couple of reasons. For one, Job's wealth is measured in livestock. You see that in Job chapter one, verse three. How wealthy was he? Well, he possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and so on and so forth. Does anyone else here count their wealth in animals? No? I have one beagle. What does that mean? Okay, good, we don't measure wealth that way anymore, but that's how Job's wealth was measured, and that's how wealth was measured at the time of the patriarchs. Another reason that we can be pretty confident of this is the span of Job's life. In Job 42, 16 to 17, how long does it say that Job lived? Somebody find those verses for me. Job 42, 16 and 17. Yes, Miss Duncan. He lived 140 years. Yeah. So that would most likely fit at that period of history when people had lifespans along those lines. Another reason is that Job would function as something of a priest for his family. It says in Job 1.5 that he offered sacrifices on behalf of his family. So this must have predated the Levitical priesthood when it was only the Levites that were authorized to offer such sacrifices. Another interesting thing about Job is where he's from. He's from the land of Uz, it says in chapter 1 verse 1, which means he's not ethnically Jewish. He's not ethnically a descendant or related to Abraham in any way. And we do meet other figures like this in the Old Testament. It is rare, but it is not unheard of, such as Melchizedek in Genesis 14, 17 to 14, or Moses, his father-in-law in Exodus two and verse 18 seems to know the God of Israel in some way. Also, Balaam, the false prophet, does know the true God, or at least who he is, according to Numbers 22, 18. So we do, there is precedent for non-Jewish people in the Old Testament, though rare, knowing the God of Israel and having some connection to him. All that said, we have a pretty good idea of when these events took place. When were they recorded? One theory, as we already discussed, is it was written to comfort the Jewish people during their captivity and suffering, but we already talked about why that's not likely. A better fit, and the strongest theory in my opinion, though it should be said this is just a theory, it's not anything more than that, is that Moses wrote Job, or at least it was written at the time of Moses. Now, the reason for that, you can't really see in the English because it's a translation, but the Hebrew that's used is older style Hebrew from about that period and so think about it this way if you read something that was written say a hundred years ago and nobody tells you when it was written you know at the very least that it wasn't written in the last 20 years, right? Because of sentence structure, words used, you can understand it, but it's not the way you would have said it. In the same way, if you go back and read something 400 years ago, like how I often have to explain phrasing in the Westminster Standards, because we don't speak that way anymore, you know it's even older than something that was written 100 years ago. You guys picking up with that? That's the idea that makes people think that either Moses wrote this or it was written at the time of Moses because of the history and development of the Hebrew language, it would fit most exactly there. That is a theory, though. Other ideas are that it was written by, actually, no, that's not what I have on my notes there. That is the leading theory that I think is in the believing world. Now with all that preliminary stuff out of the way, let's get to the meat of the book as it were. The book of Job on one hand is fairly simple and straightforward. It's a pretty basic story that's easy to follow. Can somebody give me like a three sentence outline? What's the story of Job? Yeah. He's really rich. Satan asks God if he can tempt him. God says you can do everything except tamper with his soul. And then Satan takes everything away from Job. Job's friends are like, you've done something. His wife is like, you need to forsake God. Curse God and die. And then Job complains to God, and God's like, these are all the ways I'm faithful. And then he gets all of his stuff back threefold. Yeah, that's good. That's a pretty straightforward story. Job was good. Job had a lot of stuff. Satan did bad things to Job. Job complains. God assures him of his faithfulness and restores him. That's pretty easy to follow. But there's deeper meanings and deeper things that are going on here. This book generally is associated with one single word, suffering. And for that reason, it's very enticing and very interesting and appealing to lots of people. Why? because everybody in one sense or another will suffer in this life. And I'm not talking about just first world problems. I'm not talking about things that are minor inconveniences compared to what we're used to. But even us in a relatively wealthy culture, relatively wealthy time, we will also experience suffering, if nothing else, the loss of loved ones, the loss of friends, the loss of real Important things and so people come to the book of Job knowing that it's about suffering and they come to it looking For an explanation of it they come to it looking for a why suffering or what do I do with it? And if we come to it with that attitude, we're actually gonna be left frustrated because God doesn't really tell us why. And that's part of the point of the book and we'll get to that as we go on. It's not a book that makes suffering goes away, it's a book that helps us to consider our strength to endure suffering. And that's not just something I'm laying out before you, that's the Apostle James' interpretation of The book, would somebody please read James 5, 7 to 11? James 5, 7 to 11. By the way, when the New Testament tells you this is what an Old Testament book is about, that's the right answer. It's a little hermeneutics lesson for you there. Go for it, Francis. Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruits of the earth, being patient about it until it receives the early and the late rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged. Behold, the judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider he's blessed to remain steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job. You have seen the purpose of the Lord and how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. But above all my brothers, do not swear either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your yes be yes and your no be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. That's good. So, so James is saying life's tough. Endure it well. And who's the example? Look at Job. Look at the endurance that he puts forth. Now, I'm going to argue that that's also primarily talking about Job at the end of the book, but we'll get there. A basic outline of the book of Job is something like this. The prologue, which is the narrative portion that sets it up, that's going to be chapters 1 and 2 in their entirety. Then there is a cycle of speeches that makes up the body of the book. This is speeches by Job, by Job's friends, and this mysterious guy, Elihu, that we don't have time to get into today. But nonetheless, that cycle of speeches is going to run from chapter 3 all the way through chapter 37. That's the bulk of the book. And then the Lord will finally answer those speeches in chapter 38 through chapter 42 in verse 6. And then the rest of chapter 42, which is only 10 verses, seven to 17 is the epilogue. It's the concluding matter. It's when Job is restored, uh, multiple times over. So with that said, let's begin to work through this Job chapter one, beginning in verse one, there was a man in the land of us whose name was Job. And that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. And we already kind of talked about this, but what's, meant thereby blameless is not that he was holy and entirely without sin, that's not the idea, but rather it speaks of the general disposition of his character. Job was, to use modern parlance, he was a good guy, okay? But he was a very good guy. He lived a holy life. He feared the Lord and turned away from evil. That was his general default mode. It's a good way to be. And this little description of his character by the narrator is going to be very important as we read the speeches in the body of the book, knowing that this is God's assessment of Job. He's good. Also, keep in mind for this section, Job nor his friends are privy to this episode. They don't know what's in the prologue. This is revealed to us as the readers, but they in the time do not know this. So there's a, The prologue goes on and unfolds as Francis told us. There's this conversation between Satan and God over the character of Job, and Satan says, Job is only this way because you have been good to him. Let's read Job's accusation here in chapter one, verse six. Now there was a day when the sons of God, that's angels, came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan, also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, from where have you come? Satan answered the Lord 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, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. Then Satan answered the Lord and said, does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him, and his house, and all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face. What's Satan's accusation here? Job only loves you, God. Job only serves you, God, because of the good stuff that you give him. That's the accusation in a nutshell. And that will be a question that you will have to wrestle with at some point in your life. Do I only serve God? Do I only love God? Do I only obey God because he has been good to me? Do I love God for his own sake? That's a question that we ought to ask ourselves regularly. Do I love God for his own sake? Now, I trust that everyone here knows the correct answer, quote unquote, to say to that is yes, that's what we're aiming for. But what's the real answer? Don't be too quick to answer that. But the Lord knows those who are his, 2 Timothy 2.19 tells us, and so he tells Satan, take away all that he has and he will still praise me, only don't touch his health. So Satan goes and does exactly that. He destroys Job's whole life. And Job responds in chapter one, verses 20 to 22, Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head, and fell on the ground, and worshiped. And he said, naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this, Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. So Satan comes back to the heavenly council, and the same thing happens. Job praises God, and Satan says, well, he only praises you because you've spared his health, because you've spared his own personal well-being, yeah. If Satan went to the heavenly council, does that mean he has access to, like, divine, like, heaven, essentially? He's granted at this time, meaning... So, kind of like... This is a rabbit trail, but I'm going to answer it real quick. Last time we talked about the Book of Esther. And Queen Esther was not allowed to come into the king's presence without the king's permission. But with the king's permission, yes. So when God grants it, yes, when he doesn't, no. Does that make sense? So he can't infiltrate, he can't launch an invasion, but if God permits it, yes. All right, moving on. Moving on, so Job now goes, or Satan rather, now goes and afflicts Job's health. And note the counsel of Job's wife that Francis alluded to. She says in verse nine, do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die. Now, Job's wife takes a lot of flack for that, but I think humanly we can be a little sympathetic. She just lost everything too. When Job's kids died, those were her kids, When Job's livelihood went away, that was her livelihood, and now all she's left with is a husband who is sick and near unto death. She's not right, okay? It's the wrong answer, but let's not be too quick to beat her up over it either. And Job says, you speak as one of the foolish women speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not also receive evil?" In all this, Job did not sin with his lips. And so finally, Job's friends arrive, and they do the best thing they do on the whole book. This is also good advice for you guys when you have friends that are going through trial. What's it say they did? They sat with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. There will be times that you will be with a friend who is struggling and you'll want to say something to make it go away. Sometimes you'll have the words to do that. Other times you won't. Don't feel the pressure to make that happen. Sometimes just the mere presence of a supportive friend physically being there is the best thing you can do. Don't forget that. Because in there, pressure to make it right, they're going to make it way worse. Let's move into this cycle of speeches. In chapter three, things begin to fall off the rail. So far, Job is doing really, really remarkably well. This is what makes the book of Job so difficult. Essentially, we have this body of the book, 34 chapters of a 42-chapter book, that God's assessment at the end of it is, it's all wrong. Okay, that's what makes the Book of Job frustrating and confusing to read sometimes. John Calvin summarizes the whole section this way. He says, the friends argue a poor case well. They're wrong, but their argument's good. Job argues a good case poorly. He's right, but he argues it wrong. Does that make sense? But there's a general thrust, and we'll talk about it, why that might be the case. And the general thrust is that Job is totally distraught. He actually curses the day of his birth in chapter three, verse three. He's low, but it gets worse because his friends who have come to help are giving him very bad counsel. But what's frustrating is it's bad counsel that's based on true principles. That's where it gets complicated. So let's talk about this. The argument for all three of Job's friends is essentially the same. All three of them, from different angles across the chapters, are going to be arguing for this thesis. You reap what you sow. Question, is that true? As a general principle, it actually is. God says in Galatians 6, 7, that that is a true principle even for us in the New Testament. God is angry over unconfessed sin. That is true. The problem is that that is not the only explanation that's ever available for why something bad happens to somebody. Okay? It's a true general principle but it's poorly applied. It's imbalanced application. Every disease, every death, every hardship, every bad thing that happens in this world on one hand is a direct result of sin. Would not have happened had the fall not happened. That's true, but it does not follow that every bad thing that happens in your life is a direct result of your personal sin. You guys see the difference there? It flows from sin, but not always necessarily your direct personal sin. One great New Testament passage to always keep in mind when these kinds of things come up, because these things come up in Christian circles all the time, because that is a true principle that often gets poorly handled. I heard a story once about a university president, a Christian university president, who was suffering great physical ailments, and he was told by his whole board, we don't know what you did, but you need to confess, because that's why God's allowing the suffering to happen to you. Friends, that's not always the case. This is a good passage to keep in mind for that. In John chapter nine, verses one to three, you can look at it later, but I'll read it right now. As he passed by, this is Jesus, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind? There's a malady here. It's the result of sin, true. It's the result of somebody's direct personal sin, not necessarily. Jesus answers the question. It was not that this man sinned or his parents sinned, but that the work of God might be displayed in him. Sometimes that's the answer. Sufferings and afflictions happen that God might be glorified in delivering his people out of them. That is actually the case for Job. That said, it's never a bad idea to investigate your own heart for sin and seek to root it out. That's a good place to start. The Friends are right to suggest this is worth considering. They're wrong to insist that it's the only possible explanation. Dr. Belcher, who was one of my professors, said, The Friends make many true statements about God, but they stumble when they try to apply those statements to Job's situation. In other words, the main problem is the application of theology, which is a matter of wisdom. You guys get a lot of deep theology being raised in a church like this. And the idea is not just that you would know things, but you would also apply them well. Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter three, paragraph eight, the chapter on God's eternal decree ends this way. It says, this mystery of predestination must be handled with the utmost care. That's a paraphrase, but that's the gist of how it ends. You guys get high doctrine, and we are to handle it carefully. So that really kind of goes on for the bulk of the book. Again, different angles, different facets, but that's the overall thrust of it, so we won't go through every example of that. Let's get to the Lord's answer to all of this in Job 38. Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind. Actually, one more thing, just that you need to know. In Job's speeches, in his replies to those accusations, sometimes he replies directly to the friends, other times he passes by them and goes straight to God himself, And Job desires the opportunity to lay his case before God and be vindicated and be found not guilty. There are points that Job crosses the line as well and says that what's happening to him is God is wrong to have allowed this to happen. And we can't go there. And that's kind of the big part of the Lord's answer. Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge dress for action like a man, I will question you and you make it known to me. These are some of the most chilling words in all of scripture to me. They, they run and chill down my spine every time because I'm reminded and confronted with my own frailty because here the Lord, calls Job to the mat. Put on your big boy pants and let's go. You think that you're in a position where you can judge me. You must be pretty smart. You must know a lot of things, so let's see what else you know. And that's basically what he's saying here. Who is this that darkens counsel, gives bad advice by words without knowledge? You're talking about things you don't know and I'm going to lovingly, show you that. You guys, Job's friends, are giving all kinds of advice here, but you don't have a clue what you're talking about. And because of this, we can say that there is such a thing as sanctified sarcasm. One commentator says, Jehovah appears, that's the Lord, appears unexpectedly in a whirlwind to Job to which Job had challenged him. He asks him now to get himself ready for the contest. Can he explain the phenomenon of God's natural government? That's what all these questions are gonna center on. Can you tell me all these things about how the world works? Think about it this way. The natural, physical world, that's concrete. The ethical realm is, in a sense, abstract. So if you can't understand this relatively basic thing, on what grounds do you stand as a judge over the more complicated? Maybe an illustration here would be helpful. We're not saying that the ethical realm is any less certain than the moral realm, but rather that it's more sophisticated. It's like comparing addition to algebra. If you don't understand how addition works, you're not gonna get algebra. Or if the physical realm is checkers, the ethical realm is chess. There are rules, but it is a little bit more complex. And what we have here for the next three chapters is God laying out to Job scenario after scenario after scenario that reveals that Job, much like yourself and me, don't fully understand the most basic things about the world that we live in. And God does this out of love, because it's a dangerous place to be to think that you know more than God. Pride goeth before the fall, Proverbs 16, 18. And so the Lord just hits him with question after question after question about the most basic things that Job doesn't understand. And so Job finally says, all right, I'll shut up. I've had enough. I'll just sit here and suffer. That's also not what God wants. I don't know about you guys, but sometimes when I'm corrected in a way that I perceive harsh, my instinct is, and I can't argue that the person's wrong, just shut down. It's not a good response. It's not healthy. And God is not satisfied with Job's apathetic resigned submission. So he says, no, no, Job 40 verses 3 to 7. So Job answers, Behold, I am of small account. What shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. I have spoken once, and I will not answer twice, and I will proceed no farther. I'm just going to shut my mouth. And the Lord comes back and says, no, dress for action like a man. I will question you, and you make the thing known to me. So what's the point? What's the takeaway? He continues to push Job. until Job arrives where he's supposed to be. Then Job answered the Lord, 42, 1, I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge? He's quoting God's own words back to God about himself. Therefore, I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me which I did not know. Hear, and I will speak. I will question, and you will make it known to me. I had heard of you by the ear of hearing, but now my eye sees you. Therefore, I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes." God is lovingly pressing Job to humility that he might, as Frances mentioned earlier in her outline, see that God has also been faithful in all of these little things that we just cycled through or that the Lord cycled through with him. Therefore, I can also trust him with the big things. The point, the takeaway is that sometimes really bad things happen in your life, really tragic things. And there's not always a simple answer such as it's because you did X, Y, or Z, therefore this thing happened to you. But when those truly tragic things happen, what you need to know is that they happen for a reason. And that reason, while you may never fully understand it, will work itself out for your good and God's glory as defined by God and not by you. You won't always see how your scenario does either of those things, but a lot of times, in God's grace, you will. It may take months, it may take years, it may take decades, but you will. There were lots of situations and relationships that I had in high school and college that I could not figure out for the life of me why they didn't work. Now I'm married with three kids and I know why they didn't work, and I'm very glad they didn't work. But you don't always get that clarity. You don't always get that answer. God is not obligated to give that to you. When he does, thank him for his grace. But even when he doesn't, trust that you will know one day. God is not obligated to give you an explanation for everything he does. He never gives Job an explanation. He actually gives him something better. He gives him something better than an explanation. Job 42.5, I had heard you by the hearing of the ear. But now my eye sees you. What's better than an explanation? God gives Job himself. God gives Job closer communion with him. That is what we need in this life. And in the same way, that's the answer to Job's desire. Job pleads multiple times that there might be some kind of mediator between him and God, that there might be someone that could reconcile them, that could make them agree. See, every question that Job asks in this book, and look at these passages later for yourself, Job 19, 23 to 27, Job 23, one to seven, and I can give you those later again if you want. The answer to every question that Job asks in the minute, the answer is found in the Lord Jesus, the only mediator between God and man. the one who reconciles us to God and the one who reverses the power of sin and death on our behalf and promises us an eternity with him forever. Let's pray. God in heaven, we give thanks to you today for the book of Job and how it points to your son, the Lord Jesus. And I ask now father that you would be with us as we prepare to worship and with us as we depart from this place, that as trials come, We would say, it is well with my soul because our sin has been nailed to the cross and we bear it no more. But more than that, that we know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. We ask it in his name, amen.