An Overview of the Book of Job Sunday

An Overview of the Book of Job Sunday, June 3, 2012 1

Charlie Brown’s Christmas 2

You probably do not suffer from pantaphobia (“fear of everything”). But you probably fear something? 3

1. What is fear? 2. What causes fear? 3. What cures fear? Let’s turn to the book of Job as we ponder the answers to these questions. 4

Job’s Initial Condition: Life Behind the Hedge 5 5

“My servant Job, there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil. ” Job 1: 8 Hebrew: yare (yaw-ray’) “throwing oneself down at the feet of an authority out of awe and reverence” 6

Septuagint (LXX) 2 nd Century BC Greek Translation of Hebrew Old Testament Hebrew: yare Greek: phobeo (fob-eh’-o) “fear” theosebes (theh-os-eb-ace’) “worship God” 7

“Behold, fear of Yahweh is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding” Job 28: 28 “A wise man fears and departs from evil. ” Proverbs 14: 16 8

In Job 1: 6, a time comes when all the angels present themselves before Yahweh, who asks the Adversary (Hebrew: ha. Satan), “from where do you come? ” The Adversary indicates that he has been “going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth it” (1: 7). 9

“Your adversary the devil walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. ” 1 Peter 5: 8 10

“WALKS ABOUT” HEBREW/ ARAMAIC GREEK JOB 1: 7 OT halak LXX emperipateo 1 PETER 5: 8 Peshitta – halek NT – peripateo OT – Hebrew Old Testament LXX – Septuagint (Greek translation of OT) NT – Greek New Testament Peshitta – Aramaic translation [4 th Century AD] of NT 11

“Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none other like him on the earth, a blameless & upright man, one who fears God & shuns evil? ” Job 1: 8 Yahweh is suggesting Job as the Adversary’s next “victim”! 12

In Job 1: 9 -11, the Adversary complains that Yahweh has placed a hedge around Job & his household. The Adversary also indicates that the only reason Job serves God is because He blesses him. If Yahweh raised a hand against him, Job would curse Him. 13

“Behold, all that he has is in your hand; only do not lay a hand on his person. ” Job 1: 12 If Yahweh transfers all that Job has into the Adversary’s hand, in Whose hand were these things in the first place? 14

In 1: 13 -19, Job soon receives the following news: 1. The Sabeans attacked, stole all his oxen & donkeys, and killed the servants watching them. 2. Fire from heaven burned up all his sheep & the servants watching them. 3. The Chaldeans attacked, stole all his camels, and killed the servants watching them. 4. A great wind caused the building where his sons & daughters were to fall down & kill them. 15

Job Worshiped Yahweh! “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away; Blessed be the name of Yahweh. ” Job 1: 21 16

Was Job mistaken in his assessment of what had occurred to him? Shouldn’t he have said: “Yahweh gave & the Adversary has taken away”? 17

In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong. Job 1: 22 Hebrew: tiphlah (tif-law’ ) “being worthless or bland because ingredients are missing” 18

Job’s Condition Following Trial #1 19

In Job 2, we again see the Adversary presenting himself before Yahweh, Yahweh asking where he has been, the Adversary replying that he has been roaming the earth. And again, Yahweh asking the Adversary if he has considered His servant, Job. 20

In Job 2: 4, 5, the Adversary complains that Yahweh has not dropped the hedge enough. The Adversary indicates that if Yahweh would only touch Job’s bone & flesh, he would surely curse God. 21

In Job 2: 6, Yahweh replies to the Adversary, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life. ” 22

In 2: 7, we are told that the Adversary struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 23

In 2: 9, Job’s wife says to him, “do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God & die!”. 24

“Shall we indeed accept good from the hand of God, and shall we not accept adversity? ” Job 2: 10 a 25

Was Job mistaken in his assessment of what had occurred to him? Shouldn’t he have said: “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity from the Adversary? ” 26

In all this Job did not sin with his lips. Job 2: 10 b 27

Hebrew: ra’ “Shall we indeed accept good from the hand of God, and shall we not accept adversity? ” Job 2: 10 a “I am Yahweh, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me. … There is none besides Me. I am Yahweh, and there is no other; I form the light and create the darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, Yahweh, do all these things. ” Isaiah 45: 5 -7 “Of the tree of the knowledge of good & evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. ” Genesis 2: 17 28

Things Job Knew That Most People Never Learn 1. Everything that we have is from Yahweh and He can take it back whenever He pleases; and, 2. Everything that comes into our lives, both prosperity and adversity equally, come from the hand of Yahweh. 29

Job’s Condition Following Trial #2. Yahweh is the only thing we have permanently 30

Job: Likely the second Edomite king, Jobab, great-grandson of Esau. 31

The Adversary is not equal to Yahweh: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. He He He reports to Yahweh; must give an account to Yahweh; receives input from Yahweh; requires permission from Yahweh to act; is bounded by Yahweh. 32

“I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; … God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God. ” Genesis 45: 4 -8 33

“For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand Your purpose determined before to be done. ” Acts 4: 27 34

“It pleased Yahweh to bruise Him; He put Him to grief. ” Isaiah 53: 10 “the moving back and forth in a cup” daka Seeds are placed in a stone mortar, a stone cup, the stone pestle is moved around the cup to crush the seeds into a powder. 35

Job’s Miserable Friends: Mouthpieces of the Adversary “My wrath is aroused against you … for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. ” Job 42: 7 36

“For the fear (Heb: pachad; LXX: phobos) I greatly feared (Heb: pachad) has come upon me, and what I have dreaded (Heb: yagor) has happened to me. ” Job 3: 25 37

Pachad “shaking thighs” Yagor “fear of strangers or of being in a strange place, fear of the unknown” 38

“The arrows of the Almighty are within me; my spirit drinks in their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me. ” Job 6: 4 “What have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target? ” Job 7: 20 39

“He crushes me with a tempest, and multiplies wounds without cause. He will not allow me to catch my breath, but fills me with bitterness. ” Job 9: 17, 18 “Your hands have made me and fashioned me, an intricate unity; yet You would destroy me. ” Job 10: 8 40

“Withdraw Your hand far from me, and let not the dread of You make me afraid. … Why do You hide Your face, and regard me as Your enemy. ” Job 13: 21, 24 “For He performs what is appointed for me, and many such things are with Him. Therefore, I am terrified at His presence; when I consider this, I am afraid of Him. For God made my heart weak, and the Almighty terrifies me. Job 23: 14 -16 41

“Oh, that I were as in months past, as in the days when God watched over me; when His lamp shone upon my head, and when by His light I walked through darkness; just as I was in the days of my prime, when the friendly counsel of God was over my tent; when the Almighty was yet with me. Job 9: 2 -5 42

Despite worshipping and submitting to God’s authority, Job seems to have had the following feelings about God: • God was his enemy trying to destroy him; • God was acting unjustly toward him; and, • God had abandoned him. 43

JOB’S ERROR God is unmerciful “He counts me as His enemy” (33: 10) God is unjust “God has taken away my justice” (34: 5) God is unfaithful “I do not see Him” (35: 14 a) ELIHU’S REBUKE God is merciful “God does all to bring back a man’s soul from the Pit, that he may be enlightened with the light of life” (33: 29, 30) God is just “God will never do wickedly, nor will the Almighty pervert justice” (34: 12) God is faithful “You must wait for Him” (35: 14 b) 44

“You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. ” Job 2: 10 a “Job speaks without knowledge, his words are without wisdom. His answers are like those of the wicked men. ” Job 34: 35, 36 45

Enter, Yahweh! “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me. … Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it. Job 38: 2, 3; 40: 2 46

1. Contend: “head of the family” (i. e. , master); 2. Correct: “to turn the head” (i. e. , rule); and, 3. Rebuke: “palm wall” (i. e. , to chastise with a firm hand) 47

“I am vile, what shall I answer You? I will put my hand over my mouth. … I know that you can do anything, and that no purpose can be withheld from You. … I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. … I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore, I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. ” 40: 4, 42: 2, 3, 5, 6 48

Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God. … That our idea of God corresponds as nearly as possible to the true being of God is of immense importance to us. … Our real idea of God may lie buried under the rubbish of religious notions and may require a vigorous search before it is finally unearthed and exposed for what it is. A. W. Tozer (1897 – 1963) 49

Only after an ordeal of painful self-probing are we likely to discover what we actually believe about God. A right conception of God is to worship what the foundation is to the temple; where it is inadequate or out of plumb the whole structure must sooner or later collapse. I believe there is scarcely an error in doctrine or a failure in applying Christian ethics that cannot be traced finally to imperfect and ignoble thoughts about God. 50

“Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come to His seat! I would present my case before Him, and fill my mouth with arguments. ” Job 23: 3, 4 51

“One thing I desired of Yahweh, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of Yahweh all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of Yahweh, and to inquire in His temple. ” Psalm 27: 4 52

JOB DAVID Desire: a day in Yahweh’s court. Desire: a lifetime in Yahweh’s house. Reason: present my case before Him. Reason: behold the beauty of Him. “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. ” 2 Corinthians 3: 17, 18 53

“Yahweh is my light & salvation, whom shall I fear? Yahweh is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? … Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident. ” Psalm 27: 2, 3 54

JOB DAVID God is Merciful: God is Unmerciful: “My eye will never again see good” (7: 7) God is Unfaithful: “Why do you hide Your face, and regard me as Your enemy? ” (13: 24) “I would have lost heart, unless I believed that I would see the goodness of God in the land of the living” (Ps 27: 13) God is Faithful: “When my father and my mother forsake me, then Yahweh will take care of me” (Ps 27: 10) 55

“Wait on Yahweh; be of good courage, and He will strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on Yahweh. ” Psalm 27: 14 1. Wait: “gather together & tie w/cord” 2. Courage: “grab hold tightly”; and, 3. Strengthen: “mighty sides” 56

Shimei cursed David, saying, “Come out! You bloodthirsty man, you worthless man! … You are caught in your own evil, because you are a bloodthirsty man. ” 2 Samuel 16: 5 -8 ABISHAI’S RESPONSE DAVID’S RESPONSE “Let him curse, “Why should this dead because Yahweh has dog curse my lord the said to him, ‘Curse king? Please let me go David. ’ Who then shall over & take off his say, ‘Why have you head” (vs. 9) done so? ’” (vs. 10) 57

Fear is belief in a small God. To the extent that we fear our circumstances or people, to that extent there is something wrong with our knowledge of God. Therefore, the cure for fear is to unearth and expose our small thoughts about God. 58

The Half Quoted Passage “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. ” Romans 8: 28 59

The Other Half “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. ” Romans 8: 29 60

Paul writes, “If God is for us, who can be against us? … Who shall separate us from the love of Messiah? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Messiah Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8: 31 -39) 61

Job’s God was too small. To expand his understanding of the: • width of God’s sovereignty; • length of God’s faithfulness; • depth of God’s mercy; and, • height of God’s justice Yahweh, in love, sent severe trials into Job’s life. “You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by Yahweh, that Yahweh is very compassionate & merciful. ” James 5: 11 62

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