The Source of Suffering

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Over the next four weeks, we are going to be doing something a little bit different. Tonight, we’re going to allow Job to show us the Source of Suffering. Next week, we’ll see the Purpose in Suffering. After that, we’ll see how we should respond When Others Suffer around us. And we’ll finish the series by seeing how we should respond when we suffer. Now, this isn’t going to be a verse-by-verse exposition like we’re used to. But we will be in the Text. And the Texts that we look at will be representative of each part of our survey. Tonight, to give us the foundation that we need, we’re going to read a very long passage. I’m going to read from 1:1-2:10, so bear with me.

JOB 1:1-2:10

Now, like I said, this isn’t going to be a technical overview of the book. We did that a couple of years ago on a Wednesday night and we don’t need to do that again. But I do think that we need to have a basic idea of the structure of the book. It can be divided into three main parts—the prologue, the dialogue, and the epilogue. The prologue is in the first two chapters. The epilogue is the last 11 verses of the book. So that tells you that the vast majority of the book is the dialogue. In that dialogue, there are four rounds of speeches between Job and his three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. In the last round, Zophar has apparently had enough, because he chooses not to speak. Then after the four rounds, the fourth friend comes into the picture. His name is Elihu and he gives four speeches, one right after the other. Job never responds to him. Then comes the climax of the book. That’s when God finally speaks. Starting in chapter 38, God speaks to Job in two rounds. God speaks a whole lot and Job just says a few words. I wanted to read the prologue tonight, because it sets the stage. We get to see the behind the scenes action that Job never got to see. All that Job saw was that everything in his life was almost immediately turned upside down. I know that everyone of us in here have suffered. None of us have experienced what Job experienced, but that doesn’t make our suffering any less real. By the same token, I may have never experienced what you have, but that doesn’t make your suffering any less real than mine. Suffering—no matter what it is—if you are suffering, it is real. It’s not trivial. It’s not something that we can just say, “That’s no big deal.” We might not understand it. We might not have ever experienced it, but to the one who is suffering, it is real suffering. Each of us either is suffering or have suffered. And I know that each of us in here isn’t finished with suffering. Suffering will hit us sometime in the future. Probably in the way we least expect it. And when we either see or experience suffering, we always ask questions. I want you to know that throughout this book, Job asked questions. And do you know what? God never admonished him for those questions. It was only when Job accused God of being unjust and began to demand that He justify Himself, that God admonished Job. Job asked God questions. Abraham asked God questions. Moses asked God questions. David asked God questions. The Psalms are full of questions. God the Son even asked God the Father questions. God is not afraid of your questions. Your questions will not anger Him. So when we either see or experience suffering, it’s ... next page »