Let God Be God
Job Chapter 38-39
By Pastor Jim May
Right now there are many of you in the church who are facing some really tough times; some in the area of finances; some in the area of family relationships; some in the area of your relationship with the Lord; some in the area of physical health; and some of you might be facing all of these and even more. There are times in the life of a Christian when things just don’t seem to go all that well; and it is in the midst of those times that Satan tends to hit you the hardest.
We must never forget one thing – just because we love the Lord and we are doing our best to serve Him, does not guarantee that we will go through life without facing some really tough times. The only thing that we are guaranteed is that Jesus is there all the time and that He has already put the plans into action to deliver you from those tough times. Even so, it is really hard to go through the day to day pain, suffering and heartache and still keep the faith.
There comes a time in every one of us when we will begin to doubt God’s intention; we doubt His presence; we doubt His provision – in other words, we just don’t understand what’s going on or how what we are facing can possibly be for our good. How can a loving God; an all powerful God; and an all knowing God just stand aside and watch us suffer? Why doesn’t God do something about it right now? What’s He waiting on? What does He expect of me before the answer will come? God, Where Are YOU? I need you now, not tomorrow, or the next day, but right now! Why can’t I get the answer I need today? What are you waiting for?
Those that are suffering from sickness and disease are trying to believe God for their miracle of healing, but for some reason, it just isn’t happening, at least now the way we would want it to. God, I know you can, but I don’t know if you will; or when you will; if you will! Those that are having other kinds of troubles have the same questions too.
None of us doubt that we have a God that can do anything. We all know that the Word of God promises that all things will work together for our good if we will serve the Lord. But Lord, I’m holding up my end of the deal to the best of my ability; when are you going to move on my behalf? Am I the only one who has ever thought these things or questioned God? I think not! These thoughts are all part of the human condition. I don’t believe that any man will go through life without asking these questions of God at some time or another.
The disciples found themselves in a open boat, crossing the sea when a great storm arose and they thought that they were going to drown. When they went to find Jesus, He was sound asleep in the bottom of the ship. I can just imagine what went through their minds at that moment. Then we see them ask Jesus the same question; that embodies all of the questions that we have just spoken of in our own lives. The disciples asked Jesus “Don’t you care if we drown?” Of course Jesus cared; but He wasn’t concerned about the storm; only about whether the disciples would trust Him. He is the master of the seas. He commands the winds and the waves. He created the seas; put the weather into motion; and with a word of His mouth the storm was instantly over. Now that’s the kind of action we want to see every time, but Jesus has His time table and we have ours; and they seldom match perfectly.
The best example of a man under trials that we can find in the Bible is found in the story of Job. If ever there was a man who had the right to question God, it was Job. Let’s look at part of the story of Job and see what we can glean from it that might give us the courage to face the trial, no matter how hard it might get.
In Job chapters 38 and 39 we find God asking Job a lot of questions. In those two chapters we find God asking more questions of a man than anywhere else in the Bible. In those two chapters there are 59 questions that God asked of Job. The amazing thing is that Job could not answer even one of God’s questions.
Why was God asking Job all of these questions? The answer is that Job was in trouble; and it wasn’t just all of the things that Job had faced in life, but Job was in real trouble spiritually. Job was at the point in his suffering when he was losing confidence in God. He needed a reminder of God’s great love and limitless power.
Job was a man of God. He had faith in God and he served God with all his heart. The very first thing we read of concerning Job is that he was “perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed [hated] evil.” Job was the perfect type of the Believer in the Old Testament.
Job was also a very blessed man because God had given him a beautiful family with seven sons and three daughters. He was a rich man in his day with a huge “ranch” where his brand was upon 7000 sheep, 3000 camels, 1000 oxen, 500 donkeys and large number of household servants. He was a landowner and an employer that supported the servants who worked for him. There is no doubt that Job was thankful for all that God had done for him and that Job was also faithful in giving back to God part of what God had given to him as offerings.
Job was also the priest of his house. When his grown children were off enjoying the party life, Job was leading a worship service and sacrificing on behalf of each of his children praying that God would lead them into a closer walk with God.
There is no doubt that Job was as faithful and close to God as a man could be. We need a lot more men like that in the church today. I thank God that I believe we have men like that in our church, and I only pray that God will send us many more who are as dedicated as some of you are to serving the Lord with all your heart.
But even a godly man like Job wasn’t going to go through life without facing some trials. It all started because of God’s love for Job and the fact that He wanted the devil to know just how good and trustworthy that Job was. Even so, God knew that Job was not perfect yet and there was still some refining of Job’s character that needed to be done. God brought Satan’s attention to Job, knowing that this would be the beginning of a time of trials for Job. The trials would be meant to make Job what God knew he could be; and not a series of events that would destroy Job’s faithfulness. The process of Job’s trials were about to begin.
Who knows what conversation might have went on between God and Satan concerning your life? Maybe it was a lot like the once concerning Job. Perhaps there came a day when the Lord bragged about you to the devil. Satan hates you; he hates God; and he hates anything to do with God, so he will always seek permission to try you and test you; with the intent to destroy you if he can. What Satan does not seem to understand is that God never gives permission for you to be put to the test unless He knows that you can overcome it and be a better person when it’s over.
1 Corinthians 10:13, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."
God didn’t send the trial to Job. He didn’t order Satan to do anything. He simply said, “I trust Job. He will not fail, no matter what the devil does.” But there are limits to what Satan could do. He could not kill Job. Only God has the power over life and death, and He will never relinquish that right to Satan. God intends for every one of us to have life, and life abundantly. His intent is never to see you destroyed or have your faith shipwrecked by the trials and tests that you may have to face while growing in the Lord.
God allowed Satan to bring disaster upon Job. Many of you have experienced disasters in your life too. Some of you have had to face the kinds of things that Job experienced. Maybe you’ve lost a child that you loved, or your business has gone bankrupt, and all that you have worked for seems to be lost because of the economic downturn in recent months. I doubt that any of us have faced everything that Job had to face though; at least not all at once like he did.
Job lost it all. He lost his children, all 10 at the same time. He lost many of his possessions at the same time. And though Job cried and prayed for an answer, none came. Oh what kind faith Job must have had to withstand all of this and remain true to God in spite of it all!
That didn’t mean that Job didn’t have times of deep depression, doubts and fears. He didn’t blame God for his troubles but he sure questioned God, “Why, Lord? Why is all this happening to me? Why don’t you answer me?” Yet through it all, Job’s faith in God stayed intact.
The LORD then allowed Satan to strike Job again. This time it was in a much more personal fashion. Before, everything that happened was to cause him to have a wounded spirit and a broken heart. Now the attacks were aimed at his own body.
Some of you have been diagnosed with diseases that the doctors say are probably incurable. Some of you suffer from constant nagging pain that never goes away. Job experienced those things too. He was afflicted with boils all over his body. He couldn’t sleep because of the pain. He thought he was about to die. It got so bad that his wife, hurting herself from the loss of her children, and watching all that they had worked for disappear, and then watching her husband suffer so much, finally said, “Job, why not just curse God and die!” If she had had faith in God, she had it no more. In her heart, she blamed God and just wanted it to all be over.
Even then Job’s faith stood strong. In Job 2:10 we see what his answer to her was, “…Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
Then Job’s best friends tried to do an intervention on Job’s behalf. Friend mean well, but often they tend to make matters worse. There are times when friends don’t understand, they don’t have any answers either, but they fell like they have to say something. You are glad that they care, but sometimes it’s better to be just left alone.
Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar showed up and things were going so bad for Job that they couldn’t find the words to say anything for seven days. Sometimes the news is so bad that you don’t know what to say. It just doesn’t seem right, or it seems so trite, just to say, “Trust in the Lord”, or “It will all work out to your good in the end”, or the old standby response, “I’ll be praying for you. Call me if there’s anything I can do.”
We know they mean well. We know that there’s nothing you can do but pray. We know that man doesn’t have the answers. I guess the good thing is that at least you know someone cares. And you also know that the only thing and the best thing that friends can do for you in the really, really bad times is to pray for you, because only God has the answer.
Sometimes the trial is so great and the suffering is so bad that you just want to give up. “Lord, if you can’t heal me, then take me home. I can’t take this anymore.” And still the trials go on and on.
Job gave up too. Job 3:1-3, "After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day. And Job spake, and said, Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived." For the first time we see Job’s faith begin to waver and he begins to murmur and complain.
To add fuel to the fire, Jobs friends now began to blame Job for his own troubles. You must have committed some great sin for all this to happen. You need to repent.” There are times when that may be case, but it certainly wasn’t in Job’s life.
If you are facing hard troubles today, search your heart. If sin is there that may be bringing judgment against you, then repent and God may stay the judgment. If you can find no fault that would bring judgment, then the chances are that this is not a judgment but a trial or test. Job’s trials came because of Satan, not for any other reason. Remember that! More often than not it is an attack of the devil that brings your troubles and not the judgments of God, so don’t around condemning anyone or thinking the worst of them in the midst of their troubles. If you judge a brother or sister in the Lord wrongfully, then you could place yourself in danger of God’s judgment for that sin!
Sometimes friends and other people in the church speak the truth, but it isn’t said in love but in a judgmental attitude or voice of anger. Remember, it’s often not “What you say” that hurts other people, but it’s “How you say it”. I hear of hurt feelings all of the time because of this one thing. People don’t know how to talk without seeming bossy, angry or overbearing. If we can’t say what we should say in love, then don’t say it at all because it will only make matters worse.
Job’s friend Elihu had that problem. He said some good things, but he said them in a hateful, bossy manner than speaking in love and it only tended to make Job feel even worse. Elihu said that God is good; that God has a good reason for sending trials upon Job, to turn Job back to God; and that God was only acting in love for Job. All of that was true but the fact is that Elihu said all of that in a fussing tone of voice. Job didn’t receive it. He ignored it and didn’t say anything. He knew all of this anyway and he was already feeling low. The last thing he needed was for a friend who didn’t understand what was going on to start telling him how wrong he was, and that everything was all Job’s fault.
Would you like for me give you some excellent rules for giving advice? Well, here they are anyway!
#1) Don’t give advice period, unless it’s asked for. Everybody has an opinion, and when we want yours, we will ask for it. Until then, keep it to yourself.
#2) If you can’t say something good, then don’t say anything at all.
#3) If your words can’t build up someone, then keep them to yourself before you tear them down even further.
#4) Sometimes it’s best just to keep your comments to yourself and keep your nose out of other people’s business.
#5) It’s always better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you are an idiot, than to open your mouth, say the wrong thing and prove them right.
#6) Be absolutely sure that your brain is in gear before putting your mouth into motion.
#7) Have regular maintenance done on the clutch between your brain and your mouth because all too often we have to say everything that pops into our mind. If the clutch is working right, maybe we could just think something without saying it out loud. It would certainly serve to head off a few hurt feelings if we could learn to do that.
In spite of all that his wife said; in spite of all that his friends said; in spite of all the murmuring and complaining and questioning God; and in spite of begging God to appear to him and give him an answer, Job had no answers.
Are your questions still unanswered? We all know that God sometimes uses trouble to punish the wicked. But why do so many wicked people seem to get by without all the troubles I have? I see the news media practically cursing God. I see people who get falling down drunk every weekend. I see those who refuse to hear about Jesus. I hear those who worship sports and other idols. Why isn’t God punishing them or sending trials to them, like He is to me? God sometimes uses trouble to draw a believer closer to him. But God, why me? There are lots of other Christians who aren’t nearly as close to you as me. Why do you send me trouble and not them? Questions, questions and more questions; griping, grumbling and complaining, but still God doesn’t give you the answers you seek after. This is what is going on in Job’s mind and heart and well.
God finally spoke but when He did, He didn’t explain to Job why these bad things were happening. Instead, he began to question Job. Job had been trying to justify himself and say that it was God who is unfair. These questions are meant to remind Job that he is not the one who can stand in judgment over God.
We certainly can’t go through all 59 of God’s questions to Job but let’s just look at Job 38:2-11 and check out a few of them.
Job 38:2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
Job should have been an inspiration to his friends to say, “God will see me through. It’s going to be alright. God love me this I know. I will win in the end, if I will only keep the faith.” Instead Job tended to make God out to be an uncaring, insensitive God who wasn’t taking care of business on Job’s behalf. This only built up Job and tore down their image of God, making God into some dark, severe, unjust ogre. God question was, “Who are you to judge Me? Who made you God?”
Job 38:3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
Job, stand up like a man and fight this thing. Don’t be weak and give in to the tricks of the devil. Since you are so smart, answer me. Let’s see just how much you really know of Me! You tried to force me to fit into your mold so let’s just see how small you really are, and how little you really know.
Job 38:4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
How did I create the universe? Tell me Job, you are so smart. How did I do it? Answer that if you can.
Job 38:5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
How did I know what size to make the earth; to make the sun, moon and stars? How big is the emptiness of space? How long is time and how did I create time, Job? Answer that one why don’t you!
Job 38:6,7 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
What is holding all of creation together Job? What makes the stars stay in place? What is the beginning point and ending point of Creation, Job? How many angels were in the choir rejoicing over Creation on that day? Can you give me the answer?
Job 38:8-11, Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it, And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,
And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
Who determined the limits of the seas? When the waters came upon the earth and it was without form and void, and darkness moved upon the face of the deep, who separated them, put limits upon them and birthed the world into existence. Who created the lass masses and gave birth to the continents in a world that you have yet to discover? Were you there Job? Was it you? How did I do it Job, tell me if you can.
Since you can answer none of these questions Job, what gives you the right to discredit My justice or condemn Me for no doing what you want me to do? Can you think what I think, do what I do, or even love as I love? I think not. So who are you to presume to judge Me, Job. Answer me if you can.
God wanted to get Job’s attention. God was bringing Job back to a place of repentance for doubting God, and for his complaining and murmuring against God.
Job did repent and the trials came to end. The conclusion to this story is that the LORD blessed Job with twice as much as he had before. Great was the LORD’s love and power.
If you are experiencing a great deal of bad news, troubles and trials right now, I don’t know if it is the LORD’s will to bless you with twice as much after all the trouble is past. But I do know that our God is the God of love and power who promises that he has prepared a place for us where it will be worth it all.
By his death and resurrection, Jesus has guaranteed that after all the bad times, we will be with the Lord in heaven forever. Job was blessed more in this life after the trials than he had been before. God restored him to an even greater life. Everything that was taken away was replaced with even greater. Though Job never forgot what he had lost, he was blessed with what he had even more in the end.
When bad things happen, it is hard sometimes to trust in the LORD. When things look so very bad, we must remember that our God is able to do the impossible. We must remember God’s love and power, and we must stand strong in faith, trusting and believing in Him.
I do not know your answer, but Jesus does. I cannot heal your hurts, but Jesus can. I cannot give you a miracle of healing and deliverance, but Jesus can. Trust Him in spite of it all and Jesus will bring you through. The time and manner in which your deliverance will come is in the hands of our Sovereign God. Do you trust Him enough to just let go and let God? The victory is yours if you will only trust Him until the answer comes.
