This morning we are going to look at some words of revelation from the Lord spoken by the prophet Elihu to Job. In Elihu’s words of wisdom, we find a message that can be applied to those who are lost without salvation in Jesus Christ; and I wish to begin this sermon with an illustration:
One evening a woman was driving home, when she noticed a huge truck behind her that was driving uncomfortably close. She stepped on the gas to gain some distance from the truck, but when she sped up, the truck did too. The faster she drove the faster the truck drove.
Now scared, she exited the freeway, but the truck stayed with her. The woman turned up a main street, hoping to lose her pursuer in traffic, but the truck ran a red light, and continued the chase.
Reaching the point of panic, the woman whipped her car into a service station and jumped out of her car screaming for help. The truck driver sprang from his truck, and ran toward her car. Yanking the back door open, the driver pulled out a man hidden in the back seat.
The woman was running from the wrong person. From his high vantage point, the truck driver had spotted a would-be criminal in the woman’s car. The chase was not his effort to harm her, but to save her, even at the cost of his own safety.
Likewise, many people run from God . . . fearing what He might do to them. But His plans are for good, not evil, to rescue us from the hidden sins that endanger our lives.(1)
This morning we are going to look at how people sometimes run from the Lord, when He is only trying to rescue them, and we will see some of the ways in which God will pursue those who are fleeing from Him. And last, but not least, we will see what happens when the Lord actually catches the person who’s running.
Running from the Lord (vv. 9-13)
9 “I am pure, without transgression; I am innocent, and there is no iniquity in me. 10 Yet He finds occasions against me, He counts me as His enemy; 11 He puts my feet in the stocks, He watches all my paths.” 12 Look, in this you are not righteous. I will answer you, for God is greater than man. 13 Why do you contend with Him? For He does not give an accounting of any of His words.
In verses 9-13, we can see how people will run from the Lord through their own reasoning. And we can see some of the excuses they tend to make. Look at the display of self-righteousness here. Elihu shared how Job had declared, “I am pure, without transgression; I am innocent, and there is no iniquity in me” (v. 9). People who do not know the Lord will often try to justify themselves by their own works.
And one of the worldly misconceptions they live by and believe is that they are “good,” and will therefore automatically go to heaven when they die. There are indeed some really good people out there – at least by our definition – but God’s requirement for going to heaven is not goodness, but righteous; to be “holy and pure.” And the Bible says, in Romans 3:10, “There is none righteous, no, not one,” and Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” God requires righteousness but, according to the Bible, all people have fallen short and missed the mark.
The Bible tells us that the only way a person can make it to heaven is if they know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Nowhere in God’s Word does it say, “Be a good person and you will go to heaven.” Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
In verses 10-11, Elihu revealed how Job was thinking that the Lord was out to get him. Think back to a time on the job, or at school, when you were asked to do something by the boss or your teacher that was really hard or painstaking. What was the first thing that you thought about that boss or teacher? Did you think, “He doesn’t like me,” or “She’s really mean?”
This is how those who are lost often feel about the Lord. They think that if God asks anything more of them than being good, that He is too strict, and doesn’t really have their best interest in mind; or as Elihu stated that Job put it, “He counts me as His enemy” (v. 10).
Anyone who reasons that God is too strict in his requirement for salvation and that He doesn’t really care for them is wrong. The Lord is just and He knows exactly what He is doing. He loves us, and He is God and He sets the rules; so who are we to argue that His ways are too strict or unjust? As verse 13 portrays, the Lord does not have to give an account to any man.
The Lord Pursues the Lost (vv. 14-22)
14 For God may speak in one way, or in another, yet man does not perceive it. 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men, while slumbering on their beds, 16 then He opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction. 17 In order to turn man from his deed, and conceal pride from man, 18 He keeps back his soul from the Pit, and his life from perishing by the sword. 19 Man is also chastened with pain on his bed, and with strong pain in many of his bones, 20 so that his life abhors bread, and his soul succulent food. 21 His flesh wastes away from sight, and his bones stick out which once were not seen. 22 Yes, his soul draws near the Pit, and his life to the executioners.
In verses 14-22, we can see just how much the Lord desires to see us come to know Him. The Lord will pursue us, and actually do many things to reveal that we need Him. Look at verse 14: “For God may speak in one way, or in another, yet man does not perceive it.” The King James Version says, “For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not.”
If you are a believer, think back to a time when you didn’t know Christ. Do you remember being in church, sitting in the pew at the invitation time, and feeling something telling you that you need to go forward and receive Christ? That was God speaking, but you did not perceive it and you kept telling yourself, “Maybe I’ll go up next time.” Did you ever stop to think that there might not be a next time? There might not be a tomorrow, for we could die this very day.
Look at verses 15-17 and consider them carefully. Did you ever lie awake at night in fear, wondering what would happen if you were to die tomorrow? I remember how I used to when I was lost without Jesus, and it is a miserable feeling. This is the Lord speaking to you through the Holy Spirit, knocking on the door to your heart. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”
The Holy Spirit will reveal that your own way of life, and living for yourself will only bring about death. He’s causing you to think about the pride that keeps you from accepting Jesus as your Savior and Lord; the pride that causes you to reason within your mind that should you come forward in church that everyone will think you’re a sinner. Let me tell you, it doesn’t matter if people think you are a sinner, because we all are.
Verse 18 reveals that the Lord does all of these things to try to keep us from going into the pit, or into hell, and to try to keep us from dying in our sins.
Verses 19-21, show us how the Lord will allow us to become sick of life; sick of the pain and suffering, so that we might realize that the world that we are clinging to so tightly is not worth dying over. He is also showing us that the pain we feel now can’t even compare to the pain that will come after death for those who do not know the Lord, Jesus Christ.
Verse 22 says, “Yes, his soul draws near the Pit, and his life to the executioners.” A person’s soul draws nearer to the grave each and every second of the day. If you have a watch with a second hand on it, just glance at it briefly, and think that with every tick of the clock your soul is drawing nearer to the day of your death; and without Christ, nearer to judgement.
We have just examined the life of a lost person, and we have seen some of the ways in which the Lord tries to warn them about impending death. So, what happens if the Lord catches the person that He is pursuing? What happens when God’s Word reaches a person who does not know Him? Well, let us see!
The Lord Catches the Lost (vv. 23-28)
23 If there is a messenger for him, a mediator, one among a thousand, to show man His uprightness, 24 then He is gracious to him, and says, “Deliver him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom;” 25 His flesh shall be young like a child’s, He shall return to the days of his youth. 26 He shall pray to God, and He will delight in him, He shall see His face with joy, for He restores to man His righteousness. 27 Then he looks at men and says, “I have sinned, and perverted what was right, and it did not profit me.” 28 He will redeem his soul from going down to the Pit, and his life shall see the light.
Who is the messenger in verse 23 that is supposed to show a man the Lord’s uprightness? This word messenger is the Hebrew word malak, also meaning, “ambassador, angel, or king.”(2) The messenger could be Jesus Christ speaking to your heart through the Holy Spirit. It could also be a believer who has the compassion to share the message of salvation with you.
In looking at verse 24, we can see that if a person realizes his sin and repents, then God will say, “Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.” If those of us who are believers will share the love of Jesus Christ and become a mediator, then the person we witness to may be spared death in hell.
Now, look at verse 25, and think about it. “His flesh shall be young like a child's, He shall return to the days of his youth.” Does this verse sound like it should be found in the New Testament? If you have ever heard the statement “you must be born again” that Jesus shared with Nicodemus, then you will realize that this verse is describing how a person will become fresh with new life after repenting of his or her sins – new spiritual life, that is.
Now, take a look at verses 23 and 26 together. These verses remind us of the work of Christ as our mediator, and intercessor. Hebrews 7:25 says, “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them,” and 1 Timothy 2:5-6 declares, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all.”
When Jesus died on the cross, He died for our sins, paying the price and accepting the penalty on Himself. Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We should all perish in hell for our sins, but Jesus died in our place, so that we could be seen as blameless before God, sinless and righteous – that is, those of us who accept Jesus as Savior and Lord. When we accept Him, then Jesus will intercede on our behalf, and become our advocate before God, declaring our righteousness obtained through Him and by Him.
All of the amazing things that we are shown will happen to a person, as seen in verses 23-26, will only take place if a person does as instructed in verse 27. Verse 27 is the key verse here. In the King James Version we read, “He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not.” Right here we see how one accepts Jesus Christ and receives His salvation.
A person has to confess their sin, and realize that their lifestyle of sin will do them no good. This confessing of sin is called repentance, which means to turn away from sin, and do a complete 180. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Time of Reflection
What we have just seen in this passage from Job, is the spiritually tormented life of someone who has been running from the Lord; but we also see the cure. Right now, if you do not know Jesus Christ, then death is drawing near and the pit is getting closer each and every minute. This morning I have served as a messenger, like Elihu was to Job. I have shared with you that your own life of sin is wrong in the eyes of God, and it will only lead to destruction.
We have seen, however, that if a person repents after hearing of the need for repentance, then that person will be born again, and be seen as a new creation. They will become spiritually fresh as a child, and be free of the guilt of sin. The Bible says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
If you are someone who has been running from the Lord, then I want you to know that the Lord has caught up to you. You have been shown the way, and now it is up to you to make a choice. Will you be spared from the pit, or will you spend all eternity there? The choice is yours – so choose wisely.
NOTES
(1) James S. Hewett, ed., Illustrations Unlimited (Tyndale).
(2) James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Peabody: Hendrickson), page 66 in the Hebrew dictionary.
