TITLE: GOD FINALLY SPEAKS
SCRIPTURE: JOB 38
(This is not an original sermon, it was gleaned from various ministers and redeveloped on some portions, it is designed that you can use all of the manuscript or move around to fit your particular style)
If you could be transported back in time by the spirit of God to any moment in redemptive history, what would you like to go back and see? Where would you like to go? So many options.
• Love to be there when God created the universe and see it all unfolding step by step. To see the beautiful GARDEN OF EDEN, to see the beauty of that pristine and perfect world. What would it be like just to be there?
• Or when NOAH got off the arc after the flood, and he offered up the sacrifice, that pleasing aroma to God, and then that rainbow came in the skies and that sense of the beauty, the freshness of a world cleansed from wickedness and sin, a fresh start
• Maybe when ABRAHAM was about to sacrifice his son, ISAAC, and the Angel of the Lord stopped him and a voice from heaven, from the Angel of the Lord said, “NOW I KNOW THAT YOU FEAR GOD”
There are so many options, but for me this morning, at least, I would love to be there when God spoke to Job out of the whirlwind. To just stand there and hear the voice of God. Because I have a feeling that in the end, that's the message of the book of Job.
• That if God would be with us in our suffering
• If he would talk to us
• If he would speak to us
• If He would walk with us through the water and through the fire, we could make it through anything
• If God would be with us and would be for us, we could endure any of the afflictions He would choose to bring into our lives
We are familiar with the Book of Job and his tremendous sufferings and his three friends that come in an effort to comfort him and provide such unwise and hurtful counsel. Matter of fact Job would eventually say to his friends in JOB 16:2 “I HAVE HEARD MANY SUCH THINGS: MISERABLE COMFORTERS ARE YE ALL.” For 37 Chapters we hear what Job was going through, the counsel he would receive, and God does not answer at all. Job is now fed up with his wife and his friends and begins to defend and declare his righteousness in the midst of all his pain and suffering…and God is still silent.
Silent treatment – a horrible weapon, in relationships. Silence is golden. True - but not when it is used as a weapon. Some of you grew up in homes where there may not have been outright arguments - but there was painful silence. Maybe you do it yourself. It happens in families; it happens in churches
• “I’ll teach her a lesson - I will ignore her. Won’t say a thing”. “I’ll show him!”
• Not a word is spoken
• It can go on for days … years even
• It’s a weapon - and if sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me” - if we recognize what a lie that old retort is
• Well silence can hurt too
At this point in the Book of Job - it seems more and more as though that’s what God is doing. Using silence as a weapon. But all of that changes in CHAPTER 38 VS. 1. This is the first time, in the entire book of Job, that God speaks to his suffering servant. Let that sink in for a moment –
• Job goes from being the hero of the world of his day
• Successful businessman
• Wealthiest man around
• The rare individual who combines business success with integrity and great character
• A man whose humble, sincere, zealous devotion to God in daily worship - set an example for everyone to follow
Job goes from that to grieving father –
• Who has lost all 10 of his children in one horrific tragedy
• Mourning in poverty, on the very same day that his economic empire vanished into thin air
• He is left Penniless - Homeless - Hopeless
• And to top it off - that wretched day is followed up by another day where he is stricken with painful boils and rotting flesh,
• See the man of God, sitting - on the outside of town, in the garbage dump, on a pile of trash, scraping his wounds with broken shards of cups and bowls
The reason for the riches to rags story is because of a test that God had allowed Satan to conduct, based on a conversation between God and the very being who, in the entire universe - hates God and everything He loves, more than any other. God and Satan talk it out. Satan comes up with the challenge -- “I can destroy job’s faith.” God says, “GO AHEAD AND TRY - I WILL LET YOU GO AFTER HIM, UP TO THIS POINT - THIS LIMIT.”
• God and His archenemy know what’s going on
• We know what’s going on - as we read through the book
• But for this faithful servant -- this worshiper of God -- for Job there is nothing but silence
• Nothing
• Not a word
We have no idea how long Job’s suffering lasts. We have no idea how much time has passed since the first servant came with the first bit of bad news about Job’s animals being stolen but however long it’s been it has been a time where the heavens have been locked as tight as Fort Knox.
• Job’s three friends have had their input
• They know exactly why Job is suffering
• He sinned
• He must have sinned
• That’s the way God has set up the universe
• You do right - you get blessed
• You do wrong - you get punished
• “There is no such thing as innocent suffering”
• It doesn’t fit their categories
Job says, “BUT I HAVEN’T SINNED” -- yes, Job is a sinner, like the rest of us - but his sin hasn’t brought on this! Back and forth go the arguments between Job and the so-called ‘comforters’ that have actually become his accusers.
• Chapter after Chapter
• And nothing is decided
• The friends make their way off of the stage - never to be heard from again
over and over and over again - Job has proclaimed his innocence. His integrity. He has wept, he’s raged, he’s been in despair and anguish of soul. His body and mind and spirit have been troubled. And at the very core of his being is the struggle of his situation - on the one hand - he is being treated unfairly - unjustly - but on the other hand, there must be justice in this world. There must be some kind of meaning to this meaningless suffering - - - but what is it? God will not tell him. Heaven is silent.
Then, from CHAPTER 32-37, we have heard Elihu speak.
• He’s a windbag
• He loves the sound of his own voice
• He speaks for 6 straight chapters
• He must love the sound of his own voice
• But one positive thing that Elihu does have to say is this: - “GOD IS GLORIOUS IN MAJESTY”
So here sits Job - in his pain and heartache. And silence from heaven. He is at death’s door. Finally - after 37 Chapters of silence and human being trying to judge the why of this suffering and the way out of it. Finally --
• God speaks
• Finally - after 37 chapters of silence
• God Finally Speaks
Job has been speaking words - - lots of words. To every charge that one of his friends has made against him - he’s had a response … a response of ‘words.’
• He has defended himself
• He has gone so far as to demand a hearing from God
• Demanding that God justify this situation
“Explain yourself, Lord.” Every honest person here this morning, who has ever lost something that they have treasured - someone you didn’t think you could live without -- everyone here who has known real loss in your life - — you have been where Job is, “I demand an accounting of you, God”
• They are natural, human words
• Words overflowing from agony
• But they are words without understanding
• God cannot be tamed
• He is not a domestic pet
• His presence is a severe mercy
• God does not owe us an explanation
Job, one of the godliest men in history has been yearning for a face to face with God. This is as close as any man could come, for almighty God descends to earth and speaks to Job with awesome power. The glorious God speaks to Job out of a whirlwind. At last --
• The seemingly silent God
• The invisible God
• The omnipotent God speaks
• God Finally Speaks
Job assaulted by his sufferings which came upon him wave upon wave has been yearning for the chance to confront God and to interrogate him. Job seems convinced that God has made the same mistake in some ways that his friends did. Essentially Job seems to be operating at least from time to time out of the same faulty theology that they had. The only explanation for human suffering is punishment by a wise God for specific sins that that person has committed, the law of retribution.
• He knows that he hasn't committed any great sins
• So it must mean that God has, in some sense, made a big mistake
And all that needs to happen, Job thinks, is to have somewhat of a court trial in which he gets a face to face with God. And the evidence can be presented at last of his basic righteousness, his blamelessness, and God would agree, consent to it. And Job would emerge triumphant in some sense against God, himself, as his unjust adversary.
• He expected to grill God like a Prosecuting Attorney and have God answer all of his questions
But this conversation doesn't go anything like Job expected that it would, not at all. Because God being God seizes the initiative here, right from the start. And he asks Job all the questions and demands that he answer God. And as he does all of this, he brings deep repentance to Job and he brings final spiritual healing to Job. And through Job, as we read, by the ministry of the Holy Spirit to us, to us.
This is God's voice; God's voice in the whirlwind and it humbles us. Look at vs. 1-2, “THEN THE LORD ANSWERED JOB OUT OF THE WHIRLWIND AND SAID: ‘WHO IS THIS THAT DARKENS MY COUNSEL WITH WORDS WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE?’” The overwhelming majesty of God. It's always the case with these theophanies, these appearances of God in the Bible, whenever it happens, human beings are on their face before him; they're leveled by him.
So God determines to appear in majesty with the trappings of power and glory, and to overwhelm Job with his infinite greatness as he did with the Israelites At Mount Sinai. When God spoke to Israel that day, he descended from heaven to earth in clouds and fire, and he made the ground shake under their feet. And his voice was so terrifying that the people begged Moses that God not speak to them anymore less they should die. And God did all this to fill the people with reverence. That was his motive, clearly.
• There's no doubt that God has this capability
• He can show up with this level of power
• He can cause His glory to shine brilliantly
• He can cause the ground beneath our feet to shake
• He can speak to us with a voice that sounds like thunder and that fills the whole world with terror
• God can do that
• He has a dimmer switch on this
• He can ramp it up, the display of His Glory -- His Omnipotence -- His Majesty to such levels we can scarcely begin to imagine
“NO ONE CAN SEE ME AND LIVE,” God said to Moses. He has that power and God can choose any level of display He wants with any person at any time. Then why does he use a whirlwind to speak to Job?
• He didn't have to use a whirlwind
• Why did he do it?
• He uses the wind
• But in overpowering magnitude
Wind can be gentle, like a zephyr, like a fragrant spring breeze, barely causing leaves to flutter. Making a few strands of your hair to dance around your face, making the tall grass sway just a little bit here and there. That's all. That's what the wind can do at that level. That was the choice it seems that God made when he spoke to Elijah On Mount Horeb. God said, “GO OUT AND STAND IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD.” So Elijah went out and the Lord passed by Elijah and an overpowering wind at that time, tore the mountains apart. But God was not in that hurricane. And after that mighty wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, there came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.
And then after that came the sound of a gentle blowing, like a gentle breeze, like a faint whisper, but the KJV calls it a still small voice. And when Elijah heard that still small voice, that gentle whisper, he covered his face and went out into the presence of the Lord and God spoke to Him.
So why did God use the gentle whisper with Elijah and this terrifying whirlwind with job?
• God seeks to humble Job in order to heal him I believe
• God is the perfect counselor and he is also Job's greatest friend
• He's the lover of Job's soul
Job’s three friends, these three so called counselors failed in their ministry to Job. Their motive initially may have been to help their friend in his suffering, but their theology, their theology was flawed.
• Theology is the ground beneath your feet as you reach out to help a falling friend
• But if your theology is flawed, you're standing on wet rotten wood in a collapsing derelict house
• So you cannot catch a falling friend with faulty theology
• You cannot lift a falling friend with faulty theology
• You have no ground under your feet
• You really are falling yourself
So it was with Eliphaz -- Bildad -- Zophar. In the end their truth system was flawed and their pride kicked in and they doubled down, and they doubled down again on their flawed theology, and they became destructive to their supposed friend. But, this is by the way the greatest understatement of my entire sermon, you ready?
• God's theology is good
• God's theology is actually perfect
• God knows what He's talking about
• Everything God says is true
• Along with that, God is perfectly wise
• He is the wonderful counselor
• He knows precisely what approach to take to heal Job
• He knows what truths to speak to transform Job's anguished heart, and to restore his soul to health
Job needed to be humbled and put in his place.
• He needed to be brought to repentance for the hard things he was thinking
• The hard things he had said about almighty God
• He needed to be brought down a number of pegs to be made to realize that he cannot possibly think to stand toe to toe with God as an equal and debate with him
• None of us can
VS. 3 - God throws down a challenge to Job - “DRESS FOR ACTION LIKE A MAN; I WILL QUESTION YOU AND YOU MAKE IT KNOWN TO ME.” God will throw out the same challenge again in CHAPTER 40. “Dress for action.” The Verb, in the Hebrew - it’s a word from the world of wrestling. This is a wrestling match - not an arm wrestle. Better picture is the picture of an octagon and a UFC fight. Remember back to your school days? The most exciting days around the school - when there was a fight IN the playground .... monotony and boredom - shattered and everyone came alive. Somebody shouts, “FIGHT!” - and people come running from every direction. Everybody wants to watch.
But it isn’t a physical fight that God is talking about, it’s a fight of understanding. It’s a fight about the way things are. God says, “Okay, let’s do this.” But He doesn’t just challenge Job to the contest - He also lays out the rules.
• “Here’s how this is going to go down, , “I will question you and you make it known to me”
--Question #1 comes in VS. 4 -- Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
--God says, “How much understanding can you have?
--Can you understand the laying of the earth’s foundations?
--VS. 5 -- “Who determined its measurements - surely you know!
--Or who stretched the line upon it?
--Who laid its cornerstone
--Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb …?”
--Question after question after question!
--There are 50-60 PLUS questions that God asks here
--And Job can’t answer any of them
--Not a single one
--What does that say to us? .... That God is far greater than you can ever imagine Him to be
--See the majesty, the greatness of God
--Can you go back to the beginning of creation - and understand the intricacies of this cosmos?
--Can you go into the depths of the earth to see how it all hangs together?
--How far into the depths of the earth can you go?
--God is great
--God is big
--God’s knowledge, His understanding, His wisdom - - how can you possibly understand it?
--So God spoke to Job out of the whirlwind and restored his soul
--But now, right now, God is speaking more clearly through his Son
--Trust in Him, put your faith in Him
--He is the perfect Son of Man who can answer all of these questions on our behalf and will be eternally worshiped at the right hand of God, forever
