Job 1:13-20
Text: He Worshipped
Perhaps of all the accounts given us in Scripture, few paints a more vivid picture of total devastation and tragedy as the story of Job. Most of you are familiar with this passage but for the benefit of those who may not be, let me share a little background.
Job was a very wealthy man. A man of integrity and impeccable character. The Bible says that he feared (respected) God and did his best to stay away from evil. It may have been for this very reason that God had blessed and prospered Job.
He had been blessed with seven sons and three daughters. Those here today with children know the feelings of parenthood. While we have times of disappointment, there is no feeling to compare with knowing you have a child of your own flesh. There’s nothing that matches that first glimpse of your baby. Job had known that feeling ten times.
Not only was he blessed with children but he also had prospered financially and materially. He was known as the greatest man of all the people of the East. He owned 7000 sheep, 3000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen and 500 donkeys. And he also had a large number of servants.
By the standards of his day he would have been a shoe-in for Fortune’s Top 100 Wealthiest People.
But in a matter of a few hours of one day, Job lost it all!!!!
We read the account in our text. One after one the servants rush in and before the first one can get his news out the other is impatiently waiting to tell Job what has happened. One can only imagine the feelings of nausea that Job felt. It surely was like someone had hit him in the pit of his stomach and knocked the very air out of him. His livelihood had been taken from him, but more than that, his servants had been massacred. Men that he knew by name. Men that had no doubt been faithful workers for many years. Rogue bands of thieves and murderers had literally wiped him out in a matter of hours.
But then the last messenger comes running in all out of breath and between gulps of air spills out the horrible news that no parent wants to hear. Your kids were at the oldest sons house and a huge wind blew the house down and none has survived. Can you imagine how Job felt?
It’s one thing to lose your animals. Animals can be replaced. It’s one thing to lose your livelihood. Jobs can be replaced. But what does one do when they lose a child. You can’t replace a child. You can’t order another one. You can’t just go to the store and buy another child.
Every parent longs to see their children grow old with families of their own. It’s not natural that a parent bury their children. But Job has to bury all 10 of his at one time!
But notice what Job did. He fell to the ground and he worshipped!!!
He Worshipped! Now when’s the last time you received devastating news and your first thought was to worship? We’re not geared to that mentality. Not our generation. Not our society! We are more prone to ask unanswerable questions.
When the terrorist attacks against the United States happened in September people quickly asked why and where was God? Why would God allow this kind of destruction to happen? I doubt that many people upon hearing the news bowed their hearts in worship.
How far removed we are from the heartbeat of Job. He loses everything and he worships. My car won’t start because of a dead Delco and I kick the tires and mumble unutterable words under my breath. Job later loses his health and I complain over little aches and pains that don’t amount to anything. We gripe and complain about so many things. Job lost it all, and he worshipped!
Worship is not thanking God because bad things happen. Worship is respecting God in the midst of tragedy. Job didn’t understand why these things happened but he did understand that his God was a good God and that all things were under His control.
Notice what Job prayed. He said, "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."
Job understood that he came into the world without anything and he would leave with nothing. And in the interim nobody owed him anything, not even God! He had been blessed and now the blessings had been taken away. And he didn’t know that God had an even bigger blessing waiting down the road. He just knew that in all things God was worthy of worship.
This is Thanksgiving week. A lot has happened in our world since last Thanksgiving. A lot has happened in the individual lives of this church. Some have experienced the heartbreak of broken homes. Some have lost loved ones to death. Some have health that has deteriorated over the past months. Could I just say to you today—whatever you have gone through or may be going through right now, don’t forget to worship the Lord!
As I bring this message to a conclusion this morning, I want us to sing this little chorus and lift our hearts and voices together in worship to Jesus Christ.
“Lord you’re worthy of my highest praise. Lord you’re worthy, now and for always.
Your goodness and mercy causes me to say, Lord you’re worthy of my highest praise.”
