INTRO: We have all known men or heard stories of men who have had a great tragedy befall them. But none of these men have lost all of their possessions, their family, and their health. Today, we want to look at a man who lost all of these things, and who still put all his faith and trust in God.
I. JOB WAS A GOOD MAN.
A. Perfect here means whole-heartedness for God, single-mindedness, sincerity. Not sinless perfection.
B. Fear of the Lord means reverential trust, with hatred of evil.
C. Job was a Rich man.
1. 7,000 sheep.
2. 3,000 camels, etc.
3. If ever a rich man could enter heaven, Job was that man (Matt. 19:24).
D. Job was head of his house.
1. In those days the head of the house was the priest of the house.
2. Job’s piety is shown in his burnt offering sacrifices.
II. SATAN’S REQUEST TO TEST JOB.
A. Scene is in heaven (vv. 6-12).
B. Hast thou considered... means set thy heart on (v. 8).
1. Satan knew about Job’s dedication.
2. Satan boasts about his control of the world, but God reminds him of Job.
C. Satan argued Job feared God because he had everything he wanted (vv. 9-10).
1. God doesn’t want us to worship him or obey him out of fear, but out of love.
D. Satan trying to tempt God to harm Job (v. 11).
1. God doesn’t harm us--He lets Satan test us.
2. When we are tempted, we are tempted of the devil (James 1:13-15).
a. Satan doesn’t tempt us with anything we dislike.
b. Only through God’s power can we overcome temptation, not by ourselves.
III. JOB’S FIRST TEST (vv. 13-19).
A. Job loses all his possessions first and then his family.
1. Satan saves his family until last in case the other things fail.
a. Our children are a part of us.
b. It hurts us to loose one, let alone ten.
c. In all of this, Job keeps his emotions in order until the loss of his children (vv. 20-22).
IV. JOB’S SECOND TEST.
A. Satan again approached God (2:1-7).
1. God puts bounds on Satan.
2. Satan can’t take Job’s life.
B. Job is stricken with sore boils.
1. Pain so immense, he scraped himself with a broken pitcher.
2. Instead of helping him with healing salve, his friends left him alone in his misery.
a. Even Lazarus found some comfort in the dogs licking his sores, but Job didn’t even hat this comfort.
b. Instead of a nice soft bed to lie in Job sat in ashes.
C. Satan turns Job’s wife against him.
1. Satan spared Job’s wife when he lost all his possessions because Satan wanted her as a tempter.
2. Satan uses Job’s wife to tempt Job of Satan’s two most horrid andblackest temptations.
a. Blasphemy.
b. Self-Murder (Suicide).
V. SATAN HAS POWER TO BIND US UP IN INFIRMITY (Luke 13:10-13).
A. Woman was in infirmity for fifteen years.
B. We are sometimes bound up and don’t realize it.
1. We go along for years doing what Satan wants, sometimes not knowing it.
2. Then something happens and we blame God (James 1:13-15).
