Job 23:12
I. Introduction
A. Rarely do I take only one verse such as this and build an entire message around it;
1. However, I have felt strongly impressed to emphasize the words that Job is stating here;
a. I strongly believe that each of us needs to develop the sort of relationship with God that Job described here in these words:
(1) More than just an extra-curricular activity
(2) More than just a sideline hobby
(3) More than just a status symbol of church-going on Sunday
B. The God that we serve—the Jehovah of the Old Testament who became Jesus in the New Testament—this God must become the central figure around which our entire life revolves.
1. More than even the breath that we breath, the beat of our heart, and yes, more than our “necessary food”...
a. God must become A Necessary God!
II. Our Text
A. The 23rd chapter in the story of Job is one that perhaps all of us have identified with at one point or another in our life.
1. Job basically states that, “If I knew where I could find Him (God), I would argue my case with Him...”
a. However, as most of us have felt at one time or another,
(1) “I go forward, but He is not there”
(2) “Backward, but I cannot perceive Him”
(3) “On the left hand...I cannot behold Him”
(4) “...on the right hand...I cannot see Him”
b. Have you ever felt like God couldn’t be found no matter which direction you turned?
B. This, however, leads us to Job’s emphatic statement:
1. “He knoweth the way that I take...”
a. Job’s statement that, “when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold” cannot be separated from the rest of his words:
(1) “My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.”
b. Ladies and gentlemen, Job was not only stating that “When God gets finished with me, I’ll be okay;”
(1) I believe he was stating—to his supposed “friends” as well as to God—that “He knows I’ve been faithful, and He knows how important He is to me!”
C. It never hurts you to remind God that He is A Necessary God to you!
1. Come on...somebody needs to quit mealy-mouthing with God, trying to pray all those pretty prayers!
a. You need to get seriously romantic with God!
b. You need to get mushy with God!
c. You need to get down to business with God and let Him know that He is the most important thing in your life!
2. It’s not enough for me to stand here and tell you—or any other congregation—how precious He is to me, how important He is to me, how much I need Him.
a. I need to get passionate with Him and let Him know:
(1) More than the air I breathe
(2) More than my next heartbeat
(3) More than my “necessary food”
(a) I NEED GOD!!!
i) He is A Necessary God!!!
III. A Necessary God
A. To you and I, this scripture seems self-explanatory:
1. It would seem enough to tell God that you need Him more than the food that sustains your life.
a. He is, after all
(1) The Bread of Life
(2) The Living Water
(a) And we laugh when we think about only getting bread and water rations!
B. Study this text in its original format, however, and you’ll discover something interesting:
1. This phrase “necessary food” originates with a Hebrew word meaning “a statute, a law, an ordinance, a decree”
a. It would make perfect sense to think that Job was stating that God was more important to him than his daily sustenance.
b. However, Job was going much farther than that, ladies and gentlemen!
2. What Job was stating was, “What God has to say to me, and about me, is more important to me than my own laws, my own self-will.”
a. This is the place you and I need to get today, if we’re going to know God in the fulness of His Glory!
(1) God, I realize I’ve got my own plans, my own agenda, my own ideas...
(2) But what You have to say, Lord, is more important than anything—even my own will.
(a) You see, when He truly becomes A Necessary God, He becomes your Lord and Master, the One who dictates your every step.
(b) Self-will, self-law, self-serving desires lose their place when He becomes your Necessary God.
C. “I have esteemed the words of His mouth...”
1. To “esteem” something, by today’s definition, means
a. To regard with respect; prize.
b. To regard as; consider:
2. However, Job was not merely “regarding” what God had to say:
a. “Esteem” (in the original Hebrew) meant “to hide, to treasure, to store up; to be hidden away”
3. Job basically told God, “I’ve treasured what He has to say more than anything in this life...including my own desires and my own will.”
IV. Conclusion
A. In the middle of a tragedy that most (if not all) of us would be unable to deal with, Job declares an undying devotion and loyalty to his God.
1. Job, you’ve just buried your children, you’ve lost the kingdom that you built, your own spouse has turned against you
a. Yet you continue to be loyal to the God that allowed all this?!
2. But Job had reached a place that I long—I truly long—to be in my walk with God.
a. Job had reached that place where God was no longer just
(1) A status symbol of a righteous person
(2) A sideline hobby to read about from time to time
(3) An invisible umbrella to protect him and his family
b. God had become A Necessary God to Job.
(1) More than self-will
(2) More than personal agendas
(3) More than any personal kingdom Job could build
(4) Job realized that God was everything to him.
V. Closing
A. I’m asking each one of us today to examine our heart, our relationship with God, and see where He stands in our life.
1. There is a portion of the marriage vows that states “Forsaking all others...”
2. Jesus made the statement: “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26)
B. God must become the most important aspect of our life.
1. We must forsake all other desires, all other dreams, even all our other hopes... “and cleave only to Him as long as we both shall live”.
a. He must be more than just a weekend activity
b. More than a sideline hobby
c. More than an invisible Protector
C. In your life, and in my life, God must become A Necessary God.
