“Introducing Job, a Man Loved and Admired by God.”
Job 1: 1:1-5, 13-22
Rev. Wm. A. Huegel
Wallingford FBC
Jan. 8, 2006
Introduction to the sermon:
During the recent tragedy in West Virginia in which 11 coal miners were killed following an explosion in the mine, a woman, deeply shaken by the loss of a loved one said, “We’re good Christians. We have been praying for their survival. And now we don’t know if there is a God.” This a question that comes out of deep sorrow and may not be what is going to be remembered. In fact, had it not been recorded and broadcast on TV, there may come a time in which she would have forgotten that she made such a statement.
One of the things you must always remember is that the kind of questioning of God which is born of sorrow is very, very different from the kind of questioning that goes on in the classroom. This woman’s doubt was a wrestling with God, born out of her own heartache and sorrow. The people in the West Virginia coal mines are in deep mourning.
Today, I’m beginning a series of sermons from the book of Job. Suffering and pain is what the book of Job is all about. If you have ever gone through anguish and pain of a sudden and tragic loss you may know something of which this book of Job speaks.
Background:
It appears that this book was written during the time in which the Babylonians conquered and destroyed Jerusalem. The Babylonians dragged off all the inhabitants and insisted that they live in a foreign land as a way of weakening them and making sure they did not regain a position of political power.
Questions arose as to how God could allow His people to suffer like that. Soldiers were killed, women were abused, and even children were slaughtered at the hands of cruel Babylonian soldiers. Now, the rest were forced to live out their lives away from their beloved homeland, away from Jerusalem, the City of God.
If this suffering comes at the hand of God and is directed toward those who are unfaithful, it should be noted that even those who have been faithful also get caught up in the judgments of God. Hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes may be seen as God’s judgment of those who are terrorists, gamblers, drug pushers, child abusers, and other forms of basic immorality and lack of obedient faith in God; but innocent men, women, and children also suffer. So, there must have been innocent people who suffered during this difficult time.
Children were killed before their very eyes. The siege of Jerusalem was terrible. People suffered from starvation, pestilence, and plague. In captivity, they went hungry and were poorly clothed. Why was some of the wicked prospering?
The Book
At this most difficult time, God inspired a book to be written about a man who probably lived a very long time ago. The writer was a Godly Hebrew poet who understood the dynamics and interplay and conversations of forces unseen. So he writes:
“In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.” We find ourselves looking in on a drama that is unfolding. The story involves Job, but it involves far more than him. It involves God. It involves Satan who passes in and out of the presence of God and who almost appears to sneak into the heavenly realms.
Of course, He is noticed and is confronted by God. Thus the drama begins. God questions Satan. “Where have you been? What have you been up to lately”, asks God. Satan responds, “From roaming the earth. From going back and forth in it.” As if God didn’t already know that.
God knows why Satan has been roaming the earth. He is the enemy who has been seeking to pull people away from the kingdom of God into his own dark and damned kingdom. Interestingly, God says, “Oh! Have you considered my servant, Job? There is nobody like him? He is a blameless and upright man. He fears God and flees from evil.”
Satan responds, “Yeah, right! You have put a hedge of protection around him. (I love that. It is absolutely true. Christian, God has a hedge of protection around you). You’ve never let me get to him. You have blessed him abundantly. This guy has so much – so many flocks and herds, so many servants, and all those great kids of his. But I’ll tell you what. You just let me at him, and I’ll show you what kind of man he is. Just take away his stuff – and he will curse you to your face.”
God says, OK! Have at him. There may come a time when God, for His own ultimate purposes, may temporarily remove the hedge. When that happens, it will be helpful to know that the reason Satan didn’t wipe you out long ago, is because of God’s hedge of protection. God may remove the hedge of protection for a short time, but that doesn’t mean He doesn’t love you. Hang in there. God is still protecting you in other ways.
Satan leaves the presence of God to go do his dirty destructive work. All his oxen, all his camels, all his sheep, and all of his children are killed. One of the huge problems is that while you and I know the conversation that went on in heavenly places, Job is never told.
He can’t be told. That’s the whole point of spiritual tests. For Job to overhear this conversation between God and Satan would be like a person being given the answers before the quiz. It’s a test. When facing a spiritual test you have to go on what you knew before the test comes. If you lose a spouse, if you lose your job, if you lose a child, if you lose your economic position in life, if you lose everything that once mattered to you, among other things, it will be a spiritual test. How you get through that test will depend on what you knew, what you believed, what you were convinced of, before the test.
What do you really believe?
For example, one may say, “God is good”! Really? Are you sure? Do you believe that with all of your heart soul and strength?
One might respond,” God loves me”! Really? How do you know that? Have you thought through the issues?
Another might declare, “I believe the Bible from cover to cover. The Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it!” Really? How do you know? Because your Sunday School teacher taught it? Because your parents said it? Because you heard it from some preacher? Or is it a deep conviction?
You say, “Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life”. Really? Is that something you’d die for? If it is a deeply held conviction, you will, and many others have; but, if it’s something you haven’t really thought through, you won’t die for it. You may not even live for it. Someone once said, “If a truth is not worth dying for, it’s not worth living for.”
Job’s Spiritual Convictions
What are your spiritual convictions? Job had some convictions. Let me tell you what they were. Job believed that God was ultimately good. Job believed that everything he had was a sheer gift of God, and he never did really deserve any of it. It was just a gift. Listen to Job 1:20 “At this Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and 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.” The Lord gave – the Lord has taken away.
Job believed that God was incredibly good to him. He didn’t deserve God’s blessings, though he enjoyed them. Job believed that God was in charge. God was in charge of the events of this world and in charge of him.
Did Job want to go through this suffering? Of course not!
Did Job think it was just fine that he lost everything that ever mattered to him except his wife and his faith? No! He was torn apart inside. He felt naked and embarrassed that this had happened to him. That was the point of his tearing his clothes and shaving his head.
Job believed that God had given it all to him out of God’s sheer goodness and grace, and he believed that God had the right to do with him whatever he thought was best. That was a conviction. This was no glib, “Oh I believe in God!” kind of stuff. He passed the test. He found himself worshipping God through his tears. “The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Example: A new movie
There is a new Christian movie out called “The End of the Spear”. It is the story of five young missionaries who were killed trying to reach the Auca Indians in the jungles of South America with the Gospel. All five of these courageous and faith-filled young men were speared to death. The year 2006 marks the 50th anniversary since that tragic event. I encourage you to see the movie, but it will raise some questions in your mind. How can God let that sort of thing happen?
These were devout, praying men of God. They had devout, praying wives who prayed for their safety. They believed God wanted them to do this. They were not there to find gold, riches, or personal fame. They were only doing this to reach yet another tribe with the glorious, saving Gospel, of Jesus Christ. Many people have asked, “So, why didn’t God protect them? How could God just let them die?”
Despite the deaths of their beloved husbands, the wives of these devoted missionaries believed in the goodness of God. They later went into that jungle and won the very men who speared their husbands to death to saving faith in Jesus. Those wives passed the test, but whether or not you past the test will depend on what you knew before the quiz is given.
Example: Jim Elliot
One of the martyrs, Jim Elliot, said something that is now famous. Let me say it to you now: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, in order to get what he cannot lose.” He is no fool who gives his life away, because he can’t keep it anyway. We could die crossing the street tomorrow. A Wallingford man died crossing the street to get his mail just a couple of weeks ago.
“He is no fool who gives away what he cannot keep, in order to gain what he cannot lose”. His gain is eternal reward. Jim Elliot, and the others with him, now in the presence of God enjoying Him forever, know that their mission was accomplished. The very men they went to reach are now Christians. They will be personally greeting the very men who took their lives as they stand beside their Savior Jesus, all with arms wide open, with smiles on their faces, as they enter the gates of heaven. What joy! No one can ever take that away. Jim Elliot made that statement long before his death. It was a deeply held conviction. He knew his stuff before the quiz was given.
Tests come – they will test what you really believe
Job was convinced of some eternal truth, before the tests came! “The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Everything comes from the Lord. Everything belongs to the Lord. If the Lord takes it away, that is His right. It doesn’t make it easy, but it’s important to know who is in control. You have to know, before tragedy strikes.
One of the miners was convinced of eternal truth, too
One of the 12 coal miners, who died in West Virginia, took out his pen in the dark hopeless cave and just before he died he wrote: “Tell all I’ll see them on the other side." You have to know these things before tragedy strikes. You have to know who is in control before the tests of life come your way. You have to believe in heaven before death stares you in the eye.
How about you?
What do you know?
What do you believe?
Do you have a faith in Jesus that’s worth dying living and dying for?
What will happen to you if God lifts His hedge of protection?
What will you do if tragedy is allowed to come your way?
What if God doesn’t answer your prayer in the midst of the agonies?
Will you love Him anyway?
Let us pray. Oh God, help us to trust you – to really trust you. Help us to know you love us, that you are in control, and you are good. Help us to live for you all the days of our lives regardless of the circumstances around us.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
