Job 1:18-22
18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.[c]
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised.”
22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
Job 2: 3-10
3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”
4 “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. 5 But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
6 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”
7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. 8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.
9 His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”
10 He replied, “You are talking like a foolish[b] woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”
When I think about being thankful in all circumstances, I think about the book of Job and the extreme experience of Job and how important it is to us that we recognize our calling to trust God in the midst of every circumstance. And for me, the call to give thanks in all circumstances is a call to trust in God in the midst of what is at times truly terrible circumstances. And that is for me, the greatest message of Job. We are called upon to exercise patient endurance in a sinful world and God will ultimately show up.
- Job’s Character is Excellent
- Fears God shuns evil 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.
3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”
- God, family and work are blessed
This is what we should expect.
Chapter 1
2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
- He is faithful in his suffering
“Shall I Not accept…”
“Curse God and die” Would Job die if he cursed God? No. Things would just be worse. Maybe she is suggesting that he kill himself. That would not seem unusual to me.
- In a Sinful World, Life is Not Simple
- Job’s friends argue for simple cause and effect
(So does Satan, by the way. The only reason Job is faithful is because of blessing.)
Chapter 4:
7 “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?
Where were the upright ever destroyed?
8 As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it.
Chapter 8:
3 Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right?
4 When your children sinned against him,
he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.
Chapter 18:
5 “The lamp of a wicked man is snuffed out;
the flame of his fire stops burning.
6 The light in his tent becomes dark;
the lamp beside him goes out.
7 The vigor of his step is weakened;
his own schemes throw him down.
This is like a theological argument about the prosperity doctrine. Or telling someone that they are sick because they don’t have enough faith. We live with the tension, and things are not as simple as they sound.
Heaven is simple.
- This is the way to live. This is the long term truth. But in the short term there will be exceptions.
There are plenty of Scriptures that back up this idea!
- Our culture is surprised by suffering. Jesus was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Why? Tempted in every way as we are.
- The consequences of sin are here
Look, in a good world, there must be freedom to sin. If there is no freedom to sin, then there is no goodness. A robot is not a good moral being. God is a good moral being. If there is sin, then there are real consequences to that sin that are far reaching and uncontrollable. If God acts to restrain sin, He is not ALWAYS obligated to act to restrain it.
Both my personal sin, and the shared consequences of living in a culture of sinful men. How can we avoid being at fault in any situation. But Job is honest, and so should we be. Regardless of how bad or good my life is, I would not appeal to my behavior as either a reason or a defense. God’s grace, love, and mercy will be my plea. What do I deserve?
III. Faith in God is the Only Resolution
- To question God’s character is death
From Job 38 to the end God highlights His abilities. Why? It is not to explain to Job why his children are dead. Look, for thousands of years children died all the time. Historical infant mortality rates were brutal! Just ask my grandparents. Six births, half died before the age of two. No one knows why. How do we respond? Life sucks!
There is almost no situation in life that cannot be made worse by the bad behavior of others. What is the best response to a terrible situation in life?
- Questioning God’s goodness is atheistic
Which one is it? Is God not all powerful or is God not all good? Because those terms are inconsistent in the world in which we live. Have you heard this argument? It’s a real argument.
People today often act like ancient people were stupid. I find the same arguments in the Bible as there are today in our culture. This book of Job is ancient. Many scholars believe Job predates Abraham. The problem of how things work in a sinful world has been understood through the experience of people since Adam and Eve sinned. The world created good by God is fallen into sin and experiences trouble.
- Faith in God brings life
Hebrews 11:6
Is God there?
Does waiting on God bring a reward?
Will we seek Him patiently?
Is God the creator?
Is Life meant to be good?
Will we endure in keeping His commands?
Is God powerful?
Am I meant to be blessed?
Will I patiently endure to the end of my trials?
Is God loving?
Does He love me?
Will I patiently wait on my understanding of His love in this situation?
Is God wise?
Will God show me what to do?
Will I act on what He shows me?
Is God good?
Will I thank Him for His goodness?
Psalms 27:
13 I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.
Psalms 106, 107, 118, 136
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
- God shows up as God
The big picture of life is that God is real and we have the opportunity to participate in His life. This stands in opposition to the idea that we are God and he needs to conform to our desires. This is a super tough statement seen in the light of terrible suffering. But, the idea that our suffering has a purpose, that it is used by God and that the real presence of God.
- The proper response to God is thankfulness
The story of the Mayflower and Thanksgiving. The voyage over the Atlantic was rough. The seas were terrible, the ship, which a replica of it is at Plymouth, Mass, is small. The people all basically had to stay below decks for the whole journey. Below decks in rough seas with little light and ventilation. And their animals are down there too.
Only one person died on the trip. It was a man who mocked them mercilessly at the beginning for their faith. And one child was born on the way. So, they had no one die on the journey. It was a real sign to them of God’s provision.
And then after the Mayflower arrived, one woman fell from the gang plank during unloading and drowned.
And the first winter half of them died from sickness.
And their faith has shaped our culture and brought the blessing of God on generations.
Paul and Philippians 1:
12 Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters,[b] that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard[c] and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.