JOB 12-21 MISERABLE COMFORTERS ARE YOU ALL2013 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Job 12-21 Miserable Comforters Are You All

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2013.

Book of Job chapter 12. We'll be going through chapter 21 this evening and looking at those chapters that we read this week in the book of Job. Now as we get started in the book of Job, I just want to remind you about the poetic books because it's really important as we study the scriptures that we have a good understanding of where we're at

and what is going on. And now that we're in the book of Job, we're in a new section of the Old Testament, which we refer to as the poetic books.

And this is important because the poetic books are an entirely different style of writing, an entirely different style of scriptures. And so we need to adjust our understanding of how to read them, interpret them, and to understand them. So the poetic books are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.

Now, when we talk about the scripture, of course, we know 2 Timothy 3, verse 16, Paul says, all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. So Paul says the scriptures are inspired and necessary to...

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We need to keep in mind though, although that is true of the scriptures, that that does not mean that every verse in the Bible has equal weight with all of the others. And not every verse of the Bible has eternal truth. And the example I used to help us understand that last week is still a good one. And that is Satan in the Garden of Eden.

There, as a serpent, he approaches Eve and he says, hey, this isn't right. What God told you, that's not the truth. Now, the scripture is very accurate in recording what Satan said, but what Satan said is not the truth.

In the same way as we now approach the book of Job and then later on in Psalms and Proverbs and Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon, we need to have a good understanding of what's happening. The context is essential so that we know how to understand and what weight to give the verses that we are reading. And so how do we know how to handle these different passages?

Well, as I shared, the most important thing to keep in mind as we study the poetic books is the context. And the context will help you determine, is this something to grasp hold of? Is this eternal truth? Or is this something that is less than eternal truth? And again, I used the example of speed limits last week. Speed limits are a good example for context because you can...

Hit the on-ramp, jump on the 91, and you can know roughly what the speed limit is going to be, even if you don't see a speed limit sign. And then you can get off, and then you're going down the road, and then...

You can know, well, I need to slow down because I see these children all around the street. And so I think I'm near a school. I understand by the context, the speed limit has changed as a result. And so I need to adjust the way that I'm driving.

even though even the speed limit might be 35, there's school children here, okay, I need to adjust to 25. And so you're adjusting your driving by the context, just by looking at and understanding the environment that you are in. In the same way, as we're interpreting and understanding the scriptures, now as we head into the poetic books, it's essential to understand the context so that you can know how to interpret and how to understand these chapters that we are reading through.

So as we look at the book of Job, first we need to understand that Job is crying out in confusion as he is speaking throughout this book. He is in the midst of great adversity. He is not speaking for God. He's not claiming to speak for God. He's not claiming to be God's spokesperson in this. He's the opposite, really saying,

God's not talking to me. I don't know what's going on. And he is trying to figure out what is taking place in the midst of his great agony. We also have a lot of words from Job's friends. And we'll be looking at some of that this evening. And you need to understand as you read through the words of Job's friends that Job's friends are clueless. That they...

are not informed about what is going on in Job's life and they are proclaiming to speak on behalf of God but they are not in reality speaking on behalf of God.

And that's why God corrects them in Job chapter 42. He rebukes them and he tells them, you did not speak of me what is right as my servant Job has. And so Job, although he's speaking out of his agony, does a better job of representing God than these friends do. And so Job's friends, you need to understand, they are not inspired by God in their words. They do not represent God and that is why he rebukes them at the end.

Now as we look at the book of Job this evening, once again the author is unknown. We don't know for sure who wrote it. It's suggested that Job or possibly Moses wrote the book, but we do not know for sure.

We don't know when it was written either. It's believed to be the oldest book of the Bible because of the style of Hebrew. It's a very ancient style of Hebrew. And so because of that, it's believed to be the oldest book. And so they believe that this took place around the time of the patriarchs. That is Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That while they're going on, you know, they're in Canaan. And somewhere is Job experiencing all of these things that were recorded here.

And so the focus of this book, of course, is the sufferings of Job. Now we started the book last week. So let me just remind you of what took place in chapter 1 and 2 where Satan appears before God and God calls Satan's attention to Job. He says, hey, have you considered Job?

Have you thought about him? He's righteous. He's a blameless man. And Satan then accuses Job and says, well, he's only righteous because you've protected him and I can't touch him because of your protection. And if you removed your protection, then he would curse you to your face, is what Satan says.

And so God gives Satan authority to bring affliction to Job. And his children die. All of his wealth is destroyed. His son's houses are destroyed. The sheep and the flocks, they're taken away. And so he loses everything. And one day, as a result of this authority being given to Satan, to bring this upon Job. But Job did not curse God. And so...

It says another time, as we go into chapter 2, Satan appears before the Lord and God says, hey, have you considered Job? He's still blameless. He's still upright. He didn't curse me, even though you incited me against him and I allowed you to do these things. He was still been faithful and he's proven himself to be a man of integrity. And so Satan accuses Job once again. He says, well, that's because you didn't let me touch his skin. You didn't let me touch his body, his health.

And so God then gives Satan authority to touch Job's health and he gets boils from head to toe. These really painful sores develop upon him. And it's at that point that Job's friends then come and meet with Job. They sit with him silently for a little bit, but then what we've been reading through is their discussions as they're talking about what is going on.

And as we consider the book of Job, once again, I'll remind you, we are looking at the sovereignty of God. In that whole thing that happened there in chapter 1 and 2, it's revealed, it's clear, Satan could not go beyond those limits that God set.

And so Satan asked permission, God changed the limits, allowed him to do more, and then Satan was able to bring this affliction upon Job. We see God ruling and reigning on high, his sovereignty here in the book of Job. Now we also saw his sovereignty in the book of Esther, and we rejoice and celebrate the sovereignty of God there, where it's in deliverance, in redemption, and this great salvation of the Jewish people.

But we also need to understand the sovereignty of God also includes not just deliverance and those things that we celebrate, but the sovereignty of God also includes affliction. That he is sovereign over both. He is sovereign in either case. And I love the words of Job in Job 2.10 when he rebukes his wife and then he says, "...shall we indeed accept good from God and shall we not accept adversity?"

That if we accept good from God, we need to be consistent and accept adversity from God as well is what Job says. I think of Job kind of like eating your vegetables. That it might not be really exciting for you. You know, maybe you don't like vegetables, but kind of thinking more as a kid, you know, like you got to make them because it has nutrients that they need. And so you tell the kids, eat your vegetables, right?

In the same way, you know, we would love to just eat desserts, spiritually speaking. You know, just eat some of the fluff. You know, just give me a promise book and I'll read about all the great promises that God has for me and that's enough for me. But there's also some vegetables, some meat, some things that, well, are crucial for us. And I think the book of Job is so crucial.

Because what happens in the book of Job as we wrestle with and grasp with the concepts is it helps to deepen our theology. It's not an optional book. And I know perhaps some of you as you're reading through the Bible in three years with us that you get to the book of Job and you're like, all right, I'll catch up again. You know, I'll start doing that again in the book of Psalms.

But I'm going to take a break in the book of Job. It's not that important that I read through the book of Job. But let me tell you, this is a necessary book. Don't skip it. Don't stop reading it just because it's hard. No, we need to wrestle with these things because it helps develop our theology. It helps develop our understanding of God.

And so I want to encourage you to be faithful as we continue through the book of Job. Now, I do know that it is a tough book and there is a lot of questions often that we wrestle with as a result of this. And so like I did last week, I'll open it up at the end. And so if you have a question that you want to bring up, maybe we could discuss it a little bit at the end of service. I'd be happy to do that. And so maybe keep that in mind. And if you have a question, then we can...

Try to tackle it at the end. And Richard and Jesse are here so they can answer all your difficult questions. Alright, chapter 12 of Job is where we start. Verse 9 is the key verse. And it says this.

Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? So we're jumping in. The friends of Job and Job have been discussing back and forth. His three friends have all had one opportunity to share. They're going to all share one more time in the chapters that we'll study tonight. But here Job is responding to the discussion that has been going on. And he says in verses 1 through 6, he says, I am mocked, or I am one mocked

Now Job has been declaring that he does not have some huge sin that he is, you know, in rebellion against God in. But his friends have been insisting, because you have this great devastation in your life, there must be sin in your life. And Job has been fighting back and saying, I don't know.

no, that's not true. You know, I don't have some type of rebellion in my heart against God. He's not claiming to be absolutely perfect, but he's saying, look, I'm not, I'm not wicked. I'm not, I haven't turned from God. And so he's, you can kind of hear the sarcasm in his voice there in verse two. He says, no doubt you are the people and wisdom will die with you.

He's all, you guys are so convinced, you must be, you know, knowing everything. You must have it all under control. You must have it all understood. And surely, you know, wisdom's going to die with you. He's kind of mocking them back as they have been mocking him. And he says, you guys are mocking me. And he'll go on, as we'll see throughout the time, to say, look, you guys, you're not dealing with me right. You should be comforting me, not accusing me.

He goes on though in verse 7 through 12 to say, the hand of the Lord has done this. And so he says, look guys, I understand. Look, God is involved in this. He says in verse 7, now ask the beasts and they will teach you and the birds of the air and they will tell you. Verse 9, who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?

As we consider the sovereignty of God, Job here is saying, yes, I understand God's sovereign. His hand is in this. This could not happen apart from him or apart from his allowing it. And so he says, I understand that. Everybody knows that. What you guys are trying to say, everybody knows the things that you guys are trying to say.

In verse 13 through 25, he goes on to say, if he breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt. And so Job begins to talk about how big God is. And nobody can thwart the plans of God. And if he breaks something down, nobody can rebuild what God has broken down without God allowing it or God permitting it. He says in verse 23, he makes nations great and destroys them. He enlarges nations and guides them.

You think about, you know, how big God is. It's hard for us to imagine, but God raises up nations and casts down nations. We saw that as we went through the kings of Israel, as God raised up Assyria and then cast down Assyria. He raised up Babylon and then cast down Babylon. God raises up nations. He is on the throne. And so Job here is recognizing the sovereignty of God.

Well, Job continues to speak in Job chapter 13, verse 15 is the key verse, and it's a good one. Though he slay me, yet will I trust him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before him. In verses 1 through 6, he says, what you know, I also know. He's saying, you guys are not telling me something that's

than what I've already heard. I've heard these things and like you said before, ask the beasts of the field. They all know these things that you've been trying to say that God must be involved in this. But notice what he says in verse 4. He says, but you forgers of lies, you are all worthless physicians.

You are not helpful at all, he says to them. And he says to them, you're forging lies. You're not just telling lies, but you're putting them together and you're delivering these lies so that you're worthless as a physician. He says in verse 5, oh, that you would be silent and it would be your wisdom. That's a good verse to memorize. Oh, that you would be silent and it would be your wisdom. Sometimes it's a lot more wise to be silent than to speak.

He says in verse 7 through 12, will you speak wickedly for God? And so he's challenging them now. He says, look, you guys are forging lies and you're speaking wickedly for God. He asked them in verse 9, will it be well with you when he searches you out? Or can you mock him as one mocks a man?

This is some serious stuff that Job is sharing here. He says, look, you guys are mocking God. You're speaking wickedly for God. Now, when we get to Job chapter 42, again, God says, Job spoke of me what is right, and Job's friends did not speak of me what is right. This is really interesting for us to consider, to grasp hold of, because Job did not speak wrongly or wickedly of God.

And as Job is in the midst of this, he's telling his friends that they were speaking wickedly for God. And God testifies, Job got it right. But I think as you and I would look on this situation, we would not expect that, would we? We wouldn't expect that Job would get it right. In fact, if we were there observing this and we see this guy, he lost everything. He's got this horrible disease. And here's these wealthy, nice, you know, good-looking friends around him.

We would think these three friends, you know, they know what's going on. They've got it together. This guy needs to be rebuked. We should listen to the friends and not to Job. I would challenge you to consider. I think it would be a challenge for all of us. Would you take advice from Job? So you're driving down the road, your car breaks down. You pull off, there's a field right there. In the middle of the field is a guy just all diseased and messed up.

Would you receive advice from someone like that? Would you be corrected in your theology from someone like that? Would you receive his counsel? Would you seek out his counsel? We would look out on the outward, the appearance, and we would see the friends and, oh, they're successful, they're prosperous. And we would think, well, they know better than Job. But we would be wrong in this particular case.

And we may very well be wrong in many other cases as well. And so it's something for us to consider. What we see on the outward does not relate at all really to what is happening within. Would you take advice from a homeless person? Would you be corrected about God from them? Or would you be insisting that you need to teach them something and share them something just like Job's friends were? Something challenging I think that we need to consider.

They were speaking wickedly for God. But he says in verse 13 through 19, I will trust him and defend my ways. Job says, look, I trust God. I know he's big. I know he's sovereign and I trust him. Even though he slay me, this affliction hasn't resulted in my death yet. Even if God slays me, I will still trust him. But at the same time, he says, I will defend my ways before him. Because God knows my life. He knows what I've been doing. He knows my heart. He knows my heart.

And he knows I have not been rebelling against him. So I'll defend my ways. Again, not insisting that he's perfect without flaw, but he's saying, I've been walking with God. I've been following him. I trust him, even if he puts me to death. I have not been rebellious. So verses 20 through 28, he says, why do you regard me as your enemy?

So on the one hand, he's saying, I trust God even though he slays me. I know that I've been faithful to him. On the other hand, he's still wrestling with

Why is this going on though? Why am I experiencing this great affliction? And so he's calling out to God in verse 22. He says, then call and I will answer or let me speak and then you respond to me. Job's saying, God open up the lines of communication once again. I need to hear from you. Can you tell me what's going on? Why this is happening in my life?

He says in verse 23, how many are my iniquities and sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin. And so Job is saying, what's going on? Is there some sin in me? Is there some issue that you're wanting to address? Show me what it is. Tell me what it is. Let me know. He's open to correction. He's not insisting I'm perfect. You know, God cannot correct me. That's not what he is saying.

But he's saying, I don't understand. And God's not speaking to me. And the communication is not there. And so help me to know my transgression and sin. What is it that's going on? What is it that you're trying to do in this? Well, that brings us now to chapter 14. Verse 1 is the key verse. He says,

Job continues to talk here in chapter 14 and in verses 1 through 12 he talks about how we have short lives. Man is a few days. He says in verse 2, he comes forth like a flower and fades away. And we've seen that taught many times throughout the Bible. That flower

brevity of our life that is just so short. And oftentimes in the scriptures, we're compared to flowers or to grass. And it's just like, it's there and then it's gone. Or as Peter says, our life is like a vapor. And so he's pondering, he's considering the few days that we have on this earth. Now, as Job is going through these verses here, he's speaking from an earthly perspective.

Physical perspective. Not fully understanding eternity. Believing in eternity as we'll see later on. But he doesn't have a good clear grasp of it. It had not really been revealed yet. And so in verse 10 he says, But man dies and is laid away. Indeed he breathes his last. And where is he?

So man lies down in verse 12 and does not rise till the heavens are no more. They will not awake nor be roused from their sleep. And so he's thinking on a physical level, you know, that when you die, you're buried and that's it. This earth doesn't see you anymore. You will not be around. You don't get to see your dreams fulfilled. You don't get to see your children's lives. You don't get to see what happens next on earth because, well, you're in the grave.

Now again, this is looking at merely the physical plane. That's where he's at. That's what he's experiencing. And so that's what he is considering. In verse 13 through 17 now, he cries out to God and he says, Oh, that you would hide me in the grave. His whole life is short, but he's kind of saying life isn't short enough because I'm going through such great pain and agony. Just hide me in the grave till this is all done. Till this is over. Just take me out of this situation. Even if it means that you take me out of this life.

He's in great agony and great pain. I think probably most of us have experienced this kind of discussion in our hearts. Like, Lord, why don't you just take me out of here? Why don't you just take me home to be with you? Because what we're experiencing is very difficult.

And so that's what Job is going through. And he says in verses 18 through 22, he says, you prevail forever against man. He's saying, look, we can't fight against you, God. We can't fight against your ways and your plans. There's nothing that we can do. We're at your mercy. So Lord, have your way. Hide me in the grave is his request.

He says in verse 20, you prevail forever against him, that is man, and he passes on. You change his countenance and send him away. And so again, he's looking at and understanding the sovereignty of God in all of this and recognizing God is in control, but God, I don't know what's happening and I don't know why this is happening. I don't know what's going on. Even if he slay me, I'll trust you, but I don't understand it.

Well, now we get to hear from one of Job's friends in chapter 15. It's Eliphaz and he responds. The key verse is verse 5 here. It says, For your iniquity teaches your mouth and you choose the tongue of the crafty.

So here we have Eliphaz speaking. Now this is the second time that Eliphaz has spoken in the book of Job. The first time was in chapters 4 and 5. And you probably remember that because he was the one saying, the word was secretly brought to me. There was a spirit and it made my hair stand up on end. You remember that? Well, that was Eliphaz. And now he's speaking again. He says in verses 1 through 6, iniquity teaches your mouth.

Once again, he is accusing Job of great iniquity. And he says, your mouth condemns you in verse 6. Your own lips testify against you. That what you're saying and what you're speaking from is from sin. It's not from a relationship with God. It's not from your understanding of God. But you are speaking forth out of your own sin. Iniquity teaches your mouth.

Then he says in verse 7 through 13, are the consolations of God too small for you? This guy gets pretty offensive in my opinion. I mean, he says in verse 11, are the consolations of God too small for you and the word spoken gently with you? He says, look, we're here to comfort you. We have the comforts of God and it's not enough comfort for you. What's wrong with you? How come you're not comforted by what we are saying? Now you remember what Job's friends have been saying, right?

Job you're in sin you need to repent God's bringing this upon you because of your rebellion against him and he says look we've been comforting you how come this comfort of God isn't enough for you and he says and the word spoken gently with you gently really I mean this guy's a little bit delusional they haven't been gentle with Job at all I like what Weersbe says about this he says if the words of the three men were gentle what would their harsh words be like

How difficult it is for us to accurately hear ourselves or see ourselves.

He doesn't realize how harsh they are being. They're not being gentle at all, but he considers it to be gentle. Now, as I talk about Job's friends, and I know I give them a hard time because they're misrepresenting God. It's quite offensive. But understand, they're not malicious. They're not trying to destroy Job. They think they're helping. They think they are offering the consolations of God. They think they are bringing comfort. But

And so it's not that they're trying to destroy Job. They mean well, but they're not doing well at all. He says in verse 12, why does your heart carry you away? And what do your eyes wink at that you turn your spirit against God and let such words go out of your mouth? Here he's saying, what kind of sin are you involved with? What kind of sin are you hiding in your heart that's causing you to turn against God in this way?

Again, he's accusing Job of some serious rebellion against God. In verse 14 through 16, he says, what is man that he could be pure? He says, there's no way that you're pure. You must be hiding some kind of rebellion. Because, he goes on in verse 17 through 26, to explain that the wicked writhes in pain.

Job, you must have some kind of rebellion because what you're experiencing is what the wicked experience. In verse 20, he says, Verse 21, Verse 25,

He talks about all these things that happen to wicked people. And then he explains the reason why these things happen to wicked people is because he stretches out his hand against God. And so you're experiencing these things, Job. You must be rebelling against God and acting defiantly against God. Well, he goes on talking about the wicked in verse 27 through 35 and says, "...futility will be his reward."

Even though he's made himself fat and tried to, you know, give himself lots of luxuries, futility will be his reward. Now as we consider the words of Eliphaz, we must again, considering the context, God says at the end, they did not speak rightly of him. And so we must look at Eliphaz's words and agree directly

His assumptions, his conclusions are false. It's false. What Eliphaz is saying is not the truth. There might be little snippets of truth in some of the things that he says, generally speaking, but as he is talking to Job and addressing Job, well, we can just put the general understanding upon it. As Job's friends are speaking, it's false. That's the stamp God puts on it at the end.

He says, they did not speak of me what is right, like Job did. And so this is false. This is not the truth. Now here's where we get confused because sometimes God does use affliction as a means of correction. That is legitimate. God really does that. Sometimes because a person is wandering off, because a person is rebelling against him, he will bring affliction into

Just like we saw when Jerusalem was rebelling against God, he brought Babylon to attack Jerusalem, to lay siege and to devour Jerusalem. In the same way in our lives, sometimes when we are rebelling against God and going the wrong way, God will use affliction to bring correction. And that is what Job's friends are saying.

There's all this affliction in your life, Job. It must be God's correction for some terrible sin in your life. But here's the mistake that Job's friends make and that Christians continue to make today. The mistake is to think that all affliction is God's correction. God uses affliction to bring correction. But not all affliction is God's correction. And so you cannot assume that

that when there is affliction, it's God's correction, that he is trying to deal with some serious sin in a person's life. Now the other side of that is God sometimes uses financial or material blessings as a means of reward. He looks upon a person, they're faithful, they're righteous. He says, I want to bless you. And so he pours out blessings in their life. And God does that.

But that does not mean you can't then make that assumption. You can't make the same mistake and think that all prosperity is God's blessing. All prosperity is not God's blessing. Sometimes the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer. And sometimes the righteous prosper and the wicked suffer. You cannot make these conclusions based upon the outward experiences that are going on.

Remember chapters 1 and 2 of Job. Job was not experiencing these things as a result of sin. Quite the opposite. God said he's righteous, he's blameless. And even though he's experienced this affliction, he has not spoken wrongly of me. He has not cursed me to my face as Satan said that he would. And so Job's friends assumed that

God uses affliction as a means of correction, and so therefore, all affliction is God's correction. That is not the truth. And Job will go on to talk about that. He's going to be dealing with that as we go on this evening. But let's look at chapter 16, verse 2. He says, I've heard many such things. Miserable comforters are you all. That is my favorite phrase of this book. Miserable comforters are you all.

This is something that's so important for us. As we look at Job and hear his heart, hear his words, we need, one of the things that we need to learn from the book of Job is how to not be a miserable comforter. One of the things that we need to learn as believers, and this is something that is necessary, this isn't natural, this isn't automatic, we need to learn how to minister to people and how to bring comfort to people.

Job says, look, I've heard many things like what you're saying. Eliphaz, this is the second time you're talking, but all your friends are saying the same thing. I've heard this many times. Check out verse 4. He says, I also could speak as you do if your soul were in my soul's place. I could heap up words against you and shake my head at you, but I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the comfort of my lips would relieve your grief.

Job says, look, if I were in your shoes and you were in my shoes, it would be very easy for me to heap up these same words that you're using upon me. But I wouldn't do that if I were in your shoes, Job says. I would bring comfort. I would bring something that would relieve you in your grief, that would help you. Learn from Job. Learn from this book how to minister to people that God hasn't called us to destroy yet.

but to relieve, to comfort. Something important that we need to learn. In verse 6 through 17, he says, I was at ease, but he shattered me. He says in verse 16, my face is flushed from weeping and on my eyelids is a shadow of death. Although no violence is in my hands and my prayer is pure. Again, Job is explaining, look, I'm experiencing all of this, but I'm not in rebellion against God. There was no violence in my hands. I didn't

Try to destroy anybody. I didn't turn from God. My prayer is pure. But I'm still experiencing these things. Now in the friends of Job's minds, this was a contradiction. You cannot experience these things and be right with God. That's impossible. But Job is saying, no, that's indeed what's happening. I'm experiencing these things and I'm walking with God.

He cries out in verses 18 through 22, Oh, that one might plead for a man with God. He says in verse 20, My friends scorn me and my eyes pour out tears to God. He's so alone in this. My friends are scorning me. They're mocking me. I wish someone would be able to go between us, me and God, that we could talk, that they could plead for me, that they could intercede for me. I wish someone would be there for me.

But my friends are not there. There's not someone to be the mediator between me and God is what Job is crying out. Chapter 17 verse 1. My spirit is broken. My days are extinguished. The grave is ready for me. So in verses 1 through 5 he says, My spirit is broken. He's broken. He's in agony. He's so distressed and in so much pain. And the friends aren't helping. They're just adding on to the burdens that he is facing.

He says in verses 6 through 9, he has made me a byword of the people. A byword, it's the idea of a notorious example of something that everybody's talking about. You know, look at the example of Job. It's something we even use today. We often refer to Job and the sufferings that he experienced. He's a byword. He's an example of great affliction from God. In verse 10 through 16, he says, my days are past. My purposes are broken off. He feels like it's over.

His days are done. He's just not dead yet, but his days are done. His purposes are broken off. All the things that he had planned, all the things that he had purposed before this took place, it's all broken off. It's all gone. There's no fulfilling those purposes. It's interesting to consider, right? Because he had plans. He had purposes. He had things he was planning to do. But those were all broken off. Even the thoughts of his heart. All those dreams and desires that he had, they're gone.

He feels like it's all over. He just hasn't actually died yet. Well, Bildad, his other friend, responds now in chapter 18. Verse 21 is the key verse. Now Bildad speaks. Again, this is his second time speaking. The first time he spoke was in Job chapter 8. Same kind of nonsense as before. Same kind of nonsense as Eliphaz.

He says in verses 1 through 4, Why are we regarded as stupid in your sight? Why are you calling us stupid, Job? Why do you think that we're fools? Now he's saying it with the understanding that we know you're in sin. You can't fool us, Job. We weren't born yesterday. We know you must be in sin. Why are you treating us as stupid and trying to say that you're right with God and enduring affliction? That's not possible.

And so to try to tell us that you're right with God but enduring affliction is calling us stupid. Verse 5 through 21, he explains why he says this. He says, the light of the wicked goes out.

Here's how it works, Job. Verse 5. The light of the wicked indeed goes out and the flame of his fire does not shine. Verse 7. The steps of his strength are shortened and his own counsel casts him down. Verse 14. He is uprooted from the shelter of his tent and they parade him before the king of terrors. Verse 21. Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked and this is the place of him who does not know God. He says, look, this is how it works. This is what happens to wicked people.

They experience these things. They go through these things. They experience this in life. They experience that in life. They experience this in life. Now Job, all these things are what you're experiencing. Therefore, you must be wicked because you're experiencing what the wicked experience. His point is the wicked don't prosper. Now again, we jump back to chapter 42. We hear what God has to say and we must conclude his words to Job are false.

It's not that difficult to understand that. Has it been your experience that the wicked don't prosper? Has it been your experience? Is that what you've observed in life? That people who do wrong never get ahead? Never get wealthy? Never experience what we would call blessings? That people who do wrong never experience those things? Is that your experience? No, of course not. And what they're missing here is the eternal perspective.

The eternal perspective is something that we need to consider in the book of Job because, well, Job didn't always have the eternal perspective. He didn't have a good grasp of eternity. His friends never had it. Not even a little bit. Not even sometimes. And you and I also sometimes miss that eternal perspective. Listen, justice will be brought to the wicked.

in eternity. The Bible says, you will reap what you sow. That's in the book of Galatians. That has eternal weight of truth and you can trust it. You will reap what you sow. But that does not always mean that you will experience that in this life. The wicked will not always see justice in this life. The wicked will definitely see justice guaranteed in eternity. In the same way, reward will be brought to the righteous in

We might see a taste of that in this life, but eternity is where the reward is at. And eternity is the thing that we need to keep in mind as we wrestle with these issues. We cannot see all the reasons behind what God does and what God allows. We know that God is good. We know that He is sovereign on the throne and in control. We know that He is working.

But we don't always see all of the details behind the scenes. Just like Job didn't know what was going on and why this was happening. But as we consider eternity, we can recognize. What Bildad says is true of the wicked when you zoom out and focus on eternity. But he's just looking at this life. Here's what the wicked deserve. Here's what they're going to get. This is what you're getting, Job. Therefore, you must be in some serious sin.

Well, Job responds again in chapter 19, verse 2 is the key verse. He says, He's begging his friends, pleading with his friends. How long are you going to keep this up? Are you going to continue to add on to my burdens and my anguish? How long will you torment my soul? There in verses 1 through 6.

In verse 4 he says, and if indeed I have erred, my error remains with me. Now here's the interesting thing about Job. He's not above correction. He's not saying, I will never be corrected. I can't be corrected. I'm perfect. He's saying, if I have erred, my error remains with me. In other words, you guys haven't told me what my error is. If I'm in sin in some way, tell me what it is so that I can repent. Show me what it is.

They're accusing Job of some great sin, but they're unable to declare what that sin is. Now, we understand from the scriptures, there is a time to share with someone that they are in sin. It is appropriate. We talked about that a few weeks ago. I'm sorry, a few months ago, really, on how to deal with sin.

And when there is that rebellion against God, when there is that sin, it's clear this violates what God has said. It is appropriate, it is actually required that we share it, we minister that to one another. And so it's not that you can never let someone know that they are in sin, but to vaguely say you must be in sin because of what you're experiencing in your life,

Well, that's making the same mistake as Job's friends. And so they had no idea what the sin that they were accusing him of was, but they just knew he had to be in sin because righteous people don't experience affliction. In verses 7 through 12, Job says, he breaks me down on every side. He's just surrounded by this great affliction from God.

He says in verse 11, he also has kindled his wrath against me and he counts me as one of his enemies. Now, of course, Job is speaking out of his anguish here. Again, he's not attempting to speak for God. He's not actually God's enemy. God actually counted him as a righteous man and blameless man. And that's why he's in the place that he's in right now because God said he's righteous and blameless. He's upright. Right?

So God isn't actually counting him as an enemy, but Job feels like God is counting him as an enemy. He explains a little bit about his situation in verse 13 through 20 when he says, Friends have forgotten me. Job again feels so alone. He's so lonely in the midst of this. He feels abandoned. He says in verse 13, He's removed my brothers far from me.

and my acquaintances are completely estranged from me. Then in verse 17, my breath is offensive to my wife, and I am repulsive to the children of my own body. Verse 19, all close friends abhor me. So you see, all level of relationships, they're cut off, removed. Everybody just fled from Job. He's all alone, except for these three friends who continue to lay these burdens upon him.

So he pleads with them in verse 21 and 22. Have pity on me, my friends. Have pity on me. Verse 22, he says, why do you persecute me as God does and are not satisfied with my flesh? Like, you're not satisfied with where I'm at and the affliction that I'm experiencing, so you're bringing more affliction upon me. But then he goes on in verse 23 through 29 to make some incredible statements. He says, I know that my Redeemer lives.

He says in verse 23, oh that my words were written, oh that they were inscribed in a book, that they were engraved on a rock with an iron pen and lead forever. He says, oh I wish these things I'm about to say, I wish they could be inscribed and preserved in such a way that they would be kept forever because these words will be proven to be true when I stand with my Redeemer. He says, for I know my Redeemer lives.

And at last he's going to stand on the earth. And even after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God. And so we understand Job had the hope of eternity. He had the hope of being with God once this body was done. And so he says, I wish that my words could be set in stone so that it would be proven true when I stand there with God. My Redeemer lives. Beautiful words.

He's grasping hold on that hope of being with God, his Redeemer. Well, Zophar, his other friend, now responds in chapter 20. Verse 29 is the key verse. It says, So Zophar gets his turn now. This is his second time speaking to Job.

His first time was in chapter 11. You can check back there for more nonsense. But here in verses 1 through 11, he says, the triumphing of the wicked is short. He says, okay, Job, you're right, you're right, you're right. Sometimes the wicked triumph, but it doesn't last very long. He says, the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment there in verse 5. He says in verse 9, the eye that saw him will see him no more. They're just successful for a moment. It's not going to last, Job. Triumphing of the wicked is short.

Verse 12 through 19, he says, from the proceeds of business, he will get no enjoyment. And so he might get some proceeds. Verse 12, he says, though evil is sweet in his mouth and he hides it under his tongue, though he spares it and does not forsake it, but still keeps it in his mouth, yet his food in his stomach turns sour. It becomes cobra venom within him. So he might get a taste of it, but then he swallows and it goes down to his stomach and then it turns sour. It's just...

There and gone, his success, his joy, his triumph. Then verse 20 through 29, he says, this is the portion from God for a wicked man. What is the portion? He says in verse 21, nothing's left for him to eat. His well-being will not last forever.

Verse 24, he will flee from the iron weapon. A bronze bow will pierce him through. Verse 28, the increase of his house will depart and his goods will flow away in the day of his wrath. Now again, follow what he's saying here. He's saying, look, this is all the things that will happen to a wicked man. Job, here's all the things that you're experiencing. And you experienced the triumph for a short time. You were prosperous. You were blessed. You had great wealth. That's all gone. You know why? Because you're a wicked man, Job. That's why.

That's what Zophar says. And we consider what God said in Job chapter 42 and we conclude once again, his words are false. He's not representing God. He's not speaking for God. He's not inspired by God. Warren Wiersbe points out, "...if comfort and wealth are evidence of holiness, our Lord was not holy. For he had little earthly comfort and wealth, and he died a terrible death on the cross."

He says, perhaps you need to examine your own logic and see if you are thinking like God or like the devil. Jesus is the picture that we always need to go back and remember. Because we do fall in the trap of thinking, hey, if you're doing good, you're walking with God, you should be blessed. But sometimes when you're doing good and walking with God, you're crucified. If that's God's will, if that's God's plan. And that's hard for us to accept. Again, it goes back to that sovereignty of God that we wrestle with. But that is the reality of God. He reigns.

He rules. He is in control of all things. Well, we finish it up in chapter 21, verse 34 is the key verse as Job responds. He says, how then can you comfort me with empty words since falsehood remains in your answers? So he pleads with his friends in verses one through three, after I speak, keep mocking. He says, all right, I need to say something. I know you're going to mock it. You're going to continue to bring on the same stuff you've been bringing, but let me speak and then you can keep on mocking.

He says in verse 4 through 16, why did the wicked live and become old? Okay, Zophar, you say they just triumph for a moment. It doesn't last very long. How come there's old wicked people? How come they can live and prosper for a long time? He describes some of it in verse 8. He says their descendants are established with them in their sight. They get to see their descendants. He says in verse 9, their houses are safe from fear and the rod of God isn't upon them.

He says in verse 10, their bull breeds without failure and the cow calves without miscarriage. They don't experience loss. If there's these old wicked people, we would use the phrase blessed. That they're blessed. I mean, they just have great things going on in their lives. So if it's the case that the wicked always are destroyed, maybe they triumph, but it's just for a moment, then how come there's old wicked people who experience all of these good things?

He says in verse 14, yet they say to God, depart from us for we do not desire the knowledge of your ways. So they're in rebellion against God. They don't want nothing to do with God, but they're wicked and they're blessed. So if what you're saying is true, friends, how is it possible then that there's old wicked people? Verse 17 through 21, he says, how often is the lamp of the wicked put out? If what you're saying is true, why don't we see

God taking out all the wicked people all the time. How often do you see that happening? Well, he goes on in verse 22 through 26 to say that the strong and bitter die alike. There are those who have full strength. There are those who have bitterness of soul who's never had any pleasure. They both die in the same way. They both die different times. And some die, what we would say early, and some die what we would think is late. But they all die alike. You cannot...

summarize and say the wicked die early they never live to old age they're never blessed they never experience prosperity they never experience success you just can't say that your understanding of life I mean you just look around and you can see that's not the way that God works

But the friends of Job are proclaiming that's the way God works and therefore Job must be in sin. And so in verse 27 through 34, he says, falsehood remains in your answers. He says, look, you're trying to say these things, but there's falsehood in your answers. Again, it's interesting here. Job got it right. He's correcting his friends. Would you be corrected by Job? We know the truth. God tells us at the end. Job's friends...

They spoke wickedly of God. They didn't speak well of God. They didn't represent Him like Job did. Job considers eternity in verse 30. He says, For the wicked are reserved for the day of doom. They shall be brought out on the day of wrath. So the justice for wickedness, it will take place. But it doesn't always happen in this life. They're reserved for the day of wrath. How can you comfort me with empty words, he says, since falsehood remains forever?

Before we finish up this evening, I'll just open it up real quick. And so...

If you had something that maybe wasn't clear as I was sharing or maybe something that you were wondering about as you read this week, any questions that you want to bring up before we finish up this evening?

Jesse? In 17.5 and in 29.19, it sounds like Job is telling them that they're going to get theirs, like they're going to get judged. Like he almost is saying, like he knows that judgment is going to come upon them. Even though he's going through it now, he knows that they're going to get theirs for being the way they're being. That's what it sounds like to me. It's beautiful.

So Job 17.5 says, He who speaks flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children will fail. I don't know that I would make that jump from that verse. 1929, let me jump there.

Okay, so in 1929 he says, be afraid of the sword for yourselves, for wrath brings the punishment of the sword that you may know there is a judgment. So, you know, something interesting I was talking with Pastor Cisco about today is I think the book of Job is really good for our prayer lives because we read this and we go, please Lord, don't do this in my life. Don't let this happen to me.

So, maybe so. Maybe Job is saying, watch out. You know, maybe you need to be in prayer that this doesn't happen to you. Again, God's sovereign. He could do it. You know that? He could do this to you. But he loves you. And he's good. And if he allows this in your life, he still loves you. He's still good. He still works all things together for good. So you can trust him. Anybody else? Sifoah.

No temptation has overtaken you. Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. That...

So 1 Corinthians 10.13 says that God will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide a way of escape. And so yes, Job experiencing this affliction by God's sovereign hand allowing Satan to do this, you know, God was in control and he knew how much was enough and how much was too much and he set the limits appropriately for Satan. Yeah. Yeah.

I hope not. Anybody else? Thoughts, questions? Jesse? Overall, I think it's so much like us as humans to be like Job's friend in some way or another. We probably catch ourselves saying those same things, not recognizing, like you said, that God might be testing us.

Yeah.

And I shared this last week. It's really true. This is not ancient history, even though it's probably the oldest book of the Bible.

This still goes on today. And you and I, we need to watch out so that we're not like Job's friends. I shared the example last week. Someone told Pastor Cisco, you have cancer. What kind of sin must you be involved in that God would give you cancer? Throughout my mom's life and the sicknesses that she's experienced my whole life, people, it's like every couple years,

You know, there's someone new saying, there must be some kind of sin in your life because you're experiencing all of this disease and these health things. It's a conclusion that's so easy to come to from those who are experiencing blessings from God. But it's not the reality. And so I'll close with this. Here's what you need to remember. Remember that sin is paid for at the cross. Paid in full, right? Jesus died on the cross for sin. It's paid in full.

So God is not looking for opportunities to pay people back for sin. He's not trying to fulfill a debt and say, you sinned and so I need to pay you back for your sin. It was paid in full. All the judgment, all the wrath laid upon the cross. He's not looking for opportunity to pay back people for sin. For you and I, as we see people going through affliction, we cannot jump to the conclusion that God is trying to deal with sin in their lives.

If sin was not paid for at the cross, we could maybe have a better case for that. But sin is covered. It's paid for. Sometimes God uses affliction for correction. And correction from you and I is appropriate when there's open rebellion, when it's clear. You can say, here's the verse. Look, you are walking in disobedience to God. That's appropriate. That's necessary. But to say generally...

You must be in some kind of sin. Or God is doing this in your life because of, you know, this sin that I know about in your life. That's not appropriate. It's following the pattern of Job's friends. What's more appropriate is comfort. Comfort. Learn from Job's friends. Learn from Job. People facing affliction need comfort. That's what we're to bring them. Let's pray. God, I pray that you would help us not to be miserable comforters.

But Lord, that we would be those who build up and strengthen and refresh and relieve those who are going through affliction. And Lord, let that be true of us whether we're dealing with believers in our lives who are facing difficulties or unbelievers in our lives. Lord, that we would lay upon people burdens that you have not placed there.

But Lord, that we would be very sensitive as you speak to us and lead us on how to minister to people around us. And God, as we see the reality that you are sovereign, I pray, Lord, that you would help us to trust in you and to rest in you, knowing that you are good. And it's difficult for us to comprehend. How could you allow these great difficulties? Since you're sovereign, we know that you're involved. How would you allow this, God? I don't understand. But Lord, as we wrestle with that,

Help us to hold on to the fact that you are good and that you work all things together for good to those who love you and are the called according to your purpose. And so, Lord, our part is to love you, to seek after you, to pursue you. Help us to be faithful in that, knowing that you'll work out all the rest and it'll be for our benefit. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

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