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Getting sick… (3 points)
- 1st – The Questions… vs. 1-3
- 1st – Where do you come from… vs. 1-2
- Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves to the Lord…
- SONS of God [בְּנֵי הָאֱלֹהִים] – a term used exclusively to describe ANGELS…
- Only used in Job 1:6 / 2:1 / 38:7 – and in Genesis 6:2-4
- Again – included with them was SATAN [הַשָּׂטָן] – THE ACCUSER!
- SATAN [שָּׂטָן] – only used 14x in OT to describe our ENEMY – 11x in the book of Job!
- The Lord [יְהוָה] asked SATAN [הַשָּׂטָן] – where do you come from…
- His answer – I have been patrolling the earth – watching everything that is going on [NLT] …
- SATAN does NOT rule and reign in Hell – he is the god of this world…
- When SATAN rebelled against God – he was cast down to earth – Luke 10:18
- When God created the world – gave the DEED to Adam and Eve – Genesis 1:28-30
- When Adam and Eve chose to sin in the garden – rebel against God – Genesis 3
- They gave the DEED of the world to satan – II Corinthians 4:4 / John 14:30
- Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves to the Lord…
- 2nd – Have you considered… vs. 3
- The Lord asked SATAN – have you CONSIDERED my servant Job…
- CONSIDERED [שׂוּם] – have you laid your hands violently on Job yet…
- Of course the answer to this question was YES – SATAN had CONSIDERED Job!
- He had taken EVERYTHING from him – including his children!
- Still he holds fast his INTEGRITY…
- HOLDS fast [hiphil] – to CAUSE to make strong – CHOOSE to STAND firm…
- In spite of EVERYTHING Job had lost – he CHOSE to STAND in the Lord – Ephesians 6:13
- When Jesus taught the multitudes about the BREAD of life – eat My flesh / drink My blood…
- It was a HARD teaching – and MOST of His Disciples walked away…
- But when He asked the TWELVE if they would ALSO leave – Peter answered…
- John 6:68 – “Lord – to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
- We see in Job – living a Godly life is NOT a guarantee of an EASY life…
- Just the opposite – BAD things happened BECAUSE Job lived a Godly life – John 16:33
- Since following Jesus means life is HARDER – we might think it is better NOT to follow…
- But Job understood – where ELSE could we go and find ETERNAL life!
- Although you [requested] me against him – to [consume] him without cause…
- God acknowledged SATAN had REQUESTED – God CONSUME [piel] Job – Job 1:11
- Though Job had done NOTHING to deserve the devastation God allowed…
- God pulled back His protection to allow Job to be TESTED – to see if he would STAND firm!
- Do NOT miss – God was PROUD of Job – the SECOND time he told SATAN to CONSIDER Job!
- One of the hardest things to do as a parent – is to let our children face challenges…
- Give them the opportunity to stand – knowing they MIGHT fail…
- But if they succeed – it is the PROUD parent who declares – look at MY child!
- The real test of CHARACTER is how they act when life falls apart…
- God uses TRIALS in life to TEST us – let us see what we are made of…
- God already knows – but He wants US to see what is in OUR hearts!
- The Lord asked SATAN – have you CONSIDERED my servant Job…
- 1st – Where do you come from… vs. 1-2
- 2nd – Physical problems… vs. 4-8
- 1st – Skin for skin… vs. 4
- Satan answered the Lord – skin for skin – all that a man has he will give for his life…
- There are only THREE sources to EVERY problem that can come into our lives…
- We can have FINANCIAL problems – not having enough money…
- We can have RELATIONAL problems – being hurt by others – family / friends…
- We can have PHYSICAL problems – getting sick and dying!
- FINANCIAL and RELATIONAL problems had failed to stumble Job…
- SATAN had been forbidden from taking the health of Job – Job 1:12
- SATAN was requesting to bring the final attack – take his HEALTH!
- We have ALL at some point in our lives FEARED death…
- For some it might be occasional – living in denial – for others it can be daily crippling…
- Therefore the thought of being SICK is terrifying – we MIGHT die!
- Many avoid doing to the doctor for fear of the prognoses – CANCER / DISEASE!
- This should NOT be the case for a BELIEVER – DEATH is NOT the end…
- Far too often we get way to attached to this life and forget – Hebrews 11:13-16
- We are not HOME yet – our HOME is a place we have yet to see – our home is HEAVEN…
- We need to remember to NOT fear death – it is just the door that takes us HOME!
- Satan answered the Lord – skin for skin – all that a man has he will give for his life…
- 2nd – Stretch out Your HAND… vs. 5-6
- Stretch [imperative] out YOUR hand now – and touch [imperative] his bone and his flesh…
- And he will surely curse You to Your face!
- SATAN demands that God be the one to strike the HEALTH of Job…
- Not just an external sickness [flesh] – but an internal one as well [bone]!
- NOTE – it was God who had to do it – SATAN could NOT just touch Job!
- The LORD said to Satan – Behold – he is in your hand – but spare his LIFE…
- Even when God gave permission for SATAN to harm Job – there were limits…
- SATAN could ONLY take his HEALTH – he could NOT kill Job!
- Psalm 66:9 – “Who keeps our soul among the living…”
- Our days are numbered by the Lord – and we will not die a say sooner than He says!
- Therefore we have NOTHING to fear from ANY sickness…
- Because if we get sick – and it is NOT our time – we will get better…
- And if it is OUR TIME – then there is nothing we can do to be healed!
- God ALLOWS sickness…
- This is HARD for many people to accept…
- If God is LOVE – why does He allow GOOD people to suffer – and even die…
- Why would He allow innocent children to get cancer – birth defects!
- Two PROBLEMS with that question – FIRST – there are NO good people – Romans 3:23
- SECOND – we assume suffering is BAD – which is NOT true!
- If life we ONLY about the EIGHTY or so years we are given here on earth…
- Then God allowing people to get SICK is CRUEL…
- But if life is about ETERNITY – then ANYTHING He allows – even sickness…
- That brings us brokenness – leads us to Jesus – is the most LOVING thing God could do!
- It would NOT be loving to let a person be HEALTHY – till the day they went to HELL…
- It is LOVE to let someone get SICK – so they cry out to Jesus – and go to HEAVEN!
- There was a woman who had been sick for TWELVE years…
- She tried EVERYTHING – but God – to be her cure and answer!
- Mark 5:26 – “[She] suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.”
- Which is what finally brough her to Jesus – to touch the border of His clothing…
- Only then was she HEALED – her sickness led her to the ONLY answer she needed…
- If she had NEVER been sick – she would never have gone looking for Jesus!
- Stretch [imperative] out YOUR hand now – and touch [imperative] his bone and his flesh…
- 3rd – Painful BOILS… vs. 7-8
- Satan… struck Job with painful boils from… his foot to… his head…
- BOILS – [שִׁחִין] – first used to describe the SIXTH plague in Egypt – Exodus 9:8-9
- Also used to describe LEPROSY – Leviticus 13:20
- Here we are told they were PAINFUL [רָע] boils – or literally EVIL boils…
- They covered the body of Job from the bottom of his feet – to the top of his head!
- Job scraped his skin with a piece of broken pottery [NLT] …
- SCRAPE – only here OT – used to describe PEALING bark off a tree!
- The imagery is quite graphic – Job was PEALING open his wounds with a broken pot…
- Presumably to force out the pus that was accumulating under his skin!
- If you have ever had a pimple – or a boil – it REALLY hurts as it builds up pressure…
- The only way to get relief is to POP to boil – release the pressure!
- As he sat among the ashes [NLT] …
- There are THREE thoughts as to why Job was sitting in ASHES…
- FIRST – a sign of MOURNING – sackcloth and ashes – 8x in OT to describe mourning…
- Job had lost EVERYTHING – money – family – health – he had good reason to MOURN!
- SECOND – a sign of POVERTY – LXX – [ἐκάθητο ἐπὶ τῆς κοπρίας ἔξω τῆς πόλεως] – sat on dung outside the city…
- Job had lost EVERYTHING – and was left living in the city DUMP!
- One of the saddest things I have ever seen – is people forced to live in a dump…
- They literally have NOTHING – and live off the scraps other people throw away!
- THIRD – a sign of SICKNESS – if Job was living on a dung pile – perhaps he could not leave!
- When I was in college – I went on a missions trip to Kazakhstan…
- It required taking a train ride across Siberia – a Russian gave me an EVIL pickle…
- I spent the next FOUR days not able to leave the bathroom!
- Whichever interpretation is correct – they all lead to the same conclusion…
- Job was at the VERY bottom – his life was in complete RUINS!
- Two LESSONS – FIRST – LOOK up…
- When hard times come – our first reaction is to LOOK to depend on us…
- But God can turn up the HEAT – till we can NO longer handle our problems…
- FINANCIAL ruin not enough – how about RELATIONAL problems – or ruined HEALTH…
- Or all THREE – so we would learn not to trust in ourselves – but instead trust in God!
- Because we find Strength in Weakness – II Corinthians 12:9-10
- We pride ourselves in our STRENGTH – but what is our STRENGTH in comparison to God…
- In truth we are WEAK– but it is in our WEAKNESS we find true STRENGTH…
- When we realize we are WEAK we learn to depend on His STRENGTH!
- SECOND – No matter BAD our trials might be – at least we are NOT Job…
- So often in life we think our problems are the WORSE than everyone else…
- No one could possibly be going through anything more difficult…
- But the challenges we face – are no worse than what others have gone through!
- I Corinthians 10:13 – “The temptations in your life are no different from others.”
- Satan… struck Job with painful boils from… his foot to… his head…
- 1st – Skin for skin… vs. 4
- 3rd – Being alone… vs. 9-13
- 1st – Wife of Job… vs. 9-10
- Do you still HOLD FAST to your integrity? Curse [imperative] God and die…
- What is amazing – this is the SECOND time we have heard this…
- The FIRST time was when God used these words to PRAISE Job – Job 2:3
- After the first TWO trials – FINANCIAL / RELATIONAL – Job HELD fast his integrity!
- But SATAN assured God once he lost his HEALTH – he would CURSE God and die!
- Meaning Job was NOT hearing from his wife…
- This was SATAN speaking through His wife – twisting the WORD of God…
- AGAIN – we miss who the real ENEMY is – we get caught up looking at the people…
- Sometimes those people are the ones who are CLOSEST to us…
- That is when it is a hardest to hear – when the attacks are the more devastating…
- But they are STILL just puppets – being told what to say and do by SATAN…
- The key is to go at the one who is in control – attack the root problem!
- Taking on the real problem by breaking out the big guns – PRAYER and the WORD!
- Ephesians 6:12 – “We are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world.”[NLT]
- Do NOT be a tool of SATAN…
- This is the ONLY time we read about the WIFE of Job…
- And her MARK on history – is that she was a TOOL of SATAN!
- We need to be CAREFUL what we let come out of our mouths…
- We can be a TOOL of SATAN – used to sow divisiveness and discouragement…
- Or we can be a TOOL that is used by God to being GRACE and SALVATION…
- HUSBANDS / WIVES – we have incredible power to tear down or build up our spouses!
- Ephesians 4:29 – “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”
- You speak [piel] as the foolish speak [piel] …
- FOOL – someone who does not KNOW God – Psalms 14:1
- Job wisely understood – the words of his WIFE – were NOT from the Lord…
- Instead he realized – we must accept both the GOOD and EVIL that comes into our lives!
- Isaiah 55:8 – “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways…”
- If I PRAISE God when things happen that I WANT – and call them GOOD…
- And CURSE God when things happen that I do NOT want – and call them BAD…
- What I am really saying is I that I know better than God – which makes me a FOOL!
- Do you still HOLD FAST to your integrity? Curse [imperative] God and die…
- 2nd – Friends of Job… vs. 11-13
- When Jobs three friends heard of all this adversity [they] came…
- Eliphaz [my god is gold] – from Teman [south] – a descendant of Esau – Genesis 36:11
- Bildad [confusing love] – from Shuah [wealthy] – a descendant of Abraham – Genesis 25:2
- Zophar [depart early] – from Naamah [pleasant] – perhaps named after daughter of Cain…
- They came together to MOURN and COMFORT [piel] Job!
- Their names give us a CLUE as to what kind of COMFORTERS they will be…
- Their counsel and COMFORT will be the content of the next 28 chapters!
- Saying NOTHING…
- When they arrived – they saw Job from afar – and did NOT recognize him…
- They all WEPT – tore their coats – and sprinkled ashes towards heaven…
- For SEVEN days they said ABSOLUTELY NOTHING [אֵין] – they just sat with their friend!
- For they saw his GREIF was VERY GREAT!
- I knew a couple who lost their child – two pastors came to encourage them…
- One gave them the right verses / the other wrapped his arms around them and cried!
- Sometimes the GREATEST comfort we can receive is not in words…
- It is in saying NOTHING – just being there to let someone know they are NOT alone!
- When Jobs three friends heard of all this adversity [they] came…
- 1st – Wife of Job… vs. 9-10
Romans 12:15 – “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”
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