The Meaning of Life part I

Job 38:1-11

Pray

The focus of the next two messages will be in Job 38.

But, I do want to build up a little context so that we understand what we should be learning.

This message is the beginning of the message for next week.

We are going to start in Job 29.

I am intend to summarize what leads up to Job 38.

Job 29 through 31:

Job is speaking.

In these chapters he is lamenting His current situation.

He is looking back at the wealth and prosperity of his past.

He is lamenting the fact that he has become a disgrace to others.

Job says that he has become such a disgrace that others refrain from spitting in his face (Job 30:10).

He questions whether he has done anything to deserve this hardship.

He even states that if he has done something to dishonor God, then let a more intense judgement fall on him.

In chapter 31, Job argues for his integrity.

He states that he has always sought to honor God in his life.

I believe Job is speaking with honesty in these chapters.

Job is not trying to claim something about himself that is not true.

He is not arrogant or blaming God for the current state.

He is actually praising God for provision.

In chapters 32-37 we have a long speech given by a man names Elihu.

Elihu is a friend of Job.

Elihu means well in what he says.

Elihu praises God and declares God’s majesty a couple of times throughout these chapters.

But Elihu falls into error when he rebukes Job.

Turn to Job 32

Job 32:6–10 NIV

So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said: “I am young in years, and you are old; that is why I was fearful, not daring to tell you what I know. I thought, ‘Age should speak; advanced years should teach wisdom.’ But it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding. It is not only the old who are wise, not only the aged who understand what is right. “Therefore I say: Listen to me; I too will tell you what I know.

First off Elihu is speaking with arrogance.

Elihu says even though I am young, I am going to let you know what I think.

He also implies that Job is speaking out of ignorance.

Elihu says that he though with age come wisdom this suggests that he thinks Job is in error.

If you read the chapters containing Elihu’s speech, much of it is accurate.

He declares God’s soverignty.

He talks about the fact that God is the one who corrects.

Much of what he says in these chapters is fine.

The mistake Elihu makes is claiming that he is speaking for God.

God had already spoken His assessment of Job in chapter 1.

we will look at this in a minute.

But in these verses Elihu chooses judges Job.

Elihu accuses Job of speaking with arrogance.

Elihu, claiming to speak for God, applies Job’s arrogance as a catalyst leading to Job’s current difficulty.

This is where Elihu makes the mistake.

Click #1 and #2

1. Who is the judge of character? God

Who has already judged Job?

2. What was God’s judgement regarding Job? A man who fears God.

Look at God’s assessment of Job.

Turn to Job 1

Job 1:1–12 NIV

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. He had seven sons and three daughters, 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. His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom. One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.” 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.” “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Click for #3

3. How did God describe Job? Blameless and upright.

This is God’s judgment of Job.

Who questions God’s judgement?

satan accuses God of misjudging Job.

satan suggests that Job has only been faithful because God has shown him favor.

Click #4

4. Where does God look to judge the condition of a person? The heart.

God had already deemed Job righteous due to the condition of his heart.

The perception of Job had nothing to do with physical provision, it had everything to do with his heart.

God looks at our heart.

God knows the condition, the wants and the desires that drive our heart.

Click #5

5. God assessed the condition of Job’s heart and God declared that Job was blameless and upright.

This fact is really the point of the book of Job.

God is Soverign

He judegs our hearts.

He speaks truth over us.

When I worked at the Mission.

Why did God allow the book of Job to happen.

We often focus on the difficulty of Job.

We focus on the person.

We focus in the loss.

But that is really not the point of the book.

The book of Job really is not about Job.

The book is really not about the hardships he suffered.

It is not even about Job’s faith or resilience.

Obviously these themes are within the book, but they are not the main point.

The main point of the book of Job.

Click #6

6. The main concept that God wants to deliver to us from the book of Job is to remind us of His sovereignty.

The book of Job is a reminder of God’s sovreighnty not only over mankind and the earth.

The book is a reminder of the Lord’s sovreingty over all of creation.

In chapter one, satan accuses God of misjudging Job.

satan says that God did not correctly judge Job.

Job is not who you claim him to be.

Isn’t this what the devil does to all of us.

God speaks truth and life and hope over us through His promises.

And the devil tries to pervert the truth.

The devil tries to cause us to listen to his lies rather than the truth of God.

This is really the crux of the book of Job.

God declares who Job is according to Job’s heart.

The devil says to God that His assessment is incorrect.

Your judgment is not valid.

Click #7

7. The book of Job is a an account of God putting the devil in his place.

As I stated, God speaks truth over us.

List a few of the ways that God percieves us:

Add this list to the notes:

1 John 3:1- We are called His children.

Ephesians 2:10- We are His workmanship.

Colossians 3:12- We are chosen, Holy and beloved.

Matthew 5:13- We are salt. Meaning we are those who flavor the earth. We are those who represent His truth. We are those who cause others to thirst for the Word of God.

Isaiah 43: 1-4- We are His, He is with us. We are precsious and loved.

These are the things that God speaks over us.

This is how God sees us through the salvation of Jesus our Messiah.

This is who we are.

We are precious and loved.

We are chosen and called to be holy.

This is God’s judgement of who we are in our salvation.

The devil tries to destroy it.

The devil tries to cause us to doubt what God says about us.

Just like the book of Job.

God proclaim the character of Job.

God procvlaims these things according to His soveringy.

The devil says no.

In essence you are not correct God.

You are not soverign.

You have misjudged.

You are wrong.

The devil wants us to doubt who we are in the eyes of God.

The devil tries to cause us to claim we are not good enough.

We are not able to change or be redeemed.

We are not worthy of God’s love.

These are lies for hell.

These are lies that bring death to hope.

There is no truth in them as we who claim Jesus as our Lord have been Redeemed by One who has.

Our response when the devil is whipsering in our ears to cause us to doubt the truth of God is:

Matthew 16:23 (NASB95)

“Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me

Get behind me satan.

You have no authority here.

Click for #8, 9, 10, 11

8. I am chosen.

9. I am His workmanship.

10. I am a child of God.

11. I am precious and loved.

This is who we are.

Don’t let the devil tell you otherwise.

Don’t allow

Think back on what has brought us to this point.

In the book of Job, Elihu misjudged Job.

Elihu accused Job of arrogance.

God had already spoken of Job’s character.

God declared Job to be blameless and upright.

This is God’s assessment of Job.

Elihu assesses Job in a different way.

Because Elihu aligns his judgement of the situation in line with the enemy, God interjects.

Turn to Job 38

In verses 1-3 we have the voice of God interjecting His judgment.

Job 38:1–3 NIV

Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said: “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.

God corrected not only Elihu, but the devil himself.

God is declaring that it is He who is the judge of mankind.

God confronts those who obscure His plans with empty words.

Elihu spoke empty words that were in conflict with God assessment of Job.

the enemy speaks empty words that are in conflict with what the Lord speaks over us.

God also addresses Job.

In the next few verses, God goes through a series of questions designed to remind all of humanity who is the true authority on earth.

God says to those listening, “Brace yourself like a man.”

In other words make yourself ready to give defense of your position.

gird up your defense, if you can.

After the Lord says this, He goes berrages Job with a plethora of questions that no human could possibly answer.

the line of questioning occurs over the course of a few chapters.

Include in Notes:

Summarize what we learned so far:

God is the judge of a person’s character.

The enemy attempts to discredit our character.

The enemy attempts to decieve us to believe the negativity that we often speak over ourselves.

God’s Words remain true.

No one can alter or disparrage God’s assessment of our character.

The meaning of life part I: God is Sovereign

Benediction: