Responding to the Test
Notes
Transcript
How do you respond when your Christian walk is tested?
How do you respond when your livelihood is threatened or compromised?
How do you respond when you have been violated and there seems to be no relief or recourse?
How do you respond to God when all you’ve worked for is gone in an instant?
Let’s look at how one man dealt with such circumstances and his example for us...
Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
How Did Job Get Here?
How Did Job Get Here?
The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
Satan presented himself before the LORD and was looking for something or someone to attack.
God offers up Job because of his character.
Satan challenges God to remove the hedge of protection God has on Job and God agrees!
Satan believes that if God removes His favor, that Job will curse God.
God agrees to remove the hedge and allows Satan to attack Job, but not his health.
Body of the Text
Body of the Text
Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
The Sabeans stole Job’s oxen and sheep and killed the workers who tended to them.
This is significant because the oxen and these particular sheep were vital to Job’s commerce and livelihood, because they worked the fields that yielded crops that Job sold to provide for his family.
His money has been compromised and his production has ceased due to the death of the workers.
How would you respond when your main source of income was taken away from you?
While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
This group of sheep were the ones Job likely had sheered and sold their wool for money.
This is another stream of income that was compromised and the production (workers) was ceased due to death.
How would you respond if all your income ceases and you can’t provide for your family?
While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
The camels represent Job’s means of transportation.
The workers who tended to Job’s transportation were also killed, leaving their families at a loss.
If you’ve ever had a vehicle stolen, you know what it feels like to be violated.
While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
The children represent Job’s legacy.
His seven sons were designed to carry Job’s name into future generations.
His three daughters were to extend his family through marriage.
Without children, Job’s legacy would be greatly diminished.
Your children are an extension of you.
They carry your name.
They carry your ideologies.
They carry your teachings.
Losing a loved one, especially a child would be enough to make anyone want to give up on everything.
Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Job tore his robe and shaved his head, which is a dignified sign of lament and sorrow.
He was wealthy and to tear this garment trancended his status.
Not even wealth can protect one from life’s calamities.
How do you deal with profound sorrow as a follower of Christ?
Job gave the opposite reaction than Satan was expecting.
Satan expected Job to curse God for his misfortune.
Job’s character, instead, caused him to worship God.
What does your character prompt you to do in such circumstances?
Mike Tyson is quoted as saying, “Everyone has a plan until they get hit!”
What’s your plan?
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return.”
Job understood that he came into the world with nothing, so losing the possessions weren’t really a loss - just starting back from zero.
Job also understood that had he not lost everything, even upon death, he would not have been able to take his possessions with him.
Job understood that, “The earth is the LORD’s and everything in it; the world and all who live in it.”
When we understand that we are stewards of what God has entrusted to us, we become less attached to material things.
“The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away.”
Job knew the source of his wealth and substance.
I can hear Job singing, “You are the source of my strength; You are the strength of my life!”
“Blessed be the name of the LORD.”
In spite of loss and upheaval, Job chose to speak well of God.
Job still put God in His proper place, despite how he felt about the current circumstances.
What Job’s Response Teaches Us
What Job’s Response Teaches Us
We should worship God despite disappointment.
We should worship God in the midst of chaos.
We should worship God in spite of grief.
How Job’s Response Connects to Christ
How Job’s Response Connects to Christ
Job was righteous like Jesus
Job suffered like Jesus
Job and Jesus fought spiritual battles
Job and Jesus died, but Jesus rose again and still reigns!
Jesus was humiliated.
Jesus was stripped of His glory.
Jesus became a curse for us.
Let’s celebrate (ready for Communion)!
