Materialism, and the things of this world.

Good morning Church. I hope you are all ready to worship with me as we consider God’s worth together. Let’s pray.

Alright if you have your bibles, please turn to Job chapter 1, we’re going to be looking at verses 13 through 22 this morning. It’s a larger chunk of the text, but it didn’t feel right to try and divide it up as it’s part of a cohesive storyline that I think is meaningful as one chunk. When you get there, if you are able, please stand for the reading of God’s word.

English Standard Version (Chapter 1)

13 Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 14 and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 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.” 16 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.” 17 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.” 18 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, 19 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.”

20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 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.”

22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

Thus the reading of God’s word, you may be seated.

This is the 3rd sermon so far we’ve gone through in Job together, and just to bring anyone who wasn’t here for the first two, let’s just briefly recap so far what we know about Job and the context of what is going on here, so that this section is put into it’s proper context, so that we may rightly understand what is happening in this text.

So, we know that the book of Job is a true historical account of real historical people that happening in, you guessed it, real history. In the first few verses we learn that Job is a man of great wealth and status and yet is also a man who’s righteousness is unmatched on the earth at the time. God Himself calls Job blameless and upright. Which, coming from the creator of the universe is a very honorable title.

In the next pages of Job we read that Satan is permitted by God to test and try Job, in a prideful attempt to prove to God, (let’s all laugh together) that Job only loves God because of his many blessings, and that Job would curse God if He were to take everything away from him. So God providentially decreed that Job would undergo some unbelievable trials at the hand of the evil one.

And so now, here we begin the trials of our beloved brother Job. Beginning in verse 13 through 15, “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.”

So we don’t know precisely how long it was between when God gave Satan permission to persecute Job, but we know at least that it took time for him to round up a particular people to attack Job’s family. We see that he chose the Sabeans. Who were the Sabeans? The Sabeans were traders and raiders from the village of Sheba, which is located in Southern Arabia. Arabian raiders from the Persian Gulf, modern day Yemen. So these raiders would have come a reasonable distance to raid where Job lived in the land of Uz, which is closer to Israel or perhaps even Egypt.

These Sabeans were raiders, which means they lived upon the plunder of those they raided. This is precisely the type of people ripe for manipulation and use by Satan. These men were men who’s hearts were already fixed upon taking spoils from their neighbors, vessels of wrath already prepared for destruction. They were fit for Satan to use in this way.

So far Job has lost his 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 donkeys as well as the servants who were tending them. Bear in mind how much value that would have been, as this was essentially their means of income. The Sabeans made out with over 1000 animals.

Then verse 16 “While he was yet speaking, there came another (messenger) 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.” So before Job has even had a chance to cry out to God and pray for his first losses, another servant comes from the fields where Job’s sheep were grazing and says that the Fire of God fell from heaven and burned up not only the sheep but also all the servants. Imagine the pressure Job must have been under at this moment, having just lost 1000 cattle and now 7000 sheep as well as the servants.

Now it says the fire of God fell from heaven and burned them up. But as you may recall, God gave Satan permission to persecute Job. It is not God doing this but rather Satan under the permission of the Lord. So - what does this mean, the fire of God? There are a few different possibilities but, I am inclined to agree with John Gill on the matter. Most likely we can understand that this was a flash or flashes of lighting which comes down from heaven (the air) and struck the ground and burned up the field and all that was in it. The thunder was often called the voice of God, so it would be not unusual for the lighting to be called the fire of God. This would be in step with other sections in scripture such as 2 Kings 1 for example.

Furthermore the news of it is expressed to Job in a way so as to make him believe that perhaps God had turned against him, that God Himself was punishing Job. And why were his sheep burned and not stolen like his cattle? Consider sheep were used for sacrifices. It very well may be that Satan was trying to deceive Job into believing that his sacrifices were no longer acceptable to God almighty. We see Satan attacking from several perspectives here, desperately hoping to cause Job to turn against His lord.

Verse 17 “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.” So yet again before Job can even take a breath another servant comes and brings more tragic news. Another people, the Chaldeans, have now raided and stole all Job’s 3000 camels. The Chaldeans were another group of people ready for plucking by Satan for evil work. These were a people who lived in the east-country not far from Job. Another people who lived upon the raiding and plundering of others. They had little knowledge of agriculture and so their food was taken by force. Job we know was well known in all the land, and so his wealth was a perfect target for people led by Satan.

Verses 18 and 19 continue “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.”

And now the fourth and final messenger has arrived to give Job the worse of all the news thus far. Job’s most beloved of all in his possession, his children, have now been taken from him. All of his kids, now dead. The children he raised, those children who were truly a part of himself. The children that were living in peace, lovingly with one another, taken violently and unexpectedly, all at once. It’s not as though they died at the hands of religious persecutors, or after battling long illness, or even due to family infighting. But rather slaughtered altogether all at once, as though the hand of God had brought down judgement on Job with wrath and vengeance.

Put yourself in Job’s shoes, or sandals, for a moment here. He lost all of his wealth, and all of his status, all of his posterity, all in one day. And not because he sinned, not because he was wicked. But because of his faithfulness. We’ll come back to that later. What was Job’s response to this? How would you have responded to such immense tragedy?

Verses 20 and 21 tell us. “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’s response to this was what? Well if we rightly understand the context of Job’s culture and the religious traditions of the time, he did not act out of uncontrolled sorrow and rage. He arose from where he had been sitting, he tore his robe to show his sorrow and resentment for what had happened in the same way the Jews used to tear their garments at the hearing of blasphemy against God. Then, either by himself or a servant shaved his head which was a common sign of mourning for the dead in the eastern nations.

And then what he did next is the most telling of Job’s incredible character and fortitude. He fell on his face, prostrate before God, and he worshipped. Job’s response was not to curse God, or blame God, or be angry with God, but to worship Him. Job rightly understood that he came into this world with nothing and will leave it with nothing. That every single thing that he has was a gift from God, and that God God had a right to give it and to take it away and His own good pleasure. Job knew God was sovereign over ALL things. ALL things.

The section concludes with verse 22 which says “In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.”

Let’s examine this a bit closer now, dear church. There is a boatload we can learn from Job, most especially in a world where we are taught materialism from birth, the american dream, total independence, personal liberty, and that our value and worth comes from what we have. How big a house, how many kids, how expensive a car, how significant our job. We cling to our money and our possessions as though we earned them, and like we deserve them. When the reality is that we deserve nothing but wrath and punishment for our heinous sin against a holy God.

Job’s losses here teach us many things. First, it doesn’t matter how person, however great, however wealthy or however high his status, no one can ever be guaranteed or promised freedom from affliction and suffering. Job was the most righteous man alive in that time and he was not free from great and immense suffering and loss. We, the church, the chosen and elect of God, should expect nothing different. Why would we think we would be any less subject to suffering and affliction than Job was? Would any of you claim to be as righteous as Job was?

In fact, the opposite is true. We are promised, even guaranteed suffering as followers of Christ. John 15:18-20 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you...” So don’t get any fancy ideas that if you make yourself important enough, or holy enough, or wealthy enough, that somehow you will escape suffering. You won’t.

These verses also serve to remind us that there is nothing but uncertainty in the outward materials of the world. Money, property, lands, friends, family, children, all of it is perishing, all of it can be taken away at any moment. Now lord willing some of those relationships will eternal, in the resurrection, in Christ. But you cannot expect any earthly comfort in those things. Job’s children could not comfort him when he lost all his material wealth and prosperity, because they too were taken.

How foolish is it to place our faith and comfort in the things that will all burn to the ground one day, and that could be taken at any moment. Even something as simple as a recession can be a reminder that, newsflash, your material wealth isn’t actually useful for anything other than doing with it what God commands and what honors Him. Why would we not instead build up our treasures in heaven? With the things that will last eternally?

Beloved it is very easy to be taken away by the pleasures of the world. Especially in a place like the United States where we are overflowing with abundance. Festivities and enjoyments, money and materials, while not inherently evil, and in fact can all be gifts from God, often bring with them great danger of being swayed away from God. We cannot turn our eyes to these things for our pleasure or comfort. We must instead turn to Christ our Lord who can and will sustain us in all circumstances. If we have forgotten this we must repent and ask Him for pardon and to remind us that He is the giver of life and be reminded that He can just as easily take away everything He has given you.

Furthermore church, let us never go into any of our festivities, or enjoy any blessing where we cannot bring our faith in Christ with us. Where we cannot ask and expect God’s blessing to be upon us. Where it may be in direct opposition to that which God calls good. Job had many offerings and given many sacrifices to God on behalf of his sons and to give thanks for his blessings, but we have the one final and perfect offering, that perfectly atones for our sins and to whom we can trust in for all the blessings we have. The God who sanctifies us, and who brings both blessing and calamity, calls us His children, and we would do well to always remember that in light of any gift of trial we have or endure.

And church, when these trials and afflictions do finally come to our doorstep, what has Job taught us about how to respond? Worship. Do not dare to do anything but worship. True piety, true holiness, recognizes God’s right to do as He pleases with His own creation; to give and to take, and sees in afflictions that we endure, the work of an Almighty Father who loves us, and thus chastens or disciplines us in order that we may be partakers of His holiness, as we read in Hebrews 12:10.

We ought to accept and submit to whatever trial God has for us. We may not understand why they are happening, or what good might come from it, or whatever reasons there are for them, but we know that God has decreed them, is right to send them, and has very good reasons for them. Let us not forget that all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose, Romans 8:28.

Job endured the greatest of loss, and in his sorrow he did not sin. It’s not that he was without sin, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but rather that Job’s response to affliction was right, good, and righteous. He did not blame God. He did not curse God. He did not so much as even complain. Not a single unsavory word came out of his mouth. Instead He worshipped His king. His Lord. He did as Romans 5:3-4 says which is to rejoice in our suffering.

Church I must leave you with hope. Hope that our King Jesus alone can promise. I want to leave you with a few verses that should serve as a great encouragement to you all. First, Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” - Dear church recognize that whatever afflictions we do endure, is absolutely nothing compared to what waits for us in glory.

And 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” Embrace your suffering as Job did. Worship and thank God for it. And trust that God is using it for your good, and for the good of His people, the church.

And if there are any of you here who don’t have this hope, I would urge you, now is the time to repent and to trust in Christ alone for salvation. He alone can save you, by faith alone in Him. Nothing else will ever bring you comfort, joy, and peace that is beyond all understanding, and you don’t have to die in your sins, but can be forgiven of them, and have the hope and the joy we see in Job, during even life’s most difficult and painful trials and afflictions.

Let’s pray.