Job - Trusting in Tribulations

Overview

By all earthly standards, Job was a good man. Even God pointed him out to Satan as someone special. In this lesson we will see why and how the severest of trials came to Job, and how after a period of suffering and questioning, Job was eventually exalted by God when he humbled himself.

Lesson Theme

All of us have wondered at times why we suffer and why others suffer. God has a purpose in permitting trials to come into our lives. If our lives were always smooth and everything were easy, we would never grow much in our faith. Learning to trust God through our trials leads to triumph.

Lesson Goals

At the conclusion of the lesson, each student should:

1. Understand why Job was chosen to undergo the trials that came to him

2. Understand how Job maintained his faith during these trials

3. Decide to triumph through trust rather than be defeated through discouragement

Introduction

The Word of God states that rain falls on both the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45). In our heads we know this to be true and normal. In our hearts may be a different expectation. We tend to think that if we are doing what is right, everything will go right, or at least should go right. Although this thought is certainly appealing, it is not a Bible truth. Because of our false expectations, we sometimes question God unjustly. God does not promise things will always go well, but He does promise His unfailing grace through the trials. Alfred Edersheim wrote: “We cannot understand the meaning of many trials; God does not explain them. To explain a trial would be to destroy its object, which is that of calling forth simple faith and implicit obedience.” In the annals of Scripture, there is no one who was more tested and tried than Job. J. Sitlow Baxter said, “The theme of [Job] is blessing through suffering.” James 5:11 declares, “Ye have heard of the patience of Job….” Without a doubt, there is much we can learn from the life of this great man.

I. Testimony

One man said “One ought to live his life in such a way that the pastor can tell the truth at the funeral.”

Another said, “Live your life in such a way that your family would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip.”

A.W. Tozer said that we may be known by the following:

“1) What we want most. 2) What we think about most. 3) How we use our money. 4) What we do with our leisure time. 5) The company we enjoy. 6) Who and what we admire. 7) What we laugh at.”

In Job chapter 1, we see what God said about Job.

Perfect and Upright

Job 1:1 “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.”

Perfect (def) Complete; morally pious

Pious (def) Godly; reverencing and honoring the Supreme Being in heart and in the practice of the duties he has enjoined

Upright (def) Straight; Just

Job was a Godly man, and a ‘straight shooter’.

Job was literally living a life that was based on upright decisions—decisions that were not simply upright before the world, but were upright before God. Dr. Bob Jones, Sr., was famous for many pithy phrases, among them the simple and powerful instruction, “Do right!” Job was a man who did right. The most powerful thing about the recording of Job’s life of righteousness was that this testimony was given him by God Himself.

Feared God

Many look at this this phrase incorrectly. I’ve heard a few different explanations of it.

Some say it’s simply a healthy / holy respect for God.

The problem with this is, it puts God on the same plain as man, as I respect most everyone.

A few said that fearing God is not that we fear him, but that we fear hurting him. (lol)

But ‘if the plain sense makes sense, seek no other sense’. It means just what it says. In fact, the word defined feared (def) to fear; to revere; cause to frighten: - affright, be / make afraid, dread(ful); put in fear.

Revere (def) To regard with fear mingled with respect and affection

Many have a problem in thinking that Loving God and Fearing God are somehow antithetical (at odds) with one another, when they are not. You can certainly love God, and fear God at the same time.

(Ill.) I have a dear friend who loves guns. He cherishes them, takes care of them, etc. But if one of those guns were pointing at him, he’d rightly fear them as well. No one wants a gun pointed at them - and we do well to keep them from being pointed at us.

In like manner, we should fear God so that we keep him from having cause to point His just hand against us!

Job Feared God

Eschewed Evil

Eschew (def) To flee from; to shun; to avoid

Finally, the Lord tells us that Job was a man who hated evil. God’s plan for the believer is to love righteousness and flee from evil. The world wants us to toy with evil and to laugh at evil, but God wants us to hate it.

Psalm 97:10 “Ye that love the Lord, hate evil: He preserveth the souls of his saints; He delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.”

Hebrews 1:9 “Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.”

Though we are in the world, we’re not to be OF the world

1 John 2:15–17 “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

Christians shouldn’t be indifferent to wickedness and sin. Christians shouldn’t be comfortable around it. Sin is what hung Jesus upon the Cross!

Job Eschewed Evil

II. Trials

Trials reveal the depth of a person’s character and love.

We see the beginning of Job’s trials in Job. 1:13-17 - Financial Trails

Financial Trials

Read Job. 1:13-17

The first area where Satan attacked Job was in his finances. There was a time when Job had “want of nothing.” He was very possibly the richest man in the world. In one day, it was all gone: Between the fire, the Sabeans, and the Chaldeans, Job found his financial wealth completely destroyed. This was not enough to cause Job to stop loving and serving His God. But the story goes on:

Proverbs 23:5 “Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away as an eagle toward heaven.”

Proverbs 27:24 “For riches are not for ever: And doth the crown endure to every generation?”

Paul told Timothy: 1 Timothy 6:17 “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;”

Job is a good lesson in that!

Job experienced Financial Trials

Family Trials

Job. 1:18-19.

The second attack on Job came through the loss of his family. It is incomprehensible to think of a tornado hitting a home and killing all of one’s children, yet this is what happened to Job. Still, through this great trial, he remained faithful. Job knew that his faithfulness to God could not depend on the wellbeing of others. He knew he personally was responsible to serve God. And Job maintained his faith. But Satan wasn’t through yet.

The story of the Willis family is a beautiful illustration of a family coming through the most extraordinary of trials yet finding peace and sufficiency in God.

Illustration (trials, excerpt from a tract called “Through the Flames: The Willis Family Story”) Pastor Duane Scott Willis and his wife Janet dearly loved the nine children God had given them. But at mid-morning on November 8, 1994, a fiery auto explosion on I-94 in Milwaukee claimed the lives of their six youngest. Within hours, the freak accident had made national and international headlines. From behind guarded hospital doors came good news concerning Scott and Janet: their physical recovery from first and second degree burns would be complete. However, the most astonishing recovery became apparent as Scott and Janet displayed their emotional and spiritual stability. Milwaukee, the nation, and even the world looked on in amazement as eight days later the bereaved couple explained to the media how they could make it through such a sudden and horrific tragedy. The following statements are excerpts from that news conference.

Our God—Our Praise

“Psalm 34 says, ‘I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. O taste and see that the Lord is good.’ Janet and I want to praise and thank God. There is no question in our minds that God is good, and we praise Him in all things. God is a great God.”

Our Trial—The Accident

“As far as the accident is concerned, I was looking at the road and was alert. Our little baby was behind us; Ben was behind us on the other side. In the back were the other four children; they were all buckled in. I saw the object (a metal brace, 6˝x30˝, 30 lbs.). I thought it was one of those blocks that maybe came off a flatbed truck. The car in front of me swerved, and I knew I couldn’t miss hitting the object. I thought if I took it on the tire I might roll the car. It was a split-second decision. “When we hit the object, the rear gas tank exploded, taking the car out of control. I was able to grip the wheel and take the car out of the slide. When we were sliding and the flames were coming around the seat, it was a shock—a surprise—like, ‘What is this?’ It was just roaring flames coming up on both sides. I was yelling to get out of the car. Janet and I had to consciously put our hands into the flames to unbuckle the seat belts and reach for the door handles. “Janet fell out the door while the car was still moving. Benny was in the midst of the burning; his clothes were mostly burned off by the time he got out. The five youngest children, who had been asleep, died instantly. No sound was heard by Janet or me as we struggled to get out of the van. An unknown man took his shirt off his back to soak Benny’s wounds, and another beat out the burning clothes on Janet’s back. Benny died in intensive care around midnight.” Our Children—Our Pain “We believe children are a heritage of the Lord. We thank God for six precious children: four rascally boys, a sweet girl, so much like her mother, and a little baby just beginning to smile and grow. We understood that they were given of the Lord, and we understood they weren’t ours. They were His, and we were stewards of those children. And so God took them back. He is the Giver and Taker of life. We must tell you that we hurt and sorrow as you parents would for your children. The depth of pain is indescribable. The Bible expresses our feelings that we sorrow, but not as those without hope.” Our Confidence—God’s Word

“What gives us our firm foundation for our hope is the Bible. The truth of God’s Word assures us that Ben, Joe, Sam, Hank, Elizabeth, and Peter are in Heaven with Jesus Christ. We know, based upon the Word of God, where they are. Our strength rests in the Word of God. The Bible is sure and gives us confidence. Everything God promises is true.”

Satan was permitted by God to put Job through trials in three different areas: financial trials, family trials, and physical trials

Physical Trials

(Read Job. 2:7-10)

After devastating Job’s finances and his family, Satan moved to take Job’s health. The pain of the boils and ultimately the rejection of his wife must have been unbelievably difficult. However, God gives us a statement that is a testimony to Job’s life and a challenge to every Christian today: “In all this did not Job sin with his lips.”

III. Triumph

It is not unusual to see what appears as tragedy to those around us turn into triumph through the power of our great God. God uses trials and tribulations to shape us, as a sculptor uses a hammer and chisel to shape the stone, or as a potter uses kneading and pressure and heat to make bowls and vases. True quality does not come quickly, easily, or cheaply. Things that are truly valuable often require much time and work for their production. Examples are hand-crafted watches, hand-made shoes, or the work that goes into Steinway pianos.

(Ill.) The Steinway piano has been preferred by keyboard masters such as Rachmaninoff, Horowitz, Van Cliburn, and Liszt—and for good reason. It is a skillfully crafted instrument that produces phenomenal sound. Steinway pianos are built today the same way they were over 150 years ago when Henry Steinway started his business. Two hundred craftsmen and 12,000 parts are required to produce one of these magnificent instruments.

Most crucial is the rim-bending process, where 18 layers of maple are bent around an iron press to create the shape of a Steinway grand. Five coats of lacquer are applied and hand-rubbed to give the piano its outer glow. The instrument then goes to the Pounder Room, where each key is tested 10,000 times to ensure quality and durability.

Followers of Jesus Christ are also being “handcrafted.” We are pressed and formed and shaped to make us more like Him. We are polished, sometimes in the rubbing of affliction, until we “glow.” We are tested in the laboratory of everyday human experience. The process is not always pleasant, but we can persevere with hope, knowing that our lives will increasingly reflect the beauty of holiness to the eternal praise of God. THINK ABOUT IT. Is God bending, shaping, or polishing me right now? What’s my attitude: Am I thanking and praising God, or am I complaining about the process? (illustration source unknown)

Enlightenment

(Read Job. 42:1-6)

Job was “enlightened,” which means that he learned from the trials he endured. One of the saddest things that can happen is for someone to endure trials without gaining knowledge from them. God’s Word says that one of the ways that we can gain wisdom is through the reproofs of life.

Proverbs 6:23 “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; And reproofs of instruction are the way of life:”

We must ensure that we, like Job, will seek enlightenment from our trials. God allows trials for a reason, and a wise man will learn from the reproofs of life.

Enrichment

Job 42:12–13 “So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses. He had also seven sons and three daughters.”

God’s ways are so much better than man’s ways. When the story of the trials of Job was finally completed, we discover that in the end God gave him ten more children and that God “blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning.” Job remained faithful and lived to see God’s vindication and blessing. We can be assured of the fact that we too can receive enrichment from the Lord when we remain faithful to Him.

Conclusion

Job was a man who endured tremendous trials, and yet through them all he remained faithful to his God. It is interesting to note that Christians today seem ready to walk away from their faith if someone merely mocks them at work. Job was not this type of man. He had a wonderful testimony as he endured his trials, which ultimately led him to reaching a triumph and great blessing of the Lord. The life of Job is a challenge to every believer today to live in a holy and God-pleasing manner no matter what trials may come.