“Many Are The Afflictions of the Righteous”- Job 2:1–10 (Part 3)

What began as a singular sermon covering Job 2:1–10 has now evolved into three sermons. I had not intended to do this, but as I worked through each of the three points, it became evident to me there was more that needed to be examined, for our spiritual benefit and for God’s glory.

We have noted the many deadly devices of the Enemy. He is wise, crafty, and hates God and God’s children. We would do well to heed Paul’s warning not to be ignorant of his designs, schemes, or devices.

Additional, we discussed the Spouse’s Pitiful Call. Job’s wife drew a wrong conclusion and responded with a wrong reaction to the divine act in Job’s life. Of course, we certainly can sympathize with her, but we can also learn from her (and ours!) mistakes.

Now we come to God’s servant, Job.

We are still left stunned at Job’s initial response to the news of losing almost all of his wealth and all ten of his children.

Then after another behind the scenes glimpse unbeknownst to Job, he is stricken with a horrific and painful disease. An unknown period of time passes before Job’s wife draws a wrong conclusion and reacts in a sinful way.

Now we come to Job. How will he respond? He is the primary target in the eyes of the Enemy. He has endured heartbreaking loss after heartbreaking loss.

Now his wife, his dearly beloved, mother of his children, beckons him to curse God and die. How will he respond?

His first response was, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord.”

But Satan has added a new aspect to the wager, if God allows Satan to afflict his body, Job will “curse you [God] to his face.”

How will Job respond?

III. THE SERVANT’S PATIENT RESPONSE- 2:10

Job’s response is patient, both with his wife and . And like Satan’s role and his wife’s pitiful call, this righteous servant of God’s respond is instructive for us as well.

A. The Servant’s Patient Response to His Wife

Job could have ripped into his wife for her lack of faith in God, for that is what is was. But Job was a righteous man, a true man of integrity to be sure.

Rather than sharply rebuke his wife, Job calmly responds to her doubts by saying, “You speak as one of the foolish women.”

Notice he does not call her foolish, only her speech. He is gentle to his wife, displaying a consistent character. Consider Job 29:12–17 “12 because I delivered the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to help him. 13 The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. 14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban. 15 I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. 16 I was a father to the needy, and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not know. 17 I broke the fangs of the unrighteous and made him drop his prey from his teeth.”

Job, although separated from many years for the writings of Paul, demonstrated how to have his speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, ministering grace to his wife’s hearing.

He spoke the truth in love to his wife.

Job’s response here is so instructive for us. When people are struggling with God’s work in their lives, they can often react in sinful ways.

It is our privilege, as followers of Christ, to point them back to Christ. But we need to do so lovingly.

The Servant’s patient response to his wife demonstrates a helpful balance between truth and grace. God had indeed blessed Job and his wife. And God had indeed caused Job and his wife to lose everything.

What Job was helping his wife see is that if God can and is to be trusted in the good times, how much more can God be trusted in the bad times?

The truth is, God can and should be trusted at all times. Job’s question is meant to cause his wife to stop and consider her own understanding of and trust in God.

This brings us to his patient response to his God.

B. The Servant’s Patient Response to His God

“In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”

Now, at first reading and without careful thought, we might assume that this different record than 1:22 indicts Job because although he is not sinning with his lips he is with his heart. But Christopher Ash gives a helpful warning…

“This does not suggest that Job did sin in his heart; sin with the lips is what the Satan had predicted, and sin with the lips is what Job has not done.” Christopher Ash, Job: The Wisdom of the Cross, 53

Job demonstrated, contrary to the beliefs of the Enemy, faith in God.

The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil? (Natural, not moral)

Now, this is all incredibly helpful, but more than this, I want to see how Job points us to Jesus Christ with the remainder of our time, with the final consideration of the Servant’s Prophetic Role.

C. The Servant’s Prophetic Role

I want to make a couple of connections to really appreciate, in a worshipful way, Job’s role in this account thus far, which points to Jesus Christ.

We know from God Himself that people, places, and even things were chosen by God to point to Someone Greater, namely, Jesus Christ.

Adam serves in this capacity according to the apostle Paul.

Romans 5:14 “14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.”

The various sacrifices, feasts, and even the Sabbath pointed to Christ, too, as Paul tells us in Colossians 2:17 “17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.”

We will briefly touch on this points, but I want to end our time contemplating how the servant’s patient response points to Jesus Christ.

1. The Servant was the King

Job is referred to as “my servant” by God, but from what we know of God in the biblical account, he was a king. Yet Job demonstrated great humility and trust in God, even though he struggled much.

The Lord Jesus is called “my servant” in many of the prophets.

And this King, as Jonathan Edwards reminds us, is Jesus.

“Christ, as he is God, is infinitely great and high above all. He is higher than the kings of the earth; for he is King of kins, and Lord of lords. He is higher than the heavens, and higher than the highest angels of heaven.” Jonathan Edwards, The Excellency of Christ

And yet, in an even greater way than Job, this Servant King is also incredibly gracious. Edwards again is helpful,

“And yet he is one of infinite condescension. None are so low or inferior, but Christ’s condescension is sufficient to take a gracious notice of them.” Jonathan Edwards, The Excellency of Christ

The Servant’s Prophetic Role points to the King Jesus, high and lifted up, yet meek and lowly in heart. But Job also prophetically pointed to Jesus as the Prophet of God.

2. The Servant was the Prophet

We will see some surprising words come from the mouth of Job, Lord willing, in the near future. But at the conclusion of the book, God’s assessment is,

“You [the three friends of Job] have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.”

The Prophet Job also gives glimpses to the person and work of Jesus, the Prophet. He is called the prophet Jesus in Matthew 21:11.

John 14:6 “6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Jesus always spoke about God what is right, even as He endured the punishments for our sins. He never questioned God’s purposes or love or goodness, as does Job.

1 Peter 2:23 “23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.”

3. The Servant was the Priest

Job also prophetically pictures Jesus as the priest. The friends of Job, at first excellent comforters turned spiteful fiends, have not spoken rightly of God. They have sinned.

What hope did they have? Job 42:7–8 “7 After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. 8 Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.””

Isaiah 53:11 “11 Out of the anguish of his [Jesus] soul he [the Father] shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.”

Hebrews 7:23–25 “23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”

To conclude our study this morning, and the last three points/sermons, I want to return to the Psalm 34:19, from whence the title of these sermons come.

Psalm 34:19–22 “19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. 20 He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. 21 Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. 22 The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.”

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, all from the hands of a loving, gracious, and saving God, who delivers the righteous out of them all.