The Character of Job
Lessons from Job • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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As we begin this series I want you to understand that we are undertaking a monumental task.
Over the next 8 weeks we will dive into a book that has caused much confusion and controversy among those who have seriously studied it’s words.
It is a book that is incredibly deep and profound but also strange and troubling.
Many men much greater than I have undertaken the task of understanding and explaining it’s contents.
Such men as Joseph Caryl, a puritan preacher of the 1640’s, who preached 424 sermons on the book of Job over the course of 24 years!
His famous 12 volume commentary on the book of Job was said to weigh 60 pounds!
John Calvin, the french pastor in Geneva, preached 159 sermons on Job between 1554 and 1555.
Although their fascination with this book may be extreme, it is certainly well founded and it is one I can relate very well to.
We will hardly scratch the surface of the worth of this book in 8 weeks, but I hope and pray that it will be enough to increase our view of the greatness of God.
This is my only goal, whatever else the Lord may do through this series, if God’s greatness is expanded within our hearts, I will have done what I have set out to do.
Yet this is the one thing that I cannot do. Only God can do this. Now let us pray together that He will do it!
The issue that is primarily dealt with in these pages is that of suffering and the sovereignty of God.
If God is in fact good, and He is also all powerful, then why do those who are relatively good in this world suffer?
Now let me warn you, if you are expecting to get a nice and neat answer to that question, you will be sorely disappointed with the book of Job.
For the primary question that God answers in this book is not the question why? It’s Who?
Because for the one that has gone through serious trials and suffering in this life, what they need most is not the answer to why those things have happened to them?
Rather it is the answer to Who stands behind and above our suffering in this world.
Standing behind all the events of this world, from beginning to end, is not a set of rules and laws, it is a Person! The Person!
Knowing Him may not answer all your questions, but it will calm all your fears!
He may not calm the storm around you but He will calm you in the midst of the storm!
Can the God that we worship stand up underneath the weight of our questions and suffering? He can!
So let us clothe ourselves in humility as we embark on this journey together towards an increased view of God’s greatness.
Who is this man, who’s name is the title of this book? Who is Job?
The name Job, could have meant, “where is the Father?” or “hated one”
Job lived sometime between Noah’s flood and the life of Moses, with Moses himself being a likely author of this book.
Job was a real person, this is not a fairytale.
14 even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord God.
20 even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness.
11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
Job is said repeatedly to be one who is blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. A man of impeccable character.
This is not Job’s own testimony about himself, not even just the testimony of others about him, it is the testimony of God Himself about His servant Job.
8 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?”
3 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? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.”
Blameless and upright, does not mean sinless.
Job was not perfect, as we shall see in the coming chapters. But he was comparatively, a good man, maybe even the best of all men alive at that time.
Blameless and upright
(whole/complete) (straight/right)
Job’s devotion to the Lord was not a halfhearted devotion. He had given himself fully to the Lord, holding nothing back.
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
2. Feared God and turned from evil
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
13 The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
Job was a husband and a father. A man who cared for his children not only physically but even more important, spiritually.
Job made sacrifices for his children, as every good father will.
He was greatly concerned about their relationship with God. He took the role of spiritual leader of his house seriously.
But perhaps the most important character quality of all was this:
3. Consistency
Job did all these things continually.
It is not what we do occasionally that makes a difference, it is what we do consistently.
Everybody does the right thing sometimes.
But only the one who does what is right consistently will see the fruit of their actions.
Everything that we do is in vain unless we do it consistently.
The study revealed that if you read your bible two to three times a week, there was little noticeable change in your life, but if you read it four or more times a week, all of a sudden there was a dramatic change in the impact that your reading had upon your life.
The research revealed that:
loneliness dropped 30%
anger issues dropped 32%
bitterness in relationships dropped 40%
alcohol consumption dropped 57%
feeling spiritually stagnant dropped 60%
viewing pornography dropped 60%
sharing your faith increased 20%
commitment to discipling other believers jumped 200%
It is the same with prayer, church attendance, serving, or any other positive spiritual habit.
Consistency is the key.
We understand this in every other area of life.
We need it most in our spiritual life.
If Job had such trouble with the trial that he went through, in spite of his character and consistency, how do you think we will fair through our own storms.
The time to prepare for a storm is not while your in it.
What have you been doing occasionally that you need to commit to do consistently?
What changes do you need to make?
Where do you need to repent?
