Submit to Your Faithful Creator

9:00 Introduction (9 min)

Jack’s sermon on fearing the Lord; out of town, already started

Lots of passages about fear of the Lord, this is the original

Jack: fearing God on the mountain of miracles, this: fearing God in the valley of the shadow of death.

So often we praise God for His goodness when things are going well.

What about when it’s not? Isn’t He still good? Don’t we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose? Trials test our theology. They test our faith in the Word of God. Our natural instinct is to seek human wisdom. In case of emergency, break glass and pray.

Our faith in God’s Word should be more than a backup plan, though. It should characterize our inner life.

Story of Job. First verse, “Blameless, upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil.”

Job is the guy who’s been there. Corporate leader with thousands of resources and enormous responsibilities. International reputation. Successful family man with grown children who love each other. Three phone calls upend his life. A surprise military bombing had destroyed his warehouses. Hackers had drained his investments, and angry competitors had assassinated his employees. A freak tornado had crushed all his children at home during a family birthday party. The next day, an acute auto-immune disease flares up despite no medical history. Job was left broken in the bed of poverty, scraping his open sores with a plastic spoon. It was at this point that his wife lost all confidence in her husband and her God, turning her back in apostasy and testing Job’s faith.

But there was one more thing. His three friends came to visit. During a week of silence, a demon secretly visited the oldest of the friends in the darkness of the night. It was a Halloween experience, and the demon drew a parallel between fallen angels and Job. If not even angels were perfect, surely Job deserved this calamity.

This idea of secret guilt triggered an avalanche of debate.

Eliphaz: an older man, speaking tactfully like a seasoned counselor or therapist, seeking subtle persuasion

Bildad: an analyst with an interest in biology, impersonally advocating historical precedent and factual rigor

Zophar: a fiery activist, aggressively rebuking perceived wrongs with no regard for nuance or relationships

Twice all three, with Job between. Then just Eliphaz and Bildad. Job’s exasperated monologue. 5 chapters.

Job mocks his lousy friends with sarcasm, praises the obscure power of God, declares his righteousness, curses his enemies, and then breaks out in a hymn extolling God’s wisdom. Abrupt, commentators doubt Job. Can’t be so sanctified all of a sudden. But followed by mourning for the good old days, the bitter realities of the present, and a declaration of his moral innocence. Then Job withdraws from conversation with his “friends.”

We are going to look at Job’s hymn in the middle. Majestic song of praise. Wisdom is exalted.

Turn with me to Job 28, where I will read the full chapter before we look more closely at the last paragraph.

Proposition

READ Job 28:1-28. Hold Bible.

In Job 28:23-38, I will show you three essential convictions for obediently enduring trials. When the storms of life prevail, these three anchors will steady your soul. They are a refuge that can never be shaken.

Between Job and his three friends, Job prayed to God at least three times in his speeches (10, 13-14, 17). His friends only spoke to him directly.

9:09 Believe that God is Wise (7 min)

1-11 Describe the ingenious labors of men to mine for precious metals and gems

12-22 Describe the total inability of man to obtain wisdom

First conviction is that you must believe God is wise. Specifically that He alone possesses all wisdom.

READ Job 28:23-24.

Statement about God is abrupt, emphasis on Elohim

Parallel statements follow: He knows, He looks and sees. God, in contrast to all others.

Notice the suspense: “its” way, “its place.” “Understanding” is the key word tying vv. 12, 20, 23, and 28 together.

Wisdom is introduced and said to reside in the place of understanding (vv. 12, 20)

Then we find that God understands its way in verse 23

Hints at “wisdom” (vv. 12, 18, 20) and is confirmed in verse 28

How do we know God has wisdom? v 24 - pronouns fronted, verbs backed for emphasis.

God’s omniscience is the foundation of His wisdom. He is not ignorant or without understanding.

You might wonder, don’t men also have a form of wisdom? Yes, will discuss more later.

Since Cain, we have always sought technological advancements as source of wisdom

AI is the closest thing man has ever had to omniscience, and people love it. I use it constantly.

Okay that Abaddon and Death have barely heard about it because we can ask Grok or ChatGPT

AI looks at and sees more than us, but it can only aspire to the wisdom of men

Try as they might with video and audio sensors, brain implants, it can never know all

God’s omniscience could instantly melt every GPU in the world. Ends of earth, everything under heavens.

Example: AI could never know the exchange between God and Satan in the prologue. Only God knew.

There is no AI or person in all the world who can explain your suffering. “Why?” Sometimes it’s easy, like Job’s friends thought, and your suffering is the result of your sin. But very often it is not. Then what?

As much as some people would like AI to be their counselor and therapist, like Eliphaz, it is insufficient.

Settle it in your heart: only God knows all places and all times. You can trust His Word entirely.

Ask for wisdom. James 1:5 “5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

Where do you turn when you need help? Do you go first to God?

God’s Word is better than any response AI will ever invent. Perfect data, infinite context, timeless relevance.

God’s Word does not merely attempt reflect reality. It defines reality and creates out of nothing.

You should have higher expectations when you pray. When you pray, seek not only knowledge and wisdom, but power. James 5:16 says, “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” Pray with faith.

9:16 Believe that God is Powerful (8 min)

“Knowledge is power.” Watch God’s omniscience morph into His omnipotence. His knowledge becomes power.

Read Job 28:25-26

Second conviction: Believe that God is powerful.

Four statements that feel like riddles. Simple concept, mind-bending execution.

Wind cannot be lifted but yet God gave it weight. Like adding plates in a gym. It pushes on you.

Waters can barely be plumbed, but God measured it like baking soda in a recipe.

Rain, despite cloud seeding, cannot be summoned at will, yet God controls the edge of what gets wet.

Lightning is so random we say it never strikes the same place twice, but God assigns it a path.

Best seen in the power of a hurricane. Rivaled only by volcanic eruptions and massive earthquakes.

Solomon later picked up this theme in Proverbs 8, where he personified wisdom as God’s companion in creation.

Read Proverbs 8:22-31

The creation connection is important. It was at that time God worked out the details of wisdom. The laws of physics and the principles of human society were established in divine wisdom. Perfectly ordered.

John Calvin taught that creation is God’s theater for demonstrating the glory of His wisdom.

Herman Bavinck taught the natural world is the revelation of God’s perfections.

Men cannot fully attain to the wisdom of God without also possessing His omnipotent power. United.

This is why I said you need to have higher expectations when you pray. Not only is God wise, He is powerful.

We talk about the environment, the climate. Our weather. If God controls your natural context, won’t you accept that He controls your spiritual context? How can you believe that the wind, water, rain, and lightning are at His command, but then act like nothing good is ever happening? Doesn’t He control your trials too?

Romans 8:28 “28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”

When you are suffering through a trial, sometimes you just need to get outside. Literally. Just walk out the door and spend some time in nature. Job’s statement here set him up for God’s appearance and speeches later.

The entirety of God’s comfort to Job was proof that He wisely controlled the world. When Jesus said not to be anxious, He also used an illustration from nature: God clothing the lilies and feeding the birds.

When you suffer, you need to get outside yourself. Lift up your eyes to the hills. Just for a minute consider all that God does to care for every one of His creatures. See God’s power at work. Perspective is a wonderful medicine.

9:24 Believe that God is Good (17 min)

We have seen that God is wise and powerful, but those are relatively easy. Most of us can readily acknowledge a God who knows everything and can do anything. We do not question God’s abilities but His character.

This is the third and most important point, Believe that God is good. This is the juicy part.

Read Job 28:27-28

27 God has thoroughly explored wisdom. Yet, while described externally, He also is said to “establish it.”

28 “So He said to man” - Critical turning point in the poem.

Breaks the meter. An intrusion from outside, the nature of divine revelation.

Divine revelation is the foundation of wisdom. Scripture’s authority is primary. Only God can give wisdom.

God’s wisdom reflects His character. In one sense beyond us, supernatural, transcendent. Yet at the same time, He has given some of it to us. Now wisdom is immanent, manageable, and practical. Divine beauty.

What a kindness of the Lord to put the cookies on the bottom shelf. Job has described the insufficiency of human wisdom: dig deeply (1-6), search widely (7-11), pay lavishly (12-19), ask everyone (20-22). Personalities.

God alone holds the keys to the castle. And he took one off the ring for us.

28 “the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom”

The question of the chapter is the location of wisdom. The bonus is its contents.

This is God’s wisdom for men. The sum of His wisdom is greater still, yet this is the part given to us.

Many people try to redefine this fear to make it more palatable. However, one of the leading commentators on Job, David Clines, wrote an entire article on this term, the fear of the Lord. He argued that it is an emotion.

Everywhere else the word “fear” is used, it consistently describes the human response to threats

There is a difference between denotation and connotation. The word denotes or means an emotion: fear, terror, dread. However, it connotes or is paired with a response: respect, worship, awe, obedience.

No other Hebrew term for an emotion has been redefined into a response, though emotions lead to actions.

I don’t agree with everything Clines teaches, but I do think he makes a very sound argument here.

Illustration: Child who fears their parent and turns away from evil in obedience. That is healthy.

Illustration: You do not need to sin and feel the terror to possess fear. Adam and Eve did not rightly fear the Lord after they sinned and felt the need to hide. They should have feared Him by not eating the fruit.

Doctrine: Justice of God.

No arbitrary rage, crippling fear, and constant doubt. God has given you clear instruction for safety.

Obedience = all the love and affection of a kind father.

Disobedience = violent and visceral sense of fear. Emotional pain for good of your soul.

Physical pain is good. Lepers are desensitized, not good.

Desensitization is your problem. Seared conscience. Stray into danger unaware. Fear = wisdom.

Think of evil like a hungry lion in a cage. Stay outside and be safe. Cross the boundary and fear.

Wisdom is an inward matter of your heart. It is not merely about external behavior, though it encompasses that too. Clines calls it “an inner stability that invests behavior with personal conviction.”

28 “to turn away from evil is understanding”

Most think wisdom is to be gained by difficulty over a long period of time, and only gradually.

But here it is in 4D, just waiting. The challenge is not in knowing but in doing wisdom.

What does it look like to fear the Lord and turn away from evil? Job 31.

Job 1:1 “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil.” Job is a real life example of a wise man.

Job’s defense of his wisdom in fearing the Lord and turning away from evil.

How to sharpen sense of fear? Heighten sensitivity? Cleanse conscience? Job 31.

1 Begin with a resolve to turn away from evil. Joshua 24:15 choose today whom you will serve.

2-5 Consider God gives a portion or inheritance to every man. Remind yourself of the punishment that awaits the evil man. Disaster. Misfortune. God sees everything you are doing? What are you sowing?

7 Stick to the recognized path. If there is a “right” way to do things, do it that way. Don’t make exceptions, telling yourself that it’ll be “just this time.” Just because it can be done does not mean it should be done. Even if the hand of providence seems to drop something in your lap, do not take it as a sign to sin.

9-12 If you are tempted by something, don’t hang around somewhere convenient for it. This isn’t high school or college where you find out the class schedule for a cute guy and “accidentally” bump into him. Sin ruins.

13-15 When you are confronted over sin, do not blow it off. Not just from older men and women, people you consider wise and respectable. If a child tells the zoo-keeper the lion’s cage is unlocked, he better check. If you have a righteous fear of evil, it doesn’t matter who is telling you that there is danger in your life. It is a particularly wicked evil to cry “insubordination” against a younger person who warns you of danger. This is about fearing God, not getting people to fear you. God made all humans and will call you to account.

16-23 Do not ignore the plight of the weak. When you selfishly look out for #1, you cut yourself off from community. You lose the warning system of godly fellowship. You miss out on many godly examples.

24-28 Do not put your confidence in money, savings, assets, and investments. Money, pleasure, and power will all dull your spiritual senses. You will fall in love with the world. If you don’t make compromises to get more, then you will make compromises to keep what you have. The love of money is the root of all evil.

29-30 Hate evil even when it helps you. When you enemies suffer evil, you may be tempted to rejoice. But Ezekiel 33:11 says that God takes no pleasure in the destruction of the wicked. Don’t be a pragmatist.

31-32 Be hospitable and kind to new people. Don’t just assume they are someone else’s responsibility. If you ignore opportunities to do good, then you will find yourself surrounded by opportunities to do evil.

33-34 Do not hide your faults from others. James 5:16 says to confess your sins to one another. If you do not confess your sins to men, then you are a hypocrite. Fear God more than man. If you have not confessed your sin then you have not repented of it. Living in a small town or a small church, it is tempting to hide sin so that you aren’t politely ostracized. You know what it’s like when people stop talking to you.

But would you rather have a clean conscience or a fake reputation? Do not desensitize your soul.

These practices of fearing the Lord are necessary if we would be wise. Wise living and a fear of evil are always necessary, and especially in times of trial. Trials, more than anything, require a sharp conscience. Trials are when we are under siege by the world, the flesh, and the devil. You must stay alert and pray.

And Job’s point in all of this is that God is good. He has demonstrated His goodness by teaching us how to endure trials. God has graciously given us wisdom, divine wisdom that will weather any earthly storm.

9:41 Conclusion (4 min)

Despite all his suffering, Job declared the wisdom, power, and goodness of God. I believe this is why God said later in the book that Job’s friends had not spoken rightly of Him, like Job had. This is where Job spoke rightly.

1 Peter 1:6–7 “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

What will God find when you are tested? Have you accepted God’s Word by faith? Will you cling to His wisdom, power, and goodness? Do you walk in the fear of the Lord? Do you practice wisdom by turning away from evil?

I pray that you will seriously consider the state of your conscience. Fearing the Lord is like sharpening a knife. It takes many strokes and careful handling. Danger is certainly involved. But your soul will be rewarded.