Blue Christmas

Finding Hope in a Blue Christmas

Bible Passage: Job 1:20-22, Job 2:9-10, Job 42:1-6

Book of Job Introduction:

The Book of Job recounts the story of a man who endures profound loss and suffering, exploring themes of grief, faith, and the quest for understanding amid despair.

Job is one of three books considered Wisdom Literature, along with Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.

It starts as narrative prose in chapters 1-2 but shifts to poetry during the dialogue between Job and his friends, and later God, in chapters 3-42. Then it shifts back to prose in Job 42:7-17 in the epilogue.

The author of the book is unknown. Jewish tradition believes that Moses was the author. Some believe it was Job himself. Others believe it was King Solomon, the author of the other books of Wisdom Literature, which suggests that he wrote it much later after the events historically occurred.

This also makes the date uncertain. If Job wrote it, it could be as early as 2000 BC. If it was Moses around 1400 BC. And if it was Solomon around 950 BC.

The time of these events were set in the patriarchal period, around the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, somewhere between 2100-1900 BC. The location is Uz, which is an area that is believed to be East of Israel.

Read:

Job 1 (optional Job 2)

There was a man in the country of Uz named Job. He was a man of complete integrity, who feared God and turned away from evil. He had seven sons and three daughters. His estate included seven thousand sheep and goats, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man among all the people of the east.

His sons used to take turns having banquets at their homes. They would send an invitation to their three sisters to eat and drink with them. Whenever a round of banqueting was over, Job would send for his children and purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned, having cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.

One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. The Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”

“From roaming through the earth,” Satan answered him, “and walking around on it.”

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil.”

Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Haven’t you placed a hedge around him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he owns, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

“Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “everything he owns is in your power. However, do not lay a hand on Job himself.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence.

One day when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, a messenger came to Job and reported, “While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys grazing nearby, the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported, “God’s fire fell from heaven. It burned the sheep and the servants and devoured them, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

That messenger was still speaking when yet another came and reported, “The Chaldeans formed three bands, made a raid on the camels, and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house. Suddenly a powerful wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people so that they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped, saying:

Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will leave this life. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Throughout all this Job did not sin or blame God for anything.

Breakdown of Job 1

JOB 1:1-5. JOB’S CHARACTER AND WEALTH

• In these verses we get a look at what Job’s life is like before he is tested.

JOB 1:1

There was a man in the country of Uz named Job. He was a man of complete integrity, who feared God and turned away from evil.

• Job was dedicated to God and was consistent in his spiritual life, but he was not sinless.

• The meaning of Job’s name is “Where is the Heavenly Father.”

• In Ezekiel 14:14, Job is mentioned with Noah and Daniel as men of righteousness.

JOB 1:2-3

He had seven sons and three daughters. His estate included seven thousand sheep and goats, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man among all the people of the east.

• In Gematria, or Jewish numerology, certain numbers carried meaning and here we seem some numeric symmetry:

o 7 means completion or holiness (7 days of creation)

o 3 means harmony, stability, and divine favor (3 patriarchs of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the Trinity)

o Bring them together for 10 (7+3), meaning wholeness and fullness.

o Same with the oxen and donkeys; 5 + 5 = 10, symbolically showing wholeness and completeness.

o Yoke of oxen indicates he had pairs of oxen—1,000 oxen.

• Job was a very blessed and wealthy man.

JOB 1:4-5

His sons used to take turns having banquets at their homes. They would send an invitation to their three sisters to eat and drink with them. Whenever a round of banqueting was over, Job would send for his children and purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned, having cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.

• Job took responsibility of his family’s spiritual purity.

• He was the family’s priest.

• Parents, and especially fathers, you are the spiritual leaders of your home. (Eph. 6:4, Deut. 6:6-7)

o You need to pray for your children.

o You need to set the example for your children.

JOB 1:6-12. SATAN’S FIRST CHALLENGE

• We shift from following Job on earth to heaven. Here we see Satan challenging God.

JOB 1:6

One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them.

• The sons of God mentioned here are angels and they are formally reporting to God.

• Satan, the accuser, also came to the heavenly council.

o The Hebrew pronunciation is [sah TAHN] meaning “adversary.”

 He opposes everything of God, but his power is limited.

• Lord here translates from His Hebrew name of the covenant Yahweh or God of Israel.

• This verse sets the stage of the courtroom drama about to take place between God and Satan about Job’s integrity.

o God is the Judge. Satan is the prosecutor.

o For us, we can thank God because we have Christ as our advocate.

o Jesus defeated the accuser at the cross, now we can stand confidently before the Judge.

JOB 1:7

The Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?” “From roaming through the earth,” Satan answered him, “and walking around on it.”

• Did God know where Satan was? Of course He did.

o He asked the same thing of Adam in the Garden of Eden, “Where are you?”

o He knew, but he wanted to draw them out and have them speak of their activities.

o He wanted them to admit what they had done.

o He wanted to expose their character.

 He wanted Adam to repent, but He wanted to expose Satan’s role as accuser.

• Satan is roaming the earth.

o He is still doing that today. He is not in Hell—yet.

o 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.”

o He is still roaming and still accusing, that is why we need the Armor of God.

o He can only do what God allows him to do.

o His fate is certain, and his time is limited.

o He will be bound after the second coming of Christ (Rev. 20:1-3).

JOB 1:8

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil.”

• “Have you considered” in the original Hebrew language means “Have you set your heart upon,” implying focused attention.

• Job, who is outside Israel’s covenant, was referred to by God as “MY servant.” A term of covenantal loyalty.

• Job feared God, showing that he had reverent awe, respect, and obedience to God.

• And he resisted evil.

• Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown said, “No true servant of God escapes the eye of the adversary of God.”

o Are you a true servant of God?

JOB 1:9

Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing?

• “Does Job fear God for nothing?”, this sounds a lot like the serpent to Eve when he said, “Did God really say…”

o Satan’s tactics never change. Doubt is his first flaming dart.

o You would think he would no better to try this with God.

o Job feared God, because he genuinely revered, loved, and trusted God.

o Satan believes that Job fears God for something else.

JOB 1:10

Haven’t you placed a hedge around him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

• Satan believes there is a quid-pro-quo relationship between God and Job—that it’s transactional.

o He believes that the reason Job fears God, is because God protects him and blesses him.

• Job was praising God during his good times.

• Christians today often only turn to God during bad times.

o If you go to God only in bad times, that relationship is transactional—the very thing Satan accused Job of.

o Be sure to praise God during your good days.

JOB 1:11

But stretch out your hand and strike everything he owns, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

• Satan requests that God stretch out His hand, because Satan cannot act without permission.

• Satan believes that Job’s faith is conditional and that he will turn away from God, if his external blessings are taken away.

• Satan is viewing blessings as material prosperity, but being blessed means to be in God’s favor and presence.

o Even when Job loses everything, Job still has God Himself.

• This should make us question our motives. Do we serve God because of who He is, or do we serve Him for what He gives us?

• Would you still worship God, if everything was taken away?

JOB 1:12

“Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “everything he owns is in your power. However, do not lay a hand on Job himself.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence.

• God limited Satan’s test and set a boundary that he could not harm Job.

o This shows us that Satan has no power again man unless God gives it to him. Satan has no power against man till God gives it.

o God does not cause evil or harm man but allows the enemy to do it.

o The only other way the devil gets authority is if we allow him to do so, through sin, compromise, and unbelief (Eph. 4:27).

 God is like a fortress, and the enemy wants in.

• For Job, it is like God opening the main gate, to control the enemy in the courtyard. There is a strategy.

• For us, it is like we forgot to lock the side gate or even worse, left it open.

• God did not offer a defense of Job. God knew what the outcome was going to be.

• Why would God do this to Job?

o Because the testing of your faith produces endurance (1 Peter 1:6–7; James 1:2–4)

o Because God is in control. God always triumphs over evil. God gets the glory.

JOB 1:13-19. SATAN’S FIRST ATTACK

• It is here that we see four messengers report to Job.

• Each brings a report of disaster, while the previous messenger delivers their report.

• Job “loses his domestic animals, flocks, herds, servants, and children.”

JOB 1:13

One day when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

• The word הַיּוֹם (hayyôm, “the day”) may refer to the older brother’s birthday, which would explain why they were at his house.

o This would add to the tragedy, because the day of his firstborn son being born would have always been a day of blessings and memories for Job.

JOB 1:14-15

a messenger came to Job and reported, “While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys grazing nearby, the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

• There are a couple of views of who the Sabeans were:

o They were inhabitants of Sheba, a country of southwest Arabia. They were noted as “men of stature” in Isa. 45:14. This is the country where the Queen of Sheba came, who came to visit Solomon.

 Modern-day Yemen.

o The other view is that they were nomads from northern Arabia, and that they were not associated with the “wealthy kingdom of south Arabia whose renowned queen Sheba visited King Solomon.”

• The first of Satan’s disasters, brought on by human involvement. Job’s agricultural production was destroyed.

JOB 1:16

He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported, “God’s fire fell from heaven. It burned the sheep and the servants and devoured them, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

• Immediately after the first report, Job receives the next report.

• “God’s fire.” One view is that it was possibly lightning and usually used as a divine weapon (2 Kings 1:10-14) was used by Satan, under God’s permission.

o Another view is that it was possibly volcanic fallout, similar to what was done to Sodom and Gomorrah in Gen. 19:24.

• The second disaster, brought on by supernatural means. “Job’s herd-based production of wool and mutton.”

JOB 1:17

That messenger was still speaking when yet another came and reported, “The Chaldeans formed three bands, made a raid on the camels, and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

• Immediately after the second report, Job receives the next report.

• The Chaldeans were “people dwelling on lower Euphrates and Tigris.”

o Modern-day Iraq.

• The third disaster, the second coming from human involvement. “Job’s trading capacity that is destroyed.”

JOB 1:18-19

He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house. Suddenly a powerful wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people so that they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

• Immediately after the third report, Job receives yet another report.

• They were feasting and were merry. There seems to be peace among all the siblings; none were divided over control over Job’s estate. It looks like they genuinely loved each other.

• Duane Garrett pointed out that, “The narrator seems to have framed it in such a way that the whole series of events seems unnatural and thus supernaturally orchestrated (which is indeed the case).”

• The fourth disaster, brought on by a second supernatural event. The “young people,” all of Job’s children were taken from him.

JOB 1:20-22. JOB’S RESPONSE

Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped, saying: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will leave this life. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Throughout all this Job did not sin or blame God for anything.

• Tearing his clothes and shaving his head were the traditional signs of mourning. But instead of cursing God, like Satan expected he would, Job does the opposite and blesses God’s name and worships Him.

Summarize Chapter 2

1-8, Satan attacks Job’s body.

9, Job’s wife says, “Curse God and die!”

10, Job’s response

11-13, Job’s friends arrive and were silent for 7 days.

Summarize Chapter 42

1-6, Job responds to God.

7-9, God rebukes Job’s friends.

10-17, Job is restored, doubling his previous possessions. He lived 140 years seeing his great-great-grandchildren, until he died of old age.

Personal Story:

Some of us lost someone special this year:

Dad passed in 2014. Mom passed this year. First Christmas for me that I do have my parents. Usually a phone call and presents mailed. due to my occupation. For my younger brother’s kids (4 & 7), it will be there first Christmas without a grandparent.

Some of us lost parents. Spouses. Children. Close relatives. Friends.

Some of us, face other challenges:

There are some that are struggling in finding work.

They ask themselves, “How will we fund Christmas?”

There are some that are sick in the hospital.

There are some who are deployed away from their families, like I was last year.

Or families without that family member because that member is deployed.

We cannot lose focus on what Christmas is about.

There are some that will be focused too much on the holiday, but not focusing on why we celebrate.

It is not meant to add stress to you. It does not need to be perfect.

It is a time for brothers and sister in Christ to come together and celebrate the birth of our savior.

Do not forget what this holiday is about.

Testimony

In 2014, while I was deployed overseas, my dad unexpectedly passed away at the age of 56. The loss was a shock to my family. One of the responders asked my mom if there was a pastor they could call. She said she didn’t know anyone, but my brother requested that one be brought anyway.

Growing up, my family were what you might call “Sunday Christians.” As a child, we attended a Lutheran church until we moved, but after that my parents rarely went. My brother and I attended a non-denominational church as teenagers. We believed in God and the Bible, but we were thorny soil Christians—we believed in Jesus, but our lives were not transformed. Shortly before joining the military, I stopped attending church altogether.

So there I was, in the desert, on a Zoom call with my mom. Suddenly, a familiar face appeared: Rick Riley, my old youth minister, the same pastor who had married my wife and me. In that moment, God reminded us that we had not been forgotten. My mom realized she did, in fact, know a pastor who could walk with her through this grief.

That deployment became the most challenging season of our lives. Between Heather and me, we lost six more close family members and friends. It was a time of deep sorrow, a “blue” season where grief seemed overwhelming.

But God was still at work. After I returned home, one of Heather’s friends invited us to church. Heather wanted to go but was hesitant to ask me. When she finally did, I told her we needed a change, and I agreed to go. At that church, the seed of the Gospel finally found good soil. That’s where I experienced true salvation, and where our lives began to be transformed.

My mom lived eleven more years after my dad’s passing. She never fully got over his death, but she grew closer to God than ever before. Someone once asked her, “Was there anything good that came from your husband’s death?” She answered honestly: “Yes. My son and daughter-in-law got saved, and I am closer to God than I’ve ever been.”

That is something to be joyful for. Those that have the saving grace of the Holy Father, are blessed in that we know where we will be going.

Job’s Responses

Back to Job. So, how did Job respond? We see:

1. Job's Worshipful Resilience

Job 1:20-22

“Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped, saying: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will leave this life. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Throughout all this Job did not sin or blame God for anything.”

Merriam-Webster defines “resilience” as, “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.”

Job’s initial reaction to his overwhelming loss was to worship God despite his circumstances. His heart was focused on God. He trusted God. Job had hope even in his suffering.

Jesus modeled this when He surrendered in His suffering and pointed to the hope found in His resurrection.

2. Job's Steadfast Faith

Job 2:9-10

“His wife said to him, ‘Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!’ ‘You speak as a foolish woman speaks,’ he told her. ‘Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?’ Throughout all this Job did not sin in what he said.”

You think Satan knew what he was doing when he left Job’s wife alive? Eve is an example of how powerful a wife’s influence can be to her husband. Wives, with your words you can make your man superman, or you can him weak. Are you building him up or are you tearing him down? You tell him he is strong, he will be strong for you. You tell him he is nothing, and he will be nothing for you.

Unlike Adam, Job never lost focus of God and did not elevate his wife above God and he still refused to curse God.

Job encourages us to trust God’s goodness and cling to faith even when others cannot understand our pain.

Jesus demonstrated this while He was in the desert resisting Satan’s temptations (Matt. 4:1-11) and when He was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of sweating blood (Matt. 26:36-46). Jesus did not give in to despair. He submitted to God’s faithfulness.

3. Job's Faithful Revelation

Job 42:1-6

“I know that you can do anything and no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this who conceals my counsel with ignorance?’ Surely I spoke about things I did not understand, things too wondrous for me to know. You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak. When I question you, you will inform me.’ I had heard reports about you, but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore, I reject my words and am sorry for them; I am dust and ashes.”

After Job’s dialogue with God, Job has a much better understanding of God. That understanding is that God is beyond human understanding. Job acknowledges that he has limits, but God does not.

This point shows us the revelation of Christ’s vicotry over death, our ultimate restoration. This restoration of perspective is a glimpse of the ultimate hope in Christ's resurrection and eternal life.

Application:

These verses remind us that during times of deep sorrow and disappointment, God remains present and faithful. They encourage those facing grief to process their emotions while holding onto hope.

Teaching:

The narrative of Job teaches that mourning is a natural part of life, that it is okay to question God, and ultimately, that faith can sustain us through trials, leading to restoration and deeper understanding.

This is further supported in James 1:2-3, it says, “Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” 

Big Idea:

Even in our deepest pain and sorrows, we can find hope and restoration in God, who walks with us through every season of life, particularly in our 'blue' times.

Christ-Centered Conclusion

Job's suffering foreshadows the ultimate suffering of Christ, who also faced abandonment and pain. Just as Job was visited by friends and ultimately restored, Christ’s resurrection offers the ultimate hope and restoration for all believers.

Gospel invitation.