You Shall Not Pass

I’ve mentioned that I am a Lord these Rings fan

Probably one of the most famous lines

At least from the movies

Is the line when Gandalf the Grey wizard

Is running with the fellowship of the ring

Through the mines of Moriah

That’s probably more information than anyone wanted to know or care about.

as they were running through the mines

They are confronted and then chased by what is called a Balrog

The Balrog is a huge fiery demon.

They get to a stone bridge called the bridge at Kazad Dum

There, Gandalf sends the group forward

As he stands on the narrow bridge

Throws his staff into the stone below him

And says the famous line

You Shall Not Pass!

There are many times in history

Where the heroic and valiant efforts of a few or even one

Take a stand and will not back down

Another movie called the 300

shares the real life stand of the Spartans

Against the mighty army of the Xerxes of Persia.

The army of Xerxes was 100,000 strong

And because of the size of the army

And the many different factions that were represented in it

Xerxes was considered a god and invincible.

300 Spartans went against this army

at a place called Thermopylae

A small pass narrow enough to defend

And held off the Persian army for nearly a week

Until they were ultimately defeated.

This helped the rest of their forces gather together to

Ultimately defeat the Persians

But the Spartans knew it would be suicide to do so.

At one point in the battle

The king, Leonidas, explains to his troops

That the Persians would fire arrows so deep and so wide

That it would block out the sun.

One of the members of the 300 would go on to say

“At least we would be fighting in the shade!”

Other people in history would stand and be maneuvered for their faith

People like John Knox who would stand in the pulpit

And be part of the reformation in Scotland

And also preach against Queen Mary

Because of her Catholic beliefs

Martin Luther, also a great reformer

Stood in the pulpit sharing the 5 Solas

And preaching for faith alone, Christ alone, the Bible alone and

To the glory of God alone

Missionaries such as Jim Elliot

Who would fly into a foriegn island

With the intent to share the gospel with a group of headhunters

Who famously said,

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

who stood in the pulpits of Germany

During the time of the Nazi regime

Condemning the churches of Germany for not stepping up.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Who in the face of civil rights atrocities

Would lead a peaceful revolution

To educate and reform the culture of the United States

About the civil rights of African Americans.

All of these stood their ground

all of them were willing to

And ultimately paid with their lives.

There are multiple others,

But these few are enough of an example to show us

That we will stand on what we believe in.

I think about today of a dear brother in South Asia

one of many

who is awaiting trial for helping to convert

Many people from one particular UUPG

And has started churches there.

His fate is yet to be determined.

What would you do in the reality that death is near?

Our beliefs will come out when the pressure of life begins to squeeze.

That brings us to the final speech of Job.

The spoiler alert is that Satan’s gamble against God

Is about the end

And Satan will lose.

Satan wagered that job will renounce God

After losing all his possessions

After losing all his livelihood

After losing his children

After losing his position

And even after losing his health to a degree.

Satan bet against God that

Job’s whole reason for worshiping the Lord

Was because of how the Lord treated him

And how He cared for him

And how He blessed him.

However, in this last 5 chapters of Job

Satan will lose this bet.

Job will never renounce God

And never turn away from Him.

Job will stand and tell his friends

You shall not pass.

This ends here.

There are five major things that Job points out in his last speech to his friends.

so much so, it doesn’t even do justice

To bring about Bildad’s last speech in Job 25.

It’s six verses of the same rebuke as the rest.

And Job properly ignores is

Just as he did the one from Eliphaz.

Job begins with the final retort to his friends

Job 26:1–4 CSB

1 Then Job answered: 2 How you have helped the powerless and delivered the arm that is weak! 3 How you have counseled the unwise and abundantly provided insight! 4 With whom did you speak these words? Whose breath came out of your mouth?

He sets them up at the end.

He wants them to understand that everything they have said

was powered by the breath that was given to them by God.

Because Job is going to bring them five questions

For them to answer.

And ultimately he would want God to answer.

Who Can Understand the Greatness of God?

Why Does Mankind Ignore the Judgment of God?

Where Can We Find True Wisdom?

How Do We Define True Happiness?

How Do We Develop a Life of Integrity?

Who Can Understand the Greatness of God?

I’m going to pick out some of the verses to read

rather than read all five chapters of this section

Job 26:5–7 CSB

5 The departed spirits tremble beneath the waters and all that inhabit them. 6 Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering. 7 He stretches the northern skies over empty space; he hangs the earth on nothing.

Job begins with talking about the underworld.

Then he moves straight up into beyond the earth

and he finishes this chapter up with

Job 26:14 CSB

14 These are but the fringes of his ways;

No matter how deep we travel

or how high we go

we have only reached the outer fringes of God’s ways.

He basically tells his friends listening

You think you have God figured out?

You haven’t even gotten past the fringes of who He is.

Theologian A.W. Tozer puts it this way

Job Who Can Understand the Greatness of God?

So necessary to the church is a lofty concept of God that when that concept in any measure declines, the church with her worship and her moral standards declines along with it. The first step down for any church is taken when it surrenders its high opinion of God. We do the greatest service to the next generation of Christians by passing on to them undimmed and undiminished that noble concept of God.

Job’s response to having all the sores on his body

and being completely devastated

in a worldly way by God is in Job 27:3-4

Job 27:3–6 CSB

3 as long as my breath is still in me and the breath from God remains in my nostrils, 4 my lips will not speak unjustly, and my tongue will not utter deceit. 5 I will never affirm that you are right. I will maintain my integrity until I die. 6 I will cling to my righteousness and never let it go. My conscience will not accuse me as long as I live!

I will not be moved.

and you shall not pass.

I may not understand why

but I’m not abandoning my character or my trust in God

Why Does Mankind Ignore the Judgment of God?

Job 27:8 CSB

8 For what hope does the godless person have when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?

We may be familiar with this verse in our lives.

how tragic is it when

mankind ignores his conscience or the Holy Spirit

and runs away from God.

Job 27:21–22 CSB

21 An east wind picks him up, and he is gone; it carries him away from his place. 22 It blasts at him without mercy, while he flees desperately from its force.

There are so many that think they can get away with unbelief

They truly believe that God will not judge them

There are those that are ignorant to the gospel

and there are those that deny the gospel.

The difference is that those that are ignorant to the gospel

have never heard it

or have never had it explained.

There are those, however

that have heard the gospel

and refuse to believe it.

I’ve been reading 1 John this last week.

listen to some of the things John had to say about

how to tell those that believe

versus those that don’t.

1 John 2:3–6 CSB

3 This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commands. 4 The one who says, “I have come to know him,” and yet doesn’t keep his commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps his word, truly in him the love of God is made complete. This is how we know we are in him: 6 The one who says he remains in him should walk just as he walked.

1 John 2:9–11 CSB

9 The one who says he is in the light but hates his brother or sister is in the darkness until now. 10 The one who loves his brother or sister remains in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But the one who hates his brother or sister is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and doesn’t know where he’s going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

1 John 3:10 CSB

10 This is how God’s children and the devil’s children become obvious. Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother or sister.

1 John 3:18–19 CSB

18 Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth. 19 This is how we will know that we belong to the truth and will reassure our hearts before him

According to John

Those that follow Christ should be obvious

Those that don’t follow Christ should also be obvious

Those that don’t follow Christ

ignore the coming judgement of God.

As Job takes his stand

he wonders, as many who suffer wonder then

Where Can We Find True Wisdom?

After a long statement about where

all the valuable things of the world can be found

Job begins to question where can wisdom be found?

He states we can’t find it in the earth

and it can’t be found in other people

Job 28:12–14 CSB

12 But where can wisdom be found, and where is understanding located? 13 No one can know its value, since it cannot be found in the land of the living. 14 The ocean depths say, “It’s not in me,” while the sea declares, “I don’t have it.”

You can’t buy it

there’s no half price sale for it

Job 28:15 CSB

15 Gold cannot be exchanged for it, and silver cannot be weighed out for its price.

So where does wisdom come from?

James 1:5 CSB

5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him.

and Job agrees with James

who wrote his letter many years after Job

and the writers of Proverbs

who wrote many years after Job

Job 28:23 CSB

23 But God understands the way to wisdom, and he knows its location.

Job 28:28 CSB

28 He said to mankind, “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom. And to turn from evil is understanding.”

There are two principles to finding wisdom

1. Worshipping God in Total Reverence

When Job speaks of the fear of the Lord

He means not to be afraid

although that’s not such a bad thing at times

but he means that we take God seriously.

2. Walking with God in Total Obedience

Job speaks of turning from, evil to understanding

when we take God seriously

we begin to take our own lives seriously

and we live for His glory

instead of our own.

This is how we find wisdom

and for that matter how we find peace.

When we begin to live for God instead of ourselves

we begin to have a total faith in the direction of God

and we trust in the outcomes of every situation of our life

that it would benefit God’s kingdom.

That brings us into the fourth question

How Do We Define True Happiness?

Job decides to take a trip down memory lane

This is common to someone who may be suffering.

As he takes this trip

he actually defines true happiness along the way.

See if any of these relate to you.

An Awareness of God’s Presence and Care

Job 29:2–4 CSB

2 If only I could be as in months gone by, in the days when God watched over me, 3 when his lamp shone above my head, and I walked through darkness by his light! 4 I would be as I was in the days of my youth when God’s friendship rested on my tent,

An Appreciation for Whatever God Gives

Job 29:5–6 CSB

5 and my children were around me, 6 when my feet were bathed in curds and the rock poured out streams of oil for me!

An Occasion to Influence Others

Job 29:7–11 CSB

7 When I went out to the city gate and took my seat in the town square, 8 the young men saw me and withdrew, while older men stood to their feet. 9 City officials stopped talking and covered their mouths with their hands. 10 The noblemen’s voices were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths. 11 When they heard me, they blessed me, and when they saw me, they spoke well of me.

An Opportunity to Be Generous and Compassionate Toward the Needy

Job 29:12–20 CSB

12 For I rescued the poor who cried out for help, and the fatherless child who had no one to support him. 13 The dying blessed me, and I made the widow’s heart rejoice. 14 I clothed myself in righteousness, and it enveloped me; my just decisions were 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 examined the case of the stranger. 17 I shattered the fangs of the unjust and snatched the prey from his teeth. 18 So I thought, “I will die in my own nest and multiply my days as the sand. 19 My roots will have access to water, and the dew will rest on my branches all night. 20 My whole being will be refreshed within me, and my bow will be renewed in my hand.”

A Respect Earned By Giving Godly Counsel

Job 29:21–25 CSB

21 Men listened to me with expectation, waiting silently for my advice. 22 After a word from me they did not speak again; my speech settled on them like dew. 23 They waited for me as for the rain and opened their mouths as for spring showers. 24 If I smiled at them, they couldn’t believe it; they were thrilled at the light of my countenance. 25 I directed their course and presided as chief. I lived as a king among his troops, like one who comforts those who mourn.

The reverse summary of Job’s words are found in Job 30:27-31

Job 30:27–31 CSB

27 I am churning within and cannot rest; days of suffering confront me. 28 I walk about blackened, but not by the sun. I stood in the assembly and cried out for help. 29 I have become a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches. 30 My skin blackens and flakes off, and my bones burn with fever. 31 My lyre is used for mourning and my flute for the sound of weeping.

At this point,

we would expect Job to throw in the towel

He’s hit the rock bottom

and yet, Job will not give up.

He will not be moved.

and in the last chapter of his speeches,

he gives the answer to the last question

How Do We Develop a Life of Integrity?

Here are ten things we can do to develop a life of integrity

These were provided by a preacher I know

Determine Pure Boundaries

Job 31:1–2 CSB

1 I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I look at a young woman? 2 For what portion would I have from God above, or what inheritance from the Almighty on high?

Develop Honesty

Job 31:5–6 CSB

5 If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has rushed to deceit, 6 let God weigh me on accurate scales, and he will recognize my integrity.

Disallow Moral Compromises

Job 31:9–10 CSB

9 If my heart has gone astray over a woman or I have lurked at my neighbor’s door, 10 let my own wife grind grain for another man, and let other men sleep with her.

Defend the Disadvantaged

Job 31:13–15 CSB

13 If I have dismissed the case of my male or female servants when they made a complaint against me, 14 what could I do when God stands up to judge? How should I answer him when he calls me to account? 15 Did not the one who made me in the womb also make them? Did not the same God form us both in the womb?

Distribute to the Needy

Job 31:16–23 CSB

16 If I have refused the wishes of the poor or let the widow’s eyes go blind, 17 if I have eaten my few crumbs alone without letting the fatherless eat any of it— 18 for from my youth, I raised him as his father, and since the day I was born I guided the widow— 19 if I have seen anyone dying for lack of clothing or a needy person without a cloak, 20 if he did not bless me while warming himself with the fleece from my sheep, 21 if I ever cast my vote against a fatherless child when I saw that I had support in the city gate, 22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my back, and my arm be pulled from its socket. 23 For disaster from God terrifies me, and because of his majesty I could not do these things.

Deplore Materialism

Job 31:24–25 CSB

24 If I placed my confidence in gold or called fine gold my trust, 25 if I have rejoiced because my wealth is great or because my own hand has acquired so much,

Denounce Spiritual Compromises

Job 31:26–28 CSB

26 if I have gazed at the sun when it was shining or at the moon moving in splendor, 27 so that my heart was secretly enticed and I threw them a kiss, 28 this would also be an iniquity deserving punishment, for I would have denied God above.

Display Compassion Toward Others

Job 31:29–32 CSB

29 Have I rejoiced over my enemy’s distress, or become excited when trouble came his way? 30 I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking for his life with a curse. 31 Haven’t the members of my household said, “Who is there who has not had enough to eat at Job’s table?” 32 No stranger had to spend the night on the street, for I opened my door to the traveler.

Despise Hypocrisy in All Things

Job 31:33 CSB

33 Have I covered my transgressions as others do by hiding my iniquity in my heart

Deny Any Excuse for Greed

JOb sums it up this way

Job says, in effect: I have determined pure boundaries. I have developed honesty. I have disallowed moral compromises. I have defended the disadvantaged. I have distributed to the needy. I have deplored materialism and never trusted in money. I have denounced any spiritual compromise. I have displayed compassion toward others. I have declined hypocrisy in all things. I have denied any excuse for greed.

If you didn’t notice, Job has covered every area of life. His integrity has saturated his: • thoughts • ethics • work • home • community • finances • testimony • relationships • stewardship

Although he may not be perfect in his life

He has been perfect in his direction in life.

Job 31:35 CSB

35 If only I had someone to hear my case! Here is my signature; let the Almighty answer me. Let my Opponent compose his indictment.

We have been fed the lie

that it is possible to be a person of integrity in public,

while being dishonest or immoral in private.

The truth is a lack of integrity in any area

is to surrender integrity.

Job says, “Take a good look anywhere in my life.

Go through my files.

Check my internet sites.

Interview my employees.

Look at my expense accounts.

Sift through my bank records.

Look at my giving record at church and other charities.

Interview my wife.

Talk to my neighbors.

Ask my business associates.

Talk to my closest friends.

You will find the intention, direction, and resolve of my heart

is to be a person of integrity.

It’s not something I would like to be; it is what I must be.”

Job took his stand, what about us?