The Answer is in the Ashes!!!
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Story: When a fire is burning in a fireplace, everything is active—flames moving, logs cracking, heat filling the room. But once the fire dies down, what remains is ash. To the untrained eye, ashes look like the end—waste, ruin, and nothing useful.
Yet anyone who knows how fireplaces work understands something important: you don’t know how well the fire burned until you see the ashes. The ashes reveal what was real, what lasted, and what was consumed. They tell the story of the fire.
“The Answer is in the Ashes”. Is there anyone here this morning that has had a situation in your life to happen and you just couldn’t understand why and how this could have happened. It just didn’t make sense to you.
Tension
Tension
Does Righteousness bring prosperity?
Does wickedness bring suffering?
In Psalms 109, David was being slandered by his enemies. David prayed that God would judge his enemies severely by placing a wicked person against the accuser (Satan is our constant enemy.)
There was a principle named the Retribution Principle. This principle was the conviction that the righteous will prosper and the wicked will suffer. This theology was the central idea and belief in God’s justice.
If God reigns as sovereign over the world, then the evil of the world is not outside of God’s design.
In Job 2:3, God says, “Although thou movedst me against him to destroy him without cause.” Is God saying that He can be manipulated? Absolutely not, In fact God is saying that it is His authority that He has allowed Satan to test Job.
Satan tells God that “Job is only following you God because you have a hedge around him.”
Satan also says, God, Job is only following you because you keep blessing him with nice things.
Point: Satan was wrong about Job but he was right about some of us.
Can you trust God when you don’t understand?
One of the most misunderstood bible verses is 1 Thess 5:18
18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
The scripture does not say “for everything” but “in everything”. We must remember that when adversity and suffering knocks at our door with the matches of misery to burn down our house that the answer is in the ashes.
Lesson Background
Lesson Background
The bible says that Job was a perfect and upright man who feared God and shun evil. The Book of Job primary narrative is about suffering. In todays text we will see the beginning of Job’s suffering. His suffering while sitting in an heap of ashes will be a test of his faith, integrity, and character.
One night Job, his wife, children, servants, and livestock went to bed happy, wealthy and merry. Then they woke up that next morning, had breakfast and started their day and went their separate ways. Satan comes to town looking for someone to lead astray and God suggests his servant Job. By night, Job had lost everything but his wife and 4 servants.
How do the ashes test Job’s faith? (v.7-8)
How do the ashes test Job’s faith? (v.7-8)
Literally with the snap of a finger Job lost his family, fortune, and now his faith is being challenged. Because now Satan is attacking Job’s health.
Notice that Satan attacks Job outside the presence of God.
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Notice that when Satan struck him with boils - a tumor; an inflamed swelling of tissue, Job has access to a tool to help with the relief of the boils.
Job uses broken pottery (potsherd) to help relieve the irritation. Job scrape himself. (Scraping causes friction, and friction results in heat)
Literally broken pottery absorbs what it comes in contact with.
Potsherd is used 6 times all in the OT.
The porous nature of earthenware vessels generates another symbolic layer. Because pottery absorbed fat and uncleanness through contact, it had to be broken when contacted by either holiness or uncleanness
Point:
God will use broken pieces in your life to absorb those things that are irritating you.
When it seems like Satan is having his way, our God will supply the tools to help you deal with it.
Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.”
Satan - as many times that I have read and studied this story, God showed me something about Satan here when he smote or struck Job with these boils.
According to scripture and biblical history, God is the only power that has used boils to divinely judge His people.
God struck Egypt with a plague of boils
God threatened Israel with sever boils in Deut 28 because of disobedience
God inflicted King Jehoram with boils because he had committed grave sins.
Point: Satan in verse 7 is actually mocking God
Mocking comes from a Hebrew word that means acting as a child.
Satan was playing with the Almighty God.
Q. What is the purpose of sitting down in the ashes?
Job is sitting in the ashes not because he failed or because God failed him. These were ashes of repentance and remorse. How can Job put the pieces of the puzzle back together? Transition - Can you trust God when you don’t understand?
Point: Job’s sitting in the ashes or his engagement in the ashes actually is showing reverence to his God. Because sitting in the ashes means that he had to stay there awhile, and this was the evidence of the fire Job had been through and survived.
7 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, And lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; 8 That he may set him with princes, Even with the princes of his people.
The Ashes will test your integrity (v.9)
The Ashes will test your integrity (v.9)
Integrity - completeness or blamelessness
When ever you are facing criticism, the best defense is to be a person of integrity.
Job’s wife is by his side during the lost of their family and their fortune.
The bible says that when a man leaves his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Job and Ms. Job have a broken, grieving heart, and they have no way to make this wealth back up
Not only losing their kids, possessions, Job’s health is declining, but now he loses the encouragement of his wife.
All while supporting God daily by the way he lives but bad things are happening to him.
Q. Why does Satan not ask God if he can test Ms. Job?
Maybe Satan already had Ms. Job and his friends in his pocket. No where in the Book of Job do we read or see where Satan talked to Job.
All of the discouragement towards Job comes from his wife and his friends.
Ms. Job says “curse” God and “die”
curse comes from the Hebrew Word bāraḵ: A verb meaning to bless, kneel, salute, or greet. The verb derives from the noun knee and perhaps suggests the bending of the knee in blessing. Its derived meaning is to bless someone or something.
Satan is the master of division and deception.
Look at what happens now. Job’s wife sees what her husband is going through and she says, “Curse God and die.” It is hurting my heart to see you go through it right now. I know we have lost all of our kids and wealth, and I know I don’t have a life insurance policy but it is hurting me to see you like this.
Point: But Thank God that Satan does not determine if I can live or die. Satan has no power in my life because God sent his Son Jesus who died for me and “Because He Lives I can face tomorrow.”
There are times in life when bad things happen to Good people who follow God. But Jesus says in scripture John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.””
Application: 1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”
Ashes Reveal True Character (v. 10)
Ashes Reveal True Character (v. 10)
How you deal with your circumstances while in your ashes will determine your character.
Your character are those situations that convict you
What habits you have!
Job finally speaks. He tells his wife that she speaks as one of the foolish women.
Job listens to his wife but he isn’t hearing what she is saying. (Explain the difference between listen and hearing). He tells her that she speaks as a foolish woman. “Even with the love of his life speaking foolish, his love and faith is still in the LORD.
With God, we accept the good with the bad.
And even though I am going through a rough patch right now, I will not allow any sin to not as much come out of my mouth, but not touch my lips. This shows the heart of Job because scripture says that what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart.
Point: Job is saying that I will not blame the LORD but I will bless the LORD.
Conclusion
Conclusion
From Job Chapter 3 until Chapter 38, God has been silent.
Questions that Job asked of God:
Why did I not die at birth (3:11-12)
Why is light given to those in misery (3:20-23)
Why does God allow those with bitter souls to live when they want to die?
Why does God hide His face and regard me as an enemy?
In Job 23:10 “But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.”
However God has been listening to Job and listening to Job’s friends call Job a hypocrite. God finally speaks with Job and now God begins His cross examination.
God ask Job in Chapter 38
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
When I hung the moon, stars, sun, where were you Job?
When I painted the grass green
When I gave the hyena it’s laugh, the cow it’s moo, and the horse it’s na.
In Job 2:8, the ashes symbolizes remorse and trials, but in Job 42:6, the ashes symbolizes repentance and transformation.
When I think about Job and Jesus?
Both Men were innocent
Both Men were perfect
Both Men suffered
Both Men were upright
Both Men feared God
Both had friends and family to turn their back on them.
But a couple of things Jesus did that Job couldn’t do.
Job was afflicted by Satan but Jesus defeated Him one Sunday morning
Job 42:17 says Job died of old age
Jesus died one Friday and He stayed in the grave all night Friday, all day Saturday, and All night Saturday, but early Sunday morning Jesus got up from that grave will all power in His hand.
