Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Hypothetical situations in a movie or a book.
Usually the protagonist is put in a crazy situation and is asked by a supporting character, “Do you trust me?”
And the protagonist of the story replies something like this, “What guarantee do I have that you will keep your word?” and how does the supporting character respond?
“None, you are just going to have to trust me.”
One of the main purposes of Job is cause us to ponder the question, “Can we trust God?”
Even when everything in life, all of His blessings are taken away, is God still worthy of my worship and trust?
Satan is betting the answer to that question is no.
The other main purpose of the book of Job is to show that retribution theology is false.
God is not obligated to reward good with blessing in this lifetime.
Sometimes God allows the righteous to suffer.
This is something that Job and his three friends have really struggled with.
For almost 30 chapters Job and his three friends have debated this one single topic.
And with little success.
Now Job is through debating his friends.
In chapters 29-31 we have entered a courtroom with Job as the defendant and God as the judge.
Job is now pleading his case before God Himself.
These three chapters are what scholars call Job’s avowal of innocence or his oath of innocence.
Here we see Job struggling to make sense out of two issues
1).
Retribution theology no longer works
2).
Can I still trust God even though he has taken everything away from me?
Ultimately what Job does is allow a self-righteous attitude to creep into his heart.
Ultimately Job ends up falling to the temptation of self-justification or self-righteousness
And I believe that in these three chapters we find three warning signs that will help us as NT believers determine if we have fallen into the subtlety of self-righteousness.
Warning Sign #1
I.
A Longing for the good old days
Do we do this kind of thing today?
How?
Parents- remember when we only had one child how easy life was?
Sickness, loss of a loved one, old age, added responsibilities
What are we really implying?
That somehow my life is messed up.
It was better before and God has made a mistake by allowing my life to get this hard.
I know what is best.
It is an attitude of self-righteousness or self-justification.
Warning Sign #2
II.
A Loathing of our present circumstances
What was the cause of Job’s loathing?
A. He was an object of scorn (1-8)
Remember in order to understand Hebrew poetry two important things are required.
#1.
We must understand the imagery that is being presented.
#2.
We must understand the emotion of the poet
I want you to try to feel the emotion of Job in this poem.
Also I want you to listen for truth.
I want you to determine if what Job is saying is true or false.
I know Job believes it to be true, but we have more information than Job does.
We were privileged to see in to the heavenly courtroom and he was not.
So I want you to pick up on places where Job is believing a lie.
Job 29
Job was mocked by the lowest elements of society (1-8).
The mockers are young (Note: respect for elders in this culture).
(1)
Our culture is different, think of the respect you show for those that are in their 80’s or 90’s.
The mockers’ ancestry was poor.
The fathers of the children that now mock him are weak.
They are malnourished, they are wanderers (homeless)
They eat a virtually inedible plant (dumpster diving)
They are unwanted in any community
They live where nobody else wants to live
Job 30.8
Children of base men, lit.
“sons without a name”
they are men without a name, i.e., they have no honor.
Since people in ancient times believed that a name defined its bearer’s essential nature, whoever became nameless had sunk to the lowest level of infamy.
Such depraved creatures are viewed as lower than the ground.
(Hartley, 398)
OK, is Job speaking truth in these verses, or is he believing a lie?
B. He was the subject of shame (9-15)
What is the definition of shame again?
Generally speaking, shame “is the deep sense that you are unacceptable because of something you did, something done to you, or something associated with you.
You feel exposed and humiliated”
He is the subject of their humiliating song.
“Who hides his sin under wealth’s fine robe, Belongs on the dunghill with old man Job!”
Talbert, 155
Men think it nothing of spitting in his face.
In this metaphor Job compares his body to a tent.
Since God has slackened the central cord, the tent sags.
Hartley, 400.
Now Job has become an easy target
Now Job has become an easy target
Job 30.12
He was freely attacked where he was once impervious to assault (12a - The right side is the strong side in ancient thought).
He cannot escape the onslaught (12b-13).
Job 30.
His “walls of defense” are so badly broken as to be worthless
“welfare passed away like a cloud”- A cloud may look like a large and substantial thing, but it has little substance and can disappear.
OK, is Job speaking truth in these verses, or is he believing a lie?
C.
He felt abandoned by God (16-23)
Physically, Job’s condition was horrible (16-18).
(1) Powerless to combat his illness.
(16)
(2) Lack of sleep.
(17)
(3) Unceasing pain.
He likens it to wearing clothing which constantly gets tighter and tighter.
(18)
God was unresponsive to his pleas (20-23)
Standing is the posture for making an earnest petition
In spite of this earnestness, God treats him with cruelty.
(21)
Note the wordplay ‘satam’ – to act hatefully, and ‘satan’.
“God has acted so bitterly against him that Job feels that God is his foe, his satan.
That is, Job is poignantly accusing God of cherishing animosity against him.”
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