Sermon Tone Analysis

The End of the Story

“They all lived happily ever after”.

At the end of 42 chapters - nearly 40 of those chapters filled with poetry - soaring and roaring - stormy arguments and debates, wrestling with a world that so often doesn’t make sense - a world that we NEED to find sense in.

This morning we come to the end of the book of Job.

We identify with this book - - I don’t know that I have ever been through a Biblical book with you, where there has been a greater sense of ‘YES!

That’s MY STORY!” - don’t know that I have ever had more of a sense that, “This book speaks for me”, than here in the book of Job.

It’s wrestling, struggling, fighting to trust God in a life that hasn’t gone according to plan … where there is hurt.

You are trying to serve God and honor Him with your life.

The Bible says, “In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your pathways straight”.

You’ve tried to do just that .... not perfectly, of course, you know you’re a sinner, but you’ve TRIED to honor the Lord with your life … and STILL:

“They all lived happily ever after”.

At the end of 42 chapters - nearly 40 of those chapters filled with poetry - soaring and roaring - stormy arguments and debates, wrestling with a world that so often doesn’t make sense - a world that we NEED to find sense in.

Your career goals went south.

Your health is getting worse - as the disease progresses - the family is still breaking apart .... so many different disappointments and wounds.

How does my life make sense - If God is Holy … If He is All-Powerful … If He loves me?

We identify with this book - - I don’t know that I have ever been through a Biblical book with you, where there has been a greater sense of ‘YES!

That’s MY STORY!” - don’t know that I have ever had more of a sense from you that, “This book speaks for me”, than here in the book of Job.

In this book of Job, after all of that wrestling, here we come to the end of the story - and at first glance, it seems like this is one more fairy tale ending of, ‘… and they lived happily ever after’.

It’s wrestling, struggling, fighting to trust God in a life that hasn’t gone according to plan … where there is hurt.

You are trying to serve God and honor Him with your life.

The Bible says, “In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your pathways straight”.

You’ve tried to do just that .... not perfectly, of course, you know you’re a sinner, but you’ve TRIED to honor the Lord with your life … and STILL:

Some of us love that - Some of us are suckers for happy endings … where the guy in the white hat gets the girl and the guy in the black hat is lying on the ground with a black eye, or being carted off to jail in handcuffs.

Your career goals went south.

Your health is getting worse - as the disease progresses - the family is still breaking apart – or the haunting hurts of the past .... so many different disappointments and wounds.

How does my life make sense - If God is Holy … If He is All-Powerful … If He loves me?

Some don’t like that - it seems so contrived.

Seems too neat and tidy.

…

You prefer the dystopian stories - like ‘Hunger Games’ - where big impersonal forces dominate and kids are forced to fight each other to the death - suffering for no apparent purpose - just seems more like real life to you.

There is suffering in this world - and there is no logic and no purpose to it.

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Some don’t like that - it seems so contrived.

Seems too neat and tidy.

… not to mention - doesn’t it kind of smack of the very thing that the whole book has been teaching against?

… the Prosperity Gospel?

The message that is preached from so many pulpits - whether in this city or on tv, in front of large crowds and small .... “You reap what you sow” “If you honor God and repent of sin … He will make you wealthy and healthy and will give you a great reputation ...”.

Job repented in verses 1-6 of this chapter and then God gives him more than he ever dreamed!

Not to mention - doesn’t this ending kind of smack of the very thing that the whole book has been teaching against?

… the Prosperity Gospel?

The message that is preached from so many pulpits - whether in this city or on tv, in front of large crowds and small .... “You reap what you sow” “If you honor God and repent of sin … He will make you wealthy and healthy and will give you a great reputation ...”.

Job repented in verses 1-6 of this chapter and then God gives him more than he ever dreamed!

In this book of Job, after all of that wrestling, here we come to the end of the story - and at first glance, it seems like this is one more fairy tale ending, ‘… and they lived happily ever after’.

.... but that’s the very ‘elementary school’ understanding of God that Job had to move on from - that’s been the whole argument of the book.

Let me assure you - This is no shallow, careless, ‘fairy-tale ending’ - this is meaty, meaningful resolution and drama.

Once again, God has something ‘big’ and important for us to learn here - this is here for OUR sake, Christian - so let’s dig in.

Some of us love that - Some of us are suckers for happy endings … where the guy in the white hat gets the girl and the guy in the black hat is lying on the ground with a black eye, or being carted off to jail in handcuffs.

We have in this passage:

Some don’t like that - it seems so contrived.

Seems too neat and tidy.

…

RESTORED RELATIONSHIPS, vv.

7-9

A RICHER LIFE, vv.

10-17

You prefer the dystopian stories - like ‘Hunger Games’ - where big impersonal forces dominate and kids are forced to fight each other to the death - suffering for no apparent purpose - that seems more like real life to you.

There is suffering in this world - and there is no logic and no purpose to it.

___________________

Not to mention - doesn’t this ending kind of smack of the very thing that the whole book has been teaching against?

… the Prosperity Gospel?

The message that is preached from so many pulpits - whether in this city or on tv, in front of large crowds and small .... “You reap what you sow” “If you honor God and repent of sin … He will make you wealthy and healthy and will give you a great reputation ...”.

Job repented in verses 1-6 of this chapter and then God gives him more than he ever dreamed!

1 RESTORED RELATIONSHIPS, vv.

7-9

1 RESTORED RELATIONSHIPS

.... but that’s the very ‘elementary school’ understanding of God that Job had to move on from - that’s been the whole argument of the book.

1 RESTORED RELATIONSHIPS

Verse 7, “After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite: ‘My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has ...”

Let me assure you - This is no shallow, careless, ‘fairy-tale ending’ - this is meaty, meaningful resolution and drama.

Once again, God has something ‘big’ and important for us to learn here - this is here for YOUR sake, Christian - so let’s dig in.

God is angry at Job’s three, so-called friends.

We have in this passage:

But hang on a second - these three friends have been trying to DEFEND God!

They haven’t been questioning His ways - His character - they’ve been standing UP for Him.

They may have been a little off - but why is God so angry?

RESTORED RELATIONSHIPS, vv.

7-9

He doesn’t leave us to guess.

He spells it out clearly, in v. 8. It’s because … ‘YOU have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.”.

God repeats the charge in v. 8, just in case we forget.

In other words - more than failing to comfort their godly friend when his world fell apart - which is bad enough … but MORE than that … they have painted a wrong view of God and would have led Job away from TRUE worship if he had actually taken their advice.

They were painting a picture of God as a HEAVENLY VENDING MACHINE - not a God you worship, but a God you WORK - manipulate - you use to get things … “Do good things and God will give you nice stuff.”

A RICHER LIFE, vv.

10-17

It’s not as though Job has been perfect.

He’s said wrong things about God in this book too - said that God had turned cruel towards him … that God was persecuting him.

But Job has been grasping, groping for the truth in the middle of darkness and heartache and physical pain … the guy has lost everything and is on his way to death, with his body falling apart - - TRYING to understand God .... even when he couldn’t quite get it.

_______________________________________________________

And you can identify.

YOU can identify.

1 RESTORED RELATIONSHIPS, vv.

7-9

That’s why - in verse 1-6, Job repents - not for what his friends want him to repent for - not repenting for some sin that brought the suffering into his life ...

Verse 7, “After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite: ‘My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has ...”

… He repents for questioning God’s plan - that God knows what He is doing and is firmly in control - working out good.

God has spoken to Job - said, essentially this: “You don’t understand what I’m doing?

That’s because you CAN’T understand what I’m doing!

And that’s because you are puny, finite human being .... and I am the one, infinite God - created everything with the word of my mouth, sustaining all things by the word of my power - and working out every minute detail in all of this vast universe .... to further my good purposes.

There’s no way you can ever understand these ways, Job.

No way you can ever understand these ways, Christian ....

So just trust me.

Just trust me.

I love you.”

God is angry at Job’s three, so-called friends.

Job’s confession shows that he finally gets it: “I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”

But hang on a second - these three friends have been trying to DEFEND God!

They haven’t been questioning His ways - His character - they’ve been standing UP for Him.

They may have been a little off - but why is God so angry?

So much of what Job’s friends said was right - it was true

In verses 1-6 - he has a richer relationship with God.