God on Trial - Job 1-2

Introduction

On October 2, 2006, a twenty year old teacher named Emma led her classroom full of Amish children to sing about the frailty of life. They sang: “Think, O man about the end, think about your death, death often comes quickly; today you may be healthy and ruddy, but tomorrow, or sooner, you may have passed away. Keep this in mind, O sinner! Be ready to die each day.” Shortly after, the class went to recess. In the distance, their milk man, Charles Roberts, stood under the shade of a tree drinking a Coke and watching them. He followed them into their classroom shortly after recess, dismissing the teacher and all of the boys. He said, “I’m angry at God, and I need to punish some Christian girls to get even with him.” And, he began asking for volunteers to be the first to be molested. The police arrived much quicker than he anticipated, and he lined the girls up. Marian, one of only two 13 year olds asked him to shoot her first, hoping it would provide more time for the others. In a line, he shot them execution style, five of whom would die and the other five who were critically injured, before he turned the gun on himself.

The biggest questions surface in the darkest moments, don’t they? How could something so heinous happen? Why would God, if He both all-good and all-powerful, allow it? How could such harm be brought to those who so obviously did nothing to deserve it? Truthfully, though it may be less dramatic an example to others, we ask the same when darkness knocks on our doors. What are we to make of the abuse that we suffered as a child or the sudden betrayal of our husband or the nursery that never saw a sweet baby rocked? In these darkest moments, our biggest questions emerge, and they compel us to search out the nature and character of God to discern whether He is trustworthy or not.

God’s Word

We might say that suffering tempts us to put God on trial. It fills our minds with what seem to be unanswerable questions. And, this is exactly what the book of Job seeks to address. Satan himself puts God on trial, while Job’s friends examine him instead. It’s two different stories, one in heaven and one on earth, being woven together to answer one big question: Can we trust God when our lives fall apart? What we see is an interrogation of sorts where God puts himself on the witness stand. We’re introduced to Three Big Questions (Headline): here in the prologue that for the main thrust of the whole story:

Who really “loves” God?

Job 1:8-11 “And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.””

Job’s Greatness

It may surprise you, but this is really the biggest question in the book. All the heavenly beings gather before the Lord, and there was one who was an Adversary among them. What’s interesting is that God brings up his most faithful earthly servant to the Adversary. God puts Job on the radar. Job is considered by God to be the greatest man of all the people of the east, meaning of the wise men he was the wisest. He is greatest in character being both righteous and wise. He is the greatest in possession owning so much livestock it was hardly able to be counted. He is greatest in blessing, having seven sons and three daughters, symbolic numbers that point to an ideal number. He is greatest in his piety, making offerings for his children and consecrating them just in case they had not lived honorably. Job is a good, sincere, and honest man.

Is God Great Enough?

Satan’s response is what leads us to his question. He points out, “Does Job fear God for no reason?” In other words, “Of course, he loves you. Of course, he worships you. Of course, he honors you. Look at all that you’ve given him.” That is, the accusation is that Job doesn’t love God because of who He is but because of what He has given. And, since Job is the God identified greatest man, if it’s true that Job doesn’t actually love God, then no one must love him. It’s an insult to God’s glory. It’s like telling someone that his wife only loves him for his money or telling your dad he’s nothing more than an inheritance check to his kids. It’s as if to say that God isn’t good and glorious and wonderful enough to be loved for who He is, only what He can give. It’s accusing God of running an escort service where has has to pay for his date.

Satan’s OS

That is, the accusation by Satan is that no one actually loves God; they only love themselves. They’re driven to have God’s things, not know God himself. After all, this is Satan’s operating system. Satan fell away because he wanted what God had. This is how he tempts Adam and Even in the Garden — to have what God has without God. This is how he’ll tempt Jesus in the Wilderness by offering him food, riches, and glory apart from the Father. When we think of characteristics that are Satanic, we’re tempted to jump to witchcraft and sorcery. But, self-centeredness is that which is most essentially Satanic, and that somehow doesn’t feel nearly as vile to us.

Do You Love God?

Satan’s question is: Does anyone really love God? But, my question is: Do you really love God? You see, there’s a subtle difference between loving peace, forgiveness, salvation, or even community and actually loving God for who He is. You can love to be forgiven and not love God. You can love to soothe your anxious thoughts with the concept of a higher power and not actually love God. Billions of people have done it for thousands of years. So, the question is not: Do you love blessings or forgiveness or heaven or good music? But, do you really love God?

What “deserves” such suffering?

Job 1:12 “And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.”

Job 2:4-6 “Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.””

Breaking News

So, the Lord, and this is a lot to take in, consents to Satan brining devastation and suffering into Job’s life. It’s a scene that takes me back to September 11, 2001. You’re watching a reporter with the building smoking behind him when you see another plane fly into the other tower. Then, there’s a report of the Pentagon, and then Pennsylvania field where Flight 93 crashed. The series of events in Job’s life happens just like that. In an instant, he experiences attacks, natural calamities, and the loss of all of his material wealth and the blessing of his children. Imagine losing your job, declaring bankruptcy, and your family dying in a car crash on the same day. That’s Job’s reality. It says that he tears his clothing as a sign that his heart has been torn in two, and he worships, “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” Even in the midst of devastating loss, Job turned to and praised the Lord. God had been the giver, and now God was the taker. But, it was to God Job was committed. Satan quips: “That’s only because you gave him a flesh wound. You wouldn’t let me hurt the man himself.” Again, you see that self-centeredness is the OS of Satan. So, God again consents restraining Satan only from killing the man. Instantly, Job is covered in boils from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet. Job’s wife has had enough. She tells Job to “Renounce God and die.” Essentially, acknowledge that you’re cursed, that God isn’t good to you, and commit suicide.

Did Job Deserve it?

This is what brings us to another big question. If the question from the heavenly perspective is whether or not God is actually loved, the question from the earthly perspective of this story is: what did Job do to deserve this? Job is presented by the narrator through the mouth of God as one who is an innocent. He was honest, honorable, passionate, and devout. He lived, as Proverbs calls, every day in the fear of the Lord. So, we’re not surprised when it says that he has a lot. He’s done the right things the right way every day — the right reward is what should be coming to him. This was the neat, tidy theology of the day. And, this is the theology that many of us have. If I do the right things the right way for the right reasons, everything will go well for me. So, it takes our breath away when he (or we!) loses everything.

“What Did I Do?”

I remember being ten years old at the Ramada Inn in Kissimmee, FL. My aunt called to tell us that our house had burned down, and my dad’s first reaction was to just cry out: “Oh God, what did I do to deserve this?” I know of more than one mom who has walked around with guilt and shame over a miscarriage, wondering what she did wrong to cause such a painful loss. Not long ago, I was talking with a close friend who had done everything in his business to bring God glory. He had sought to be honest, generous, and had dedicated his work to the Lord. In an instant, everything seemingly went up in smoke. He’s left holding the bag and trying to catch his breath trying to figure out what he did wrong.

You don’t Always Reap What You Sow

It’s the retribution principle, right? If I do what’s right, I get what’s good. If I do what’s wrong, I’ll get what’s bad. So, if Job gets what’s bad, he must’ve done bad. If I get what’s bad, I must’ve done bad. But, and I need you to zone in here because some of you are walking in shame for things that aren’t real, sometimes you don’t reap what you’ve sown. Sometimes, because of the complexities of living in a cursed world, you experience the pain of sin without committing the sin. Sometimes, like Job, you can do all the right things all the right ways and experience all the wrong consequences.

We live in a world of disproportionate suffering. Some of the best suffer most, and some of the worst suffer the least. Karma isn’t real. Nobody was more pious than Job and yet within a page he’s experienced the very worst of human experience: war, destitution, loss, sickness, humiliation, and depression. Listen: If you were abused or abandoned as a child, that’s not your fault. If your husband or wife betrayed you, you didn’t deserve that. If you never got to hold and sing to that little baby that you loved so much, it’s not because you deserved it.

The Innocent Suffered to End Suffering

Maybe you’d ask me: Why wouldn’t God stop the suffering of the innocent, like those precious Amish girls or the children in our congregation that I know have been abused, here’s the best answer that I have. His Son, Jesus, was totally innocent, and He suffered horribly so that One day all this suffering will end. He has experienced it, too, and He’s bringing it to an end. One day, those in Christ will receive, not what we deserve, but what only He deserves.

What’s the “point”?

Job 1:12 “And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.”

Job 2:6 “And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.””

You have to place yourself in Job’s shoes. God knows why this happening. Satan knows why this is happening. We, the readers, are told why this is happening. But, Job isn’t told anything. In fact, Job won’t hear a word from God for 38 chapters, and, even then, he’s not given an explanation. Job is left with the biggest question any of us have to answer: “Why?” “What’s the point?”

Suffering Feels Meaningless

You see, from the perspective of the sufferer, most suffering appears meaningless. Why does one child’s parents love them and another child’s parents abuse them? Why does one adoption go smoothly and another so terribly difficult? Why does your wife suffer from dementia and another’s wife live healthily to 100? From the outside, it appears arbitrary, doesn’t it? Compounding the pain and confusion, is the reality that sometimes in our most difficult moments God can feel so far away, so silent, so distant.

In November 2021, I took a sick day to stay home with Sara, but I needed it just as bad. Many of you know that I’ve suffered with debilitating migraines that came out of nowhere five years ago, and that day was the single worst headache I had every had. I had tried injections, IV’s, and every trendy new drug that came out, and yet I was still there piled up in the bed unable to be the daddy and husband and pastor that I wanted to be. And, alone in the bed that day, the dam just broke. I wept and wept and wept. I didn’t know what else to pray or to say or to do. I just told the Lord: “I know you’re good, but it feels like you’re picking on me. It feels like you’re trying to crush me. I’m at the end.” I think of Ora Collier burying her husband and then her son. I think of Kathy Jacks who is always needing a new back surgery. I think of Mary who lost both her husband and mom within weeks. I think of Daniel who found out his mom was terribly sick only to lose his dad first. I think of those of you who want a baby so bad in a sea of so many babies. Sometimes, it just seems so meaningless, doesn’t it?

We Don’t Have a Narrator

You see, in our lives, we don’t get the privileged view of narration. Like Job, we have to live it without the insight of heaven. But, because we have Job, we can live by faith in the sovereign goodness of God. You see, that’s the real question here. Only people who believe that God is sovereign and good have any reason to ask a question here. The naturalist believes that it’s just part of weeding out the weak through natural selection. The mystic believes it’s the volatility of living within a chaotic universe. But, the Christian believes there must be a purpose, a reason, a grander scheme. So, the question is: Do we live in well run world or not?

God is Sovereign and Satan is on a String

But, here’s what we’re meant to see here from the outset: God is sovereign, and Satan is on a string. God initiates the suffering by bringing up Job’s name. God permits Job’s suffering by allowing Satan to afflict him. But, God limits Job’s suffering within his purposes. That is, it’s being foreshadowed from the beginning that there’s more happening here than what Job can see or understand. God is bringing about his will for his glory through his people in ways that are beyond them. Satan will bring about harm. The innocent will endure suffering. But, every tear, every wound, every scar, every sleepless night is found within the bounds of God’s sovereign grace. That is, on Friday it looks hopeless, but Sunday is coming. What looks meaningless will one day be called wonderful.

Job 1:21 “And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.””

Job 2:10 “But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”

That’s what Job’s faith clings to. On one hand, and we’ll see this more in the weeks ahead, Job grieves terribly, but on the other hand, he trusts in the sovereignty of God. And, that’s the right response for all of us today who are suffering in what feels meaningless and arbitrary. We should really grieve and not pretend as every is okay, but we should also trust that there’s more here than we can see.

(SCREEN) Horatio Spafford was a Christian attorney in Chicago during the late 1800’s. He was a major supporter and close friend of D.L. Moody during the height of his ministry. Spafford had invested heavily in real estate in the greater Chicago area, when in 1871, the Great Fire of Chicago reduced the city to rubble and destroyed the majority of his investment. Two years later and still trying to recover his losses, Spafford’s family traveled without him on a vacation in England where they would be able to support Moody who was on a preaching tour there. In route, the vessel they were traveling on collided with another and their ship sank. All four of his daughters passed away, and only his wife survived. As he traveled to get his grieving wife, he wrote these words:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control, That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate, And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

This morning, I want to realize: You are not forgotten. Your suffering is not meaningless. Your pain is not anonymous. Christ has suffered, too, and He is working all things together for good. Trust him, and it can be well with your soul when it’s not well with your life.