Job: God is Sovereign Over and Hope During Suffering (Part 2)

Introduction

Open your Bibles, if you are willing, this evening to Job Chapter 2 and we will look at verses 1-10. That Job Chapter

This evening we will continue looking at much the same themes we looked at on Sunday

God demonstrates the sufficiency of himself in Job suffering.

There are two kinds of suffering we can experience.

Suffering for sin, or suffering for righteousness.

Job lost his wealth, his children, everything that could be counted any anything in the way of posterity and position.

But what Job still possessed was greater then all those, to be called a faithful servant of God.

Sunday we also were able to connect the fact the Christ is the archetype of the surfing servant that bring glory to God.

And our call, is to go out of the gate and suffer with him.

We want to be careful here,

We are not down playing suffering, it hurts, its real.

What we are saying that even in the worst suffering we can have hope and we can even be thankful that the Lord chose to show if sufficiency in our live and even more that in him we have enough, he is enough.

James says count it all joy he doesn’t mean pretend that the trails don’t exist

The question for us is when those trials come have we set ourselves so on Christ that even in the middle of losing everything can we say, The Lord gives and the Lord takes away blessed be the name of the Lord.

I want to read something from Charles Spurgeon before we get on to chapter two.

This comes from a sermon preached at the Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit called “The Best Bread.” “YOU will observe that our Lord here speaks concerning himself. He speaks not of his words merely, nor of his offices, nor of his work, but of himself. “I am that bread of life.” And herein he teaches us all to fix our eye mainly upon his blessed person, and to think of himself first and foremost. He is the centre and soul of all. There is a tendency about us all to get away from Jesus, and to look rather to the streams than to the Fountain-head. Why are we more taken up with bits of glass that sparkle in the light than with the sun himself? That tree of life, in the midst of the Paradise of God—we forget to eat of that; and we wander to the borders of the garden, to pluck the fruit of the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I wish that our ministry—that mine especially—might be tied and tethered to the cross. I would have no other subject to set before you but Jesus only. Moses and Elias are well enough in their places; but when they disappear, and Jesus is the better seen, we are gainers by their loss. If I might dig for copper, silver, and gold, I should think it no deprivation to be obliged to find gold only. It is no loss to lose all but Jesus. You may wander from Dan to Beersheba, and you may not sin, for it is all holy ground between the two places; but he is wisest who does not ramble even there, but keeps to Calvary, and is content to speak only of Jesus crucified.”[1]

Let’s Read Job Chapter 2 verse 1-10

Job 2:1–10 ESV

1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3 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? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” 4 Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.” 7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” 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.

May God Bless the Reading of His Holy and Infallible Word

Lets Pray

Transition

We want to ask the question, when we read text, does God owe Satan an examination? Or does God need to vindicate himself to Satan? Many have made that claim reading this text. But I don’t think that is the case at all. Lets look at verse 1-6.

Body

Skin for Skin

Job 2:1–6 (ESV)

1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3 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? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” 4 Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.”

A repeated scene

reading too much into the text about this

Matthew 18:10 (ESV)

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

“although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.”

what power does satan have to incite God.

Impassability doctrine in context

“without reason” is a reflection on satan

notice God doesn’t say what you did to Job,

“me against him”

skin for skin

only spare his life

Transition

if satan has no power to temp the Lord what power does he have now that the Lord has giving permission? Lets look at verse 7-8

Satan Struck

Job 2:7–8 ESV

7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes.

There is an tendency and the impact of pentecostal spiritualism has amplified this, the tendency to see Satan with more power than he has.

It says Satan “struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.”

Lets understand that Satan has no power to create anything.

Who created this flesh eating disease.

When we as this question we start to see the theme of God’s sovereignty appear.

The Suffering is not just physical

Job Indicates he has been in this positron for months. “so I am allotted months of emptiness, and nights of misery are apportioned to me.” (Job 7:3, ESV)

Job explains what he means by “nights of misery” in 7:13-15 “When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me, couch will ease my complaint,then you scare me with dreams and terrify me with visions, so that I would choose strangling and death rather than my bones.” (Job 7:13–15, ESV)

The picture in verse eight is the continuation from 1:20

“Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.” “Job 1:20, ESV)

Transition

Verse 9 start with than his wife said to him, who should have been his helpmeat became to tool of the enemy.

Curse God and die

Job 2:9–10 ESV

9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” 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.

It is hard to tell the intent of Job’s wife here.

“you speak as one of the foolish women would speak

What a foolish thing to say

A very appropriate parallel from the NT is “This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.” (Jas 3:15, ESV)

Woman, did you not see me offer brunt offings every day just encase one of my children cursed God in the heart.

“Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”

God is Holy, how could I curse him

God perfect, how could I find fault with him

God is all mighty, how could I contend with him

“ In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”

Remember in 1:20 he was still standing, he tore his close and bowed down

Job cannot even do that now all he can do is sit in the ashes while he sin rots off but even there he will not impune God.

“sin with his lips.”

Sin in heart? I think Not.

“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. 8 Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” (Job 42:7–8, ESV)

Conclusion

Brother and sisters, as we have looked this this story so far we have see incredible suffering on the part of Job. Remember Christ suffered finally more than Job, and Christ is the one you are called to follow. No matter what suffering God calls you to, you will not like suffer as much as Job and you will certainly not com close to suffering as Christ did. Trails are really, they hurt, but when we keep these things close to our hearts we can count every one of them Joy.

Next time we will be in Chapter 19, looking at Job’s Hope.

Benediction

Jude 24–25 ESV

24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

References

[1] C. H. Spurgeon, “The Best Bread,” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 33 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1887), 25.

Bibliography

Spurgeon, C. H. The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons. Vol. 33. London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1887.