Good evening Church, what a joy it is to be here with you all. Tonight we finish the Book of Job, next time we will move into the Psalms.
We have committed ourselves to go through the entire Old Testament here on Wednesday nights. Once we finish the Old Testament, we will do a midweek study of the Book of the Revelation, then we will go right into Genesis again.
Now, if you are able, please turn in your Bibles to
Job Chapter 40.
Let’s pray, and we will get into it…
So, this entire Book has dealt with the issue of the Sovereignty of God. It has really dealt with the age-old question of “why do bad things happen to good people, and why do good things happen to bad people?” We as the readers of this Book were privileged to have the insight of Chapters 1 and 2, where we can draw the conclusion that God’s Ways are not our ways, and beyond our finding out.
There are times that we simply just do not have the whole picture as God sees, and there are times that God is working out something in and through us that is not understood immediately.
We struggle many times with the “why” of the events in our lives. Our journey through Job has given us the understanding to Trust the Lord even when we do not understand the “Why” of it all.
God has our life and our story in His grip, and that is the best place to be.
Now, the last time we were together, we saw the Lord step into the dialog with Job. After 35 long Chapters of going back and forth with his supposed friends, and Job putting forth many questions about why he was going through what he was going through.
God broke in, through the storm, a whirlwind, and God did not oblige Job with answers, but instead put forth questions of His own. He told Job to man up, to gird up his loins so to speak.
God’s questions were designed to recalibrate Job’s thinking, to change his perspective. God questioned Job about His Creation, about the heavens, the solar system, the water cycle, and even caring for the wild animals. All of the questions were designed to reveal the majesty of God and to put Job in his place.
When we look at our lives through the Glory and Majesty of who God is, it brings our trials and tribulations into the proper light.
So, tonight God will continue on with His line of questioning until Job is broken before him. And believe it or not, and it doesn’t always happen this way, but we will get a blessed and happy ending to the Book of Job.
So let’s start now in verse 1 of Chapter 40.
God's Power and Wisdom
40:1 Moreover the Lord answered Job, and said: 2 "Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it."
We see here, God continues on with His questioning, again designed to recalibrate Job’s understanding, that God is Sovereign and above all of Job’s misunderstandings.
God deals with Job straight on here, “Who contends with Me? Who are you to correct Me Job?” Verse 3 now… Job's Response to God 3 Then Job answered the Lord and said: 4 "Behold, I am vile; What shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth. 5 Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further."
What is that Job? Is this the same Job who maintained his integrity and declared that he was righteous? Is this the same man who said that God had gotten something wrong to let this all happen to him?
Now Job is admitting something here that is very important. I don’t know how you view yourself before God. I hear sometimes people boast of their Bible reading, their work that they do for the Lord, they lay out a list of things that they are doing in the Name of Jesus.
And they say something to the effect, “I don’t know why I am going through such hard times, after all, I am doing good and living for God’s cause.” Now, if we could all see ourselves as God sees us, the reality is we would not think so highly of ourselves.
When we are in the presence of God, when we have a genuine encounter with God, we cannot see ourselves any better than vile.
And that is really offensive today, this day where people look at themselves in the mirror daily and say “I am beautiful, I am successful, I am wonderful.” You know this self-love kind of thing. God speaks here to Job, and after God’s great revelation of Himself, Job will have a different tone altogether.
I don’t know what God’s Word is like to you, what impact it has on your life. But when we truly endeavor to read it, not just the cute little Instagram scriptures, but when we are systematically going through God’s Word, it should speak profoundly to our lives. It is mirror into our souls,
the writer of Hebrews puts it like this… Heb. 4:12-13 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
It was only back in Chapter 31 that Job wanted to question God and even demanded to be brought into God’s court.
Goodness, that is a bold and arrogant stance to have before a star breathing God. Job now is in God’s court and is now sensing his real position before God, and he understands that he cannot answer the Almighty.
All of the arguing of Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar and Elihu could not bring Job to this place of awe.
Only the revelation of God, and God’s Word could properly humble him, and set him correctly before the Lord. Of course we see this throughout the Scriptures.
The prophet Isaiah is one who saw himself in the proper light after his own encounter with God. Isa 6:1-5 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!" 4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 So I said: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts."
This kind of perspective needs to sweep through God’s proud people today.
We spend most of our time anymore trying to prove ourselves and our abilities to this world.
Our culture worships the Me-god. But when we truly see God, we cannot help but to decrease and allow Him to increase in our lives.
Job wanted to lay his hand over his mouth, which is like saying that he was ashamed at how he spoke to the Lord.
Now, God will continue here in verse 6… God's Challenge to Job 6 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: 7 "Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me: 8 "Would you indeed annul My judgment? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified? 9 Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His? 10 Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor, And array yourself with glory and beauty. 11 Disperse the rage of your wrath; Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him. 12 Look on everyone who is proud, and bring him low; Tread down the wicked in their place.
13 Hide them in the dust together, Bind their faces in hidden darkness.
14 Then I will also confess to you That your own right hand can save you.
We see here that God is still speaking to Job from the whirlwind.
God brings on more questions because Job is not yet been brought to the place of full confession that God wanted.
God does not want a hand over his mouth, He desires a confession from Job.
God is indicating that He is not finished with Job, there was more to show him and to teach him from His Creation.
He tells Job in so many words “Look around, there are a lot of things that you do not know, how can you judge Me and my moral governance of the universe?”
God is seemingly telling Job to step into His shoes, to be God for a day.
God wants to know if Job can do the things necessary to be God.
To adorn himself with glory, to judge sin, to break the proud. Could Job do this job?
Of course not.
God is in essence pointing out the fact that Job is only a man who is trying to be God.
Now what God does next is interesting here, because up to this point He has pointed to several animals, and God will point to a couple more, but they are not ordinary beasts whatsoever.
He will point Job’s attention to the Behemoth and the Leviathan which were legendary beasts and the most feared of his day.
The Behemoth was the beast that seemed to be the king of the land animal kingdom.
The Leviathan will be the king of the sea. Some people have connected the Behemoth to a wild ox, or hippo, or rhino, or even a wooly mammoth.
And some have connected the Leviathan to a crocodile or a giant sea serpent.
Really it is a mystery, none of the theories seem to be an exact match.
Others believe that perhaps they were remnants of the dinosaur age or even something that we see in mythological creatures, whereas almost every ancient culture has some kind of depiction or tale of dragons of some sort.
I will let you decide for yourself, starting in verse 15… 15 "Look now at the behemoth, which I made along with you; He eats grass like an ox. 16 See now, his strength is in his hips, And his power is in his stomach muscles. 17 He moves his tail like a cedar; The sinews of his thighs are tightly knit. 18 His bones are like beams of bronze, His ribs like bars of iron. 19 He is the first of the ways of God; Only He who made him can bring near His sword. 20 Surely the mountains yield Page 10 of 28 food for him, And all the beasts of the field play there. 21 He lies under the lotus trees, In a covert of reeds and marsh. 22 The lotus trees cover him with their shade; The willows by the brook surround him. 23 Indeed the river may rage, Yet he is not disturbed; He is confident, though the Jordan gushes into his mouth, 24 Though he takes it in his eyes, Or one pierces his nose with a snare.
Again the precise identity of the Behemoth here is greatly debated. Most scholars I must say think that God is talking about the hippopotamus, of course, one of the largest, strongest, and most dangerous of the land animals.
Now today, a man with a gun may not fear the beast as much, but you can imagine in Job’s day, a man coming upon one with a spear or a bow, they would have a little more trouble that is for sure.
We see this beast eats grass like an ox, his power being in his stomach muscles. And God just seems pretty impressed with this mighty beast from His Own Creation.
He sees Him as a wonder, noting its strong attributes, its size, and even appetites.
Now others have made the case that this is a Brontosaurus or another giant herbivore from the dinosaur age.
And it is possible that there were dinosaurs that existed in the state of the earth before the flood, and perhaps a remnant even grew for a time after the flood.
Prior to the flood, the earth was covered by a canopy that created a type of greenhouse effect.
This would cause plenty of plant life to feed these incredible creatures.
The word behemoth is the plural of “beast.” Since one animal is described in verses 15–24, the plural probably points up the animal’s greatness. Suggestions as to the identity of this animal include an elephant, a rhinoceros, a plant-eating brontosaurus (dinosaur), a water buffalo, and a hippopotamus.
THE BIBLE KNOWLEDGE COMMENTARY:
The identity of the behemoth, meaning the “great beast,” is disputed. Suggestions include the elephant, some sort of dinosaur, or a purely mythical monster. The hippopotamus, which had overtones of cosmic evil, seems to fit the biblical and cultural evidence best.
NELSON’S ILLUSTRATED COMMENTARY:
Job could not approach, much less subdue, this massive beast; how could he force his way to the Almighty with his case?
The mentioning of the tail as like a cedar in verse 17 really seems to point to a dinosaur of some kind. And it gets even more speculative as we move on into the next Chapter…
Look now at verse 1 of Chapter 41… God's Power in the Leviathan 41:1 "Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook, Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower? 2 Can you put a reed through his nose, Or pierce his jaw with a hook? 3 Will he make many supplications to you? Will he speak softly to you? 4 Will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him as a servant forever? 5 Will you play with him as with a bird, Or will you leash him for your maidens? 6 Will your companions make a banquet of him? Will they apportion him among the merchants? 7 Can you fill his skin with harpoons, Or his head with fishing spears?
David Guzik says here… Usually, a Leviathan is considered to be a mythical sea monster or dragon that terrorized sailors and fishermen. Yet in the context of Job 41, God does not seem to consider Leviathan to be mythical at all.
Some believe that Leviathan describes some ancient dragon-like dinosaur that either survived to Job’s day or survived in the collective memory of mankind so that God could refer to it as an example.
Others consider that in this context, Leviathan is nothing more than a mighty crocodile. And as we go through the description here, it really is hard to see this has a crocodile of some kind.
But here in the initial part of the discussion, God questions Job as to whether he can control this creature, can he put a ring in its nose, or hook the thing.
God’s point here in all of this is to show Job how powerless he really is against something so huge, but yet God merely made it.
Look now starting in verse 8… 8 Lay your hand on him; Remember the battle — Never do it again! 9 Indeed, any hope of overcoming him is false; Shall one not be overwhelmed at the sight of him? 10 No one is so fierce that he would dare stir him up. Who then is able to stand against Me? 11 Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him? Everything under heaven is Mine.
The reality is put forth here that if you survive an encounter with Leviathan, you will never touch him again, and you will never forget the battle.
This creature cannot be tamed or contended with, this creature that God made.
He puts forth another question in verse 11, “who has preceded Me?” or more correctly “who has confronted Me?”
Was Job really expecting God to make restitution for something that Job lost?
The Lord confronts Job here for implying that God owed him anything, Job thought something was owed to him for being a righteous man.
The Lord is exposing Job’s folly here in thinking that God was obligated to reward a person who is obedient.
The idea that God does not have to reward us for what we consider good and faithful works is an important part of the biblical doctrine of salvation.
Now God’s Word does speak of an eternal reward, crowns in Glory, yet in this life, we are promised salvation and the hope of Glory.
Eph. 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
In this life we are saved from our sins, God owes us nothing beyond that, we are indebted eternally to Him for giving us this gift.
So God continues on now in verse 12 in His description of Leviathan… 12 "I will not conceal his limbs, His mighty power, or his graceful proportions. 13 Who can remove his outer coat? Who can approach him with a double bridle? 14 Who can open the doors of his face, With his terrible teeth all around? 15 His rows of scales are his pride, Shut up tightly as with a seal; 16 One is so near another That no air can come between them; 17 They are joined one to another, They stick together and cannot be parted.
This creature cannot be controlled with a bridle like a horse.
Now, this is the part of the description that some come away with the idea that God is referring to the crocodile.
Having sharp teeth that are angular, not made for simply chewing food but tearing flesh.
His scales are his pride, tightly sealed, and of course, a crocodile does have heavy skin witch is defensive by design.
But really, the next part of the description the crocodile theory seems to be a stretch. Verse 18 now… 18 His sneezings flash forth light, And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. 19 Out of his mouth go burning lights; Sparks of fire shoot out. 20 Smoke goes out of his nostrils, As from a boiling pot and burning rushes. 21 His breath kindles coals, And a flame goes out of his mouth.
Now I have never heard of a crocodile sneezing forth light, burning lights coming from its mouth, sparks of fire even, and flames.
Some still think this is a crocodile, however,
Walvoord in his commentary says, Do the firebrands from its mouth and the smoke and flames from its nostrils mean this is a mythical dragon, after all?
No.
These may be explained as the way God spoke of the crocodile’s breath and water, which when emitted from its mouth, look in the sunlight like a stream of fire.
This poetic language, probably spoken in hyperbole, accentuates this beast’s frightful nature.
This language also is the basis for the concept of a dragon in mythology.
Now, I personally am not convinced that it is a croc.
I have too many suspicions about the origins of ancient tales and it is not difficult for me to see that at one point there were these giant creatures unknown to us today or even extinct.
Chuck Smith also thinks so, and since I am a younger older pastor, I will let an elder older pastor speak on this, who is now with Jesus.
Chuck says this… “Now, it is quite possible that leviathan was a dragon. Every ancient culture, society or people, ethnic group, have stories of dragons.
The descriptions of the dragons are sort of fire breathing, monsters.
Leviathan, in the Hebrew, literally means a twisting monster.
Where do the ideas come from for dragons?
The fact that they are universally spoken of by the different peoples of the world?
The Chinese, in their parades, have the dragons. The idea of the dragon, of course, the breathing of the fire, and they’re sort of floating in a way, through the air.
It could be a dragon, or it could be some form of a great sea monster.
You know, the Lochness Monster, if indeed it does exist.
Something like that.
In Isaiah twenty-seven, he speaks there of the leviathan, and he relates it to the dragon.
Isaiah twenty-seven, one. “In that day, the Lord with His sore, and great and strong sword, shall punish leviathan, the piercing serpent, even leviathan, that crooked serpent, and He shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.”
There has been a suggestion, and not without merit, that the serpent that came to Eve in the garden, was in reality, a dragon.
The Hebrew language would allow for that.
The Bible said it was one of the most subtle of all of the beasts.
That it wasn’t a snake at all like we think of a snake.
But it was actually a dragon.
It is interesting that the dragon is a symbol of Satan.
In the book of Revelation in its reference to Satan, it calls him, “That great dragon, Satan, the devil”.
One of the names for Satan. The interesting thing is that when God cursed the serpent, what was the curse?
That it would have to crawl upon its belly, which would indicate that it probably before time, had a means of propulsion through the air.
But as the result of the curse, would be forced to crawl upon the belly, on its belly in the dust of the earth.
That could’ve been what caused the extinction of the dragon.
It is interesting that this fire breathing bit, and smoke bit, dragons, of course, are depicted as breathing fire, and smoke. I would encourage you to look up in the encyclopedia the Bombardier beetle.
It’s one of my favorite beetles.
Able to create a fire. Of course I’m fascinated also with fireflies.
How they are able to just light up. It’s just, intensely fascinating to me!
But, bombardier beetles are also extremely fascinating. Read about them!
The fire that they can create! This little beetle, and that same principle.
If God would build it into some gigantic monster kind of a beast, could indeed have a chamber where certain gases were formed that as they were exhaled, when they hit the oxygen, would flame.”
I have never witnessed a crocodile doing these things that is for sure.
But I will not judge you if you take the stance with many good and noble Bible commentators who think so.
So let’s continue now in verse 22… 22 Strength dwells in his neck (this eliminates the idea that it is a whale), And sorrow dances before him. 23 The folds of his flesh are joined together; They are firm on him and cannot be moved. 24 His heart is as hard as stone, Even as hard as the lower millstone. 25 When Page 18 of 28 he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid; Because of his crashings they are beside themselves. 26 Though the sword reaches him, it cannot avail; Nor does spear, dart, or javelin. 27 He regards iron as straw, And bronze as rotten wood. 28 The arrow cannot make him flee; Slingstones become like stubble to him. 29 Darts are regarded as straw; He laughs at the threat of javelins. 30 His undersides are like sharp potsherds; He spreads pointed marks in the mire. 31 He makes the deep boil like a pot; He makes the sea like a pot of ointment. 32 He leaves a shining wake behind him; One would think the deep had white hair. 33 On earth there is nothing like him, Which is made without fear. 34 He beholds every high thing; He is king over all the children of pride."
So, others have made the case that Leviathan is a whale, as it is an incredibly large sea creature, the Blue Whale reaching upwards to 100 feet long and twenty times the weight of an elephant.
Now, there have been fossil remains of giant crocs that were up to fifty-five feet long, which no doubt would put the fear of God into a person.
But we see here, in this final description really interesting wording,
“King over all the children of pride.”
Sounds somewhat like a title for Satan.
This is not at all sounding like a crocodile or whale, at least to me.
It could be an ancient creature of some sort that lived in Job’s day. But some have suggested a picture too of Satan himself.
This is what Jon Courson wrote… Out of his mouth go burning lamps or fiery darts (v.19).
Certainly, Satan launches fiery darts at us (Ephesians 6:16).
His heart is hard as a stone (v. 24).
Throughout Scripture, when people turn against God, they are described as those with hard hearts.
In the Book of Revelation, Satan is referred to as a dragon and will be cast into the lake of fire, where he will make the deep boil like a pot (v. 31).
Satan is indeed the king over all the children of pride (v. 34), for pride was his own downfall (Isaiah 14:14).
Satan indeed plays a key role in Job’s story.
Therefore, it could be that, in a sense, the Lord is parading him before Job, saying, “I have a question for you, Job.
Can you deal with the very one who brought you such misery and pain?”
That of course is a very interesting connection for sure.
Now whatever way you choose to see these two creatures as the point does not revolve around what it is.
The point that God is trying to make here by using these two creatures is found in the final chapter of Job, and this is where we can understand why God is asking these questions.
Job's Repentance and Restoration
42:1 Then Job answered the Lord and said: 2 "I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. 3 You asked, 'Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge? 'Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
Ah, now this is why God paraded His two great creatures before Job, to get him to this place of understanding.
This is what the Lord was intending to have happen in Job through all of His line of questioning in these past four chapters.
Job has come to a complete end of himself and realized how foolish he was in the way that he spoke earlier without knowledge.
Now, he is recalibrated and his perspective of God was in the right place.
Look what he says next in verse 4…
4 Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, 'I will question you, and you shall answer Me.' 5 "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. 6 Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes."
Now, we saw Job challenge God in a very combative way prior to him hitting his rock bottom here.
Understand rock bottom is not a place of hopelessness, it is a place where God takes us to see Him more vividly.
And Job, after having this vivid revelation of God, is humbly asking God for the right to speak now.
This is the perspective that comes from a repentant heart, seeing ourselves for who we really are, and seeing God from this proper place of humiliation.
This is the lesson that comes from God’s line of questioning.
As interesting as it all is, we are not to focus so much on these prehistoric creatures, but we are to focus on the majesty of our God.
If God could create and put into submission the Behemoth and the Leviathan, if He sustains the universe, He is more than qualified to control Job’s life and your life and my life.
You see we need to understand this fully, because we get so overwhelmed with life, with circumstances that are out of our control, and we forget who put this universe into motion and treats these terrifying creatures like a lap dog.
And interestingly enough we usually do everything in our own power, everything that stems from our own wisdom and understanding, to weather us through the storm.
And if God is to be consulted, we wait until we have absolutely made a mess of things.
Sometimes God lets us get to this place, He lets us exhaust ourselves, and He allows us to go and go until we just simply fall flat on our face before Him, and then from that place, He takes control and takes us where we need to go.
He is patient, and longsuffering.
When I do a project at home, and hear, “Honey, I want to help.” I know my 10-minute project has just turned into an hour-long project.
The other day I was hanging these solar lights in the garden, and my grandson was trying his best to help with opening the boxes ahead of me, and we got to the final two, and he decided to try to do what grandpa was doing, and get one of the lights ready to hang up and screwed in. I told him, “let grandpa do it, you are just not quite there yet in your skills bud,” but he was so determined to do something I knew was just too difficult for him.
So I let him give it a try, he was being super persistent, and I let him try so he could see that granddad need to do it.
He ended up breaking the light he was attempting to get ready, and he looked at me like, “well papa, you were right.”
I did not get upset with him, because I knew what was going to happen, and it was going to be a lesson for him to listen to me next time.
So for the last light, he kept his hands at his side and watched me finish up the job, and I gave him just a little task at the end of it all, so he could feel like he had a part in all.
And sometimes I think that is what God does, He lets us biff it all up, so we can hand Him control, and in the end, He lets us take part in a little task, so we can be a part of it all.
But overall, it is Him, it is because of Him, He is simply in control, whether we try to fight Him or not.
So, next God will turn His attention toward Job’s friends for a corrective word.
7 And so it was after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to
Eliphaz the Temanite,
"My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. 8 Now, therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has." 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the Lord commanded them; for the Lord had accepted Job.
Now, Job’s three elders or counselors spoke many universal truths that in some ways can be considered wisdom.
But the problem was that they were applying these things to Job’s situation, and their truths did not apply to Job.
They were presenting God as an angry, vengeful God, judging Job for his hidden sin.
God was not judging Job’s sin at all, and this counsel displeased Him greatly.
And He rebukes them for their many harsh words toward His servant Job. In fact, it displeased Him so much that He commanded them to make a burnt offering for atonement for their own sins.
They had to also humble themselves before Job and ask him to pray for them.
Through repentance, we see here that even the earthly relationships of Job are restored to a proper place.
So, let’s look at the happy ending now, starting in verse 10… 10 And the Lord restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. 11 Then all his brothers, all his sisters, and all those who had been his acquaintances before came to him and ate food with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversity that the Lord had brought upon him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and each a ring of gold.
God restores Job’s wealth even though that was never an issue with Job.
Job’s suffering was more spiritual, he was enduring a crisis of faith.
And we see once the spiritual issues were remedied in Job’s life, God in His Sovereignty dealt with the material part of Job’s life with a double portion.
Now the prosperity teachers would gobble this up as a justification for God wanting to bless you with a double portion in your life.
But again, as Christians, our reward is in our final destination, Christians are not promised earthly comfort here and now.
God sees it fit to bless us at times with these things, but they are not guaranteed.
Paul said… Phil 4:11-13 …for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
In whatever state we are in we should be content,
this world is not our home.
So let’s end now with verses 12-17… 12 Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yokes of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. 13 He also had seven sons and three daughters. (another 10 added to the former 10, not replacing the others, in addition to them, some of Job’s children were awaiting him in glory, personally, I have 4 children awaiting me in glory) 14 And he called the name of the first Jemimah, the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-Happuch. 15 In all the land were found no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job, and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. 16 After this Job lived one hundred and forty years and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. 17 So Job died, old and full of days.
Now, at the beginning of our study of Job, we found a man, blessed, who lived godly and righteously, at the end of the book we find him more blessed and more godly.
We can take away from this that the attack of Satan only served in God’s favor all the more.
You see we have to understand this with our own life, that when the seasons of tribulation and testing come our way, God is working in us something far greater than we can imagine.
Don’t let your current struggle separate you from your God, allow it to refine you, and grow you in your relationship with your God.
Listen, even when God seems to be silent and distant, understand and know that He is still working in your life.
Understand that God works well through adversity. And like Job, you may never have the answer to “why?”
You may never understand why God has entrusted you with your suffering.
But the reality is, God is much bigger than it all, and He is big enough to carry you through it all and to bring us into green pastures.
Don’t even let well-meaning people or friends try to bring that reality into question in your life.
Remember the promise in Heb. 13:5 "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He, Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
Notice here in God’s final Words to Job, He still does not provide Job with any reasons for the why that Job asked.
I’ll end with this quote from Spurgeon,
“We are not all like Job, but we all have Job’s God. Though we have neither risen to Job’s wealth, nor will, probably, ever sink to Job’s poverty, yet there is the same God above us if we are high, and the same God with His everlasting arms beneath us if we are brought low, and what the Lord did for Job he will do for us, not precisely in the same form, but in the same spirit, and with like design.”
Church our God loves us, and will never leave us. Know that truth tonight.
Let’s pray…
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