The Church of Eleven22 - S01 E95 - The Story of Job

Episode Date: October 7, 2020

Well, hello there, 1122. I'm so excited to be joining you for this devotional. My name is Seth Stone, and I serve as our school of ministry director for the church. And just to help you with what that means, that means I help interns and apprentices discern where God is calling them into ministry. And I help do a little training with our staff with pastoral ordination and church planner residency. I am absolutely honored by the invite by Pastor Jobi to be with you in this devotional. and as I was getting ready to share with you, I was thinking and praying over, where were we going to go in this time together?

And I thought that we would go to Job 1. Job 1, in fact, is one of the most influential chapters of the Bible in my life. And it's going to help us answer what a lot of people have been asking me recently. So we're going to have a lot to cover. So let's go ahead and jump in to Job 1-1. And it says at the very beginning,

There was a man in the land of Oas, and his name was Job. He was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. There were born to him seven sons, three daughters. He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants. So that this man was the greatest of all the people in the East. first of all, how would you like that to be your introduction, right? You were wealthy, 7,000 sheep and 3,000 camels and 500 yoke and 500 female don't don't monkeys. Now, for us who don't own farms, what that means is he was rich, all right? He was the greatest of all the east. And Job had a

big family, seven sons and three daughters. But I think the most impressive part of that introduction is this, blameless, upright, fears God, and turns from evil. I would love when people introduce me to say, hey, this is, this is Seth. He is a man who fears God. How incredible of an introduction is that? We learn a little bit more about Job in the next few verses. Let's keep going with verse four. It says, his sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day. And they would send an invite to their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them. He would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all,

where Job said, it may be that my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. Thus Job did continually. So talk about an incredible character here. When his sons and daughters got together, and a lot of commentators believe that when it says it's on his day, that means like their birthday or a special celebration, they would get together, they would have these feasts, And Job's character, being faithful to God, said that it may be that my children have sinned. Not I heard of sin or I know something happened. He said, it may be that my children have sin. And because of that, he went and consecrated, which means make sacred, remove the stench of sin,

just in case something had happened. That's how you probably get that introduction of blameless, upright fears God and turns from evil. As we keep going here in verse 6, it says, now there was a day when the sons of God, sons of God here means angels. So there's a day that the angels came to present themselves before the Lord. So the angels are gathering in the court of the Lord. And there's an extra visitor in this gathering. It says, and Satan also came among them.

Satan was there. And so verse 7, God. doesn't waste any time. He says, the Lord says of Satan, from where have you come? Now, I love this question. Here's why I love it. God already knows. God is all knowing. He's not sitting there thinking, I don't know where Satan has been. He is asking Satan this, can you just go ahead and state your reason for being here? And Satan responds saying, from going to and fro on the earth and from walking up, and down on it. So basically a non-committal answer, right? Where, you know, where have you come from? I've just come from around. I've been walking around the earth. This sounds like when you ask kids,

like, what's going on? You hear a bunch of noise. Hey, what's going on? And all of a sudden it gets real quiet, very non-committal. They won't tell you what they're actually doing, right? They are hiding what they are doing from you. And Satan being very non-committal says, I've been around. Now, God, like I said, all-knowing, knows it. exactly what Satan is hinting at. Look at his response in verse 8. And the Lord said to Satan, have you considered my servant Job? Now, you can tell God knows what Satan is there for, right? Because that's his response to, I've been around. Have you considered my servant Job? There is none like him on earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil.

Now, I want us to be honest with ourselves. Many of us, when we read that verse think, of course Job is doing well, right? Of course it is easy to be blameless and it's easy to fear God and it's easy to be upright when you have everything going for you. When you're facing everything and it's great and you have all of the livestock that Job has and you have a great family and you have this large amount of land. Of course, it's easy to be blameless and it's easy to be upright. See, that's actually exactly what Satan would want you to believe.

He would want you to believe that lie. See, none of that makes us blameless and upright. Our possessions, what we have does not make us fear God. In fact, God is just saying, them. That is not your possessions. That's what Satan is going to go with. In verse 9, this is what Satan says. He answers the Lord, says, does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge of protection around him from his house and all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands and his possessions having priests in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all

that he has, and he will curse you to your face. See, Satan is saying that. the same thing that many of us probably would have thought. Yeah, he responds faithfully because you have given him everything. See, cynicism is Satan's typical line of thought. He thinks nothing can be genuinely good. He thinks that Job is only faithful because everything is going his way. And in the moment you take that away, that he'll no longer be faithful. See, Job wants you to believe this because Job wants you to believe that to react faithfully, we have to have everything go our way in life. It's only when we get the right job or everything is going well or we're not in this COVID season or this year of 2020. That's only when we can react faithfully. But God is saying,

no, look at Joe. So verse 12, this is how the Lord responds to Satan. Behold, all that he has in your hand, only against him do not stretch out your hand so satan went out from the presence of the lord here's what god's saying fine go and test job go and and mess with the possessions that job has you can touch everything that is job's except for actually touching him now the reason he didn't allow satan to touch job is because this is about how Job is going to react when things don't go his way. Now, I think there's something in this verse that it's just incredibly beautiful to know. Nothing can happen without God allowing it. Satan could not mess with Job without God allowing it.

That's God's providence. That means that God is in control of everything. In fact, in Genesis 50-20, Joseph says, as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today. I think that's completely freeing to know that everything that happens, that God is in it, that God is there, and that I can trust and react and respond faithfully because I know God is there. So let's look at how Satan attacked Job. In verse 13, it says, now there was a day. And I think that's really important because we're about to read a bunch

of stuff that Job is going to encounter from Satan. But what that says is a day. This is one day. This is not months. This is not years. This is one day. It says when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house. And there came a messenger to Job and said, the oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them. And the Sabians fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I have alone escaped to tell you. So at this moment, things are not going great for Joe. He just lost the oxen and the donkeys. In one fell swoop. It's not like, hey, a few of them were sick and we had to take them out back. No, this is, you just lost 500 female donkeys and 500 yoke of

oxen. And then verse 16 says this, that while he was yet speaking, so that that that servant who was telling Job the news. While he was telling him that news, there came another one and said, The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I have a lone escape to tell you. Remember earlier, I said this is a day, right?

This is the second thing that happened on that one day. Verse 17, while he was speaking, then came another and said, the Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I have a lone escape to tell you. So it's just a downfall, right? It's just bad thing.

It's an avalanche. Things keep happening. Satan is going all out on his attack on Job. Verse 18. It continues. While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house.

And behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house. It fell upon the young people and they are dead. And I alone have escaped to tell you. Satan took everything. God gave Satan permission to test Job and he went and took all the oxen, all the donkeys, the sheep, the camels, his sons, and his daughters. Bad news after bad news after bad news, after bad news,

after bad news kept coming to the doorstep of Job. In fact, it said in those verses that as one was still speaking, the next servant showed up. It just kept piling on. But remember, this whole thing is about this. How would Job react when it didn't seem like everything was going his way? Would he still be blameless and upright and a man who fears God? would he still be somebody that God would say,

have you seen my servant, Joe? That was what Satan was saying. In Satan's cynical thinking, he was like, when you remove this stuff, Joe will no longer respond faithfully. He will no longer react believing in God. So in verse 20, we see Job's response. It says, then Job arose and tore his robe

and shaved his head and fell on the ground. So here's why I chose this passage for this devotional. Throughout this year, I've had so many conversations with people where they came and said, Seth, is it okay for me to be angry? Is it okay for me to mourn? Is it okay for me to be mad, to be sad? Because when that happens, I feel like I'm responding sinfully to what's going on around me. Basically, their question comes to this passage. When Job reacted, by tearing his robe and anger and shaving his head in distress and falling on the ground and pain and sorrow. Is that okay?

Or is that sinful? I want to tell you this. Your reaction is not necessarily sinful. It depends on the direction of your reaction. And the next two words in verse 20, show us the direction of Job's reaction. It said, and worshipped. So did he tear his rope? Yes, in anger and in distress. Did he shave his head? Yes. Did he fall on the ground? Yes. Was he probably crying and weeping and an incredible amounts of sorrow? Yes. But what was the direction of his reaction?

Worship. In fact, it wasn't just worship. Look at this next verse. It says that Job said, naked I came from my mother's womb and naked shall I return. The Lord gave and the Lord is taken away. Right? The Lord gave him a lot. The Lord took away a lot this day and it says this, Blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this, Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. We can react with whatever our emotions are telling us,

but it depends on the direction of that. reaction. I want you to hear this. God gave us emotions and feelings to process our experiences and the changes of life. And we all know in 2020 there have been many changes in life. As the great theologian and country music artist Thomas Rett says, ain't it funny how life changes, you wake up ain't nothing the same in life changes. See, emotions are a gift from God. to experience those life changes and know how to react. They're great indicators that something is going on in our life.

See, but here's the thing. Emotions depend on the direction. And there's two directions. When you feel something going on, you can either turn to the kingdom of self and look at yourself as king, and you can worship your circumstances, and turn inwards and be angry and not take it to God?

Or you can take your direction to the kingdom of God and be like Job and worship. And you can say, I am angry, but I am taking this to Job. I'm taking this to God and I'm going to worship. In fact, anger is the one I got the most questions on. Can I be angry? Well, Psalm 43 is called a lament, and a lament is basically someone, someone,

going to God in anger and it turning into praise. And I just want to read the verses to you. It says, verse two says, for you are the God in whom I take refuge. Why have you rejected me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? Send out your light and your truth and let them lead me. Let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, to God my exceeding joy. Now notice at the beginning of that, he's saying, why have you rejected me? That is an intense amount of anger. But because he took it to God, because he felt that emotion and went to the kingdom of God, he's able to say this next line, and I will praise you with the liar. Oh, God, my God. So here's the thing. The question is not whether it is okay to react in emotions to be angry or sad or joyful or happy or distressed. The question is this. Do you ground your reactions and emotions in the kingdom of self or in the worship of God?

Do you sit in your emotions and just let them roll your life or do you take them to the throne of God and worship? I mean, Job's life change was drastic. In one day, he lost so much. And his emotional response was to tear his rope, to shave his head, to fall on the ground in anger and distress and sorrow. And yet, worship God. Here's my prayer for us. Whatever we encounter, whatever life changes we face, I pray that if it's good, happy changes or changes that bring anger or sorrow, that whatever we face, we're able to, we're able to take them to God, to the kingdom of God, and say, you are my God, and I will worship you through this emotion. Let me pray for us. Dear Father, that's my prayer, that whatever we face, that we don't try

to handle it on our own, but we let emotions be the indicators that we have something that we need to take to you. That in every life change, we don't just look at kingdom of self and kingdom of comfort. But Father, instead, we come to you. And even though we might start out saying, why have you abandoned me, Father, we would turn that emotion and because it's faced to you, we would turn to worship and say, I praise you, oh God, my God. We love you so much, Father. In Jesus' name, amen. Church, respond and react and take it to God. We love you. See you soon.