WEBVTT 00:00:04.459 --> 00:00:07.860 Hey friends, welcome back to the semi -seminary 00:00:07.860 --> 00:00:10.759 and another week, another episode of our Bible 00:00:10.759 --> 00:00:12.699 study series, which we're calling the Bible for 00:00:12.699 --> 00:00:16.199 Grownups. Remember, of course, the big premise 00:00:16.199 --> 00:00:18.679 of this Bible study is the assumption that we 00:00:18.679 --> 00:00:22.079 as Christian believers, no fault of our own, 00:00:22.199 --> 00:00:25.000 we were either taught the Bible as children or 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:28.140 we were exposed to baby Christianity later in 00:00:28.140 --> 00:00:30.399 life and we were taught the Bible by people who 00:00:30.399 --> 00:00:34.340 taught the Bible as children. Sometimes that 00:00:34.340 --> 00:00:36.899 childish understanding of Scripture leaves us 00:00:36.899 --> 00:00:40.299 with not the right answers for the questions 00:00:40.299 --> 00:00:43.340 of an adult world. So we're trying to look at 00:00:43.340 --> 00:00:47.079 the Bible and examine the Scripture in a new 00:00:47.079 --> 00:00:49.659 way in which we might have adult answers for 00:00:49.659 --> 00:00:52.939 an adult world. We continue in tonight's part 00:00:52.939 --> 00:00:56.659 two of our extensive look at the book of Job. 00:00:56.719 --> 00:01:01.560 Tonight we're going to see... Job having a conversation 00:01:01.560 --> 00:01:05.079 with what appears to be at first very good friends, 00:01:05.239 --> 00:01:08.859 but maybe good friends with bad advice. This 00:01:08.859 --> 00:01:11.000 is kind of one of those situations when you look 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:13.420 at Job and you think, you know, with friends 00:01:13.420 --> 00:01:16.879 like these, I don't think Job needs enemies. 00:01:18.280 --> 00:01:21.060 See what you think. I'll see you on the other 00:01:21.060 --> 00:01:31.530 side. Again, this is part two of this series 00:01:31.530 --> 00:01:34.010 on Job. If you want to go back, I just mentioned 00:01:34.010 --> 00:01:37.090 these are podcasts. If you want to Google or 00:01:37.090 --> 00:01:39.670 search for the podcast, The Semi -Seminarian, 00:01:39.670 --> 00:01:40.849 that's where you'll find these. If you want to 00:01:40.849 --> 00:01:43.609 go back and listen to chapter or to part one. 00:01:44.109 --> 00:01:47.430 But just a really quick refresher. What we're 00:01:47.430 --> 00:01:51.069 talking about is this book of Job. And we find 00:01:51.069 --> 00:01:54.810 this character of Job is somebody who has experienced. 00:01:58.100 --> 00:02:02.680 Unfathomable loss. His children have died. All 00:02:02.680 --> 00:02:07.060 of his goats, his donkeys, his cattle, his sheep 00:02:07.060 --> 00:02:10.740 have either been killed or stolen. He is completely 00:02:10.740 --> 00:02:14.560 ruined. Right? Not only has he lost all of his 00:02:14.560 --> 00:02:16.659 children, but he's lost his fortune as well. 00:02:17.419 --> 00:02:22.379 Okay? And this story is a story about suffering. 00:02:24.169 --> 00:02:29.030 And it gets to the heart of a word that's a fancy 00:02:29.030 --> 00:02:33.050 word that describes a neat concept, and that's 00:02:33.050 --> 00:02:37.210 the word theosophy. And theosophy is an argument 00:02:37.210 --> 00:02:43.069 about, a conversation about, there being a just 00:02:43.069 --> 00:02:47.370 God despite the existence of evil in the world. 00:02:48.750 --> 00:02:52.710 that the conversation is an evaluation spiritually 00:02:52.710 --> 00:02:56.270 to ourselves, intellectually to ourselves, that 00:02:56.270 --> 00:03:01.129 given that there is evil in the world, what does 00:03:01.129 --> 00:03:07.550 that say about God's justness? Is God holy and 00:03:07.550 --> 00:03:11.110 fully just the way that we say that He is? Is 00:03:11.110 --> 00:03:16.129 God holy and fully righteous the way that He's 00:03:16.129 --> 00:03:20.490 saved? The way that we say he is. Does God have 00:03:20.490 --> 00:03:25.430 the power? Does God have the ability? Does God 00:03:25.430 --> 00:03:31.090 have the desire to prevent suffering in the world? 00:03:32.469 --> 00:03:35.490 And it's best described by that old question. 00:03:36.370 --> 00:03:41.069 Why do bad things happen to good people? Why 00:03:41.069 --> 00:03:44.110 do bad things... If God is all... God is good 00:03:44.110 --> 00:03:46.710 and God is great and... You know, let's eat with 00:03:46.710 --> 00:03:49.750 extra gravy or whatever, right? If God is so 00:03:49.750 --> 00:03:53.889 awesome, and people who are good people believe 00:03:53.889 --> 00:03:57.009 in God, why do bad things happen? Well, that's 00:03:57.009 --> 00:03:59.069 what Job discusses. That's what we're going to 00:03:59.069 --> 00:04:02.889 work to uncover, okay? And one of the things 00:04:02.889 --> 00:04:05.629 I think this book does, and it does through our 00:04:05.629 --> 00:04:08.729 examination of these three friends. Tonight, 00:04:08.810 --> 00:04:11.189 we're just looking at the first friend, but we 00:04:11.189 --> 00:04:13.789 look at these three friends and how they respond 00:04:13.789 --> 00:04:18.319 to Job's suffering. And what we find within their 00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:22.120 conversations are these assumptions about why 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:28.199 we suffer. Right? And each time Job is able to 00:04:28.199 --> 00:04:32.680 come back and explain why their reasoning is 00:04:32.680 --> 00:04:36.920 wrong. And so in the end, what the book of Job 00:04:36.920 --> 00:04:40.660 is about when it comes to suffering is not, and 00:04:40.660 --> 00:04:43.220 this is the Bible for grown -ups part here. This 00:04:43.220 --> 00:04:45.040 is the part we have to accept as grown -ups. 00:04:45.399 --> 00:04:49.279 Because this isn't VBS. The book of Job is not 00:04:49.279 --> 00:04:54.579 to just explain away why suffering happens. Because 00:04:54.579 --> 00:04:57.240 if the book just explains away why suffering 00:04:57.240 --> 00:05:00.639 happens, then, well, I don't know, we develop 00:05:00.639 --> 00:05:03.660 these assumptions about the nature of suffering. 00:05:03.779 --> 00:05:07.240 It's really not why suffering happens. What Job 00:05:07.240 --> 00:05:10.959 shows us is knowing that suffering will happen, 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:15.639 how are we as followers of God to suffer? What 00:05:15.639 --> 00:05:20.699 is our role in our suffering? How can we continue 00:05:20.699 --> 00:05:25.920 to honor God despite our suffering? It's not 00:05:25.920 --> 00:05:29.639 about why suffering happens. It's how we are 00:05:29.639 --> 00:05:33.579 to react as God's children in the midst of suffering. 00:05:34.680 --> 00:05:36.899 Now again, because of the indentions and stuff 00:05:36.899 --> 00:05:39.720 with the poetry, I couldn't print out because 00:05:39.720 --> 00:05:41.639 the notes would have been like three or four 00:05:41.639 --> 00:05:44.500 pages. Of paper. So I couldn't print those out 00:05:44.500 --> 00:05:47.160 tonight. I do have a stack of Bibles over here 00:05:47.160 --> 00:05:50.819 that I'm willing to swear anything on. But you 00:05:50.819 --> 00:05:52.220 can, I know, I don't know where that came from. 00:05:52.279 --> 00:05:56.519 But if you need a Bible, Job is the book just 00:05:56.519 --> 00:06:00.399 before the book of Psalms. So somewhere in the 00:06:00.399 --> 00:06:02.720 middle of the Bible, if you can find Psalms, 00:06:02.720 --> 00:06:04.920 then look on either side, you're going to find 00:06:04.920 --> 00:06:06.800 the book of Job. And what, again, we're doing 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:10.079 in the study, we're part two of a multi -part 00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:13.300 series. Okay, because we'll probably what we'll 00:06:13.300 --> 00:06:15.579 do is we're going to at least take, well, we're 00:06:15.579 --> 00:06:18.079 going to take the first guy, the first friend 00:06:18.079 --> 00:06:21.480 in his speech to Job tonight. Next week, we're 00:06:21.480 --> 00:06:23.120 going to look at the second guy. Another week, 00:06:23.139 --> 00:06:25.040 we're going to look at the third guy. Now they 00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:27.720 have another round of these speeches. And so 00:06:27.720 --> 00:06:32.100 we will, once we've got a snapshot of each one 00:06:32.100 --> 00:06:34.600 of these characters, then the next time we'll 00:06:34.600 --> 00:06:36.300 take them three at a time. Does that make sense? 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:39.800 So we're probably looking at this being maybe 00:06:39.800 --> 00:06:42.670 a five or six, Seven or eight part study, and 00:06:42.670 --> 00:06:44.490 that's what we all wanted when we started Job, 00:06:44.589 --> 00:06:46.370 right? Let's really pick it apart and look at 00:06:46.370 --> 00:06:48.589 this thing. So that's what we're doing. So we're 00:06:48.589 --> 00:06:51.189 right at the ground floor, part two. Okay, so 00:06:51.189 --> 00:06:55.490 we're right there. And so, again, again, what's 00:06:55.490 --> 00:06:59.790 happened here is there is this divine council 00:06:59.790 --> 00:07:05.569 in heaven where the heavenly beings are to meet. 00:07:06.639 --> 00:07:08.980 It's very interesting to me just because there's 00:07:08.980 --> 00:07:12.779 not, I don't really understand exactly this idea 00:07:12.779 --> 00:07:16.339 of, I don't know, did God send out a heavenly 00:07:16.339 --> 00:07:19.639 email, you know, a memo to all of the angels 00:07:19.639 --> 00:07:23.000 and was like, hey, you know, November 23rd is 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:27.399 Founders Day. Everybody show back up, you know, 00:07:27.399 --> 00:07:30.819 for the reunion kind of deal. It's just weird 00:07:30.819 --> 00:07:34.959 to me, but that's how this story opens. And Satan 00:07:34.959 --> 00:07:38.120 is there. And God and Satan have this discussion 00:07:38.120 --> 00:07:42.879 about Job, God's servant. And Satan makes some 00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:45.279 assertions, one of them being, you know, Job 00:07:45.279 --> 00:07:50.019 only really loves you because you've given him 00:07:50.019 --> 00:07:53.100 all this stuff. He says, all right, take it from 00:07:53.100 --> 00:07:56.579 him. And then Satan comes back and says, well, 00:07:56.579 --> 00:07:59.839 yeah, you're taking his stuff, and he's killed 00:07:59.839 --> 00:08:04.939 his kids, by the way. But take away his health. 00:08:05.389 --> 00:08:09.649 And then he'll certainly despise you. And Job 00:08:09.649 --> 00:08:13.629 doesn't do that. And so we find Job racked with 00:08:13.629 --> 00:08:18.069 health problems, destitute. His wife has went 00:08:18.069 --> 00:08:20.089 out in the front yard where he's sitting wearing 00:08:20.089 --> 00:08:23.769 sackcloth like a potato sack, wearing sackcloth 00:08:23.769 --> 00:08:26.850 and dumped ashes over his head. That's what Hebrew 00:08:26.850 --> 00:08:28.829 folks would do to show that they were mourning 00:08:28.829 --> 00:08:32.009 or lamenting. They'd make themselves dirty. They 00:08:32.009 --> 00:08:35.539 would show themselves to be, right? specifically 00:08:35.539 --> 00:08:39.840 unclean, as a lament of what was going on in 00:08:39.840 --> 00:08:42.519 their life, out of their sadness. So he's sitting 00:08:42.519 --> 00:08:44.220 out in the front yard. He's got boils all over 00:08:44.220 --> 00:08:46.240 his body. Some people might think it's elephantitis, 00:08:46.460 --> 00:08:50.019 right? And his wife comes out and says, why don't 00:08:50.019 --> 00:08:51.980 you just curse God, get it over with, and die? 00:08:53.620 --> 00:08:59.600 I mean, seriously. And so Job has these three 00:08:59.600 --> 00:09:02.559 friends come, and for the first week, They don't 00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:05.159 say anything. They just sit in silence with Job. 00:09:06.059 --> 00:09:08.899 And then after a week, one by one, they begin 00:09:08.899 --> 00:09:14.259 to speak to Job. So this is the part of the drama 00:09:14.259 --> 00:09:17.259 where Job's three friends come in. And we're 00:09:17.259 --> 00:09:19.320 going to cover a lot of ground tonight. But let 00:09:19.320 --> 00:09:21.659 me just say that they've made this appointment. 00:09:21.720 --> 00:09:23.279 Job, we're going to come over. And they come 00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:25.159 over to console their friend. And they sit with 00:09:25.159 --> 00:09:27.899 him in these traditional styles of mourning. 00:09:28.200 --> 00:09:30.440 The first character that we're going to look 00:09:30.440 --> 00:09:35.639 at. Tonight is Eliphaz, Eliphaz right here. Okay, 00:09:35.740 --> 00:09:37.700 now I'm just going to start reading with chapter 00:09:37.700 --> 00:09:41.659 4, and I'm going to read for a while, then we'll 00:09:41.659 --> 00:09:44.419 get into the discussion and break some of it 00:09:44.419 --> 00:09:47.419 down, not all of it. And the reason why I want 00:09:47.419 --> 00:09:49.539 to read it in big chunks, remember again, this 00:09:49.539 --> 00:09:55.159 is Hebrew poetry. This is literary design. It's 00:09:55.159 --> 00:09:59.340 not just a first -hand travelogue or a diary 00:09:59.340 --> 00:10:02.850 or something. This is supposed to be experienced 00:10:02.850 --> 00:10:06.529 in an artful way. So I'm going to read these 00:10:06.529 --> 00:10:10.049 large tracts of Scripture as if they're poems, 00:10:10.210 --> 00:10:15.570 because they are. Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied. 00:10:16.409 --> 00:10:19.110 He's the first one who's going to speak to Job. 00:10:19.929 --> 00:10:22.710 He says, if someone ventures a word with you, 00:10:22.789 --> 00:10:26.350 will you be impatient? But who can keep from 00:10:26.350 --> 00:10:30.519 speaking? Think how you've instructed many, how 00:10:30.519 --> 00:10:35.059 you have strengthened feeble hands. Your words 00:10:35.059 --> 00:10:37.679 have supported those who have stumbled. You've 00:10:37.679 --> 00:10:41.840 strengthened faltering knees. But now trouble 00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:46.100 comes to you, Job. And you, Job, are discouraged. 00:10:47.159 --> 00:10:52.360 It strikes you and you're dismayed. Eliphaz asks, 00:10:52.740 --> 00:10:56.340 should not your piety be your confidence? And 00:10:56.340 --> 00:10:59.639 your blameless ways, your hope? Now listen to 00:10:59.639 --> 00:11:01.340 this verse. These next couple of verses, we're 00:11:01.340 --> 00:11:04.500 going to come back to these. Verse 7. Consider 00:11:04.500 --> 00:11:10.580 now, who being innocent has ever perished? Where 00:11:10.580 --> 00:11:17.039 were the upright ever destroyed? As I have observed, 00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:21.639 Eliphaz says, those who plow evil and those who 00:11:21.639 --> 00:11:27.549 sow trouble, reap it. At the breath of God, they 00:11:27.549 --> 00:11:32.710 perish. At the blast of his anger, they are no 00:11:32.710 --> 00:11:36.809 more. The lions, they roar and growl, yet the 00:11:36.809 --> 00:11:39.870 teeth of the great lions are broken. The lion 00:11:39.870 --> 00:11:43.389 perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the 00:11:43.389 --> 00:11:48.769 lioness are scattered. A word was secretly brought 00:11:48.769 --> 00:11:53.889 to me. My ears caught a whisper of it. Amid disquieting 00:11:53.889 --> 00:11:56.649 dreams of the night when deep sleep falls on 00:11:56.649 --> 00:12:01.409 people, fear and trembling seized me. They made 00:12:01.409 --> 00:12:07.070 my bones shake. A spirit glided past my face 00:12:07.070 --> 00:12:11.769 and the hair on my body stood on end. It stopped, 00:12:12.009 --> 00:12:15.409 but I could not tell what it was. A form stood 00:12:15.409 --> 00:12:19.509 before my eyes and I heard a hushed voice say, 00:12:21.259 --> 00:12:25.519 be more righteous than God? Can even a strong 00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:32.220 man be more pure than his maker? If God places 00:12:32.220 --> 00:12:36.360 no trust in his servants, if his charges, if 00:12:36.360 --> 00:12:41.340 his angels with error, how much more those of 00:12:41.340 --> 00:12:44.620 us who live in houses of clay, whose foundations 00:12:44.620 --> 00:12:48.899 are in the dust, who are crushed more readily 00:12:48.899 --> 00:12:53.940 than a moth. Between dawn and dusk, they are 00:12:53.940 --> 00:12:58.139 broken to pieces, unnoticed. They perish forever. 00:12:59.460 --> 00:13:02.379 Are not the cords of their tent pulled up so 00:13:02.379 --> 00:13:07.620 that they die without wisdom? Eliphaz continues, 00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:12.159 call if you will, but who will answer you? To 00:13:12.159 --> 00:13:15.730 which of the holy ones will you turn? Resentment 00:13:15.730 --> 00:13:20.909 kills a fool and envy slays the simple. I myself 00:13:20.909 --> 00:13:24.070 have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his 00:13:24.070 --> 00:13:27.190 house was cursed. His children are far from safety, 00:13:27.370 --> 00:13:31.690 crushed in court without a defender. The hungry 00:13:31.690 --> 00:13:34.990 consume his harvest, taking it even from among 00:13:34.990 --> 00:13:37.769 the thorns and the thirsty pant after his wealth. 00:13:38.330 --> 00:13:41.889 For hardship does not spring from the soil. nor 00:13:41.889 --> 00:13:48.129 does trouble sprout from the ground. Yet man 00:13:48.129 --> 00:13:52.309 and woman is born to trouble as surely as sparks 00:13:52.309 --> 00:13:58.850 fly upward. There comes the advice. But if I 00:13:58.850 --> 00:14:02.529 were you, Eliphaz says, I would appeal to God. 00:14:02.889 --> 00:14:06.789 I'd lay my cause before him. He performs wonders 00:14:06.789 --> 00:14:09.750 that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot 00:14:09.750 --> 00:14:12.950 be counted. He provides rain for the earth. He 00:14:12.950 --> 00:14:16.389 sends water on the countryside. The lowly, he 00:14:16.389 --> 00:14:20.070 says, hi. And those who mourn are lifted to safety. 00:14:20.450 --> 00:14:25.269 He thwarts the plans of the crafty so that their 00:14:25.269 --> 00:14:28.769 hands achieve no success. He catches the wise 00:14:28.769 --> 00:14:30.870 in their craftiness and the schemes of the wily 00:14:30.870 --> 00:14:35.929 are swept away. Darkness comes upon them in the 00:14:35.929 --> 00:14:38.929 daytime. At noon, they grope as in the night. 00:14:39.480 --> 00:14:41.919 He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth. 00:14:41.960 --> 00:14:44.600 He saves them from the clutches of the powerful. 00:14:44.740 --> 00:14:49.019 So the poor have hope and injustice shuts its 00:14:49.019 --> 00:14:54.000 mouth. Blessed is the one whom God corrects. 00:14:54.700 --> 00:14:58.320 So do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. 00:14:59.220 --> 00:15:03.159 For he wounds, but he also binds up. He injures, 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:08.110 but his hands also heal. From six calamities, 00:15:08.110 --> 00:15:11.730 he will rescue you. In seven, no harm shall touch 00:15:11.730 --> 00:15:15.809 you. In famine, he will deliver you from death 00:15:15.809 --> 00:15:17.970 and in battle from the stroke of the sword. You 00:15:17.970 --> 00:15:20.710 will be protected from the lash of the tongue 00:15:20.710 --> 00:15:24.409 and need not fear when destruction comes. You 00:15:24.409 --> 00:15:29.029 will laugh at destruction and famine and you 00:15:29.029 --> 00:15:32.450 will have no fear of wild animals for you will 00:15:32.450 --> 00:15:34.549 have a covenant with the stones in the field. 00:15:34.830 --> 00:15:39.370 and the wild animals will be at peace with you. 00:15:39.950 --> 00:15:42.450 You will know that your tent is secure. You will 00:15:42.450 --> 00:15:45.850 take stock of your property and find nothing 00:15:45.850 --> 00:15:48.889 missing. You will know that your children will 00:15:48.889 --> 00:15:51.830 be many, your descendants like the grass of the 00:15:51.830 --> 00:15:55.090 earth. You will come to the grave in full vigor 00:15:55.090 --> 00:15:59.870 like sheaths gathered in season. We have examined 00:15:59.870 --> 00:16:07.509 this, he says, and it is true. So Job, hear it 00:16:07.509 --> 00:16:14.289 and apply it to yourself. Job's response. Then 00:16:14.289 --> 00:16:18.149 Job replied, If only my anguish could be weighed 00:16:18.149 --> 00:16:21.470 and all my misery be placed on the scales. If 00:16:21.470 --> 00:16:25.750 only that were the case. It would surely outweigh 00:16:25.750 --> 00:16:29.850 the sands of the seas. No wonder my words have 00:16:29.850 --> 00:16:34.409 been impetuous. The arrows of the Almighty are 00:16:34.409 --> 00:16:39.009 in me. My spirit drinks in their poison. God's 00:16:39.009 --> 00:16:43.190 terrors are marshaled against me. Does a wild 00:16:43.190 --> 00:16:45.950 donkey bray when it is grass or an ox bellow 00:16:45.950 --> 00:16:50.190 when it has fodder? Is tasteless food eaten without 00:16:50.190 --> 00:16:53.309 salt or is there flavor in the sap of the mallow? 00:16:53.370 --> 00:16:56.929 I refuse to touch it. Such food makes me ill. 00:16:57.190 --> 00:17:01.710 Oh, that I might have my request. What? A request 00:17:01.710 --> 00:17:06.690 of Job. Oh, Job says, of my request that God 00:17:06.690 --> 00:17:09.950 would grant what I hope for. Oh, what is this 00:17:09.950 --> 00:17:15.210 Job? That God would be willing to crush me. To 00:17:15.210 --> 00:17:20.269 let loose His hand and cut off my life. Then 00:17:20.269 --> 00:17:24.190 I would still have this consolation. My joy in 00:17:24.190 --> 00:17:28.269 unrelenting pain that I had not denied the words 00:17:28.269 --> 00:17:32.480 of the Holy One. What strength do I have that 00:17:32.480 --> 00:17:36.599 I should still hope? What prospects that I should 00:17:36.599 --> 00:17:40.259 still remain patient? Do I have the strength 00:17:40.259 --> 00:17:45.880 of stone? Is my skin bronze? Do I have any power 00:17:45.880 --> 00:17:49.319 to help myself now that success has been driven 00:17:49.319 --> 00:17:53.119 from me? Anyone who withholds kindness from a 00:17:53.119 --> 00:17:58.000 friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty. Anyone 00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:01.519 who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes 00:18:01.519 --> 00:18:04.799 the fear of the Almighty. We're going to come 00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:09.980 back to that. But my brothers are as undependable 00:18:09.980 --> 00:18:13.380 as intermittent streams. You guys are no help 00:18:13.380 --> 00:18:17.380 to me. As streams that overflow when darkened 00:18:17.380 --> 00:18:19.940 by thawing ice and swollen with melting snow, 00:18:20.140 --> 00:18:23.660 but that stop flowing in the dry season and in 00:18:23.660 --> 00:18:28.349 the heat vanish from their channels. Caravans 00:18:28.349 --> 00:18:30.630 turn aside from their routes. They go off into 00:18:30.630 --> 00:18:34.750 wastelands and they perish. The caravans of Tima 00:18:34.750 --> 00:18:36.970 look for water. The traveling merchants of Sheba 00:18:36.970 --> 00:18:39.589 look in hope. They're distressed because they 00:18:39.589 --> 00:18:44.049 had been confident. They arrive there looking 00:18:44.049 --> 00:18:47.789 for the kindness of their friends, only to be 00:18:47.789 --> 00:18:53.190 disappointed. Now you too have proven to be no 00:18:53.190 --> 00:18:57.180 help. You see something dreadful and are afraid. 00:18:58.519 --> 00:19:01.240 Have I ever said give something on my behalf? 00:19:01.259 --> 00:19:05.559 Pay a ransom for me from your wealth? Deliver 00:19:05.559 --> 00:19:08.539 me from the hand of the enemy? Rescue me from 00:19:08.539 --> 00:19:12.480 the clutches of the ruthless? Teach me. Tell 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:15.500 me about it, he says. I'll be quiet. Show me 00:19:15.500 --> 00:19:20.519 where I'm wrong. How painful are honest words. 00:19:20.779 --> 00:19:24.400 But what do your arguments prove? Do you mean 00:19:24.400 --> 00:19:27.019 to correct what I say and treat my desperate 00:19:27.019 --> 00:19:31.259 words as wind? You would even cast lots with 00:19:31.259 --> 00:19:36.059 a fatherless and barter away your friend. But 00:19:36.059 --> 00:19:41.380 now, be so kind as to look at me. Would I lie 00:19:41.380 --> 00:19:46.960 to your face? Relent and do not be unjust. Reconsider, 00:19:47.160 --> 00:19:55.430 for my integrity is at stake. Is there any wickedness 00:19:55.430 --> 00:20:00.490 on my lips? Can my mouth not discern malice? 00:20:01.329 --> 00:20:03.369 I just want to break up his response there. We'll 00:20:03.369 --> 00:20:06.569 come to the end of 7 here in a second. We read 00:20:06.569 --> 00:20:08.490 that these guys sat with Job and they didn't 00:20:08.490 --> 00:20:11.349 say a word for a whole week and they just wept 00:20:11.349 --> 00:20:14.650 with him and they joined in these acts of humiliation 00:20:14.650 --> 00:20:17.089 with him, the sackcloth and the ashes and so 00:20:17.089 --> 00:20:20.849 on. And incidentally, I'd said this last week. 00:20:20.930 --> 00:20:23.480 I'd also said this on Sunday. What's interesting 00:20:23.480 --> 00:20:27.039 about Job is that whenever you hear, often in 00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:28.799 Christian circles, when you hear the book of 00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:31.740 Job preached, they really only preach from the 00:20:31.740 --> 00:20:36.380 first couple of chapters where Job's stuff's 00:20:36.380 --> 00:20:39.660 pretty going okay. And then they get to the end 00:20:39.660 --> 00:20:41.819 where God replaces everything, and they kind 00:20:41.819 --> 00:20:44.940 of skip everything in the middle. And as I examined 00:20:44.940 --> 00:20:48.380 the book and prepared for this particular study, 00:20:48.539 --> 00:20:51.150 one of the things I definitely believe in It's 00:20:51.150 --> 00:20:53.589 this stuff in the middle here, these discussions 00:20:53.589 --> 00:20:57.069 between Job and his friends that are the real 00:20:57.069 --> 00:21:00.549 meat of the book that really, really we need 00:21:00.549 --> 00:21:03.930 to understand if we want to understand what's 00:21:03.930 --> 00:21:08.670 being said in the book. OK, now, again, I also 00:21:08.670 --> 00:21:12.349 think another reason why these chapters are overlooked 00:21:12.349 --> 00:21:14.730 is because they're difficult to interpret. Right. 00:21:14.829 --> 00:21:18.029 There are some of these portions of Scripture. 00:21:19.690 --> 00:21:22.470 The caravans of Tima look for water. The traveling 00:21:22.470 --> 00:21:24.690 merchants of Sheba look in hope. They're distressed 00:21:24.690 --> 00:21:26.529 because they have been confident they arrived 00:21:26.529 --> 00:21:29.210 there only to be disappointed. We could spend 00:21:29.210 --> 00:21:33.049 the next hour just talking about the caravans 00:21:33.049 --> 00:21:36.730 of Tima and about the traveling merchants of 00:21:36.730 --> 00:21:40.470 Sheba. Because to the original reader, that would 00:21:40.470 --> 00:21:45.250 have sparked a particular image in their mind. 00:21:45.869 --> 00:21:48.970 that the authors wanted to convey in emotion. 00:21:49.910 --> 00:21:55.849 So it's very, very, very dense in symbolism and 00:21:55.849 --> 00:21:58.930 interpretation that's just very difficult for 00:21:58.930 --> 00:22:03.789 us, one, not as Israelites, two, living in the 00:22:03.789 --> 00:22:08.490 21st century to fully, fully pull apart and delve 00:22:08.490 --> 00:22:11.150 into, okay? So there is a lot of this, I acknowledge. 00:22:11.819 --> 00:22:15.079 That's difficult and difficult to understand 00:22:15.079 --> 00:22:17.279 because of how difficult it is to interpret. 00:22:18.299 --> 00:22:21.279 Okay? So that's another very, very big deal. 00:22:22.799 --> 00:22:25.059 But I think that the problem also is that there 00:22:25.059 --> 00:22:27.160 are people that, because they lack that understanding, 00:22:27.519 --> 00:22:29.880 they don't really bother to delve into what it's 00:22:29.880 --> 00:22:34.900 really, really about. Right? And so I think that 00:22:34.900 --> 00:22:37.359 it's important between those, in all of those 00:22:37.359 --> 00:22:42.490 chapters, between 2 or 3 and 42, to really get 00:22:42.490 --> 00:22:45.869 into things I think that are very contemporary 00:22:45.869 --> 00:22:49.450 to us in the church today. I believe with the 00:22:49.450 --> 00:22:53.509 right lens, we can actually show how we as Christians, 00:22:53.549 --> 00:22:55.750 there's a lot of contemporary message we can 00:22:55.750 --> 00:23:00.089 take from these lessons in our world today. The 00:23:00.089 --> 00:23:01.910 church and the believer in the 21st century. 00:23:02.089 --> 00:23:04.950 So let's look tonight. And the reason why is 00:23:04.950 --> 00:23:07.710 because what's really happening here is a discussion 00:23:07.710 --> 00:23:10.289 between two believers who happen to be friends, 00:23:10.410 --> 00:23:13.900 right? We're going to find, you're going to find 00:23:13.900 --> 00:23:17.299 yourself, I promise you, in both Job. You're 00:23:17.299 --> 00:23:19.960 also going to find yourself here in Eliphaz in 00:23:19.960 --> 00:23:25.319 a second. Okay, and let me explain why. So chapters 00:23:25.319 --> 00:23:28.420 4 through 7, but let me first jump real quick 00:23:28.420 --> 00:23:31.539 to 16. In verse 2 of that chapter, Job calls 00:23:31.539 --> 00:23:36.059 these friends, what's more commonly called Job's 00:23:36.059 --> 00:23:41.059 comforters, he calls miserable. One of the ideas 00:23:41.059 --> 00:23:44.799 for the title of the podcast was going to obviously 00:23:44.799 --> 00:23:48.720 be, you know, with friends like these, Job doesn't 00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:51.299 need enemies, right? Because we're going to find 00:23:51.299 --> 00:23:53.319 each one of these friends aren't really that 00:23:53.319 --> 00:23:56.279 great of friends. They're actually a contradiction 00:23:56.279 --> 00:24:00.420 in terms. We can fully, truly say that when they 00:24:00.420 --> 00:24:03.319 start to open their mouths to Job, they will 00:24:03.319 --> 00:24:06.539 become miserable comforters. And if they had 00:24:06.539 --> 00:24:08.720 sat like that and did that for a whole week, 00:24:09.079 --> 00:24:12.640 and just sympathized with him and said nothing, 00:24:12.779 --> 00:24:15.099 we professionally call this, it's called the 00:24:15.099 --> 00:24:18.440 ministry of the present. You don't have to say 00:24:18.440 --> 00:24:23.859 anything. Sometimes it's just being there. The 00:24:23.859 --> 00:24:27.720 ministry of presence, right? Had these friends, 00:24:27.900 --> 00:24:30.440 we will find after we listen to them talk, had 00:24:30.440 --> 00:24:32.339 they kept their mouths shut and just hung out 00:24:32.339 --> 00:24:35.880 with Job and empathized and sympathized with 00:24:35.880 --> 00:24:39.839 him, they would have done a lot better. One man 00:24:39.839 --> 00:24:42.279 says it's better to sympathize than it is to 00:24:42.279 --> 00:24:46.079 sermonize. And that's a fact. This is exactly 00:24:46.079 --> 00:24:49.440 what Job's comforters are doing. They fail to 00:24:49.440 --> 00:24:53.279 sympathize with Job. And instead, they sermonize 00:24:53.279 --> 00:24:56.700 and they pontificate to him. So we're going to 00:24:56.700 --> 00:24:59.180 look at Eliphaz here in a little bit more detail 00:24:59.180 --> 00:25:00.680 tonight. But we're going to look through everything 00:25:00.680 --> 00:25:03.420 tonight. There's also a portion of Job's response 00:25:03.420 --> 00:25:06.009 I'm skipping over. You can look at that. In your 00:25:06.009 --> 00:25:07.970 private study. But I mentioned this is the first 00:25:07.970 --> 00:25:10.430 person that we see on the scene here. Eliphaz 00:25:10.430 --> 00:25:13.970 from Timon. Timon, he would have been an Edomite. 00:25:14.450 --> 00:25:17.769 And the place of Edom in the ancient world was 00:25:17.769 --> 00:25:20.910 renowned for its wisdom. So, again, one of the 00:25:20.910 --> 00:25:23.869 symbologies or imageries of this particular character, 00:25:24.029 --> 00:25:27.210 Eliphaz, being an Edomite, is going to build 00:25:27.210 --> 00:25:29.809 into your picture of this guy. That's probably 00:25:29.809 --> 00:25:35.099 a pretty smart dude. Okay? Kind of like... Wherever 00:25:35.099 --> 00:25:38.660 Harvard is. There's Harvard and Princeton. Aren't 00:25:38.660 --> 00:25:40.839 those all in Connecticut somewhere? They're really 00:25:40.839 --> 00:25:43.779 close together. That area, you just come from 00:25:43.779 --> 00:25:48.160 there. MIT. Oh, he's probably a smart guy. It 00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:53.259 probably is. But one of the things that we'll 00:25:53.259 --> 00:25:55.259 see all through his speeches throughout the book 00:25:55.259 --> 00:25:58.240 of Job is that this man Eliphaz bases all of 00:25:58.240 --> 00:26:01.980 his ideas, his in quotes, help for his friend. 00:26:03.670 --> 00:26:07.809 Job is on his own personal spiritual experience. 00:26:09.269 --> 00:26:12.549 He's going to offer all of his advice to Job 00:26:12.549 --> 00:26:17.369 from his personal perspective. Chapter 4, verse 00:26:17.369 --> 00:26:21.710 12. One night this man, Eliphaz, had a charismatic, 00:26:21.789 --> 00:26:25.130 perhaps, experience. He says, now a thing was 00:26:25.130 --> 00:26:28.759 secretly brought to me and my ear heard it. And 00:26:28.759 --> 00:26:30.579 in thoughts from the visions of the night, he 00:26:30.579 --> 00:26:33.579 had this dream where men fall in deep sleep. 00:26:33.720 --> 00:26:37.900 Fear came upon me, trembling, made my bones shake. 00:26:37.980 --> 00:26:41.619 Remember? Spirit passed before my face. The hair 00:26:41.619 --> 00:26:44.079 of my flesh stood up, stood still, but I couldn't 00:26:44.079 --> 00:26:47.779 tell what it was. An image before my eyes. Then 00:26:47.779 --> 00:26:50.220 there was silence and I heard a voice saying, 00:26:50.440 --> 00:26:55.990 right? And he begins to teach Job. arguing from 00:26:55.990 --> 00:26:58.990 that point from his own personal experience. 00:27:00.529 --> 00:27:06.529 And that argument is that God is a just God and 00:27:06.529 --> 00:27:09.509 that God will only make a man or a woman suffer 00:27:09.509 --> 00:27:14.369 if there's sin in their life. Right? His argument 00:27:14.369 --> 00:27:19.130 is basically, if things are going well for you, 00:27:19.170 --> 00:27:21.670 God loves you. If it's going well for you, that's 00:27:21.670 --> 00:27:24.809 a proof. If things are not going well for you, 00:27:24.829 --> 00:27:27.730 you could tell me how righteous you are all you 00:27:27.730 --> 00:27:31.029 want, brother. But I know that if you've got 00:27:31.029 --> 00:27:33.369 suffering, you're sinning somewhere in your life. 00:27:33.690 --> 00:27:38.390 Right? That's this argument. But again, this 00:27:38.390 --> 00:27:42.210 is from Eliphaz's own personal experience. Have 00:27:42.210 --> 00:27:45.589 you ever had people say, you know, look, whenever 00:27:45.589 --> 00:27:50.309 I was in your situation, I did this. When I had 00:27:50.309 --> 00:27:53.759 this problem, I coped this way. And I got through 00:27:53.759 --> 00:27:58.759 it. I overcome it doing it this way. And if you 00:27:58.759 --> 00:28:03.259 do it the same way I did it, right, you'll get 00:28:03.259 --> 00:28:06.579 through it as well. And if you don't, if you 00:28:06.579 --> 00:28:09.720 can't cope by doing it that way, then there must 00:28:09.720 --> 00:28:13.980 be something wrong with you. In fact, there must 00:28:13.980 --> 00:28:17.880 be something in your life that's wrong. Have 00:28:17.880 --> 00:28:20.200 people ever said to you, I think we're all guilty 00:28:20.200 --> 00:28:23.009 of it, right? Well, from my experience, what 00:28:23.009 --> 00:28:26.829 you need to do is, or others will say you need 00:28:26.829 --> 00:28:28.730 this experience. You need this to happen in your 00:28:28.730 --> 00:28:33.930 life. This is one that's kind of off topic, but 00:28:33.930 --> 00:28:38.210 it's kind of the same thing. You wouldn't understand 00:28:38.210 --> 00:28:41.450 you're not a parent. That kind of thing. You 00:28:41.450 --> 00:28:43.509 know what I'm saying? You may not have ever heard 00:28:43.509 --> 00:28:45.529 people say that. I've heard people say that. 00:28:46.390 --> 00:28:51.079 I'm sure I've probably said that before. But 00:28:51.079 --> 00:28:54.380 we're always trying to justify the world. And 00:28:54.380 --> 00:28:56.980 you're not wrong for doing it. It's part of being 00:28:56.980 --> 00:29:01.480 a human. From our own personal experience. The 00:29:01.480 --> 00:29:06.220 immortal, the timeless lesson of Eliphaz here. 00:29:06.559 --> 00:29:10.619 This is not just something that happens thousands 00:29:10.619 --> 00:29:15.119 of years before Jesus. This is a problem that 00:29:15.119 --> 00:29:18.220 is an immortal lesson of suffering that we get 00:29:18.220 --> 00:29:21.880 from Eliphaz. who's based all of his counsel, 00:29:22.059 --> 00:29:27.039 all of his comfort on his own spiritual experience. 00:29:27.339 --> 00:29:34.000 Listen, everybody's spiritual experience is different. 00:29:35.559 --> 00:29:38.059 Everybody's spiritual experience is different. 00:29:39.200 --> 00:29:42.900 And that does not add up to a default in God. 00:29:43.599 --> 00:29:48.079 That makes God even grander. That way, whenever 00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:51.829 I tell you, God desires a personal relationship 00:29:51.829 --> 00:29:56.789 with you, I mean it. But I couldn't say, God 00:29:56.789 --> 00:29:59.250 desires a personal relationship with you, and 00:29:59.250 --> 00:30:01.430 now if you want to conform to the church, your 00:30:01.430 --> 00:30:05.329 spiritual experience must look like mine. Well, 00:30:05.349 --> 00:30:08.650 which way do you want it? Right? You want a personal 00:30:08.650 --> 00:30:11.809 relationship with God. That means that everybody's 00:30:11.809 --> 00:30:15.990 spiritual experience is their own. And I'll say 00:30:15.990 --> 00:30:20.200 this, right? If I've learned anything, Like seminary, 00:30:20.200 --> 00:30:23.579 theological, college, education, in a counseling 00:30:23.579 --> 00:30:27.539 scenario, never say to anybody, I know what you're 00:30:27.539 --> 00:30:32.119 going through. Because you don't. You may have 00:30:32.119 --> 00:30:35.200 gone through cancer. But maybe you didn't react 00:30:35.200 --> 00:30:37.859 the way that this person did. You didn't go through 00:30:37.859 --> 00:30:40.119 it the way this person did. You might have gone 00:30:40.119 --> 00:30:43.759 through a loss, a bereavement, grief. Right? 00:30:43.859 --> 00:30:46.799 Just as we mentioned as the trouble in the human 00:30:46.799 --> 00:30:50.319 life. comes to us just as sparks float upward, 00:30:50.500 --> 00:30:53.660 right? We've all had trouble, but everybody's 00:30:53.660 --> 00:30:56.220 trouble is different and not everybody's experience 00:30:56.220 --> 00:30:59.000 is the same. And this is where Eliphaz really 00:30:59.000 --> 00:31:02.700 let Job down. Job's three friends will speak 00:31:02.700 --> 00:31:05.859 in terb, and Job will reply to each one of them. 00:31:06.279 --> 00:31:09.279 We're just looking at Eliphaz tonight, who gives 00:31:09.279 --> 00:31:12.680 the first and, commentaries say, the gentlest 00:31:12.680 --> 00:31:18.039 of speeches. He begins by reminding Job that 00:31:18.039 --> 00:31:23.319 Job is a wise man who helped others. Job's message 00:31:23.319 --> 00:31:26.700 used to be the same as his friends. It was agreed 00:31:26.700 --> 00:31:30.539 that there was this wisdom that was all moral. 00:31:31.599 --> 00:31:35.420 And that when they all shared, these religious 00:31:35.420 --> 00:31:38.680 people, shared these same moral assumptions. 00:31:39.420 --> 00:31:44.750 And that assumption is summarized. In Eliphaz's 00:31:44.750 --> 00:31:46.630 question, if you remember, I read this, it's 00:31:46.630 --> 00:31:49.009 verse 7 of 4. I said, remember, we're going to 00:31:49.009 --> 00:31:52.789 come back to this, right? His entire assumption 00:31:52.789 --> 00:31:58.049 about God, his theosity, if you will, is summed 00:31:58.049 --> 00:32:02.710 up in verse 7. Who being innocent has ever perished? 00:32:05.390 --> 00:32:08.170 Eliphaz's implied answer to that question is 00:32:08.170 --> 00:32:14.839 no one, right? His philosophy is, if you perish 00:32:14.839 --> 00:32:18.980 or suffer, it must prove you're guilty. If you 00:32:18.980 --> 00:32:22.440 prosper, it shows that you're good. Good things 00:32:22.440 --> 00:32:24.940 happen to good people, and bad things happen 00:32:24.940 --> 00:32:29.779 to bad people, always and without fail. Theosophy. 00:32:31.180 --> 00:32:34.920 Not the right theosophy, but a theosophy. The 00:32:34.920 --> 00:32:40.440 theosophy of Eliphaz. Okay? Eliphaz challenges 00:32:40.440 --> 00:32:46.119 Job not to get ideas above his station. Don't 00:32:46.119 --> 00:32:48.319 be trying to get too big for your britches with 00:32:48.319 --> 00:32:51.079 your righteousness, Job. Because you know God 00:32:51.079 --> 00:32:54.019 doesn't like that. You know what, Job? You might 00:32:54.019 --> 00:32:56.900 be a really righteous guy. And as being your 00:32:56.900 --> 00:32:58.900 friend, I know you're pretty proud of how righteous 00:32:58.900 --> 00:33:01.720 you are. And maybe that's your sin. See where 00:33:01.720 --> 00:33:04.220 I'm coming from? Maybe you're getting a little 00:33:04.220 --> 00:33:07.160 bit too big for your Bible britches. Maybe that 00:33:07.160 --> 00:33:09.500 could be the title. A little too big for your 00:33:09.500 --> 00:33:14.660 Bible britches? That's not a bad one. I'm going 00:33:14.660 --> 00:33:18.220 to have to remember that one. Eliphaz challenges 00:33:18.220 --> 00:33:23.119 Job, right? Maybe even in the good things, it's 00:33:23.119 --> 00:33:27.599 bad. And he uses this strange, frightening, if 00:33:27.599 --> 00:33:31.160 you will, story of this night apparition, a ghost, 00:33:31.180 --> 00:33:35.880 some sort of spectral being. And he presses home 00:33:35.880 --> 00:33:39.839 human mortality. And that the inevitability that 00:33:39.839 --> 00:33:45.200 bad things will happen to people like Job, who 00:33:45.200 --> 00:33:48.279 speak too proudly and aim for positions above 00:33:48.279 --> 00:33:52.579 others. Let me read 5 verses 8 through 16. Chapter 00:33:52.579 --> 00:33:57.920 5, 8 through 16. Eliphaz, advice again. But if 00:33:57.920 --> 00:34:03.259 I were you, I would appeal to God. I'd lay my 00:34:03.259 --> 00:34:06.849 cause before him. He performs wonders that cannot 00:34:06.849 --> 00:34:10.250 be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. 00:34:10.329 --> 00:34:12.130 He provides rain for the earth. He sends water 00:34:12.130 --> 00:34:15.429 on the countryside. The lowly he sets high, and 00:34:15.429 --> 00:34:17.449 those who mourn are lifted to safety. He thwarts 00:34:17.449 --> 00:34:20.750 the plans of the crafty so that their hands achieve 00:34:20.750 --> 00:34:24.389 no success. He catches. The wise in their craftiness, 00:34:24.449 --> 00:34:27.210 the schemes of the wily, are swept away. Darkness 00:34:27.210 --> 00:34:30.170 comes upon them in the daytime, and noon they 00:34:30.170 --> 00:34:32.889 grope as if it's night. He saves the needy from 00:34:32.889 --> 00:34:34.510 the sword in their mouth. He saves them from 00:34:34.510 --> 00:34:37.349 the clutches of the powerful. Why? So the poor 00:34:37.349 --> 00:34:40.929 do have hope, and injustice shuts his mouth. 00:34:41.090 --> 00:34:45.030 This is Eliphaz giving advice to Job. He counsels 00:34:45.030 --> 00:34:49.389 Job, what? To be humble. To be humble, turn to 00:34:49.389 --> 00:34:53.829 God. Don't try to be too clever. Right? Don't 00:34:53.829 --> 00:34:57.849 worry too much, Job, about why all of this has 00:34:57.849 --> 00:35:02.170 happened. Because you might have even outsmarted 00:35:02.170 --> 00:35:05.829 your own self. For God catches the wise in the 00:35:05.829 --> 00:35:09.710 craftiness, verse 13. A statement that was quoted 00:35:09.710 --> 00:35:12.510 with approval by Paul because it's true in 1 00:35:12.510 --> 00:35:16.849 Corinthians 3 and 19. The problem is that Eliphaz 00:35:16.849 --> 00:35:19.550 is misreading what Job's actually grappling with. 00:35:20.329 --> 00:35:24.110 What Job's real problem is. Because Eliphaz is 00:35:24.110 --> 00:35:27.409 still going to be convinced from his own personal 00:35:27.409 --> 00:35:30.409 perspective, right? That what Job is mourning 00:35:30.409 --> 00:35:34.469 is the loss of his things, of his possessions, 00:35:34.989 --> 00:35:38.389 of his, well, even of his children. But that's 00:35:38.389 --> 00:35:42.090 not why Job, it's not why Job is mourning. We're 00:35:42.090 --> 00:35:45.570 going to find out here in a second. Eliphaz concludes 00:35:45.570 --> 00:35:47.989 with a beautiful and moving appeal to Job to 00:35:47.989 --> 00:35:50.929 smit. submit to the loving disciplines of god 00:35:50.929 --> 00:35:54.929 chapter 5 verse 17 blessed is the one whom god 00:35:54.929 --> 00:35:57.570 corrects so do not despise the discipline of 00:35:57.570 --> 00:36:00.369 the almighty for he wounds but he also binds 00:36:00.369 --> 00:36:03.829 up he injures but his hands also heal you guys 00:36:03.829 --> 00:36:06.289 have probably heard that verse before right from 00:36:06.289 --> 00:36:08.869 six calamities he will rescue you and seven no 00:36:08.869 --> 00:36:12.019 harm will touch you that's gorgeous In famine 00:36:12.019 --> 00:36:13.920 he will deliver you from death and in the battle 00:36:13.920 --> 00:36:16.280 from the stroke of the sword. You will be protected 00:36:16.280 --> 00:36:19.760 from the lash of the tongue. Fear not from where 00:36:19.760 --> 00:36:21.940 destruction comes. You will laugh at destruction 00:36:21.940 --> 00:36:25.019 and famine. You'll not fear the wild animals. 00:36:26.719 --> 00:36:28.920 24, he says, you'll know that your tent is secure. 00:36:29.079 --> 00:36:31.079 You take stock of your property and find nothing 00:36:31.079 --> 00:36:35.719 missing. You know that your children will be 00:36:35.719 --> 00:36:37.519 many and your descendants like the grass of the 00:36:37.519 --> 00:36:40.719 earth. You'll come to the grave in full vigor 00:36:40.719 --> 00:36:45.940 like sheaths gathered in season. We have examined 00:36:45.940 --> 00:36:48.280 this, his friends say to Job, and it's true. 00:36:48.380 --> 00:36:51.500 So hear it and apply it to yourself. He could 00:36:51.500 --> 00:36:54.659 almost be quoting Proverbs or maybe even in the 00:36:54.659 --> 00:36:58.780 Christian Bible, Hebrews. Ironically, Eliphaz, 00:36:58.960 --> 00:37:04.820 or maybe not ironically, is appealing to Job 00:37:04.820 --> 00:37:08.780 to serve God. Out of a desire for the blessings. 00:37:09.900 --> 00:37:13.699 Right? You need to figure out what's wrong between 00:37:13.699 --> 00:37:18.340 you and God and fix it. Not because your relationship 00:37:18.340 --> 00:37:21.559 with God is broken. So you can get all your stuff 00:37:21.559 --> 00:37:27.940 back. Right? That's okay. Oh, now this is really 00:37:27.940 --> 00:37:32.159 starting to... Why is this such bad advice? Right 00:37:32.159 --> 00:37:36.050 idea for the wrong reasons. He's trying to comfort 00:37:36.050 --> 00:37:39.510 his friend for a problem his friend is not grieving 00:37:39.510 --> 00:37:43.769 over. And we're going to find out here in a second. 00:37:43.809 --> 00:37:47.949 But it's exactly what Satan accuses Job of doing, 00:37:48.050 --> 00:37:54.949 isn't it? Right? He's accusing Job, Eliphaz, 00:37:55.090 --> 00:37:58.050 is accusing him of only serving God because of 00:37:58.050 --> 00:38:01.150 the blessings. Which is exactly the same argument. 00:38:01.920 --> 00:38:05.380 That Satan was using before God about Job. So 00:38:05.380 --> 00:38:07.320 be careful about the tongue of your friends, 00:38:07.519 --> 00:38:10.880 friend. Because you know what? Your friend's 00:38:10.880 --> 00:38:13.440 tongue might actually sound a lot like Satan's 00:38:13.440 --> 00:38:17.639 from time to time. Isn't that interesting? The 00:38:17.639 --> 00:38:24.400 problem, the grief, the problem is that the suffering 00:38:24.400 --> 00:38:28.340 of Job's are deeper. than the disciplining of 00:38:28.340 --> 00:38:31.699 God. He's not suffering because he's being chastened. 00:38:32.900 --> 00:38:34.760 But I do want to point out within the Christian 00:38:34.760 --> 00:38:38.920 tradition, this idea of all of this wrath being 00:38:38.920 --> 00:38:42.420 heaped on an innocent. As a Christian, we can 00:38:42.420 --> 00:38:44.800 look and see the foreshadowing of the wrath of 00:38:44.800 --> 00:38:49.099 God falling on an innocent Messiah, right? It'll 00:38:49.099 --> 00:38:52.079 be a foreshadowing of that same thing we Christians 00:38:52.079 --> 00:38:55.539 will see in Jesus. Because the same argument's 00:38:55.539 --> 00:38:59.309 being made, right? Was Jesus a good guy? Jesus 00:38:59.309 --> 00:39:02.889 was the best guy. Did bad things happen to Jesus? 00:39:03.730 --> 00:39:06.269 Did they make movies about how bad things happen 00:39:06.269 --> 00:39:09.230 to Jesus? We talk about how bad things happen 00:39:09.230 --> 00:39:12.570 to Jesus every single week. If anybody deserved 00:39:12.570 --> 00:39:15.130 not to have bad things happen to them because 00:39:15.130 --> 00:39:19.110 they're good people, Jesus is good people. So 00:39:19.110 --> 00:39:22.130 you can kind of see, that's not what the writer 00:39:22.130 --> 00:39:24.989 of Job is not talking about Jesus. I'm not saying 00:39:24.989 --> 00:39:27.809 that. What I am saying is that if we Christians 00:39:27.809 --> 00:39:32.130 can see what God is doing here, and we can see 00:39:32.130 --> 00:39:35.070 that same kind of thing eventually happening, 00:39:35.289 --> 00:39:38.809 right? Eliphaz's sermon might have been well 00:39:38.809 --> 00:39:41.250 meant, but it's simply spoken to the wrong person. 00:39:42.170 --> 00:39:46.530 Because that's not why Job is suffering. So Job 00:39:46.530 --> 00:39:48.650 now begins the first of eight speeches to his 00:39:48.650 --> 00:39:53.260 friend. Recall from chapter 1 and chapter 2, 00:39:53.400 --> 00:39:55.820 God does claim Job was a believer. And in the 00:39:55.820 --> 00:39:59.280 speeches of Job, we'll see that Job will say 00:39:59.280 --> 00:40:06.719 some wrong things. But that he is genuinely a 00:40:06.719 --> 00:40:11.219 worshiper of the Lord. The reason for Job's anguish, 00:40:11.260 --> 00:40:14.239 and the reason why that anguish is so terrible, 00:40:14.280 --> 00:40:16.880 is not because of his bankruptcy or his bereavements 00:40:16.880 --> 00:40:20.619 or sickness. Terrible as those things are, but 00:40:20.619 --> 00:40:25.039 that he's bearing the anger of God. The reason 00:40:25.039 --> 00:40:28.860 that Job longs for death is that if he dies soon, 00:40:29.000 --> 00:40:31.599 there'll be a chance that he won't say anything 00:40:31.599 --> 00:40:37.619 to deny God. Right? Job isn't scared of God as 00:40:37.619 --> 00:40:40.929 much as he's scared of himself. If this keeps 00:40:40.929 --> 00:40:44.789 happening, I'm not sure how long I can keep it 00:40:44.789 --> 00:40:47.329 up without cursing God. So God, kill me now so 00:40:47.329 --> 00:40:53.929 I don't. Right? Job now chides his so -called 00:40:53.929 --> 00:40:58.210 friends. He calls them a disappointing water 00:40:58.210 --> 00:41:01.969 source that promises life but offers nothing 00:41:01.969 --> 00:41:05.630 of value. And just when he most needs their help, 00:41:05.750 --> 00:41:10.619 they have no gospel for him, no good news. Only 00:41:10.619 --> 00:41:14.659 the death -dealing words of a moralistic creed. 00:41:16.019 --> 00:41:20.219 Job's desperate words cry out that their simple 00:41:20.219 --> 00:41:24.739 system simply does not work. But they can do 00:41:24.739 --> 00:41:28.780 nothing but repeat it. He says, now you too have 00:41:28.780 --> 00:41:31.039 proved to be no help. You see something dreadful 00:41:31.039 --> 00:41:32.840 and afraid. Have I ever said, give me something 00:41:32.840 --> 00:41:36.699 on my behalf? Pay a ransom for me from your wealth. 00:41:37.190 --> 00:41:39.329 Deliver me from the hand of the enemy. Rescue 00:41:39.329 --> 00:41:43.610 me from the clutches of the ruthless. With their 00:41:43.610 --> 00:41:47.489 limited knowledge and experience, they are unqualified 00:41:47.489 --> 00:41:52.309 to judge Job's situation. The friends are evidently 00:41:52.309 --> 00:41:55.289 more interested in defending their own assumptions 00:41:55.289 --> 00:41:59.090 about sin and suffering. They're certainly more 00:41:59.090 --> 00:42:01.530 concerned about their own assumptions about sin 00:42:01.530 --> 00:42:03.789 than they are caring for their friend and what 00:42:03.789 --> 00:42:07.900 their friend was feeling. What Job needed from 00:42:07.900 --> 00:42:11.900 his friends, members of the same Christian family, 00:42:12.000 --> 00:42:15.320 what Job needed from his friends, I hope you're 00:42:15.320 --> 00:42:19.239 hearing me right, Job needed the kindness of 00:42:19.239 --> 00:42:22.840 his friends. But what he got was criticism and 00:42:22.840 --> 00:42:28.019 condemnation. He says, what is mankind that you 00:42:28.019 --> 00:42:30.360 make so much of them? He's talking to God. That 00:42:30.360 --> 00:42:32.420 you give them so much attention, that you examine 00:42:32.420 --> 00:42:34.760 them every morning, test them at every moment. 00:42:36.010 --> 00:42:39.949 Will you never look away from me or let me alone 00:42:39.949 --> 00:42:43.250 even for an instant? If I have sinned, what have 00:42:43.250 --> 00:42:49.829 I done to you? You who see everything I do. Why, 00:42:49.829 --> 00:42:54.889 God, have you made me your target? Have I become 00:42:54.889 --> 00:42:59.590 a burden to you? Why do you not pardon my offenses 00:42:59.590 --> 00:43:04.940 and forgive my sins? for I will soon lie down 00:43:04.940 --> 00:43:08.960 in the dust. You will search for me, but I will 00:43:08.960 --> 00:43:15.440 be no more. Again, attention is given to the 00:43:15.440 --> 00:43:19.920 plight of humanity here. It's a good question. 00:43:19.980 --> 00:43:23.579 Why are human beings so important to God that 00:43:23.579 --> 00:43:29.860 it appears that he makes sport of them? Job intuitively 00:43:29.860 --> 00:43:33.690 recognizes here. And he will throughout his book. 00:43:34.030 --> 00:43:38.710 It's the virtue in him. Again, this isn't why 00:43:38.710 --> 00:43:43.949 we suffer. Job is showing us how we suffer. Why 00:43:43.949 --> 00:43:49.590 are human beings so important that it seems like 00:43:49.590 --> 00:43:54.289 God trivially hurts and causes us to stumble? 00:43:54.829 --> 00:43:58.409 Job recognizes that God, in these instances, 00:43:58.510 --> 00:44:02.639 God is testing him. And he again reminds God 00:44:02.639 --> 00:44:06.320 that he's about to die. So why does God not just 00:44:06.320 --> 00:44:12.460 pardon his sins and let bygones be bygones? In 00:44:12.460 --> 00:44:17.960 this strange paradox of innocent suffering, Job 00:44:17.960 --> 00:44:24.460 now pleads to be God forsaken. In the depths 00:44:24.460 --> 00:44:29.400 of Job's despair, he finds himself suffering. 00:44:30.219 --> 00:44:37.880 so deeply because of the lash of God that he 00:44:37.880 --> 00:44:43.159 now chooses to be forsaken by God. Leave me alone 00:44:43.159 --> 00:44:50.079 is the burden of his prayer to God. Because it 00:44:50.079 --> 00:44:53.380 seems like whenever God is with him, whether 00:44:53.380 --> 00:44:58.429 Job is awake or asleep, He is present, God is, 00:44:58.610 --> 00:45:04.769 in anger, and Job just can't take it. We learn 00:45:04.769 --> 00:45:09.710 from chapters 6 and 7 that the wrath of God is 00:45:09.710 --> 00:45:15.429 an unbearable pain. Even when we compare the 00:45:15.429 --> 00:45:19.730 loss of all of our possessions, our own physical 00:45:19.730 --> 00:45:23.630 and mental health, the loss of our family, the 00:45:23.630 --> 00:45:27.059 loss of our children, Even in the midst of all 00:45:27.059 --> 00:45:31.119 of those suffering, none of it, Job shows us, 00:45:31.119 --> 00:45:35.460 compares to the unbearable pain that is the wrath 00:45:35.460 --> 00:45:39.760 of God. And again, for we Christians, as we close, 00:45:39.840 --> 00:45:45.599 we can see that as a foreshadowing, right? Because 00:45:45.599 --> 00:45:50.400 in it, we see the gospel that the cross can bring 00:45:50.400 --> 00:45:55.010 comfort, right? That even through the actions, 00:45:55.289 --> 00:46:00.289 how do we say, how do we explain theosity? How 00:46:00.289 --> 00:46:03.710 do we argue for a just God despite the existence 00:46:03.710 --> 00:46:07.230 of evil in the world? Well, when we talk about 00:46:07.230 --> 00:46:11.030 our ways not being higher than God's ways, what 00:46:11.030 --> 00:46:15.130 if we use the example, right, of bad things happen 00:46:15.130 --> 00:46:20.889 to the goodest of people in Jesus? But the result 00:46:20.889 --> 00:46:23.690 of those bad things happening to the best of 00:46:23.690 --> 00:46:26.969 people becomes the salvation of all humankind. 00:46:28.650 --> 00:46:32.590 We have to take that in our figuring out the 00:46:32.590 --> 00:46:36.110 justice of God. We have to recognize there are 00:46:36.110 --> 00:46:39.710 still tons of things that we do not know about 00:46:39.710 --> 00:46:45.349 God's plans. Remember, Job, these things didn't 00:46:45.349 --> 00:46:49.650 happen because God was mad at Job. God allowed 00:46:49.650 --> 00:46:52.170 these things to happen despite the fact he was 00:46:52.170 --> 00:46:56.610 the best dude. Right? But for a reason. What 00:46:56.610 --> 00:47:00.989 reason? Here we are tonight. Having this same 00:47:00.989 --> 00:47:03.789 discussion about our relationship with God in 00:47:03.789 --> 00:47:07.010 a world that even in the 21st century from the 00:47:07.010 --> 00:47:10.469 7th century or 10th century BCE, one thing remains 00:47:10.469 --> 00:47:13.769 the same. Suffering still happens in our life. 00:47:14.530 --> 00:47:17.670 Right? And as followers of God, we acknowledge. 00:47:18.639 --> 00:47:20.840 That's just a part of the human experience. So 00:47:20.840 --> 00:47:24.639 rather than worrying about why we suffer, we 00:47:24.639 --> 00:47:29.659 can look to Job and find out how to suffer. Right? 00:47:29.960 --> 00:47:33.039 And that's the ultimate beauty, I think, of what 00:47:33.039 --> 00:47:37.219 we're going to find in the story of Job. And 00:47:37.219 --> 00:47:41.280 coming to those conclusions means first we must 00:47:41.280 --> 00:47:44.940 ask the right question. The right question, how? 00:47:45.539 --> 00:47:49.289 How are we supposed to endure? How are we supposed 00:47:49.289 --> 00:47:54.630 to show our faithfulness to God? Not why there's 00:47:54.630 --> 00:47:58.710 sin in the world. We already know that. But in 00:47:58.710 --> 00:48:01.389 the light, for we Christians, in the light of 00:48:01.389 --> 00:48:08.690 our salvation, how can we cope? So we'll see 00:48:08.690 --> 00:48:11.730 character number two next week, a guy named Bildad 00:48:11.730 --> 00:48:15.349 the Shuhite. Bildad the Shuhite. So I hope you'll 00:48:15.349 --> 00:48:24.139 come back for that. Any questions? You ever have, 00:48:24.280 --> 00:48:28.019 maybe even your best friend ever give you advice, 00:48:28.119 --> 00:48:30.940 tell you how to fix your problems, and as you 00:48:30.940 --> 00:48:33.980 listen to that advice, you realize that's not 00:48:33.980 --> 00:48:38.860 even what's wrong. It's interesting, this first 00:48:38.860 --> 00:48:42.340 conversation between Eliphaz and Job not only 00:48:42.340 --> 00:48:49.039 exposes this faulty theosophy about God, that 00:48:49.039 --> 00:48:51.980 just because you have material wealth, God must... 00:48:52.199 --> 00:48:55.760 love you more than those that have less. Those 00:48:55.760 --> 00:48:59.619 that have less somehow are just by virtue of 00:48:59.619 --> 00:49:04.280 their station in life sinners. It paints us into 00:49:04.280 --> 00:49:08.199 a theological corner that's hard for us to get 00:49:08.199 --> 00:49:12.579 out of. But have you ever had that friend give 00:49:12.579 --> 00:49:15.239 you advice that you didn't ask for and you certainly 00:49:15.239 --> 00:49:18.760 didn't need? Maybe even didn't even address the 00:49:18.760 --> 00:49:22.989 problem you were having in the first place. Well, 00:49:23.090 --> 00:49:28.570 that's a pretty common problem. And it's one 00:49:28.570 --> 00:49:31.869 that is definitely at play here with this first 00:49:31.869 --> 00:49:38.190 conversation between Eliphaz and Job. I think 00:49:38.190 --> 00:49:42.610 the important part here is not only for us to 00:49:42.610 --> 00:49:46.190 recognize those times where we insert ourself 00:49:46.190 --> 00:49:50.809 into the pain of others, but... Maybe sometimes 00:49:50.809 --> 00:49:55.349 the best thing we can do, the best way that we 00:49:55.349 --> 00:50:00.570 can have God shine through us, is through empathy. 00:50:01.949 --> 00:50:07.309 It's through understanding and a caring for other 00:50:07.309 --> 00:50:12.670 people's pain. An attempt to understand why people 00:50:12.670 --> 00:50:15.949 are suffering. Because it's in that way, if we 00:50:15.949 --> 00:50:20.369 truly care. That we're able to meet those that 00:50:20.369 --> 00:50:27.010 we care and respect where they're hurting. And 00:50:27.010 --> 00:50:30.489 I think that's one of the best things that we 00:50:30.489 --> 00:50:33.849 could do as God's servant. Not necessarily to 00:50:33.849 --> 00:50:38.030 eliminate pain and suffering from the world, 00:50:38.090 --> 00:50:43.309 but the tools in which people might learn to 00:50:43.309 --> 00:50:49.369 suffer. Something to think about. Anyway, I hope 00:50:49.369 --> 00:50:52.889 to see you here next week. Until then, be blessed.