It's time to jump into the book of Job and boy, I hope you are ready because this is a hard way to start the new year. I was going to tell you, this is a heavy book and it's challenging. There's so many twists and turns. There's so many almost true things that Job's friends say that it really just takes a skillful hand to work your way through it. So I'm glad you've joined me today. If you did. Well done. I'm grateful. I'm sure if pastor PJ were here, he would send his greetings. He'd say something like, Hey, thanks for joining us for another edition of the daily Bible podcast. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Anyway, he's grateful. You're here. I'm grateful. You're here. And on his behalf, let me extend to you a warm welcome back. We're grateful that you decided to join us this year, assuming that you stick with us the whole year. We'd love to have you do that by the way. And we want you to benefit from this tremendously. In fact, that's what we're praying for. We're doing this because we think it's that valuable. So without further ado, let us jump into the book of Job. We'll be here for a period of time. In fact, all the way through January 15th. So we're looking, I don't know, 12 more days here, 12, uh, 11, 12. My math isn't great, but I know it's going to be several days. So this is going to take some time and hopefully you'll walk away with some greater theological ballast to carry you through some of the inevitably difficult times that will await you. Jesus never promised us. An easy, comfortable life. In fact, to the contrary, Jesus promises us that life will be hard. Following Him does not turn everything into easy mode. In fact, following Jesus makes everything pro mode. It just becomes that much harder because now we're working with more than just one enemy. We have the world, the flesh, and the devil. The devil plays a pretty large role here. In fact, that's who we think we're talking about when we look at Job chapter 1. Let's first start with the fact that in this first chapter, Job is commended as being blameless and upright. This is a tremendous thing to say about anybody, but this is God's words about this person. In fact, when you look at the book of Job, you're wondering who wrote it, and the answer is we don't fully know. Job probably didn't, because He's clueless about the whole thing. It seems like someone's writing it about his life. Maybe Moses wrote this? But we have every reason to suspect that this was written during the time of Abraham, which would put him in about the time frame of 2000 BC, which is why the book is here. I guess I should say that. I'm looking at this book right now because it seems to have taken place About the same time as the patriarch Abraham steps onto the scene. So that's why this is here Job seems to portray a kind of understanding about God that is really Not remedial but elementary doesn't seem like he has a really robust understanding of Yahweh Which is another reason that we think it's really early on And he uses things like sheep and goats to define wealth again another marker of an earlier time frame Job, though, is commended by God. The narrator says he's blameless and upright. He feared God and turned away from evil. This is a great commendation about anybody. I hope someone could say this about me. Nevertheless, scripture goes out of its way to say he's not only upstanding, he's also got a lot of money. He's got all of it going on. This guy is king of the castle. His life is great. In fact, he seems to also play something of a priestly function with his family when his kids are hanging out, having parties. The next day, he offers burnt offerings according to the number of them all. So this guy's a good dude. He honors God, fears God. And it says here, Job did this continually. This is the way that he lived his life in verse five. Satan shows up on the scene. Satan, the adversary, the accuser. He shows up on the scene and God questions him where you been at, bro, or he didn't call him bro, but he said, where have you been? What have you been doing? And then he says something that you should expect because you've heard first Peter 580 says I've been Prowling around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. It's not what he says, but that's the gist And that's what first Peter 5 8 says, but then Interestingly God says to him. Have you considered my servant Job? Did that pick your attention there? Because God's the one who picks the fight here. God's the one who says to him, look, this guy, he gets it. He's my servant. He follows me. Have you thought about this one yet? On the one hand, I think that's really cool because I would love for God to be boasting about me. Obviously, everything that happens in my life, that's good. It's God's doing, but this is really cool. God's so honors. Job, he not only calls him blameless and upright, he picks a fight with the adversary to say, Hey, you haven't touched this guy. Have you thought about this one? This guy stands up for the right things. And then of course the devil says, look of course he does. You give him everything he wants. The guy's protected. He's got the whole nine. He's got everything going on for you from you. Why wouldn't he serve you? And then God says, okay, challenge accepted. You can afflict him, but but don't take it, don't stretch your, stretch out your hand against his life. You're going to take all that he has only against him, his person, do not stretch out your hand. And so Satan went out from the presence of the Lord to go do the bidding. Now, a couple of quick thoughts here. Number one, the devil, as Martin Luther said, is God's devil. He is on a leash. He can only do what the Lord allows. Number two, The devil is still active. You have a peek behind the curtain about what he's up to. And clearly his MO is modus operandi is to take out as many of God's kids as possible. And sometimes that's at the initiation of God. Which is terrifying and also comforting in a really serious way, comforting by the fact that God knows exactly what he's doing when he sends you through the fire, the devil is God's devil evil is under God's purview. It's never happening on accident. God has reasons. We may never know, at least this side of heaven, but there are reasons. And so after this, you have four events take place. Two of them are what we call natural events, natural evil. Two of them are moral, man made evil. There's human agency behind them. I think the reason God does this is to show us that He's in control of both of them. Not too long ago, Salina had a tornado tear through the town. And it wreaked destruction, as you would imagine. Tornadoes do this. Lots of destruction. I don't know how much destruction it was, but I, we got to see some of it up close that night when it was taking place, I got a sense of, man, what would happen if our house is destroyed? What would happen if we're taken out? Something happens to us as people, my family, my friends, it was terrifying thought, but I took great comfort in the fact that man, God oversees all of it. I don't have to be afraid. God is over the evil that happens in nature, that is the, what we call the natural evil, but he's also in control of the human evil that takes place. He's not responsible for it. He's not the immediate cause, but he is the ultimate cause. The immediate cause is other things, whether it be the elements in our atmosphere, or whether it be people incited to do evil in their own hearts. God is over it all. Which means I can take rest that God is going to do what God's going to do, and He's going to do it for His glory and for my good. I have to fight to believe that. In fact, one of the reasons I love that we're doing this right now is because you want to be prepared for the evil day. The question is not if it comes, but when. And whether, when it comes, you are ready. The way that you prepare for those events is to immerse yourselves in books like this that challenge you to think about God in a complex way, in a way that says God has a game, not a game. I don't want to say it like that where it's trite. God has plans that require certain things to take place and he would never let those plans take place unless they were necessary for his ultimate glory and honor and for your ultimate good. Now, if we believe that just means that we're going to have to be okay with the fact that God's going to do things in our lives that we may not appreciate or desire in that moment. In fact, I can tell you for sure, Job wasn't looking at this and saying, great, I love the fact that I get to honor God in this way. No, he was terrified and he was dejected and we're going to spend a lot of time examining his response. But nevertheless, you and I need to be ready for it. Maybe the day of Job isn't going to come for you, not in the same way, but we can say confidently Bad times are always on their way. We need to be ready for it, and we need to be ready by putting some theological ballast in our ships. A view of God that is so large, so powerful, that we don't have to worry. We can entrust ourselves to Him. In fact, I hope when the day comes, you respond like Job does in verse 20. He arose, he tore his robe, he shaved his head, maybe you don't want to do that part, but he arose, he fell on the ground, and he worshipped. This is so beautiful. As much as it is devastating, he says to the Lord, or maybe out loud naked, I came from my mother's womb and naked. I shall return the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. And all of this job did not sin or charge God with wrong. What a great way for him to start. Satan's not happy with this. So in Job chapter two, he returns to the Lord and says, look, let me have it. Let me have Adam in his flesh. Let me go after him. Even more. The Lord acquiesces to the devil's commands to this, to the Satan's commands or requests more likely. And he goes after him. After this all takes place, he leaves the presence of the Lord, Satan does, strikes Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. Imagine your whole body being covered with this. Verse eight and Job took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. Job's wife. I don't know. Maybe this is real. Within her character. This is the way that she acted or maybe in a moment of weakness, she tells Job something that was really unhelpful. Her counsel was not well timed. It was not good counsel, but she says, curse God and die. Stop holding fast your integrity. But Job says, look, I can't do that. I can't do that. You speak like one of the foolish woman would speak, shall we receive good from God and shall we not receive evil? These are some of the important phrases that you have to dig down deep and put them into your heart and say, Lord, I just need to be ready. I don't want to presume upon you that you're always going to give me good things. This is not the prosperity gospel. We can't teach that because the Bible doesn't teach that we need to be ready that God might use us in painful ways. Painful ways. And the only way that we can be ready again is to just conceive of the fact that God has bigger plans than we do. And to be a follower and a servant may mean that he takes us through a really challenging time. And if he's the Lord, if he's the maker, and we're the maid, if he's the creator, and we're the created, if he's the redeemer, and we are the redeemed, if he knows better than we do, then can we accept good from God? And can we also accept the challenges that God sends our ways? Oh, this is a tough subject, but well worth our attention. Job has some friends that show up. They come, they sit with him for a whole week. They don't recognize him. He's in the worst position they've ever seen him. And then in chapter three, after the week of them sitting with him and consoling him, Job finally opens his mouth and he just says, look, I'm sad that I was ever born. I wish this had never happened. My suffering is so great, so deep, I would rather have never been born than have to go through this. Why did God receive me? Why did I not die at birth? I wish I would have just been able to sleep through this whole thing. The pain is so deep. The suffering is so great. It is better to die than to live, and I don't think he means that. I think in the moment it rings true to his emotional state, but he doesn't mean that. I think none of us, if we've ever said anything like this ever mean it, it just, it comes from a real place, but it's not really where we're at. It's despair speaking. It is distraughtness, discouragement speaking in all this. I think the warning for us is to be aware that if we're not ready for things like this, some things can come out of our mouths that we may not fully mean our emotions real as they may be, may not be telling us the truth. And I think that's what's happening here. He laments, cries, and no one holds it against him. We all understand he's hurting. He's feeling distraught. He's feeling disoriented. Everything has hit the fan for him. And he's wondering what's next. In fact, verse 25, he says, for the thing that I fear comes upon me and what I dread befalls me. I am not at ease, nor am I quiet. I have no rest, but trouble comes. You might remember. Morning and evening, Job is struggling. There's no relief for him. He can't go to bed and experience a good night's rest. We're going to see very soon that even that was taken away from him. You ever had a bad night's sleep? How that affects you? Job had several of those nights, not to mention the lamenting, the mourning, losing everything. All of his wealth, all of his children, everything has been stripped away from him. In chapters 4 and 5, Eliphaz, the first of his friends, speaks up. Now, Job has four friends. Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and Elihu. Now, Elihu we're not going to hear about until chapter 32. For the first several chapters here, we're going to hear from these three men. Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar. Eliphaz is going to speak three times. He's going to have three statements, three arguments that he lays out at Job, Bill, dad's going to have three so far. We'll have two. And then again, Ellie, who shows up in these last several chapters, he's really going to have one prolonged argument, but we're going to hear from Ellie fast first. And this first round of speeches, Ellie fast is going to say, look, no one ever suffered. That didn't deserve it. Job. You ought to realize there's no such thing as an innocent person, number one. And really, have you ever seen anybody who was innocent that didn't get what they deserved or someone that was innocent that suffered because of their innocence? He says, that doesn't happen, Job. You got to get real with yourself here. You got to realize you're doing something wrong. You're at fault. He says in verse eight, as I've seen those who plow iniquity and sow trouble, they reap the same. You reap what you sow is what Galatians chapter five says or Galatians six, rather you reap what you sow. If you're sowing evil, Job, you should not be surprised that you reap evil. Come on, guys, let's get real with this here. That's what he's saying. Eliphaz is trying to read into the tea leaves and to understand or at least present this idea that he understands what God is doing here and what's happened. Clearly, Eliphaz is speaking in an area of ignorance. He does not know what's happening here. But then he adds to this and he says, look, God gave me a dream. It was a vision. God told me basically that no one can be right in his eyes. That's the punchline in verse 17. He sees his vision. He sees his image. And he says, can mortal man be in the right before God? And of course the answer is a qualified, no, right? It's a qualified no. And that no, ultimately no, but there is a way to be right before him. There is a way to be blameless in God's sight because just a few chapters ago, that's what God said about Job. So even though we don't understand how yet, we do understand that the answer to this is someone can someone be right before God? Yes. No, but yes. So he goes through this whole this whole presentation and then he continues on in chapter five. And he says, verse six affliction does not come from the dust, nor does trouble sprout from the ground, but man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward. Eliphaz seems to understand a mechanical universe, like A plus B equals C, and I understand that. He sees cause and effect and that's true to the extent that it works, but we can never eliminate the fact that God has plans and purposes that are inscrutable to our simple minds. Sometimes we think God is not up to anything and God's up to a million things. In fact, for any one thing that happens, there's always probably 10 billion things that God is doing in that one event that we just don't realize. Eliphaz offers him some advice. Look, if I were you, I would seek God, and I would go to God and commit my cause, and I would basically repent and turn to Him. And then if you do that, Job, God's going to do good things for you, essentially. God will release His hand from you. He will deliver you from six troubles, and seven, no evil shall touch you. In other words, you're going to be restored. That's Eliphaz's promise. If you do what I say, things are going to be better for you. Trust my counsel is as good as gold. I got the vision from my sleep, which is to say that God divinely showed me the right thing. So you ought to respond to this. In fact, in verse 27, it says, He says this here, and no, it is for your good. Ah, this guy's smug. Eliphaz may have good intentions. And in fact, some of the things that he says is right. Some of the things he says is partially true. It's a qualified, yes, it's true. And it's a qualified that's not exactly right. So as you read through, understand Job is innocent. God declares so. Eliphaz thinks that God works mechanically in the world. A plus B equals C. This is always the way it's going to work. And that's just not true. There are complexities and there are situations where we're never going to fully understand what God is doing. Our job, as we read through this book, is to really build, again, some theological ballast to prepare for the evil day. And that's inevitable for all of us. That evil may look like sin, it may look like death, it may look like some kind of tragedy in your family. I don't want to scare you. Of course, what I'm trying to do is prepare you, and I want to prepare you with the book of Job. I want to help you. I want to help you say, I want to be ready. I want to be able to worship the Lord when he gives, when he takes away. How do you do that? How about right now? You thank God for the good things he's given you. And you ask him to prepare you for whatever happens in 2025. We count on 80 years. We count on a good retirement. We count on certain things happening. There's nothing inherently wrong with having an optimistic outlook, but a Christian has a realistic outlook as well. We recognize that the world is broken and only God can fix it. So let's get ready by preparing ourselves for whatever happens in the future. Let's get ready by reading our Bibles, committing a lot of it to memory and letting it change our outlook. Not to make us cynical, not to make us I don't know, expecting the next shoe to drop, but trusting that no matter what happens, he's good and he can be trusted with that. Let's pray. God, we want to trust and believe that you are good. And if we confess, honestly, so many times our hearts can feel something that is inherently wrong. It feels the wrong thing. We feel like you're not faithful to us. We feel like you don't hear us. We feel like you're doing some kind of disservice to us when you don't give us what we think is best. Oh Lord, we confess we only are so short sighted that we can't see eternity. Only you can do that. And so we ask that you would show us mercy by not giving us what we deserve and give us the grace to trust you and cling to you even now before the storm hits. Let us be well prepared for whatever happens in 2025. Let us hope for great and wonderful things. Let us be prepared for hard and difficult things. Why? Because you're good, Lord. We want to trust you more. I want to love you better. And of course, Lord, we do say we welcome with open hands, whatever you want to bring into our lives, whatever will bring you the most glory and do us the most good. We say all these things in Jesus name, amen. Thank you for joining me today for another edition of the Daily Bible Podcast. Man, I am grateful that you decided to join. I think this was a much needed starting place for us in the new year. And I pray that as you walk away thinking about some of these things, that God will help you be well prepared for the next challenge that awaits you until tomorrow. I'll look forward to seeing you then.