I turn this morning please to the book of Job, chapter number one. A short time back, I was talking with one of our younger couples about the book of Job. They asked if I had ever dealt with it. in the services and I went, I knew that I had went back and looked and in 2003 and 2004 we dealt with it on Wednesday nights. So that was a little before their time. And so I thought that it would be profitable for us. I hope that it is profitable for us to come back to it. My intention is not really to deal with it verse by verse, but rather to deal with the main ideas and the main concepts in this book. Most of us are familiar with it, familiar at least to some extent with the big ideas, with the personality of Job. And so we'll try and get a little more to that. To that end, if you're looking for a book to add to your Christian library, Christopher Ashe, as what I would argue is probably the best book to help you with the whole book called Trusting God in the Darkness, A Guide to Understanding Job. You could buy it, he has a full-length commentary. You could get that, but I don't know that you need it. Or you could just come to church on Sunday mornings and I will read the book for you. So I mean, it's your choice, whatever you wanna do there. Let's go ahead and stand, please. And we will, over the course of the message this morning, read most of Job 1 and 2. We will begin by reading Job 1, 1 through 5. There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was perfect and upright and one that feared God and eschewed evil. And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. His substance also was 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 she-asses, and a very great household. So that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east, and his sons went and feasted in their houses every one his day, and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And it was so when the days of their feasting were gone about that Job sent and sanctified them and rose up early in the morning and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, it may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually. And we're going to stop there. Like I said, we'll read more of the verse, the passage as we go. Let's pray. Well, we thank you for your words. They are all profitable to us. They are inspired, breathed out by your spirit. They are written for our knowledge. They are written for our comfort. They are written for our correction. They are written for our encouragement. And so I pray that not just this morning, but in the few weeks ahead, that you will bless our study to that end, that your spirit will teach us your word for your glory. And I pray this in Jesus' name, amen. And you may, of course, be seated. Well, seriously, when it comes to the book of Job and talking about the book of Job, one of the problems is, as we would put it, not a problem, there's no problem with Job, Job 1 and 2 read pretty quickly, pretty easily, easy to understand. Job 38 through 42 read pretty easily, pretty straightforwardly, easy to understand. And in between is a bunch of stuff that for the most part we don't understand. And sometimes we wonder why it's there. We will try to tackle that as we go. And again, not just plow through it to read the verses, but to try and understand the point that is being made. I would take the position that Job is within the chronology of Bible events, very early in biblical history. Certainly it comes after the creation, but where after that we do not know. Part of this is because of the geography that is mentioned. We don't really know where Uz is. or where Uz was. In the table of nations in Genesis chapter 10, it is listed as one of the cities of Shem. And of course, the descendants of Shem would go on to form the Shemitic, or what we would call the Semitic people, the people of Israel. And not just them, but other Semites in the world. Lamentations 4 makes reference to a place called Uz. And if it is the same place, it is in the land of Edom, which would be consistent with being in Semitic land. And if those things would be so, and again, we're just kind of building a picture on the pieces of information that we have. then that would mean that Job would have to predate any of the conflicts that we think of historically between the land of Edom and the land of Palestine. Those conflicts are not entirely, but oftentimes rooted in the birth of Jacob and his twin brother Esau. The only person that we can clearly identify with reference to geography is the man Eliphaz, who is the first and foremost of Job's three friends, and he is from Edom. We know that Timon is in Edom. So geographically, then, the references lend themselves to placing the book of Job very early. Secondly, the absence of any references to the law of Moses or any of the patriarchal characters lend itself to an early reference. There are certainly burnt offerings, and offerings of some kind go literally back to Cain and Abel. So the idea of making an offering to God is as old as mankind is. But the structure of the Levitical system is completely absent in the book of Job. On the other hand, Old Testament saints were aware of him. Ezekiel was, Ezekiel 14, 4 through 20. And of course, the New Testament makes reference to him, a passage we will no doubt look at in the future. James chapter 5 and verse number 11, you have heard of the patience of Job. and have seen the end of the Lord." The end of the Lord. So the position that I'm going to take with reference to the book of Job is that it is with reference to events that are discussed in the Bible very early. And this is because it really serves a very large purpose. Job is not only a relatively long book of poetry, It is describing things that human beings have contended with from the beginning of time. Job is an old book dealing with issues that are not at all old. And in fact, folks, and I will make reference to this many times, we do ourselves an injustice if we think of Job only in terms of Christians. Because Job is, in many ways, a foreshadowing of Christ and His sufferings. And to think of Him only in the human sense, to think of Him only as He pertains to our own suffering is, I think, just kind of an oversight on our part to not see a far larger picture. And then finally, folks, let me just make this observation. I don't think that any of us would take this kind of criticism of a book in the Bible. But like all Bible books, and particularly Bible books that are dealing with real-life situations, they're edited. They're edited. This is a book that the Spirit of God's attention turns to Job and God. In other words, when you read it, you might raise the question, did not Job's children suffer? Yes, they did. Why doesn't the book talk about that? It just can't. Did Job's wife suffer? Yes, she did. Why doesn't the book talk about that? It can't. That's what I mean by edited. The book has to confine itself at some level. If it's a book about everybody, it becomes a book about nothing, a book that is unreadable. So God is not insensitive to these people, to their own experiences, to their own hurt, but the storyline is the story about God and Job, and it's really about much more than that, but Job is, of course, the main character. So this morning, as we get oriented into the book, we will follow along what is being revealed to us in the first two chapters. They are very much laying a foundation for us about how to think about everything that follows and how to think about what's going on in the life of Job. So with that, let's turn our attention then to the first two chapters. We have already read verses one through five, and they are making a point that is easy to make in the book of Job and hard to make in Omaha, Nebraska in 2024, or harder to make. And that is that there really are genuine, authentic, devoted people in this world. This is where the book starts. There was in the land of Uz a man of Job, one that was perfect. complete. And to just stipulate, folks, not sinless. That will emerge soon enough. But Job is a really good man. In Song of Solomon 5.2 and Song of Solomon 6.9, that same word that is translated here, perfect, is translated undefiled. Undefiled. And not only was he complete, he was upright. He was as straight as an arrow in his conduct. He was not a crook. He was not a pervert. There were no skeletons in his closet. And of course, I mention that, folks, because his friends are going to argue that there most certainly must be skeletons in his closet. There have to be. Nobody experiences what you experience if they didn't really deserve it. And the book is making the argument from the very outset as foundation to the book, folks, is that Job does not deserve anything that happens to him. Does not deserve it. Does not deserve it in any sense of the word. And he feared God. He was a true believer. And he stayed away from evil. That's what the word eschewed means. He stayed away from evil because he is a true believer, because he is a complete man, because he is as straight as an arrow. He is very concerned about the life that he lives. And he had the perfect family. He had a family that was the envy of families everywhere. I mean, who wouldn't want Job's family? Seriously. There were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. He had a large family. In a world in which large families were counted as blessings and symbols of status, he had a large family. His children got along with each other. His sons were very respectful of and in association with their sisters. Verse number four, his sons went and feasted everyone in their houses, everyone his day. Family gatherings were the norm. And he was rich. He was rich. How rich was he? He was the richest man in the East, which from a biblical perspective, folks, makes him the richest man in the world. He is the richest man in the world. I mean, he's got everything. And again, to us, that kind of wealth, you know, I mean, we're intelligent enough and sophisticated enough to recognize the wealth for what it is. It wouldn't mean much to most of us. I wouldn't really know what to do with 7,000 sheep. A long time ago, 35 years ago or so, I got kind of sort of quasi into the sheep-owning business on a temporary basis, had about a dozen, didn't know what to do with them. wouldn't know what to do with 7,000 sheep. But I would find something to do with $7 billion. And that's not the richest man in the world kind of money. Job had more money than that. He was rich. And being truly religious, verse number five points out to us, folks, not superstitious. Job is not superstitious. Don't think of him as a superstitious man. He is not. These are the activities of his devotion, verse number five. It was so because he was a truly godly man who was endeavoring in every aspect of his life to live in a way that was pleasing to God. This is what he did. It was so in the days of their feasting were gone about that he sent and sanctified them and rose up early in the morning and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, it may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually." Again, not superstitious. Don't criticize Job for his conduct in verse number five. The Bible doesn't. This is a man whose devotion and piety is real. It is real. And we will talk about this because our tendency is often when we find somebody in deep distress, even if we don't say it in our words, to wonder in their hearts, I wonder what they've done. And here's the Bible answer for Job, folks. Job had done nothing. Job had done nothing. And in fact, folks, part of the problem will be that Job had done nothing. Job knows he has done nothing. That brings us then to this, if you would turn your attention to chapter one and verse number six. Our story now progresses. We have begun in chapter one, verses one through five on earth. Let me tell you about Job. Secondly, let me tell you that there is a world that is not Job's world. Now, there was a day. When the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan came also among them. And the Lord said unto Satan. Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord and said from going to and from the earth and from walking up and down in it. And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the Lord and said, Doth Job fear God for naught or for nothing? Hast thou not made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands. His substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power. Only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went from the presence of the Lord. And then jump over to chapter two and verse number one. Again, again, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan came also among them. to present himself before the Lord. And the Lord said unto Satan, from whence comest thou? And Satan answered the Lord and said, from going to and fro in the earth and from walking up and down in it. And the Lord said unto Satan, hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil? And still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movest me against him, to destroy him without cause. And Satan said, verse number four, Satan answered the Lord and said, skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth thine hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan, behold, he is in thine hand, but save his life. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord, smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown, and he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal, and he sat down among the ashes. and said his wife, well, we'll come back to verse number nine. We don't need to read verse number nine. So we are introduced to Job and we are informed that there are real, genuine, authentic, godly people in the world whose faith is not hypocritical, whose lives are not hypocritical, who are not just a veneer of Christian activity, the way so often believing people are presented in the world, and unfortunately, so often the way that it ends up that they are, but that is not Job. But secondly, we need to know that there is an invisible world that is not Job's world that is active on earth. Chapter one in verse number six, folks, is a glimpse into a very real world about which we know very little. The very phrasing that is presented there, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, implies an organization and a deliberateness of activity, not just a disarray of flitting angelic beings. There is a real world out there. And in that world of invisible beings, or invisible to us, Jehovah sits supreme. You will notice, folks, that Satan appears before Jehovah. Jehovah does not appear before him. And you will notice that God questions Satan, and Satan does not interrogate God. And you will notice that God grants permission, and Satan receives permission. Jehovah reigns supreme. Nevertheless, Satan wields tremendous power, and the only thing that limits his power is Jehovah. There is no human limitation upon him. There is no political limitation upon him. He is reigned in only to the extent that Jehovah restrains him. And the focus of the interest of these invisible angelic beings is our little planet. Where have you been? Where have you been? I've been on planet Earth. That's where I have been. Not in any of the other universes that Jehovah has spoken into existence. Not the suns or the planets, where have you, I've been on Earth. Earth is what occupies his attention. And folks, this is not something that is confined to the book of Job. In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul tells women to have authority on their heads. Power is how our King James puts it. Women need to have authority on their heads because of the angels. Not because of men, but because of the angels. Peter tells us 1 Peter 1.12 that angels desire to look into the gospel. They're concerned with earthly activities. In 1 Peter 3.22, Peter tells us that angels were made subject to Christ. And Paul tells us in Ephesians 3 that the purpose of the church is to make a point to angelic beings. There's a world out there, folks. that we cannot see, that is very interested in us, that it can see. And so the day comes when these beings present themselves in an orderly and organized fashion before Jehovah, their creator, which brings us then to this thirdly, right? Again, I'm taking the approach that these are governing arguments that will not only govern the book of Job but govern all human conduct and will ultimately, in a larger sense, be seen in the suffering and the glorification of our Savior. Thirdly then, folks, the passage points out to us that the interests of God transcend our comfort, our security, our health, and our happiness. Where have you been? God asked Satan. Not that God doesn't know. Where have you been? I've been earth. Indulge yourself in a little bit of imagination there. What are the options at this point? Where have you been? Let's look at the text, verse number seven. Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord and said, from going to and fro in the earth and from walking up and down in it. Let's just stop there. What are God's options at that point? Could have been dead silence. Okay, just curious where you've been. Could have been, did you see anything cool down there? Could have been something like that. Could have been something like this, pretty evil place, isn't it? Not, no, none of that. Have you thought about Job? He's the best. We have an expression for that, don't we? Don't we call that throwing somebody under the bus? Isn't that throwing somebody, isn't that how we would view it? He threw me under the bus. What about Job? Have you thought about Job? That scene is repeated three times in chapter two. Have you thought about Job? Yeah, I've thought about Job. I'm not the only one that's thought about Job. You've thought about Job. Look at how well you've blessed him and look at how much you've protected him. Who wouldn't want you under those circumstances? And God could have just said absolutely nothing, folks, and let the prosperity gospel thrive. That good people get God's blessings. But that is not what happens. What about Job? And I would go back, folks, to fix it so that you do not accuse me of having said this. God is not throwing Job under the bus in that sense of the word. But do not miss this, folks. God's interests do not necessarily align with ours. Job knew what he had. Job knew what he had. He knew where it came from. He knew that this was the blessing of God. That was never up for debate. He was not ingrate. He did not need to be taught a lesson from God. He knew where all this came from, and he gave God credit for having given it. That's not the point of the story. But neither is the point of the story that God wakes up every sunrise hoping that we're happy and hoping that we're fulfilled and hoping that all of our deepest, darkest questions are answered. That does not preoccupy him either. His interests are different than ours. Fourthly, I've already mentioned this. We see that the great power of Satan. Is restrained only by the mercy of God. Chapter one and verse number 12 and the Lord sent him to Satan. Behold, all that he hath is in thy power. All that he has is in your power. Only upon himself would not forth thine hand. Also, verses 13 through 19. All from Satan's hand. We did not read that, folks, but let's see what Satan's hand can do. Verse number 13. And there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house. And there came a messenger unto Job and said the oxen were plowing and the asses feeding that beside them and the Sabians fell upon them and took them away. Yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another and said, the fire of God has fallen from heaven and hath burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them. And I only am escaped alone to tell thee. And while he was yet speaking, there came also another and said, the Chaldeans made out three bands and fell upon the camels. and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword, and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. And while he was yet speaking, there came also another and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, and behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead, and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. And then Job arose and rent his mantle and shaved his head and fell down upon the ground and worshipped and worshipped. Without one mention of the name Satan. Without one shred of credit except for chapter one and verse number 12. Satan absolutely dismantles Job's life. This continues then when God hands him over to Satan with the exception of death. Verse number six of chapter two, and the Lord said unto Satan, behold, he is in thine hand, but save his life. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord and smoked Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot onto his crown. And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself with all and he sat down among the ashes. And folks, one of the points that is really being made, right, the human drama is extraordinary. But every type of imaginable disaster is in Satan's power. Satan has control of people like the Sabians and the Chaldeans. Satan has the power to bring down fire from heaven. Satan has the power to make strong winds blow. Satan has the power to inflict physical illness. These all come from the hand of Satan. They're specifically attributed to his activity in the text. So there is a foundation being made and there is a progression being made in the foundation that there really are good and godly people in this world. But there is a world of activity that is not preoccupied, that is preoccupied with our world that we cannot see. And Satan is powerful in that world. And he is restrained only by God, whose interests are not necessarily our health, our wealth, our psychological well-being. Those are not necessarily as interests. And then finally, folks, with reference to foundation and introduction, those that suffer, suffer alone. That Job suffers is beyond any shadow of a doubt. What I think the text is trying to make, the point that it is trying to make here, is not that Job suffered, but the loneliness that accompanied that suffering. Look at chapter one and verse number 20. Behold, there came a great wind from the, I'm sorry, verse number 20, and Job arose and rent his mantle, shaved his head, fell down upon the ground and worshiped. These are physical demonstrations of grief in the Mideastern world, to tear one's clothes, to shave one's head. And he said, naked came I out of my mother's womb and naked shall I return thither the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. And in all this, verse number 20, Job sinned not nor charged God foolishly. Because he really is a good guy. And then chapter two in verse number eight, and he took him a potsherd to scrape himself with all and he sat down among the ashes and then said his wife unto him, dost thou still retain thine integrity, curse God and die? But he said unto her, thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God and shall we not receive evil? And all this did not Job sin with his lips. And we will come back to this. I will point this out again, folks, but, right? There is no end to the discussion about what Job's wife meant. I'm not sure that what Job's wife meant is the point of the text as much as the point of the text is that in our suffering it is most likely that when people say something they will say the wrong thing. What do you say to Job? What would be the thing to say to him right now? And then you get to the end of the chapter, folks, in verse number 11. Now, when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, right, the word begins to spread because he is the richest man in the world. He is well known and highly regarded and prominent in his community. Did you hear what happened to Job? And when the word gets to his three friends, They came everyone from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, Zophar the Namathite. For they had made an appointment together for to come to mourn with him and to comfort him. And again, I am not trying to be humorous, but here is three friends and they begin to email each other and go, we got to meet, see Job. Let's make plans. When does your flight get in? So that we can go see him together. And when they show up, verse number 12, they lift up their eyes afar off. knew him not, unrecognizable, so great was his suffering. Verse number 13. So they sat down with him upon the ground. Seven days, seven nights, none spake a word, for they saw that his grief was very great. It is not uncommon for people to say the wrong thing, well-intentioned people to say the wrong thing, and for people not knowing what to say to say nothing. Because, folks, in a very real sense, the kind of suffering that Job endured, he suffered alone. It cannot be shared. Again, I said at the outset, the book is edited. Job didn't lose 10 children. Job and his wife lost 10 children. Job didn't lose all of his money. Job and his wife lost all their money. The focus of the book is upon this one man. His wife said the wrong thing. His friend said nothing. Job is suffering alone. And when we get to chapter three, folks, the words that comes out of Job's mouth are despair and desolation epitomized. These five facts are not simply an introduction to the book of Job. They are the way of the world in which we live. They just are the way of the world in which we live. There are some really good people, really good Christians, really faithful to the Lord. But there is a very powerful adversary restrained only by God whose focus is the earth. And since God's interests are not exactly human interests, It is no injustice on God's part to say to the most powerful of his enemies, have you thought about this servant? Or have you thought about that servant? Because again, folks, there is more going on than just I would like them to be very happy today. And I would like them to feel like their lives mean something. Now again, to read Job and to think about this, let me just give it to you in very brief form. How does this preview Christ? How does this preview Christ? Well, who was more righteous than Job? Jesus. Who was richer than Job? Jesus. Who suffered more than Job? Jesus. Who was restored to glory to a greater degree than Job? Jesus. It's not just Job. But in the suffering and trial of Christ, folks, there is again a template for the suffering and trial of all God's people that our faith will be tested. It must be tested. And this is a trial of Job's faith. And I will make this point again and again as Job enters into the conversation with his friends. It is a trial of Job's faith, not a trial of Job's friends. What will our faith do in the testing? Not what will our friends do? Let's pray. Father, Well, there's just parts of the book that we just really don't want to hear. And as we will see, there are facts presented in Job that are troubling to us to this day. But you are God and you control all things, not just the Satan, but the saints. Give to us your people grace, Thank you for the many remarkable testimonies of enduring faith of your people in the face of great adversity. May our faith be that strong, please, in Christ's name, amen.