Open your Bibles, if you would, to Job chapter 28. Job chapter 28. I don't normally read a passage this long, but tonight, buckle up, I'm gonna read all of chapter 28. It is, in a manner, the heart of the wisdom literature in the Bible. Hear now the reading of God's word. Be careful how you hear. Surely there is a mine for silver and a place for gold that they refine. Iron is taken out of the earth and copper is smelted from the ore. Man puts an end to darkness and searches out to the farthest limit. the oar in gloom and deep darkness. He opens shafts in a valley away from where anyone lives. They are forgotten by travelers. They hang in the air far away from mankind. They swing to and fro. As for the earth, out of it comes bread, but underneath it is turned up as by fire. Its stones are the places of sapphires, and it has dust of gold. That path no bird of prey knows and the falcon's eye has not seen it. The proud beasts have not trodden it, the lion has not passed over it. Man puts his hand to the flinty rock and overturns mountains by the roots. He cuts out channels in the rocks and his eye sees every precious thing. He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light. But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man does not know its worth, and it is not found in the land of the living. The deep says, it is not in me, and the sea says, it is not with me. It cannot be bought for gold, and silver cannot be weighed as its price. It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir. in precious onyx or sapphire. Gold and glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal. The price of wisdom is above pearls. The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, nor can it be valued in pure gold. From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding? It is hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the air. Abaddon and death say we have heard a rumor of it in our ears. God understands the way to it and he knows its place. For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. When he gave to the wind its weight and apportioned the waters by measure, when he made a decree for the rain and a way for the lightning of thunder, Then he saw it and declared it. He established it and searched it out. And he said to man, behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. And to turn away from evil is understanding. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Let's pray. Father, thank you that we get to join together again at the end of this Lord's Day with your word open before us. And we seek wisdom. We seek wisdom from you as it's found in the book of Job. So I ask that you would bless us tonight, help us to think well, help us to see into your word, that we might understand what you have for us, that we might be blessed by the working of your spirit even in this time. For we pray it in Jesus' name, amen. So tonight, we are obviously returning to the Ark of Redemption series, and it's our goal to cover the entirety of the book of Job, and it's a long book, and there is a whole lot there, but really, I think to get an idea, really, of what it's aiming at, we need to ask ourselves this question. Why do bad things happen to good people? Some people clearly deserve the hardship that befalls them, But what about those who are innocent? What about those who haven't done those evil things and yet experienced the hardship? Now we might respond in good theologically correct fashion and say that as has been said, there are no good people, which is indeed true. No one is good. And so maybe we should turn it around and ask the question, why do good things happen to bad people? Also a legitimate question. And that's right and true as far as it goes, but it's ultimately incomplete and unhelpful. And that's what the book of Job is addressing. Is my suffering caused by my wrongdoing? Do I suffer because I have done wrong? That's the question that Job forces us to ask and answer. And so as we work through it today, we're gonna use the same format we've used in previous messages. We'll start off just with some introductory information about the book of Job itself. No idea who the author is, unknown author, that doesn't bother us. We're kind of getting used to that, particularly in the Old Testament, not a problem. It takes place outside of the promised land, somewhere in the east in the land of Uz. So it's outside of the promised land, and indeed, only one of the characters even appears to be Hebrew. Elihu himself. What that tells us, I think the upshot of it being not in the promised land, nor particularly amongst God's chosen people, is that this is a universal book, asking universal questions about life. The subject is universal. We finished up just a few weeks ago, we finished up with the book of Esther and talked about really the conclusion of the historical books of the Old Testament. Now we turn to the books of wisdom and Job is the first of five books of wisdom that are different. If you've been reading along in 1st and 2nd Chronicles and Kings and all that stuff, you notice there's a pattern, there's a theme, it's historical. Even the book of Esther is similar to that and yet we come to Job and though it has some prose portions, though it tells historical events and tells stories as it were and includes in there a lot of conversation and whatnot, yet it's clearly a different kind of book. We've introduced a new series. This is the Wisdom series. And so this book and the four that are following are different in the Old Testament. They read differently. They have different purposes. They are to be interpreted differently. They're their own genre. And actually there's variations within the genres of the five books of the Wisdom literature. And so we might define for ourselves, trying to understand what wisdom literature is seeking to do, we might say the wisdom literature seeks to understand the world and how it works under the one true God. That's what the wisdom books are talking about. They do it from a different perspective. Obviously, Proverbs reads very differently from Ecclesiastes, reads very differently from Song of Solomon, et cetera. But that's the basic question, is seeking to understand how the world works under the one true God. So if we look at an outline, of the book of Job. It's long. It's 42 chapters long. And if you've read through it, you see that there's repetition. And that's because of the way it is laid out Really, the first two chapters are a prologue for us. It's a beginning of the book. It tells a story, and it's a story about these events. First of all, we're introduced to Job and Job's character, an upstanding, outstanding, unique kind of man, right, is the way he's painted. He's a very righteous man, and he's been blessed by God. He's very wealthy. and he has a large family that is doing very well. He's been blessed in many, many ways. And then we're introduced in the middle of chapter one to the heavenly council, a conversation that exists between God and angelic beings. And so you turn to chapter one and you look at verse six. After having been introduced to who Job is and what he's like, glowing character reference here from our author, we get to verse six. Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, from where have you come? Satan answered the Lord and said, from going to and fro on the earth and from walking up and down on it. And the Lord said to Satan, A fateful sentence, have you considered my servant Job that there is none like him on the earth? A blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. Then Satan answered the Lord and said, does Job fear God for no reason? In other words, Satan retorts to the Lord and says, well of course he fears you, you've given him everything. He's wealthy, he's got a big happy family, everything goes super well for this guy. Of course he loves you, of course he would serve you. Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands and his possessions have increased in the land, but stretch out your hand and touch all that he has and he will curse you to your face. The Lord said to Satan, behold, all that he has is in your hand. only against him do not stretch out your hand. So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. So get what's going on here. This is the introduction to our main character. We've been introduced to what he's like and then we flash into this scene in heaven where there's a conversation going on between God and Satan, and Satan says, I've been wandering around doing this and that, and God says, God is the one who brings up Job's name. Have you considered my servant Job? The enemy responds and says, Job just serves you because you've been so good to him. if he were to experience any kind of hardship, he would turn on you in a minute. God said, okay, let's see. Don't touch him, but you can touch his stuff. Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand. And we know, the story continues the remainder of this chapter, that in a single day, destruction comes to all that Job has. His kids are killed, all of his wealth is decimated. And what does he do? Job arose, verse 20, tore his robe, shaved his head, fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, naked I came from my mother's womb. Naked shall I return. The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away, Blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. So, chapter 2 and verse 1, again there was a day where the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord. And Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. And the Lord said to Satan, from where have you come? And Satan answered the Lord and said, from going to and fro on the earth, from walking up and down on it. The Lord said to Satan, again, the Lord said to Satan, have you considered my servant Job? That there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. He still holds fast his integrity. although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason. Then Satan answered the Lord and said, skin for skin, all that a man has he will give for his life, but stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh and he will curse you to your face. So in other words, Satan is complaining and saying, well last time, I didn't get to come at him particularly. I was not allowed to affect his health, to attack him personally, physically. That's really the reason he stayed strong because really all that a man cares about is his life. Verse six, the Lord said to Satan, behold, he is in your hand. Only spare his life. So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. And then his wife said to him, do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die. But he said to her, you speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God and shall we not receive evil? In all of this, Job did not sin with his lips. This is not the most shining moment of wives in the Bible. There are many, many greater ones, but Job's wife is very memorable. One person is left to him, and what a bummer. She ends up being Negative. So that's the story. That sets the scene. That's what's going on. And the rest of the book is about the discussions that Job has with his friends. I could put air quotes around friends, and I could put air quotes around comforters. because they come to sit with him and help him through this problem and they are a mess. But these three people come and they sit. Job complains, why was I even born? This is miserable, what happened? I didn't deserve this and all of that stuff. And so he complains and then a conversation begins. A dialogue between Job and his three comforters. It happens in three cycles. where they talk, and then Job responds, and then they talk, and Job responds. It goes over and over again throughout from chapters three through 31. Those discussions go on, and the basic nature of the discussions is can Job be righteous before God? Job keeps saying, I didn't do anything. I didn't do it. And his friends keep saying, well, but Job, you're really not telling us about that thing. You know, the thing that makes you guilty before God. And they keep pushing that thing. And Job's like, well, tell me what it is then, because I don't know. And that's the discussion on and on. Can Job actually be righteous before God? That's the question. And then in chapter 32, a young man shows up. He had been there for a while listening, but hadn't said anything. His name is Elihu. which he appears to be the only Hebrew in the mix. And he rebukes the three comforters and what they had to say. He rebukes Job and his basic message is that suffering is kind of a discipline from God. So God is teaching you something in this Job. And so Elihu is a little bit more on point than the comforters were, than the three friends were. But he still has missed out. And If you think about the nature of the story, if you think about what's really going on, you and I as the reader have a perspective that nobody in the story has except God himself and Satan. Job wasn't, he wasn't at this heavenly council. He didn't have a report on this heavenly council. He didn't know that this heavenly council had ever happened. He had no idea. He's just living his life. and all of a sudden these things begin to happen. He has no clue about what has gone on up there. You and I do because we're the reader. That's the way the book is laid out. We understand really what the dilemma is. If we didn't have chapters one and two and we just started reading in chapter three that here's this man who was apparently a good guy, but he's got all this stuff that has happened to him, we might find ourselves kind of agreeing with the three friends. Surely there's something, Job. Surely. We have this perspective, though, that because we know what went down in this heavenly council, we understand better what is going on in this situation. We have a perspective that none of these three friends do. And then Elihu comes along as well. And in the book, in chapter 38 through 42, if you, I would encourage you to read this tonight. Chapter 38 through 42, it's one of those passages that's to be read at the top of your voice. It's so good. The Lord responds and he addresses Job, he addresses the three friends. The basic essence of what he says is do you understand the whole universe? Because if you do, I'll listen to you. But if you don't, you might consider listening for a minute. Do you understand how justice works? Do you understand what true almighty power is? If you do, maybe I'll listen. But if you don't, why don't you just close your mouth? is the response after these three cycles of discussion between these. Let me turn to chapter 38 and begin reading this lest you think I'm overstating it. Chapter 38 verse 1, the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, Who determined its measurements? Surely you know. Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk and who laid its cornerstone when all the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Or who shut in the sea with doors? when it burst out from the womb. When I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors and said, thus far you shall come and no farther. And here shall your proud waves be stayed. Have you commanded the morning since your days began and caused the dawn to know its place? That it might take hold of the skirts of the earth and the wicked be shaken out of it? And then he goes on and continues and he goes in there and gives a tour, basically, of all of creation and says, he addresses massive issues like the planets and stars and things, what goes on on the earth. Here we talked about the foundations of the earth. We talked about the sea, who sets the barrier for the sea. He talks about animals and those animals that we don't even know where they give birth to their young. We were watching a documentary the other day about great white sharks. Still don't know where they have their pups. You would think we know everything. Just look it up on your phone and you'll know everything. Well, no, we don't know everything, right? God is saying, if you know that, then you can have a seat at the table to discuss with me about what is wise and what is right and good. It's very, very humbling. to read this, particularly maybe in our day and age where we're pretty sure we know all things, can figure out all things, and the Lord is saying, you have not yet figured out all things. You will not figure out all things. And then it concludes in chapter 42 with the epilogue where Job is vindicated, where his friends are rebuked, And actually, they're exhorted, hey, why don't you go let Job offer sacrifices for you, because he's that much more righteous than you, you miserable comforters, right? And then Job's own fortunes are restored. So that's the nature of the story. You've probably read Job, and you've probably, none of that was news to you, but it is a powerful, a powerful, book that lays out for us this question of, am I suffering because of what I've done? Or maybe to put it a different way, if I am suffering, does that mean I have done wrong to deserve it? Because the answer again and again and again in Job, about Job is no, you didn't deserve this. It resulted from things that you don't understand. It resulted from goings on, a conversation you were not privy to. It resulted from things that are behind the curtain in spiritual reality that you don't have access to, that you can't look at. That's the reason you're suffering, Job. Job's friends. That's the nature of the story, and it causes us to ask hard questions. It causes us to think deeply about some of these things. So I wanna look at the redemptive historical contributions that are going on. The redemptive historical context is hard to nail down. It's very old. Perhaps it takes place around the time of Abraham or something similar to that as far as timeframe. But the book itself gives us some important redemptive historical contributions that help us understand the story of the Bible and the direction that it's going. And the first idea is a theological concept. The righteous might suffer. Job establishes a clear category for a righteous one, suffering for reasons that are ultimately good and legitimate, but which are invisible and undetectable on this plane. Job isn't suffering because of anything he did wrong. He's suffering because of an ultimate good, something that is legitimate, but it's behind the veil. It's invisible, it's undetectable on this plane. Job gives us a clear category for that, which of course prepares us to think about Jesus. If we had in our minds the idea that obedience to God equals blessing, immediate blessing from God, If that equation is ironclad and that's all there is to the story, then Jesus doesn't make sense. Because Jesus obeys God perfectly and yet suffers. Job prepares for us the category for that, that there might be a righteous one who would suffer for a greater purpose that is not visible on this plane. which of course points us to Jesus. And Job himself actually specifically looks for a redeemer. If you turn to 16, chapter 16, verses 19 through 21, there are a couple of famous verses in this book. Job 16, verses 19 through 21. Here's Job. responding and he says, My friends scorn me, my eye pours out tears to God that he would argue the case of a man with God as a son of man does with his neighbor. He says there is one in heaven who is my witness that he continues to cling to God, he continues to trust in him and he looks for this one in heaven who will argue for him. He'll later call him a redeemer. He looks for this one before God who will be his friend, his true friend, a witness in heaven. Look at 19, verses 23 through 27. Oh, that my words were written. Oh, that they were inscribed in a book. Oh, that with an iron pen and lead, they were engraved in the rock forever. For I know that my Redeemer lives. And at the last, he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me. So here Job is looking for this one who is this redeemer who will make this all right, who will make it so that Job will be able to stand in the end, that Job will see God in his flesh. Job in his flesh will see God. So it's not developed, but it's this idea that is in there that Job already has that in his place of terrible suffering, The correction of the issue or the resolution of his suffering and the resolution of his problem is to be found with a redeemer. One who is in heaven and yet will stand on earth and will reconcile Job to God and bring him to a place where he will actually see God in his flesh. So there's this concept being developed. And again, there's not a lot there. There's some there. Perhaps resurrection is there. We have the Redeemer. Perhaps there's some hints at incarnation there. But nevertheless, Job is looking for a Redeemer. And so there's this category established for a Redeemer, one who will redeem people before God. I think those are the two primary redemptive historical contributions of the book. But there are plenty of theological contributions where we move next. If you will turn back to chapter one, the first contribution, and maybe you're beginning to hear it because we're, what, 17, 18 books into the Bible, and this has happened in pretty much every single book where the sovereignty of God in all things has been held up. Book after book after book after book. where we see God at work, and that is no different here with Job. In the book of Job, we have presented God's sovereignty, we have presented the concepts of primary causes and secondary causes, or we might say proximate causes, or those that are nearer to us, and ultimate causes that are more distant from us. And so you have, for example, the description of what happens in the life of Job. Look at chapter one, verse 15. I want you to notice who is doing the acting here. Chapter one, verse 15, the Sabaeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you. Job's children were attacked. The oxen were plowing the fields, the donkeys feeding beside them, and the Sabaeans fell upon them. Right? And so it's actually here, it's the livestock and whatnot. They are attacked. It's the Sabaeans who do that work. Look down at verse 17. While he was yet speaking, there came another servant that ran in to give this message about all of Job's life being destroyed and the message was this. The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword and I alone have escaped to tell you. Who did it? Chaldeans. Before it was the Sabeans. Well, look at verse 19. It started in verse 18, so we get the whole story. When he was yet speaking, there came another and said, your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness, struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you. What caused it here? It was a weather event. It was wind. But even in this very passage, you've got a different actor being described. You've got a different cause. Now, were the Chaldeans a cause? Absolutely. The Sabeans, were they a cause? Absolutely. Was the wind a cause of what happened? Yes, absolutely. We don't deny that those things caused it, but there's more to the story. Look at verse 12. You remember, we read this earlier. The Lord said to Satan, behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand. So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. The instruction there is, get to it, Satan. Begin your destructive work. And look at chapter two and verse seven. So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, this is the second meeting, and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. Who's the cause here? Well, Satan. Is Satan a cause? Yes. Could he legitimately be described as a cause of what happened to Job? Yes. But what about the Sabaeans? Yep, them too. The Chaldeans? Yep. The wind? Yep. Satan? Yep. We've got a lot of causes, and yet, go to chapter 42. We have to learn to think in these categories or we will not be able to understand our Bibles. Chapter 42 and verse 11, then came to him, all his brothers and sisters, and all who had known him before and ate bread with him in his house, and they showed him sympathy and comforted him for the evil that the Lord had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold. Who ultimately caused this? Ultimately, ultimately, the remote cause, the ultimate cause is God himself. And you've got all these causes that are in between God and His sovereign working ultimately. And how it plays out in the life of Job. In the language of Job. It was caused by the Chaldeans, by the Sabeans, by the wind and by Satan. And ultimately God is behind it all. If we don't understand the idea of ultimate cause and proximate cause, or a primary cause and secondary cause, the one that's nearer to us, we will not be able to understand the Bible. We will misread it again and again. The sovereignty of God is at work in this situation, and only we, the reader, see it. Because we saw a peak behind the veil into that heavenly council. Second, the second theological contribution here. is in regard to comfort. Comfort is a word that's found about 10 times in the book of Job. He refers a couple of times to his friends as miserable comforters, and indeed they are. Friends like those who needs enemies, right? But the question is, how can Job be comforted in his suffering? Now his friends bring some trite and glib counsel. Well, clearly, Job, you did wrong. The reason you're suffering is because you did wrong, obviously. Stop lying about it. Stop covering it up. Why don't you just fess up, Job? And Job's like, you know, show me. Show me where. They have the idea of how God works and how this world works and they give their counsel through it and it is utterly unhelpful. There are some true things found in what the three friends say and what Elihu says. but ultimately in helping Job be comforted in his situation or even understand it rightly, they are of no help. So Job is not to be comforted through trite and glib counsel from ignorant friends, not through the blaming God and demanding an answer, which is kind of what Job ends up doing. He knows that God's ultimately cause for this and he wonders why God has made himself his enemy. So he demands an answer from God, answer me. That's why the Lord responds in chapter 38 the way he does. Okay, gird up your loins. We're fixed to have a conversation. His comfort does not come from thin theology, poorly applied, Nor does it come through blaming God and demanding an answer. His comfort is to be found in trusting God in the midst of his suffering. In the midst of his suffering. I want you to look at a, I don't often go to the marginal readings, but you're already in chapter 42. Look at verse six. This is a piece of, of, Poetry here in Hebrew poetry is difficult to translate, and the ESV says, therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes, which makes sense. But look down at your marginal reading, mine has a little number there, what takes me to the bottom, that tells me it can also be translated, therefore I despise myself and am comforted in dust and ashes. And I think, Whether that's the best translation here or not, it gives the idea of where there is to be found comfort for Job. It's not in rescue from dust and ashes. It's not in finding whom to blame. It's in trusting God while he's scraping his skin with broken pottery. trusting God in the midst of that, knowing that God is good, knowing that God is sovereign, knowing that God is at work, that is where the comfort is to be found. So often, I am prone, and probably you are prone, to thinking that the only rescue from the hardship I'm in, the only comfort I can have in it is to be yanked out of that hardship. Then I'll be comforted. And Job says right in the middle of it is where there is comfort. Trust in the Lord. You may or may not be rescued out. You may or may not be pulled out of that horrible situation. But you can be comforted right smack in the middle of that situation because of trusting the Lord, knowing that He is good, knowing that He is at work, knowing that Romans 8, 28 is a true verse in the Bible, that He does indeed work good for all those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. The good may not be the kind of good we signed up for. But it is the good that God knows we need, and he goes on in the next verse to talk particularly there in Romans chapter eight about how it's reflected in our sanctification, being made more like Christ. He is working good in our lives. Job would have us understand that there is comfort to be found right smack in the middle of the dust and ashes. There's a third theological contribution. That is, God rules the world according to wisdom, not according to justice. He rules the world according to his wisdom, not according to justice. You remember, Jesus was walking along with the disciples in John chapter nine, and the disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned? Was it this man or was it his parents that he should be born blind? And Jesus said, oh, it wasn't because of his sin. It wasn't because of his parents' sin. It's so that the works of God might be shown in him. God rules the world according to his wisdom, not according to justice. The idea of justice is that if I do good, I get good. If I do bad, I get bad. Often that is the case. Not always. That's not the underlying way God governs the world. He governs the world based upon his wisdom. And we have the wisdom, the insight in Job here because we got to see what went on in the heavenly realm that helped us to interpret and understand what was happening with Job. And so we were able to watch that. But in your life and in my life, we don't get to peek behind the veil. We're not privy to the conversations that God has with anyone else. We're privy to what he says in his word and what we see with our eyes. And so we're left in this condition looking at our circumstances to ask hard questions. And are we going to fall for the idea that God governs this world based upon justice? And so if something bad is happening to me, it must be because of something bad I did. Or even worse, if something bad is happening to you, I'm just gonna have to poke around until I find out what it is you did that you would be suffering. God doesn't operate the world based on justice. Ultimately, in the end, there will be justice. Not in this world necessarily. In the new heavens and new earth, all will be made right. All justice will be rendered. We are not there yet. There are some ethical contributions, and I need to pick up the pace. Related to what we've just been talking about, the first ethical contribution of Job is that the Bible does not teach a health and wealth gospel where we obey God and he always blesses us and he does so right away. We are to obey God because of who he is and who we are as his creatures. He often blesses us in our obedience, but not always, and not always right away. for reasons that we often don't understand. God often gives his children a path of suffering in this life. We do not live in a health and wealth world. Secondly, there's an exhortation to humility. Job's and his friend's biggest problem is that they have spoken boldly about that which is mysterious and ultimately unknown to them. They've made bold proclamations. His friends have made accusations about him. Rooted in ignorance because they didn't have all of the information because they had not seen behind the veil. And of course they hadn't seen behind the veil. They might have walked a little more carefully. Look at chapter 38 and verse two. We read this already. but it's a theme that will come up again. Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Quick to give an answer. Sure they know the way. Sure they understand the whole thing. Willing to level accusations against Job, who is a man godlier than them. Chapter 42 and verse two. Starting in verse one, then Job answered the Lord and said, I know that you can do all things, that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore, I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me which I did not know, says Job. So there's an exhortation to humility that we need to be aware that we know a peace and not the whole. Thirdly, there is this ethical encouragement or exhortation from the life of Job. Job pleads his case to God, even though in his mind and in his thinking, God has made himself his biggest adversary. And yet, where does Job go for help? Where does Job cry? Where does Job plead? With God. even though in his mind somehow he doesn't understand God has been the problem. God has made himself his enemy, and yet he persists in going to God. Where else is he gonna go? And so he goes to the Lord. I would encourage you in that way in your own life, whatever type of struggle it might be, go to the Lord with that struggle. Even though in your own confusion and your own ignorance and your own lack of grasp of the totality of all the information that's going on, even though in your thinking somehow maybe God is the problem here, yet go to Him. He's your God. Go to Him. I don't even know how to word this last one, but if you think of Proverbs 3, 5, and 6, trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. Job's friends rewrote that verse to something like this. Explain and defend the Lord with all your heart and lean hard into your understanding and draw your conclusions based upon that. That's what the friends did. Job rewrote it also. Job rewrote it thus, trust in the Lord with all your heart but demand answers that fit your own understanding. There is an exhortation to humility in this book. We do not know all that goes on. And the relentless wave after wave after wave of word from the Lord, beginning in chapter 38, ought to drive this point home to us. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Well, not even thought of, except by you, right? Do you know where the such and such has their baby? Nope, no clue. Have you seen the storehouses of hail? Right, we should begin to get the idea. The Lord would have us trust him in his limitless wisdom and sovereign goodness. He would have us know that we are to acknowledge him in all our ways and he will make our paths straight even if we don't see that happen as quickly as we'd like. Continue to trust him. Continue to look to him though the answer has not yet come. Job's friends think he is suffering because of how bad he must have been at some point. But in reality, the reader knows that Job is suffering because he is one of the best, a choice child of God, selected by God to endure this. Hardly was it the result of anything he had done wrong, but on the other hand, It was because of his obedience and God was putting him to the test, was willing to put him to the test. Job getting tested like this was ultimately God's idea. It wasn't something that Satan cooked up. God is the one who suggests Job. Chapter two and verse 10. which we read already, shall we receive good from God and shall we not receive evil? Now we might think about that and wonder, well, wait a minute, does evil come from the Lord? Well, not directly, no, God doesn't do evil. And yet God is ultimately sovereign and working in such a way that evil happens to us that he intended. And so Job can say, Shall we receive good from God and shall we not receive evil? And look at the commendation. In all this, Job did not sin with his lips. What he said was true. The evil that befalls us is ultimately intended by God, designed for our good, for purposes we don't comprehend. in ways we could never fathom. We could never plumb those depths. And yet, that's what Job says. That's what the whole book says to us. And so we can trust the Lord even when we suffer and don't know why. We'd like to know why, just like Job wanted to know why, but we don't have to know. We can trust the Lord in his goodness, that he is working good for us even when we don't see that goodness. around us. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths. Let's pray. Father, we have touched the surface here of these hard questions. But we see how they relate directly to our lives as we have dear ones around us who suffer. Perhaps we're suffering ourselves and we ask why. That's the first question we ask. And it's a question we demand an answer to that we usually don't get the answer to. But here in the book of Job, we are reminded and we are exhorted that there is an answer, though we don't have it. And we, on this plane, who don't have that answer, can be okay without having that answer. knowing that our God is sovereign and that he is at work, that he is accomplishing good, that he operates this entire creation based upon his wisdom and we can trust his wisdom even when it hurts for the moment. So Father, I pray that you would help us to learn these lessons of Job, that we would indeed trust right in the middle of the dust and the ashes and be comforted there. not demanding to be lifted out, not demanding an explanation of how this could be, but trusting you in the midst of it because of who you are. We are so grateful for Jesus, our Savior, who has redeemed us and brought us into right relationship with you. We are so grateful that we have you as our God and we can trust you even when all the world around us would say otherwise. I pray for each one of us here that we would indeed do that. that the hard thing we're going through now would direct us to trust you, and the next hard thing that we face, that we would trust you. Father, we're grateful for your goodness, for your work, for who you are, and we worship you, and we praise you, and we thank you in Jesus' name, amen.