Take our Bibles, turn to Job chapter 27. We'll be going through chapters 27 through chapters 31, dealing with Job's last speech to his friends. As we've seen through this study, Job's friends have been doing their best to tell him what he is doing wrong. Overall, their comments, their thoughts that God judges sin is true, but as pastor has pointed out, they are applying the wrong medicine to Job's problem. And if you are like me, Or like Job, if someone is continually telling you what you are doing wrong, over and over and over, even though you know you are not, you just wait for that opportunity to set the record straight. The author of the book that Pastor is going through puts it this way. These men have tried their hardest to force a bronco into a stall much too small. They've pled, pulled, coaxed, shoved, frightened, smacked, called him names, and they have the bruises to show for it. But in chapter 27, Job bucks free and cuts loose on his longest discourse by far. And he starts off in chapter 27, verse one. Moreover, Job continued his parable. Now, when we think about parables, probably what's going to come into our mind is the study that we went through before Job, the parables of Christ, where Christ is using pictures to teach something for the audience. In the Hebrew, the word parable, though, is a very versatile word. And what it means, especially in this instance, is it is a speech designed to cause someone to reflect and come to a verdict about the subject under discussion. Okay, we would put it this way. This would be the closing arguments in a court case. Job's saying, listen, I've heard what you have to say. Here are my final remarks. And when we get to the end of chapter 31, Job ends this speech very effectively to let his friends know, there is nothing more for you to add to this. What Job is going to deal with in these several chapters is a discourse contrasting the theological fantasy with reality. One of the difficulties that I run into, that I know Pastor has run into, and other pastors who seek to get more education, get their masters, work on their doctorates, is taking those things that we can discuss around the theological water cooler, in the dorm room, we can discuss all of these theological concepts that are way up here, and we can have all of the answers. But taking those concepts and bringing them down and applying them in such a way that a young person can understand those concepts. And that's what Job is dealing with here. We're going to see that Job employs the most extreme measure available in his society for a condemned person to plead innocent. Okay, he is going to swear an oath based on the existence of God. Verse two of chapter 27, as God liveth. who hath taken away my judgment, and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul all the while my breath is in me, and the Spirit of God is in my nostrils, my lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. God forbid that I should justify you. Till I die, I will not remove mine integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast and will not let it go. My heart shall not reproach me so long as I live." Okay? You know, Job is doing what we would do in a courtroom today, where you put your hand on the Bible, and you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God. That is what Job is doing. And in his defense, he says, I'm not going to justify you. I'm not going to let you have the satisfaction of thinking that you are correct, because you're not. Instead, I'm going to prove my innocence. Job follows his oath of innocence with an imprecation against his enemies in verses seven through 10. let my enemy be as the wicked. Okay, and if we think through the arguments that Job's three friends have been giving for the last several chapters, what do they say happens to the wicked? Okay, the wicked will be destroyed, the wicked will be judged, the wicked will go through all of these things, and they're applying it to Job, and Job right here is turning it on them. He's saying, let those who oppose me, let my enemy, which is going to include his three friends at this point. Be as the wicked person. You know, when we think of imprecations, okay, or imprecatory Psalms, we see several imprecatory Psalms throughout the book of Psalms. These are the Psalms that you read through and you come to church and you hope that the pastor isn't gonna preach on those. You know, those are the Psalms where David prays that God would smash the teeth of his enemies. If you've ever had a broken tooth, you know how fun that is. Or the Psalms where David prays that God would destroy the children, you know, may this person be childless. You're like, wait a second, that's not a, that's not a lovey-dovey sermon that you want to hear preached. But when we hear those imprecatory Psalms, and as we see here in Job's instance, these imprecatory statements against the enemies, they're not using these imprecatory prayers as someone who has wronged me. Okay, when David prays the imprecatory Psalms, he's not saying, God, this person has wronged me, therefore you need to revenge me. But rather they are reserved for those who are wronging God, those who have done evil against him. And Job is giving these imprecatory statements, and when we get to chapter 31, we're gonna see him applying them even to himself to prove his innocence. And after Job goes through this in verse, chapter 27, he teaches them things that they should know about God. And as we read some of his statements, it almost sounds like he is agreeing with them. Okay, in chapter five, we heard about Eliphaz insisting the children of the wicked are far from safety. And in Job chapter 27, verse 14, Job asserts that if the children of the wicked be multiplied, it is for the sword. Okay, the children of the wicked have no safety. Bildad in chapter eight dealt with the fact the house of the wicked is unstable. Job here in chapter 27 verse 18 asserts that the wicked builds his house as a moth. Think of how stable and how sturdy a cocoon is. How well is that going to keep you safe? You know, it's not. Gabriel is at the stage right now where he loves wrapping himself up in the blanket, and he'll lay the blanket out flat, and he'll make sure there are no wrinkles or creases, and then he'll lay down, grab it, and he'll just roll. And then he'll want you to step on him. It's like, no, child. This isn't going to protect you. And that's what Job is saying. You know, the wicked person, their security is just like that cocoon. And it seems to be agreeing with what Bildad had said. Bildad and Zophar in chapters 18 and chapters 20 said that the wicked were constantly besieged with terror. In Job here in verse 20 of chapter 27, terrors take hold on the wicked as waters. A tempest stealeth him away in the night. The east wind carryeth him away and he departs. The storm hurleth him out of his place. And so it seems like Job is agreeing with his friends, but in reality he is mimicking them. The purpose that Job is getting at we find in verse 11. After he has gone through and he started by swearing his innocence on the existence of God, after he's made these imprecatory statements against his enemy, Job states in verse 11, I will teach you by the hand of God that which is with the Almighty, will I not conceal? Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it. Why then are ye thus altogether vain? Job is going to teach his friends the truth about God. And he says, these are things that you have seen, but all your arguments are empty. You should know these things, but you've been wasting my time for the last 26 chapters. If Job were to read his life in the chapters. Job is going to shift his tone for the remainder of the defense. In fact, once we get through this chapter, Job is no longer going to address these friends at all. He says, I've said what I've needed to for you, now let me tell you how it is. And while he is speaking to them, he is not addressing them. And in chapter 28, maybe, there we go. We missed one? Which one did we miss? Oh, here. Oh, sorry, here. Okay, it sounds like Job is agreeing with his friends in these statements. He's just kind of, and we've seen kids do this on the playground. I know you are, but what am I? The wicked is this, and so is that. He's just making fun of them. He's mocking them. You think you know what the wicked person's like? You think I'm wicked? You are. Okay, so Job is just imitating what he has heard them say. And in chapter 28, we see the wisdom of God. This statement that he makes in this chapter, this whole chapter is just a masterpiece of poetic brilliance as you read through it. Now there is some discussion among the scholars as far as who is actually inserting chapter 28. Is the narrator interrupting the story and putting this in as the narrator has interrupted the story to give us key information before? He told us the stuff in chapters one and two that Job doesn't know. And it's possible. You know, there's no huge issue if the narrator is putting this in here, but there's no reason to think that the narrator is doing this. It reads a little easier, Job, going from, I'll show you who God is, to here's the wisdom of God, and doing it himself. It revolves around a central question found in verses 12 and then again in verse 20. Verse 12, Job asked the question, but where shall wisdom be found? Where is the place of understanding? And then in verse 20, whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding? And Job, in asking these questions, is going to demonstrate really the futility of our imagination, of our mind, of our ability to come up with wisdom. And he does this in three ways. Okay, this poem is about where to find wisdom and understanding He starts it off dealing with the fact that we know where and how to find earthly wealth in the first several verses here. Starting in verse one, surely there is a vein for the silver and a place for the gold where they find it. Iron is taken out of the earth and brass is molten out of the stone. He setteth an end to darkness and searcheth out all perfection, the stones of darkness and the shadow of death. The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant, even the waters forgotten of the foot. As they are dried up, they are gone away from men. As for the earth, out of it cometh bread, and under it is turned up, as it were, fire. The stones of it are the places of sapphires, and it hath dust of gold." And Job starts off saying, listen, if you want earthly riches, earthly wealth, we can figure out how to find the gold. We can figure out how to find the silver. We can figure out how to find the sapphire. Just reading through it again right now, it boggles my mind. Do you know where the majority of sapphires and diamonds are found? Volcanic tubes, where there's intense heat and pressure. And Job says, under the earth is turned up, as it were, fire, and the stones of it are the places of sapphire. The Bible is not a science book, but it sure is scientifically accurate. Job says, we know where to find the silver, we know where to find the gold, but where is the mine for wisdom? Where's the shaft for understanding? He continues it, where then does wisdom come from? And where can one find understanding? And he deals with this starting in verse 23. God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. Wisdom and understanding are found in God alone. God is the only mine of wisdom and understanding. In verse 28, I find this interesting and maybe it'll just be me. Job says, unto man, God, he said, God said, behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. And to depart from evil is understanding. Does that sound familiar? Where else do we see that? Okay, Proverbs, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but we also see it earlier in Job. Job chapter one, verse one, there was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was perfect and upright, one that feared God and eschewed or departed from evil. So what God has told Job about finding wisdom. Who is the wisest man that we've come across in this book? In the book of Job. Job. Okay, you want wisdom, fear God, and depart from evil, hate evil. And that's exactly who Job is. And so his friends who have been telling him how bad he is, how evil he is, how wicked he is, because God is judging him. God is essentially putting the stamp of approval on Job right here saying, no, Job is a wise person. He is the one that is correct. His friends, not so much. Job directs the attention here to the God who sees everything, who knows the truth about everyone. And when we get into chapter 29 and 30, Job reflects on the past and the present. You know, back in the good old days. My good old days probably aren't as good as some of the other good old days in this room. My good old days, you could go outside in the neighborhood and not have to worry about stuff. My parents' good old days, you could not just be in the neighborhood, but you could wander anywhere, as long as you were home by the time the lamp lights came on. The good old days, back when you didn't have to worry about people driving 90 miles an hour down the road because your car was only going to go 45. The good old days. The good old days where politicians weren't as corrupt. Never mind, politicians have always been corrupt. But when we think about and reflect on the good old days, we tend to think about when it was good for us. Job, as he is reflecting on the good old days here in chapter 29, he's not so much reflecting on when things were necessarily good from a human standpoint for him. He begins, he continues his parable, verse one, by reflecting and reminiscing over the blessings of the past. And here's what he says, oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me. when his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness, as I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle, when the Almighty was yet with me. You know, when Job is thinking back to the good old days, the majority of his thought isn't when society was better, when culture was more moral, When I had all of my wealth. Where are the good old days for Job? When God's blessing was there. When God was actively with him. And he spends these several lines dealing with God being with him and it's only at the very end where Job deals with anything material. When my children were about me. I don't know how many times I've had conversations with individuals who are older who tell me the same thing, enjoy your kids now. And I'm thinking, okay, it's 4.30 in the morning and Gabriel is jumping on my head. I'm enjoying this. But yes, enjoy your children. When I washed my steps with butter and the rock poured me out rivers of oil. Now, I would not recommend washing your steps with butter when you get home. Maybe your neighbor's steps if you don't care for them to, no. Okay, why would you wash your steps with butter? Why would rocks pour forth oil? Job's using an analogy here. He's a hyperbole, if I have the correct term. Things were so well, I had so much butter, I had so much fat off my milk that I could have washed my steps with it. There was so much oil, it was as if the rocks were just sweating oil. You know, similar to when Solomon was king, and the Bible tells us that when Solomon was king, silver was as the dust of the street. gold was as rocks on the ground. And we think about how much wealth gold and silver are today. And when Solomon is king, there's so much of it. He's turning it into shields. Gold is a terrible metal to try to block an arrow or a sword. And yet Solomon has so much gold, he's making all these decorative shields. It's as if you were to go outside in the parking lot and pick up some gravel and you have a handful of gold. That's how common gold was during Solomon's reign. Job says, man, the good old days when God was with me. When he had respect from his people. When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street, the young men saw me and they hid themselves. The aged arose and stood up. Princes refrained from talkings and laid their hands on their mouth. Nobles held their peace. When the ear heard me, so when people heard Job speak, they blessed him. When the eye saw me, it gave witness to him. And Job goes through and he explains why, and it's not because he was wealthy. You know, I'm blanking on the exact words, but in the... Now I'm blanking on the title of the musical. Fiddler on the Roof. Okay? When he is singing his little song about if I were a rich man, you know, if I had all this wealth, I could go by the city wall and pray, and people would ask me, "'Cause when you're rich, They think you know it all. Job isn't saying, I open my mouth and people are like, oh, he knows everything because of his wealth. He tells us why people praised him. He says, because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me. I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. In a society where widows had no source of income, Job said, I provided it for them. If someone had no father, they were fatherless. I took care of them. I put on righteousness and it clothed me. Verse 15, I was eyes to the blind and feet was I to the lame. I was father to the poor. The cause which I knew not, I searched out. I break the jaws of the wicked. I plucked the spoil out of his teeth. Why do these people praise Job? Why did they love him? Because he was a good person. Because he made himself known in his community as one who was willing to help. We would put it this way in the New Testament terms, he was a light put in the windowsill for the world to see. He didn't just hide his Christianity, he didn't hide his relationship with God under a bushel. but he was active in his community. And when we get to chapter 30, Job switches from reminiscing on the good old days to now reflecting on the shame of his present. But now, Job finds himself being mocked They that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock. These kids who their parents, their dads aren't even worth hiring because they're worthless fellows. The children of the worthless fellows are making fun of me. Where might the strength of their hands profit me in whom old age was perished? And he describes these individuals, they are children of fools. And yet they mock me. I am their song. I am their byword. If you're wicked, you're gonna sit on a dunghill just like old man Job. And he is being mocked by them. He is in shame from them. His soul is poured out from before him. Verse 29 says, I am a brother to dragons. I'd love to be the brother to a dragon. Wait, I have three brothers. Some of them act, no. What does that phrase mean? When we think about dragons in our different cultures and different fantasies, whether it be medieval or Asian, Dragons usually live in some sort of outcast area, in some craggy rocks, in a cave, out in the desert alone. That's where Job's saying that he's lived. You know, I can't even live with my people anymore. I'm an outcast. I'm a companion to the owls. My skin is black upon me. My bones are burned with heat. You know, physically, I am just exhausted. My harp, an instrument used for rejoicing, is turned to mourning. My organ, okay, flute would probably be the instrument here. Again, another instrument that's usually known for peppy tunes is turned to the voice of those that weep. There is no one source of Job's misery. Several causes converge and reinforce each other, and yet Job recognizes that the one who is the cause and explanation for his problems is also the solution. And then we get to chapter 31, and Job catalogs his righteousness. In this chapter, Job is going to lay out a detailed testimony of his innocence. And even talking about this with pastor this morning, this isn't one of those lists that you need to do to be saved. This isn't a list of as a Christian, you have to do these or you are losing God's favor. But rather this is a list of because God has done a work in my heart, Here's the change that I'm going to show that the Spirit is doing within me. And Job gives, I think that there are 10 of them, 10 areas in his life where he is going to demonstrate that he is above reproach. And in doing some of those, he's going to give that imprecatory. If I am doing wrong in this area, then let this be the issue, let this be the solution. He starts off dealing with his moral propriety. Verses one through four, Job recognizes that man's primary vulnerability is not in an act, but it's in a thought. that takes place beforehand. He starts off in verse one, I made a covenant with mine eyes, why then should I think upon a maid? Is not destruction to the wicked? Job recognizes that fornication or adultery doesn't start with the act, but it starts with that look. Sin surfaces first as an internal betrayal before it ever becomes an external behavior. And despite what we may think, okay, this is something in my thoughts, no one's going to know. Job reminds us in verse four that God sees his ways. He continues dealing with his financial propriety. Job was a very wealthy man. But he recognizes and defends the fact that his, of his integrity in dealing with his wealth. You know, what is the struggle for those who have wealth in this world? It's to be controlled by it. But Job recognizes that there is no greed. If I have walked with vanity or if my foot hath hasted to deceit, You know, if I'm doing things under the table, let me be weighed in an even balance that God may know my integrity. Let me sow, but another eat, and let my offspring be rooted out. He says if there's any financial dealings where I did something under the table, if I have any of that type of wickedness, then let somebody else take my wealth. let my kids go hungry so that somebody else can take what they should have. He continues dealing with marital purity, starting in verse nine. If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I had laid wait at my neighbor's door. You know, if I am guilty of adultery, and that's why God is judging me. Then let my wife grind unto another and let others bow down upon her, for this is a heinous crime. Job is saying that if I have stepped out on my wife, then absolutely let somebody cheat on my wife in front of me. We're thinking, wait a second, why is Job letting his wife bear this punishment? That doesn't seem fair. It's not that Job wants his wife to suffer in that way. What Job is doing is he's just giving this example to, again, maintain his purity. Here's how innocent I am. I am so innocent in this that I'm gonna give the worst possible scenario to happen to my wife. But that's not gonna happen because I'm innocent. He deals with domestic equity. In a society where slaves were second class at best, where the rights were minimal or non-existent, Job recognizes that there is a reason to treat them well. Verse 13, if I did despise the cause of my manservant or my maidservant when they contended with me, then what am I gonna do when God rises and visits me? Because he recognizes in verse 15, did not he that hath made me in the womb make him and did not one fashion us in the womb. He recognizes what makes me different than my servant. You know, we can bring this into the culture racial wars of today. What makes me different than someone of a different ethnicity? Okay, what makes me better than my Filipino brother? Nothing, because the God who made me also made him. And he didn't make a mistake with me. Or with Jerry. Beth may disagree, no. The same God who made me, the same God who made Job is the same God who made his servants. Job says, because the same God made all of us, who am I to treat somebody else worth less than me? Who am I to take advantage of someone? Because we're all gonna be held accountable to the same God. He deals with his social generosity. This is an area where independent fundamental Baptists tend to hold their purses a little bit tighter because this sounds an awful lot like the social gospel and that's not the gospel at all, so let's just ignore this part. Job says, if I have withheld the poor from their desire, or if I have caused the eyes of the widow to fail, if I have eaten my morsel myself alone and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof, or from my youth he was brought up with me as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother's womb, if I have seen any parish for want of clothing or any poor without covering, if his loins have not blessed me, if he were not warmed by the fleece of my sheep, if I have lifted my hand against the fatherless when I saw him, When I saw my help in the gate, then let my arm fall off. Job was one who was active in his community. He was one who, as he had the ability to meet the physical needs of others, he did so. And again, it wasn't to get the, yay, Job. It was so that he could show the God who made him to that person. And Job is so serious in this one. He says, if I have not helped the poor when it was in my ability to do so, let my arms fall off. You guys are accusing me of being wicked. I'm innocent. Material detachment. Verses 24 and following. If I made gold my hope, Or if I said to Feingold, you are my confidence. If I rejoice because my wealth were great. Well, this is also an iniquity to be punished by the judge for I should have denied, verse 28, the God that is above. As rich and as wealthy as Job was, he somehow managed to get that wealth despite his desire to not be tied to wealth. He said, if I put my trust in my money instead of my wealth or instead of God, then I am denying God. I'm not trusting him to get me through. Relational sympathy. Job has not been vindictive, verse 29. If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, Or if I lifted myself up when evil found him, neither have I suffered my mouth to sin by wishing a curse to his soul. You know, that person who has wronged him. Job says, I'm not waiting for God's judgment to fall on that person. We look around at society around us, and the wicked are prospering. And there are times in our Christian life, I'll admit it, you guys can be more holy than I in this area. But there are times where in my mind, I think, God, why don't you judge that person for that sin? It's well within your right. Why are you letting him get away with that? Job says, I'm not looking for that to happen. He says, if I hear something bad has happened to somebody else, I'm not jumping up and down dancing. Yee-haw, he got what came to him. Job says, no, I'm not vindictive. Communal hospitality. Again, dealing with the fact that he is helping those around him. Verse 32, the stranger did not lodge in the street, but I opened my doors to the traveler. Okay, if anybody needed anything, Job says, I was there. Personal iniquity or integrity. Job is aware well that he is a fallen creature. Verse 33, if I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding my iniquity in my bosom, Yeah. How does Job know the story of Adam and Adam's sin? Moses doesn't come around for another 2000 years to write the book of Genesis. But the story had been passed down, and Job understood. What did Adam do when he sinned? He hid from God. But what does Job say, verse 35? Oh, that one would hear me. Behold, this is my desire, that the Almighty would answer me. Here's how sure I am of my innocence, of my personal integrity. I don't want to be like Adam and hide from God, but instead, God, I want you to show people that I am who I say I am. And agricultural sensitivity is the tenth one. Okay. No, Job is not a tree-hugging hippie. But Job recognizes that God has given him this earth. and their resources to use wisely. Verse 38, if my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise complain, if I had eaten the fruits thereof without money or have caused the owners to lose their life, if I have misused the land, let my land grow weeds. And then he ends the argument in a way that I I am very seriously considering ending all of my conversations with, here in verse 40, the words of Job are ended. The words of pastor are ended, you are dismissed. We're done. Job says there's nothing else that you can add to this. Now, one of his friends who has been sitting quietly the entire time doesn't like the fact that Job's words are ended because he's going to pop on the scene in the next chapter and will be introduced to Elihu next week. But Elihu, when he comes on the scene, he is essentially going to condemn Job in this speech, chapters 27 through 31, because Job doesn't really give the source of his ability to have a material detachment or relational sympathy or other areas of his personal integrity, Job doesn't give the source. How is Job able to do these things? Because the God who made him enables him to do so. Some suggest that Job's sin especially in this chapter, is the sin of pride. Look at how proud Job is. He thinks he can't be condemned. But when we see God come into the picture in a few chapters here, God never rebukes Job for his pride. what we can see, what we do see him is God does censure Job for defending his own righteousness at the expense of God's righteousness. I am, God is righteous, but I am more righteous than he is because if he were righteous, these things wouldn't be happening to me. And that's where we want to make sure that we are not being holier than thou to God. Okay, but Job, you know, He mourned those times where he didn't have God. But he still recognizes that he's only able to have wisdom from God.