The first six verses of my favorite chapter, Job chapter 29. Hear the word of God. Job further continued his discourse and said, oh, that I were as in months past, as in the days when God watched over me, when his lamp shone upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness, just as I was in the days of my prime when the friendly counsel of God was over my tent, when the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were around me, when my steps were bathed with cream and the rock poured out rivers of oil for me. Father God, as we consider the laments of Job, as we consider the pain that he went through, I pray that our own hearts would be made more and more sensitive to those who go through pain around us. We thank you for having included a book like this in the Bible so that we can grow in our own understanding and appreciation of the difficulties that people face. And I pray that this, your scripture, would minister in the hearts of each one here in whatever ways that you have already foreordained. Cause your word to triumph in our lives. Sanctify us by your truth. I pray that you would keep my mouth from error and enable me to faithfully bring the truth you've laid upon my heart. And I pray it in Jesus name. Amen. Well, I know a pastor who was a modern day Job, but without Job's complaining, very interestingly, he had huge financial losses, got diabetes, had debilitating arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic insomnia, fatigue, migraine headaches, and other issues that would take most people down. His wife had health issues as well. And when things like this happen to us, it's very easy for us to assume, Lord, why are you disciplining me? And there were friends of his that just said, if you follow these procedures, you should be able to get past all of this. And here was a man who loved the book of Job. It helped him to realize God understands. He knows exactly the pain that I am going through and it ministered to him like no other book could. One of you recently told me that Job has been your favorite book for a different reason. It made you realize God understands the confusion that can come into our minds when there's disagreements and when there's pain and trouble. God knows what he's doing when he puts so many different kinds of books into the Bible. Now, I'll make a confession to you. When I was younger, I did not like the book of Job. I was so irritated. I would read through the Bible, yes, I'd read through every word of Job, but I just found it irritating. Listening to all of this bickering, this debating back and forth, I even got a little bit irritated with Job and some of his reactions. But part of the problem was I did not understand the purpose of the book of Job. I liked the first chapter, two chapters, I liked the last chapter, but that was about it. But since then, I have learned to absolutely love the book of Job. I see this as a wonderful gift to the church. The three friends' bad use of good theology was an eye-opener to me for what I was doing wrong with good theology. These three counselors used good theology, but they used it wrong. I realized I was using theology like a club to win an argument rather than using it as a tool for healing and restoration and help. So I was in some ways like Job's three friends. I just didn't recognize it. And that relates to yet another reason to read this book. It gives fantastic insights for counseling, both what to say, what not to say. Several counseling articles and books have actually mined the book of Job for a number of principles related to counseling. Job 29 and Job 28 and 29 has some fabulous material for Job's insights on how he was engaged in counseling in the past. Elihu is an amazing counselor. God gives a Godward focus to enable Job to get past some of the pain, and he is a model for counseling. Now, there are other reasons to read this book. Some people read this book simply out of admiration for its literary features. I actually had a friend up in British Columbia who was studying Hebrew at the University of British Columbia, and fell in love with the book of Job because this was the book they used. It's the hardest Hebrew in the entire Bible. And apparently it's got some of the most fabulous poetry in all of the Bible. Now, I wouldn't know because I don't know Hebrew well enough to be able to discern those kinds of nuances. But people who read Hebrew fluently say that the counselors had pretty good poetry. Job's poetry is even better, and they stood in absolute awe at the poetry of God. So there are literary critics, like Robert Alter, who says this is arguably the greatest achievement of all biblical poetry, and I've run across some others, both Christian and non-Christian, by the way, who have said that Job may actually be the greatest piece of literature and of poetry in all of human history. Now that's saying quite a bit, and I'm not sure I would go that far, but then I don't know Hebrew well enough to be able to say that. But that's another reason people read this book, appreciation of literature. Others read Job because they can identify with Job's grief and they're grateful that God identifies enough with their pain that he's been willing to devote an entire book to it. He understands, he sympathizes with what we are going through. Afflictions are not always cause to repentance and self-examination. In fact, this past week, thanks to Sherry Duff, who reminded me, I sent out a handout that gives over 20 different reasons why God allows suffering and pain into our lives, many of which have nothing to do with our own sin. God has his purposes for these in our lives, and we'll see that that is the case here. This book enables us to approach pain and suffering without despair. It gives us hope. It gives us faith. And then lastly, some see this book as a theodicy, which means a defense of God against accusations that he is unjust. unholy or unloving. A theodicy would be a form of apologetics. Now the problem with that, the people who say this is a theodicy, is you don't find a real firm answer given in this book for suffering that philosophers would agree with. You could say, oh yeah, sure, Satan is to blame for this pain. But the book makes it pretty clear that God was sovereign over Satan, and Satan could not do a single thing without his permission. So the question still comes, why is it that God allows suffering to those whom he loves? And it's crystal clear, he loved Job. He really loved Job. So the question comes, why? Why does he allow this? And there is a realization that Job comes to by the end of this book that God was not only just, Good in doing so but he was doing these things for Job's own good All of us are called to pick up our cross and follow Jesus. He does not promise us a pain-free life In fact, he says you cannot even be my disciple unless you pick up your cross and you're willing to follow me we really Need to realize it is a mercy that we do not have more suffering than we do and Dr. Gershner wrote a book called The Problem of Pleasure. It was his slight disagreement with C.S. Lewis's book, The Problem of Pain. He says, there is no problem of pain. The real problem is the problem of pleasure. His thesis was, how can a holy God who hates sin and who was a just judge ever give even one moment of pleasure to humans? So it's a different take on theodicy, maybe a little bit closer to the thesis of this book. But this book does call us to submit to his sovereign right to do as he wills and to trust that he's good even when he brings pain, even when we don't understand the purposes for it. Say, Lord, I know you work all things together for my good and for your glory. Or as Job worded it, though he slay me, yet will I trust him. Yes, he questioned God, but he was clinging firmly to God. He would not let God go. And that's what we ought to do as well. So many times pain can increase our faith. Now let's look at some of the keys of the book. Key theme of this book is the burning question, why do the righteous suffer? Three counselors wrongly assumed a kind of, they don't believe in karma, but it was a kind of karma theology that believes we always get what we deserve. If you're prospering, it's because you deserve to prosper. If you're suffering, it's because you did something bad. And this book blows up that false theology. Really, it's a heresy. You know, when you watch the Sound of Music movie, when Maria says, somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good, she's singing heresy, okay? This book opposes that heresy. The key word in the book is tried. Satan tries us. God tries us. The three counselors falsely tried Job. Job actually tried God. Evaluating life through the lens of trials can be a hugely sanctifying process that gives us realism, sympathy, empathy, increases our love, purifies us, humbles us, makes us appreciative of the grace and the mercies that we have experienced that we might have taken for granted. So trials would be the key word. The key verse, at least to my estimation, there's debate on this, is Job 121. Where Job said, naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. And the previous verse probably should be included as well, because it gives a balance of grief and worship. He shaves his head as a symbol of the incredibly deep sorrow and mourning that he had, but he fell down and he worshiped God. And the next verse says, in all this, Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong. So God's not opposed to our crying out, our frustrations, our questions, agony, our bewilderment at what He has done. In fact, God helps us to cry out to Him appropriately by including laments and yes, even complaints in the Psalter. We're supposed to sing all 150 Psalms, but He authorizes us to complain to Him. But this is one of the reasons why I encourage people, if you're gonna complain to God, Please do it through the vehicle of the Psalms because the Psalms help us to resolve this in a way that that helps us to have faith Increases our faith even leads us To joy, uh, it does not go over the top like jobe did later on in this book where it was very inappropriate But god sympathizes with us enough to let us know he is okay with our laments He even praises many of jobe's words later on in the book Key chapter. Many people say that's chapter 28, which is Job's theology at its best, especially dealing with the sovereignty of God. Now I have to throw in chapter 29 because I think that is an absolutely, we won't have time to look into that chapter, but it is a description of Job as the model man before all of these calamities happened to him. The purpose of the book is to reveal that suffering is not a proof of God's rejection and to teach us to respond to suffering by submission to His will. Now, let's look at the Christ of Job. The gospel of Jesus is revealed in this book through the burnt offerings that were offered up by Job in Job chapter 1, verse 5, on behalf of his children, and the burnt offerings that he offers up for his three friends who had turned against him in 42.8. Now those burnt offerings were understood by the saints. New Testament makes it clear. They understood that these burnt offerings were symbols pointing forward to a coming Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so really it does encapsulate the gospel. They needed a future mediator. In chapter nine, verse two, Job affirms that because of inherent sin, None of us can be just in their own sight. He's admitting that he is a sinner. Everybody is a sinner. And this is why he needs a mediator. And Job nine 33, uh, chapter 33, verse 23, Eli, who is a prophetic messenger of God shows how no human can adequately function as a mediator. So again, it ties in with why they were looking forward to the coming Messiah who would give his life for their life. and bring them salvation. But Christ is most richly displayed in Job 19, verses 25 through 27. You know, considering everything that he went through, this is an incredible testimony on his lips. He believed that the coming Messiah was both God, in context it's clear he thought he was God, but he was also a man, a kinsman redeemer, the Hebrew word gaal that we have looked at in the past. And so the coming Messiah, both God, man, he will conquer death. He will raise Job to new life. And Job expresses his unreserved trust in this future Messiah. Now, because I preached in depth on those verses on a previous sermon, I'm just going to read verses 25 through 27. For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth. And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself. And my eyes shall behold, and not another, how my heart yearns within me." If you look at the backside of your charts, on your bulletins, I've given you a chart that dissects the book into its component parts. You can kind of use that like a roadmap as you're reading through the book, and it'll help you to make a little bit more sense out of the book. And I'm going to be referring to that chart from time to time as we go through the text. Most of the book is poetry, but there are prose sections that are very, very important because they're giving God's evaluation of what is happening. Now let's dive into chapter one, verse one. There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. This tells us Job is not fiction. It is history. It's not a fairy tale. It is not made up. This all really happened. And commentators have come up with all kinds of conjectures on who this man was and where on earth Uz was. But if you allow scripture to interpret scripture, it is crystal clear that Uz was part a region in Edom. We see this from Lamentations 4, verse 21, and a number of other scriptures. If you wanna dig into this a lot more detail, you can read two essays by James Jordan, who identifies us, identifies who Job was. And there are other commentaries who have done this as well, but that's probably the most concise treatment that I have seen. And I'm just gonna give you two of many proofs that are out there. First of all, this is the oldest viewpoint out there. In the third century B.C., the Jews who translated the Old Testament into Greek added a footnote to the book of Job that explained that Uz was on the borders of Edomia and Arabia, where Moses lived for 40 years. And this Job is the Jobab mentioned in Genesis 36, verse 33. That means that almost 300 years before the time of Christ, these Hebrew experts who were translating this work believed that Job was an Edomite king and that these other counselors were other magistrates in the land of Egypt. This is what I believe it's held to by a number of respectable scholars. And their view makes sense because the scripture not only associates Job with the Edomites, but also their counselors. Eliphaz the Temanite is mentioned in Genesis 36, 15 as being a chief of Edom, since he was a Temanite. And since Jeremiah 49, 7 through 8 associates Teman as being part of Edom, Eliphaz was clearly a lower magistrate in the kingdom of Edom. Bildad the Shuahite is a descendant of Shuah, the son of Abraham by Keturah. This explains why he had the true faith. Abraham passed it on. He sent them eastward in Genesis 25 verse 2. By the way, where he was sent, Doram in his commentary proves it was the same region that we're talking about here, where Moses was and where the Edomites were. In fact, those two people groups merged as one nation. Interestingly, the brother of Shulah was Midian, the father of the people who took Moses in, and again from the same region. If you've ever wondered why the faith went way beyond the people of Israel, it's because of facts like this. Shem, the son of Noah, was alive at the time that Abraham rescued Lot. And that means that Shem, Ham, and Japheth have probably spread the true faith many different parts of the world. So anyway, this is an indication that there was the faith encompassed the Gentiles in the Old Testament. All we know about Zophar is that he lived in the same region as the other two. Elihu is said to be a Buzzite. Buzz is clearly identified by scripture as being in Eden, Jeremiah 25-23, Jeremiah 49-7-8. Now, I won't give you more, but the conclusion you can get from those two facts and from many other scriptural facts out there Is that Job would have been a ruler of Edom sometime around the time that Moses lived in that same general area with his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. And this also makes sense of the Hebrew tradition that Moses wrote the book of Job. Okay. He may have been intimately familiar with this history. Maybe his father-in-law Jethro even had access to those court documents. Now, I'm not going to be dogmatic on the authorship of Job. There are many different opinions. One of my friends very strongly holds to Solomon being the author. I've got decent arguments against every other theory, but I see no evidence whatsoever that would necessitate our throwing out this ancient tradition that Moses was the author. I'm not going to get into all the specifics, and there are a lot of specifics on Edom. But by comparing scripture to scripture, we realize that Job was the king of Edom. The three counselors were lesser magistrates under Job who were seeking to get Job to confess to flagrant sin so that Eliphaz, who's obviously the leader of the three, could take Job's place. If you see this as an attempted coup with many witnesses, and if you see the lengthy debates as being an intense legal effort to oust Job, and Job's intense refutation of their tax as being a legal defense, I think everything comes into brilliant focus. And then the purpose of including 35 chapters of back and forth dialogue becomes very clear. The whole book is full of references to court language. This is not a trivial private debate. The consequences of the sins that the counselors were accusing him of are huge. At least loss of kingship, but potentially even execution and the need for vigorous defense on Job's part is huge. Job's job is at stake, perhaps even his life. Job is not just fighting for his integrity. He is fighting a serious legal challenge for his position. We'll look more at that later. Now back to verse one. There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. As I mentioned earlier, it's not just Israelites who had the true faith in the time of Moses. Moses' own father-in-law was a priest to Yehovah, same name even. Priest of Yehovah in Midian was obviously a true believer, and it makes sense in terms of the chronologies of Shem, Ham, and Japheth. So even though God had a special purpose for Israel, this book shows his true faith was widespread. Now, verse one says of Job, he was a man who was blameless and upright, one who feared God and shunned evil. This is something that all of us should aspire to. It is not saying that Job was without heart sin or that he was absolutely perfect. Later in the book, we'll see he does have sins of his heart. Okay, and Job acknowledges no one is sinless, but he was blameless when it came to his conduct. There was absolutely nothing over which he could be impeached. Now keep in mind that exactly the same words are used as one of the prerequisites to being an elder or a deacon. Titus 1.6 says a bishop must be blameless. Doesn't mean sinless, means blameless. 1 Timothy 3 says of deacon candidates, but let these also first be tested, then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. So to be blameless or upright points to a high degree of sanctification that keeps a person from outwardly observable sins that the world could accuse you of. Kind of impeachable even for elders and deacons. Now, of course, that's the whole point of the legal challenge in chapters 4 through 35. His friends claim that these calamities could not possibly have happened unless Job was guilty of, and here's some of the sins they accuse him of, adultery, murder, oppression, or some other heinous sin. Now, initially it looks like they're coming here to comfort him. and trying to get him to fess up to God, you know, so that God will relent. But it becomes painfully obvious as the book progresses, as soon as he fesses up, they're going to unseat him. They're going to use this evidence against him, and we'll get into that in a bit. But the text goes on to say that he was the wealthiest and most powerful man of the countries east of Canaan. Wealth and holiness can obviously coincide, and Abraham would be another example of this. God had blessed this man enormously. Nothing wrong with wealth. He has enormous wealth in chapter one. He's blessed with double that wealth in the last chapter of the book. When we are godly stewards, God can trust us with enormous wealth, but wealth would be a curse if we do not have a steward's heart. Job 1, 4 through 5 says he had regular family devotions, regularly prayed for his seven sons and three daughters. He applied the gospel, which is symbolized by those burnt offerings. He applied that gospel to his children on a daily basis, as we need to do as well. All of our discipline, everything we do needs to be through the lens of the gospel. Chapter 29 will actually give a lot more detail of what a wonderful family man Job had been. And he was a man devoted to mercy ministries. You can see in verses four through five, he even prays against any secret heart sins in his children. He's not a Pharisee who's content with outward behavior. He wants even the heart to be captured by God's grace. Now, suddenly in verse six, we have a switch of vantage point. We're taken to the heavenly court and the whole book is filled with court language. There's a godly court in heaven. There's an ungodly court going on on earth. 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. Now, the sons of God is a reference to the unfallen holy angels. They presented themselves at a meeting before the throne room of God, and strangely, Satan is allowed to be there. Now, the word Satan means accuser, and it could refer to an accusing prosecutor or simply to an adversary, but because this is a court legal kind of a situation, most commentaries Say that he was acting as a legal prosecution Book of Revelation explains that in the old covenant satan had not been cast out of heaven yet He still had access to heaven to be what the accuser of the brethren That's exactly what he's going to be doing here. Just like he accuses joshua the high priest in zachariah 3 he goes after leaders The text continues, and the Lord said to Satan, from where do you come? So Satan answered the Lord and said, from going to and fro on the earth, from walking back and forth on it. Now Peter alludes to this activity of Satan going back and forth on the earth as being a roaring lion, walking about, seeking whom he may devour. But God is fond of his servant Job. He has protected Job from Satan up to this point. Job is one of the trophies of his grace. He is proud of his son. Here is a man whom Satan has been utterly unable to make false. So he says to Satan, have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil. Now keep this in mind when you're tempted to criticize Job later. God says there was no one else like him. No one. And at the end of the book, God tells the three friends, my wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. Now at this point, you might be a little bit confused as to how God could say that Job spoke right about him, especially given his complaining. But we'll look at that later on. God says he spoke well. And listen to God's evaluation of Job in Ezekiel 14, verse 14. He lists Job as one of the three men closest to his heart in all of human history. He says to apostate Israel, even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness, says the Lord God. So he was indeed a righteous man. Satan responds. Does God, does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not made a hedge around him, around his household, around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse you to your face. And the Lord said to Satan, Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not lay a hand on his person. So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. And every painful thing that happens in the next 34 chapters happened as a direct result of Job going out, trying to get Job, Satan going out, trying to get Job to curse God. This is the big contest, and we're going to be seeing evidence that Satan spoke through Job's wife to try to get him to curse God. Satan spoke through the three counselors, even though they were believers. I mean, if Satan could speak through Peter, the apostle Peter, to try to tempt Christ to not go to the cross, and Christ has to look right through him and say, get behind me, Satan, he can use any of us. Now, don't get too hard on on Job's wife. She lost about everything as well. We'll get to her in a little bit. Many people focus on the following chapters and wonder how a righteous man can suffer every curse in Deuteronomy 28 through 29 and have none of the blessings that seem so contrary to God's justice. But this is to miss the point that God had previously built a hedge around Job and around his family so that Satan could not touch him. Okay, so the vast bulk of Job's life was not suffering. The vast bulk of Job's life was the blessings of Deuteronomy 28. He had a lovely and a very close-knit family. He was incredibly wealthy. He had the joy of the Lord. He experienced more of the comforts of life than most people do. He had success in his career. He was super blessed in all areas of life. This deprivation was a short-term testing that is not at all inconsistent with the blessings and the cursings of Deuteronomy 28 through 29. So don't think that the lesson God has for you from the book of Job is you're going to have to be miserable for the rest of your life. If you're going to be holy, you're going to be miserable. No, no. Testings are just that. They are testings. They're not the pattern for life. The pattern for the bulk of his life was God's blessings. And when we get these testings, I think it's perfectly appropriate to pray against demonic attack. Job likely should have done more of that. Now, on the other hand, we should not be surprised by occasional trials. Jesus, as I mentioned earlier, did say that we can't even be his disciple if we're not willing to pick up our cross and follow after him. And this book is a call to be willing to suffer for Christ's sake and to glorify God by doing it in faith. Overall, though, there is no contradiction between Deuteronomy 28 and Job's life. He was blessed. Well, that changes. I'm going to just quickly read the rest of chapters 1 through 2 to set the context, beginning at verse 13. Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, and a messenger came to Job and said, the oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, when the Sabians raided them and took them away. Indeed, they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you. While he was still speaking, another also came and said, the fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you. While he was still speaking, another also came and said, the Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels, and took them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you. While he was still speaking, another also came and said, your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and 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. Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. It's just one catastrophe after another. Satan has been unbelievably busy, and in one day, he has removed almost every blessing that God had bestowed upon Job outwardly. So this shows the incredible power of Satan and his demons. Verse 20, then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said, naked I came from my mother's womb, naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this, Job did not sin, nor charge God with wrong." Well, Satan doesn't give up. Take a look at chapter two. 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 to Satan, from where do you come? Satan answered the Lord and said, from going to and fro on the earth and from walking back and forth on it. Then 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, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without cause. So Satan answered the Lord and said, Skin for skin, yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse you to your face. And the Lord said to Satan, behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life. Notice that Satan is on a chain. He can only go as far as God allows him to go. Don't ever think that life is out of control. Even Satan cannot thwart God's sovereignty. Yes, he is the giver of pain, but even that is under God's sovereign hand. Verse seven. So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot. to the crown of his head. Notice that Satan does indeed have the power to inflict disease. Now, ultimately, God is sovereign over even that, but Satan is often the instrument of disease. This is why it's important that you confess your sins before you have people pray for you to take away any, if there is a sin base for that, to take away any legal ground that demons might have. It's appropriate to pray against those demons and to pray for healing. In any case, Satan struck him with painful boils all over his body. Verse 8, and he took for himself a pot shirt with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes. Then his wife said to him, do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die. The commentators point out that the words of his wife are almost word for word what Satan had been achieving, trying to achieve, and getting Job to curse God so that he would die. And a number of commentaries say that Satan spoke through his wife to achieve this temptation. I believe that that is true. If Satan could speak through Peter, I don't see why he could not speak through her. Now, as I mentioned earlier, don't be too hard on Job's wife. She too has lost absolutely everything. She has been brought to the pit of despair. She falls into despair more quickly than Job did. He seems to fall there seven days later. But in any case, Satan's desperate desires to get Job to curse come from her mouth. So she becomes yet another trial of Satan. Picking up at verse 10. But he said to her, you speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and shall we not accept adversity? In all this, Job did not sin with his lips. Now when Job's three friends heard of all his adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, Zophar the Naamathite, for they had made an appointment together to come and mourn with him and to comfort him. And when they raised their eyes from afar and did not recognize him, they lifted their voices and wept And each one tore his robe and sprinkled dust on his head toward heaven. So they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great." Now, three words in the Hebrew that can be taken in a positive or in a negative sense, and all three have been translated in a positive sense here in the New King James Version. But there are commentaries who point out that the Hebrew is ambiguous on purpose. Let me give you the ambiguities. And these ambiguities will not be resolved until we get later into the book. First word, Ya'ad, that is translated as, had made an appointment, can refer to an innocent meeting or it can refer to a conspiracy. One commentator said, this word, make an appointment together, can mean betrothed or agree together or gather together. It can also refer to conspiracies. After Israel had refused to enter the promised land, Yahweh called this disobedience treason and a mutiny, and referred to how Israel had gathered together against him. Likewise, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram organized a conspiracy against Moses, and he says that they had gathered together against the Lord. Number 1611. And Nehemiah, Sanbalat and Geshem sent word to Nehemiah to meet together with them, but they, along with a hired hitman, were plotting evil against him. is at the very least ambiguous, but given what comes later, there is no doubt that we ought to view this appointment as something similar, very similar to a conspiracy. Eliphaz, Zophar, and Bildad are a new Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. By the end of the story, and actually I think that's probably going too far because I think that they were true believers, but he says by the end of the story, Yahweh's own word condemns the three friends. They did not speak right concerning God, and their offense is not out of ignorance or by accident. The Lord will require a costly sacrifice and prayers on their behalf before they are forgiven and spared the judgment they deserve. Next ambiguous word is nude. It literally means to shake or wag the head. Now, what's ambiguous about that? Well, you can shake or wag your head, in sympathy, or you can shake or wag your head in accusation, disapproval. They will initially pretend to shake the head in comfort, but will end up shaking the head in accusation. They are convinced that God has punished him for a he and a sin, and for the good of the kingdom, he needs to step down. Doesn't mean they don't sympathize with him in some ways. They probably do, but they've gathered together for the good of the kingdom. They no doubt believe this is a lawful interposition. The third word, Naham, can mean to comfort or it can mean to repent, Numbers 23, 19, or have a more sinister meaning of to plot revenge, Ezekiel 5, 13, or to get rid of something, Isaiah 1, 24. For example, in Genesis 27, verse 42, Rebekah warned Jacob, Esau comforts himself concerning you by intending to kill you. Ezekiel 5, 13 says, I will be avenged. That word avenged, exactly the same Hebrew word. Job uses the same word in chapter 42 verse 6 when he says, therefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes. So they could be coming to comfort him, to bring him to repentance, or to plot something against him. The Hebrew word is ambiguous and only the context can tell. Now concerning those three ambiguous terms, Toby Sumter in his new commentary shows how they give the illusion of mourning, throwing dust on their heads, of comforting Job, because to do anything less with all of these witnesses who are mentioned in the text, who have been summoned, anything less than comforting would be seen as a revolutionary act. He was, after all, a well-loved leader, and so their tactics are more subtle. While trying to console Job, they hope to extract a confession of sin from Job that might allow them to legitimately Impeach him, possibly even execute him. Job certainly later accuses them of doing exactly that. In fact, one time accuses them, you're trying to kill me. And by the way, this wasn't simply an outdoor conversation of five people. It might've started that way, but as the day progresses, others are involved, and it becomes more and more obvious that an attempt to get Job to step down from office is underway. Let me give you some examples. Chapter 10, verse 17 speaks of legal witnesses that they have brought. Job 30 verse 1, Job speaks of others either in the room or in the area who are right then mocking him. Verse 9 speaks of those who are taunting him. In verse 10, he says that most of them, quote, now abhor me. They keep far from me. And in the next verse, he mentions at least some who, quote, do not hesitate to spit in my face. Now, people are now spitting in his face. They're bold enough to do that. Commentators point out that the tide has turned against Job, and people are now joining in on these accusations. Namely, that the problems this nation is facing with all of these Chaldean and Sabean hordes is Job's fault. The whole nation is suffering as a result of Job. In verse 12, he says, at my right hand, the rabble arises. They push away my feet. They're getting unruly. They're getting abusive of Job. By chapter 30, the crowd is beginning to be convinced that Job is as guilty as the friends say that he is. They're turning on him. Twice the book speaks of his feet being in stalks, or as some translate it, as being in shackles. Job 13.27 and 22.11. Now, whether this happens later in order to keep Job from leaving or whether it's purely metaphorical, we don't know. First time is in chapter 13, verse 27. And people have puzzled over what exactly this means. But as Hartley points out in his commentary, it is clear that Job is complaining about his lack of freedom to move about in order to prepare his defense. Or as Hooks words it in his commentary, this conjures up the image of a prisoner closely watched and strictly confined. Now granted, most commentators take this as purely metaphorical. But commentators like Rene Girard disagree, and they point out that Job was in extreme danger. With a king defenseless, the Sabian and the Chaldean hordes creating havoc in the nation, rulers and citizens alike are fearful that the kingdom is coming apart at the seams, and they want somebody to do something and do something now. Here's a quote from another recent commentary who takes the same approach. He says, Job says that they are being motivated by fear. Chapter 6, verse 21. What are they afraid of? Consider again the context. If Job is a Solomon, the head of the greatest kingdom of the East in his day, then the series of calamities that have struck Job have struck at the political, economic, and social order of their world. It is easy to imagine numerous fears rising like columns of smoke over the devastated house of Job. Are there other political or military enemies that will seize this opportunity to strike the region and its weakness? We do not even need to imagine this. The Sabians and the Chaldeans have just led raids on the flocks of Job, leaving many men dead. The crash of Job's house was likely to cause significant repercussions in the rest of his kingdom and the surrounding regions. The friends may have feared this, and it may be that the repercussions were already being felt. Rene Girard suggests that the entire community was in the process of turning into something like an angry lynch mob. Were there riots and protests in the streets? In one of his later speeches, Job says that he has become detested by everyone in the kingdom. Presumably, the friends are afraid for the kingdom. If they are lesser magistrates from the surrounding regions, and they see the king suddenly leveled by the hand of God, Maybe they have gathered together to contain the political fallout. How can we spin this in the press to put the people at ease? Whether they want the kingdom for themselves, or whether they are merely like Pilate and afraid of the crowds, willing to do whatever is expedient. So initially, it looks like they're there to comfort. But with all of the witnesses that they have brought, and with the relentless accusations of oppression, stealing from widows, murder, adultery, and other crimes, It becomes evident that they never had an intention of comforting Job. Right from the get-go, they're trying to get him to confess to something that will enable Eliphaz, the leader of the trio, to take over the reins of government. Now, I think they were probably sincere in this effort. Some people say utterly wicked. I say they were probably sincere in this. They probably believed their own theology that Job must have been guilty of something impeachable, something awful, and they needed to do something about it. But whether sincere or not, Sumter argues that this is an impeachment. He said, Job warns the friends that he is like Abel. If they strike him down, his blood will cry out. Of course, they would not just knock him off in a back alley. They would bring witnesses, pass a sentence, have a public execution. It would all be very judicial and official with paperwork and signed affidavits. Job warns them that even that pseudo-justice can be undone. This is the other side of wisdom. Wisdom must be able to see through the veneers of pseudo-justice. And even the poetic, I've always wondered, did they actually speak in that poetic fashion? I think that even the poetic, nature of chapters 3 through 35 may indicate that all of them are writing these things down in the formal language of an ancient court. Once one speech has been formally written out, then Job has some time to write out his defense, and then back and forth they go. And I think the formal poetry may have been the actual way that the four presented their arguments in this court. They wrote them down as formal evidence. Now, there are a number of reasons why many commentators believe that Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar are mouthpieces for Satan. I'll just give you a couple of their reasons. First, Eliphaz admits that he got his ideas from a very scary and dark spirit that was so sinister it made his hair stand on end. Take a look, for example, at the very first speech of Eliphaz in chapter 4. Chapter 4, verses 12 through 16. It gives his experience with the spirit that gives him a message to give to Job. Now, since God later says that their message was a bad message, we can assume that this message came from a demonic spirit, perhaps from Satan himself. I'll begin reading at verse 12 of chapter 4. Now a word was secretly brought to me, and my ear received a whisper of it. In disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, fear came upon me in trembling, which made all my bones shake. Then a spirit passed before my face. The hair on my body stood up. It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes. There was silence. Then I heard a voice saying, and then comes a message that has enough truth in it to be convincing and yet enough error to help Eliphaz use it to oppose Job. This amounts to a false prophecy. All through history, demons have used prophetic visions to confuse people. And Satan has the Bible memorized, the entire Bible, so he knows how to quote it, how to mix truth with error in order to deceive. Roy Zuck, in his commentary, says, for three reasons, it is doubtful that the words were a revelation from God. First, it's a word, not a word from the Lord, that came to Eliphaz. Second, the word came secretly, that is, in an elusive manner, verse 12. And third, the message seemed to picture God as unconcerned about man, verses 17 through 21. And I would add that it's a spirit, not the spirit, and it was a dark and sinister spirit. And moving on, where Eliphaz appeals to prophecy and personal experience, Bildad appeals to tradition and the wisdom of the ancients. So you got prophecy, then you got tradition. Zophar argues from logic, conscience, and private judgment. But all of them agree that this affliction came because of some serious sin in Job's life. How serious? Well, I can't cover every sin that they accused Job and his household of, but it starts rather generic, and as they get more and more frustrated that he is not willing to repent and confess to something, then they start throwing out some very specific accusations. We'll start with the generic. In chapter 8, verse 4, Bildad insists that Job's children had to have died because of some gross transgression of the law. In chapter 11, verse 11, Zophar accuses Job of lying and in verse 14 of hiding wickedness inside of his tent. So maybe people don't know about this because you've hidden your sin inside of your tent, is basically what he's saying. In chapter 18, Bildad goes on and on about God's vengeance on Job's wickedness, but he doesn't specify the sins. But by the third round of speeches, the accusations fly left and right, and they accuse him of things we know from chapter 29 are the exact opposite of what Job's lifestyle before the world was like. So just because you're blameless does not mean you will not be falsely blamed, right? Eliphaz says in chapter 22, verses 5 and following, He's talking to Job. He says, is not your wickedness great and your iniquity without end? For you have taken pledges from your brother for no reason and stripped the naked of their clothing. You have not given the weary water to drink and you have withheld bread from the hungry. But the mighty man possessed the land and the honorable man dwelt in it. You have sent widows away empty and the strength of the fatherless was crushed. Therefore, snares are all around you and sudden fear troubles you or darkness so that you cannot see. And an abundance of water covers you down to verse 15. Will you keep to the old way, which wicked men have trod? who were cut down before their time, whose foundations were swept away by a flood, they said to God, depart from us. What can the Almighty do to them? I mean, it's astonishing that Eliphaz would accuse Job with a straight face of things that probably hundreds of witnesses could testify the exact opposite to. But these speeches, interestingly, have forced Job to become more and more God-centered as his speeches go along. As he's defending himself and saying, okay, no, this is the things that actually happened, he realizes, you know, God really has been good to me. And the very act of going through this defense has made him more God-centered. It's pretty cool. Now, if you look at the chart, The second to last row shows the focus of each section. In chapters 1 through 2, there's a focus on earth and heaven. In Job's first lament, there's a focus of his eyes upon himself and his misery. In chapters 4 through 26, there's a focus upon human situation. But in chapters 27 through 31, Job begins to gain more and more of a vision of what God has done good in the past, including what good he is doing in the present. He still struggles back and forth. He's still expressing some confusion. But you can begin to see a transition that God is beginning to achieve in Job's life. It's really cool. I'll just give you one example, chapter 28. Many people think this is the key chapter in the whole book, and it is just an amazingly God-centered theology of hope. It's almost as if Job is preaching to himself, trying to shake himself out of his negativity. It's a marvelous chapter. And then chapter 29, he remembers the sweet times he had with God. And I would really encourage you men especially to read Job chapter 29, where he is described as the ideal man among men. If you want to understand what it means to be a good leader, good father, good businessman, good advocate, Job 29 would be it. And I preached an entire sermon on that chapter of Job as a model justice seeker, a mercy giver, nurturing father, et cetera. But in chapter 30, what happens? People mock him. So in chapter 31, he documents that he kept himself pure from sexual sin. He even put a guard before his eyes and his thoughts, his heart. He didn't even want to think immoral thoughts. And he goes on and he defends himself and he says that he documents that he has been innocent of injustice, innocent of trusting his wealth, innocent of being uncaring, that he even cared physically for people who were wicked. And Job ends by pleading to meet with God. And this is where the mysterious Elihu suddenly appears on the scene. He was not mentioned earlier, though he obviously was present. This is the first mention of him. On the focus row of your chart, you will see that Elihu clearly sets Job's eyes on God. That's where the focus is. In chapters 38 through 41, God sets Job's eyes on God. In 42, 1 through 6, Job repents and fixes his eyes on God, who was the author and the finisher of his faith. He finds God now to be the solution, not the problem. Earlier he saw God as the problem, not the solution. And the book ends by reversing the focus of the introduction. The introduction focuses on earth and heaven. The conclusion focuses on heaven and earth. There's another feature in that chart that helps you to understand this book It's the style row of the chart gives you a clue on how to interpret the words of Elihu There is huge controversy, by the way Even in good commentaries on whether Elihu is a good guy or a bad guy Okay most people only mentioned the prose in chapters 1 through 2 and the prose in chapter 42. But if you look at that chart, you'll see there are a few verses of prose at the beginning of chapter 32 that give us God's perspective on Elihu, Job, and the counselors. So there's prose, poetry, prose, poetry, prose. And the reason the prose is thrown in at the beginning of chapter 32 is to clue us into the fact that Elihu is a good guy and he's going to be giving God's opinion by way of prophecy. And this will smoothly transition into God himself directly speaking to Job. Elihu's words and God's words are very similar. So if you turn to Job 32, let's read the introduction to his speech. So these three men ceased answering Job because he was righteous in his own eyes. Notice that this is God's opinion. Job was righteous in his own eyes. His pain had made him self-focused and made his vision of God to be more obscured. Verse 2. Then the wrath of Elihu, the son of Baruch El, the Buzite of the family of Ram, was aroused against Job. His wrath was aroused because he justified himself rather than God. Notice it doesn't say that his wrath was aroused because he wrongly thought that Job justified himself rather than God. No, his wrath was aroused, rightly aroused, because Job did indeed justify himself rather than God. Verse three. Also against his three friends, his wrath was aroused because they had found no answer and yet had condemned Job. In other words, they had condemned Job without any provable evidence whatsoever. They had no answer to his evidence, and yet they continued to hound him, continued to condemn Job. In fact, in desperation, they had begun wildly throwing all kinds of false accusations against him. It absolutely was unjust. Now some think that Elihu had a false humility, but verse four is God's opinion when it says, now, because they were years older than he, Elihu had waited to speak to Job. When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was aroused. So Elihu, the son of Barakel the Buzite, answered and said, and I also want to point out Elihu did not speak for himself. He calls himself a messenger for God to show man God's uprightness. Chapter 33, verse 23. And 32. Wait, he says that the spirit of the almighty gives him knowledge. And verses 18 through 19, the spirit within him compels him to speak. He cannot hold it in any longer. I think the word spirit there should probably be capitalized. It could be his small s, prophetic spirit, but it's very similar to Jeremiah who didn't want to prophesy because he didn't want the persecution. It was just, it was too difficult, but he couldn't hold it in. It was like fire burning inside of him and had to get out. Well, here he's likening this prophecy to the venting of wine. It has to come out of the wineskin. In verse 22, he says he's incapable of flattery or his maker would take him away. In chapter 36 too, he says he's speaking his words on behalf of God. That's what a prophet does. In verse three, he says his words have been fetched from afar. In other words, he didn't make them up. These are words that came from God. In verse four, he says he's about to share, what he's about to share is perfect knowledge. In other words, it's all inspired, inerrant prophecy. He's not giving his own opinion. He's giving God's opinion. He speaks of himself as a mediator. Highwell Jones says that he doesn't trust any commentary on Job that sees Elihu as a bad guy. That's maybe going a little too far, because there are some good commentaries out there that don't see that. But chapter 32 is the first chapter Highwell Jones turns to in any new modern commentary, and it's like he almost Ditches the book if he if he thinks the lie, who's a bad guy? older reform commentaries all at least all the ones I've ever seen all Saw lie who is a prophetic messenger of God who prepared the way for God himself to speak and that's why a lie Who is never condemned by God and the relative length of his speech? It's huge compared to the others now Eli who in effect quotes Job and Remember Job had wanted, well maybe I didn't read it to you, he'd wanted God to come down, absent of his majesty, speak to him just like a man, and then he would defend himself and speak to God. And so Elihu says, here I am, I'm speaking to you through a man, answer me. Okay, this is condescension on the part of God to sit among these people in the ashes and to be with those who are suffering. True counsel sits where the sufferer sits, but doesn't allow the sufferer to continue in sin in his suffering. He gets him beyond a man-centered perspective into a God-centered perspective. In chapter 33, verse 12, he says, Lord, look, in this you are not righteous. I will answer you, for God is greater than man. Why do you contend with him? For he does not give an accounting of any of his words. So true. So what I want to do, I want to just show you nine ways in which Elihu's words are utterly different than the other three men. Too many commentaries are superficial. Modern commentaries are superficial in their contrast or their comparison of the two. Yes, they're similar. Because they all had good theology. They just weren't using their theology properly. So let me let me outline the differences. First of all, the Friends say that suffering is always punishment for sin, whereas Elihu says that suffering is sometimes designated and designed to spare us from sin and to cause us to love the Lord more. And he gives other purposes. Some men see Job 33 17 is one of the key purposes for God allowing this testing. And here's what it says in order to turn man from his deed and conceal pride from man. So what's his deed? You can do the right thing with the power of the Holy spirit and yet still do it in pride, which is a weird thing because it's totally God's power doing it through you. But, um, Job had a high degree of sanctification, being blameless, but God is interested in even greater holiness of the heart, and Job learned that. He learned humility, as can be seen by his reactions to both of God's speeches and of his prayer on behalf of his persecutors. And so Job 33.17 says that removing pride from Job was one of the purposes. But it's not always for sin. Second, the friends said that Job suffered because he had sinned. Elihu says that Job had sinned because he was suffering. Those two are different. Let me repeat that. Friends said Job suffered because he had sinned, that it was punishment, whereas Elihu says that Job had sinned because of his suffering. So it's not the sin that led to the suffering. But he did have some sin in his responses to his suffering. Third, the friends said that Job's problem was his lack of integrity. Elihu doesn't deny the right of Job to defend his integrity. He stands with Job on that very clearly. But Elihu says Job had no right to attack God's integrity, to deny God's integrity. And Job had indeed erred on occasion in doing so. Fourth, the Friends were reductionistic on the reasons for affliction. They had a false, karma-like kind of theology where you always get back what you deserve. You do a bad deed, you get back a bad deed. If you do a good deed, you get back a good deed. Elihu denies all that. He says all of God's kindnesses to us are a mercy, and he also says that God has multiple purposes for afflictions. In 3713, he says that sometimes God brings affliction for correction. Granted, that is sometimes true, but he says sometimes he brings it because the land as a whole needs it. And sometimes it's simply a mercy. Compared to hell, any pain we receive is a mercy. And I find it fascinating that he says he sometimes brings suffering for the land as a whole. Edom needed these afflictions to sift them, straighten them out as a land. And you see evidence of that throughout the book. Anyway, throughout Elihu's speeches, he strongly denies the Friends' false theology that is akin to karma. Fifth, the Friends took the doctrine of total depravity too far. The true biblical view of total depravity is not that man can't get worse than he is. He can obviously get worse. Total means the totality of our being is affected by sin and the totality of our being needs God's grace. But total depravity does not mean utter depravity. Those are two quite different concepts. Bildad appears to believe in utter depravity. He says that Job is no better than a maggot and that he is despised by God. No better than a maggot, really? But Elihu speaks of God's love, compassion, and mercies. He says God is mighty but despises no one. A very key distinction. So again, contrary to the opinion of many, Elihu is quite different in his application of theology than his friends. Six, the friends thought that they had God figured out, but Elihu says, how great is God beyond our understanding? We get into trouble when we put God into a box and we start saying what he can and what he cannot do. Some people even believe that God's sovereignty is a key word of the book. I didn't put it as a key word because it doesn't appear even one time. The concept of sovereignty is throughout the book, so they might be onto something there, but it's not the key word. Seventh, Eliphaz used a metaphor of a sick man. Elihu picks up exactly the same metaphor in chapter 33, but uses it redemptively. He says, then he is gracious to him and says, deliver him from going down to the pit. I have found a ransom. So Eliphaz uses the metaphor to speak of judgment, while Elihu uses it to speak of God's redemptive purposes in Job's life. Eighth, just as Ecclesiastes shows that all meaninglessness will be resolved in eternity, Elihu shows how all apparent injustice will be resolved in eternity. Now in contrast, the three friends insist on that in time. And ninth, he felt sorry for Job having to drink in the scorn, he words it, he drinks in the scorn of the counselors like water. He did not engage in the same scorn. He disagreed with those attitudes. And because Elihu is God's spokesman, it makes sense that in chapters 38 through 42, God immediately picks up exactly where Elihu left off and in much the same line of reasoning. God accused Job of being guilty of insubordination, speaking without knowledge, and Job responds with repentance and adoration of God. God's speeches that put Job in his place, that speak of all that God has done, they were designed to turn us from feeling sorry for ourselves to worship. Worship is one of the best ways to resolve those overwhelming feelings of injustice. Job had hints of this earlier in his speeches, though he's slimy, yet will I trust him. But I want to read the whole of the last chapter to give a feel for how God resolved all of this. Then God answered the Lord and said, I know that you can do everything and that no purpose of yours can be withheld from you. You asked, who is this who hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore, I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Listen, please, and let me speak. You said I will question you and you shall answer me. I have heard of you by the hearing of the eye, but now my eye sees you. Therefore, I abhor myself and repent and dust and ashes. And he has a lot to repent of, but now come words that have vexed many commentaries. It's fun to just see what commentaries say about this. Many people just throw up their hands, but verse seven says, so it was after the Lord has spoken these words to Job that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite. My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right as my servant Job has. Now, here's the question. Hasn't God just given two speeches saying what Job was saying was wrong? Yes, he has. Yes, he has. And Elihu brought correction to his speech as well. But on the issue that had started the debate, whether Job was being punished for some evil deed that he needed to step down from office over, The three friends had indeed slandered Job, and Job was indeed correct that God had not brought these afflictions because of his sin. So on the central issue, Job was correct. And he was also correct in repenting. He was the first one to repent, so he might have included that in there. Job comes out of this. He had pride, but that gets refined out of him. And Job had anticipated this all the way back in 2310 when he says, when he has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. And he was correct in that. Well, last chapter, verse 8, Now, therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls, seven rands. Go to my servant Job and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has." Why the enormously costly sacrifice? Well, Toby Sumter says it was because they were leaders of the nation and had led the nation in revolt. He says, these three men are not normal, ordinary citizens, speaking out of ignorance. They are kings or nobles who have been plotting to steal the kingdom from Job. They have to pay. They have to offer a sacrifice suitable for an entire nation. This may also confirm Gerard's suspicions that many people were led astray by the three friends and their conspiracy. This sacrifice is perhaps not only for the three friends, but for the nation that has been led into sin with them. Verse nine. So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the Lord commanded them, for the Lord had accepted Job, and the Lord restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed, the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Notice that the reversal in Job's life did not come until he was willing to forgive his friends and pray for them. Bitterness as a way of robbing us, forgiveness as a way of enriching us, and specifically praying for blessing to come into the lives of your persecutors is a tough war of love, but it is a war that enables us to win over the devil. Verse 11. Then all his brothers, all his sisters, and all those who had been his acquaintances before came to him and ate food with him in his house, and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversity that the Lord had brought upon him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and each a ring of gold. Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning, for he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys." Now that's exactly double the number of animals that he had before. Now, what about the children? Well, I think he gets exactly double the number of children because 10 of his children are in paradise. He didn't lose them. And he gets another 10, seven sons and three daughters. So we might lose our flocks, but if our children are believers, we will never lose our children. Verse 13, he also had seven sons and three daughters, and he called the name of the first, Jemima, the name of the second, Keziah, the name of the third, Kerenhapok, In all the land were found no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job, and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers." And I think that this giving of an inheritance appears to be approved by God to daughters, people who have wondered about that. Verse 16, after this, Job lived 140 years and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. So Job died old and full of days. So that's the story of Job, and I want to take as close to two minutes. You can time me. I think I'll get it in two minutes. Ten more lessons we can learn from this wonderful book. First, bad things happen to good people. That is undeniable. And when you are the recipient of those bad things, it can be a comfort to know you are in good company with Job. Second, we must never allow suffering to make us lose our hope in God. Instead, it should drive us to worship, even as it did Job in the first chapter. Third, though friends may fail us, God never will. God always comes through. He never lets us get more than we can handle. He loves to bless us. Fourth, even when God appears to be silent, His presence is with us. God is in the midst of the storms. Fifth, humility leads to wisdom, while pride clouds our vision. Job finally understood when he got more humility. Six, God is sovereign over even bad things. And to me, this brings huge comfort that this world is not out of control. It's right where God wants it at this particular moment. Seventh, sometimes we sin in the midst of suffering. And knowing that ahead of time can help us to guard ourselves. Lord, keep me from sinning in this pain and suffering. I want to honor you. I want to glorify you in this. Eighth, sometimes we sin against our friends and need reconciliation. And that certainly happened to the three counselors. They were used by Satan. Job's wife was used by Satan. Even Job was pushed by Satan. But though he cursed the day of his birth in chapter three, Satan never got Job to curse God. Ninth, God loves to bless the upright. Job's life was full of blessing. I think we can claim those blessings for ourselves. And then finally, it was at the moment of Job's prayer for his persecutors that his situation changed. Repenting of bitterness, granting forgiveness to those who have hurt us, often is the beginning of incredible blessing that God bestows in our lives. So may each of us learn the lessons of Job. Amen. Father, we thank you for Job, his patience, his humility, his worship, even in the midst of suffering, and even though he did fall into sin and did deserve your rebuke, that even there he was quick to repent. And I pray that each one of us would be quick to repent, quick to trust your providence, quick to submit ourselves to your will. Help us to find joy and to be able to worship even when we have no joy. Help us, Father, to imitate the good qualities of Job. And I pray this in Jesus' name.