In
1927, the silent film “Wings,” a World War I film about two American aviators,
won the first Academy Award for Best Picture. When it was being filmed,
production stopped for several days. Frustrated producers asked the director
why. He replied, “All we have is blue sky. The conflict in the air will not be
as visible without clouds. Clouds bring perspective.” The director was right.
Only by seeing aerial combat with clouds as a backdrop could the viewer see
what was really going on.
We
see a good example of a similar situation in the passage we heard from Job
earlier in this service. At the beginning of his suffering in Job 3:3-5, Job
complained that “May the day perish on which I was born…May a cloud settle on
it.” Job continued to suffer until God spoke. Then Job exclaimed in Job 42:5,
“I have heard of you…but now my eye sees you.” Job had an encounter with God,
and that changed his view of God’s purposes.
There
are times in our own lives when we wish for blue skies instead of storm clouds,
but cloudy skies often reveal God’s faithfulness. When we look back on the
clouds in our lives, we gain new insights on how God has been faithful in our
trials.
The
Book of Job deals with the universal problem of human suffering. More
importantly, it deals with the vindication of a good God in the face of evil
and suffering. Nowhere is this more evident that the reading we heard from the
Book of Job. God did in Job’s life what he did in the life of the nation of
Israel. The way God led Moses and the Israelites out of Egypt didn’t make
sense, and what he allowed in Job’s life didn’t make sense either. The
Israelites suffered and complained, and so did Job. Both the Israelites and Job
learned that God is sovereign and good. The only difference is that Job always
remembered what he learned. The Israelites didn’t.
Job’s
response to God is one of complete submission to God’s sovereignty. Job affirms
that God is free-he can do anything-and he does what is good and right. Job was
right where God wanted him to be-humbly bowing before God in worship and
repentance. Job went from silence to submission.
Job
did not confess to any of the sins he was accused of, nor did he say what he
was told to say. Job was innocent of these accusations. Job’s fault was that in
making judgments about matters, he did not understand, especially when he
argued with God about his justice. God did not condemn Job for any sins or
foolishness. He did chastise Job for saying that he could better explain what
was happening in the world and better order and control its affairs. Job was
wrong on both counts, so he repented.
The
final picture of Job mirrors the opening picture of him in Job 1. God restored
Job not because of Job’s sacrifice but as a gift. God restored Job’s family and
fortune to a level surpassing that at the start of his suffering. God gave Job back
twice as much as he lost, including another ten children. These children did
not replace the first ten children, but were added to them. Between heaven and
earth, Job had twenty children. The names Job gave to his daughters were Peace,
Forgiveness and Beauty. The book of Job ends with a positive picture of Job and
focuses on his character. Job acknowledged all of his children as equals in the
inheritance he left them. That was a rarity in ancient times because of the
society’s attitude toward women. Job probably lived to the age of 210, which
was a typical lifespan in Job’s time. The term “Old and full of days” meant
that Job lived a rich, full life until the day he died. Job stayed faithful to
God during his suffering, so God wisely rewarded him.
Job
is a good example of the fact that God allows suffering so that he can test us
or teach us something. My own life is a good example. God used my father’s
suffering and death to bring me back to the church and in to lay ministry.
Consequently, my ministry has been blessed by God and used to bless others. God
allowed Job to come to a point where he humbled himself before God and finally
found peace. In the same way God let me come to a point where I humbly
submitted to his will.
Job
was at a point where he had to confess that he was weak, unwise, wordy and
unworthy. All of us have had times in our lives where we had to make some type
of confession, and Job was no exception. Even if we have never sinned, our
pride can get the best of us by ruling our lives. Job was relying on his own
strength instead of relying on God. How many times have we made the same
mistake? How many times has God had to make us suffer and realize that we need
him? When we are at the lowest points in our lives and turn to God in
repentance, we find out the truth behind the old saying that “What does not
kill you makes you stronger.” God’s redeeming grace can take us from tragedy to
triumph and from disbelief to a strong faith.
Worldliness
can distort our view of God. Once we confess our ignorance and keep our mouths
shut, we can see God clearly. We get to know him for ourselves. We don’t have
to depend on human reasoning to define God. We don’t have to be afraid of God’s
power because we have seen God’s grace. We don’t need an explanation for
everything because we’ve placed our trust in God.
Sometimes when we suffer, we wonder where God is. We are not alone in asking this question. In his book, “Where is God When it Hurts?” author Philip Yancey answered this question. Here is his answer, and it is the same answer for each of us:
He has been
there from the beginning…
He has
watched us reflect His image…
He has used
pain, even in its grossest forms, to teach us…
He has let
us cry out and echo Job…
He has
allied Himself with the poor and suffering…
He has
promised supernatural strength to nourish our spirit…
He has
joined us…hurt and bled and cried and suffered
He has
dignified for all time those who suffer…
He is with
us now…
He is
waiting…
Where, O
death, is your victory?
Where, O
death, is your sting?
Instead
of asking why God hasn’t kept his promises, we need to ask ourselves if there
is anything we are doing that is keeping God from fulfilling his promises.
When
God condemned Job’s friends, Job interceded for them. This was part of Job’s
repentance, and because he showed grace to his friends, enemies and family, God
gave Job grace. Job prayed for his
friends, and that was evidence that Job’s heart was no longer filled with
resentment or bitterness toward them. Job forgave them and experienced God’s
forgiveness for himself.
When
we pray for others, our own lives will change. The more we appreciate God, the
more we will depreciate or humble ourselves. When the thought of God rises
higher and higher, our pride will sink lower and lower.
There
are things in life that we can’t understand on earth, but we will understand
them completely when we get to heaven. One of these things is God’s grace. Grace can’t be earned. It is the gift of God’s
unconditional love. Job’s intercession was a prophetic image for Christ’s
intercession for his enemies when he was dying on the cross. Grace holds no
grudges, and neither did Christ or Job. They accepted those who abandoned them
just like God still loves us even when we abandon him.
Satan
is always looking for ways to attack God’s children, and when he does attack,
God is still in control. Even when Satan does his worst like he did when he
made Job suffer, God does his best for us. When the devil attacks, we must
continue to surrender our lives to God’s will, because God will always defeat
the devil.
1.
Jeremiah,
David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Brentwood,
TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013)
2.
ESV Study
Bible. Part of Wordsearch 11 Bible software package.
3.
McKenna, D.L.
& Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s
Commentary Series, Vol. 12; Job (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1986)
4.
Stanley,
C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life
Principles Bible, NKJV (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles, 2005)
5.
MacArthur,
J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible, NASV
(Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
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