Job 1-2, 42; Job 1: 13-22
“Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house; 14 and a messenger came to Job and said, ‘The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 when the Sabeans 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!’
16 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!’
17 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!’
18 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, 19 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!’
20 Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’ 22 In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.”
Last week, we looked at the life of Joseph as we explore the life of victory that we are promised in Jesus. When we began 2 weeks ago, we looked at 2 Corinthians 2:12-17. In verse 14 of that text, the apostle writes that God ALWAYS gives us the Triumph in Jesus. The Triumph he was referring to, according to many scholars, was the processional that a conquering General would have received as he came back from some decisive victory on behalf of the kingdom of Rome. This processional would include the whole city, Senators and political leaders leading the way, loud and boisterous shouts along the way, and eventually, the General hoisted up was brought in and celebrated.
Maybe you can recall the scene in the movie Gladiator where the crowd is chanting, ‘Maximus! Maximus!’ as Russel Crowe’s character becomes more and more popular. Imagine that being the whole city, not just a coliseum.
Paul is telling us that, in Jesus, God will give us the Triumph. Jesus is the victor, but we are a part of the processional; we are there walking behind the victor, enjoying the great victory that was had.
In the last lesson, we looked at victory even when your family is your greatest enemy and how Joseph’s own brothers plotted to kill him. Yet God protected him, walked with him, and eventually promoted him so he, Joseph, could rescue the very brothers that tried to kill him. He described his life in Genesis 50:20, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.” Today, we are going to look at Job and what happens when you are deliberately attacked by Satan himself. Can God still bring the Triumph from that?
- Satan Attacks Your Family and Money, Job 1:13-22
Satan, a son of God, simply meaning an angel, a created being that was among the angels who came to report to God. God called him out and asked if he knew Job? Of course, he did. Job was wealthy, he had 10 children, and he was secure. Most importantly, Job served God faithfully and loved the Lord. God makes this assessment of Job in verse 1,
“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.”
God makes this same assessment another time in chapter 2. There is no doubt about Job and the kind of godly man he was. Yet, God allowed Satan to attack him. This time around, Satan was allowed to kill his kids and take his wealth. Satan wasted no time attacking Job. He did it all in one day; Job lost all his kids and the vast majority of his wealth in one day. In the last few verses of chapter 1, we see Job’s reaction; he understood that God did not owe him anything. God was not under any obligation to make him wealthy nor to keep his kids from harm.
All too often today, there is a sense of entitlement in the Lord’s churches. There is this idea that the Lord owes me. How far from the truth that is? We deserve death (Romans 6:23), BUT the gift of God is eternal life. Even salvation is more than we deserve. We have it because God is good, not us. Job understood that God had the right to give and take away. And, we are told that Job did not sin in all this as far as charging God with wrong. Job knew he was a sinner, but in that case and in this circumstance, he did not sin.
- Satan attacks your health, Job 2:1-10
We do not know how long the break was between chapters 1 and 2, but Satan is back again reporting to God, and God asks about Job. Satan is bewildered that Job has stood steadfast, and he asks for a bit more leeway to attack Job. God grants it. This is a very important lesson to learn; nothing can happen to a saved person that God has not permitted. That includes the good, the bad, and the ugly. We are God’s children (1 John 3:1), and He oversees all that comes our way.
Another important lesson to learn is that Satan cannot see the future. He was astonished at Job’s reaction, and if he had known the inspiration that Job would become to the world for the past 4,000 years, Satan would probably have left him alone, and no one would know who Job was. Nonetheless, Satan is given permission to attack Job’s health, and he wastes no time. Immediately, Job is struck with boils from the top of his head to the soles of his feet, and he is in agony. He uses a broken piece of pottery to scrape his body, then he covers himself in ashes, both as a sign of mourning and also as a salve for the itch on his body.
Job’s wife gives up. She did not say anything when the kids died and the money was gone. But seeing her husband in agony was too much, and she lashed out, ‘just curse God and die.’ Accept the fact that God has turned on you, Job. He is not on your side any longer. But Job maintains his integrity and does not curse God. He tells his wife to stop behaving like a ‘foolish woman.’ She knew better, but the sorrow and the grief got the better of her.
We can all get there, and eventually, Job would get there as well. He did break and began to question God, and in chapters 38-41, God begins to ask Job some rhetorical questions to simply confirm the fact of who is God and who is not. But in all of this up to the end of chapter 2, Job did not sin. He kept the faith and did not speak rashly about God or call into question God’s character.
- Satan attacks your character, Job chapters 3-37
If Satan did not send these friends, he probably wished he did. These men, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, came to comfort Job, or so we thought. We do not truly understand the kind of destruction that was done to Job by Satan until they arrive, and they are so astonished that they could not speak for 7 days. They simply sat in silence.
I am a preacher and a talker; I have never been silent for 7 straight days. What kind of damage was done to Job that none could even speak for a week? Most of us have never been through this kind of suffering.
But they did begin to speak. In the case of Job’s wife, she gave up on God, saying, “Curse God and die.” She knew her husband and his character, but it was God who had abandoned Job. These three men who came to Job attacked his character (for the next 43 chapters). The basic premise is this: ‘bad things only happen to bad people.’ You are bad, Job, because bad things are happening to you no matter what you say. They accuse him of pride, of speaking hot air, of perverting justice, and on and on. Job, you are a bad, bad man. But God said this of him repeatedly,
“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.”
This was not Job’s assessment of himself; this was God’s assessment of Job. These friends were relentless; they attacked and attacked and hit Job below the belt often. Let us not fool ourselves; this same mentality happens and is prevalent among the Lord’s people even today – ‘bad things only happen to bad people,’ thus you are bad if bad things happen.
In Psalm 73, we find Asaph, David’s chief musician, asking why good things happened to bad people. God, he pleaded, they have money, their kids are well, they live to ripe old ages and never have any cares. It was not until he went to the house of God that he understood their end; their wealth was useless in the next life.
I have known and know of many of the Lord’s people who are very ill. I have a dear brother who is suffering from old age, needs dialysis 3-4 times a week to live, is often tired, and it seems that every mission field he and his family have been on has been fraught with lies, betrayals, and the like. Yet, he is faithful and the first one to shout out God’s praises. I have another dear brother who is suffering from cancer yet finds the time and energy to be out in front of abortion clinics offering alternative solutions to murder, even leading some of these young ladies to Jesus. Some days after chemo, he is tired and hurting, but he is out there, and he praises God for the opportunities. I can go on and on, but Job has been an inspiration to millions of broken souls throughout the years.
- God provides the ‘after,’ Job 42
No matter how long Satan attacks you, there will always be an ‘after.’ Whether we die and go to heaven where there is no pain, no suffering, no loss, and no Satan – or if by God’s grace, the pain is stopped on this side and we get to live a better life until we see Jesus – there is ALWAYS an ‘after.’ Satan is temporary, and God is eternal. Satan is limited and God unlimited.
One of the hardest things to learn and accept as a child of God is that we are bought with a price, and we are not our own. God has the right to allow both good and bad in our lives, and we need to accept that. But what He does also guarantee is that there will always be the ‘after.’ God gave back to Job 10 kids, and it is stated that his daughters were the most beautiful women in the area. He doubled his wealth, and more importantly, God stood up for Job to his friends.
No matter what you are going through, God knows you, and He will bring you through. Can you imagine the millions of people who have met Job in heaven, knew his life and testimony, and gave God the glory because of it? What about you and me? Last week we talked about how Joseph’s legacy lasted for 400+ years, but Job’s has been more than that. What legacy to Jesus are you and I leaving? Is it a life of Triumph in Jesus or a life of quitting on God? The choice is ours to make.
Remember, Job did not go through these things because he was bad, BUT because God trusted him with hard times. God trusted his testimony and boasted about him. Can God trust us with hard times and suffering? Will we live as victims or victors in Jesus?
“And he said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’ In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.”
God bless you,
Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church
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