Tag Archives: Theodicy

Determined – Sermon on Job 14:1-6 for the Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity

Job 14:1–6

1 “Man who is born of a woman 
is few of days and full of trouble. 
2 He comes out like a flower and withers; 
he flees like a shadow and continues not. 
3 And do you open your eyes on such a one 
and bring me into judgment with you? 
4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? 
There is not one. 
5 Since his days are determined, 
and the number of his months is with you, 
and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass, 
6 look away from him and leave him alone, 
that he may enjoy, like a hired hand, his day.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Seasons change. This year, we’re having a particularly long Fall. We’ve been hitting 50°F regularly. The forecast says we’ve got a couple more days of that, but it’s definitely Fall. The sun is lower in the sky, and it’s getting dark earlier and earlier each day. Your grass might still have some green in it, but the brown is steadily progressing. Most of the leaves have fallen off of the trees, and you’re probably ahead of me in getting them off the lawn.

We’re used to these seasonal changes in this part of the world. During the months that end with ‘-ber,’ we start smelling autumn in the air. And I know some of you are already eagerly waiting for March and April when you get those first, faint scents of Spring. This portion of Job is like those brief whiffs of new life. But, because of his suffering, Job is deep in the declining days of autumn, and yet he is determined to smell the sweetness of Spring again.

To get the context of where we are in Job 14, remember: Three times in the first two chapters, Job is described as a man who is blameless, upright, one who fears God, and turns away from evil (Job 1:1, 8; 2:3). In other words, Job is a Christian. But God allows Satan to cause him all sorts of suffering, both in material and physical ways. Job’s suffering puts him in this autumn season of death.

As he suffers, Job’s three friends come to talk with him. Well, we call them “friends,” but that’s using that word extremely liberally because, honestly, they’re really, really bad friends. Each of them thinks he’s wise enough to know why Job is suffering and tries to explain it. The problem is that their ideas of why Job is suffering only make Job’s suffering worse. In fact, the conversation Job’s friends have with him is, basically, a third round of suffering inflicted on Job.

The first friend, Eliphaz, basically tells Job, “You’re suffering because you are being punished for some sin. But you should be thankful because this suffering is going to make you a better person” (Job 4-5). The second one, Bildad, basically says, “You’re getting what you deserve. Just repent, and your pain will go away” (Job 8). The third, Zophar, basically says, “Actually, Job, you deserve a lot worse. Make yourself worthy to stand before God and then your life will get better” (Job 11). It’s almost like each one of those friends is actively trying to be worse than the previous at explaining why Job is suffering.

Job had responded to each of those friends’ claims, but our text today is the second part of Job’s reply to the three of them collectively. The summary of what Job says in Job 13 is, “This suffering isn’t because God is punishing me for some particular sin. You guys can say whatever you want, but I have no problem insisting that I am righteous before God.” And remember, Job is right when he says that. Job hadn’t heard it, but God Himself declared Job to be blameless and upright. And even though Job is in the autumn of suffering, he stands righteous before God through faith (Hab. 2:4; Gen. 15:6).

Now, here in Job 14, Job longs for Spring and the season of new life. But he speaks about it in ways where we only get the faintest whiff of it. He’s still deep in the autumn of his suffering. That’s why Job talks about the few, troubled days of all mankind (Job 14:1). Job rightly says that all of us are like a flower that sprouts up but then withers (Job 14:2).

Look again at in v. 5. Job says, “[Man’s] days are determined, and the number of his months is with You, [God]. You have appointed his limits that he cannot pass.” Yes, Job is in a very dark place. He’s enduring a suffering that is hard for us to fathom. He’s lost his all of his income, and his children have died. But Job still recognizes that God is the One in control of all his days. Job knows that God determines both the beginning and end of a person. Because of sin, all of us are mortals. We all die, and each person has a God-determined number of days (Ps. 39:4, 139:16).

But then, in the verses that follow immediately after our text (Job 14:7-9), Job says that he longs for Fall to be over and Spring to come again. He says that there is still hope for a tree that is cut down because it can sprout again. Job acknowledges that roots grow old in the earth and the stump dies in the soil, but it will still put out branches at the first scent of water.

In other words, Job believes that, in spite of his current condition, God hasn’t and won’t abandon him – even after Job has breathed his last. Job believes in the Resurrection. In spite of his suffering, Job knows that he will rise again, and his own eyes will see his Redeemer standing victorious on the earth. That will become crystal clear in what Job says in ch. 19:25-27. But here in ch. 14, Job is still mostly in his “Fall funk.”

Now, I want to dig into v. 6 here a little bit. Listen to it again, “look away from him and leave him alone, that he may enjoy, like a hired hand, his day.” When I was initially reading this text to prepare for this sermon, that verse reminded me of other verses of Scripture like Ecc. 2:24 which says, “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil.” The way I understood it was that Job was asking God to look away from him and leave him alone so he could just enjoy the rest of his days. But after doing more study on the text, I realized that’s not what is going on here. Not at all!

If you look in your pew Bible, you’ll see that the ESV (which is what is printed for you) has a footnote that says the way we should probably read that first line of v. 6 is, “Look away from him that he may cease.” In other words, Job isn’t asking God to leave him alone. Instead, Job is saying that, as soon as God looks away from us, we die. Now, it might not seem like it at first, but there are actually two bits of comfort there.

The first comfort is that Job recognizes God is not ignoring him or looking the other direction. Even though Job is suffering, God is looking at him and is aware of his situation. Since God knows Job’s suffering, He also knows your suffering. God sees. God is alert to all the causes of your pain. That’s precisely why He sent Jesus to rescue and deliver you.

The second comfort is a little harder to recognize – like the first scent of Spring. What Job is saying here is basically, “Look away from me so I can come to the end of my days and die because I know there is a resurrection where there will be no more suffering.” Now, Job isn’t suicidal here. Instead, Job recognizes that his life is like the changing of seasons. He’s in the Fall of suffering and decay. The cold, dead of winter will come when God decides it will come. But after winter comes the new life of Spring and resurrection. That’s what Job is longing for.

In context, that first line of v. 6 is Job saying, “God, I know that I’m not going to live forever. I know that this suffering is temporary. Eventually, I will die, but You will raise me again. Even now in this suffering, my life is in Your hands. But I also know that my eternal future is in Your hands. And my preference right now is to move on and get to the resurrection stuff.”

That understanding gives us a better picture of what the second line of v. 6 says where Job talks about a hired hand enjoying his day. During the sweat and toil of work, a hired hand looks to the end of the day when he will rest and receive his wages. That’s what Job longs for. Through faith, Job knows that God will reward him when his life has ended, and he will have eternal rest.

So, dear saints, let’s apply all of this to you. You aren’t suffering like Job is here, and may God grant that none of you ever do. But everyone suffers to one degree or another in this broken world. Like Job, you can confidently place yourself in God’s hands. Yes, you are a sinner, but God can bring a clean thing out of an unclean thing (Job 14:4). Your God brings life out of death. God cleanses, restores, and forgives. No matter what you suffer in this life, God still and always loves you because of what Christ has done on the cross for you.

We suffer many things in this broken, sinful world. Whatever we suffer points to the fact that this world is ending. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus will mention several signs of the end of the world, and they are all some form of suffering. But Jesus wants you to take courage. Every war and rumor of war; every earthquake and hurricane; every corrupt government and politician; every sickness, disease, death, and threat – all of them are only signs that this world is broken and will not last. But know that even in the midst of all those signs, God hasn’t forgotten you.

Jesus lives, and He is returning for you. You belong to Him. Through Jesus, God has delivered you and declared that you are His people. Christ is determined to rescue you. He brings life out of death, and He will lead you in green pastures and beside still waters (Ps. 23:2).

Jesus is your God and Savior, and He is absolutely determined to bring you safely through the autumn of this broken world into the eternal Spring of the New Creation. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

As Christ Suffered, so Shall We

The Scripture readings for tonight’s service are
Psalm 119:65-72; Job 1:6-22; 1 Peter 4:12-19; and John 15:18-16:4.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Job didn’t know. In the midst of his suffering, Job didn’t have the information that we do. As servant after servant came to tell Job about the loss of his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his camels, and even his ten children, Job didn’t know what had happened behind the scenes. Job didn’t know about the conversation between God and that worm, Satan, where God bragged about how blameless and upright Job was. He probably didn’t know about the hedge of protection God had placed around him and all that he had (Job 1:10). And Job certainly didn’t know that God trusted Job’s faith enough to remove that hedge and allow Satan to take it all away.

The only thing Job knew was that he was suffering. He tore his robe, shaved his head, fell to the ground, and worshiped. “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).

Now, pause. Stop right there. Think carefully about everything we know about Job’s suffering. His suffering came about because God had given the devil a long enough leash to take all of that away from Job. But what does Job say? “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” And Scripture clearly says, “In all this,” which includes Job’s statement that the Lord had taken away, “In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.”

Well, that was “phase one” of Satan’s attack against Job. We didn’t read about “phase two” (Job. 2:1-10), but in “phase two,” nearly the same conversation plays out between God and Satan. God brags on Job and adds the fact that Job still holds his integrity even though, “you incited me against him to destroy him without reason” (Job 2:3). Satan says, “Let me go after his body and health. I’ll get Job to curse You to Your face” (Job 2:4-5). Again, God extends Satan’s leash allowing him to harm Job physically, but God still sets limits. God won’t allow Satan to kill him.

The devil strikes Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head, leaving Job to sit in ashes while he scrapes himself with a broken piece of pottery (Job 2:7-8). Even Job’s wife, the only remaining member of his family, tells Job to curse God and die. But listen to how Job responds to her (Job 2:10), “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God and shall we not receive evil?”

Again, Scripture says, “In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”

Notice how neither in “phase one” nor in “phase two,” does Job even mention Satan. Use your sanctified imagination with me for just a minute here. Imagine Satan strutting around all cocky and proud after bringing all that destruction and suffering to Job. But in both phases, Job only talks about God. “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away …. Shall we receive good from God and shall we not receive evil?” Imagine Satan’s jaw hitting the floor as he screams out, “Don’t I get any of the credit for this?”

The devil figured he would be triumphantly standing over Job while he groveled and tapped out. But Job doesn’t even acknowledge Satan – not one bit. It’s absolutely remarkable. Job’s eyes and mind and heart are fixed squarely on God as he endures his suffering.

Throughout this series, we’ve been considering Christ’s suffering. We began by considering how Christ’s obedience led Him to suffer in your place. We contemplated how His suffering was the payment and sacrifice for your sin. We meditated on the fact that God punished Jesus in your place. And through it all we have seen that Christ’s suffering is proof that God loves you. Now, tonight, we close the series by considering your own suffering.

Job’s story gives an important insight to enduring suffering, and that insight is this: In these first two chapters where Job does not sin (Job 1:22) and holds his integrity (Job 2:3), Job doesn’t go down the black hole of trying to figure out why he is suffering. He simply recognizes his suffering and places himself squarely in God’s gracious hands.

We can get all sorts of wrong ideas about God when we ask the question, “Why am I suffering?” We can wrongly think that God is distracted with other, more important things, so maybe He forgot to care for us or is neglecting us. We can also get all sorts of wrong ideas about ourselves when we look for an answer to the “why” of our suffering. We might wrongly think that we have some unknown, unconfessed sin that has made God angry toward us.

Both of those ideas are wrong – completely wrong! You are God’s righteous, holy, blameless, and upright children through faith in Jesus. Because of Christ’s death and resurrection, God loves you and couldn’t be more pleased with you.

Just as Job didn’t know why he was suffering, you typically don’t know the “why” of your suffering. The only safe way to consider your suffering is through the lens of Jesus’ suffering. That is how Jesus orients us toward suffering. In our Gospel reading Christ says, “If the world hates you, know it hated Me first…. If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you” (Jn. 15:18, 20). Jesus will even go on to promise, “In this world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33). The only perfect person to ever live was Jesus, and He suffered in this fallen world. So, when you suffer in this world, what else did you expect?

As our Epistle reading (1 Pet. 4:12-13) said, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed.” So, tonight, I want to share four assertions about suffering to help you not be surprised but rejoice in the midst of suffering.

First: Suffering and evil are definitely related to each other, but that does not mean suffering itself is evil. The truth is suffering is good. Now, hold your eggs and rotten tomatoes just a minute. I know that is counterintuitive to say that today, but it is true. Suffering physical pain is often good because it keeps us from doing things that harm us. It is good for a criminal to suffer for their crimes. A murderer and a thief should suffer a just and fair punishment. That suffering is good because it keeps others from committing similar sins against others. Yes, punishments cause suffering, but they do that in order to prevent further and greater suffering. Also, the suffering that comes through punishment will, hopefully, lead a sinner to repentance, to faith in Christ, and to eternal life. The thief on the cross suffered for his crimes, and it led him to being in paradise with Jesus on Good Friday (Lk. 23:39-43).

The second assertion about suffering is this: Even though suffering is good, that does not mean God demands that you enjoy it. In fact, you are right to yearn, long, and hope for the end of your suffering. God sent Jesus to save and relieve us from suffering. Again, sin brought suffering into the world, and Jesus came into this world to deliver us from sin. Christ entered into our suffering to bring us into His kingdom where will be no more pain, tears, sorrow, or suffering (Rev. 21:4; Is. 25:8; 35:10).

The third assertion is this: Even suffering unjustly for doing good is good. 1 Peter spends a lot of time talking about suffering other than in our reading tonight. 1 Peter 2:20 says, if you suffer for doing good and endure, that is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 1 Peter 3:17 says that it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. Beyond those passages, Romans 5:3-5 says that we Christians rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance which produces character which produces hope. And James 1:2-4 says to count it all joy when you suffer trials of various kinds because the testing of your faith produces steadfastness and makes you perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Here’s the fourth and final assertion about suffering for tonight: Comfort in suffering doesn’t and can’t come from knowing the “why” of suffering; instead, comfort in suffering comes in seeing that God has come to suffer alongside of us and for us in Christ.

The world has no comfort to offer to those who are suffering. Instead, the world tries to end suffering by eliminating the sufferer. The world sees a poor, single, pregnant woman and says, “That baby has no chance of being happy and successful. Just abort her.” The world sees a person going through terminal cancer and says, “It would be better to end that life now with doctor assisted suicide.” The world’s answers to suffering are only barbaric.

Here’s what God does to answer suffering. He sends Jesus, not to bring an end to the sufferer, but to utterly defeat suffering by suffering Himself. On the cross, Jesus takes the suffering we should get because of our sin so that He can give us what we would never deserve – forgiveness, mercy, the resurrection of our bodies, and everlasting life.

Dear saints, you have a suffering God. Jesus is rightly called the Man of Sorrows (Is. 53:3). So, when you suffer – no matter the reason – don’t look for escape in asking, “Why?” Instead, look for comfort in asking, “Who else suffers?” because right next to you in your suffering, you find your Savior who has and who will deliver you. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Flight to Fight – Sermon on Matthew 2:13-23 for the Second Sunday of Christmas

Listen here.

Matthew 2:13-23

13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” 

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: 

18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, 
weeping and loud lamentation, 

     Rachel weeping for her children; 
she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.” 

19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” 21 And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. 23 And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

We don’t always understand God’s ways. That’s the understatement of the year – young though it is. God’s ways and thoughts are too high and too wonderful for us to understand (Is. 55:8-9).

For example, take the Old Testament promises of the Messiah. When the wise men first came seeking Jesus because of the star, Herod asked the chief priests and scribes where the Christ was to be born (Mt. 2:1-6). The scholars told Herod that the Scriptures taught that Christ would be born in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2). We also just heard that the Messiah would come out of Egypt (Hos. 11:1), and He would be called a Nazarene. Bethlehem, Egypt, Nazarene – no wonder people had a hard time recognizing that Jesus was the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Messiah. You can see how it would be hard to wrap your mind around all this without the Gospel of Matthew mapping out the fulfillment point by point.

While all of that fulfillment of Scripture could be its own sermon, that isn’t what we are going to focus on today. Instead, we are going to focus on how God’s ways and actions are so different from ours – especially when it comes to how God deals with evil.

The slaughter of the boys of Bethlehem who were two years old and under is one of the most horrific events in all of Scripture. Jesus is protected while those boys are killed. Their only “crime” is that they resemble Jesus in gender and age. We hear this and our minds are often filled with questions. “Couldn’t God have intervened?” “Why didn’t God warn all the fathers of Bethlehem in dreams?” “Why does Jesus get spared while the rest of the boys aren’t?” “Why couldn’t God just kill Herod and spare the baby boys?”

Whenever we stand face to face with evil, we ask the “why” questions. Many people use the presence of evil to argue that God is weak or doesn’t even exist. They will say that if there is a God, He certainly wouldn’t let things like this happen. If God is merciful and loving, if He is omniscient (all-knowing), omnipresent (everywhere present), and omnipotent (all-powerful), why doesn’t God use all those “omnis” to do something about evil?

These questions have been something that humanity has wrestled with ever since the Fall into sin. Part of the reason we ask those questions is because we aren’t those “omnis” and could only deal with one evil at a time. And because we could only deal with one evil at a time, we would handle it only with punishment. But because God is all of those “omnis,” He can address evil with grace and forgiveness.

Also notice that those questions only focus on the evil of this world and spend no time considering if God has done something about evil – which He has. It’s like when a kid is having a rotten day and emphatically states, “Nothing good ever happens to me.” (I’ve been that kid.) You can try to point out the good things that have happened, but the kid dismisses all of those. And sure, if you don’t count anything good that happens in your life, it will be filled with badness and evil.

The whole book of Job deals the problem of evil and God’s goodness. I highly recommend you read Job, but when you do, know that Job’s three friends are all off base – they give wrong answers. And even Job can go a bit too far at times. But make sure listen to Job’s fourth friend, Elihu (Job 32-37). And especially listen to how God answers Job at the end of the book. Hopefully, this sermon will be a help to understand both the book Job and the goodness of God in the presence of evil. And to get to an answer to how there can be a good God when there is so much evil, you have to go back to the fact that God’s ways and thoughts are higher and more wonderful than ours.

First of all, when we consider evil in the light of God’s goodness, we have to remember that we cannot blame God for the evil in the world because God is not to blame. Secondly, and more importantly, God has addressed, overcome, and defeated evil, but not in the way we would expect. In fact, the infant Jesus being whisked away to Egypt was part of how God addressed the evil of this fallen world.

Jesus ran to Egypt to be God’s answer to all evil. One of the key verses to understanding all of this is Romans 12:21 which says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Hear that again, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” This is how the Gospel always works and how it has to work because you cannot force good into evil.

In His omnipotence, God had the power to wipe out sin right away when Adam and Eve fell. But He is not that kind of god. That kind of god would not be the God of the Bible. The God who created you is a God who is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (Ex. 34:6-7). So, to overcome the evil in this fallen, sinful world, God did something unimaginably good. And in His goodness, He came to earth to deal an eternal blow to all evil.

Jesus fled from Herod, not because He was allowing Herod to continue being an evil, bloodthirsty, power monger. Instead, Jesus came to save even wicked King Herod from his evil.

On His journey to and from Egypt, Jesus passed by Mt. Sinai where He gave the Law which condemned the sins of Herod and your sins. And Christ came to keep and fulfill that Law because you and the Herods of this world couldn’t keep it. Because of His love for you, Jesus fled from His homeland so that you and all sinners could return to yours. Jesus made Himself a sojourner and refugee so that you and all humanity could have an eternal home.

The flight to Egypt looks like weakness, but it is not. It shows Christ’s almighty power. Don’t forget that the humble, helpless Infant traveling through the wilderness is the Creator of heaven and earth. In His extreme humility, God came down to earth, to stand in your place, to fulfill the Law on your behalf, and to suffer and die with your evil and sin laid upon Himself. Without His humility, everyone would be eternally bound to our sin and evil. In other words, Jesus’ flight to Egypt is how God fights evil. He flees this evil in order to fight and defeat all evil for all time. Again, His ways are not our ways.

Whenever you see and experience evil, resist the temptation to focus and dwell on the evil. Instead, focus on Jesus. And in the context of this text, focus on that Child who is the object of God’s attention. Jesus is whisked off to Egypt to escape the sword of Herod. Christ couldn’t die by Herod’s sword; He had to die on the cross. Jesus is God’s Child, the promised Seed of the woman who would crush the head of the serpent and deal decisively with sin, death, and evil once for all.

Saving those baby boys of Bethlehem would have spared them and their mothers’ tears, but it would not have saved them or the world from sin and damnation. If we can discern anything at all about God’s plan and agenda, it’s that He’s committed to saving the entire world – not just bits and pieces of it. God isn’t content with saving just a handful of people here and there – He’s after the world, the entire cosmos. He created everything by His Word, He intends to redeem and save all people from their sins by Jesus, the Word made flesh.

Seeing how God delivers the world from evil by overcoming it with the good of Jesus dying and rising again, that stands as a call for us to follow His example. We are so quick to want to get back at those who have wronged us, but that is precisely why we are in the mess we are in today.

So, what do we do with the baby killing Herods who appear to become more and more emboldened? How do we defeat their evil designs? How do we join with God to overcome the evil of our day?

We do it with good. We love who persecute and slander us (Mt. 5:44; 1 Pet. 3:9). We love the sinners for whom Jesus died (Ro. 12:20; 1 Tim. 2:1-4). We pray for their conversion to the truth while we confess the saving truth to them. And as our Epistle text (1 Pet. 4:12-19) said when we suffer according to God’s will we entrust our souls to our faithful Creator while we do good (v. 19).

Just as the almighty God hid His power under the appearance of weakness while Jesus fled from Herod’s anger, God still today hides His almighty power under the humble forms that the Gospel takes among us. God’s Word is still powerful to save sinners and to usher them into Christ’s kingdom of grace.

And here and now, God brings the power of the Gospel to us sinners. Here, Christ feeds you with His Body and Blood to deliver to you the forgiveness He has won for you. And with this holy Sacrament, He strengthens you to go and do good to your neighbor even when it is difficult. So, come. Be fed, be forgiven, and be strengthened to overcome evil with the goodness that Christ pours into you. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.