Tag Archives: Trial

Given, Taken, Blessed – Sermon on Job 1:1-22 for the Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity

Job 1:1–22

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

In a sinful and broken world, no one escapes suffering (Jn. 16:33), and no one can make themself right before God. We clearly see that in the book of Job. But another thing that we see in Job is that God accomplishes His purpose, even in the midst of suffering.

Job was very blessed by God. Job had 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and many servants. Job was the greatest of all the people of the east. Beyond that, Job had seven sons and three daughters. One of the things that makes Job great is all of these children. Our culture tries to make it seem like children a burden. It’s sad that today people will see parents with a lot of children and joke with them. “Oh, you must be so tired,” or, “Don’t you know about the birds and the bees?”

We need to stop that. If we are doing it ourselves or hear others doing it, we need to put an end to it. Children are a blessing; they are a heritage from God (Ps. 127:3-5). Don’t fall for the lies of Margaret Sanger and Planned Parenthood. A blessed life does not mean that you’re free of obligation to children. Children are a blessing from God and are to be embraced.

Job was the also the spiritual leader of his family. He was careful to make sure his children were raised well. The fact that Job offered sacrifices for his children points to him being a father who is raising his children in the Christian faith. There is a good reason to see that all of Job’s children are following their father in the faith, but I’ll wait until the end of the sermon to say more about that.

So, Job was very blessed in every temporal way by God. And Job was also spiritually blessed by God. Three times in the first two chapters, we are told that Job is blameless, upright, one who fears God, and turns away from evil. Two of those times, that description comes from the lips of God Himself. And let’s consider each of those briefly.

First, Job is blameless. In Hebrew, that word can also mean ‘perfect’ or ‘pure.’ This does not mean that Job is sinless. Sinless and blameless are similar words, but they aren’t identical in meaning. Job himself will say that he’s sinful (e.g. Job 13:23). So how can God say that Job is perfect, that he’s blameless? Well, this is something that God Himself gives to Job. When God says something about you, it is true. When God says that you are blameless, that makes you blameless. This blamelessness, this purity, this perfection that Job has is a gift from God.

Second, Job is upright. This isn’t talking about Job’s posture. It’s not like he went to the chiropractor regularly. Job is upright. Most of the time this word gets used in Scripture, it’s referring to God. God Himself is upright. There’s no twisted or crooked way about him. God is without fault and without error. Job is too. Again, this characteristic is something that God gives to Job. Whatever sins Job had committed, God had forgiven.

Third, Job fears God. Throughout the Bible, fearing God is linked to trusting God. The 1stCommandment in the Small Catechism is explained, “We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.” Usually, when we think of being afraid, it means we don’t trust someone or something because it’s unsafe. But when the Bible talks about the fear of God, it is not to think that God is unsafe. It means if you turned away from God, then God becomes unsafe. When you turn to Him, then He is your Refuge and Strength (Ps. 28:8; 46:1). C.S. Lewis captures this really well in the Chronicles of Narnia. There’s a question about the character that corresponds to Jesus and if he is ‘safe,’ and the reply is, “Of course he isn’t safe, but he’s good.”

Fourth and finally, we’re told that Job turns away from evil. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Job turns away from evil things. Again, that’s what a Christian does. A Christian does not run headlong into doing sinful, evil things. Instead, a Christian turns away from them. Yes, we sin, and we sin often. But by God’s help, we strive to turn away from evil.

So, when God describes Job as blameless, upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil, God is saying that Job is a Christian. God says this about any of you who believe in Christ.

After this description of Job, we see him begin to suffer. And the cause of Job’s suffering is important. Satan is in heaven, and God starts to brag about Job to the devil. It’s almost like if a jewelry store was being robbed and the owner came out and said to the thief, “Hey, have you seen my rarest, most expensive diamond?” We don’t know why God draws attention to Job, but He does. And the devil doesn’t even bother arguing with God. The devil doesn’t push back or try to “fact-check” God, not at all. God is right. The devil and the demons have to agree with God when God says something. Make sure you recognize that. 

Instead, the devil pushes back on Job’s faith. Satan says that the only reason Job is blameless and upright is that God is nice to him. The devil says that if God takes those things away that Job will curse God to His face. Notice how arrogant the devil is. He’s basically saying, “Let me have at him and I’ll make sure that he ends up the way that I want him to be.” For reasons that I don’t understand, God lets the devil do it. Through the rest of the ch. 1, we hear what the devil does. The devil sends different calamities that take away all the blessings God had given Job.

And how does Job respond to all this loss? It’s remarkable, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked I shall return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Who was it that destroyed all those things? We have to say that it was the devil, and yet who allowed the devil to do that? God did. God gave the devil a long enough leash to take all those things away. And who does Job credit? He credits God. The Lord gave. The Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

In ch. 2, which we didn’t read, the devil is allowed to go farther. Job hasn’t cursed God, so the devil asks God to let him go after Job’s body. And Job gets afflicted with sores all over his body. But still, Job does not curse God. You have to imagine how frustrated this made the devil. Satan figured he’d be triumphantly standing over Job while Job was groveling at his feet, but Job doesn’t even acknowledge Satan in any of his suffering. It’s absolutely remarkable. Job’s eyes, mind, and heart are fixed squarely on God even in the midst of suffering.

Job doesn’t go down the black hole of trying to figure out why he’s suffering. He simply recognizes that he is suffering, and in his suffering, Job places himself squarely in God’s gracious hands.

Christian, take note of this. Whenever you’re presented with trials, tribulations, and suffering, don’t bother with the why of your suffering. Instead, focus on Christ. 1 Pet. 4:12-13 says, “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.”

Suffering and evil are definitely related to each other, but that does not mean that suffering itself is evil. In fact, suffering is good. If you didn’t suffer when you touched a hot stove, you wouldn’t remove your hand from it. If criminals and murderers didn’t suffer with time in prison, then there’d be a lot more theft and murder.

Suffering is meant to bring about repentance and faith in Christ. Suffering isn’t evil, but that doesn’t mean that God demands that you enjoy your suffering. You are right to hope for the end of your suffering. God sent Jesus to relieve you from suffering. Christ entered into our suffering in order to bring us into His kingdom where there will be no more suffering.

Comfort in suffering comes from seeing that God has come into our world to suffer alongside of us and for us. That’s the real comfort for anyone who suffers in any way. The world sees suffering and it tries to eliminate it. So much of our world today is focused on death as the only solution to suffering. They’ll see a poor, single woman who is pregnant and say, “That baby has no chance of being happy, healthy, or successful. So, abort the baby.” The world sees a person going through horrible medical problems and says, “It’ll just be better to end that life now with a doctor assisted suicide.” The world’s only answers to suffering are barbaric.

God’s answer to suffering is that He sends Jesus, not to bring an end to the sufferer, but to defeat suffering through His suffering (1 Co. 15:54). Jesus is the “Man of Sorrows.” In your suffering you find your Savior, who has died and risen again for you, to deliver you.

What we heard today isn’t the end of Job’s story. Job gets everything back. In Job 42, we see God gave Job twice as much as he had before. There, Job has double the sheep, camels, oxen, and donkeys. But then we’re told that Job also had seven more sons and three more daughters. I told you I’d come back to it.

Now, wait a minute. Seven sons and three daughters? That’s what Job had before, isn’t it? Shouldn’t Job have had fourteen sons and six daughters? No. Job’s first ten children aren’t lost to him. This points to Job’s first ten children being saved. Job still has them, even though they died. They’ll be united with Job in the resurrection, because Job knows that his Redeemer lives. Christian, your Redeemer lives too. And like Job, your eyes shall see him and not another (Job 19:25-27). Come quickly, Lord Jesus (Rev. 22:20). 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.