12-15-19 Grace-Tucson Sermon

Job 1:6-22 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke

Advent 3 – Stories of the Promise Sunday, December 15, 2019 “The Story of Job: Persevere!”

“Why me?” It is a question that many ask when something difficult, painful, or challenging happens. Is that something that you have asked? Why did this happen to me? Why did my loved one get sick? Why did my relationship sour? Why did my retirement account drop drastically? Why did I fail a class or lose a job or get injured? Why me?

If ever there were someone we would expect to ask that question, wouldn’t it be Job in the account from our First Lesson this morning? Why Job? Why all the things that he had to suffer, all the loss that he had to face?

What we read today was just a small portion of the story of Job. There was much more that happened to him than even what we read, but already in this portion of the story, we can learn from what happened and from how Job reacted. One of the big lessons that Job both learned and teaches us is that of perseverance.

Persevere through whatever comes your way, as challenging as it may seem.

The truth is that in this world, in this life, bad things happen to good people. Don’t misunderstand me. No one is completely good. We are all born in sin. No one is perfect. But Job is a believer who puts his faith into action. God himself said about Job that he was “a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and turns away from evil.” In other words, it is very clear that the answer to “why does this happen to Job?” is not “because he did something to deserve it.” And that’s what is so frustrating at times about our “why me?” question. The things that happen to some people don’t fit our way of thinking about justice and about what people deserve.

Well, interestingly enough, the Bible tells us exactly why the things that happened to Job happened to him.

God gives us a glimpse into his presence, into his throne room, and Satan was there, too. Satan, with God’s permission, intended to afflict Job. It’s almost like a grand wager between God and the devil. God said that Job would remain faithful, and Satan set out to prove him wrong. And he did so by throwing tragedy after tragedy at him, one after another.

Does that help us answer our questions when we wonder, “Why us?” Maybe it does. Maybe the challenging and difficult things that happen to us are in a similar way part of an attempt by Satan to discredit God and to discredit those who claim to be his people. Certainly, the bad things that happen in this world, to us or to others, happen because this is a sinful world we live in. It has not been perfect, with everything in its perfect place and working perfectly together, since Adam and Eve first sinned. We live in a world now where things go wrong at times, and sometimes, we have no better explanation about the things that happen to us than just that. We live in a world where bad things happen.

As we discuss it, though, we also have to acknowledge that God also promises to use all things for our good.

Even the difficult and painful things, perhaps even primarily the difficult and painful things, God uses to accomplish good for us.

So, yes, bad things happen to people we would well consider good, but God remains in control. From the perspective of Job, from the perspective of his friends, and without the context that we get of the discussion between God and the devil, it could easily seem like God was not in control. You heard what happened to him. His oxen and donkeys were stolen away. The servants who were caring for them were put to death.

And keep in mind that in that day and time, wealth was not stored in banks, it was kept in the flocks and herds. Job’s flocks of sheep were burned by fire that rained down on them, killing them and their shepherds.

Even his own children, who were together, were killed in one fell swoop as the house collapsed on them.

And Job got the news as one messenger after another came to announce it to him. He had lost everything.

And he was a faithful believer who trusted in God. Was God in control? Why didn’t God stop any of this?

Why didn’t he leave something for Job? No, it may not seem like God is in control, but he is. You heard the context. Satan could do these things, Satan has such deadly power, only because he begged that the Lord would allow him to do such things. God

could set whatever parameters he determined, and Satan would have to abide by that. God remained in control, and he used these things to accomplish good. Our verses end at a high point. They end with Job’s strong faith on display. The end with Job confessing that God is worthy of praise. I alluded to the fact earlier that this is just the start of a much longer story of Job, and Job is not always so firm in his conviction. As troubles and trials pile up and continue, his faith wavers and is at times weak. Even through these ups and downs, though, God accomplishes something. By the end of the story Job’s faith is even stronger than it was in the beginning. Job had it driven home to him that in this life he couldn’t just look at the outward evidence, he couldn’t judge things based just on how they appear. He needed to listen to God’s Word. He needed to trust what God told him.

We heard another related example in today’s Gospel (Matthew 11:2-11). John the Baptist was in prison. His followers were concerned. This didn’t seem like it was the way things should be. This wasn’t how it was supposed to turn out for another servant of God, for John the Baptist. Were they right to trust in Jesus? Or had they made a mistake? Those servants were sent to Jesus to ask him directly, and he told them that they could look at this evidence: Jesus was doing the amazing and miraculous things that God had promised his Messiah would do. Yes, Jesus was the Savior. Yes, the people could trust in him. They could trust even when John was in prison, even when John would eventually be executed. They could trust even when the outward circumstances looked as though they could not.

That was the same sort of trust that Job needed. What is most notable about Job is not how well he behaved, but that he trusted God. When it could have seemed like God was only out to get him, like life had no meaning and no hope, Job trusted. He praised and worshipped God. So what about us? Our lives are full of uncertainties at their best. Could we face what Job did? Could we lose our family members? Could we lose our possessions, our property, our wealth, even our health? Of course we could. These are all things that could happen without warning. And if any one of these things happened, it could tempt us to blame God. It could tempt us to accuse him of wrongdoing, of being unfair. It could make us think that maybe God does not really love us.

But God does really love us. No matter what our outward situation or circumstance is at any moment, he loves us. He has proven it and demonstrated it. He sent his own Son as a Bethlehem baby for us. We heard already how his earthly ministry was filled with amazing miracles: he gave sight to the blind, made the lame walk again, allowed the deaf to hear. He did all of these amazing things and even more. And he did the most amazing things of all. He paid the price for our sins. He died and rose again so that we could live with him forever. God really does love us. He loves us so much that he made a home for us with him in heaven.

And that heavenly home, our eternal home, is so wonderful, so amazing, so incredible, that having it waiting for us allows us to face anything. It allows us to persevere through anything that we face on our way there.

That’s the same reason Job could persevere through what he did. That’s the reason he could respond to such terrible circumstances with worship and praise. Job was a believer. He knew that God had promised to send a Savior. He trusted that God would keep his promise. Job was waiting for that Savior. And because he trusted in what his Savior would do, Job could endure anything that Satan brought into his life, anything that God allowed into his life. Nothing could take away his most valuable possession, eternal life in heaven.

There may be times when we ask, “Why me?” There may be times when the challenges seem to pile up, when the difficulties are almost overwhelming. There may be times when it seems like the joys of Christmas will never get here. For all those times, let’s take to heart the lesson of Job. Bad things may happen, but we can know that the Lord is in charge. Our gracious and loving Father is taking care of us. He will see us through, even when it may not seem or feel that way. Let us trust him fully. Let us persevere. Let us worship and praise our God. “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. May the name of the Lord be blessed.”

The Text: Job 1:6-22 (EHV) There came a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the L ORD, and Satan also came into their midst. 7 The LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming the earth and walking around on it.”

8

Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and turns away from evil.”

9

Satan answered the LORD, “Is it without cause that Job fears God? 10 You have put a protective hedge around him and his household and everything that belongs to him, haven’t you? You have blessed the work of his hands. His livestock has spread throughout the land. 11 But just stretch out your hand and strike everything that is his, and he will certainly curse you to your face!”

12

So the LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then. Everything that he has is in your hand. But you may not stretch out your hand against the man himself.” So Satan left the presence of the L ORD. 13

One day when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their oldest brother, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the female donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 when the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They put the servants to death with the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

16

While he was still speaking, another servant came and said, “The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the flocks and the servants and consumed them, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

17

While he was still speaking, another servant came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and plundered the camels and took them away. They put the servants to death with the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

18

While he was still speaking, another servant came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and were drinking wine in the house of their oldest brother. 19 Suddenly a powerful wind swept in from the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it collapsed on the young people, and they died, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

20

Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshipped. 21 Then he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The L ORD gave and the LORD has taken away. May the name of the LORD be blessed.”

22

In all this, Job did not sin or blame God.