The Wisdom of God

On earth there is not his like, a creature without fear.
He sees everything that is high; he is king over all the sons of pride."

Sermon

Readings

Job 38:1-7, 34-41 (Jehovah Speaks)

Psalm 104:1-9, 31-35 (Bless the Lord, O my soul)

Mark 10:35-45 (Who is the best)

Prayer

Our Father, we thank you for the Bible. We thank you that as we turn to its pages, the work of the Spirit of God is to bring it home to our hearts. So give us ears to hear, what the Holy Spirit has to say to each one of us, we pray. And we ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

The calamity of Job

When we think about the book of Job we often think about suffering – Job suffered, and it’s not wrong to think about suffering; but the book in and of itself is not about humans suffering.

In the passage today we meet God – He is referred to as Yewah – or Jehovah – or more likely Lord written in capital letters, in your Bible.

When God addresses Job He does not mention suffering once, nor does YHWH refer to the calamities that befell Job.

The book of Job is probably the oldest book of the bible – although the liberal non-believers want to place the authorship in the modern era.[1]  Henry Morris and others believe it was written before Israel existed – before Moses, but its author may have been Moses, since the final verses are in the past tense of Job. [2]

The book refers universally to the Genesis record, and to a man that really did live, whatever the sceptics say. [3] Ironically the Book of Job is designed for the sceptics – can any answer the 40 questions YHWH asks of Job?

The book of Job is in the form of a great dramatic poem that captures the actions and opinions of number of people:

Job who lives the land of Uz (which we don’t really know anything about) and his wife; his three friends Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar; Elihu the son of Barachel along with God (Jehovah) and Satan.

The book belongs with other poetical books: The Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and The Song of Solomon.

In the Christians Bible it is placed just before Psalms, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.

What the Book of Job concerns

The wisdom of God versus that of humans as acted out in real time.[4]

The issue of Satan

The book commences with the narrative of the conversation between YHWH and Satan, the great deceiver.

It demonstrates that Satan is real, and has a voice – he is not merely a force of nature.

It appears that God was testing Satan, whose aim is to deceive all men, being the father of liars (John 8:44; 2 Corinthians 11:3). The conversation begins:

Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?"  (Job 1:8)

Satan sneers at this and states that Job is only righteous because God blesses him (Job 1:10). So God gives him permission to test Job (Job 1:12).

The hypothesis of the experiment was Job would curse God (Job 1:11; 2:5). If Job cursed God he would die:

"Bring out of the camp the one who cursed, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him. And speak to the people of Israel, saying, whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death. (Leviticus 24:14-16)

The issue of Job

Job was once a wealthy, successful man admired by all who knew him.

He was righteous; and worship Jehovah – indeed Job 1:5 appears to indicate he went beyond what was required of a man. Job offered sacrifices for himself and his children, in case they had sinned. Everything seemed to be going wonderfully well for Job as seen in the first five verses of Joba:

• Then in one fell swoop, he lost all ten of children.
• All of his possessions and material wealth were taken away.
• But we find after Job spoke, the Holy Spirit says: Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. In other words, Job did not curse God, or indeed say anything wrong.
• After this Job’s health was attacked, because Satan’s hypothesises that Job did not curse God when his material wealth was removed was due to good health (Job 2:4, 5),
• Satan next was allowed to inflect him, but not take his life; He became stricken with a skin disease consisting of necrotising ulcers.
• His wife advises (2:9) Job to curse God and die; but Job refuses.

In the dialogue that follows we find that Job has forgotten that every living thing is subject to God – for God is the creator and this is the message for us.

• The hairs of our head numbered (Matthew 10:30, Luke 12:7a)
• Sparrow does not fall without God knowing (Matthew 10:31, 32, Luke 12:7b)

• But Job had an issue
• He took pleasure in his good character like the Pharisees: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.’  (Luke 18:11)
• Job sees God as being is arbitrary and unfair, and
• His friends become his enemies because they urge him to despise God

Rabbinic teaching finds the book of Job is directed explicitly to the rejection of the idea that suffering can be easily explained on the grounds of reward and punishment.[5]

The issues raised by Job’s friends

• His three remaining friends accused him of hidden sin which he had to confess in order that God did not destroy him. They were very dogmatic in this regard!
• But Job had no sin to confess! Many miss God’s assessment of Job

And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?" (Job 1:8)

• Eliphaz accuses Job of not fearing God (14:4), and Zophar accuses the righteous Job of being wicked, and Bildad flatly says man cannot be righteous, thus Job was not righteous (Job 25) evident by his suffering. Indeed this forms the main logic of Job’s friends.
• Their reasoning is a syllogism, which is based on the following logic
• God sends calamities upon wicked people only.

• Job has suffered a calamity.
• Therefore Job must be wicked. Job himself avoids this false syllogism.

• This is very commonly accepted by Christians. It is called a theology of divine retribution, and it assumes that God blesses those who are faithful to him and punishes those who sin.
• God’s reply was:

And so it was, after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.  (Job 42:7).

• All the while, Job has listened and maintained his innocence.

Job’s suffering could not be attributed to sin!

Note: Job never claimed to be sinless. On the contrary (Job 14:4; 7:17; 9:2; 27:2-6). He recognised his sinful basic nature. Indeed Job offered sacrifices for sin – not an action of a man who believes he has not sinned. Thus he could pray ...

If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind? Why have you made me your mark? Why have I become a burden to you? Why do you not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For now I shall lie in the earth; you will seek me, but I shall not be." (Job 7:20-21)

Job knew he needed a mediator (daysman in old English), and recognised it needed to be God (Job 9:32-33; Job 31:35 [6]).

He knew that God would respond to his faith.

Job did know that God cleanses the sinner from his sin by the blood of the atoning sacrifice, but this would need to be His son, Jesus Christ (FAB).

Job believed in the resurrection (Job 19:25-27; 14:14).

The issue of Elihu

• Elihu really frames the other three men’s arguments slightly differently, but takes the same tact: Job must stop protesting his innocence, and learn the disciplinary nature of suffering.
• Elihu postulates that the righteous may suffer – and this is true
• Unlike the other three, Elihu does praise God’s greatness, which is a prelude to YWHW speaking.
• The turning point after 35 chapters of dialogue
• The Lord finally interrupts all the miss-guided counsel and speaks to Job directly – the chapter we turn to today.

The issue of God

God shows his own grandeur which is beyond what man can comprehend

God shows the real purpose of the book: “The wisdom of God versus that of humans acted out in real time.” The word wisdom is used 21 times in Job, and indeed contains one of the characteristics of it.

'Behold, the fear of the Lord[7], that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.'" (Job 28:28)

God has no need to explain to His creation why we suffer; because God does not exist for man, but rather mankind exists for God. He is the potter, and the universe his clay.

But now, O Lord, You are our Father;
We are the clay, and You our potter;
And all we are the work of Your hand.  (Isaiah 64:8)

A Christian learns from this book that wisdom can only be gained from God, in the absolute silence of all human voices - for no human can offer anything of value (although used of God - thus compare Elihu with those of the other three men).

And the starting point of this is by looking at God’s creation. It is where Paul starts in Romans 1:

For [God’s] his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Romans 1:20)

The main concern of the book is not: why do bad things happen? Job is concerned with the mystery of suffering, especially the suffering of the righteous (FAB). [8] But is this in the context of sin.

All human righteousness is but a garment of filthy rags. The righteousness of God is the only robe that will avail for eternal salvation.

Our attitude must be that of Paul’s:

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith (Philippians 3:8-9)

All man's efforts to establish his own righteousness simply prove how far from God he really is.

Man naturally knows nothing of his own nature and its present state before God. Lust in the flesh does not trouble him, until it is active and produces sin.

Then his conscience begins to operate, because he knows that God is the Judge. Even the law, when it came, forbade lust—covetousness. The commandment might as well have said, cease to be a man, for it is, since the fall, the very nature of man to covet. (FAB). It is only by knowing God though faith can the Holy Spirit aid our temptation of coveting.

Application today

The Individual

• Job compared himself to his family, his wife, or even his friends, and thought he measured very well, indeed.

• But when he came face-to-face with the Lord it was a different story.

• We are no different than Job. When we compare ourselves with our friends, our family or our spouses, we can develop a sense of self-righteousness.
• We begin to think that we have the right to judge those around us, and even how the Lord deals with them.
• If we are to compare ourselves, it must be with Jesus. This gives the proper estimation of ourselves. The Apostle Paul had learnt:

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18)

This is a very hard lesson to learn – our present is very much present; so seeing the future glory can be very much clouded over.   

Job did get some things right, though. He says:

For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God (Job 19:25-26)

He is saying even though he might suffer, indeed die, he will, with his own eyes see God – that is Jesus Christ. So will anyone here today; any who have put their faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

The book is about the confidence we have Jesus, or in the case of Job, YHWH – what He promised – a future where there will be no more tears for those that believe

Working it out

It’s not about thinking positively.

This is a cop-out – the Bible is explicit in what we are to think. Yes, it’s not good to dwell on the bad; Job is telling us we must focus on what God has done, who he is, and how he has provided redemption for our sin; this is positive thinking. It’s not the emptiness of new age thought.

And we need to be aware of the dangerous doctrine of attempting to empty the mind – Jesus reminds the disciples this is a sure way of allowing the devil in (Luke 11:24-26). But rather, we are to focus on Jesus. What does the Bible say:

For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.  (Romans 8:6)

We are to take every thought captive and to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Our thoughts are to be honorable in the sight of all (Romans 12:17)

Law of Attraction

• It’s not about thinking positively so we will get whatever we desire from God.
• The Law of Attraction is based on the idea that “like attracts like.”
• Teachers of the Law of Attraction will often tell you to believe, imagine, or visualize what you want from God and He will make it true for you.
• God says – take a look at my creation, see how wonderful it is; humans have nothing on what God has created.

Follow your heart

• Sin will be punished because God is holy. The theory that following your feeling will lead to truth is utterly false – it can only lead to destruction – four men in Job’s narrative followed their ‘feelings’ and provided Job with no useful advice.
• Many new age teaches want you to follow our feelings and that our emotions are indicators of truth and guidance.
• People are often told to do what feels right. It sounds good initially but Scripture reminds us that trusting in our own minds is foolish.

Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.  Proverbs 28:26

Other versions read, “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool.”

We are little or mini gods

• It is the tenet of Job – that is the most fundamental of all truths – there is one God and they (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) are one (Deuteronomy 6:4)
• That we are mini gods, is totally false, but popularized by false teachers like Kenneth Copeland, Joel Osteen, and Oprah among others.
• The idea is that because we are children of God, we are also mini gods and can obtain anything we please because we are also divine in nature. This plays out in the church when individuals focus on serving self and their desire for money, fame, and material wealth
• Yet God does not see it that way at all.
• While this may sound good to itching ears, the Bible consistently teaches us that God is holy, righteous, omnipresent and omniscient, yet man is full of sin and has only been made blameless before God through the death of Jesus Christ, not by our own innate divinity. It is only by faith in the Son of God are we saved.

Summary

God responds to sin as He always has.

God knew man would sin – His love is manifested in the provision to deal with sin. He knew this, yet, He created you because there’s only one version of you and he loves you for who you are (Psalm 139:13-14).

His love for you doesn’t change.

Therefore don’t measure the length of God’s love by your circumstances.

Job shows our responsibility to God is to obey Him, trust Him, and submit to His will, whether we understand His actions or not.

When we do, we will find God in the midst of our trials—possibly even because of our trials. We will see more clearly the magnificence of our God, and we will say, with Job, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you” (Job 42:5).

Hymn : Immortal, invisible, God only wise (Walter C. Smith (1867))

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.

 Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
thy justice like mountains high soaring above
thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.

To all life thou givest, to both great and small;
in all life thou livest, the true life of all;
we blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
and wither and perish but naught changeth thee.

Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
all praise we would render, O help us to see
'tis only the splendor of light hideth thee.