When the great depression hit this country and:
• The stock market crashed.
• The banks closed.
Rich men were rich one day and they were poor as a church mouse the next. It was so unbearable for some, that they leaped from the windows of tall buildings and committed suicide.
If you have never had it, it does not hurt because you do not miss what you never had. When you HAVE IT ALL and you LOSE IT ALL, you know what you lost.
Job had it all and almost over night he lost it all. But this man is INCREDIBLE! For a man to be forced to face what he had to face, and to do so victoriously, is overwhelming!
Let us take a good look at this man called Job, that lived in the land of Uz. Let me show you two things about him.
I. The Mighty Man.
II. The Misunderstood Man.
First, let us look at-
I. THE MIGHTY MAN.
WHAT AN INCREDIBLE MAN JOB WAS!
He was a godly man.
Look at Job 1:1, We read, “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.“
Notice, two things this verse says about Job:
• HE FEARED GOD.
• HE ESCHEWED EVIL.
The reason that many are fleeing to sin today, is because they do not fear the Lord.
As a nation, we have lost our fear of the Lord.
Illus: As a nation, we fear inflation, recession, earthquakes, floods and tornadoes, but WE DO NOT FEAR GOD!
Job was not that kind of man. He FEARED GOD, and because he did, HE KEPT HIS DISTANCE FROM SIN!
Let me show you some things about this godly man. His life was a life of GOOD and BAD.
A. LET’S LOOK AT THE GOOD. He had everything a man could desire to have. For example, look at-
(1) HIS FAMILY. Look at verse 2. We read, “And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.”
Job had a rather large family, he had ten children, seven boys and three girls. He not only had lots of children, but he also had lots of money. Look at-
(2) HIS WEALTH. Look at verse 3, We read, “His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.”
Today’s wealth is measured in cars, clothes, homes, boats, campers, properties, stocks and mutual funds. But during the days of Job, it was measured differently. Notice, he possessed:
• 7,000 sheep.
• 3,000 camels.
• 500 yoke of oxen,
• 500 she asses.
• A very great household.
If you took a fifty-acre field, you would have a hard time getting all the things he owned in that field.
The Bible says he was the richest man of the East.
This fellow had everything going for him, TEN CHILDREN and ALL THE WEALTH he needed to enable him to provide the very best for his family. Look at-
(3) HIS CONCERN. Look at verses 4-5, We read “And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.”
Job lived a luxurious life-style, and so did his children. They frequently threw parties, and when they did, they invited all the brothers and sisters to attend.
Sometimes, the parties would last for several days, and because Job, as a loving father, feared that sin might have occurred during this time, he offered up burnt offerings according to the number of them.
The Bible tells us he did this “continually” each time they would have a feast.
We looked at the GOOD part of his life, but now -
B. LET’S LOOK AT THE BAD.
Everything was going great in his life, until one day, Satan appeared before the throne of God accusing Job, saying that the reason he was serving God was because God had bought him off.
Look at verses 6-7 “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”
Notice, the Bible says, Satan came from “…going to and fro in the earth…”
A lot of folks have the mistaken idea that Satan lives in hell. But that is not true, Satan and his cohorts live right here on earth with us. One day, he and his followers will be cast into hell, but at the present, he is alive and well here on planet earth with us.
And he walks the earth trying to:
• Tempt men and women to sin.
• Make life as miserable for us as he can.
Notice, when God asked him where he came from, God knowing what he had been up to, questioned Satan in verse 8.
“And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?”
Satan wasted no time responding to that question.
Look at verses 9-10, We read, “Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.”
The Lord said Satan, that is a LIE! And I am going to prove it to you.
Look at verses 11-12, Satan issues a challenge, and God takes him up on it. “But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.”
Now, things start to turn sour for this great man that had this wonderful life.
Look at-
1. HIS SORROW. Now look at some of the dreadful things that happened to him.
• Look at verses 13-15, We read, “And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. “
• Look at verse 16, We read, “While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from
heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.”
Look at these words, “The fire of God is fallen from heaven…”
Why did this man say it was the fire of the Lord. It was not God attacking Job, it was Satan.
Illus: This makes you think about these people who build a house in a flood zone. Than a flood comes and they call it an “Act of God”. That is not an act of God, that is an act of stupidity to build a house in a flood zone!
The Messenger wanted to blame God for something that Satan was doing.
• Look at verse 17, We read, “While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.”
• Look at verses 18-19, We read, “While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.“
All these major catastrophes were coming into his life so fast, one person could not get his news out, before the next came with some more bad news.
Any one of these things would have been a major event in his life, but five major catastrophes occurred in his life, one after the other. He did not have time to overcome one before the next one hit him.
But what an incredible man he was!
We have looked at THE MIGHTY MAN, but now let us look at-
II. THE MISUNDERSTANDING MAN.
Job was misunderstood by his friends. They were convinced that the bad things that were happening to him, were happening to him because sin was in his life.
But not only did Job’s friends misunderstand why these things were happening to him, Job himself did not understand.
• Job was utterly confused as to why HE HAD SO MUCH, and all of a sudden HE LOST IT ALL!
• He was confused as to why it seemed that, in the past everything he touched turned to gold, but now it seems like everything he touches turn to mud.
• HE DID NOT UNDERSTAND WHY BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE.
But he made up his mind, that even though his friends did not understand, and he did not understand, he was going to continue to serve the Lord.
THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT HE DID!
Even his wife suggested he curse God and die.
Look at Job 2:9, We read, “Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.”
Still, men and women will get mad when things are not going the way they want them to go, and curse God. BUT NOT JOB!
Illus: Perhaps you have seen someone on your job have something happen that displeased them, and they would start to curse God.
There was a lot going on in Job’s life that he did not like, BUT HE DID NOT CURSE GOD.
Look at verses 20-22, We read, “Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.”
He proved that everything the Lord said about him was true, he was not serving God for what He could get out of Him.
HE WAS SERVING THE LORD, BECAUSE HE WAS A MAN THAT LIVED IN THE LAND OF UZ, THAT LOVED THE LORD!
Look at these astounding words in verse 21, We read, “…the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
In other words, I HAD IT ALL, and now I LOST IT ALL! So what! I still love the Lord!
Conclusion:
I. THE MIGHTY MAN.
II. THE MISUNDERSTOOD MAN.
