FBC Morning Light – April 21, 2022

A good Thursday morning to you. I hope your week has gone well. Thus far, you've been living in the light of the resurrection, that you've been steadfast and immovable and abounding this week in the work of the Lord, because your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Job, Zophar, and the False Assumption That Suffering Proves Wickedness

He rose from the tomb, and because he rose, you shall live, you shall rise as well. Today we're back in the book of Job. Job has some more discourse with a couple of his friends. The first one so far, he once again makes that logical fallacy that says God punishes the wicked, you're experiencing punishment, the way he's defining the suffering that Job's going through, and therefore you are wicked.

He starts off, Zophar starts off saying, Do you not know this of old, since man was placed on earth, that the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment? He elaborates on that, basically talking about wicked people who end up accumulating wealth, but they get it taken from them, they are able to eat sumptuously, but they get sick of it, get sick from it, and it doesn't last.

Basically, God devastates them. He ends his little speech in verse 29 by saying, This is the portion from God for a wicked man, the heritage appointed to him by God. You've got to get his point. Why would he be telling Job this?

His point is that, Job, you've been a prosperous man, you've enjoyed great wealth, you had an abundance of flocks, you had plenty to eat, you could eat sumptuously, and it's all been taken away from you.

This is your heritage. This is the portion from God for you, because you have been wicked. You are a wicked man. This is what God does to wicked people. You've been a hypocrite all this time, and the joy of the hypocrite is short-lived.

God pulls the rug right out from under the hypocrite and devastates his joy. This is your portion. God does this to the wicked. Hearing this, Job knows it's not accurate, because this hasn't been Job's life.

Job hasn't been a wealthy man who got his wealth by wicked means. He's one who's eschewed wickedness and evil, and he's pursued righteous living. This doesn't follow. Job knows it. But instead of arguing for himself and trying to defend himself, he says, wait a minute, wait a minute, Zophar.

Job asks this question, why do the people who live and become old become mighty in power, and their descendants are established with them in their sight, and their offspring before their eyes? What Job is doing is he's pointing out an observation that you and I make as well.

We see good, godly people suffer, and at the same time we see people whose lives are wicked, and they have no care and concern for God whatsoever, and they're just seemingly from appearances enjoying life, enjoying their prosperity, and they can travel, they can do what they want to do, they can fare sumptuously, and all the rest of this kind of stuff, and it's like nothing really ever bad happens to them.

Sometimes things do, but by and large they just keep going on, and they keep growing in wealth, and in power, and succeeding, and they're not experiencing what Zophar is describing, not in the least bit.

Why is this, Job wonders. And I suppose we do too, we do too. And these wicked ones and their arrogance even come to the point where they say in verse 14 to God, Depart from us, for we do not desire the knowledge of your ways.

Who is the Almighty that we should serve him? And what profit do we have if we pray to him? And it's not this indeed, the attitude of so many in our day and in our culture. You look at the entertainment industry, you look at the sports industry, all these venues where people are vaunted, and elevated, and become very wealthy, and they have no use or no time for God whatsoever, and yet they keep plugging along, keep plugging away.

And in contrast, here's Job, who has lost everything, even his offspring, has nothing, nothing left. And Job is pointing out the fallacy of the thinking here in a reverse sort of way, that you say so far that God punishes the wicked, and he removes their wealth and everything from them, and this is what God does to them.

But that's not what God does to them. So there's something else at play here, there's something else at play here, this is basically what Job is communicating. Then in chapter 22, another one of Job's friends pipes up and he's going to have his little speech, and in his speech he communicates this formulaic way of thinking, of gaining God's prosperity.

The Formula of Agreeing with God, Returning to God, and Prosperity

Because, remember, in the context these friends think that Job is a wicked man, and he has lost everything because of his wickedness. Well, Eliphaz comes up with a formula for having all of his wealth and his prosperity restored to him, and basically his formula goes something like this.

In the first place, step one, agree with God. Agree with God that you are wicked. Now, really what they're saying is, you've got to agree with us, because we're speaking for God here, but anyway, agree with God, step one.

Step two, return to God. You've obviously turned away from him somewhere in the past, you've turned to wickedness and away from God, so you have to agree with him that you are wicked. Step two, you have to turn from your wickedness.

Step three, you have to give what stuff you have, you have to be generous and start giving away to people instead of hoarding it all for yourself, and then God will prosper you, then God will bless you.

He says it like this in verse 23, if you return to the Almighty, you will be built up, you will remove iniquity far from your tents, then you will lay your gold in the dust and the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.

In other words, then you will become very, very wealthy. Yes, the Almighty will be your gold and your precious silver, for then you will have your delight in the Almighty and lift up your face to God.

You will not only know the blessing of an abundance of gold and silver physically and be very wealthy once again, but you'll also have your fellowship and your joy with God restored once again. Just follow the formula, Job, follow the formula.

It's a similar kind of way of thinking today, isn't it? If you just follow the right formula, God will make everything pleasant for you, life will be all flowers and butterflies and tranquility and peace, and everything will go well for you, you'll have a full bank account and you can have everything you want.

Just listen to the prosperity gospel preachers. Just follow the right formula, follow the right formula, and it'll all be yours. Well, I trust you know the fallacy of such a way of thinking. Job certainly caught it.

A Prayer for Right Thinking About Suffering and God’s Sovereignty

That is not the way to live. So, may these words challenge us and encourage us today as we continue thinking about the book of Job. Our Father and our God, I pray today that you would deliver us from the fallacious thinking of these logical deductions that really miss so much of your truth.

The premises are all wrong. Lord, help us establish good premises upon which to build our lives, premises such as you are sovereign, you know all things, you know your people, you care for your people, you love your people, and you do convict of wickedness, you challenge us if we are wicked.

But Father, as we seek to pursue living for Christ and following after Christ, it doesn't mean there's never hardship that comes our way or difficulties or pain, and when it comes, it doesn't mean it's rooted in sin.

So, help us to help us to think rightly about these things, we pray in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen. All right, well, have a good rest of your Thursday, and I trust the Lord will bless you in it.

Good day.