Job 28

Job’s Final Defense and the Moral Fate of the Wicked

Yeah, Job chapter 27 if you remember last week we Started to look at it, and I said to you and just to remind us that These few chapters really from chapter 26 through chapter 32 is it is basically.

Job's.

Final defense and final thoughts before Eli who comes and enters into the scene and then ultimately God doesn't that in these chapters, there are there are many things that we could see about Job and More than anything else you get to see what's really going on in his heart what he really thinks about not only his situation but the situation around him and that.

As we go through these chapters, you'll see he is really. It's getting in one way it's getting worse for him because as He continues on and as the friends or so-called friends that come to him. He really found no help from them and he can't seem to Figure it out and I said that last week that did you know a lot of times in our lives there are Certain things that we can work through and then there are other things I think that come up in our lives from time to time where they never seem to change.

Or they continue on and and it's hard for us to understand why they continue on and how they continue on. And again, I do think that Job serves as a real good helper to us as we Look at our lives and see our lives and that there's really nothing new under the Sun, right?

So the same issues that Were at the beginning of the same issues that continue today. And I would suppose we'll continue on and on and on until so finally God comes and and when Christ comes then Then and then only will everything be made straight.

Everything will be made clear and we will understand.

In.

Totality the meaning of life and I don't know about you, but that's a that's kind of a Intriguing thought to think about that. One day someday all that confusion that we had in our life Although all those misunderstandings Everything will be made clear to us and when you think about that, that's It blows my mind that every.

Everyone.

Will understand every Facet of their life and why they went through what they went through and the and the purpose of behind all that and that. Ultimately if you are God's it all worked together for you good.

And if you're not, I mean, there's that reality also and we'll see that in this chapter. That no matter what that if if you're not right with God that everything that's that appears to be right or good.

Will turn out to be awful in reality. So in the first part of the chapter 27, we we read the first six but actually we read 27 and 28 if you remember but in the first couple of verses Job talks about his situation and How he maintained his integrity and and that it was really a struggle for him.

And so I want to pick it up in verse 7 and then we'll read through the remainder of the chapter and I think we'll get through chapter 28, but I'm not positive. So Read with me in chapter 27 from verse 7 on good morning Larry.

So Job says this may my enemy be like the wicked and he who rises up against me like the unrighteous. What is the hope of the hypocrite and though he may gain much if God takes away his life. Will God hear his cry when trouble comes upon him?

Will he delight himself in the Almighty? Will he always call on God? I will teach you about the hands of God. What is what is with the Almighty? I will not conceal and Surely all of you have seen it. Why then do you behave with complete nonsense and he's still addressing The three friends that had spoken to him and then verse 13 This is the portion of the wicked man with God and the heritage of repressors received from the Almighty.

If his children are multiplied. It's for the sword and his offering shall not be satisfied with bread and Those who survive him shall be buried in death and their widows shall not weep. And though he heaps up silver like dust and piles up clothing like clay.

He may pile it up. But the just will wear it and the innocent will divide the silver and he builds his house like a moth. Like a booth which a watchman makes the rich man will lie down But not be gathered up.

He opens his eyes and he is no more terrors will overtake him like a flood a Tempest steals away. Steals him away in the night and the east wind carries him away and he is gone. It sweeps him out of his place.

It hurl it hurls against him and does not spare his flesh Desperately. He flees desperately from his power and men shall clap their hands at him and shall hiss Hiss him out of his place. And so As you read these words, and I just really want to summarize them.

Well, let me ask you what he when you read.

That.

What comes to your mind? What is it that you think that he is trying to emphasize and and again. We've gone over these things at certain times in certain places, but here it is in. In really clear words, what is he what is he saying about the situation of life?

Thoughts. Okay, let me suggest this that what he's really saying is that no matter what? Those who do not know God do. Ultimately it falls apart. I think what he's talking about is the reality of The situations of life and that's where you and I can certainly relate to it.

Are you not troubled sometimes at How it seems that people who are Not only unbelievers But blatant unbelievers and what I mean by blatant unbelievers I mean, is there they're almost proud of the fact that they don't follow God and and and yet.

Sometimes I think it's confusing when you look at their lives and you see their lives and their lives seem to be going nowhere, but upward and Then you look at the righteous and you see their lives At best just kind of keeping their heads above water and as you read these words of Job, I mean When he says in verse 11, I'll teach about the hand of God.

What is the Almighty? I will not conceal and he says surely says to build that Eliphaz and Zophar's like you guys know about this, right? So why do you why do you keep complaining about me and and you don't understand it?

But that that verse 13 really is is to me a key. This is the portion of the wicked man with God And the heritage of those oppressors if his children multiply this for the sword.

And again.

Would we be right in saying that the sins of the fathers are visited on the children? Is that is that true today stone? In other words if. Specifically in the Old Testament, there was this reality that this God said he he would Punish the wicked and even up to the third and fourth generation of people.

Is that true today? Is it true today that what we sow our kids reap.

Most of those kids usually end up in some type of Like going to prison or that kind of thing, right? So that's one generation. I mean, I was reading something that this lady was having. Multiple because with men yeah.

And it all and this was in Memphis, Tennessee. And by the time she went from 18 19 years old to the time she was like 50. She had like 3 ,500 in a whole jet and that whole family, right because so many were Out of wedlock and then some of the boys have 3 ,500.

Yeah, some of the boys would have 10 or 15 kids.

Don't invite them to dinner. Yes, so I do think that let me say this it certainly says that Every man is responsible for himself, right. And that In that sense the soul that sins it what it will die. So there really is it's not that It's an absolute where if you live a certain kind of life in opposition to God that that guarantees that.

Your.

Offspring and your relationships will follow does it. That's not. I ain't clad. But I do think something like what you said is certainly a reality that we have to deal with. That there are certain things the way we've lived and the way we've walked Does have some sort of effect on others right because nothing that we do is to ourselves.

If you think about it, we are. We're not we weren't made that way and certainly if you think about it. You can go all the way back to the garden and. It's almost what Adam said to God after Eve. Gave him the fruit to eat and remember he said it.

She did it and you gave it to me. So it's basically He blamed her right and yet he was Responsible. Adam was the responsible one, wasn't it? Wasn't he? Yeah, because it says Eve was deceived but Adam really Deliberately disobeyed God.

Yeah, so there's a reality.

Huh? I.

Don't know if they sung the cop song in those days, but but certainly. There's a reality that what we do has an impact on Others and certainly it's borne out. I think somewhere sometimes in the fact that people who are.

I.

Have you had saying that people were brought up with a silver spoon? in their mouth. And What it has really is saying is that they've never had to work for anything. They never had to suffer the consequences of what many other people and that it it really worked almost in opposition To helping them it actually wound up in some cases hurting them because they've never had to work for anything.

Never had to do anything. So I do think there is an impact to be had on The way we've lived and the way we are living and that others are Affected by it. And so certainly when he says these things what he's really saying is that if we so a certain type of Seed we're going to wind up with a certain kind of crop and that crop could infect and impact others.

So as you read chapter 27 and again, we read this last week and I think you can see it he and Joe talks about the futility of it all right. And When you just read though he heaps up silver in verse 16 like dust and piles up clothing like clay.

He may pile it up, but the just will wear it.

And again.

That's a continual thing throughout the Bible where God says that Those who do not trust in him and rather trust in the things of the world that many times the very things that they trust.

In.

They don't get to keep and not only do they not get to keep it, but the righteous wind up taking it and receiving the benefit of it and we've talked about that many times just like the the Egyptians of old and whatnot and how they thought that they were going to prosper By what they had taking it into the next world and and guess what you don't get to do that, right?

And I'm awful thankful you don't get to do that because I wouldn't want to take luggage from this world into the next world. But anyway, that's pretty much the summary of chapter 27 and again, we'll come through this over and over again.

Job 28 and the Hidden Treasures of Creation

I want to read chapter 28 now and I want to just spend the rest of our time this morning Just thinking about this and and my point is. And I said this to you I think two weeks ago. It is amazing to me how smart Job is and what I mean by smart is not just from a mere intellect kind of standpoint, but Job really understands a lot of things and It really is Important for us to understand.

I.

Guess to say it in the big picture how God has done all the things that he's done. So with that, let me read or let us read chapter 28 and and and maybe we can glean a little bit from this so He starts it this way he says surely there is a mind for silver and A place where gold is refined.

And iron is taken from the earth and copper is smelted from ore and man puts an end to darkness and Searches every recess for or in the darkness and the shadow of death. And he breaks open a shaft away from people in places forgotten by feet.

And they hang far away from men. They swing to and fro and as for the earth. From it comes bread, but underneath it is turned up as by fire. And its stones are the sauce of sapphires and it contains gold dust that no path nor bird knows.

Nor has the Falcons I seen it and the proud lions have not trodden it nor has the fierce lion passed over it. He puts his hand on the flint. He overturns the mountain at the roots. He cuts out channels in the rocks his eyes see every precious thing.

He dams up the streams from trickling and what is hidden he brings forth to life. But where can wisdom be found? Where is the place of understanding man does not know its value? Nor is it found in the land of the living.

The deep says it's not with me. The sea says it's not with me. And it can't be purchased for gold. Nor could silver be weighed for its price. It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir in Precious onyx or sapphire.

Neither gold nor crystal can equal it. Nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold. No mention shall be made of the coral of quartz for the price of wisdom is above rubies. And the topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it nor can it be valued in pure gold.

Where then does wisdom come? Where is the place of understanding? It's hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the air. Destruction and death say we've heard a report about it with our ears.

God understands its way. He knows its place for he looks to the ends of the earth and sees under the whole heavens. To establish a weight for the wind and meet out the waters by measure. When he made a law for the rain and a path for the thunderbolt then he saw wisdom and declared it.

He prepared it indeed He searched it out and to man He said behold the fear of the Lord that is wisdom and to part from evil is understanding you read that.

And.

I've always really enjoyed this chapter. Because I think it says things that are so cool. I said something to you last week, and I don't know if you remember I said that. You ever hear of Paul Washer?

Paul Washer is a well-known preacher, right? And he said that some of the prettiest flowers Grow where nobody ever sees them. And if you think about it, I think that's in part what Job is getting at.

So he says there's a mine for silver and a place for gold and iron is taken from the earth. When you begin to think about all the things that God has.

Hidden.

Well, just think about that for a minute. Remember when God said to Adam you shall have Dominion over the sea creatures and over the fish and over the birds and and you are to be the if you will you are to be the one who Governs my creation.

Would that be fair to say. I do think there is some reality in that that God put man not the creatures. But he put man in that position of dominion and and he said to Adam and Eve to do what? Subdued the earth.

Now when you begin to think about that when did God do all these things. When did God if you will Hide the iron in the earth. When did he bury the gold? When did he when did he hide all those precious stones?

When did God do all this?

Yeah.

So when you think about it all these things were already in. Would we be right to say all these things were in place at the point of creation? When God made the heavens and the earth and he and he began to form the different things on in the earth and.

So.

Is it not amazing it is to me and maybe hope you will agree isn't it amazing what God has allowed us to if you will unveil. Think about that. I know we live in a day when techno who's 40 we went to beat yours yesterday the new BJ's over there and in rips it and I'll stand there waiting for candy.

She was doing something and and this robot Come walking by me and it turned towards me and come it. I thought it was coming after me. It was just this long skinny robot and the lights were chirping and then as it got close to me it turned and it went and it was going up and down the aisles and and I Finally read what it was was taking inventory of the stock.

And so it stops at every couple of feet or every different section. I really thought the thing was chasing me at first and First I thought it was some sort of security. I I guess what made me think what it made me think of was how Man where are we going?

Where are we really gone? I mean and then you look at people like Elon Musk and of the robot and the whole AI thing in the whole these different things should we be Upset at it. I'm gonna get somebody to say something this morning.

Should we be upset at that of the Should we in a sense seek to? Delay or stop or ignore the progress?

No, there's nothing you can do about it.

Well, that's true. There's certainly nothing you could do about it. And I wonder if do you remember when I get really weird. You remember Dick Tracy? You remember Joe Jitsu was Joe Jitsu and Dick Tracy.

I know my wife's shaking head already like stop this. But if you remember one of the things about Dick Tracy and Joe Jitsu Was they could communicate remember they Dick Tracy's talking to his watch and come in Joe Jitsu.

And Joe Jitsu would answer well Let's let's think about this when they did that on in that cartoon. We thought it was from out of space, right? What do we do today? Right. What do we do with an Apple watch?

Isn't it amazing just think about it and again my thought isn't it amazing that a lot of the things that we in times past thought what out of this world are Actually part of this world and to me it's almost as if God gives us Insight into things that will come to pass.

Now I'm not trying to say that that's always true but When you think about it, and I would agree that all these things were in place When God created man in the earth, although Adam Did not fully understand when we face this question.

Did Adam fully understand his place of Dominion? What do you think? I think he certainly knew something because he was charged to do what name the animals, right? And he was the one who was given the charge to subdue the earth, but Adam couldn't in that way have understood all the implications of what was already in place and That man if you think about it from the beginning and that's why I said to you the other day Or a couple weeks ago that this whole thought of Evolution is such a fallacy if you think like I said, this is evolutionaries thought right and The reality is according to science that things basically left alone do this right and Decay rather than increase and yet when Adam was created In the image of God all the things that God had prepared for man were already buried in the ground.

I mean we we get we marvel at the fact That God had promised through Noah that we would always have what? Summer and winter and springtime and harvest. Sorry Al Gore You're not going to change the reality of what God did you're not going to.

You're neither going to save the planet or destroy the planet as much as you think you are, but there's also this reality that God has hidden these things and man has Slowly uncovered them, right and I wonder if I wonder how far God's gonna let us go.

I Wonder how far God will let us unveil if you will.

The.

Things that he's already put in place for us and for his creation. Let me just think about it from the idea of satellites, I mean How many years have we had satellites? I? Mean we might have had him. I don't know.

I really don't know. Do you remember the first computers? They took up a whole room. You remember the first cell phones that they were about this big. And if you think about the first computers will would fill up a room and now look and now you could almost do it on your watch.

So when you think about that and you think about how God had hidden all these things. I do think we should consider where will we be able to travel and Uncover things because if you look at how he says this he said There's a mine for silver in a place where gold's refining iron is taken from the earth and copper smelting.

From or and by the way, guess what that insinuates? That man knew how to do these things back then right and again this whole philosophy of the caveman and the Neanderthal and and All people could say was uh, you know.

It's funny we were reading yes, I don't know why we were just sitting around having coffee and we're both left-handed. And some and all the kids all our kids are right-handed and some of the left grandkids are left-handed.

Anyway, I forgot whether I asked her or she asked me. She's we were talking. Oh, we were talking about colors of people's eyes. How many people have blue eyes? Do you know what eight percent of the people who have blue eyes and then we said, okay?

Let's ask something even crazier. What percentage of the people have blue eyes and are left-handed and It's it was about as minimal as is that but one of the things that they said was that left hand is developed from the Neanderthals like five million years ago.

And I'm thinking are you kidding? Are you really that serious you're gonna state Almost as a fact that there were no left-handers before five million years ago. How do they only think 50 years ago, I mean, yeah, I mean that's the whole that's the whole point of it.

Right Mary is that man thinks we think today that we are the truly the tip of the spear in that life. We understand things that no one else and if you think about it How does Job understand all this he knows that God has Put these things in place and and that man puts an end in verse 3 and this to me is where man Dominion comes out man puts an end to darkness and searches every recessful or in the darkness and the shadow of death.

He breaks open a shaft apart away from people in places forgotten by feet. And if you think about that I often thought about that how God has. If you will just hidden here and there in every other place the things that he has Given to us for use we sometimes abuse certainly right what God has given us.

That.

Whole thing about where the oil comes from and you know how people have this idea that oil comes from dinosaurs and Over a course of gazillions and zillions of years, of course the compression and the dinosaurs ultimately turned into oil.

Are you really is yeah, that's your plan. But but I guess my point is we think about it. We have been so we are so Infiltrated by the thoughts of this world that that these things are All explainable.

Well, guess what? They're not all explainable and That God has if you will hidden these things and then he gave man a charge to go and dig it out. And and much of it is good, right? I mean, I don't know about you, but I'm awful thankful for Technology.

I'm not that good at it, but I'm awful thankful for it. I'm thankful I can communicate with people at a almost like a blink of an eye, right. And that all these things have Been if you will they're in place and man has slowly Dug them out and that's why I think what comes next.

Does.

Christianity oppose that but this Christianity opposed progress. Yes, no, maybe so. No, not really, right? There's there's no edict in the Bible. There's no command for us to stop searching now. And a matter of fact if you if you follow it through my thought God gave man dominion over the earth and God Told man to subdue the earth and if subduing the earth means finding new things.

Well, then in that sense, he's following that dominion that God gave him.

So.

Progress in that sense is not essentially anti-christian. What's what's the problem with?

Progress.

Or what's a negative way in which people view progress?

You see that they had a boy from Facebook up there in front of Congress yesterday. Issues that were going on with young teenagers because of the bullying and all kinds of stuff, right? It depends on how people use the internet.

So the problem with progress is.

How's that? That's the problem of progress. There's nothing wrong with progress. I mean, I like I said, we're thankful for progress. I'm certainly thankful for air-conditioning. I mean, I don't know how they lived in the 1800s.

I mean this If you want to break if you want to make pancakes or breakfast it was no. Yeah, I mean I mean it was it was a work right it was there was labor involved. It wasn't just this. You know, I Put pancake mix the other day and I didn't buy the one that.

To complete one where you just add water. I Actually had to add milk in an egg. I know.

It was terrible.

But but think about it so it's no problem with progress. This is the problem with progress and not enough but man thinks he's the one Who invented all these things. He thinks he's the one that did Scott.

He thinks he's the creator. Right, that's the issue. And so when you think about it, that's why I say job is if you will as Some people say well Joe lived. Joe couldn't possibly have understand things because he lived so many years ago.

I'll tell you what this man had a lot of understanding and he was really wise. And again as that thought come down about where it says. As for the earth from it comes bread, but Underneath it is turned up as by fire.

All the different thoughts that people have about the earth. You ever hear the flat earth theory? Anybody know what the flat earth theory is? Yeah, basically the flat earth theory is that when God created he created something like.

This.

And people have come up with all these stories about why they don't go to Antarctica. Which one in the South Antarctica?

And.

There's all kinds of weird theories about why no one goes down to Antarctica and one of the theories is because it's flat and Yet the Bible simply says that God drew a circular horizon on the earth. So what I guess what I'm trying to get us to think about is the distinction of what?

Job is stating here and what man has done in Twisting things around and it really is important for us to To have a right worldview and I know we say this a lot, but it's important. And so when he says things like that That it's turned up by fire and and then he says the birds don't even know where it is and you think about all these people all these explorers and all these people who go on these expeditions and and They're still Uncharted Places right what they say that the sea The ocean is probably the least known even compared to outer space because of all the things in it in a coup when Every once in a while.

They man says that man discovered a new species. And a lot of it's in the ocean, right. I just read something yesterday. They now declared that they have discovered a new species of shark. Well, guess what?

God revealed that to them, right? They didn't it's almost as if they are the Source of it all and it's not true which really true is that God has in that sense, I think hidden many things in the earth and Give a man the charge to go Dig it out Scope it out but man loses sight that it comes from God and man thinks he's the originator and therefore He gets the glory and so when it says that the birds don't go there the Falcons don't go there the Lions don't walk on it.

And.

Then it goes on. He talks about how God just Did all these things from the very foundation of the world you have it here some of the theories about how we got the canyons and the rivers and all those things and it ranges all the way from space aliens to asteroids that That carved the rivers and the end of those big gorges in the earth, huh?

Paul Bunyan. And all the stuff. But but all the foolishness that we Talk about and that is almost given.

It's like.

Those people got to be right right that the only way that the gorge could have formed was Over billions of years and the only way that and that's one of the reasons what the stars in the sky, right? People say that it the universe is billions of years old because it takes light.

So much time to travel and so they multiply or try to multiply the distance. Times the light and remember I what I read to you the other week that they said it took 3 .8 billion years for for light to form.

3 .8 billion years for light to form. Right and and and if you think about it's so absurd. It is it really is it me and yet we can simply say and. Even the and I think about what Jesus said where he says that even a babe can understand it.

That you can look up I can look up at the universe and say well I might not understand all the details and I certainly don't. But I know that there's a designer. And I know he made it according to his design and I know he's bigger than me right and yeah, we come up with all this gobbledygook and Garbage, if you will about all these different and job.

That's what I said about job. He's in his mind is not really clear on a lot of things, but he's awful clear here. Isn't he? He's he's says it in simple words and God damns up the streams and and what is hidden he brings forth to light and.

And that man is not really All that he thinks he is and then he goes on and just to finish it up. He talks about In light of all that where can wisdom be found. Where is its place of understanding and and really who knows the value in other words man in all his Understanding still lacks wisdom.

And the wisdom simply is that this is the hand of God. Isn't it amazing how? In one way how simple belief in God is now it's extremely difficult to work out right because we all have issues in this this darkness in our hearts and this situations and but the reality of God is really simple.

If you think about it and where wisdom comes from and so when he says it can't be purchased for gold you can't buy it and and You know, that's true too because you think about I don't care how far we progress in society in Technology in medicine in science in in any one of the disciplines.

I don't care how far we get. Guess what? We're still gonna be sinners. Right, there's still gonna be murder. There's still gonna be Unfaithfulness, there's still gonna be stealing. There's still gonna be Those things that have been from the very beginning and the issue really is with man.

Not with God and that and then how many people blame God? Right for for all these things and yet for all of that. It's just not true. So when he says that in verse 20, where does wisdom come from? What's the place of understanding?

It's hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the air and then he talks about how Destruction says we've heard about it. But the bottom of the end of it all is certainly this is what he says that God understands its way God knows just like Jesus said that God knows when the sparrow falls out of this out of the sky God has not only God does not only know it.

It are not we the ones that say God has ordained it. Because nothing surprises God. He who knows the End from the beginning.

He who.

Buried these things in the earth. Wasn't just the other day. Some lady was digging somewhere. Was she some park? I was in Australia. She dug up a seven carat diamond. You lost it. Well, she found it, baby.

But but you think about it all these things that God is hidden and It ought to be something that we In a sense Enjoy, but make sure we give God the glory for it and not man. The problem with us is again.

We we'd like to exalt man. I guess we could. Final thought of I really believe one of the great issues of our hearts is we make too much of ourselves and not enough for God and if we if you think about it too often, we are busy exalting man and Not exalting God.

See because again, it should be he must increase. How we must decrease. And that cuts across every area of life whether it be a.

New.

Breakthrough in science or new technology or this that and the other thing and. And all these people that want to give us Help to live lives in the century that we live in right? Well, how about this?

God has the wisdom and it's in his Word and if you don't have God's Word He just like Jesus said he that does not believe in me does not have life. That doesn't mean he don't exist. He just don't have life.