Job 18

The reality is that Job just responded to the rebuke, really, of Eliphaz in the last two chapters, and now here comes

Bildad, and Bildad's just going to keep throwing more wood on the fire and continually accuse

Job. But we haven't read the chapter before, so we'll read chapter 18, and again, this now is the second round, if you will, of the so -called friends.

So chapter 18. Then Bildad, the

Shuite, answered and said, How long till you put an end to words? Gain understanding, and afterward we will speak.

Why are we counted as beasts and regarded as stupid in your sight, you who tell yourself in anger?

Shall the earth be forsaken for you? Shall the rock be removed from its place?

The light of the wicked indeed goes out, and the flame of his fire does not shine, and the light is dark in his tent, and his lamp beside him is put out, and the steps of his strength are shortened.

His own counsel casts him down, for he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walks into a snare, and the net takes him by the heel, and the snare lays hold of him, a noose is hidden for him on the ground, and a trap for him in the road.

Terror has frightened him on every side, and drive him to his feet, and his strength is starved, and destruction is ready at his side.

He devours patches of his skin. The firstborn of death devours his limbs.

He is uprooted from the shelter of his tent, and they parade him before the king of terrors, and they dwell in his tent, who are none of his, and brimstone is scattered on his habitation, and his roots are dried out below, and his branch withers above, and the memory of him perishes from the earth, and he has no name among the renowned, and he is driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world.

He has neither son, nor posterity among his people, nor any remaining in his dwellings.

Those in the west are astonished at his days, and those in the east are frightened. Surely, such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him who does not know

God. I read that again, and I say, wow.

This is a ray of sunshine on a life that's not going to last.

That really is pretty dark right now, at least as far as Job understands it.

Yeah, I mean, and I want to kind of look at it in a whole thought rather than each individual, although I do want to mention some things, but again, remember what we read in the last chapter where, in Job 17 .10,

I think what Job is saying to those three friends as he answers them is, he says, but please, come back again, all of you, and I shall not find one wise man among you, that Job basically said to them, okay, you want more?

Come on, bring it on, because again, Job's going to retain his integrity, although Job is, as we looked at last week,

Job is in a bad way, and so here comes

Bildad, and doesn't seem like he wants to hold back any words, and basically, again, he's telling

Job, you're getting what you deserve, and how frustrating this must have been for Job, for a man who realizes that, well, who thinks that God is the one who has stricken him, and yet he remains a man of integrity, but Bildad just keeps lighting him up, and so he says to him, how long will you put an end to words, and all the things that he says, and that's what

I want to do, I want to kind of look at this, and summarize it as an argument against Job, and the way he attacks him, look at it in verse four, because after he makes his initial opening words about, basically, he's calling

Job stupid, and then he says in verse four, you who tear yourself in anger, shall the earth be forsaken for you, or shall the rock be removed from its place, and I think what he's trying to get across, or at least trying to say to Job is, do you think you're the only one that, or do you think that God should change the way he treats sinners, just for you, and again, this is a pretty heavy accusation against him, he says, shall the earth be forsaken for you, or shall the rock be removed from its place, in other words, do you think that God's gonna change just because of you, and should he change just because of you, and don't you know,

Job, that basically, as he's gonna say, that those that plow iniquity, they reap the same, they reap the judgment of God, and so,

I think in part, he's calling Job crazy, if I could maybe say it no other way,

Job, you're out of your mind, you who tear yourself in anger, shall the earth, you're not gonna change the times,

Job, and I think that's important for us to think about, in many ways, that just because we have certain thoughts in our mind, and certain opinions, certain ways of viewing things, that's not gonna change

God's view, that's not gonna change God's way, because again, God's truth, what, doesn't change, so regardless of what you might think,

Job, and I'm trying to think of it as Bill that's saying, he's saying, you're out of your mind, and basically, you're just gonna get what you deserve, and God's not gonna bend to your will, but ultimately,

God's gonna fulfill his will on you, and since you're a sinner, and since basically, you keep complaining, then you're just gonna get what you deserve, and so, when you think about it that way, um, let me ask you to think about this, and maybe get a little response.

Do you think that, do you think they really believe the friends,

Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophaz, do you really think that they really think Job is this wicked a sinner?

I mean, remember now, they must have had relationship before. These aren't strangers that come into this, onto the scene.

These are men who have had some sort of relationship with Job in the past, knew

Job before all this came on him. Do you really think that they think that he is that evil, and that wicked?

Just ask him. Okay, it's the only that's been,

I think that's, there's a lot of truth in what you say, because the problem with them is they can't see past the things that are seen, right, and so, because they can't, it has quickly changed, again, not only their relationship, but their opinion, because before, if they thought this before about Job, they certainly wouldn't have been his friends, would they?

You and I need to think about that. We got to be careful how we perceive things, and I'm going to try to show that to you as we get through this, that our perception of things will definitely have an impact on the way we act.

Agree? Right? So, if you're thinking one way, it's not easy to act another way.

You're going to follow, basically, what your perception is, and everyone kind of falls into that, under that principle, and so, as he keeps accusing

Job, and that's what takes place in the rest of the chapter, and I want to just look at, again, we'll probably be able to finish this and get on to chapter 19, but I want to pull out a couple things and ask you to think about some of the things that he accuses

Job of. So, in verse 5, he says, the light of the wicked indeed goes out.

So, again, he calls him wicked. In verse 7, he says, the steps of his strength are shortened, and his own counsel cast him down, and in that, he's, again, telling

Job, you're not thinking right, and you're cast into a net because of that, and if you think about it, so he calls him wicked.

He's basically telling him, you're a liar, and your counsel is wrong, and if you think about that, and then in verse 13, look what he says.

He says, it devours. He's talking about how Job is suffering for his sin. It devours, patches the skin, and the firstborn of death devours his limbs, and he's uprooted from the shelter of his tent, and again, he's telling

Job that his destruction is coming for him and on him because of his sin, and again,

I think we need to be careful because we see people who are suffering, and we see people who appear to be reaping what they sow, but that is not always easily discernible.

Even verse 15, look what he says, that they dwell in his tent who are none of his, and brimstone is gathered on his habitation.

They're basically, he's just basically saying, Job, you're just in judgment, and then in verse 17, he says, the memory of him perishes from the earth, and he has no name among the renowned.

Basically tells him, Job, you're going to just be forgotten. Your life is a waste, and you're going to be forgotten, and there's no hope for you, and even in verse 21, surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him who does not know

God. Again, now here's where I want to change it a little bit and look at a couple scriptures.

I want to make an observation, and hopefully you'll agree with me. As you read this chapter, and you read what

Bill Dadd says, is he speaking truth, or is he speaking falsehoods?

Is he speaking, not necessarily about Job, but is he speaking truth?

Does indeed the name of the wicked, does their memory go away?

Do they actually be forgotten? Does the things he's making an accusation of towards Job, are those truthful things?

Yes, yes. What's the problem here then? And I'm going to show you how we can look at scriptures, and much of what

Bill Dadd says is true. The problem with what he says, is not just what he says, but it's in the application that he makes towards Job.

Agree? In other words, we're going to look at some scriptures now, because I want to point that out, so maybe it'll come together a little clearer as we go through it.

So I want you to look at verse six. This is Bill Dadd now, this is what he says, the light is dark in his tent, and his lamp beside him goes out.

So he's basically, good morning sir, he's basically telling Job, you're getting what you deserve, and the lamp, or the light of your life is going to go out.

And I want you to look, and we're going to look around in a couple of different places. I'm going to go to Proverbs for a minute. Proverbs chapter 13, because I want to show you that what

Bill Dadd is saying is not necessarily wrong, and just because we speak the truth, we need to do more than just speak the truth, we need to speak the truth in the right way, in the right situation, at the right time, for the wrong, for the right reasons.

But look at this about the lamp of the wicked. In Proverbs chapter 13, and all

I did was tie together some scriptures about some of these things. It says this, the light of the righteous rejoices, but the lamp of the wicked will be put out.

Is that not what he says to Job here? He says, the light of the wicked indeed goes out, and the flame of his fire doesn't shine.

So he's telling Job, and then you look in Proverbs, and Job is not really the focus of Proverbs.

And again, in chapter 20 of Proverbs, I just want to show you this. Look at this again.

Chapter 20 and verse 20 of Proverbs. Whoever curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out in deep darkness.

So is it true that the lamp of the wicked goes out? Absolutely.

Can't say it doesn't. Okay. I also want you to think about this. He talks about Job in a way about him, his own counsel.

I'm backing Job for a minute. And he says in verse six, his lamp goes out. Then he says in verse seven, the steps of his strength and his shortened and his own counsel cast him down.

Do you remember what was said in chapter five? Look at Job chapter five a minute. And again, all

I'm trying to say, I'm trying to show us is that Bildad speaks a lot of truth. In Job chapter five, it says this in verse 12.

Speaking of what God does, he frustrates the devices of the crafty so that their hands can't carry out their plans.

He catches the wise in their own craftiness and the counsel of the cunning come quickly upon them.

Again, Job, Bildad is speaking truth about many of the things that he says.

But the problem is, is he making the right application? And is that a way for us to learn that not only knowing truth, but knowing when to use truth and how to use truth is important?

I hope we think that it is. Otherwise, what's the end? What's the purpose of knowing truth?

If you're not going to make a right application of it, right? I mean, what use is it to counsel people if you are counseling them in a wrong way?

And how many people in this world take wrong counsel rather than right counsel? But just think about that.

And as you continue to read in Job, and he talks about him being caught in his own counsel.

And as you read through it, he talks about him being caught in a net or in a snare. And that these are the things that come upon those that are estranged from God.

So now look at this, look in Psalms. And again, I'm trying to stay within the, mainly the books of wisdom or however poetry, whatever you want.

But I'm going to God is always true, never changes.

And as you think about these things, Psalm 9, once I get there, I want you to read about this whole thought about being caught, how the wicked get caught in their own net and how these things come upon him.

So in Psalm 9, in verse 15, and again, we could read the whole thing just to get context, but nevertheless,

I think it'll, it'll manifest itself. And the Psalmist says this, the nations have sunk down in the pit, which they made in the net, which they hid their own feet is caught.

The Lord is known by the judgment. He executes. The wicked is snared in the works of his own hands.

Now you remember what, what he accused Job of when we read this chapter, he accused

Job of one who was going to be trapped in a net. Remember he said there was a noose on the ground that would ensnare him.

And I want you to think about this. As far as where we are today in, again,

I'm not trying to pull things out of context, but think about our country.

And I'm just asking you to think about it. Think about our country. And you think about the council that many people have and over many different areas and how you would be hard pressed to really say that we live in a

Christian country. You would have to say there are Christians, many Christians that live in this country, but how many of us would really say we are truly a

Christian country? I think we would be, that would take a lot of twisting and turning on our part.

And you know what, as we just read in Psalm 9, it talked about the nations that depart from God, how they get trapped in their own net that they laid out.

I think to some degree that's what's going on today. That's just me. That we seem to be, we certainly are reaping a lot of what we've sown.

I told Candy yesterday, I read an article and maybe you saw it. It was a five -year -old kid in California, had a twin brother, five years old, got into a fight with his five -year -old twin, took out a knife and stabbed him to death.

And I want you to just think about that for a minute. Five years old and his twin brother, he stabbed him to death.

Doesn't, yeah, I could see all of you, you're all doing this and it's, that's bizarre.

I mean when you think about the implications of that, imagine being the mother and father in that situation.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, as you look out, would it be that far of a stretch for us to say, in many ways, this country is reaping and is being trapped in its own net with with all the things that people want to say are the way to go, to do this, to, we seem to stumble over ourselves a lot, right?

And again, any feedback from you? Do you think that there's some merit in that, that as we look at the

United States in particular, not that all countries are not included in this story, but just particularly here, that we really are getting snared in our own net that we laid out?

Yay, nay, maybe? There's a meme that goes around every once in a while that shows the men storming the beaches of Normandy on one part and the other part shows 18 -year -old boys with makeup and lipstick and how far we've come.

Yeah, yeah. And it's, we're getting trapped in that whole, and again,

I'm not trying to just give you a recap of the news, but have you read about these

Gen Z kids at John's, no, I'm sorry, who they're 20, 22, 23, and they're like beside themselves because they've got to work nine to five.

Like I was reading one the other day, she was crying in her bed because she's got no time for dating.

She's got no time for her hobbies. She's got no time to live her life. She goes to work, she comes home, and by the time she eats, she's got to go to bed and get up and go back to work.

Imagine that. Bless her heart. Yeah, right? And then she said,

I'm going to quit my full -time job and I'm going to take a more flexible job. Well, I hope your more flexible job will pay you as much as your full -time job.

You can have all the time you want. If you got no dough, you ain't going to go.

It's so bad, right, that you can't even man the military anymore. The society that these kids come from, it bleeds into the military, but can't even get the numbers up to man our military.

Yeah, that's a sad. Yeah, and I think the point is, what

I'm trying to get across is, we've laid this snare in the ground, right, by either ignoring truth or twisting truth, making a wrong application of it, and now we are actually seeing the fruit of it.

We're actually trapped in it because, again, which one of us would not look at the generation that is coming up before us like tender plants and saying, man, if this is what's going to be, the leaders, we're in trouble, right, just like you say, we can't even man the military.

There's a lot of applications, what I'm trying to say, that we can make, and so as Bill Dyer keeps accusing

Job, and here's another one, he says to Job about this thought about being caught in his own snare.

I think it's still in Proverbs, but I want you to look at Proverbs 29 for a minute. Proverbs 29, and verse 5, look what it says.

A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet, but verse 6, by transgression, an evil man is snared, but the righteous sings and rejoices.

The wicked, because of his transgression, is snared, and again, that's my point, that's the point that Bill Dyer is making against Job.

Job, you did this because of your sin, your rebellion, your hypocrisy, all these things, and now you're getting what you deserve.

He also tells him that his name is going to be forgotten, and he said that to him, the memory in verse 17, the memory of him perishes from the earth, and he has no name among the renowned, and so while you're still in Proverbs, I want you to look at Proverbs chapter 10, and again,

Bill Dyer is speaking truth, just with a wrong understanding of that very truth.

So in Proverbs chapter 10, I'm looking at Job chapter 10,

I'm saying, I don't see this verse, but that's because, yeah, look at it,

Proverbs 10, 7, the memory of the righteous is blessed, the name of the wicked will rot.

Again, friends, we ought to be those who know the truth, we ought to be those who speak the truth, but we ought to be those who speak the truth in a truthful way, at the right time, as best we can, in the right situation, and certainly, as Bill Dyer makes these accusations against Job, it's not that he's speaking falsehoods, it's just that he doesn't understand, because remember now what we've been saying, they think

Job is getting what he deserves, Job can't understand why he's getting what he gets, so there's misunderstanding all around, right, and it's not till God comes and clears it up, that there will be, if you will, clear understanding.

So I wanted to look at the chapter that way, and just ask us to think about not only what

I said to you before, when I asked you if you think that they think he's that wicked, and I assume that they do think he's that wicked, and they think they have truth on their side, and that what they're saying is actually accurate, and the problem was with Job, and if Job would only learn to repent, he would do far better.

Okay, so let's move on, and what I'm going to do is I'm going to read chapter 19, and the reason why

I want to read it is, it sends Job's response, we'll never get through it this morning, but that's okay,

I want to kind of set it up for what we think about next week and following.

So now Job comes back, now Job responds to Bildad, he's responding to Eliphaz, and you'll see in the next couple of chapters, he's going to respond to Zophaz, and continue on.

So here's Job's response to Bildad after all those accusations. Chapter 19, then

Job answered and said, how long will you torment my soul and break me in pieces with words?

These ten times you have reproached me, you are not ashamed that you have wronged me, and if indeed

I have erred, my error remains with me. If indeed you magnify yourselves against me and plead my disgrace against me, know then that God has wronged me, and has surrounded me with his net, and if I cry out concerning wrong,

I'm not heard. If I cry out, there's no justice. He has fenced up my way so that I cannot pass.

He has set darkness in my path. He has stripped me of my glory.

He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone. My hope he has uprooted like a tree.

He has also kindled his wrath against me. He counts me as one of his enemies.

His troops come together and build up their road against me, and they camp around all my tent.

He has removed my brothers far from me. My acquaintances are completely estranged from me.

My relatives have failed. My close friends have forgotten me. Those who dwell in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger.

I'm an alien in their sight. I call my servant, but he gives no answer. I beg him with my mouth.

My breath is offensive to my wife. I'm repulsive to the children of my own body.

Even young people despise me. I arise, and they speak against me. All my close friends abhor me.

Those whom I love have turned against me. My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh, and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.

Have pity on me. Have pity on me, all my friends, for the hand of God has struck me. Why do you persecute me as God does and are not satisfied with my flesh?

Oh, that my words were written. Oh, that they were inscribed in a book, that they were engraved on a rock with an iron pen and led forever, for I know that my

Redeemer lives. He shall stand at last on the earth, and after my skin is destroyed, this

I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold in one another how my heart yearns within me.

If you should say, how shall we persecute him, since the root of the matter is found in me, be afraid of the sword for yourselves, for wrath brings the punishment of the sword, that you may know that there is a judgment.

Well, there's a lot Job is saying now in response, and again,

I would say to you that Job's condition is spiraling down, at least at this point, that he has, he's been beat up pretty good, and not only beat up by his friends, but as you see in this chapter, especially in verse 8 through pretty much 20, the he there is

Job saying it's God, that Job is now coming out and declaring that what has happened to him in his life is a result of God coming after him, and uprooting him, and kindling his wrath against me, and he counts me as one of his enemies, and his troops come together, that, and I want to say it this way,

Job's mind, just think about it, Job's mind's got to be really messed up, don't you think?

I mean, physically he's a mess, his friends aren't helping, and his, everything that he had has been uprooted, just think about that, everything that so many people think gives them glue, and stability, and assurance, and peace, and contentment been ripped away by Job, from Job, and I do think at this point, his confusion is just getting worse and worse, and no help from his friends, because they just, what, they just keep coming on and saying these things.

Now, I don't really want to deal with too many of the specifics this morning, but I want to ask you to think about something.

Have we not all, all of us, in different ways, thought at times that God was after us?

Now, if you never felt that way, that's fine, but I wonder if that's not, in part, what happens to us as the children of God, that we are at times of such a wrong mind, that we really think that God is after us.

Um, sister? Um, it was 20 years ago when

I was born, and there was, when she said, you know, literally,

Right, right. I thought, the way I'm making, like, that positive statement about what was going on with me, you know,

I just, I praise the Lord for that lady. It was dramatic in my thinking.

Yeah, I mean, because she really was speaking truth, because what does God say? I know the thoughts that I think of you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, that I might give you an expected end, but how many times the devil will whisper in our ear and say, that's not true, just like he said to Eve, that, that, that's not the case, and that you and I have to be careful to maintain ourselves in the

Lord, and Job does this, and yet, on this side of the veil, it's not easy.

Again, I've said this many times, and I'll continue to say it, it's sometimes easier to believe

God will save us for eternity than to believe God will serve us, save us next week, because, again, we, we get confused being on this side, it's easy to get confused being on this side of the veil, especially when situations seem to be going in the opposite direction, and yet, we still have this hope, right, that's there, that on the other side, and that's what

Job, it's interesting how this chapter will break out, and we'll look at it in detail next week, but from verse 1 through verse 22, he pretty much calls

God his enemy, says God's after him, and then almost, it's almost like the light bulb goes on in verse 23, and then he says, but I know my

Redeemer lives, and so, even if we get to that point, and where we think we're unraveling, right, we should always hold out for what we know is eternally true, and again, the problem with so many is we get so caught up with today that we struggle with tomorrow.

And I think it's important that we, because in these times, when we don't know

God, we don't have a, put it like a better term, a lifesaver, you know what

I'm saying? No, I agree. It gives us, gives us encouragement, if we know it, and we remember it, and we study it, then when these times come, we'll know that, well, you know, one of my favorite scriptures is

Philippians 4, you know, when times come, when you, God says, don't be anxious, you know what

I'm saying, pray, you know, let God's peace fall upon you, you know, stuff like that, you know, so I think it's important that we stay in God's words because, you know.

Yeah, because again, and to think about this, the evil one knows

God's word, yeah, and remember, even in the temptation, did he not use the very word of God to tempt

Jesus? Huh? Yes. Yeah. Misuse. Yeah. And that what you're saying is so true because that is the anchor of our soul, but you got to have a complete anchor, right?

If you only focus on certain things, you're only going to get certain comfort, so, you know, we looked at it

Wednesday night together, and it says that the word of God is sure, and that it's studied by all those who take pleasure in it, and it's so true because when the waves are breaking, listen,

I've been out on a boat, and when it's nice, man, I hang my feet over the side, and, you know,

I'm eating a sandwich, and everything is beautiful and wonderful until that storm comes, and I've been out there.

I've been out there with water spouts and everything else, and I'm going to tell you what, damn, there's nothing on your mind except am

I going to survive, right? And, you know, that public sub that I got in my cooler, it don't mean anything at that point.

I just want home. I want to go to bed. I want to be under my blanket, so, again, just something to think about.

Okay, we'll look at the chapter in detail next week. Well, thank you for who you are, and thank you for what you do.

Thank you for our ability just to look in your word, and,

Lord, things are not always clear as we struggle with so many things in our own hearts, but help us as we look at Job to see that you're always for us,

Lord. You'll never leave us. You will finish the work that you started in us, and,

Lord, just give us wisdom, and now we ask you to guide our worship that we would love you with all our hearts and sing unto you from hearts that have been redeemed in Jesus' name.