Job 3

Sovereign Grace Family Church iconSovereign Grace Family Church

2 views

0 comments

00:00
I thought we would get a little further along, but that's okay, because what I think is going to happen, and it's fine, at least in my understanding, is that some chapters will take us a little bit longer to work through, and then some we will probably move through fairly fast, because some of the thoughts are repeated over and over again.
00:22
And remember, there's the three speeches that come from Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zovaz to Job, and then there's Job's response, and as we go through it, you'll see how some of it is repeated over and over again, and I think one of the reasons for it is that the friends of Job, or the supposed friends of Job, they really don't understand fully what's taking place, and so they are, in some ways, trying to speak for God, which you've got to be careful when you try to speak for God, right? But anyway, this morning, what I want to do is I want to pick it up in verse 6, because this is pretty much where we left off.
01:04
I'll read the rest of the first chapter, and hopefully we will be able to get through the first chapter.
01:09
And the first chapter of Job is more of a narrative, and then it goes into this whole back and forth, and you remember that the friends take turns.
01:20
So I'll read from verse 6 to the end of the chapter, and it says, Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.
01:35
And the Lord said to Satan, For where do you come? So Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.
01:45
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? So Satan answered the Lord, and said, Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not made a hedge around him and around his household, and all that he has on every side? And you have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
02:10
But now stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.
02:16
So the Lord said to Satan, Behold, all that he has is in your power.
02:20
Only do not lay a hand on his person.
02:23
And Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
02:26
Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, and a messenger came to Job and said the oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, when the Sabaeans raided them and took them away, indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.
02:46
While he was still speaking, another also came and said, The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.
02:58
And while he was still speaking, another came and said, The Chaldeans fought three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and have killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.
03:12
While he was still speaking, another also came and said, Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young men, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.
03:31
And Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped, and he said, Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there.
03:43
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away.
03:45
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
03:47
In all this, Job did not sin, nor charge God with wrong.
03:52
And I think we at least mentioned it, could you imagine this kind of a day, a morning, just to not only have something presented to you that shakes you to your very core, but almost on the heels of one person coming, what happens? Another person comes, and then another person, and another person, and really as we work through this, I hope that we'll be able to see that as the chapter closes, that statement of Job, after all these things where he says, Naked came I from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there, and the Lord gave, and the Lord take away, that's an astounding statement.
04:37
That is beyond the normal realm of response, at least in my mind it is, because again, I think of it, if you get a phone call in the middle of the night, how many of us do not say, uh oh, right, because that's just out of the normal, what if you got a phone call and then as soon as you got off the phone, you got another phone call, and it was another emergency, and then you got another one, so when you begin to think about that, I mean, that's enough really to send a person into all kinds of emotions, and feelings, and thoughts, and yet Job, again, will make the statement of, Naked came I, and naked shall I return.
05:21
Good morning.
05:23
So, we just want to start looking through the verses, and try to work through some of the different thoughts, so in verse 6, now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them, and I wanted to think about that a little bit, and this is kind of, this is kind of, if you will, the curtain gets pulled back a little bit, and we get to see something that we don't usually see, and we probably need to deal with this whole idea of the sons of God, because there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came among them, so let's think about this a little bit.
06:11
Who are the sons of God? In Genesis? Yeah.
06:41
The sons of God married the children of men? Yeah.
06:55
What's interesting about that, and here's where I'm going to take my stand, at least for now, that there are times in the Scriptures when the sons of God are representative of that very thought, men who love God, and not just men, but the children of God in a saving way, but I will also say there are times in the Scriptures where the sons of God are, at least in my understanding, representative of angels, so I do think that there is a double application of it, and I could, and I would, I have thought about spending some time just on that very thought, but I think we would, it would kind of eat up a lot of time.
07:36
I'm going to ask us to think about it in the realm of the sons of God, and in this statement right here, are the angels, and to me it makes, I'm going to show you one or two other Scriptures, but I wanted to think about that so that as this verse explains to us, what I said was that the curtain is pulled back, that I believe this is an understanding of what's taking place, if you will, in the spiritual realm.
08:05
Now again, you might not be comfortable with that, you might think that the sons of God always means men, and we could discuss that, but let me, let me show you a similar section, and again, I don't want to spend too much time on it, but I think we do need to deal with it.
08:21
Go to 1st Kings for a minute, 1st Kings chapter 22, and I agree with you brother Tim, that there's so much discussion around the Genesis section, in Genesis 6, about who, whether those sons of men are actually angels, and then some people will go down the path of, well that's how we got giants, and it was some kind of weird kind of arrangement, but in 1st Kings 17, I mean 1st Kings chapter 22, there's this instance between two kings, the king of Israel and the king of Judah, and the king of Israel is looking for help from Jehoshaphat, and he asked him if he will go out and fight with him against the enemy.
09:17
So Jehoshaphat, just look in verse 7 for a second, and Jehoshaphat said, is there not still a prophet in the Lord here that we may inquire of him? So the king of Israel wants Jehoshaphat to join him, the king of Judah, Jehoshaphat, he wants to inquire from God, which certainly would be the right thing to do.
09:40
So they go back and forth, and the king of Israel brings his prophets in, they all say, hey man, go.
09:47
It'll be all in your favor.
09:51
And then they bring in Micaiah, who is someone that the king of Israel doesn't like because Micaiah tells him the truth and doesn't tell him what the king just wants to hear, right? So as this goes back and forth, and Micaiah is in a sense put in a position of speaking the truth, so in verse 14 it says, As the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak.
10:22
Then he came to the king, and the king said to him, Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth, Gilead, or shall we refrain? He answered him, Go and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.
10:34
The king said to him, How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord? And he said, I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains as sheep that had no shepherd.
10:46
And the Lord said, These have no master.
10:49
Let each return to his house in peace.
10:51
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil? Then Micaiah said, Therefore, hear the word of the Lord.
11:02
I saw the Lord sitting on the throne and all the hosts of heaven standing by on his right hand and on his left.
11:11
And the Lord said, Who will persuade Ahab to go up that he may fall at Ramoth, Gilead? So one spoke in this manner and another spoke in that manner.
11:21
Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord and said, I will persuade him.
11:26
And the Lord said to him, In what way? He said, I will go out in the allying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.
11:32
And he said, You shall persuade him and also prevail.
11:36
Go out and do so.
11:38
Now, therefore, look, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the Lord has declared disaster against you.
11:47
So as you look at this, to me, again, this is another, if you will, pulling back of the curtain a little bit where we begin to see something that's taking place beyond the norm, if you will.
12:03
And I do think that this is a scripture that supports the idea that as we come back to Job, that what's being given to us is a picture of how God, if you will, rules.
12:23
Because let me ask you this question.
12:25
Does not God rule over all? Would you? I mean, there's no disagreement that God rules over all.
12:33
And when you when you look at this, in other words, do we not have a good number of scriptures that talk about elect angels? Yes.
12:50
Right.
12:51
First Timothy talks about the elect angels.
12:55
Jude talks about what? Angels that fell.
13:01
God is sovereign over the affairs.
13:04
And I believe this is a picture.
13:06
And I'm not certain of where it says now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves, whether this is given to us as a one time event.
13:19
But I don't think so.
13:20
I don't know the sequence of it or the amount of times they do it.
13:27
But I'm going to suggest to you, and hopefully as we go a little further in Job, this might come out a little clearer.
13:32
I'm going to suggest to you that this is a picture of God ruling and reigning because are the angels sinless? Perfect? Yes, no, maybe so.
13:53
No, no, not all of them.
13:56
Even the ones that are, are they perfectly sinless? Okay.
14:05
Why? So, so when we read the scriptures, do we not find a certain place where it says that God puts no trust, not even in angels? Because of what? Because they're unclean.
14:27
In other words, good morning, we're in Job chapter one.
14:31
So just think of it from an organizational standpoint, but there's God, right? God rules, sovereign, absolute.
14:39
And then there is the, if you will, this whole idea of angels, right? And then there's, if we had to continue to work through it, then we would do what? We would put, wouldn't we? Is that, is that fair to do that? I think it is.
15:03
And, and we're told about angels throughout the scriptures that they have great power.
15:09
We're told about angels that, that they have, if you will, they have the same subjection to God as everyone else.
15:22
And so I believe this is a picture of them coming before God and presenting themselves, not only to, to report to God of their actions, but also to be given orders.
15:39
Because again, if you remember what it said in first Kings, which we just read, what, how did that work? In essence, God sent that evil spirit to persuade, didn't he? So, so there's this angelic realm, and we don't talk too much about that.
15:56
And, and, and we usually just caught up right here and certainly saw, because that's the realm we live in.
16:02
But there's this reality that, that even the angels receive orders.
16:08
Have you ever really thought about that? The angels just roam around and decide what they're going to do and where they're going to go? They're messengers of God, right? And they use the God.
16:19
And certainly the Bible talks about multitudes of angels and, and the two that are most often spoken of were two that have given names of who? Gabriel? Who was the other one? We just call him Mike, Mike the angel.
16:45
But nevertheless, there is this reality again.
16:49
And so as we look at verse six, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord.
16:55
And Satan also came among them that again, in my understanding, this is a picture of what's taking place in the, if you will, behind the screen, behind the stage.
17:10
And that in this, we come to verse seven and in verse six, and Satan came among them.
17:20
Let's just think about that for a minute.
17:23
Who is Satan? Satan is an angel himself.
17:50
It's almost as like it says, you know, angels came before and then you had Satan.
17:57
That makes sense.
17:58
Yeah, it does.
18:00
Yeah, it does.
18:01
But, but, and so here's the way I understand is the angels are subject to God, right? Well, let me ask you a question.
18:09
Is not Satan subject to God? So, so does Satan have a choice? So let's just say that's the, what we're thinking about.
18:18
So God commands that his discretion and his sovereignty to call all the angelic hosts before him to not only report to him, not only to worship him, but to receive orders.
18:34
And guess what? Satan has to come.
18:38
And if you begin to think about it, and I know we don't spend too much time on it, but just think about this.
18:45
Are the angels omnipotent? Omnipotent would be what? All-powerful.
18:51
Are they? Okay.
18:53
Are the angels omniscient, which would be all-knowing? Okay.
19:00
Are the angels omnipresent, which would be everywhere in completeness at every moment? No, because, because God stands alone, right? He's the great other.
19:14
So everything is subject to him.
19:16
So now when we think about Satan, is he not listed and given to us as the roaring lion? And did he not, if you look in Jude, did those angels did not fall? And if you will, I don't really want to go to it, but if you go into portions of Isaiah, right? Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel chapter 28, that Satan is, if you agree with it, he's portrayed as the crowned cherub and that he fell through his pride, right? And then you go to Jude and it talks about, well, let's just look at it real quick.
19:57
Go to Jude for a second.
20:01
But like I said, some of these chapters we will need to spend a little bit more time on, but some of them we'll get through.
20:09
And I don't want to be rushed, but I don't want to stay longer than I don't want to, it's like going to someone's house and staying three hours more than you should.
20:22
But there is this reality that we have to think about it.
20:27
So in verse five of Jude, it says, I want to remind you that though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved his people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.
20:40
And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, well, that's how it's spoken of in the New King James, but left their own habitation he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day.
20:55
So think about that again.
20:59
Who is the captain or if you will, who's the prince of the power of the air? But he is no more free than the angels who are not free.
21:14
They go about and as you said, they're ministers of God, right? And then certainly just as men are bound, so everyone and everything is bound before God.
21:27
And so we have this picture, I believe, of what's taking place, if you will, behind the scenes.
21:33
And again, to me, this is a proof text that Satan is neither a fable nor a myth, nor a story, a fairy tale, but he is a real creature.
21:50
And he was given great authority of power.
21:53
And again, you read that the sections in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, talks about his beauty, and he was the crown creation.
22:03
And, and that in if you looked at it in a hierarchy, there was none, if you will, that was more beautiful than this crown tarot.
22:18
Then you go back into Genesis, right? And what do we see? That the devil was the serpent was more subtle and that whole idea.
22:26
So I do think that that's what we're looking at.
22:29
And here's what I want us to get out of this before we move on.
22:35
Well, I'm going to ask you to turn to it because I won't be happy unless I look at it.
22:38
I want you to go to the book of Proverbs for a minute.
22:42
And I want you to go to verse six, chapter 16.
22:48
I quote this to myself, I don't know how many times in a given day, some days more and some days not as much, but I want you to look at this.
23:00
Proverbs chapter 16, and I'm going to read it from verse one.
23:03
The thought is in verse four, the preparations of the heart belong to man, but the answer to the tongue is before the Lord.
23:12
And all the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit and commit your works to the Lord and your thoughts will be established.
23:19
I want you to look at verse four.
23:21
The Lord has made all things for himself.
23:25
Yes.
23:25
Even the wicked for the day of doom.
23:29
I think about that.
23:32
Think about that and think about what this scene that's presented to us in verse six.
23:37
God is God uses all things to accomplish his purpose, doesn't he? And yet we would agree God's not chargeable for evil, is he? Let no man say when he's tempted, he's tempted of God because God never tempts anyone either.
23:54
Can he be tempted? Right? So when we think about this, there is a reality that you and I have to deal with.
24:01
And that's for anybody over, I don't know, 25, maybe.
24:07
Remember the whole flip Wilson thing? The devil made me do it, right? Kayla, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about.
24:17
And Corey, you don't even want to enter into this conversation.
24:21
But remember flip Wilson, that was his big thing.
24:23
The devil made me do it.
24:27
The devil he is a real person.
24:30
And he is just as a real creature.
24:33
He is just as subject to God as all others.
24:38
And so we should, oh, I remember when I first became a Christian and I went to a church and the preacher said, we're going to talk about Satan.
24:47
And he was almost like scared.
24:51
And he said, you know, when you start talking about the devil, bad things can happen.
24:54
Remember that struck me kind of funny.
24:59
Like, wait a minute.
25:01
He he's, he's, as I've told you, the Puritan said that Satan was an ape on God's leash.
25:10
I've always enjoyed that statement because that's the reality, right? He could no longer, and we're going to see this now.
25:17
So verse seven, the Lord said to Satan, so God inquires.
25:23
And remember this too, Satan is bound and yet he is also free to roam.
25:37
Remember what it says in first Peter, it says that the devil goes around as what a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour.
25:49
So there's a reality.
25:50
And we just read it in Jude about angels being chained and reserved in darkness.
25:56
You go into gospels and you can see all kinds of evil spirits, if you will, roaming around.
26:02
But the thought is that although he is under the judgment of God, he still is someone who roams and goes about.
26:14
And again, not everywhere in every place in completeness, right? So the only one that doesn't, in that sense, roam is the great other, right? Because he, he sees all, and again, it just blows your mind, but God sees all outside of time.
26:34
God knows every thought that comes into our mind.
26:37
Does the devil? No.
26:41
What's interesting is, and here's my thought, this is the most unsettled creature ever created.
26:50
He is subject to roam.
26:52
And if you look at it, I think that's what it talks about somewhat in verse seven.
26:57
The Lord said to Satan, where do you come from? And Satan has no choice.
27:04
He can't hide the truth from God, can he? No.
27:08
So Satan says, I've been going up and down on the earth.
27:13
And God says to him in verse seven, verse eight, then the Lord said to Satan, have you considered my servant Job? So when you think about that, would we be able to say that not only does Satan, the adversary, evil one, but also those that fell with him, which in that sense are under his headship, that they go about evaluating the things that take place on the earth? Is that an erroneous statement? How much do we really think about that? How much do we really think that there is this angelic realm that moves and evaluates? And I'm going to say it just the way I understand it, and I stand to be corrected.
28:12
I believe that we are evaluated by this whole realm.
28:19
And in that sense, that's exactly what's taking place here in Job chapter one.
28:25
And I wanted to show you this at another point, but I'll do it now.
28:31
I want you to just turn, if you will, first Peter for a second, just first Peter chapter one, because I have a point I want to make to us.
28:42
In first Peter chapter one, because here's the thing.
28:51
First Peter chapter one, I'm going to ask you to think about this.
29:03
Do they in that spiritual realm of darkness, do they understand grace? Let me ask you to think about this.
29:20
Do they have an opportunity for grace? Look at this in first Peter chapter one.
29:34
Verse 10 says, of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what or what manner of time the spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when he testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
29:55
To them it was revealed that not to themselves, but unto us, they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
30:09
Now look what it says at the end, things which angels desire to look into.
30:16
I'm going to say to you that they have, and Satan being, if you will, the prince of the power of the air, he's the worst of it all.
30:25
But they don't understand this.
30:29
They couldn't possibly understand it.
30:32
And we're going to see it because when Satan makes his accusations against Job, he misses the forest for the trees.
30:43
Because he says, you touch him, he'll curse you.
30:47
And I get excited about this, and I'm glad I get excited about it.
30:52
But if you just look, go back to Job chapter one, and look at the last verse of chapter one, or yeah, the last verse of chapter one of Job in verse 22, in all this Job did not charge God with wrong.
31:07
They don't understand grace, man.
31:10
They don't understand God's favor.
31:13
They're lost.
31:15
And again, is there any hope for redemption? Is there any hope for grace? Is there any way out of this? To me, in that sense, and I know I'm going to, to me, that's why it says that we were made a little lower than the angels.
31:32
But ultimately, who's the crown of God's creation? Is it this or this? We're the only ones that understand grace.
31:44
I'm way off script, but I don't care.
31:47
I want you to go to Hebrews chapter two a minute.
31:56
I want to show you this because I want you to think about it.
32:00
And just to support that point that not only do they not understand grace, they truly misunderstand it.
32:08
And that you and I being God's, if you will, God's crown of creation, that we are the only ones that can understand grace.
32:18
Look in Hebrews chapter two, verse 14, and it's speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ coming.
32:27
Verse 14, in as much then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he, Jesus himself, likewise shed in the same, that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death.
32:43
That is the devil.
32:44
Is that absolute too? Does the devil have the power over death ultimately? Or is he not again subject to the great other? Absolutely.
32:57
But in many ways, he has been given that dominion to be stuck in until that final day.
33:05
And he does have, by God's permission, he does have power, right? Continue to read this verse.
33:15
That he might destroy him who had power over death.
33:18
That is the devil.
33:19
Now look at verse 15, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
33:25
For indeed, he does not give aid to angels, but he gives aid to the seed of Abraham.
33:37
You know, when I first read that, my eyes almost jumped out of my head.
33:41
Because God's ultimate purpose is to take us and bring us to himself.
33:48
And that Christ, you never read anywhere where Christ came to redeem angels, do you? Here's something else you could chew on on your own.
33:57
In verse 16, he doesn't give aid to angels.
34:01
He gives aid to the seed of Abraham.
34:04
Very interesting that he doesn't say the seed of man.
34:07
He says the seed of Abraham.
34:09
Huh, which to me is just another statement of particular redemption, by the way.
34:14
Yeah.
34:15
But nevertheless, so as we continue through Job, keep this in mind, because this is going to come up again in chapter two.
34:22
And again, I say to you, I don't know the exact time frame of this.
34:26
And I would just be an absolute fool to try to tell you I understand it all.
34:32
But here's the thing, I'm not going to ignore it either.
34:35
Neither should you.
34:37
And it has a reality, right? Because even before we get any further, we're going to understand this has a real bearing on Job's life.
34:47
And so he goes through that and he has power as the evil one.
34:52
But it's a very limited power.
34:54
And it's actually a power that has been given to him.
34:59
And he must report back, if you will, or bow at the knee.
35:06
Right? Just think of it that way.
35:09
And I might be a little bit off center, which says every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess.
35:14
Do you not think that the angels do that? What happened when the demons were met by Jesus? Have you come to destroy us? You are the holy one.
35:25
Please remember the thing with the swine and the pigs? Did they say, hey, we're just going to go into the pig? Can we go into the pigs? Yeah.
35:37
So again, we need to keep this in the back of our mind.
35:42
I wouldn't spend all my time on it.
35:45
But I'm not going to draw away from because again, this is the picture.
35:49
And so let's see if we can get a little bit further along with this.
35:54
So verse eight, 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 and, and one that fears God and shuns evil.
36:11
And we talked about this last time.
36:13
So we'll see it again.
36:15
God never says that Job is sinless.
36:17
But he is one that fears God.
36:19
And he is one that is right before God in the sense that he fears God and is seeking to serve God.
36:26
Because otherwise you get into this whole thought of him.
36:29
I don't know, I think we mentioned of sinless perfectionism.
36:33
Right? In other words, we are, do we just need grace to be saved? Please don't all answer at once because I can't hear you all.
36:48
Do we all? Do we just need grace to be saved? Or do we not need grace for everything? Do we not need grace in him? We live and move and have our being.
37:02
Do we not need God's grace? Jesus said, without me, you can what? Do nothing.
37:08
And it's much more than just become right with God.
37:13
It's everything again, to go back to it.
37:17
When we talk about the sovereignty of God, my goodness, we need to expand our minds here.
37:25
This is, God is not just, be careful how I say that.
37:30
God is the God over all, everything, everyone, every event, every second, every angel, every man, God rules and reigns.
37:44
And so when we look at Job, we don't, we won't say that he is, but God has considered Job.
37:50
So Satan considered Job and God considered Job.
37:53
And guess what? God considers Job because he knows Job.
37:58
Satan thinks he knows Job.
38:01
God knows Job.
38:03
Again, everything is open and exposed before him.
38:07
Right? And I see what it says in Hebrews, that we are naked and exposed before him with whom we have to deal with.
38:14
So just think about that as we go through this.
38:17
So Satan answered, and this verse nine, so Satan answered the Lord and said, does Job fear you for nothing? He only sees from the, in a sense, he can only see from the outside.
38:32
Right? And, and, and there might be some understanding that he does possess because he's evaluated Job.
38:39
Listen again, don't think God, don't think Satan hasn't evaluated you.
38:43
And I'm not saying, and again, he's not, he's not omnipresent, but don't think there hasn't been an evaluation on, on every one of us.
38:51
Might not be by Satan himself, but it's certainly going to enter into his, his other angels that in that sense are under him, that they have looked at us.
39:03
They know our weaknesses.
39:06
They know our strengths to a certain extent, and they will seek to expose that weakness.
39:14
And so when Satan comes before the Lord, he thinks that God has, and what does he say in verse 10, have you not made a hedge around him and around his household and all that he has on every side, you bless the work of his hands and his possessions have increased in the land.
39:32
Job evaluated him.
39:34
Remember what we read? He had all these donkeys and camels, and he was the wealthiest man in the East.
39:39
I mean, he's loaded down, buddy.
39:42
He's got two escalates, not just one.
39:46
And so Satan comes and here's the accusation.
39:52
Job ain't who you think he is God.
39:55
You said he's perfect and upright.
39:57
I say, this is the devil.
39:58
I say, the only reason why he's serving you is because you're, you have put a hedge around him.
40:05
And, and unfortunately, many people think that way.
40:09
Many people think that just because someone has outwardly prospered, that God is smiling on them.
40:17
I don't know how you could think that when you think about some of God's greatest servants, missionaries that have gone and buried kids and wives and, and possessions lost and, and, and leave this earth basically with zip.
40:33
But, but again, this evaluation is wrong because this is still going to be missing.
40:40
See brothers and sisters, this is the greatest, that's the greatest truth that you and I could ever hold on to, right? Just like, I hope you have asked yourself this question many times.
40:51
How could God love me? How could, how could God love me? I mean, I only know myself to such, to certain degree and I can't stand what I see.
41:05
Satan looked at Job and he said, the only reason he's done this is because you have hedged him.
41:12
Verse 11, we're not going to get through this chapter this morning.
41:17
So verse 11, now stretch your hand and touch all that he has and he will surely curse you to your face.
41:23
Interesting.
41:24
Satan understands he can't do it by himself.
41:27
He's can do nothing.
41:28
He has to ask permission.
41:33
Again, he's a subject to God as well as everyone else.
41:38
Nevertheless, that's what he says.
41:40
Stretch out your hand, touch all that he has and he will surely curse you to the face.
41:45
And then verse 12, so the Lord said to Satan, behold, all that he has is in your power.
41:52
Only do not lay a hand on his person.
41:55
Then it says, then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
42:00
So I guess to summarize it to me, this is again, a picture that we don't normally get to see of what takes place, if you will, beyond the veil of our understanding.
42:13
Right.
42:13
And Paul talks about it, talks about spiritual wickedness in heavenly places.
42:18
And as we see this scene, if you will, Job becomes the object of the survey.
42:28
And God fully knows what he's going to do for Job.
42:31
And to me, that's a very interesting thing because as we go through the book of Job, in many ways, many people are going to misunderstand what happens to Job.
42:42
And I'll show it to you next week, because even well, we read it, look at verse 16 real quick, or I'll just read it.
42:50
As they begin to come and report to Job, while he was still speaking, another came and said, the fire of God fell from heaven.
42:58
Was it the fire of God that fell from heaven? Something to think about.
43:06
I guess you probably could say, yes.
43:09
Or you probably could say no.
43:12
Ultimately, it's all right.
43:15
For of him, to him, and through him are all things.
43:19
But who was the one who was given the authority to hurt Job? Satan.
43:27
And so you see that even, and I'll open this up a little bit more next week.
43:33
It's not always easy to discern, is it brothers and sisters? It's not always easy to understand what's taking place outside of our own little, if you will, unit here.
43:48
Because the servants think the fire of God fell from heaven.
43:53
Ultimately, God said, you can do with anything you want.
43:55
And then there was the, you can go this far and no further.
43:59
You can't touch his person.
44:00
That's in chapter two, right? And so you just think about it.
44:06
What does he do? He touches his possessions.
44:09
He touches his kids.
44:11
He touches his land.
44:12
He touches his wealth.
44:14
He touches everything.
44:16
The one thing he can't touch is actually Job, which is interesting because the kids get killed, right? And then here's another thought as we close.
44:27
Satan never touched his wife.
44:29
I don't know anywhere where it says that Satan touched his wife.
44:32
But Satan had the permission.
44:34
God said, you can't touch his person.
44:37
But that didn't mean that Satan wouldn't touch others that were attached to Job.
44:43
Because the devil, not only does he not understand this, he's a hater of the truth.
44:51
He's a liar.
44:52
And he will do anything as a roaring lion seeking who he may devour.
44:57
He will do anything to do harm.
45:02
You remember when Brother Mike was teaching? I forgot what we were teaching.
45:05
Maybe it was in judges.
45:06
Brother Mike was getting all excited about the leopard chasing the little antelope.
45:10
And he got all excited.
45:11
He said, the leopard swipes the legs out from underneath that little antelope.
45:15
And then he bites him in the neck.
45:16
And Mike was getting all excited.
45:20
Because there's a reality of that.
45:24
Okay, we need to stop.
45:26
So we'll pick it up next week.
45:27
And I promise we'll finish the chapter.
45:30
I think it's worthy for us to see, from time to time, things that we might not normally think about.
45:40
And that it's God's Word is so instructive in so many ways.
45:45
And we need eyes to see.
45:47
And we need ears to hear.
45:48
And we need a heart to understand.
45:51
All right, let's, let's close the door.
45:55
Our Father in God, again, we confess that Jesus is Lord, we confess, Lord, that you are on your throne.
46:01
Father, Son and Holy Spirit that all are subject to you.
46:05
That even those things that are higher than us and more powerful than us can never do us any harm because you have put a hedge around us and that hedge being Christ himself that that you have sent him in our stead to pay for our sins and to set us free.
46:23
Now be with us as we worship.
46:25
Be with Brother Keith as he brings you word.
46:27
Be with us in our worship.
46:29
May we grow in grace and the knowledge of the Son of God who so loved us that he gave himself for us.
46:34
Amen.