Sermon Index
July 8, 2012
The Book of Job reads like a play. There are dialogues and a few stage directions. There may have been an actual man named Job who would have lived about the time of Abraham and Jacob. Then the Book of Job would be a literary masterpiece based on his life and struggle. There is no doubt that this book was inspired by the Holy Spirit. We are shown the folly of man and the wisdom of God. We are shown the callousness of man and the love of God. We are shown the evil of Satan and the mercy of the Lord God.
The Book opens with an introduction to the man Job. He is a very pious, god-fearing man. He is also very rich and successful. Then there is a dialogue between the Lord and Satan. God is very proud of Job, but Satan, whose name mean gthe accuser,h or gthe adversaryh wants to put Job to the test. If Job is afflicted would he curse God? Job is very rich; if he should lose everything then he could be tested whether his happiness is from his wealth or from his faith in God. With the permission of God, Satan began his work. All of Jobfs livestock was stolen and all ten of his children were killed by a desert storm that destroyed the house they were in. Job was devastated, and yet we read his response, Job 1:20-22.
20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said: gNaked I came from my motherfs womb, and naked I shall depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.h 22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
God won round one. Then Satan wanted to test Job by afflicting his body so that he would be in great pain. Again God gave him permission, but Satan could not kill Job. Here is how Job responded, Job 2:7-10.
So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. 8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. 9 His wife said to him, gAre you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!h 10 He replied, gYou are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?h In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
Job is visited by three friends. They each give long speeches and then Job responds. It is like a trial, they are accusing Job of being a sinner and that is why God is punishing him, but Job tries to show is innocence, therefore God should not be punishing him, therefore Job is angry at his Satan-like accusers and he does not understand the ways of God. This is the main part of the book. The question is why good people suffer. The three friends say that Job must be a bad man or a sinner and that God is punishing him. Job maintains his innocence. No one can make sense of Jobfs afflictions. Then God speaks. Chapters 38-41 are beautiful to read. God is the almighty Creator of the world. God is all-knowing. It is impossible for humans to understand the work of God. God does not reveal to Job the part about Satan testing him. It is not necessary because Job must trust God and his wisdom.
Finally Job stops looking for an answer to his suffering and humbly accepts the wisdom of God. Job 42:1-6.
1 Then Job replied to the LORD: 2 gI know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. 3 You asked, `Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?f Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. 4 gYou said, `Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.f 5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. 6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.h
Then God restored Jobfs fortune double and gave him ten children again and Job lived to be 140 years old.
The message of the Book of Job is gtrust God even when you do not understand why you are suffering.h Trust God. God knows what is happening. God in his wisdom loves you. Therefore we have hope.
I have never been in Jobfs situation. I can only try to imagine his pain and sorrow and anger. He wants justice. He wants meaning. If he can understand why he is suffering then he can accept it. And then he can have hope.
For an example. I have a backache. Why? Because yesterday I was moving heavy furniture. Okay. I will take some Excedrin and hope that I will be better tomorrow.
The theme of last weekfs sermon was hope. The hope of the father whose 12 year old daughter was dying and the hope of the woman who had been sick for 12 years. In Jesus they found hope. They hoped in the love and mercy of Jesus.
St. Paul had many troubles. He had trouble because of his evangelism, and he also had a problem that he called a gthorn in the fleshh (2 Cor.12:7). We do not know what that was, probably some chronic physical ailment that gave him pain. He prayed that it would be removed, but then he accepted it as being from God. At that point he trusted in the mercy and love of God. Then he found relief in his heart and mind. He found hope.
At that point, both St. Paul and Job are the same. They found hope when they trusted in the wisdom of God. Job found God the Creator. St. Paul found God the Savior. This is the God that we find: Creator and Savior and Helper. We find Jesus who suffered like Job. Jesus too was tested by Satan. But unlike Job, Jesus knew the plan of God. Jesus knew what Satan was doing. And so Jesus had hope in the wilderness when he was tempted, he had hope when he was accused at his trial, and he had hope even when nailed to the cross. This hope was tested and found true. On the third day he arose again.
This is the hope that we have. It is the hope that no matter what happens in our life: that God loves us and will take care of us. The wisdom of God is that same wisdom that created the universe. That is the almighty wisdom that protects us and takes care of us. That hope is based on the cross of Jesus. It is based on the promise of Jesus given to us in our baptism. As St. Paul would say, gHis grace is sufficient for meh (2 Cor. 12:9).
Amen.
Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church