Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Introduction

Proverbs gave us the beginning of wisdom, but like with just about any craft there comes a time to move beyond the basics.

In Fashion, you have to learn the rules before you go breaking them.

Job going to break a lot of rules from Proverbs and give us a better understanding of what it means to Fear the Lord.

Job

We’re introduced to Job in the very first verse:

Job 1:1 ESV

¹ There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.

Job is not an Israelite. We don’t where Uz is. Some assume he and his friends are somewhere around Edom.

What’s important about Job from this first verse is that he is perfect. Proverbs describes the ideal man as one who is wise in matters of justice, righteousness, and equity. That wisdom begins by fearing God and turning away from evil, just as we saw last week in Proverbs 3:7

Proverbs 3:7 ESV

⁷ Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.

Job is everything Proverbs hopes a man could be. And the evidence of Job’s righteous and wise living is found in his wealth.

Job 1:2–3 ESV

² There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. ³ He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east.

In fact, Job is so righteous, and fears God so much, he even takes steps to appease God for other people’s possible sins.

Job 1:4–5 ESV

⁴ His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. ⁵ And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.

And we’re not the only ones impressed by Job.

Job 1:6–8 ESV

⁶ Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. ⁷ The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” ⁸ And 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, who fears God and turns away from evil?”

The first thing to point out is that God agrees with the first verse of Job. Job has got it going on and there’s nobody like him around. The first two chapters of Job want to really stress that this guy is awesome.

But then we have this Satan figure hanging around as well. I’ll only briefly mention it but Satan is not used as a name here – it’s a title. In Hebrew Satan simply means adversary, or someone who opposes. When Balaam is confronted by the angel of Yahweh in Numbers 22:32 the angel says that he has come as a Satan – an opponent to Balaam. Not to woo him into doing something evil, but to stop him from doing evil!

This Satan figure has a challenge for God and for Job.

Job 1:9–11 ESV

⁹ Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? ¹⁰ Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. ¹¹ But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.”

The Satan is curious. Why does Job fear God? He’s rich and has blessed beyond measure. Life is perfect and it’s all been given to him by God.

Job doesn’t fear God. He’s been bribed by God. And if righteousness can be bought with blessings is it true righteousness?

So God tells him

Job 1:12 ESV

¹² And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

And this is the launching point for all sorts of questions that Job wrestles with throughout the book:

Why Am I Righteous?

The atheist claims they are truly better people because they aren’t looking for a reward or afraid of punishment. They are simply good for the sake of being good. If the only reason you’re a good person is because you’re afraid of being punished for being bad, then you aren’t a good person.

Why are we good? Why do we worship God?

Because we want a comfy life?
What can be done or taken away to get you to curse God to his face?
Are we actually righteous or have we simply been bought?

Is God enough for us or do we need more? If God took away all of our blessings would we curse God to his face?

And if we are righteous…

Should We Expect Blessings for Being Good?

Wisdom presumes an ordered and rational universe that works according to predictable patterns. We flourish with creation when we act wisely. This is the question that Job wrestles with. Job believes that it’s unjust that he should suffer for being blameless.

Does God owe us blessings for all we’ve done for him? And what does it say about God’s character when we’re worse off for having feared him?

And if we expect good things to happen to good people…

Are We Suffering Because We’re Not Good Enough?

This is the assumption of Job’s three friends. If Proverbs asserts that God will bless the righteous, then the implication is that suffering must be God’s gift to the wicked.

So let’s see how Job answers these questions for us.

Job’s Three Friends

After Job faces his disaster, losing all of his wealth, property, children and health, he has three friends come to visit him.

Job 2:11 ESV

¹¹ Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him.

We’re told that they have come to show Job their sympathy and comfort – but they’re anything but sympathetic and comforting.

The three friends launch into an attack on Job. Why is a righteous man suffering? Because he isn’t righteous! Job must be suffering because of some unrepentant sin.

Eliphaz says

Job 4:7–8 ESV

⁷ “Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off? ⁸ As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same.

Bildad says:

Job 8:3 ESV

³ Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert the right?

And Zophar:

Job 11:4–6 ESV

⁴ For you say, ‘My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in God’s eyes.’ ⁵ But oh, that God would speak and open his lips to you, ⁶ and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom! For he is manifold in understanding. Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves.

Job’s three friends have a very traditional understanding of wisdom – an understanding that sounds eerily similar to Proverbs. If Proverbs tells us that God favors those who fear him then the opposite must be true – God curses the wicked. Therefore – Job is wicked and does not fear God.

The irony, though, is that it was Job’s fear of God that got him into this situation in the first place! We as the readers can recognize that they are following the Wisdom of Proverbs, but we also know about everything that’s happened in the heavenly court.

Job isn’t suffering because he’s bad but because he’s good. And Job’s three friends can’t seem to grasp that idea.

The conversations follow a pattern

Eliphaz – Job
Bildad – Job
Zophar Job

And this goes on for three cycles. But as we get to the end of the third cycle we notice that the friends are repeating themselves. They have nothing new to add to the conversation. Their replies get shorter and shorter, until Zophar is left out completely in the last cycle. Traditional wisdom has no answer to Job’s circumstances.

And as the conversation progresses it also gets vicious. They all trade insults with each other to the point where Job can say

Job 16:2 ESV

² “I have heard many such things; miserable comforters are you all.

Application

There’s something really important we need to understand from these three friends. Just because you can quote a proverb doesn’t mean you’re wise.

Proverbs 26:7 ESV

⁷ Like a lame man’s legs, which hang useless, is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

Wisdom has nuance to it. It recognizes exceptions and there are situations where there is no quick and easy answer.

Proverbs itself recognizes this

Proverbs 26:4–5 CSB

⁴ Don’t answer a fool according to his foolishness or you’ll be like him yourself. ⁵ Answer a fool according to his foolishness or he’ll become wise in his own eyes.

So do I answer the fool or not? It will take wisdom and discernment to decide.

But unfortunately this nuance is lost in a lot of reading the bible. We have the prosperity preachers who take very bland and literal takes on Proverbs in order to promote their scams.

And if we’re not careful we can be just as miserable as Job’s friends when we try to instruct and guide others.

Wives are supposed to submit so shut up and make me a sandwich
Children are supposed to obey so I’ll beat you anytime you don’t
You’re not supposed to judge me so you can’t criticize me
You have to forgive me so I can be protected from any negative repercussions of my abuse

We need to read Job to understand that life is often complicated, and that wisdom is found in being wise – not in citing a proof-text. Job’s friends couldn’t grasp that a good man cold suffer and used wisdom as a weapon to wound – not to offer any actual guidance.

Transition: So if the problem of suffering isn’t with Job, where else could the blame lay?

Job’s Righteousness

We go back to the original challenge of the Satan in Job 1:6

Job 1:9 ESV

⁹ Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason?

Is Job actually a good man or has been bribed by his blessings?

Throughout the story there’s only one answer: Job is righteous for the sake of being righteous and he will not curse God.

God commends him for still holding it after losing everything in Job 2:3

Job 2:3 ESV

³ And 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, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.”

His wife questions why he holds onto it – why be good if it only gives you pain?

Job 2:9 ESV

⁹ Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.”

But Job will not let it go Job 27:2-6

Job 27:2–6 ESV

² “As God lives, who has taken away my right, and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter, ³ as long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, ⁴ my lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit. ⁵ Far be it from me to say that you are right; till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. ⁶ I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go; my heart does not reproach me for any of my days.

Job’s friends have the assumption that God is just and rules the world in justice. Job will never question his righteousness which leads him to believe God is unjust in how he runs the world. Throughout the conversation Job begins to think of God as some relentless bully:

Job 9:16–17 ESV

¹⁶ If I summoned him and he answered me, I would not believe that he was listening to my voice. ¹⁷ For he crushes me with a tempest and multiplies my wounds without cause;

Where is Wisdom?

After Job’s three friends have had their say, Job launches into his monologue. Job 28 poses the question “Where can wisdom be found?”

Job 28:1 ESV

¹ “Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place for gold that they refine.

Job 28:9–10 ESV

⁹ “Man puts his hand to the flinty rock and overturns mountains by the roots. ¹⁰ He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eye sees every precious thing.

Job 28:12 ESV

¹² “But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?

Job 28:14 ESV

¹⁴ The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’ and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’

Job 28:22 ESV

²² Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’

There’s only one who can find where wisdom is.

Job 28:23–28 ESV

²³ “God understands the way to it, and he knows its place. ²⁴ For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. ²⁵ When he gave to the wind its weight and apportioned the waters by measure, ²⁶ when he made a decree for the rain and a way for the lightning of the thunder, ²⁷ then he saw it and declared it; he established it, and searched it out. ²⁸ And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’ ”

Job 29 is a lament of how awful his life is
Job 30 is a bitter remembrance of what life used to be like before God crushed him
Job 31 lists all of the righteous behaviors of Job – the concrete expression of what it means to fear God

The point Job is trying to make, is that he has done everything right, done everything he was told to do by God, and is still crushed as a result of it. I’m doing exactly what you told me to do – and now you’re punishing me for it.

Connect

Job doesn’t agree that he’s being punished for being wicked, but he does believe that he should be rewarded for being good. Job is clearly a good man, but just like his three friends, he needs to rethink traditional wisdom and what it means to fear the Lord.

Job, like many people, think that they deserve good things from God.

At best this is a pretty naive world view. But it’s also an insult to God. It doesn’t treat him as the ultimate reward, the Lord of all creation – it treats him as a stepping stool to our materialistic desires.

Some people embrace this world view and they demand their blessings for their good behavior. And if that’s not how life shakes out they get mad and just abandon God for something else that can give them blessings.

Through this mindset obedience is not an act of submission to God, but a power used to compel him to respond.

We just have to sow some charity
Or just show up to services on Sunday
Or appease God with a sacrifice like Job did with his children

And God will have to bless me, right?

It’s not that right worship or right behavior are just bad things that make God roll his eyes. We should be worshiping as best we know how. We should be full of good works.

But when we take those behaviors and say “God, you owe me for this!” We have a serious problem.

That’s how we try to take control of God

The Theophany

Let’s see how God responds to this.

Job 38:1–2 ESV

¹ Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: ² “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?

The the first thing God wants Job to understand is that he doesn’t know as much as he thinks he does.

Job 38:4 ESV

⁴ “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.

God takes Job on a tour of creation, asking great questions about the mysteries of the world and of Job’s understanding:

Job 38:12 ESV

¹² “Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place,

Job 38:17 ESV

¹⁷ Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

Job doesn’t know enough to rightly criticize God.

And in this tour of creation God wants Job to know how much control he doesn’t have.

Job 39:9–12 ESV

⁹ “Is the wild ox willing to serve you? Will he spend the night at your manger? ¹⁰ Can you bind him in the furrow with ropes, or will he harrow the valleys after you? ¹¹ Will you depend on him because his strength is great, and will you leave to him your labor? ¹² Do you have faith in him that he will return your grain and gather it to your threshing floor?

God says you have control over the ox – but just barely.

You leave the manger door open and he escapes
You can’t just tie him to the yoke and expect him to plow the valley
You don’t leave him unsupervised with bags of grain – he’ll eat them!

So what makes us think that we can control God through our good behavior?

Leviathan

In this great tour of creation there are two animals in particular that are singled out for Job’s consideration – we’re just looking briefly at one of them:

Job 41:1 ESV

¹ “Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a cord?

Leviathan is described as this incredible sea monster. It’s often used as a picture of God’s enemies – like Egypt – who become these untamable monsters that only God can defeat.

Job 41:10 ESV

¹⁰ No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up. Who then is he who can stand before me?

Job’s Restoration

So being good is no way to escape suffering in this life. Being good is no way to guarantee that God will give you blessings.

Which brings us all the way back to the original challenge:

Job 1:9 ESV

⁹ Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason?

Job has his fear of God redefined, but he still fears him even after all of his suffering and even after understanding that a good life is never a given.

So why bother? Why worship God, fear him, and turn away from evil if there is no guaranteed benefit?

Why not follow the wisdom of Ecclesiastes:

Ecclesiastes 7:15–17 ESV

¹⁵ In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. ¹⁶ Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? ¹⁷ Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time?

As Christians we can look at the ultimate vindication of righteousness in the resurrection, but Job only briefly hints at that hope. Why was Job so interested in fearing God even when it got him nothing good?

Here’s Job’s response after seeing God:

Job 42:5–6 ESV

⁵ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; ⁶ therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

Job doesn’t bow down to God in exchange for more goodies. He doesn’t work out a deal where Job will stop complaining if God restores him.

Job bows down to God just having seen him
Job worships God because he is simply someone who is worthy of worship

I’ve mentioned it twice and now here’s number three. I got to hang out in a billionaires personal theological library and hear some of my favorite scholars give talks down in Houston. But my favorite part of Houston was getting to eat at In-n-out three times.

And believe it or not, they don’t pay me for mentioning them. I get absolutely nothing for telling you how great those burgers are. But some things are so inherently good, you simply must praise them.

God has shown himself to be inherently worthy of our fear, our reverence, our obedience. Especially in light of something new that Job learns about God at the end of the book.

Job 42:10 ESV

¹⁰ And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.

God has just finished explaining to Job that his good behavior can make no demands on God. So why then does God restore Job, giving him twice as much before?

Because everything we have from God is given through his grace.