|
| |
| |
|
Job 1:1-5
May 12, 2006 Good Evening Brothers and Sisters, "There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil. Seven sons and three daughters were born to him. His possessions also were 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and very many servants; and that man was the greatest of all the men of the east. 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. When the days of feasting had completed their cycle, Job would send and consecrate them, rising up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually. " (Job 1:1-5, NASB95) "Therefore he treated Abram well for her sake; and gave him sheep and oxen and donkeys and male and female servants and female donkeys and camels. " (Genesis 12:16, NASB95) [1] Try to picture the situation. Job was very wealthy. Imagine caring for all the animals, and having enough servants to work the animals. If you figure two oxen to a yoke, he had 1,000 oxen, with a thousand servants to work them. The same with the camels and donkeys, with servants to work them. It was significant. Look at the similarities between his life and that of royalty. Another point to be made is that Job was blameless before God, upright, and fearing God. How many can claim that claim? Verse 5 clinches the idea, because Job offered burnt offerings just in case his children sinned against the Lord. Remember, this was before the law, before burnt offerings were established. Somehow Job knew that God favored burnt offerings to cover sin. Job did what it took to intercede for his children. Look at the burden that he had for their lives and for their walk with God. Job had seven sons and three daughters, ten children. They all liked each other and had birthdays together. It was a happy family, the lifestyle that was set by the father and the attitude of the father permeated the attitude of the family. Terrill my pastor called this a perfect ten, the absolute best a man could hope for in a family. I see one more application that we can take home here, the family followed the father. As we approach Mother's day and Fathers day, consider the awesome responsibilities that we all face. Do our children live in the security of our consistency or are they living in the shadow of our doubt? It's something to think about. I am going to close here, more tomorrow. Father, as we consider the man Job, show each of us how to be parents and how to live our lives in surrender to You. In Him, Joe Turner. [1] New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995. LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation. |
| Job
1:6-10 May 13, 2006 Reading through the Bible in one Year:2 Samuel 3:1-5:25; Luke 22:1-20 Good Evening Brothers and Sisters, "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? “Have You not made a hedge about 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. " (Job 1:6-10, NASB95) [1] The term "sons of God" refers to the angels. Satan was an angel and he came among the angels that were reporting in. We get a rare look into the military working of heaven in this scene. The Jerusalem Targum, an ancient Hebrew translation and commentary interprets this as being New Year's Day, (A Handbook on the Book of Job). It is rather interesting that God allows the devil into His presence and questions him on where he has been. This is a rhetorical question because God already knew where the devil had been and what he had been up to. Taking that into consideration, consider the conversation heavily. The dialog between God and Satan is important for our understanding of both authority and of the protection that God gives to the believer. Consider that the devil had to have permission to test Job. He was not able to test Job without God's explicit permission. Notice also the character of Satan, he is a roamer, moving over the face of the earth and evaluating the moves of man. I don't know that Satan personally knows about each person on earth. He has a network of demons to take care of that detail. But he sure knew about Job. One other interesting thing in this part of the story, Satan did not approach God to test Job. God brought Job to Satan's attention, "Have you considered...?" Talk about an open-ended question! God brought Job's name to the table as one who was righteous, blameless, and no one on earth was like Job. Satan brought out that Job had a very good reason for worshipping God. Job had everything to gain by worshipping God, he was protected on every side, was financially secure, and his business was booming, all under the protection of God. Yet God brought Job's name into the discussion. Why? Why would God place Job in a position where he would be offered up as a guinea pig? Could it be that there were important lessons that God desired to teach Job that could never be taught from the position of security and wealth? God understands human nature. He understands that we will grow to a certain point and then stagnate unless our lives are messed up a bit. To say that Job's life was messed up is an understatement, but the point is still valid. We learn from every experience that we take part in. The experiences will either draw us closer to God or will encourage us to follow our own lusts and desires. What have we learned about the devil in today's study? We've learned that the devil prowls around the earth observing believers. He is also taking accusations before the Lord and instrumental in messing up the lives of the believer with God placing restrictions on his actions. "Hear this word which the Lord has spoken against you, sons of Israel, against the entire family which He brought up from the land of Egypt: “You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” Do two men walk together unless they have made an appointment? Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Does a young lion growl from his den unless he has captured something? Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground when there is no bait in it? Does a trap spring up from the earth when it captures nothing at all? If a trumpet is blown in a city will not the people tremble? If a calamity occurs in a city has not the Lord done it? Surely the Lord God does nothing Unless He reveals His secret counsel To His servants the prophets. A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken! Who can but prophesy? " (Amos 3:1-8, NASB95) "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. " (1 Peter 5:8-10, NASB95) [2] Doesn't it make you wonder if when Peter was writing that he was thinking about Job? The idea behind "someone to devour" literally speaks of drinking their blood. The Devil doesn't just want to take us out, he wants to totally annihilate us. God uses the same conflict that the devil desires to use for destruction in order to "perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish" us. What a different agenda; it's literally two sides of the coin. I quoted the passage out of Amos to show how that calamity can be a work of the Lord. Closing today, we have a situation where God makes a seeming illogical move by putting the greatest man on earth under scrutiny. And the Devil has his appetite wetted as he drools over the possibility of devouring a spiritual giant. All comments are welcomed. Father, as we consider Your word today, open our eyes so that we can understand and apply Your truths to our lives. In Him, Joe Turner. |
| Job
1:11-22 May 14, 2006 Good Evening Brothers and Sisters, "“But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.” Then the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him.” So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord. Now on the day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, and the Sabeans attacked and took them. They also slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 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.” While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and took them and slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 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 behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God." (Job 1:11-22, NASB95) [1]The devil was allowed to strike Job, and was sure of himself that he could get Job to curse the Lord. I find it interesting that God did not refute the remark, only commented that Satan was not allowed to take Job's life. We talked yesterday about Satan seeking to devour believers. Do you think that God expected Job to curse Him? I don't think that the point was whether or not Job was going to curse God, the point was to develop Job's relationship with God to a deeper level. We will find out in the text that Job refused to curse God. The next section would be better labeled as "Tragedy Strikes". Imagine if you were to receive this series of messages. Satan carefully took the effort to destroy Job's wealth, and his family with the exception of his wife. There is a lot in these verses, I am going to gloss over them and look at them from a birds eye view. Job was attacked from four different directions, the end result was utter devastation. Note that Satan did not just use the people of the earth to attack Job, he also used nature to attack Job. He used God's fire to burn up the sheep. Without Job knowing the context of the conversation between God and Satan, it would seem as if God chose to eliminate Job's assets. Look at Job's response though. Job worshipped God, and chose to bless the Lord through the trial. How many of us could do that? Job recognized that everything that he owned, including his family was a gift from God. Interesting. I hear people complaining all the time about tithing to the Lord, giving back to God a small portion of their money to demonstrate that God owns all. Yet Job was forced to lose everything, and he took the attitude that it belonged to God, so God could have it back. The attitude is what is important, Job was sold out to God, recognized that God owned everything and worshipped God even though he was not given a reason for the attack. Enough to ponder for today, write in with your comments. I posted the studies so far on www.carm.org under the discussion board. You have to register to see all the messages, and it's free. Take a look, some good comments are already posted. Father, teach each of us from Your word and impress on or minds that everything belongs to You. In Him, Joe Turner [1] New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995. LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation. |
|
|