Well, it's good to see all of
you. I'm going to ask you to take your Bibles and turn with
me to the book of Job. Job. I'm actually going to be
doing as I did last time. I'm going to look at Job chapter
3 and chapter 4. Obviously, I'm not going to try
to go into the depth of each verse in these two chapters. But what I'd like for us to do
is look at these two chapters as we did last time at chapters
one and two, and get a general overview of these two chapters
in this precious book. I've entitled this message, A
Believer's Greatest Fear. A Believer's Greatest Fear. We continue this study on how
the Lord was pleased to magnify himself through the suffering
of his servant, Joel. Now, I want you to understand
something. When you look at this book and
you see this man, Job, Job is a glorious picture of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Job is also a glorious picture
of a believer regenerated by the grace of God. And as we look
at this book, these two chapters out of this book, you're going
to see in these two chapters, Lord willing, not only the glory
of Christ, but the sufferings of a believer as a picture of
the sufferings of Christ. We're going to see the Lord Jesus
Christ in these two chapters. Now, the Lord had considered,
we looked at this last time, just a note of bringing us back
where we were last time. The Lord had instructed Satan
to consider his servant Job. I want you to consider my servant
Job. Have you considered my servant
Job? Now, as I'm reading this now, you think of Christ and
think also of a sinner saved by grace in Christ. Think of the Lord Jesus Christ
and his people. As he is, so are we in this world. And the Lord instructed Job to
consider his servant Job. The scripture says, if you consider
my servant Job a just man. who is just, but the Lord Jesus
Christ and those found in him, a just man and upright, straight, one that feareth God and escheweth
evil. And at the end of the Lord's
word to Satan, I want you to look at Job chapter 1, verses
9 to 12. Here was Satan's answer. Job
1, 9 to 12. Then Satan answered the Lord. Satan answered Jehovah. Look how that word's written,
how L-O-R-D, capital letters. Job here is being spoken of. Satan is doing, I mean Job, the
Lord is being spoken to. The Lord God Almighty is being
spoken to. And Satan is talking to him. And the scripture says,
then Satan answered Jehovah and said, does Job fear God for naught? respect you, honor you, glorify
you, magnify you for nothing? Do you think that he has no ulterior
motive in serving you? You think he's following after
you for nothing? Does Job fear God for naught? Hast not thou made an hedge about
him, about his house, about all he Hath on every side thou hast
blessed the work of his hands, that his substance is increased
in the land? But put forth thine hand now,
and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord Jehovah said unto
Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thine power, only upon
himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the
presence of the Lord. The Lord, according to his almighty
and wise counsel, permitted, ordained, ordered. He worketh all things after the
counsel of his own will. He ordained that Satan would
say what he said. And he ordained Satan to say
what he said because he was going to bring glory to himself. The
Lord was going to bring glory to himself in the person of his
blessed son. Not out of any question of whether
or not Job would be faithful. but to prove God's own faithfulness
to the objects of His mercy and compassion. The Lord Himself
promised, John 10, 27, 29, My sheep hear My voice, I know them,
they follow Me, I give unto them eternal life, they shall never
perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. The
Lord asked Job, Have you considered, the Lord asked Satan, have you
considered my servant Job? You think about this, the Lord
speaking. Have you considered my servant
Job? Have you considered his honor,
his majesty? Have you considered that? And
that's when Job told him, he said, if you think that Job is
doing this for nothing, You're sadly mistaken. That's what he
was saying. Do you think that Job serves,
honors, follows after you for nothing? You touch him. You touch him. Now I'll go even
a little deeper. Job as a picture of Christ. Satan would say unto God the
Father who chose the Son and majestic honor and grace. He chose the surety, the chosen
vessel of the Father. And we were chosen in Him that
we should be holy and without blame before God in love. And the audacity of Satan Speaking
of the Lord Jesus Christ as a picture of our Savior, Christ as our
Lord and our Savior, that Satan would say to God Almighty, Jehovah, do you think your son serves
you for nothing? Now, I'm going to tell you something.
We're starting to get into some pretty deep for him to call in
question. the Lord Jesus Christ and His
honor and His glory. I know that that's what Satan
said to the Lord when he says to Job, speaking of the man.
But you look at Job as a picture of Christ. You think he serves you for nothing. Satan had accused Job of hypocrisy,
that he served God only for the temporal blessings, benefits
of this life. Are God's people not accused
of that? You know, well, you go into church,
but you know what, you know, you're going to get the blessings
out of this, you think, you know, or people will, you know, especially
when you go to buy something. I do, honestly, I do try. to not let people know, I've
told you this, not let people know I'm a preacher. If it's
not necessary, I mean, just to go somewhere, I'm not going to
ask somebody, do you give preachers discounts? I'll ask for a military
discount, but I won't ask for a discount for preachers to use
him. Do you think Job serves you for
naught? And I read that and read that
and read that today and I thought, Oh, the audacity, the arrogance
of the accuser of the brethren. And he would even stoop to accusing
God and the Son of God of evil. You think Job serves you for
nothing? And then Scripture says that
Satan was loud of the Lord that touched Job. But you can't kill him. God put
limitations on him. And then, starting tonight, and
you know in chapter 2 there was a day when all the sons of God
came together and they presented themselves to the Lord and then
all these things that Satan sent in chapter 2. Job, and he tried
him greatly, came to that point where his wife even said to him,
why don't you curse God and die? And I thought, you know, but
for the grace of God, even we as human beings, unless the Lord
called us out of darkness, we would have that same arrogant
attitude toward God. Why don't you just curse God?
I'm gonna, in just a few minutes, I'm gonna tell you what it is
to curse the Lord, to curse him. Chapter three. After he had gone
through all of these things, even lost his kids, he lost his
land, he lost his reputation, he lost his health. That's when
his wife told him, said, why don't you just curse God and
get it over with? After these things, chapter 3,
Job opened his mouth. After this, opened Job his mouth
and cursed his day. Job spake and said, let the day
perish wherein I was born and the night in which it was said,
there is a man child conceived. Now, before I go any further,
God had told Satan, you can put your hands on him, you can't
kill him. Job, I mean, Satan told God, he said, you touch
everything that Job's got and he'll curse you to your face. He'll curse you to your face. The scripture says in verse one,
after this Job opened his mouth and cursed his day. Cursed his day. Now I want us
to just, before I go, Lord willing, I'll read the rest of it. But
I want us to know something very carefully here. Though Satan
had said that Job would curse God if he took everything away
from him. That's what Satan accused him
of. You touch everything he's got and he'll curse you to your
face. Satan right here was proven to
be wrong. The scripture says that Job cursed
his day. He did not curse God to his face. What he was actually doing was
he was owning what he knew now himself to truly be. He cursed his day. The next verse
It explains what it meant for him to curse his day. In verse
3 it says, Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night
in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. What he's doing is, he is admitting
what he is, and the scripture, in the words of scripture, cursing
the day. Not God, he didn't curse God.
What Job was saying was, I'm guilty. And it would have been
better for me if I'd have never been born. I'm going to read
this in just a minute. It would have been better for me if God
would have taken me if I'd have been aborted. It would have been
better for me if when I came out of the womb, I had died. It would have been better for
me. He did not curse God. But he cursed the day of his
birth, meaning, here I am, I am a sinner against God, born into
this world in rebellion against God. And he cursed the day of
his birth, explaining what he was by nature. I want you to
look now, watch the rest of the words of this chapter. Let that day be darkness. Let not God regard it from above. Neither let the light shine upon
it. Let darkness and the shadow of
death stain it. Let a cloud dwell upon it. Let the blackness of the day
terrify it. Now, here's what he's doing.
He's talking about the day in which he was born into this world
a sinner. All of sin comes short of the
glory of God. And the day that he was born into this world,
He cursed the day. He passed the heart of his resentment
concerning what he was by birth. Verse 6, as for the night, let
darkness seize upon it. Let it not be joined into the
days of the year. Let it not come into the number
of the month. Lo, let that night be solitary. Let no joyful voice come therein. Don't let people rejoice. Let
it be. Could it have been? It would
have been better for me if that day I was born, when I was born
into this world, it had been better if there was no joy. Well,
we've got a new baby. We've got a new one. Named him
Job. Got this new boy, been better. Verse seven, lo, let that night
be solitary. Let no joyful voice come therein. Let them curse it, that curse
the day, who are ready to raise up the morning. Let the stars
of the twilight therein be dark. Let it look for light, but have
none. Let it see the dawning of the
day, because it shut up the doors of my mother's womb. or hid sorrow
from mine eyes. Why died I not from the womb? Why was I not stillborn? Why did I not die when I was
born? Rather than come into this world,
born a sinner, seeing what I am by nature, if I'd have died,
I'd have been with the Lord immediately. I thought about what Brother
Scott told me about that little child of his that passed away.
He told me one time, he said, I'm going to see that little
baby again. And it's scripturally. You can say that David said concerning
his child, he can't come back to me. I can go to where he is.
He won't come to me. I'm absolutely convinced children, like the
infants, like that dying childbirth, that in the indescribable mercy,
knowledge, Grace of God, based on what David said. Not what
Marvin thinks, what David said. That's what he said. Let the stars, verse 9, let the
stars of the twilight there be dark. Let it look for light and
have none. Let it see the dawning of the
day. Let it not see the dawning of
the day. Because it shut up the doors of my mother's womb, hid
sorrow from mine eyes. Why died I not from the wound?
Why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly? Why did the knees prevent me? Or why the breast that I should
suck? Why did the bouncing, one of
the commentators said, why was there the bouncing of a new baby
boy on the knees of my mama? Why was that allowed? Why was
I allowed to nurse? at her. For now should I have
lain still, been quiet, I should have slept. Then I had been at
rest. If I'd have died, God knew me
from the foundation of the world. If I was born, if I was stillborn, I'd have been with God. I'd have
been with the Lord. I wouldn't have gone through
all this. I should have, verse 13, for
now, should I have lain still, been quiet, I should have slept.
Then shall I have been at rest with kings and council of the
earth, which build desolate places for themselves, or with princes
that had gold, who fill their houses with silver, or a hidden,
untimely birth I had not been. as infants which never saw light. There the wicked cease from trouble. There the weary be at rest. There
the prisoners rest together. They hear not the voice of the
oppressor. You know, I was reading these
verses today, and I was thinking it's what Job was saying, cursing
the day that he was born. Again, he didn't curse God. He
cursed what he was by nature. He said, if God would have taken
me, I would have been at rest. I would have been at rest with
the Lord. I wouldn't have had to have gone through this life
and listened to all the foolishness and seen all the foolishness
and see the frailties of myself and what I had to go through
and what I am by nature. Oh, the day in which I was born.
What I did, not only by nature, but by choice, I did what I did
because I wanted to. I rebelled against God because
I wanted to. I acted disrespectfully because
I wanted to. Job said it had been better if
I'd have been born dead, stillborn. There, verse 18, the prisoners
rest together. They hear not the voice of the
oppressor. small and the greater there,
servants free from his master. Therefore is light given to him
that's in misery, and the life unto the bitter in soul, which
long for death, but it cometh not, and dig for more, and dig
more than for hid treasures, which rejoice exceedingly and
are glad when they can find the grave. Why is light given to a man whose
way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in? For my sign cometh. Before I eat, my roarings are
poured out like the waters. And it's verse 25 and 26. They
gripped me as I read these verses and mulled over them again and
again and again. For the thing which I greatly
feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is coming
to me. I was not in safety, neither
had I rest, neither was I quiet, yet trouble came." What did he
mean? The thing which I greatly feared
is come upon me. Job said, if I'd have been born,
stillborn, I'd have been with God. immediately
in his presence. But being born into this world,
growing up before the Lord called me out of darkness, yes, but
even after I was called out of darkness because of the presence
of sin, the thing that I feared most, let me ask you this, what
does a believer fear most? Now think of it. What does he
fear the most? Disrespecting God. The thing that I feared
most came upon me. I was born in it. If I'd have
been stillborn, all of that would have been eliminated. I'd have been with the Lord.
The Lord knew my name before the foundation of the world.
He knew me. I was among the elect before
I was ever born into this world. That's what God told Jeremiah
before you were born. I knew you. I knew you. And I ordained you a prophet.
So God's people have always been in the heart, mind, will, purpose
of Almighty God. And Job was saying, it would
have been better for me if I had died. Died in childbirth, still
wouldn't have been better. Oh, why did my mama get to bounce
me on her knee? Why did my mother nurse me and
make me grow up? The thing which I feared the
most has come upon me. I've seen myself for what I am
by nature. This is what a believer fears. Seeing what he is by nature. I was talking to a brother about
this. This very thing, being left alone, the thing that I
feared the most, being left alone without God. This is what he
said, I'm sighing, that which I fear the most. Job saw himself
with that tendency. Let me ask you something. The
thing that he feared the most, disrespecting God. When Peter was told by the Lord,
before the cock crows twice, you're going to deny me three
times. And that third time that he denied the Lord, and I won't
say it's in Luke, it's in one of the apostles. I think of this
every time I bring this up. I've brought it up so many times.
And it just cuts me when I look at it. When the Lord told him,
he said, you're going to deny me three times. And that third
time, and that caught crew. And the scripture says, and the
Lord just looked at him. The thing that Peter feared the
most, disrespecting God. I'll never, I'll never. They will. I'll never. And the Lord just looked at him.
And it broke his heart. David, a man after God's own
heart, a man after God's own heart, the sweet psalmist of
Israel, took another man's wife, had her husband killed. He was
an adulterer. He was a murderer. He took Bathsheba, and God, in
time, sent a prophet to him. Told him a little story. Oh,
and when he thought that the story didn't relate to him, oh,
he was all big and bold, and, you know, you show me who that
guy is that did that. Took that little lamb, I'll take
care of him. And Nathan told him, you're the
man. The thing that he feared the most had come upon him. This is what Job said in Job
chapter 3. After this, opened Job his mouth
and cursed his day. Oh, what a disappointment I've
been to myself, to the Lord, to God's people. He cursed the
day he was born. That's what he did. Not God.
He didn't curse God. Satan told him he would. No,
no, no, no, no. He didn't curse God. He cursed
the day that he was born. He cursed what he was by nature.
I'm worthy of dying. That's what he said. And then
chapter four. I'll just read this and make
a couple of comments on it. Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered
and said, If we are saved to commune with thee, wilt thou
be grieved? But who can withhold himself
from speaking? Behold, thou hast instructed
many and hast strengthened the weak hands. Now let me tell you
before I read the rest of these verses, let me tell you what
he's going to say so you can understand what's happening right
here. Job has been brought down. Job knows what he is by nature. He's seen himself. Every believer
sees himself. If you told or asked a believer,
tell me concerning yourself, do you see yourself as undeniably
faithful? No believer is going to say yes.
No believer is going to say yes. I can tell you for a fact. Neither
that is in myself, there dwelleth no good thing." Now, I'm just
honest with you. And I know you that know I'm
going to say the same thing. Job was made to say the same
thing about himself. I could enter in somewhat. I
tried to. I can enter into this. I mean,
I get it. I know what's being said, and
I get it. When Job said, if I would have died in childbirth,
and been with God and didn't have to go through this life
seeing what I am and seeing what a disappointment I am to myself. The things that I say, the things
that I think, the things that I do. Oh, wretched man that I
am. Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? Job said, been better if I'd
never been born. I'd have been with the Lord. And so Job's admitted, he's laid
his heart bare. Well, here comes Eliphaz the
Temanite. And here what he's going to do
is he's going to self-righteously reprove Job. This is, he's going to just,
what he's going to do is he's going to tell Job, Job, I'll tell you what, buddy,
I hate to have to be the bearer of bad news, but I agree with
you. Yeah, you are right. This is
basically what he's going to be saying. I'm telling you, Job,
this is what I've noticed. From my observation of you, Job,
this is what I've seen of you. Now, buddy, you're talking about
the height of self-righteousness. Now, you listen to this. Man,
Eliphaz. Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered
and he said, if we are saved to commune with thee, wilt thou
be grieved? Or who can withhold himself from
speaking? What he said is this, do you
mind if I just be honest with you? I mean, you mind if I bare
my heart to you and just tell you what I've observed, Job? Thou hast instructed many, and
Thou hast strengthened the weak hands. Thy words have upholden
him that was falling, and Thou hast strengthened the feeble
knees." Oh, Job, you've done a lot of wonderful things. I
mean, you've been an encouragement to people, and you've been, I
mean, you've just, you've been a real go-to man. But now it's come upon thee,
and thou faintest. It toucheth thee, and thou art
troubled. Is not this thy fear, thy confidence? Is this not, Job, what you feared
the most? That you would be proven to be
hypocritical? Are you not hypocritical, Job?
I mean, you that strengthened the other, the knees of people
that were weakened and fell down, picked up people and been a support
tool. Now, when it comes to you and
this happens to you, this is the way you act. Number seven. Remember, I pray
thee, whoever perished being innocent, or where were the righteous
cut off? What he was saying. Job, if you were righteous, if you would have
been faithful, if you'd have been right with God, you wouldn't
have been going through this. Now let me tell you something.
You remember something right here. Who was the author of Job's
troubles? The Lord. Have you considered
my servant Job? Who caused Job to suffer? Who took Job's children? Who
took Job's land? Who took Job's health? The Lord. Was he right into it? Yes. And
here's Eliphaz, and he's telling Job, he said, I'm going to tell
you something. Job, there's some skeletons in
the closet, brother. I mean, can I speak freely, Job,
to you? Remember, I pray thee, whoever
perished being innocent, where were the righteous cut off? Even
as I have seen, they that plow iniquity and sow wickedness reap
the same. Obviously, Job, you're getting
what you deserve. Now, when he's saying that, what
he's saying concerning himself, Eliphaz, you don't see these
things happening to me, do you? Can you imagine calling Job into
question? Because God had chosen that man
to be an object of God's honor and glory and sustaining grace.
And here comes a self-righteous know-it-all Pharisee coming and
now he's, I'll tell you why you're going through what you're going
through. There's something going on. You got something going on. Even, verse 8, even I've seen
they that plow iniquity sow wickedness. They reap the same. But the blast
of God, they perish. By the blast of God, they perish.
By the breath of his nostrils, they're consumed. The roaring
of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of
the young lions are broken. The old lion perisheth for lack
of prey, and the stout lion's whelps are scattered. Now, a
thing. was secretly brought to me, and
mine ear received a little thereof." And Eliphaz is saying, I was
taught something. You know, it's amazing to me,
as I was reading this, we're getting ready to read some things
that you're very familiar with. And what he's doing is, he's
going to voice something, but you remember who moved him to
voice these things. The Spirit of God. the Spirit
of God. Who's the author of these scriptures?
This is by divine inspiration. So here Eliphaz is going to be
saying something, and he's saying it in a very sarcastic and self-righteous
nature. The thing that you feared has
come upon you. I'm telling you, I'm telling you, nobody sows
iniquity and doesn't reap the same, Job. You're going through
some things that obviously you've deserved. But he said, there's
some things that I was taught. And the things that he's being
taught are truth. We've preached out of these passages
right here. You're going to recognize them.
But he said, something was secretly brought to me. Mine eye received
a little of it in thoughts from visions in the night when deep
sleep falleth upon men. Fear came upon me. Trembling
made all my bones to shake. Then a spirit passed before my
face. The hair of my flesh stood up.
It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof. An
image was before mine eyes, and there was silence, and I heard
a voice saying, shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than
his maker? Behold, he puts no trust in his
servants, his angels, and charges with folly. And here was the
amazing thing about it. Eliphaz was saying these things
to Job, and based upon what Scripture is revealing, he was saying them
to Job to reprimand Job. But the Spirit of God took that
which was true, and so, for the benefit of God's people, And
we profit from this. Let me ask you, you that believe,
do you not profit from reading this? In verse 17, shall mortal
man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than
his maker? Behold, he puts no trust in his
servants. In his angels, he charged with
folly. Eliphaz is saying these things to reprimand Job and the
Spirit of God is taking those very same things that Eliphaz
is saying and teaching us as people. Romans 8 28. And we know that
all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them who are the called according to his purpose. Eliphaz meant
it for evil. God meant it for good. I read these words today and
I thought, Lord, let me just shut my mouth and just hear what
you have to say. I'm so foolish when I speak. So self-righteous. Verse 19, how much less in them
that dwell in houses of clay whose foundation is in the dust
which are crushed before the moth. They are destroyed from
morning to evening. They perish forever without any
regarding it. Does not their excellency which
is in them go away? And they die even without wisdom. Here was this man, Eliphaz. He
thought he was going to be a help to Job. Can I talk to you, Job,
a little bit and not hurt your feelings? Whoever perished being
innocent. Whoever did that, Job. But that
blessed truth, God teaches us with it. Isn't it amazing? Have
you ever had somebody try to take a scripture and rest twist
the scriptures to try to make it say something that they wanted
to say to prove their point. You know, John 3, 16. John 3,
16. For God so loved the world. They'll
say, yeah, God loves everybody. He didn't say that. Did that
make John 3, 16 not true? No. God so loved the order of
man. That's the world, the order of
man. that he gave his only begotten. God would not let the order of
man perish, but man by nature will rest. He'll twist the scripture. This is what Eliphaz was doing.
He was trying to reprimand Job. And the Spirit of God moved on
Eliphaz, a man that was trying to reprimand Job and cause the
words that were coming out of his mouth to teach Job and us
the truth. And we rest in it. And now this
This chapter that we've just looked at, just on the outside,
this controversy between Job and his friends, it's actually
going to continue through the remainder of this whole book.
God's going to settle the issue. If the Lord allows us to go through
this, it's going to come to this point. A passage of scripture
that came to my mind whenever it came to the end. And here was Eliphaz and his
other two friends. Oh, they wore Job out. They wore him out. And it came
to the end. You know what God told those
three? If Job has a picture of Christ,
if he doesn't pray for you, I'm going to kill you. If Job doesn't
intercede for you, these men are suffering as a picture of
the sufferings of our Lord and Savior. And if he doesn't intercede
for me, I have no hope. Satan uses whatever means is
possible to attempt to prove God unable to save and to keep
and to encourage his people. But in spite of Job's attempt,
God's going to save his own. He's going to save them. They're
going to go through sufferings. They're going to hear reprimands. They're going to hear him. keep
them in spite of. Eliphaz, he started this portion,
this conversation by saying, I don't want to be a discouragement
to you, Joe, but, you know, but, you know, others have, you had,
you know, held up weak hands and you've helped others and
now this has come to you. You've proven yourself to be
nothing more than hypocritical. While you were trying to help
everybody else, now it's come to you and look what you got
to. Obviously Eliphaz was saying that there's got to be some problems
somewhere. God's going to bring them out.
He'll show them to you. But these words of Eliphaz were
not spoken to comfort Job, to soften, even soften his affliction,
but rather they were brought to prove Job to be nothing more
than a hypocrite before God. The Lord in his absolute mercy
and grace moved on some men. I want you to turn with me as
I close. Matthew chapter 27. Listen how God takes the reprimands
of men and turns it for his glory. Matthew 27 verse 39. Matthew
27 verse 39. They that passed by reviled him,
wagging their heads, and saying, thou that destroyest the temple
and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the
Son of God, come down from the cross. He was there to redeem
his people. He was there doing God's will,
God's purpose, God's order. If you be the son of God, then
come down and prove it. Prove it to me. Prove it to us.
Likewise, also, the chief priest mocking him, scribes and elders
said, he saved others. Himself, he cannot save. They said that for evil. Yeah. Oh, yeah. You claim to be the
son of God. OK. You could save others, well you
can't even save yourself. They mocked him just like Eliphaz
and those other men mocked Job. And here the Lord was saving
the lives of his people. If he'd be king of Israel, let
him now come down from the cross and we will believe. No you won't.
No you wouldn't. If he'd have come down from the
cross, they wouldn't have believed. They wouldn't have believed unless
God gave them a heart to believe. He trusted in God, 43. Let him
deliver him now, if he will deliver him. For he said, I am the son
of God. Job's friends, according to scripture,
they reprimanded him. Oh, you've lifted up others.
You've done this. Look. And now the thing that
you fear the most has come upon you, Job. And here was Job as
a picture. of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'll
go back where I started and then I'll end. Here's Job as a picture
of Christ suffering. Suffering under the direct hand
of Almighty God. Everything that he was going
through, God sent it. And his friends told him, he
said, evidently you've done something that's displeased God. You've
done something to bring this on yourself. Oh, how we wish
that you were more like us. And here was Job, an object of
God's mercy, in picture and type, suffering. What did Job in himself
do, humanly speaking, do? for all the things that came
upon him. The scripture doesn't say anything
about him disobeying God. It just, as a picture of Christ,
God sent him. His kids died. His land was gone. Health was gone. He suffered
as a picture of Christ, who bore all the guilt, all the debt of
his people. And these words of Eliphaz, without
a doubt, they were They were true. He used words that were
true. But even in the using of words
that were true, he was still an object, a vessel
of Satan's speaking mouth. Oh, let us, by God's grace, call
upon the Lord Jesus Christ, we who are suffering. Owning ourselves
to be what we know we are by nature. That's what Joe was made
to see. He saw himself for what he was.
He listened to, you know, whoever perish being innocent. The Lord Jesus Christ on our
behalf. He knew no sin. He was made sin. He never sent. Whoever perished. being innocent, in himself holy,
righteous, just. But according to the everlasting
covenant of God's grace, he was made sin that we might be made
the righteousness of God in him. I pray that the Lord teach us
something of the obedient sufferings of our Lord, ordered by God,
for God's glory, God's honor, and the eternal good of God's
people.