I trust that the Lord will bless
us as we look at His word this morning. The title of my message
is, A Ransom for Many. The request by James and John
to sit on the right hand and the left hand of Christ in His
glory displeased the other disciples. They were angry that James and
John had asked such a thing of Christ. And Christ's response
to the two and His reply to the ten is found in Mark chapter
10 and verse 45, and it was this, For even the Son of Man, came
not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life
a ransom for many. The King of Kings and Lord of
Lords, who alone is worthy of our worship, laid aside his glory
and became a servant to the Father and to those the Father gave
him in elect and love. The ministry he performed required
not only his perfect obedience under the law, but his dying. because the wages of sin is dead.
And the ransom God requires from his elect was death, either by
them or by a suitable substitute. Well, in like fashion, his death
of necessity required the salvation of all for whom he died, for
righteousness demands life. Well, since no sinner can satisfy
a holy God for his own sins or the sins of another, such a ransomer,
a redeemer, and such a ransom was payable only by the Lord
Jesus Christ. His commandment to those he ransomed
is echoed by Paul the Apostle in Romans chapter 1. Paul said
this, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,
that you don't give your life a ransom for many,
but that you present your body a living sacrifice, holy and
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Christ
died serving. Sinners are saved to serve. And what is that service? Jesus
said, I was hungry and you fed me. I was naked and you clothed
me. I was in prison and you visited
me. We can serve, but only one can
save. Listen to God through the Psalm
49 verses seven and eight. No man can by any means redeem
a brother. nor give to God a ransom for
him, for the redemption of their soul is precious and it ceases
forever. What he's saying here is that
money cannot buy the ransom God requires. Good works will not
satisfy that ransom price. It says here that it is precious.
It is precious in God's sight because the precious blood of
his dear son secured that ransom and paid for it. And he says
here it ceases forever. How so? Because it was paid in
full by the Lord Jesus Christ. It's paid by Him, and who alone
can meet its demands? Hebrews chapter 9 and verse 26
says this, He appeared once in the end of the age to put away
sin. How? By the sacrifice of Himself. We can't meet or minister the
ransom, but we can tell others that the ransom has been forever
set and fully satisfied in the Lord Jesus Christ. What is a
ransom? Well, Webster defines a ransom
as that just compensation required and paid for the release of one
held captive. Just to require a ransom is not
good enough. It has to be paid before it's
of any use to the sinner. Well, the reality of a ransom
is as old as God himself. Christ has always been God's
ransom for his people. and is pictured in shadows throughout
the Old Testament and in ancient Israel. Under the Mosaic economy,
we see the picture of a ransom, and it's pictured in shadows
and types throughout the Old Testament scripture. For instance,
a person born in poverty or becomes destitute of his own doing could
sell himself or ransom himself to a person of greater wealth
and at a later time in the year of kin could buy him back or
he could be released in the year of jubilee. Such a kinsman was
Ruth to Boaz. Boaz was a type of Christ who
is the antitype and he bought Ruth back. Paul the apostle said of Onesimus
to Philemon If he hath wronged thee, or o'erth thee ought, put
that to my account, I will pay it." Paul was a type of Christ
who is the anti-type. Ransoms are not unique to biblical
times alone. They are even common today. The
nation Israel, as I speak, is considering trading 1,000 Palestinian
prisoners for one Israeli soldier. Ransoms are paid for the release
of political prisoners and persons of financial means. We have,
even today, pirates off the coast of Somalia who capture and hold
the crews and the ship at ransom. So ransoms are not an uncommon
thing today. But there is a ransom that all
sinners need, and none can pay. That price set and owed is beyond
the capability or the possibility of sinful humanity to pay. It
is the ransom of God, found in Job chapter 33 and verse 24,
and we'll look at that. God says, I found a ransom. Praise
the Lord. He found the ransom. It is a
ransom of which all by nature are ignorant. It is a ransom
all by nature think they're paying or have paid is of such value
that God's glory and the eternal salvation of his elect depend
totally upon it. In the experience of this man,
Job, that we'll look at this morning and his three friends,
we see God's testimony concerning the importance of a ransom for
sinners. Let me just give you a little
background here. After Job lost his possessions and health, he
had three friends who came to visit him. And the purpose of
their visit was to comfort Job in his afflictions and offer
their advice as to the cause and the remedy for his suffering.
And to a man, they accused Job of unconfessed sin in his life. And Job labeled them in Job chapter
16, verse 2, miserable comforters. because they had no satisfactory
answer to his question. Why must the just suffer? Such
miserable comforters are described in Isaiah chapter 8 in verse
20 as those who come preaching what the law doesn't say. He
says in Isaiah 8 chapter 8 in verse 20 to the law and the testimony. If they speak not according to
this word, it is because there is no light in them. And Job's
friends couldn't offer him any scriptural comfort as to why
he suffered. It's because there was no light
in them. Any sinner being ignorant of how God could punish the only
perfect man who ever lived and remained just is surely ignorant
of how God can be just when he justifies the ungodly. To be
in this darkness is to be lost because this question and the
correct answer to it is at the heart of the gospel. Job's friends
to a man accused him of being unrighteous. Their charge was
that Job had some unconfessed sin in his life, keeping God
from blessing him, and that his confession and repentance would
bring deliverance and blessing from God. They were ignorant
of this fact, that God does not charge his elect with their sins. Our sins were charged to Christ,
who put them away by satisfaction. They could not see how God could
not punish Job because of his sins. They could not see that
God punished Job's sin in Christ. They could not see that God would
be unjust to punish sin twice, Job and then his substitute,
the Lord Jesus Christ. It is true that whom the Lord
loveth, he chasteneth, and he scourgeth every son whom he receiveth,
but he does not punish his own for their sins. They were punished
in Christ, who paid the ransom in full. They were miserable
comforters because they had no answer to Job's suffering. They
could not see that even in the state Job found himself physically,
he was far better off spiritually than they. They could not see
that Job's state before God did not change his standing with
God. So in chapter one of Job, we see the loss of all his possessions,
even his children. In one day, he lost everything
he had but his life and his wife. and she encouraged him to curse
God and die. In chapter two, Satan takes Job's
health away and he's afflicted with sore from the sole of his
feet to the top of his head. In one day, Job goes from the
picture of health to the point of death. At this point in Job's
misery, we meet his friends. And I want us to look at this
one concept from his, these three fans. The testimony of these
three reflect and represent those false doctrines held by all in
false religion today, as it has always been. Their opinions were
of no comfort or benefit to Job in his afflictions, and such
is the case with those today who don't know the gospel. Every
answer they have is not the answer we need or seek. Ignorant of
the truth that sets men free, They have necessity to judge
everything by character and conduct. They have no other standard in
which to judge saved and lost. Job's suffering in the minds
of his friends had to be for some transgression in his life. They knew not that if God judged
any sinner based on his character and conduct in any way, to any
degree, none would be saved. To most religionists, a ransom
is nothing more than a token offer to appease their God. It
is not a just compensation for sin. That compensation by God
declares His eternal death, either in a suitable substitute or by
the sinner himself. So let's look for a moment at
these three friends. Turn with me, if you would, to
Job chapter four in verse one. The first friend of Job is Eliphas,
the Temanite. Job chapter 4 and verse 1. Then
Eliphas, the Temanite, answered and said, If we are saved to
commune with thee, will thou be grieved? But who can withhold
himself from speaking? Behold, thou hast instructed
many. Thou hast strengthened their
weak hands. Thy words have upholded him that was falling, and thou
hast strengthened the feeble knee. What they're saying is,
Job, you're a man of great stature in your community. You've helped
a lot of people. You've strengthened their hand.
You've held them up and strengthened their feeble knees. But now what
you've done has come upon you. And is that the reward that you
get for being the outstanding citizen that you're talking about?
And then look at verse 7. Remember, I pray thee, whoever
perished being ignorant, or where were the righteousness cut off?
Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity and sow wickedness
shall reap the same. By the blast of God they shall
perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed."
Timan was in the southern part of Idi Amin and was a cultural
center noted for its worship and wisdom and philosophy. Eliaphas
was a Gnostic. He was a man who boasted in his
wisdom and understanding of things. He was a Gnostic who gloried
in his wisdom, and he represented the Orthodox wisdom of that day. And the charge against Job is
recorded for us. He said, remember, I pray thee,
pray thee, whoever perished being innocent. Job, if you were innocent,
you wouldn't perish. Or were the righteous ever cut
off? If you were righteous, Job, God wouldn't have cut you off.
The life is based his theology and his authority to judge on
his wisdom and philosophy and a single supernatural experience
that he had. Look at Job 4 in verse 12. He tells about an experience
he had. Now a thing was secretly brought to me and mine ear received
a little thereof. in thoughts from the visions
of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men. For it came upon
me and me and trembling, which made all my bones shake. Then
a spirit passed before my face. The hair on my flesh stood up.
It stood still, but I could not discern and form thereof. An
image were before mine eyes. There was silence. And I heard
a voice saying, shall mortal man be more than God? Shall a
man be more pure than his maker? So Life is used to his experience
and this vision that he had to claim his ability or his wisdom
to counsel those of less experience or intellect than he himself
was. And Paul the Apostle said of
the same kind of experience that he had in 2 Corinthians chapter
12, when he was called up into the third heaven, he said, I
heard things unspeakable, which it was not lawful for me to utter.
It seems that a life is gloried in his vision, and Paul was humbled
by his. And such is the error of those
who insist on some supernatural experience to authenticate their
doctrine. And we have denominations today that say that you have
to have that second blessing to complete the Christian experience
and make us worthy and more holy to worship God. Life is represented
those in false religion who make wisdom and experience their God
and the Apostle Paul wrote in 1st Corinthians 8 and 1 this
knowledge puffs up Therefore he said in 2nd Corinthians 1st
Corinthians 2 I determine not to know anything among you Save
Jesus Christ and him crucified and I know this personally if
this is required Some some supernatural experience that I'm still in
my sin because I've not had one But some people make that part
of their doctrine. Alright, let's look at the second
man in chapter 8 and verse 1. The second friend of Job was
Bildad, the Shuhite. And in chapter 8 and verse 2
he says, How long wilt thou speak these things? And how long shall
the words of thy mouth be like a strong wind? Does God pervert
judgment? Here he is accusing Job of sin again. If the children
have sinned against him, and he has cast them away for their
transgressions, if thou wouldst seek after him three times and
make thy supplication to the Almighty, if thou wert pure in
heart, Job, you're not pure in heart, but if you were, surely
now he would wake to thee and make the habitation of thy righteousness
prosperous. So this second man, the second
friend, he accused Job of sin in his life also, And he based
his conclusions on heritage and traditions. Look at chapter 8
and verse 8. He says, For I inquire, for inquire,
pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the search
of their fathers. In other words, listen to what
the father said. For we are but of yesterday,
and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow.
Shall they not teach thee, and tell thee, and know the words
out of their own heart? Job's friend, Bildad, reasoned
that if the religion of our fathers was good, it was good enough
for him too. But Paul said in Acts chapter
23, I was taught after the traditions of my father. In Acts 22, he
says, I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city
of Cilicia. yet brought up in this city at
the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner
of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God as you
are this day. But after Paul's conversion,
this was his philosophy. In Colossians 2 and verse 8,
Beware, lest any man spoil you through philosophy in vain deceit,
after the traditions of men, after the rudiments of the world,
and not after Christ. So Bildad represents those who
make heritage and tradition their God. That old-time religion was
good enough for them, but it's not good enough for us who know
the gospel. Then turn over to chapter 11
and look at the last one, the third for any so far. He answered Job in chapter 11 beginning,
look at verse 11 of Job chapter 11. For he knoweth vain men, he seeth
wickedness also. Will he not then consider it?
This is Bill Zophar speaking to Job. God knows vain men, Job. He knows you're a vain man. He
calls Job vain. In verse 13 he accuses Job of
having an unprepared heart. If thou prepare thine heart and
stretch out thine hand toward him. He's accused Job of holding
iniquity in his hand. Then in verse 15 he lists some
things that Job should do. that God would restore it. Listen
to what he says here for that for then shall lift up thy face
without spot. Yeah, that shall be steadfast
and shall not fear because I has forgot that misery and remembered
it as water of the past. So he said, if you prepare your
heart and lift up your hands and your heart to God that that
he'll he'll forgive you and restore you. So far was a self righteous
legalist who advocated self-effort and human merit. In other words,
God's done his part. Now it's up to you to do your
part. Again, character and conduct is brought to play here, but
we know that it counts for nothing because all our righteousness,
that's our best efforts even after justification, is nothing
but filthy rags in God's sight. So we have these three men, the
Gnostic who promotes super knowledge and experience, the traditionalist
who promotes heritage and family, and the legalist who promotes
good works and holy living as examples of all that which is
wrong in false religion today as it was in Job's day. Neither
of these three friends knew of or held valuable the ransom that
God had set and Christ had paid. So let's look at this ransom
now. If you turn to Job chapter 32. Job chapter 32. in verse 1. So these three men
ceased to answer Job because he was righteous in his own eyes.
They accused him of being righteous in his own eyes. Then was kindled
the wrath of Elihu, the son of Berechiel, the Buzite, of the
kindred of Ram, against Job, for his wrath was his wrath kindled
because he justified himself rather than God. Also against
his three friends was his wrath kindled because they found no
answer, and yet they condemned Job. The subject of the ransom
is brought to Job and his accusers by this man, Elihu. He as a bystander
had listened to the arguments of these three friends to Job.
And he said in verse one that these three men ceased to answer
Job because he was righteous in his own eyes. They argued
that his suffering was a result of his unrighteousness. Job's
answer to this charge was that God himself on three different
occasions had said of Job that he was a righteous man. He was
pure, upright, and without sin in God's sight. And Elihu confronted
them because they found no answer, and yet they condemned Job. So
the question unanswered was how can the righteous suffer under
the justice of God? They claimed that if Job were
righteous, God would not punish him. Well, look at verse two. In verse two, Elihu confronts
Job because he justified himself rather than God. And Elihu charged
Job with emphasizing his own suffering as unfair punishment
from God to a justified sinner. His charge against God was injustice
because of the affliction that he was suffering. He says in
verse two, then was kindled the wrath of Elihu, the son of Baraki
of the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram against Job for he was
his wrath kindled because he justified himself rather than
God. Well, look at Job chapter 33
in verse 9 now. Remember this, that God had said
of Job that he was perfect and upright and one that feared God
and eschewed evil. I believe that personally that
this meant Job was trusting in Christ for all of his righteousness.
For that is the only basis upon which a holy God can pronounce
a sinner perfect and upright. That's the only basis upon which
Job could say of himself in chapter 33 in verse 9, I am clean without
transgression. I am innocent. Neither is there
iniquity in me. He says, first of all, I'm unclean.
But God says of all of us in Isaiah chapter six, that we are
all as an unclean thing. Job was cleaned the only way
a sinner can be cleaned. He was washed in the blood of
the lamb. First Corinthians chapter six and verse 11 says, you're
washed. He says, I'm no transgressor.
But God said of Christ, Christ was numbered with the transgressors.
And Job said of Christ, he was wounded for my transgressions.
And he says, I am bored of a nickel. But Job 15 and 16 said, man drinketh
iniquity like water. But Isaiah said, he was bruised
for our iniquity. So Job is not claiming here sinless
perfection. He confessed his sin several
times in chapter seven and chapter nine. But he's saying here, he's
acknowledging that his sins were imputed to Christ who put away
his sin by the blood of his cross and the defilement and the condemnation
of those sins there. He says, I'm clean because I've
been washed in the blood of the Lamb. I am not a transgressor
because he was wounded for my transgression. I am innocent
because he was bruised for my iniquity. So why then, Job asks,
if I'm looking to Christ for all my salvation, why am I, in
verse 10, why does he find occasions against me? Look at Job 19. Job 19 in verse 25. Job says, I'm looking to Christ
for all my salvation. How do we know that? In verse
25 he says, I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand
at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms
destroy this body, yet in my flesh I shall see God. He's asking
the question, why if I'm looking to Christ for all my salvation,
Why in verse 10 of chapter 33 does he find occasion against
me? Why does he count me for his
enemy? He says he finds occasion against me. That word is breach
of duty. Why does God find breaches of
duty against me? Well, the answer is simple. Because
at any time God can find sin in the center. job at any time.
God can look at you. Although you're justified based
on the righteousness of Christ, you're still the center and seeing
is still in you. My very best effort to obey God
is full of sin. When I've done the very best
I can do, I'm still the center in need of Christ. And why does
he count me for the enemy? Because I am the enemy of God
in my mind. by wicked works. Any thought,
any motive, any word, any deed that results in legal self righteous
action is enmity with God. Job was saying only the enemies
of God deserve what I'm suffering. But God is saying, Job, you deserve,
you deserve as much or more. And we all do. We all deserve
much more. Job would say a loving father
would not bring such misery upon one of his Children, but he does.
whom the Lord loveth, he chastens. Look what he says in verse 11. He puts my feet in the stocks.
He marketh all my paths. How can God fault me when he
framed me, Job says. He set me in my place and he
governs every step I take and every way I go. The path in which
I walk, is it not God that set me in that path? In my zeal to
do the will of God, does not his stocks prevent me?" And thank
God he does, Job. Else there would be no limit
that we would go to our own demise. If God didn't edge us in, put
stocks on our feet to keep us from going the way of the wicked,
that's the way we would all go by nature. Thank God he does. Just as the justified sinner
cannot boast in his righteousness when God justifies him in Christ
alone, the rebellious sinner cannot blame God when he suffers. It's not God's fault. The answer
is this, Job, simply. Although you stand holy, unblameable,
and unreprovable in his sight, your state is still that of a
sinner. Your standing is perfect, but
your state is far from perfect. You are not in sin, In this sense, you don't justify
yourself based on your words. This is the sin that you cannot
commit as a justified sinner that John wrote in 1 John 3,
9. Whosoever is born of God committeth not this sin. You don't justify
yourself before God. But we do. We do sin daily and
God can find sin in any of us at any time. And that sin is
enmity with God. And in Job, Elihu says, Job in
chapter 33 in verse 12, you are not just in this. You're not
just in this accusation against God. We can't blame God when
we would walk in errant paths. God tempts no man. We are tempted
when we are drawn away of our own lust and enticed, James 1
14. The question is, would you rather have freedom to go your
way of choosing your own way? and avoid God's chastening or
submit to his marked way and find eternal life. Well, we know
by nature we choose the broad way, but he keeps his elect in
the paths of righteousness for his namesake. He puts us in the
way of salvation. This includes for some the way
of extreme trials and suffering. To believe otherwise is to accuse
God of injustice and look at what Elihu says in 33 verses 12 and 13. He says, I
will answer thee that God is greater than man. Why dost thou
strive against him? For he giveth no account of any
of his matters. In other words, God doesn't have
to explain anything he does or why he does it. Jesus said this
in Luke chapter 17 verse 10. Even so, when we've done all
these things, we are unprofitable servants. We've only done that
which was our duty to do. In other words, when we've obeyed
God perfectly, which no man has, we are owed nothing from God,
and we've only done that which was our duty. Everything the Lord does in his
elect, including suffering, is for his glory and for our eternal
good. The trials we endure as Job are
designed by God to turn us to Christ. He is the ransom of the
Lord. It seems that God is saying to
Job this. Stop looking at yourself. Stop
pitying yourself and look to Christ. You ask the question,
how could I suffer? How could I, a righteous man
in the sight of God, suffer? Here's the question. How could
him who knew no sin be made sin and suffer the awful suffering
that our Lord and Savior went through? What is your suffering
compared to his? Look at what he suffered to ransom
you, too. and from that which he ransomed
you. And he shows Job this in these following verses, beginning
in verse 14 here of Job chapter 33. Let's look at these for just
a few moments. In verse 14, he says, For God
speaketh once, yea, twice, yet man perceiveth it not. God has
spoken two times. He's spoken twice. He spoke in
times past to the prophets, and he did this through visions,
through dreams, even a burning bush, But he has in these last
days spoken through his son, Jesus Christ, Hebrew born. So
God has spoken once in the old covenant, and he's spoken the
second time in the new covenant. But he says men will not receive
what he's saying. Why? Because what he says is
spiritually discerned, and men by nature cannot receive it.
But look at verse 16. Then he opens the ears of men
and sealeth their instruction. Men won't hear until God opens
their ears. Men have to be taught by God.
They shall all be taught of God as God's testimony. And he says
he seals their instructions. That word instruction is discipline
in the Hebrew scripture. He sets his seal upon their discipline. In other words, as he set the
seal upon Job's discipline by Satan, so God sets his seal upon
ours. God approves our chastening. If we're being chastened today,
God approves it, as he did Job's chastening by the devil. For
what reason? Look at verse 17. That he may
withdraw man from his purpose and hide pride from him. That he might turn aside man
from his own purpose. What is man's purpose? It's to
justify himself. and in so doing dishonor God
in every attribute of his redemptive character. Man by nature would
justify himself, but God will turn his elect to look to Christ
for all of salvation. Why does he do this? To humble
man and to hide his pride. Pride goeth before destruction
and the haughty spirit before the fall. Why does God do this? Look at verse 18, to keep back
his soul from the pit and his life from perishing by the sword.
This would certainly be the end of even the elect of God if he
didn't keep us back, if he doesn't hold us in his hand. The sword
spoken of here is the word, the word of God. It's too edgy. It
either justifies or condemns. Right now, it pronounces you
either just, blessed, or cursed. It is a saver of life under life
to some, and a saver of death under death to others. The word
distinguishes between those two. We're either one or the other.
And it's the Word that tells us where we stand. Verse 19 says,
He is chastened also with pain upon His bed and the multitude
of His bones with strong pride, with strong pain. Whom the Lord loveth, He chastens
and discourages every son. You know, it's not easy to let
go of sinful notions and proud thoughts of ourselves or those
things that belong to God. And he chastens us to do that.
Why? In verse 20, so that his life abhors bread and his soul,
dainty meat. Why does God chasten us? So that
we hate the bread of this world and long for the bread of life,
who is Christ. That word, dainty meat, is that
which is delicate, the most desired of meats. God chastens us to
end our desire to hold on to those things that are most desirable
to us, those good works that we think would recommend us to
God. And he disciplines us to take that away from us. We are
made to abhor such a sin and dishonor unto God. Look at verse
20, 21. His flesh is consumed away that
he cannot be seen and his bones that they are seen to stick out. Satan is such a subtle adversary
that we don't know what's going on most of the time. We cannot
see things happening. Though there are many warnings
to show us our sickness, we don't see them. That's just like the
bones of the skin on Job's body. He couldn't recognize that as
a sickness of the sin. And we go on our merry way in
that until God arrests us. Look at verse 22. His soul draweth
near unto the grave and his life to the destroyers. He talks about
destroyers being plural. There are three there. What are
those destroyers? Self-righteousness, self-love,
and religious pride. And that's what God has to take
away from us. So this is the course and the consequence of
every sinner by nature. This is the way you and I would
be if God left us to ourselves. This is the way Job would have
remained if God had left him to himself. But these verses
fitly describe us all by nature. And God would be just in our
demise if he left us to go this way. But there's hope friend. There is a ransom. Look at look
at chapter 33 in verse 23. If there be a messenger with
him, an interpreter, one among a thousand to show unto man his
uprightness, Then he is gracious unto him, and said, Deliver him
from going down to the pit. I have found a ransom. There
is a messenger with him, he says in verse 32. If there is a messenger
among men, one in a thousand, well, thank God there is. Micah
chapter five in verse two says, But thou, Bethlehem, Ephratah,
though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of
thee shall he come forth unto me, that is, to be ruler of Israel,
who is going forth has been from of old, from everlasting. And Malachi chapter 3 and verse
1 declares this messenger to be the Lord Jesus Christ himself. If there be a messenger with
him, he to show unto man his righteousness
or uprightness. Whose uprightness? Not man's,
but God's uprightness. And what is that uprightness?
How he can be just and justify the ungodly. And that messenger
is Jesus Christ. In verse 24, he says, he is gracious
unto him. Well, if God is gracious unto
you, he has delivered you from the pit. He has showed you how
his righteousness, how a just God can justify the ungodly and
remain just. How's this again? I have found
a ransom. I found a just compensation for
a just condemnation. I have found one who has met
the price that I set and paid it in full. I found literally,
this scripture reads, I found a propitiatory shelter in the
Hebrew language. This one is Jesus. He shall save
his people from their sin. Listen to what Isaiah says in
53 and verse 7. He was led as a sheep to the
slaughter and he opened not his mouth. Why open not his mouth? Because it is a sheep's lot in
life to be sheared. Christ opened not his mouth because
it was his lot in life. to give his life a ransom for
many. He was doing that, which the
Father called him to do. And Job, he did it without complaining. If he hadn't found a ransom,
you would eagerly plunge headlong into the pit. But God says, I
found a ransom. I've redeemed you and a multitude
which no man can number. Look at verses 25 through 30
of chapter 33. This is what takes place when
God saves a sinner. His flesh shall be fresher than
the child's. He shall return to the days of his youth. And
we know this happened in Job's life. His health was restored. Well, our spiritual health is
restored to those who are trusting Christ. He shall pray unto God,
and he will be favorable unto him. And he shall see his face
with joy, for he will render unto man not man's righteousness,
but his righteousness, God's righteousness. He looketh upon
man. And if any say, I have sinned
and perverted that which was right, and it profiteth me not,
he will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life
shall see the light. Lo and all these things worketh
God of time with men. Turn over to Job chapter 42 verses 1 through 6. Let's read
those. How did Job respond to God's
challenge to him and his instruction to him. Chapter 42 in verse one,
then Job answered the Lord and said, I know that I can't do
everything and that no thought no thought can be withholding
from the who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge. Therefore
have I heard uttered that I understood not things too wonderful for
me, which I knew not. Here I beseech thee and I will
speak. I will demand of thee and declared thou unto me. I have heard of thee by the hearing
of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore, I abhor
myself and repent in dust and ashes." Job used his afflictions
as an occasion to unjustly accuse God. God turned his afflictions
into an exercise in repentance. That repentance was motivated
by a fresh view of the great cost incurred by Christ for Job's
salvation. What did Job see? Hebrews chapter
5 and verse 8, Though he were a son, yet learned he obedience
by the things which he suffered. And being made perfect, he became
the author of salvation unto all them that obey him. Hebrews
chapter 12 and verse 11 says this, Now, no chastening for
the presence does not seem to be joyous, but grievous. Nevertheless,
afterward it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness in those
who are exercised by it. When we see what he suffered
for us, our request is not Lord, let me sit at your right hand
or your left hand, but Lord, just give me a place at your
feet. Let me just bow at your feet. Joe needed, as do we, to
look again at that ransom that was founded by the Lord. He said,
I found a ransom. It wasn't lost. He didn't have
to go looking for it. He founded it. He desired it,
he designed it, and he delights in it. He looked again at that
ransom founded by the father, funded by the son. How? With
his own precious blood, he bought us. And it's fitted for the many.
How many? As many as were ordained unto
eternal life, believe. God said, I found in Christ a
ransom. Are you in Christ as he ransomed
you? I hope so.