The book of Job, one of the oldest
books in the Bible, opens with these words, There
was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job. And that
man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God and eschewed
evil. As we read on in this book, we
see a man upright in the eyes of others,
a God-fearing man, one that prayed every day on behalf of his children,
one that knew the sovereignty of God, but one upon whom came
the greatest of trials. We read in this first chapter
of how all that he owned was taken away from him and of how
his seven sons and three daughters were slain. And we read his remarkable response
to this providence of God in his life to this tragedy that
came his way. Of how Job arose and rent his
mantle, shaved his head, fell down upon the ground and worshipped. And said, naked came I out of
my mother's womb and naked shall I return thither. The Lord gave
and the Lord have taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this, Job sinned not,
nor charged God foolishly. In the next chapter, Satan comes
before God, who again says unto him, Hast thou considered my
servant Job? That there is none like him in
the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and
escheweth evil. And still he holdeth fast his
integrity, although thou mov'st me against him to destroy him
without cause. And Satan answered the Lord and
said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give
for his life. But put forth thine hand now,
and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy
face. And the Lord said unto Satan,
Behold, he is in thine hand, but save his life. So Satan went
forth from the presence of the Lord and smoked Job with sore
boils from the sole of his foot under his crown. And he took
him a pot, sir, to scrape himself withal. And he sat down among
the ashes. Then said his wife unto him,
Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest
as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? Shall we receive good at
the hand of God and shall we not receive evil? In all this,
did not Job sin with his lips? And the book continues with the
accounts of Job's three friends who heard of the evil that came
upon him. and they came together from their
place Eliphaz the Temanite Bildad the Shuite and Zophar the Nehemiphite
and they came together to mourn with Job and to comfort him and
they sat down, we read, for seven days and seven nights and none
spake a word unto him for they saw that his grief was very great
but then Job lamented the day he was born and the tragedy that's
come upon him, for the sorrow breaks him to pieces. And then
in the following chapters, his three friends begin to reason
with him and tell him why this has come upon him. And largely
they find fault with Job. Their reasoning is largely that,
well, God is just. And if this tragedy has come
upon you, then you must have sinned. There must be something
you've done, there must be some secret sin you've done or some
sin your children have done, something for which you are being
punished. And they bring him no comfort
while in his tragic state, having lost all, in great sorrow, and
hardly having any life left with the great disease that's come
upon him, all they can do is point the finger and judge him. As though this has not come upon
them because they're more righteous than he is. and as though he
is a greater sinner. So we read over the subsequent
chapters their reasoning and arguing and Job's defense of
himself and Job's speaking of his God. Job's lament of the day he was
born is understandable given what's
come upon him. And as his friends accuse him
and he defends himself, we sometimes see the failings of Job. For which ultimately, towards
the end of the book, the young man Elihu rebukes him, who also
rebukes his friends. And then the Lord himself speaks
unto Job wisdom. But despite this. Throughout we see in Job a wonderful
trust in the sovereignty of God. A wonderful declaration of the
truths of the gospel. He waited on God. He knew that
God gave and God could take away. He knew that God could send good
in his life and God could send evil and all that God did was
right. He trusts God, he waits on God. In Job 9, he asked the searching
question, I know it is so of a truth, but how should man be
just with God? Well, God showed him how through
a Redeemer, the Redeemer. the Son of God that God would
send on Job's behalf and on all his people's behalf Christ who
came in Job's place who took Job's sin and iniquity upon himself
who suffered in Job's place and took that sin away who was laid
in a grave and who on the third day rose again victorious over
sin death and hell this was he to whom job looked this was job's
hope and in job 19 he cries out for 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 shall
I see God, whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold,
and not another, though my reins be consumed within me. I know
that my Redeemer liveth. As Job trusted in his God, And
in the end, at the end of the book, when Elihu speaks and in
God himself speaks, God is gracious to Job. And he restores all that
he lost. He gives him great wealth and
more children at the latter day. So that the latter end of Job
was greater than that at the beginning. What a book this is. And what a picture we see in
Job of both the trials of a righteous man, a man given grace by his
God to stand when everything came upon him. A comfort for
every believer who faces trial in their life that they can look
and read about Job. and know why these things may
come and know that God will keep them until the end. But mostly
we see in the sufferings of Job a picture of the sufferings of
his saviour. Whilst obviously as with every
type and figure in the Bible, Job is but a man and we see his
faults and his failings, ultimately he's set forth as a man who suffered. Suffered more than others. A
picture of Christ himself. Hence when God is approached
by Satan, God says unto him in chapter 1 and again in chapter
2 hast thou considered my servant Job that there is none like him
in the earth a perfect and an upright man one that feareth
God and escheweth evil Job was not perfect and upright
in himself God made him to be what he is through Christ his
Saviour. And these words of the Lord really,
when Satan comes under him, the Lord will say, has thou considered
my servant, my son, the Lord Jesus Christ. There is none like
him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man. one that feareth
God and escheweth evil. And when all the wrath and the
judgment of God because of the sins of mankind, sins of his
people, was laid upon Christ the Savior, when he suffered
and died and was plunged into the darkness upon the cross, Christ in his heart continued
to fall down upon the ground and worship and would say, the Lord gave,
the Lord have taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord. Yes there was a man in the land
of ours whose name was Job and that man was perfect and upright
and one that feared God and escheweth evil. In this book we have a remarkable
picture of time in the context of eternity. We see this man
in his brief life upon the face of this earth, just like you,
just like I. He was born one day in the midst
of history. He lives. He has children. Trials come upon him. And then
at the end, he's taken away. He's here for a moment, but we
see a glimpse, a window into heaven. of Satan coming before
God and of the Lord looking down from heaven into time unto Job
in the midst of time upon this earth and how his life is dealt
with in the context of eternity and in the context of the spiritual
realm in heaven above. And this gives us a glimpse and
an understanding of our own lives. Both the brevity of them in the
context of eternity and the reality that we are not in control. That
we are not sovereign over where we go, what we do and what comes
upon us. Our lives are in God's hands
and God's hands alone. We read here that there were
born unto Job seven sons and three daughters. His substance
also was 7,000 sheep and 3,000 camels and 500 yoke of oxen and
500 she-asses and a very great household so that this man was
the greatest of all the men of the East. And his sons went and
feasted in their houses every one his day, and sent and called
for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And it
was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that
Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning
and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For
Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in
their hearts, Thus did Job continually. This was a man of great substance,
a rich man, a powerful man upon the face of the earth. But he
was a man who knew God. And unlike many who are lifted
up to great heights in this world, many who are increased in riches He knew that God gave and God
could take away. He did not trust in his own ability. He did not rise up in pride and
say, look at all this that I have. This is the work of mine own
hands. Look what I've done. He knew he was at the mercy of
his God and Savior. What of you? and what are you
seeking? Do you seek to increase your
riches? Do you seek for the pleasures
and the treasures of this world? Do you take pride in what you
do to attain them and to keep them and your wisdom and your
understanding? Well this story, this account,
if you've ears to hear, will remind you that it's not you
that gains riches, they're given. And it's not us that can keep
hold of them. They go like sand from between
our fingers. We're born with nothing. Naked
came I out of my mother's womb and naked shall I return thither.
We're born with nothing in this world and it doesn't matter how
much of the substance of this world we gain, we will go out
of this world with nothing. What doth it profit a man if
he gains the whole world but loses his own soul? Here was
a day in which we read of how Job lost everything. But there's
coming a day for us all, whether it's in the midst of our life
or at the end of our lives, when we will lose everything. And
then we will stand before our Maker. Oh, that we would be given
the wisdom of Job, to see his Maker afar off and say, I know
that my Redeemer liveth. The Lord gave. And the Lord hath
taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord. Job prayed every
day for his children that they might know the mercy of God. He could not control what they
did, so he made offerings for them and prayed for them that
God would have mercy should they sin. But then in verse 6 we see this
window into heaven. And we see why these trials and
calamities came upon Job. Now there was a day when the
sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan came
also among them. And the Lord said unto Satan,
Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord
and said, From going to and fro in the earth and from walking
up and down in it. And the Lord said unto Satan,
Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like
him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth
God and is sheweth evil? Then Satan answered the Lord
and said, Doth Job fear God for naught? Hast thou not made an
hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he
hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of
his hands. and 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 said unto Satan,
Behold, all that he hath is in thy power. And he upon himself
put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the
presence of the Lord. You see what came about in Job's
life. was not the consequence of his
sin was not a judgment of God sent under him because of any
wrong that he had done though as with all men Job was a sinner
though we read that he was perfect and upright that is in an outward
sense and as he's viewed in Christ but in himself he was a sinner
like you and I God could have rebuked him he could have chastened
him at times for his sins but this particular trial that came
upon Job was a consequence of Satan looking upon him and despising
him because he was one of God's hating him because of his uprightness
hating him because God had mercy upon him God said unto Satan,
Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like
him in the earth, a pervert and an upright man? Look at my child,
look at my son, look at my people. And Satan, the accuser, the enemy,
the adversary of God's people, Says unto God, O doth Job fear
God for naught? He worships you because of what
you give him. Look at him, he's rich, he's
successful, no wonder he worships you. You've made an hedge about
him, about his house and about all that he hath on every side.
Thou hast blessed the work of his hands and his substance is
increased in the land. Of course he worships you in
a fair day, but bring trouble his way and he won't. Of course
your people worship you in a fair day but bring trouble their way
and you'll see how weak and foolish they are. You'll see them curse
you to your face. Put forth thine hand now and
touch all that he hath and he will curse thee to thy face. So Satan seeks the destruction
of Job. He seeks the destruction of all
God's people whom he despises and hates and ridicules and says
well they're only like this because you've been kind to them. They'll
turn against you if you put them into trial. So the Lord says
to Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power, only upon
himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the
presence of the Lord. As we see, this encounter between
Satan and God in eternity as they look down into time and
the earth from outside of time, from outside of this world as
they look into it in this window in heaven and we see how this
came upon Job. Our lives are brief and our times are in God's hands
not our own. God had power to do what he wished
with Job He has power to do what He wishes
with each and every one of us. And by nature we are sinners
who have turned our backs upon God, who have rejected Him, who
have shut our ears to His Word, who have rejected His Son, who
in our hearts when we've heard of Christ have put Him to death,
have nailed His hands to the tree, and have cried out in our
hearts crucify him crucify him away with this man we will not
have him to reign over us that is your heart and my heart by
nature and God could destroy us in a moment and we would deserve
it. But if God is pleased to treat
us as he treated Job and to give us that faith and trust in Him
that brought Job through all these sufferings, then when God
deals with us in providence, He will give us that grace that
waits on Him. And no matter what comes, we
will fall down upon the floor and worship. We can't do that naturally. that
the natural response as satan knew was that if you strike a
man if you take away all that he have he will turn and curse
god if all we worship god for is the blessings he sends us
i will way and then when he takes them from us we have nothing
then we will turn in rebellion and curse God. If all we worship
God for is the good health that he's pleased to give us and the
peace he sends us our way, then when it's taken away we will
indeed turn and curse God, turn from his gospel, turn from his
people and go our way. But if God has given the substance
the reality of faith in his son, then that will live. And no matter
what comes our way, we will stand and we will cry out, I know that
my Redeemer lives. Yes, our times are in his hands. And we read here, that day that
came upon Job there was a day when his sons and his daughters
were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house
and they came a messenger unto Job and said the oxen were plowing
and the acids feeding beside them and the Sabians fell upon
them and took them away yea they have slain the servants with
the edge of the sword and I only am escaped alone to tell thee
While he was yet speaking there came also another and said the
fire of God is fallen from heaven and I've burned up the sheep
and the servants and consumed them and I only am escaped alone
to tell thee. While he was yet speaking there
came also another and said the Chaldeans made out three bands
and fell upon the camels and I've carried them away yea and
I've slain the servants with the edge of the sword and I only
am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there
came also another and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating
and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house. And behold,
there came a great wind from the wilderness and smote the
four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and
they are dead. And I only am escaped alone to
tell thee. Then Job arose. and rent his
mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground
and worshipped, and said, naked came I out of my mother's womb,
and naked shall I return thither. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath
taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job said not, nor
charged God foolishly. God had the power to do what
he would with Job and Job knew it and when God did what he did
with Job and took all that he had away from him Job still worshipped
because he knew God is God and he knew that God was his redeemer
and one day he would be with him This is a remarkable reaction. It's easy to read of it on the
page. But troubles come our way much lighter than this and how
we grumble, how we complain, how easily we can forget. Except God gives us the grace
and the faith to look unto him alone. And this is what he gave
Job. He tried it. tried him. What happened to Job wasn't a
judgment for Job's sins nor was it simply a chastening but it was a setting forth of
Job's servant to demonstrate the grace of God his great salvation. To show forth Job's faith consider
my servant Job how there is none like him upon the earth. What an account. Then in chapter
2 Satan says well A man will serve thee if you leave his life
alone. Skin for skin, yea, all that
a man hath will he give for his life. Yes, Job still stands, but that's
because you've not gone far enough. Curse him, disease him, bring
him to the point of death, then he'll break. Put forth thine
hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse
thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan,
Behold, he is in thine hand, but save his life. So Satan went
forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore
boils from the sole of his foot under his crown. And he took
him a pot, so to scrape himself with ore, and he sat down among
the ashes. He'd lost everything and now
he's lost his health. He's dying. He feels the effects
of death upon him and his wife says unto him, does thou still
retain thine integrity? Curse God and die. but he said unto her thou speakest
as one of the foolish women speaketh what shall we receive good at
the hand of God and shall we not receive evil in all this
did not Job sin with his lips what a place to be brought what
a trial but through it through it we see in Job and in the hand
of God upon him in keeping him in strengthening his faith in
the midst of his suffering in keeping Job's lips from cursing
God in bringing Job to fall down and worship in the midst of this
trial we see in Job a glorious picture of Christ I know that
my Redeemer liveth. Christ himself, God's servant, of whom there was none like him,
the Son of God in glory, made himself a little lower than the
angels. He gave up everything to come
into this world to save his people. He set aside all his glory in order that he might suffer
upon the cross. As we read in Philippians, let
this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus who being
in the form of God fought it not robbery to be equal with
God but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of
a servant and was made in the likeness of men and being found
in fashion as a man he humbled himself and became obedient unto
death even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly
exalted him and given him a name which is above every name. That at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and
things under the earth. And that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the
Father. He humbled himself and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. When he was
born in this world, the world had no room for him, had no desire
for him, had no heart for him. They made no place for him. The
king of the Jews was born in Bethlehem as promised. as promised
by all the prophets that God would send a savior, a messiah,
the redeemer. This redeemer unto whom Job looked
down through time came and was born at Bethlehem. But was he
born in a palace, a rightful place for a king? Was he born
with riches, No, he was born in a filthy stable because there
was no room for him in any of the inns in the town. No man
would give space to him. Get him away. And they sent his
expectant mother to go and give birth in a stable where he was
born and laid in a manger, in a filthy manger in the midst
of the animals. He had no riches in this world,
no welcome in this world. We read of the son of man that
he had nowhere to lay his head. Throughout his life he went about
having nothing. Rejected by everyone. Cast out
by all. Religious and irreligious. He
was alone. In the end all men forsook him
even those who heard him whom he called as his disciples when
he needed them most when he was taken to the cross they all forsook
him and ran away in fear. He was alone. Job's suffering is a picture,
a glimpse of what Christ suffered. He lost everything, all was taken
from Him, all riches, all friends, all family. He was alone. And when wicked men took the
Saviour and nailed Him to the cross and God laid upon His own
Son the sins of His elect, when He was made to be sin, He was
filled with a loathsome disease, as it were, from head to toe. The Lord, as it were, said unto
Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Christ, that there is
none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that
feareth God and escheweth evil? And though he's born lower than
the angels, though he's rejected by all, though my Son, the Son
of God, is despised and rejected by all men and cast out by all
men, still he holdeth fast his integrity. And although thou
movest me against him to destroy him, still he stands. Although
thou came and thou tempted him for forty days in the wilderness
and sought to destroy him, still he stands. Satan as it were answers
skin for skin, yea all that a man hath will he give for his life.
Put forth thine hand now and touch his bone and his flesh
and he will curse thee to thy face. Cause your son who knows
no sin to bear the sins of his people, to be made sin, to bear
the judgment of God against sin and he'll break, he won't stand. when Christ who knew no sin was
made sin and hung upon the cross in the darkness When the light
of the sun was taken away and there was darkness upon the face
of the earth for three hours, an eternity of darkness, an eternity
of the wrath of God poured out upon him. When he hung there
alone, he was as it were filled with a loathsome disease which
sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his ground. And there
were those that passed by and mocked and scorned and said,
if thou be the Son of God, come down, call a legion of angels
to save thee. And they jeered and they mocked
and they threw his words in his face. Like Job's wife did, curse
God and die, she said. Job says, Shall we receive good
at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this
Job did not sin with his lips. And as Christ hung upon the cross,
suffering a judgment, a wrath, an outpouring of God's anger
against sin, that Job's sufferings were but a picture of, as he
suffered more than any man ever suffered. he worshipped God throughout. The faith of God, of Christ,
was tested in every measure. The faith of the Son of God was
tested from the east to the west, from the north to the south,
inside and out. He hung in the darkness, abandoned
by all men, rejected by all, and his own father rejected him. because of the sin that he bore,
because of the sin he was made to be. My God, my God, why hast
thou forsaken me? And yet he trusted, he believed. The Lord gave, the Lord hath
taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Consider my servant Job. Consider my servant Christ. Oh how he suffered. Oh how he suffered. But he took
the sins of his people and he took them away. He took them
away in entirety. He washed his people clean. He
took death and He destroyed it. He took sin and He blotted it
out. He took hell and He removed it. He took His people and made them
to be the righteousness of God in Him. O death, where is thy
sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Christ has the victory. And on
the third day he rose. He rose victorious. He rose triumphant. He rose with all his people.
He delivered them from all their suffering. Their Redeemer rose,
and they would cry out with Job, I know that my Redeemer liveth,
and he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And they
all look unto him and say, and though after my skin worms destroy
this body, Yet in my flesh shall I see God, whom I shall see for
myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another, though my reins
be consumed within me. They're all given the faith that
Job had, to look beyond the suffering, and to look through the cross
to their Saviour, and to see Him rise for them victorious
from the grave. victorious over sin, victorious
over death, victorious over hell, they see their Redeemer and they
know they shall live forever. Has God given you faith to see
Christ suffering for you, dying for you, rising for you? Oh what he suffered for his servant
Job. We cannot fathom it. We cannot
understand it. Oh what he suffered for his people. Has he done this for you? Did
Christ love you and give himself for you? Does God look upon you
now as he looked upon Job? in Christ and says of you to
your adversary, has thou considered my servant? In Christ they are perfect. I
have saved them with an outstretched arm and they shall live and reign
with me forever. And though the adversary might
come upon us and say, oh, take away this from them and they'll
curse thee. Take away their health and they'll
curse thee. God will keep his people to the
end. None shall pluck his sheep from
out of his hands. None shall destroy them. They
shall be his and they will live and reign with him forevermore.
Has he got you in his hands? Is he your savior? O God, give
us grace, give us faith to see the Son, risen today for us,
alive forevermore. A great and a mighty Saviour
hast thou considered my servant, Christ. Amen.