Well, it's good to see all of
you. I'm going to ask you to take your Bibles, and I want
you to turn with me to the book of Job, chapter 5. Job, chapter
5. I want to remind you, as I remind
myself, this book is that which magnifies our Lord
in his suffering for the redemption of his people. We as all men, but we as the
chosen of God, were born in this world rebels. Rebels against God, an almighty
God who is just and will in no wise clear the guilty. He took upon himself, he who
knew no sin was made sin for his people, for us. David, under the inspiration
of God's Spirit, said in 2 Corinthians 5 that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. God Almighty does not sweep sin
under the rug. God is going to deal with sin,
and He's going to deal with it in absolute justice. And He has chosen, in dealing
with the sin of His people in absolute justice, to show mercy. His debt, the debt of sin is
going to be paid by God's elect. Now today I want us, I want to
look at the fifth chapter. As I said when I first started
looking at this book, I'm going to try to take a chapter, today
only a chapter, the last two services, two chapters. I'm going
to try to take just one. And look at this chapter, Job
chapter 5, in the Spirit, the Spirit of God, in the Spirit
of the Spirit of God, magnifying our Lord and setting forth the
suffering that Christ has borne for His sheep. If you'll just
stop with me, as I said, we'll all remind one another. This book is setting forth that
God is just. He's just. And what we deserve
as His sheep, as His bride, as His elect, what we deserve, He's
going to bear. So when we read this, I'm going
to ask you right now, ask the Lord. Lord, speak to my heart. Lord give me understanding, because
if he doesn't, we won't have it. We won't. I've said before,
and I say this again today, I say to all of us, we have not because
we ask not. Today we're going to continue
with a conversation that took place between a man named Job. Job again. Don't forget this
part. Job is a picture of Christ. This man, Job, is going to deal
with a friend, a friend that the Spirit of God calls him friends. But as the friends of Job deal
with Job, they're going to, we're going to find that they deal
with him in a very self-righteous way. But the way they deal with
him is the way that the Spirit of God moved them to deal with
him. And we'll learn from this. We'll learn from their speech,
well, in the speech of a man named Eliphaz. Eliphaz is thinking,
as he's speaking to Job, that he's a help to Job. He's going to be Job's helper. He's going to try to, in his
own mind as he speaks, you're going to see, you can tell. He
sees himself as one able and capable of dealing with Job. He's going to help Job out a
little bit. This is going to be for our good. We need to hear. He's going to deal with Job,
really, truly, humanly speaking, in a spirit of self-righteousness.
But we're going to profit. We're going to profit from this.
So let us look. Let's just see what Almighty
God has got to say. Eliphaz continues to reprimand
Job for what he feels is Job's unfavorable way of handling tribulation. He's going to try to Teach Job
something. He's going to try to teach Job.
This is not the way you do things, Job. Let's listen to this. He
says now in verses 1 and 2. Here's Eliphaz speaking to Job. He says, Call now, if there be
any that will answer thee, and to which of the saints wilt thou
turn? For wrath killeth the foolish
man, and envy slayeth the silly. What he's actually saying is
that, Job, what you've gone through, what you've been called to suffer, call now if there any be that
will answer thee. I want you to look, Job, and
try to give an adequate answer. Is there anybody found within
scriptures. Do you know anybody that suffered
as much as you have and still was found to be pleasing with
God? Is there anybody, Job, that's
gone through, you've lost your land, you've lost your kids,
you've lost your health, your wife has turned her back
on you, Why don't you curse God and die? Let me tell you something. When you read that scripture
right there, you say, boy, I can't believe it. There'd be a wife
that talked to her husband like that. You look at Job's wife
as a picture of the old man. And let me tell you what the
old man is saying to the new man. This is Job's wife, one
with him. You know, when two people get
married, they become one. Born in Christ. And here is Job's
wife speaking to Job. And now, humanly speaking, I
know she's just insensitive and she's just self-righteous, but
that's us. That's us. That's man by nature.
Why don't you just curse God and die? And you see how Paul
the apostle would say concerning himself, oh, wretched man, I
am. So here's Eliphaz, and he tells
Job, he says, I want you to call now and see if there'll be any
that'll answer thee. Which of the saints wilt thou turn? Who
will you turn to, Job? Obviously, Job, you've done something. We looked at this last time.
There's some skeletons in the closet, Job, because you've not,
you wouldn't be suffering like this if there wasn't something
going on. Really? As a picture of Christ,
look what our Lord bore. No man suffered as He did. No
man. No man bore what He bore. And what did He do? What did
He do to deserve? He took upon Himself the form
of sinful flesh. He was made sin. So when here's Eliphaz getting
on to Job, Show me somebody that's gotten what you have in tribulation
and trials. Show me somebody that excels
you, Job. See how Eliphaz is starting off
his conversation? What a picture of Christ. What
he has borne on the behalf of his people. Verses 3, 4. Eliphaz said, I've seen the foolish
taking root but suddenly cursed his habitation. His children
are far from safety. They're crushed in the gate.
Neither is there any to deliver them." Now here's Eliphaz now. He's seen the foolish, he said. I've seen the foolish start with
prosperity. And obviously referring to Job's
blessings of the Lord, that which the Lord had blessed Job with.
There was none like him. That's what the Lord said to
Satan, have you considered my servant Job? None like him, just
man, upright, feareth God, eschews evil. And Eliphaz is telling
him, he said, I've seen the foolish taking root. I've seen them look
like they're starting off doing well. Now here again, remember,
he's reprimanded Job. He said, I've seen the foolish
taken root but suddenly cursed his habitation. That's what happened
to Job. Job had, you know, it's what
Eliphaz said, I've seen some that's been like you. I've seen
how they started off. Looked like they were doing good
and everything was going well and children, verse four, far
from safety. Can you imagine how that made
Job feel? You know, I've seen those that,
you know, right with God probably is what is insinuating. God take
their kids, and here's Job. Job was a man that sought after
God, prayed for his kids, doing, you know, and here's this man
that's going to come and reprimand him. All the trials that God's
people suffer. If you be without chastisement,
you're none of His. You're none of His. God's people,
I'm telling you right now, God's people are gonna suffer in this
world. We don't know anything without
suffering. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself,
He learned as a man. He learned obedience in the things
that He suffered. You can sit here and read something. I could read books, read articles
about somebody that's gone to have a doctor tell them they've
got this disease or they've got that. You can read about it,
but you wait until the doctor tells you, you know, all of a
sudden. And then the scripture says in
verses 5, 6, 7. It said, whose harvest the hungry
eateth up, and taketh, and taketh out of thorns, and swallow, and
the robber swalloweth up the substance. Although affliction
cometh not through the dust, neither doth trouble spring out
of the ground, yet man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly
upward. Here's Hellefass telling Job, he said,
these problems that you're having, Job, they don't come for no reason.
You think they just come out of the dust? You think they just
kind of form out of nothing? No, this was an accusation that
Job was still, he's still browbeating him and telling him, affliction
doesn't come by chance. It doesn't appear, Job, out of
thin air. It doesn't just happen. Rather, Job, he's telling him,
he said, it comes from God because rebellion and sin and therefore,
God's reprimand comes because of sin, Job. That's what he's
telling him. And here's Job now. He's placed
in this situation, and God has sent these things. God sent them.
And here's his self-righteous friend telling him, I guarantee
you, I can tell you why you're going through what you're going
through. because there's something not right with you. You know
what he's saying, really? If you'd have been as holy as
I am, you wouldn't be suffering like this. If you were right
with God, you wouldn't be going through these things. He was telling him, he said,
man sins as naturally as sparks come up out of the fire. See, Eliphaz thought that he
was informing Job of that hidden rebellion. Obviously, he never considered
that what Job was going through was because of God's love for
him. Never thought about that. Anytime
you see somebody going through some trials and tribulations,
the natural thing to think, hold your place right there and turn
with me, Hebrews chapter 12. The natural thing to think when
you see somebody going through some trials, tribulations. I tell you what, if they weren't
so sinful, if they weren't so rebellious, they wouldn't be
going through this. But again, do we ever just stop
and think that these trials and tribulations and sufferings that
we go through is because of God's love for us. False man-centered religion teaches
this prosperity gospel, which is no gospel, that if you serve
God, you love God, and God loves you, you're going to be all well,
it's all going to be a bed of roses, everything's going to
be fine, you're not going to have any problem whatsoever.
And he's reprimanded Joe. But I want you to look. Look
at Hebrews chapter 12, verse 5 and 6. And ye have forgotten
the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children. My
son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou
art rebuked of him. For whom the Lord loveth, he
chasteth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." You want
to have something that'll take the sting out of going through
some trials. You want to hear something that'll
help you out in a time of trouble and hurting and suffering. Just to remember and be reminded
that these things come of the Lord. Not by chance. Eliphaz was going to tell Job,
he said, I'll tell you why you're going through this. It's because
of your rebellion. But this rebellion, which every
child of God will admit, has been paid for and dealt with
by the blood of Christ. The debt has been paid. And the
sufferings of a believer are sent of God as a loving reminder
of our need of him and that which he is born. Remember old Shimei
back in the Old Testament, 2 Samuel? Here he comes, David's riding
through town and Shimei comes out and starts throwing rocks
at him, cusses him. Our bloody man throws rocks,
throws rocks, and one of the strong men of David said, you
want me to go take his head off? David said, no. Leave him alone. God sent him. I'm telling you,
there's nothing that will settle your heart when you're going
through some trials and tribulations. That's what's happening, Joe,
right here. A man that feared God and eschewed evil, lost his
kids and lost his money, health, everything else. Let me take
his head off, shimmy I say. Leave him alone. He's the Lord's
messenger. Now I'm telling you, that'll
be a help to you. Just remember, if a doctor tells you, you've
got this trial, you've got this trouble, you've got this disease,
pray, Lord, remind me, help me to remember all things. as I've said before, is pretty
inclusive. All things work together in harmony to those who love
God, to those who are called according to his purpose. Then
the next words out of the mouth of Eliphaz, though they may be
spoken with the wrong motive, they, as I read different commentators
on this, all of them practically without
exception, have all said that these words were words of self-righteousness. Eliphaz is telling Job, he said,
you're doing these things because of something you've done. But
though they may have been spoken out of a spirit of self-righteousness,
they didn't change the fact that what he was saying was scripturally
sound. Let me show you that. Look at
verses 8 to 18. Here's Eliphaz and he's going
to give Job some good ideas. Now you listen to me, Job. I've
got some good ideas for you. You listen to this. And again,
though spoken in a spirit of self-righteousness. They were true. Listen to this.
Verse 8. I would seek unto God, and unto
God would I commit my cause. And you think about it. Think
about what Eliphaz is saying. He said, Job, back in verse one
and two, he said, these things right here, you try to find somebody
that suffered as much as you have. See if you can count it. See if you can find somebody.
Call now if there are any that will answer thee. Which of the
saints wilt thou turn to and try to find that suffered like
you have or more than you have? He said, I'll tell you what I'd
do, Job. This is my advice to you, what you've done, Job. And looking at how he said it,
it was so self-righteous, but so true. I would seek unto God, unto God
would I commit my cause, which doeth great things. and unsearchable, marvelous things
without number. I looked that up without number. It says in the margin there will
be no number. There's no number. It just went
through my mind. You get a calculator and you
try to start getting numbers and see how high that number
will go. Well, finally, you just come to some symbol in there. They just run out of numbers.
That's what this is. That's what he's saying. Which
doeth great things, unsearchable. You cannot search out, Job, the
things that God does, how he moves and how he manipulates
and makes all things to work for God's glory and man's, the
believer's good. Marvelous things without number. Just try to number the things
that God's done for his people. Who giveth rain to the earth
and sendeth waters upon the fields. I thought about that scripture
that says God sends rain to the just and unjust. Just and unjust. And I got to thinking about that.
How God blesses the just and the unjust. Rain on their crops, crops grow
up. When it's all said and done,
you look at it. The crops that they raised will
be given to God's people, and they're gonna eat, and they're
gonna be blessed. God's gonna give sin rain to the just and
the unjust. To set up on high those that
be low, those which mourn may be exalted. sets on high those
that be brought low, low in the estimation of themselves, low
in the estimation of their ability. What can I do? I can't do anything.
The Lord said, without me, you can do nothing. You can do nothing.
He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their
hands cannot perform their enterprise. Here's Eliphaz now, he's telling
him, God's going to disappoint what the unbelievers, what the
crafty manipulators, their hands are not going to perform what
they think that they're going to be able to do. But what they
cannot do for themselves, God's going to take it and bless it
for the good of his people. Look at, look at, he's reprimanding
Job again. He's reprimanding him. But look
how true, he taketh the wise, verse 13, and their own craftiness,
and counsel the froward, or carried headlong. They meet with darkness
in daytime, and grope as in the night. But he saveth the poor
from the sword, and their mouth, and their hand, the mighty, so
the poor hath hope. Oh, do really, truly, the spiritually
poor, don't they have a hope? Oh, those that are rich in themselves,
rich in their so-called knowledge, rich in their faithfulness to
God, they don't have any hope. But for those that are poor,
poor before God, he saveth the poor from the sword. Sword of
his justice, he saves them. He bore the justice for them,
he'll save them from it, from the hand of the mighty. So the
poor hath hope and iniquity, stoppeth their mouth. Behold,
happy is the man whom God correcteth. Therefore despise not thou the
chastening of the Lord. I'd read that and I kept thinking,
what an amazing thing to behold. Here's Eliphaz now. He's straightening
Job out. If you just get right with God,
Job, that's your problem. If you just get right with God,
if you get right with the Lord, straighten up and fly right,
you wouldn't be going through this. And here's the Lord taking
all these trials and tribulations working it, you know, for his
glory and good of Job. And then he sends a man and takes
the words of this man that thinks he's straightening Job out. And
God takes those words that Eliphaz thinks is going to help Job be
a help to him. And God takes them and turns
them for Job's comfort. Verse 18, He maketh sore, bindeth
up, woundeth his hands, make whole. Isn't that true? He make us sore. You know, those
of you that's been through, you have an operation. You go through
and they have to operate on you. They're going to have to, you
know, make an incision. And that incision, I mean, when
it's healing, it hurts. I mean, it's, you know, I want
some antibiotics. I want something. I want a pain
reliever, too, is what I want. But that, the soreness, that
I'd suffer to physically get well. Look how it redounded to
my health. But spiritually, he maketh sore
in correcting his people, but he binds them up. He woundeth his hands make whole.
Oh, how wonderful, how delightful to behold the mercy of Almighty
God. Here's the Lord, His marvelous ways, they're without
number, and we're incapable of considering
the depth of His blessings. Think how much we've been here
now for a little while, How many of us, I'll be the first one
to say I have not. Let me just go ahead and I'll
say it out loud. You just go ahead and agree with me. How
many of us have thanked the Lord for the breath, for the air that
we've had since we've been here? How many have thanked the Lord
for the ability to be able to hear the gospel? How many of
us have been able to or have thanked God for the fellowship
of the saints that we've been here? I don't even know how to
thank Him. The blessings that we have incurred
while we were here today, the Lord just blessed us. We're
just incapable, you know, to think that we could thank the
Lord for what He's done for us, to completely run the gamut of
what all He's done. Doesn't that just make your mouth
shut? You say, Lord, I'm sorry. I'm
so sorry, I don't even know how to thank you. Thank you for what
you've done to me. He sends rain, he blesses just
and unjust, as I said before, while they're groping in the
darkness, not even knowing what they're doing, and God's taking
all things for His glory and our honor.
He says in verses 19 to 25, He shall deliver thee in six troubles,
yea, in seven there shall be no evil. Touch thee up. The writers
all agreed. What they're saying when He says
He'll deliver thee in six troubles, yea, in seven. He's just talking
about there's no end to the deliverance. There's no number. It's just
a way of saying it. In famine He shall redeem thee
from death, in war from the the power of the sword. Oh, we could
stay right there. If we pointed to it, just look
at the famine. The famine of the hearing of
this gospel. What God gives ears to hear in
famine. Physical famine? Yes. Spiritual
famine? Yes. Does He deliver His people
in famine? He shall redeem thee from death.
In the famine of here, there's going to come a time, the Lord
said, when there's going to be a famine. Not a famine of food
and water, but a famine of hearing the gospel. You think about it,
you're here today to hear the gospel. How do you know when
you're hearing the gospel? God Almighty gets all the honor,
all the glory, all the praise. He teaches of man's need of him,
an inability to do anything to remedy his problem. And he sits
forth before their eyes, spiritual eyes now, the glory of the Lord
Jesus Christ. In famine, verse 20, he shall
redeem thee from death. Think about how the Lord has
redeemed us from the famine, spiritual famine. Redeemed us
from death, being put out. and leaving this world without
Christ. In war, from the power of the
sword, this battle, spiritual battle that we're in, He's redeemed
us from the power of the sword. Thou shalt be hid from the scourge
of the tongue, neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction. when it cometh, at destruction
and famine thou shalt laugh." You don't be afraid. God's people,
we know that we're going to leave this world. But at famine, destruction, God's people
are happy. They laugh. They smile. The Lord, the Lord has kept me. The Lord has saved me. The Lord's
not going to leave me. He's not going to forsake me.
They're happy. Neither shall be afraid of the
beast of the earth. For thou shalt be in league with
the stones of the field and the beast of the field shall be at peace with you. And
thou shalt know If our tabernacle shall be in peace, this tabernacle
that you're living in right now, comes the time for us to leave
the world. I'm gonna deal with that in just
a second, closing here. When it comes time for us to
leave this world, it'll be okay. I hear people speak of, I've
told you before, I've heard of people speaking of dying grace.
The Lord who said, I'll never leave you, I'll never forsake
you. I think, I think, I think I may see, I may see a little
bit more about leaving this world in peace. When you're young and
you, you know, you think you got everything, you know, whole
world by the tail and, you know, the thought of dying is a thought
that Well, it's a thought that's foreign to us because we're created
of God to never die, be eternal. But because of sin, we're going
to die. And that's a scary thing because
of our flesh. It is. I know it is. But do you
know, I have found it to be so, and those of you as you get a
little older, you do too, I know, you that know him, you begin
to think, You know the thought of leaving this world? There's
a certain part of that you're struggling within. I know, I
know. But all in all, there's a struggle of dying, but there's
still a spirit of hope and peace and comfort. And these scriptures
that we've read so many times, as you read them more and more,
You begin to think, you know, I think that the Lord may have
given me a heart to believe that. You did believe it, but there's
something about getting older. That's what, that's what Eliphaz
is telling Job. Job, if he was right with God,
you know, verse 22, at destruction, famine, laugh thou Neither shalt thou be afraid
of the beasts of the field, thou shalt be in league with the stones,
the field, the beasts of the field, peace. And thou shalt
know that thy tabernacle shall be at peace, and thou shalt visit
thy habitation and shalt not sin. All these messengers, these
messengers again, they were Self-righteous, but how thankful I am that God
turns everything, even the wrath of man. He's going to praise
God. And then he says in these last
couple of verses, verse 26, 27, thou shalt come to thy grave
in a full age. like a shock of corn cometh in
his season. How comforting it is to know
that life and death is in the hand of him who rules in the
army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. I'll share with you this thought
that I have. I love it. You know, when we
come together here, we're just a family. And we take God's word,
take God's scriptures, and we look at them, and we make application
to ourselves. And I'll tell you what went through
my mind. I thought about our dear friend.
I could talk about so many of them that the Lord's taken. Brother Scott. But my mind went, when I read
that, went to Brother Don Fortner. Don was the one that just came
to my mind. Don and I were real close in
age. Don was six or seven months younger
than I am. And Don died just before he turned
70. And I used to think how comforting
it was to me be able to pick up the telephone, you know, after
Brother Henry, after the Lord took Brother Henry and took Brother
Scott, and I'd call these men, you know. These guys are my mentors,
you know, and I've loved them and appreciated them so very
much. And there's nothing like having somebody you pick up the
telephone, you know, just call, you call a friend. But these
pastor friends of mine that knew something about the trials and
tribulations and troubles of a pastor. You know, it's stressful. It's stressful on the body. But
I'd be able to call. But I'd call Don. I'd call Don
a lot. And I'd talk about whatever,
you know. Because he'd been there, you
know. And I wanted to talk to somebody that's been there. Somebody
tell me something that you know where I'm coming from. I thought about Brother Don this
morning. He said, thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age,
like a shock of corn cometh in his season. And I thought, the
Lord took Brother Don just before he turned 70. And I thought,
Lord, how merciful that you've been to me to allow me to have
a few more years. But do you know why the Lord
took Don or Henry or Scott or any of them that we've known,
loved and appreciated? You know why he took them when
he did? Because they had come to full years. That was it. That was what the Lord had purposed.
And I think by the grace of God, I'm still standing here. I had
doctors tell me what you had and this, that and the other.
And I told them, I said, I agree with you. I can tell the effects,
but I said, you know how wonderful it is to still be here. I don't
know how long, as far as myself, that my full age will come. I
don't know. But the scriptures promised that
for God's people, they're going to come to their grave in full
age like a shark of corn cometh in his season. It'll be God's
people are going to be taken. just exactly when God says it's
time. The death of God's people, scripture
says, is precious in His sight. He that lives in the Lord by God's grace dies
in the Lord in God's timing. And how sweet it is to be considering
that time when The Lord will allow, as Scripture reveals, the angels of the Lord, the messengers
of the Lord, that the Lord will usher His people right into His
presence. Lo, verse 27, this we've searched
it, and so it is. Eliphaz told Job, hear it. and know thou it for thy good."
I thought about the closing words of Eliphaz, and he told them,
and again, like I said, the spirit in which Eliphaz, I can't be
his judge, I don't know, it made an appearance as though he was
going to straighten Job out, but what he said was so comforting
and so needful. And the Lord left Eliphaz to
speak just as he did, whatever his spirit was, whatever his
intent was, they were words of truth. And you that know him,
I know are going to agree with me. Whatever his spirit was,
the spirit in which they were spoken, they're comforting to
us, aren't they? I pray God bless this to our
hearts.