May the Lord be pleased to bless
us together this morning as we meditate in his word. Let's turn
to the book of Job and the first chapter and the first verse. The book of Job chapter 1 and
reading verse 1. There was a man in the land of
Uz whose name was Job. And that man was perfect. upright,
one that feared God and eschewed evil." The Book of Job is really a very
instructive book. Perhaps it's a book which isn't
read very often and yet it is a book which is well worth reading
and it's Well worth reading really to sit down and read it from
beginning to end. It's not very long because then
we get the whole picture of the situation. Well here we have
in this verse just an introduction to Job. Now we don't know of
course precisely when he lived. We do know he lived after the
flood because he speaks about rain and there wasn't any rain
before the flood. And we also know that he He lived
near where the Sabaeans were and also near where the Chaldeans
were. And we also know that he lived
quite a long time because after he was blessed, right at the
end of the book, it tells us, after this Job lived 140 years. So we know that he must have
been a man who lived well over 200 years of age. So probably
he lived somewhere about the time of Abraham and somewhere
in that same area at that time. Well, the Lord then tells us
that this man Job was a man that was perfect and upright and one
that feared God and eschewed evil. Now that's a very wonderful
statement, is it not, to be spoken by God about somebody. And we should always realise
that we are only what we are by the grace of God. Because if it is not for the
grace of God, we would be lost and we would be left and we would
be totally evil. But here we have this testimony
of Job from God. We'll come on to what Job says
about himself in a little while. But first of all we have again
the little history of Job, how he was blessed with these seven
sons and three daughters and had much wealth. that God had
blessed him with many things. And also, not only that, but
he was also a man that was concerned about his family, and he prayed
for them, as we're told, and offered sacrifices. And it was
so when the days of their feasting had gone about, and 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." So
we see here there's an evidence of a good parent concerned about
the spiritual well-being of his family. And it's a good example
for us, isn't it? Especially those of us who are
parents and perhaps those of you who will be parents one day
to not forget to always pray for your children, not knowing
what they're thinking in their heart. You see, the outside sometimes
may look very good and wonderful, but it's what goes on in the
heart, which of course only God sees. And how important it is
therefore that if there are those wrong and evil sins done in the
heart, they may truly be forgiven. Well there we have then just
this very brief summary of Job and his riches and the blessings
that he enjoyed. And of course it was so, he had
a comfortable living, we know he therefore was a wealthy man. But then of course we read, now
there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves
before the Lord, and Satan came also among them." Well, the devil
is always on the outlook for an opportunity to come and to
cause havoc amongst the Church of God, and to cause it by one
way or another. And in this instance, he came,
and the Lord said, he asked him, The Lord said to Satan, whence
comest thou? Then Satan answered, the Lord
said, from going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up
and down in it. The Lord said to Satan, hast
thou considered my servant Job? And he reiterates the words of
the first verse that we read, that there is none like him on
the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that feareth God and
escheweth evil. And then Satan answers, Really
quite logically we would think doth God doth Job fear God for
naught Hast not thou made an hedge about him and about his
house? Well, what a wonderful favor
that is when God comes and puts a hedge round about us Here was
a hedge put round about Job to preserve him to keep him and
how true it was that God had indeed put this hedge about him. We also read with Jeremiah that
we don't want to break through a hedge. If God's put a hedge
around us, we want to be content to dwell within that hedge and
to not therefore try and break through it and to go into somewhere
else perhaps which we might think may be more Prosperous might
be better, but no, to be content in that position. And so here,
Satan was very aware that this hedge had been placed around
Job. And Satan's very aware of the hedges which have been placed
around us. And therefore, he's ever endeavoring to break through
that hedge, or for us to break through the hedge, one way or
another. And he therefore says, Hast thou 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. Well, that's what Satan hoped
would happen. That's what Satan desired would
happen. And believe you me, that's what
Satan still desires to happen to us today. He wants to cause
situations to come into our life which cause us to turn away from
God and to curse God when things don't go as we want them to go. Our plans are frustrated. Well, Job's plans were totally
frustrated, weren't they? And what a situation he was called
to pass through. A position that probably none
of us will ever be called to walk in a similar path. But Satan
says, but put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath,
and he will curse thee to thy face. The Lord said to Satan,
Behold, all thee hath is in thy power, only upon himself. Put not forth thine hand. So
Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. Now, Satan can only
operate as the Lord gives permission. Satan cannot take the life of
his people. That means that spiritual life,
but he may be allowed to greatly tempt, he may be allowed to attack,
he may be allowed to do all that he can in order to try and turn
us away from our trust and our belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, as we know, as we read
together this morning in this chapter, Job basically lost everything,
his family, his wealth, They were all taken away one by one
and consecutively and in a very short space of time. And what
do we read then at the end of this chapter? What was Job's
response to all this? He said, naked came I out of
my mother's womb and naked shall I return thither. The Lord gave
and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Now it would be a good thing
if you and I recognised that everything that you have, everything
that I have, God has given to us. We should never think that
we have earned these things ourselves and therefore we merit them and
therefore they are our possessions and therefore we have them and
no one else should have any rights to them. We must always realise
that everything that you and I have God has given to us. And just to clarify that, the
Lord gives natural understanding. He gives natural ability. That
understanding, that ability that you and I have, is that which
God has given to us. It's not something that we've
suddenly developed ourselves. It's that which God has given
to us. And I believe when the Lord blesses
us with the right understanding, of these things, you see, then
we will hold things in a right way and desire to thank and to
praise God for all that he has done. And what a blessing if
he's given us many things naturally, but what a greater blessing if
he's given us things spiritually. And you see, that puts things,
doesn't it, in a right context, when we realise that spiritual
blessings cannot be worked for, they cannot be earned. But they
are, wonderfully and blessedly, God's free, unmerited gift to
such unworthy sinners. And blessed with that understanding,
what will it do? It will elevate God in our heart
as that great and merciful and wonderful God who has looked
upon us and not dealt with us as our sins deserve, but has
lengthened out His love and mercy toward us. Now then, just coming
back to Job and the description that we have here, that God gives
to him, and let us see that this is not the description that Job
assessed of himself. Many people would have made an
assessment like that of themselves, but they would be so wrong and
so false. But here God speaks of Job as
a man who was perfect and upright, and one that feared God and escheweth
evil. Well, the book of Job, and we
know that as we go through the book of Job, there's very much
conversation between Job and his three friends, and then Elihu,
and then of course the Lord comes and speaks to him. But Job tells
us in the ninth chapter, he says this, if I justify myself, mine
own mouth shall condemn me. If I say I'm perfect, it shall
also prove me perverse. So Job didn't have a view of
himself as someone who was upright and perfect, in his eyes. He obviously realised his imperfections
and of course the Lord was to show him more and more his imperfections. We may think, well here was a
man of God and surely by such explanation as this he understood
his position. Well, he understood part of his
position. You see, God deals with us in
love to our souls, and in bringing us to show us more of his greatness,
he shows us more of our unworthiness, and more the evil which is found
within us. We might think initially that
we have a right view of ourselves and that we acknowledge that
we're perhaps not quite what we should be and we don't live
quite rightly, but perhaps as the Lord comes and convicts us
of our true situation, then it's a very different way and a very
different situation that we find ourselves in. There was a man
of God, Nehemiah. I'm sure you know of Nehemiah,
who was a man raised up to come and to deliver Israel, bring
them out from Babylon and help them to re-establish Jerusalem. You might think, well, there
was a good man and he was a good man, but you know, he Also was
blessed with doing those things which were right and it's good
to just be Instructed by God's servants in the Word of God how
they operate operated and in the fifth chapter of Nehemiah
The 15th verse we read but the former governors that have been
before me were chargeable unto the people and had taken of them
bread and wine and beside forty shekels of silver, yea, even
their servants bear rule over the people." You might think,
well that was fair, that wasn't unreasonable. But what does Nehemiah
say? He says, But so did not I, because
of the fear of God. When the Lord gives us the fear
of God in our hearts, it makes us a different person. Because
then we're not concerned to operate as man sees us, which may seem
fair, which may seem reasonable, but we operate as God sees us. And here was, therefore, Nehemiah
telling us this great truth, but so did not I, because of
the fear of God. Now it'd be a good thing in your
life and my life if we've had those situations where we haven't
done things We could have done things, they might have been
reasonable, but we didn't do them because of the fear of God. Because we desired to do that
which was right in the eyes of God. What a blessing it is there
for to have the evidence of the Spirit's work in our souls to
direct us to this way so that we don't do things. because of
the fear of God. All these wonderful evidences
are good aren't they for us to be instructed by and to thank
God that we have such examples to direct us in a right way.
Solomon was indeed a man of God, and I'm sure we realize that. And what does Solomon say in
the Proverbs? He speaks about this, and he
tells us in the eighth chapter of the Proverbs, he says in the
13th verse, the fear of the Lord, what is the fear of the Lord?
The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride, and arrogancy. and the evil way, and the froward
mouth do I hate." See here is again the evidence of God's grace
in the hearts of his people. the effect of God's fear. And
it's good for us, you know, to look into our hearts and to analyze
our desires, analyze our actions, and analyze our thoughts to see
whether they come in accordance with these things. If we do possess
the fear of God, if we're walking out in this way to hate evil,
to hate evil, well we know, do we, that We have this testimony
of Job from God himself when he said, this man was perfect
and upright, one that feared God and eschewed evil. He turned
away from things which were evil. Now left to ourselves, we don't
do that. Sometimes those evil things which
we go after because they attract our old nature, they attract
our hearts, they attract our flesh, they attract our worldly
mind. And we therefore need to possess
grace like this, to hate evil, and to hate pride, to hate arrogancy,
and to hate the evil way, and the froward mouth. What a good
thing. if the Spirit of God has so touched
our hearts, to bring us to this humble position, to truly desire
and walk out a position like this, hating evil, pride and
arrogance. All these things are in our heart
by nature. And it's the glorious work of
grace to subdue them and to bring them down. And it's an evidence
of God's favour toward us when we see the work of the Spirit
within us, strengthening us to do these things. Now, you and
I won't want to do them, because our old nature goes after them.
But what a blessing when we have, as it's spoken of here, the fear
of the Lord. The fear of the Lord. We must
have the fear of the Lord. And what a blessing it is if
it works out this way to encourage us and to instruct us and to
bless us so that we do that which is indeed right. And again another
quotation in Proverbs directing us to turning away from evil. Remember God's servant Job he
eschewed evil he turned away from evil and that's what you
and I need to do today. The devil would encourage you
in evil things And we look through the Word of God and we see many
examples which were those who succumbed to evil things. You think of King David. He succumbed,
didn't he, to adultery with Bathsheba. And it's worth just pondering
the situation there. You know, David was up on his
rooftop, wandering around. He wasn't occupied. He wasn't
occupied. No, and therefore because he
wasn't occupied, he was looking all around and he saw this beautiful
woman bathing and he took a liking to her and demanded that she
come and of course, sadly he committed adultery with her.
You see, the devil finds work for idle hands to do. You and
I should be concerned and not be left. to an idle situation. You may perhaps realise that
sometimes we may sit with nothing particularly to do, and you know,
what do our minds wander to? Well, we should be concerned
they wander on to good things, but the devil's there to try
and make us, and often does, wander on to evil things, not
good things. And so as we see this example,
of God's servant Job. What an example it is and how
we should be concerned that we are one who truly fear God and
eschew and turn away from evil. And Solomon tells us in the 16th
chapter, he says, by mercy and truth, iniquity is purged and
by the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil. Well, may we
possess the fear of the Lord so that we do truly depart from
evil. Well, that's just a brief statement
about how we see Job here, blessed with this wonderful favour of
eschewing evil and how you and I should pray that we may be
able to also eschew evil, be blessed with this fear of God. And don't think that left to
ourselves, you and I will have strength to do that. That's why
we are to pray every day, lead me not into temptation and deliver
me from evil. And never think that you, in
your own strength, are able to stand firm. And never say, well,
of course I wouldn't do that. Because unless God keeps you,
you will do that. And sometimes the Lord may allow
you to fall, to commit sin, which you thought you never would.
You thought you never would say such things, perhaps or do such
things. And yet sometimes the Lord allows us to fall to show
us our weakness and then to show us his great love and his great
mercy in restoring us and showing us his mercy in giving us true
confession for our sin. This is all part of God's gracious
dealings with his people. And upright, one that feared
God and eschewed evil. Well, Job did these things, but
we read then in this, and I don't intend to go through it of course,
it's just too long to do, but we read that Job had three friends. And these three friends, they
came along and they sat by Job after Satan had been allowed
to afflict his body. You see, Satan did all that he
could possibly to destroy the soul of Job. And if you read
through this book of Job up to the 31st chapter, you have there
the descriptions of these three friends giving their views and
how Job responded. And some of the things, of course,
that Job said were right and some of the things were not right,
he was trying to justify himself. But it's interesting that as
he comes towards the end of his speeches, and the end is in the
31st chapter, he does tell us some of the things that he was
able to do. And he says, if I have withheld
the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow
to fail. That means he didn't leave them.
That means he helped them. That means he encouraged them.
And you see the grace of God and the effect of God's grace
in our hearts. If we are truly walking this
way, the fear of the Lord is steward evil. We will desire
to be found doing those things which are right, and those things
which are good, and those things which are God honoring. And he
goes on to say, or have eaten my morsel, that means it's food
myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof. That
means he wasn't selfish. He didn't just eat by himself.
If there was someone that needed some food, he would give it to
them. For from my youth, he was brought up with me as with a
father, and I have guided her from my mother's womb. If I have
seen any perish, for want of clothing, or any poor without
covering, if his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not
warmed with the fleece of my sheep." You see how Job saw people
in need. He wasn't like the Pharisee that
passed by on the other side, or the scribe. He was like the
good Samaritan. He helped people. And that's
a good evidence of the life of God in our souls. if we are willing
and concerned to help those who have need. And so he says, if
I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my
help in the gate, then let mine arm fall from my shoulder and
mine arm be broken from the bone, you see. If he hadn't done those
things which were right, and therefore we come down to the
end of this chapter and we're told the words of Job are ended. And then after that there was
this young man Elihu who came and spoke at length to Job and
his three friends. They were there sitting listening
to those things that were spoken and Elihu spoke some good words
to him. And when he finished his speech,
which went down to the end of the 37th chapter, so from chapter
32 to the end of 37, we have the speech of Elihu. And then
what happened? Well, something wonderful happened. And we're told this, then the
Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, Now, when
God speaks, we have to listen. And God spoke to Job very wonderfully,
and you can read that in the following chapters, what God
spoke. And God spoke to Job and told
him something of his greatness, of how powerful he was, and how
wonderful he was, and how merciful he was. You know, what was the
effect of that upon Job? Well, how wonderful it is when
God has, His Word has a good effect upon us. Now Job has explained
himself in these chapters, we've explained one or two things,
and we can see how there was a lot of good in what Job did. But, when he stands before God,
when God speaks to him, How does he respond? Does he say, well,
I've done all these things and they really stack up quite well? Well, we come to the 40th chapter
and Job's response was, Job answered the Lord and said,
behold, I am vile. What shall I answer thee? I will
lay mine hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken, but I will
not answer. twice, but I will proceed no
further." Well, here was Job standing before God, hearing
God's word, and his response was, Behold, I am vile. Now that is the mercy of God,
when the Spirit of God comes upon us. And as you and I stand
before God, it's not as men view us, it's as God views us. And we have to confess in light
manner as Job did, behold I am vile. Well I wonder this morning
if you've been there. I wonder perhaps if you are there
before a holy God. A holy God. You see you can't then stand
up and start making excuses and saying well of course I did that
because of this and because of that. Job had to fall down before
God and confess. Confession is a wonderful privilege. Confession is a wonderful blessing,
and it is the gift of God. And so Job comes and says, behold,
I am vile. And then what happens? Then answered
the Lord again unto Job out of the whirlwind and said, and again
he continues, these words to his servant Job. The Lord comes down to the end
of the 41st chapter and says, he beholdeth all things, all
high things. He is a king over all the children
of pride. And then Job again answers the
Lord. 42nd chapter, then Job answered
the Lord and said, I know that thou canst do everything. You
see, he had now a great view of God. It's wonderful when God
deals with us so that we have a great view of God. I know that
thou canst do everything and that no thought can be withholden
from thee. He had a view, didn't he? of
God looking upon him through and through. This man who was
described as perfect and upright and the one that feared God and
eschewed evil. But you see God's work is now being developed.
And it's been developed in the soul of his servant Job. And
it's had a good and a wonderful and a gracious effect. And he
says, I know that thou canst do everything and that no thought
can be withholden from thee. Who is he that hieth counsel
without knowledge? Therefore have I uttered that
I understood not, things too wonderful for me which I knew
not. What a blessing it is if you
and I, when we're before God, we're honest. Job was an honest
man here. He's speaking to God. And he
then says, here I beseech thee, and I will speak, and I will
demand of thee, and declare that unto me. I have heard of thee
by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee." It's
the eye of faith which saw the greatness of God. And he saw
a little of himself. And what did that bring him to?
This is what he says. Wherefore I abhor myself and
repent in dust and ashes. Now it would be a great blessing
for you and me if God deals with us in this way, however we might
be, considered, like Job perhaps, as an upright and one that feared
God in this year of evil, and yet there was more work to be
done. And the Lord dealt with Job in this humbling way. But it was a blessing to him
because it brought him down to that situation where, in his
own eyes, He abhorred himself. He didn't justify himself. He
had done previously. He didn't justify himself now.
He says, here, I abhor myself. Well, I wonder this morning if
you and I can come before God and say with Job, wherefore I
abhor myself. It's not a very pleasant thing
to have to say, is it? Not a very nice thing to have
to say, but when God's Spirit shines into our hearts, it will
reveal things there which perhaps we never really appreciated existed. And we come, standing before
God, and we say, wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and
ashes. God's mercy was toward his servant
Job. God wasn't going to leave Job.
God was with Job and God wonderfully blessed Job. And the last few
verses in this book tell us, so the Lord blessed the latter
end of Job more than his beginning. Well, what a favour for us if
God comes and blesses us in that way, blesses us. blesses our
end more than our beginning. It would be a great favour for
us. Well, having just briefly then
gone through the effect of God's work in the heart of Job, I want
to come back just to a wonderful part of Job's testimony, because
Job is describing himself To his three friends and he says
how long will you vex my soul and break me in pieces? with
words These ten times have you reproached me? You're not ashamed
that you make yourself strange to me this is in the 19th chapter
and he goes on to describe himself and he says my breath is strange
to my wife and Though I am treated for the children's sake of mine
own body, yea, young children despise me, I arose and they
spake against me, all my inward friends abhorred me, and they
whom I loved are turned against me. My bone cleaveth to my skin
and to my flesh, and I am escaped by the skin of my teeth. Have
pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends, for the
hand of God hath touched me." It's good to know when God's
hand has touched us. Not always in the way that we
perhaps expect and always in the way that we want. But here
God's hand had touched God's servant Job and he acknowledges
it. And so he says, Why do you persecute me as God and are not
satisfied with my flesh? And then he comes and tells us
these words, which are very precious. Oh, that my words were now written. Oh, that they were printed in
a book, that they were graven with an iron pen and laid in
the rock. Well, perhaps you've seen gravestones
sometimes where stone, perhaps marble or very hard stone has
been engraved And then lead has been placed in that engraving
so that it will last a very long time. It won't just disappear. And that's what Job is desiring
here, that his words might be graven with an iron pen and lead
in the rock forever. And then he tells us these great
words. Remember, in the midst of these
difficult scenes, he says, for I know that my Redeemer liveth. He looked forward,
didn't he, to the Lord Jesus Christ. Wonderful words of prophecy,
wonderful words which God filled his heart with. I know that my
Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon
the earth. Well, how true that was. What
a wonderful revelation to Job, to have by faith a view of the
Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who would stand on the earth
and who was his Redeemer. The one who was going to save
him, the one who was going to redeem him from all his sins.
And that redemption was to be carried out. by the Saviour when
he died upon the cross at Calvary and shed his precious blood to
atone for Job's sins, to atone for your sins and my sins. And so what do we see? We see here Job in the midst
of his affliction, in the midst of the situation, the eye of
faith stretched out to look to the Saviour. And he said it with
a humble confidence. He said, for I know that my Redeemer
liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And not only that, he then gave
the picture himself. Now after my skin, worms destroy
this body, yet in my flesh Shall I see God, whom I shall see for
myself? Mine eyes shall behold, and not
another, though my reins be consumed within me." Well, what a wonderful
faith we see, what a wonderful picture we see, and how true
it is for the whole Church of God to realise and to know, and
how comforting it is. In the midst of trials, in the
midst of opposition, in the midst of God showing us and bringing
us down in our own esteem, our own estimation. In the midst
of that, to point us to himself, to the great Redeemer. Oh, what
a comfort that is. In the midst of our journey of
life, to realise, yes, my Redeemer lives forevermore. And not only
so, I shall see him for myself, not another, not other people. Real religion is personal. God's dealings are personal. What a blessing, therefore, if
in measure we understand how God dealt with Job and how God
granted Job this blessed living faith to realize that there would
be that day when he would be raised up to be with Christ,
which is far better for ever and ever. So as we think of Job
and the expression here we've had this morning, this man called
Job who was perfect and upright and one that feared God and eschewed
evil, given that description and yet realizing what Job had
to pass through, and what he had to pass through was really
to purify his religion. And that's the same today. God
purifies his people's religion. And by purifying, he takes away
that which is of their own religion, that which they provided, that
which perhaps they think is supporting them. and they have to come dependent
only upon what their Redeemer has done and have all their hope
in the blessed righteousness of Christ and not their own. And the Lord comes and what a
blessing it is that God deals with you and me. He dealt with
Job in love to his soul and today deals with his people in love
to their soul and brings them at last home to glory. Well may we thank God that he's
given us the book of Job to encourage us and to describe in some detail
the pathway of the true believer. Amen.