Turn with me, if you would, to
the book of Job, Job chapter 1. Job 1. I'd like for us to see
what happened to Job this morning. And then I'd like for us to see
four things that God produced in Job that caused him to say,
Blessed be the name of the Lord. That's the title of this message. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Job 1, verse 1. There was a man in the land of
Uz whose name was Job, and that man was perfect. And that means
mature. That means complete. That man
was perfect and upright, and that means righteous. And one that feared God and eschewed
evil. Now Job was not perfect and upright
in and of himself. I had a man tell me one time
that Job was a perfect and upright man. God said he was. And God
did say he was perfect and upright. But Job was not perfect and upright
in himself. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. Isn't that what the scripture
says? There is none that doeth good in his own flesh, no not
one. None means none. So Job was a
sinner just like every other man. But Job was chosen to be
set apart by God. He was an object of God's love. And verse 2 says, There were
born unto him 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 in a very great household so that this man was
the greatest of all the men of the East. This was a materially,
materially blessed man. Very blessed. More importantly
than that, though, we're about to see that this was a spiritually
blessed man. Material blessings are wonderful.
They are wonderful. But the greatest blessing a man
could receive is the spiritual blessings in Christ. Greatest blessing a man could
receive. God did something for this man's spirit, something
for his heart that was a great, great blessing. Verse 4 says,
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. He set them apart in his heart
and in his mind. He thought on them. And he 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. He did it continually. And I
know I know his motive in this. We
do it continually, don't we? We pray for our children continually. We bring them before the Lord
continually. Job knew that the only hope that
any sinner has of being absolutely spared God's judgment, God's
wrath, is that that sinner would have a sacrifice offering on
his behalf. That is not old Jewish speech. That's not old law talk. That's the truth of right now. The only hope that any sinner
has is if he has a sacrifice offering to God for his own soul. He must have a substitute. It is either that sinner or the
substitute. One of the two. The sin must
be paid. Blood must be shed. The wages of sin is death. Blood
must be shed. And Job knew that they must have
a substitute, so he did this continually. Verse 6 says, 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 margin
at his name says the adversary. Some believe that God is at war
with the adversary. That is not true. That is not
true. Aren't you so glad to know that?
That there's not this all powerful war going on, you know, the forces
of good and the forces of evil and sometimes the good wins and
sometimes the evil wins. And we're just hoping that good's
going to come out on top. Aren't you so glad to know that
God is not at war with the adversary? God created the adversary. Why would he do that? It pleased
him to do so. The adversary is God's pawn. The devil is God's devil. We speak about all of this in
fear. In fear. I don't even care to
say His name. This is a fearful thing, but
the good news and the comforting news is He can only do what God
allows Him to do. Thank God. And He has to appear,
just like everybody else, before His God. God is His God. He has a God that he has to answer
to. The true and living God of heaven
and earth, the Lord Jesus Christ, that's the devil's God. Verse
7, And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Where have
you been? What have you been doing? Our Lord knew. He knows all things. He's going to make him confess.
And this is always a chilling thought to me. The average man
or woman thinks of him and his army as being in another place
called hell. But he's here. That's something
very important for us to realize. The danger is imminent. He's here. All right, now our
God is in control, thank God. But this is where God put him,
and he said, what have you been doing? He said, walking around,
going to and fro in the earth. The people, the places. God made him confess to him what
he'd been doing. Verse 7 says, 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 escheweth evil? Have you set a mark on my beloved
child? Have you desired to harm this
chosen vessel of mine? Verse 9, And Satan answered the
LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for naught? What an excellent verse. If you
want to commit a verse to memory, commit that verse to memory.
Doth Job fear God for naught? Here is the absolute truth. If
a sinner fears God, he has nothing else to fear. If a sinner will
fear God, and God has to put that fear in him, And oh, we
give God all the glory for it. But if a sinner fears God, he
has nothing else to fear. There's nothing else worthy to
be feared but God. Verse 9, Satan answered the Lord
and said, Doth Job fear God for naught? Hast not thou made an
hedge about him? That's what he does for every
soul that fears him. He puts a hedge around them.
Don't you love that? We are so afraid of all of the
what ifs in this life. But for God's people, they have
a hedge about them. They have a hedge about them. David said in Psalm 128, Blessed
is everyone that feareth the Lord. If we fear the Lord, we
are blessed men and women. He said, the fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom. It's the beginning. It's where
it starts. Verse 9, 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? And thou hast blessed the work
of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land? Even
the adversary acknowledges all things come from your hands. You recognize that? He's saying,
have you not blessed him? Have you not given everything
from your hands to him? But he said in verse 11, you
put forth your hand now and touch all that he hath And he will
curse thee to thy face. He only loves you because of
everything he gets out of you. He only loves you because you've
blessed him materially and you've spread all of this happiness
around him and you've given safety to his house. But he said you
put forth your hand. He's saying to God, you put forth
your hand and you touch him with affliction. You bring trials into his path. You bring sorrow into his home
and he'll curse you to your face. This discipleship is not real. That's what he's saying. This
love is not real. Verse 12, And the Lord said unto
Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power. Only upon himself
put not forth thy hand. So Satan went forth from the
presence of the Lord. And there was a day when his
sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest
brother's house. And there came a messenger unto
Job and said, The oxen were plowing and the asses feeding beside
them, and the Sabeans 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," verse 16 says, while he
was yet speaking. This all happened at one moment
in time. This did not slowly, all of this
news didn't slowly come to Job and give him a chance to get
his mind around this first bit of information and this next
piece comes. It all came in one fatal blow. Verse 16, While that
servant was yet speaking, there came also another servant, and
said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned
up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them, and I only
am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, he's
in the middle of talking, and all these servants are just lining
up, listening to the next one come and interrupt. Verse 17,
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said,
The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels,
and have carried them away, yea, and 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." In one dreadful blow. All the material possessions
of Job that he had been blessed with by God in one blow, every
single one of them was gone. All of the peace, all of that
happiness that surrounded Job in one fatal blow, it was gone.
I mean, all of it. All of the security that Job
was blessed with in his home, it was gone. It was all gone. Verse 20 says, Then Job arose
and rent his mantle. He tore his clothes and he shaved
his head. Sorrow took hold of him. Absolute sorrow took hold of
him. How could it not? How could it not? A heart that
is not crushed over things like this is a heart that doesn't
beat. How could it not? David said, All the night make
my bed to swim. I water my couch with my tears. He said, My tears have been my
meat day and night. God stripped Job of everything
he had But one thing, one thing, he never took away
his hope. He never took away his hope.
And that's the only thing we need. That is the only thing
we need. Literally, that's the only thing
we need. Verse 20 says, Then Job arose and rent his mantle,
and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and he
worshipped. All times are a time for worship. I ask our brother to read Psalm
62. David said, Trust in Him at all
times. Pour out your heart before Him.
God is a refuge for us. He is not just our refuge in
the good times. He's our refuge at all times
in joy and in sorrow. In sickness and in health, in
poverty and in wealth, leaving all others, we cleave to him
and him alone. Job fell down upon the ground
and he worshiped. What a response. What a response. Verse 21, He said, Naked became
I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither.
The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away. And that's the absolute
truth. Who did all this to Job? Satan
did it. Nope. No. He was just the pawn that God
used to carry it out. God did this to Job. God did it. Eli, the priest,
he was told that God was going to take his two sons from him.
And God did the same work in him that he did in Job. And he
performs this same work in every single child of God. This is
amazing. This is absolutely amazing. You
think, how can this be? But Eli said, it is the Lord,
let him do what seemeth him good. How can a man or a woman say
that? How can a man or a woman say
that? That has to be given by God.
It has to be. Job said, I entered this world
with nothing and God gave me everything that I have. And I'm
going to leave this world with nothing, and it's God's right
to take it. He's God. He's God. Everything in this world, this
is a reality. We're all going to face it. Every
single one of us. Everything in this world is going
to be taken from us. Everything. It has been said
over and over and over, everything God has given us, hold it with
an open hand, because everything is going to be taken. Everything. There is not one soul on this
earth that is going to leave this earth with anything from
this earth in his hand. Not one soul. But there is something
that will never be taken away from any of God's children, and
that's our hope. What is our hope? Verse 21, Job
said, naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall
I return thither. He said, when I entered this
world, I had nothing. I had nothing to offer. I had
nothing to give. Somebody had to clothe me. Somebody
had to shelter me. Somebody had to feed me. Somebody
had to provide for my every need. That's how I entered this world.
Job said that right there is my only hope. It's that when
I leave this world, when I return thither and enter the next world, Christ will clothe me. I go stand before this God of
judgment. And my hope is that Christ will clothe me, and Christ
will shelter me, and Christ will sustain me, and Christ will feed
me, and Christ will supply every single thing I need. That's my hope. In the same way
we entered this world, this painful world, this sinful world, everything
in this world is tainted. Everything in this world is rusting.
Everything in this world is being taken away. Thieves break through
and steal. Our Lord said, don't lay up your
treasure in this world. Don't put your heart into this
world. He said that hope, it's never
going to be taken away. The same way I entered this world,
I'm going to leave this world and I'm going to go stand before
God. I'm going to have nothing to offer God. I'm bringing nothing
with me. I have nothing to give. I have
nothing to clothe me. I have nothing to shelter me.
I have nothing to sustain me. And my only hope is that Christ
will do it for me. That's my only hope. He said
in verse 21, the Lord gave. That's called grace. Grace means gift, that's what
it means. The Lord gave. Our hope is wrapped
up in grace. What do we have that we have
not received? It's all grace. Faith to believe
is a gift of grace. Repentance to bow is a gift of
grace. Eternal life is a gift of grace. We don't earn that. It's a gift.
Eyes to see are a gift. I encourage people to read the
word of God, but they'll never see it if God doesn't give them
eyes to see. I encourage men and women to come hear the Word
of God preached, but they'll never hear it if God doesn't
give them ears to hear. Never. They'll never receive
a heart that believes God if it's not given. Every single
one of these gifts are wrapped up in the gift of the only begotten
Son of God. For God so loved, the Lord gave. The Lord gave. Job said, this
also is my hope. He said in verse 21, the Lord
hath taken away. Eli was right. It is the Lord.
Let him do what seemeth him good. Do you know what seemed him good?
Sometimes I write these notes out in my study, and then when
I get up here, I enter into them. Amazing. You know what seemed
him good? It seemed good and right to the
Lord Jesus Christ to take something away. It's called mercy. Our hope is
wrapped up in mercy. There's a song, a chorus, that
says, Did you hear what the Lord Jesus said to me? They are all
taken away. My sins are all taken away. Took them away. This is my hope.
He took upon himself the form of a servant. He took upon himself
the likeness of sinful flesh. He took upon himself the infirmities,
the sins of his people, and he took every single one of them
to the cross, didn't he? He took the judgment of God.
He took the punishment of God, and He took it all to the grave,
and it's gone. It's all gone. All the sin, all
the wrath, it's all gone. They're all taken away. This is our hope. They are all
taken away. That's why it says in verse 22,
in all this, in all this, In all things, at all times. We go through trying things,
don't we? We go through trying things. We have loved ones who
are going through trying things. More trials are going to come.
And in all this, In all this, you look at things and you think,
how can this be good? How can this be right? How can
this be God's will? How can I say it's the Lord? Let Him do what seems Him good.
How can Job say he's about to say, blessed be the name of the
Lord? Bless God. How can he say that? Do we see what happened? Bless
God. Thanks be to God. How can you
say that? Grace, mercy, and this hope. This hope. Our hope is that all things and
hope is expected anticipation. You know what we expect to come
from every single trial? Soon as the bad news comes and
you don't think in your mind this is good, you know how it
says this is bad, this is bad. Our expected anticipation is
that the end of that trial is going to be good to them that
love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.
It's going to be good. In all these things, at all times,
There's another song it says, Though the wrong seems oft so
strong, it seems so wrong so often, God is the ruler yet. Verse 22, In all this Job sinned
not, nor charged God foolishly. How did he not sin? The answer is he charged not
God foolishly. He did not stop believing God. How did he have that faith? God
gave it to him. How did he perform that faith?
God performed it in him. God applied it to him. But in
all this, he never said, you shouldn't have done this. The
margin for that says attributed folly to God. He never said you
shouldn't have done this. You shouldn't have done this.
God settled his heart that it was all on purpose and it was
all for good. It was all for the salvation
of his people. Through Job, I don't believe any of us will ever endure
what Job endured. Can you imagine enduring that?
Can you literally imagine everything being gone? I believe the Lord
allowed Job to endure all these things to show us that God's
grace truly is sufficient. He is so able. He is so able. God used this precious man to
reveal these things to us that in all things, at all times,
he is truly able to cause our hearts to say what Job said at
the end of verse 21, blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
You have done all things well. Can we not say that with everything? Lord, you've done all things
well. Good and right are all your ways,
all your ways. Whether I see your hand in it,
whether I see your ways in it, whether I understand it, good
and right are all your ways. Job is the one who said in chapter
13, we quote this often, But he's the one who said in chapter
13, though he slay me, though he slay me, yet will I trust
him. Yet will I trust him. That takes
the gift of God to do that. Job is not a perfect man, not
in and of himself, only in Christ. And he's not a special man above
any other man. God's able to do that in any
man. That's the gift of God. Though he slay me, yet will I
trust him. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
May God cause us to say that in all things. Stand together
with me.