I took the title from this message
from verse 12 and it sounds like a statement of the obvious because
most people would agree with this without question God is
greater than man some people might put it this way because
they don't know God but they might say well if there is a
God he is greater than man well there is a God and he is greater
than man but you know this statement it's easy to say it's even even
easy for us as believers to say it but it's a little more difficult
to live it you know it's not just words it means something
but let's go back here i want you to look at this passage this
this is this chapter if you haven't read it all the way through sit
down sometime between now and sunday night and read the whole
thing all the way through it's it's a fascinating revelation
i'm not not to say that that all of god's word is not fascinating
but i mean we're human i mean you know that this is much more
fascinating to me than reading the genealogies i know that even
though those genealogies have their place in their purpose
especially as you see how things unfold in man's history but it
is a fascinating passage and well all of what Elihu says here,
Elihu, what he does he brings a new approach to this matter
that is on the table here why the righteous suffer that's what
he's talking about and what he shows in this chapter and more
so in the rest of his message to Job is that the suffering
of the righteous unlike the three miserable comforters Elihu tells
them the suffering of the righteous is not a token of God's hatred
it's not a sign that God is your enemy or that God has forsaken
his people the righteous We know who the righteous are they're
sinners saved by the grace of God those to whom God has been
merciful gracious sovereignly powerfully God never forsakes
his people You realize that if you're one of his no matter what
you're going through you may feel like you're forsaken, but
God never forsakes his people Christ said I'll never leave
you nor forsake you And then Elihu even brings it to this
point. He's going to talk about how the suffering of the righteous
is not a punishment for their sins. Now, I've said this before
and I'm not going to get into this tonight in detail. I'll
say a little bit about it. But there are some consequences
to some sins. I mean, that's just the way it
is. I've often given you the example. They cannot put us in
jail for not loving our neighbor perfectly, but they can put us
in jail for stealing and for murder and all. Those are consequences. They can't write you a ticket
and give you a fine for not loving God perfectly, but they can for
speeding on the road. So there are consequences. But
those consequences that we're talking about there have nothing
to do with what Elihu's talking about and they're in no way for
the righteous payment for sin. You see what the three miserable
comforters had basically said, Job, you're suffering for your
sin. You're a hypocrite. God's making
you pay for it. I've heard people say that about
certain people. They'll have to pay for their
sin. Well, let me tell you something. For the righteous, our sins are
already paid for in full. And that's what grace is all
about. and is paid for in full by one who was able and willing
and appointed to do so, the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's why
we sing that hymn, Jesus paid it all. But the suffering of
the righteous is not a punishment of their sins, but it's a refining
of them as persons. It's a refining of their faith.
It's a refining of their character. It's a correction. That's what
it is. It's called chastisement in the
scripture. In reality, that's a proof of
God's love. Let me just read you this out
of Hebrews chapter 12, because that's the chapter that really,
I think, teaches more in a detailed way the issues of chastisement. And in Hebrews chapter 12, the
apostle writes, he says in verse 6, For whom the Lord loveth,
He chastened them. Correction, you see. It's a punishment in a sense,
but it's not the punishment that the legalists talk about. He
says, He scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Christ referred
to it in John 15 as a pruning. And he says in verse 7 of Hebrews
12, if you endure chastening, God dealeth with you, and I've
got this underscored in my Bible, this phrase, as with sons. That's how God, if you're enduring
a chastening like Job's doing, God's dealing with you as a child
of God, as a son or a daughter in Christ. For what son is he
whom the father chasteneth not? And then he brings forth a very,
very bold statement. He says in verse 8, but if you
be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers. We're partners
in this. That word partaker there is a
fellowship word. That's what it means. In other
words, we are fellowshipers. We fellowship in the faith. Our
fellowship is with the Father and the Son. But we also fellowship
with each other in this chastisement. Because every child of God is
a partaker of this. in some form or fashion or degree
at some time or another. Not necessarily to the degree
that Job is going through, but to some degree. But he says,
but if you be without chastisement whereof all are partakers, then
are you bastards and not sons. In other words, those who don't
partake of this chastisement They're illegitimate children.
They're not true children of God. So that passage there speaks
of that. Elihu's going to deal with that
later on in more detail. But Job, you know, he has spoken
as if God has forsaken him and God is his enemy. And that's
where he really went wrong. He never denied God. He never
denied God's way of salvation. He never denied Christ. But speaking
out of his hurt, speaking out of his sorrow and his pain and
his ignorance, he said, has God become my enemy? And Elihu is going to show Job
here that these chastisements, these sufferings of the righteous
are not a preparation for their ultimate destruction. Now they
are for the unrighteous. Whatever they go through on this
earth, the unrighteous, those who die without Christ, Think
about it. Who die without a mediator. Everything they go through whether
it feels good or feels terrible is a preparation for ultimate
destruction. Ultimate eternal death. But not
for the righteous. Whether they're on the mountaintop
or in the valley, it's not a preparation for ultimate destruction, but
it's a protection from destruction. And I will get to that more Sunday
night. I think you'll love that. It just lifted my soul when I
read it and studied it. And this is something, what Elihu's
teaching is something that neither Job nor his three friends had
discovered. But here's the first thing, in
the first seven verses, now listen to this, Elihu starts out by
assuring Job that he, that is Elihu, is speaking these words
by the Spirit of God. You remember last time we dealt
with there in chapter 32 where Elihu talked about giving his
opinion, and that word opinion is not the same word that we
use in our English language about giving an opinion. In other words,
just your view of things or your take on things. It has to do
with knowledge. Two times in the book of Job,
that word opinion, that same word that's translated opinion
here in the King James, is translated knowledge, and one time it refers
to the knowledge of God. Well, you see, the Bible is not
God's opinion in our view of that word. It's God's authority. It's not a suggestion, is it?
So it's knowledge. But Elihu says, I'm speaking
by the Spirit of God. How do we know Elihu speaks the
truth? Look over at chapter 32 and verse
8. He says, But there is a Spirit in man, and the inspiration of
the Almighty God breathed. The breath of the Almighty giveth
them understanding. Great men are not always wise,
neither do the aged understand judgment. So it has nothing to
do with age. But it has to do with the inspiration
of the Almighty. Well, look at verse 1 of chapter
33. He says, Wherefore, Job, I pray thee, hear my speeches
and hearken to all my words. Listen to me, Job. Verse 2, Behold,
now I have opened my mouth. My tongue hath spoken in my mouth. Now, what does that mean? What
he's saying is, that's just a way of saying, I've thought about
what I'm telling you. This is not off the cuff. I'm
not speaking extemporaneously here. I'm telling you. what God
has revealed to me, what I've thought about. And when he says,
my tongue is spoken, it's like you're speaking to yourself,
that kind of thing, not to anybody. In other words, he's rehashed
these things in his mind. And then he says in verse three,
my word shall be of the uprightness of my heart and my lips shall
utter knowledge clearly. Well, you know, an upright heart,
you know what an upright heart is in scripture, it's a regenerate
heart. Isn't that right? It's the new heart. It's the
heart that is broken and contrite over sin, made so by the Spirit
of God. It's the heart of faith, faith
in God, as He's revealed in the person and work of Christ. It's
a heart of sincerity and honesty, a heart of conviction. That's
what it is. Back over in chapter 1 and verse
1, Job was called a man who was perfect and upright, justified
before God. And here Elihu says, I'm speaking
sincerely and honestly out of my conviction what God has taught
me, and my lips shall utter knowledge clearly. Where does this upright
heart and this knowledge come from? Well, look at verse 4.
Here he tells you. The Spirit of God hath made me, and the
breath of the Almighty hath given me life. Now remember he said
the inspiration of the Almighty? Well now he says the breath of
the Almighty. Same thing. I'm telling you what God's taught
me. First of all, he says, number one, the Spirit of God hath made
me. Here's a person, a sinner saved by the grace of God, a
man of an upright heart. He's not a self-made man. The
Spirit of God hath made me. Christ said you must be born
again. And you don't birth yourself again. Those who have received
Christ, they're born of God. Not of blood, nor the will of
flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. And that's what Elijah
is saying, the Spirit of God has made me. What I am? I am
by the grace of God. Paul said it that way. I am by
the grace of God. I'm a sinner saved by the grace
of God. I'm a forgiven person. I'm a
spiritual man. A spiritual man is one who has
been born again by the Spirit from above. He has the life of
Christ within him imparted to him by the Spirit. That's what
it is. It's life. It's knowledge. It's all the
gifts and graces of the Spirit. It's eyes to see, ears to hear,
hearts and minds to understand, know, love, and embrace Christ
and His truth. That's what it is. Yes, we do
become a partaker of the divine nature. What does that mean?
That means we are in fellowship with Almighty God. That's not
enough for some, but I'll tell you what it is for us. We are
in fellowship with the divine nature, Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit. How do we get that way? Through Christ. The promises
of God in him, yea and amen. So the Spirit of God hath made
me, Elihu says. And then he says, the breath
of the Almighty hath given me life. That's where it comes from. My spiritual life is the life
of God within. Yes, it is Christ in you, the
hope of glory. Christ dwells within us by His
Spirit and by His Word, and there is a principle, a power of life. It's divine life in the sense
that it originates with God. God created it. It comes through
Christ who is our life. Our life comes from His death. That's why He said, and I, if
I be lifted up, will draw all unto me. he's going to give him
life. He told his disciples that the
spirit of conviction comes because he went away. Where did he go
to? He went to the cross, he died, went to the grave, he arose
again, and he ascended unto the Father. Out of his work, out
of his death, comes life. The Bible says that this body
that you inhabit here on this earth, that your spirit inhabits,
your soul inhabits, is dead. because of sin. That's a consequence,
isn't it? But your physical death will
not pay for your sins. Your physical death will only
be a passage. He said the body is dead because
of sin, but the spirit is life. This life here that Eli is talking
about, because of righteousness. Whose righteousness? Christ.
You didn't get life because of your righteousness. You didn't
have any, and I didn't have any. None righteous, no, not one.
Life comes from Christ, righteousness imputed to us. Life imparted,
knowledge imparted, comes from righteousness imputed. That's
right. We are wrapped in His righteousness,
symbolically. And legally before God, we stand
without sin. But we have as a result of that
life from God. And that life manifests itself.
Here's Elihu, he's preaching the gospel, actually. He's preaching
the word of God. And look at what he says in verse
5, he says, Job, if thou canst answer me, now the answering
him means if you can prove me wrong. And what I'm about to
say, Job, back here in Job 33, if you can prove me wrong, Job,
then set the words in order before me. State your case. Now, one
thing you're going to notice throughout Elihu's discourse
here, all the way up through verse 37, Job doesn't speak a
word. Now, he answered Eliphaz and
Bildad and Zophar. He had an argument with them,
but he doesn't have an argument with this fella here. And he
says, set your words in order for me and stand up. That means
stand up for yourself. In other words, if you can prove
me wrong, then do it. But look at verse six. He says,
behold, I am according to thy wish in God's stead. Now what
had Job prayed for? He prayed, I want to hear from
God. I don't want to hear from man.
I want to hear from God. And so Elihu's telling Job, well,
you're getting what you wish for. You're getting what you
prayed for. I'm hearing God's stead. Now, that doesn't mean
Elihu is claiming to be God. That doesn't mean Elihu is saying
I'm the vicar of Christ, the substitute of Christ. How do
you know he's not saying that? Look at his next line. I am formed
out of the clay. I'm just a man like you are,
Job. That's what he means there. I'm here speaking for God by
the Word of God, but I'm just a man like you. It's like Paul
said one time. He's talking about the force
and the power and the greatness and the solemnity of the gospel
and what the implications of it. Standing behind a pulpit,
Or standing in front of somebody witnessing the glory of God in
Christ, telling sinners how God saves sinners by His grace through
Christ. Think about the implications
of that. It's a saver of life unto life and death unto death.
And Paul said, who is sufficient for these things? Not us. The treasure that we have, we
have it in earthen vessels, he said, clay pots. I'm not God. You know that. I'm not the light. I'm just bearing witness of the
light. That's what Elihu is saying here. He said, behold, I've come
in answer to your prayer, Job, in God's stead, but I'm just
a man like you. And what he's saying, you know,
Paul wrote this in 2 Corinthians 5.20. He says, now then we are
ambassadors for Christ. That's what Elihu is saying.
I'm an ambassador. I've come to give you a word
from a higher authority than me. And Paul said, as though
God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead be
you reconciled to God. Look at verse 7. He says, behold,
my terror shall not make thee afraid. Now what terror? You
hear that word terror, and we think of something that is just
utterly, utterly frightening. What he's talking about is the
same thing that Paul wrote of in the New Testament in 2 Corinthians
5 when he spoke of the terror of the Lord. Remember there in
2 Corinthians 5, at least verse 10 and 11, he says, knowing therefore
the terror of the Lord, we do persuade men. In other words,
we preach Christ. We're preaching, sinner, the
only hope that any of us have to stand at judgment. and be
found justified, to be found saved is Christ and Him crucified
and risen again. His blood and His righteousness
and we know the terror of the Lord. We know God's character. We know God's nature. Now, think
about this in line with Job's three miserable friends, the
miserable comforters. Their terror was meant to what? To make Job afraid in the sense
of legal fear. Job, you're a hypocrite. Job,
you're a sinner. There's something you've done.
You need to get right with God. You need to work. You need to
make this thing right so God will bless you like he's blessing
us. Now that's the kind of terror you don't need. That's legalism. That makes mercenaries, not bond
slaves. But Elihu says, he says, now
my terror shall not make you afraid. It's not going to frighten
you. He says, neither, look at verse seven, neither shall my
hand be heavy upon thee. They came down on Job, the miserable
comforters, they came down on Job with a heavy hand, the whip
of the law. And their goal was to set things
right in a legal way. But Elihu is saying that's not
what I'm here for, Job. I'm here to recover you. Remember
over in Galatians chapter 6, you don't have to turn there,
but he talks about recovery. That's the goal of the gospel
when a brother or sister has fallen into some sort of public
or scandalous sin. It's our task given by God not
to come down and beat them over the head with a heavy hand of
the law. and make them worse than what
they were before, worse in religion, but it's our job to recover them
in consideration of we know what we are. You see, somebody could
read through the book of Job and say, you know, Job, he ought
not say that, he ought not did that, he ought not... You go
through the same thing and see where you end up. All but by the grace of God.
Worse, worse, worse, that's what we'd be in. So Elihu says, I'm
here to recover you. He sought recovery. He was sent
of God to teach Job to promote godly sorrow and real comfort. Not like those others, not like
those legalists, not like the self-righteous. And that sets the tone. Now in
verses 8 through 11 here, he brings the charge against Job.
Now here's what the problem is. Unlike Job's three friends who
accused him falsely, what Elihu does, he brings proof of what
he's charging Job with by Job's own words. And listen to what
he says. Look at verse 8. Surely thou
hast spoken in mine hearing. I heard what you said, Job, and
I've heard the voice of thy words say. Now here's what Job said. I'm clean without transgression. I'm innocent. Neither is there
iniquity in me. Verse 10. He says, Behold he,
now Job, this is Job speaking. Eli, he was quoting Job. Job
brought these words back in chapter 13. That was when Job talked
about how he spoke out of his pain and out of his ignorance.
And here's what Job said as recorded in verse 10 here. Behold he,
that is God, findeth occasions against me. God counteth me for
his enemy. This is the way Job was feeling
then. Verse 11, God putteth my feet
in the stocks. In other words, it's kind of
like he's saying God's commanded me to obey him, but he shut me
up in stocks and I can't do it. God set up an impossibility for
me. And then he says, God marketh
all my paths. God's the one who's in control.
That's what he's saying there. He's not saying that God's going
behind him with little marks. He's saying, God marketh all
my path. Where I go, that's where God's marked it out. That's what
he's saying now. And then Elihu says in verse
12, Behold in this thou art not just. You're not right, Job,
in what you're saying there. I will answer thee that God is
greater than man. Now let me look at this for a
minute. Back here he says, I've heard what you said. So he's
going to bring charges. Now, Eliphaz and Bildad and Zophar,
they brought charges, but they were false charges. Elihu's not
going to do that. I'm bringing charges. Here's
what you said. Now, he starts off with Job's confession here
in verse 9. And you can read these words over, I think it's
in chapter nine, but think about it. He says, I'm clean without
transgression, I'm innocent, neither is there iniquity in
me. Now, Job's words here, I want you to think. Now, here's a place
where I believe is a grand opportunity for students of the word of God
to become skillful in the word of righteousness, right here.
And I want you to see something. First of all, Job's words there
are not false. Now how do you know that? Always
go back now. It's kind of like, you know,
my dad was a land surveyor. And when we'd go into a new place
and we would start to survey like a subdivision or something
like that, we'd always look for what we called a benchmark. And
every now and then we'd be measuring along and I held the dummy end
of the chain. My dad was on the transit looking
in, you know, and all that. I had the snake boots and the
machete and the dummy end. And we would go through there,
be measured, and every now and then we'd always shoot back to
that benchmark to make sure that we were being true to the benchmark. Well, the benchmark in the book
of Job is easy to find. It's Job 1.1. So always remember
what God Himself stated about Job. And you know what He stated? Job is a perfect man. Now, that
means complete. He's complete. No sinner in the
Bible, no person in the Bible, no sinner in the Bible is ever
described by God as complete in themselves. The only completeness
that God ever recognizes in a sinner is his completeness in Christ. Now that's so. He says he's an
upright man, upright in heart. He's a justified man. He's a
man of faith. He's born again of the Spirit.
He's one who feared God. What does it say about the unregenerate
man in Romans 3 and verse 18? There's no fear of God before
his eyes. God said Job feared God. God said that. I can't stress
that enough. And God said he eschewed evil. He fled from evil. Now that's
got to be evil in God's sight. Because God said it. God made
the judgment. So there's your benchmark now.
So when Joe makes his statement, he says I'm clean without transgression,
I'm innocent, neither is there iniquity in me. There's a sense
in which that's true. Now is Joe abusing it in that
sense? Not always. Not always. But let me just give
you this. I know because of what God's
Word says here that Job himself was trusting in Christ for his
justification before God. Job knew that he had no righteousness
of himself or in himself before God. He knew that his righteousness
was in Christ. And I'll tell you something,
you look at those statements, I'm clean without transgression,
I'm innocent, neither is there iniquity in me. Do you know that
every believer can make those statements without blushing,
without hesitation before God as we stand in Christ? Let me prove it to you. He says,
look at it, verse 9. And you don't have to turn to
these scriptures. I've got them all marked up here. But just listen. You're familiar with every one
of them. Most of you can probably quote
them all. And he says, I'm clean without transgression. Now God
said in Isaiah 64 and verse 6, he made this statement. We are
all as an unclean thing. And all our righteousnesses are
as filthy rags. That's man by nature, isn't it?
That's what we are by nature. Job says, I'm clean. Can I say
I'm clean without transgression? Well, Job was clean and without
transgression. The only way a sinner can be
clean. He was washed in the blood of
the lamb. Now what the scripture teaches
in first Corinthians six and verse 11, the apostle Paul inspired
by the Holy spirit told the believers at Corinth. He says, you are
washed. how you're washed in the blood
of the Lamb. We're washed clean in the blood of the Lamb. Job
says, I'm without transgression here. I am no transgressor. Well, how is that possible? Well,
the only way a sinner can be without transgression, Christ
was numbered with the transgressors. Isaiah 53, wasn't he? He was
numbered, he was accounted with the transgressors. He was wounded
for our transgressions. And in him we can say we're without
transgressions, only as we stand in him. Job says here, I'm innocent. Romans 3 and verse 19 says, let
all the world become guilty before God. So how can we say we're
innocent? The only way a sinner can. Colossians
1.22, Christ's death made us holy and unblameable and unreprovable
in his sight. You know what that means? Holy? In God's sight? How? By the death of Christ. Unblameable? You know what unblameable means?
It means the same thing as who can lay anything to the charge
of God's elect. You can't blame me. That is in
God's sight. That doesn't negate my responsibility
to live right and to be a responsible human being, and if I do wrong,
you can blame me. But in God's court of justice,
in Christ, I'm unblameable. and unreprovable. You know what
reproof is? That's correction. In other words,
I'm perfect in Christ. He says here in verse 9, he says,
neither is there iniquity in me. Now the King James translation
there kind of misleads you a little bit, I believe. Because what
he's actually saying is not there's no iniquity in me. There is iniquity
in you. There is iniquity in me. I have
no iniquity as I am in Christ. But it literally means this,
I am void of iniquity. It means I have no iniquity. One translation says this, and
it's not a bad translation. He says, my conscience is clear. Well, how do you have a clear
conscience before God? Hebrews chapter 10, by the body
of Christ, by the blood of Christ, cleansed by the blood of Christ.
I have no guilt. Job 15, 16. makes this statement, man drinks
iniquity like water. That's man by nature. But Isaiah
said this, in Isaiah 53, Christ was bruised for our iniquity.
So in Christ, we have no iniquity. So every believer can make those
statements without fail based on God's testimony concerning
our legal standing in Christ. I have his right, I'm washed
in his blood and clothed in his righteousness. Now however, when
Job used those words, he wasn't talking about his justification
before God. He was defending himself against
those false charges. He was not claiming sinless perfection
in himself. Job confessed his sins. I'm not
going to go back into all those scriptures. That's Job 720. Read
that. Read Job 920. There's others.
Job 920. Job confessed his sins. Job knew
his need of a ransom immediately. Elihu's going to bring that out
later on. Job brought it out. I need a redeemer. Listen, if
you're righteous in yourself, you don't need a redeemer. But
Job needed a redeemer. I need a redeemer. You need a
redeemer. A kinsman redeemer. But Job was,
he was claiming his innocence of those charges. Now what was
the problem? Well look, look what he said
in light of that. Verse 10. Now this is in other
places. And I notice here too that Elihu is bringing Job's
words back on himself. Job didn't make this all in one
fell swoop, you know. These are fragmented statements
that he made, but they're still chargeable. And he says in verse
10, Behold, he findeth occasion against me, he counteth me for
his enemies, he putteth my feet in the stock, he marketh all
my paths. In these matters of his own suffering,
now this is what this is talking about, this is what Elihu is
bringing charges against Job. In these matters of Job's suffering,
Job is actually accusing God of being unjust, of being his
enemy. Is God on my side or not? The
Bible says that God is for everyone in Christ. He's against everyone
without Christ. But that's what he's doing. Job
is saying, God, you ought not treat me this way. You're unjust
to do so. This is unfair. I don't deserve
this. And so Elihu is going to start
laying the foundation and building the answer. And here's the first
one he gives. Look at verse 12. He says, Behold
in this, Job, you're not just. You're not right. You've accused
God of being unfair in these matters of suffering. And he
says, I will answer thee. And here's the first answer.
This lays the foundation for the answer. Job, God is greater
than man. It's almost like you'd think
Job would say, well, why are you telling me something I don't
know? But here's the problem. Job knew this. But in the depths
of his suffering and his sorrow, he'd lost sight of it. And I'll
tell you what, we all need to be reminded of this. We know
it's so. Don't you know God's greater
than you? And I know God's greater than me. But you know, when we
fret and complain, it's almost saying that we're wiser and greater
than God. You say, well, that ought not
have happened, or I wish that hadn't happened, or this, that,
or the other. And I'm not saying let's be fatalists. We're to
be responsible citizens. But my friend, God's in control,
and He's greater than you, and He's greater than me. Most will say that God is greater
than man, but they really neither believe it nor live it. Think
about this. God is greater than man in His
nature. God's nature, the nature of the
divine. God is eternal. Man's a vapor. that appears for a little while
and then gone. Puff of smoke. God is holy. Man's a sinner. God is powerful. Man is totally impotent, weak. God is knowledge. Man is ignorant. God is true. Man is a liar. God is just. Man is unjust. God
is wise, man is a fool. God is greater than man in his
wisdom. Look over at Isaiah 55 with me,
just a moment. Look at verse 6 of Isaiah 55. The prophet here speaking, he
says, seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon
him while he is near. Isaiah 55, 6. Let the wicked
forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return
unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him. And to our God,
for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your
thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For
as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher
than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." You see
that? God's greater than man. Over
in 1 Corinthians 1, you don't have to turn there, he talks
about the foolishness of God is wiser than man. And man, God
has no foolishness. But what man calls foolishness,
the very wisdom of God. Think about it in salvation,
God's wisdom there. God is greater than man in his
mercy. His mercy toward his people is
in Christ, the mercy seat, who is in himself the sure mercies
of David, and his mercies endure forever. His mercies are unresponsive
to us, has nothing to do with anything in us. It's given to
sinners who don't deserve it and haven't earned it, and it's
of the Lord's mercies that we're not consumed. And that's every
day. God is greater than his judgment.
God judges according to truth. God knows the hearts. God's greater
than our hearts. 1 John chapter 3 and verse 20
and 21 talks about if our hearts condemn us, God's greater than
our hearts. Our hearts can be deceptive,
but God's never deceptive. God is greater in providence
no matter what we're going through God's in control all things work
together for good to them that love God who are the called according
to his purpose that's basically what Elihu is saying this is
laying the foundation you see and you know something just like
you mommies and daddies know what's best for your children
God knows what's best for us he knew what was best for Job So he says in verse 13, Why dost
thou strive against him? Why are you striving against
God? It's kind of like what Paul wrote
in Romans 9, Who art thou, O man, to reply against God? Kind of
like what Nebuchadnezzar learned there in Daniel chapter 4, None
can stay his hand or say unto him, What doest thou? It's kind
of like that attitude to say, God, what do you think you're
doing? God's greater than man. he says
for he giveth not account of his of any of his matters god
you know what he's saying here that we all here we don't really
want to hear and that's the god is not responsible to us or accountable
to us that's a heck of a foundation
to lay God does not have to give us explanations for His purposes
or His workings. Now why is it like that? I'll
tell you exactly why. That we who are so pitiful and
poor in ourselves may trust Him and honor Him and glorify Him
in all things no matter what. no matter what. Just be assured that God's ways are the right
ways and that as we stand in Christ and trust Him and believe
in Him that ultimately it will be for God's glory and our eternal
good. Now who in the world could take
a suffering wretch like Job and make that work for his glory
and job's good i'll tell you who god who is greater than me
out there is the foundation of will will will get into some
more of this sunday night are