The Lord Gave And The Lord Hath Taken Away

Q: What does the Bible say about God's gifts to His people?

God gifts His people with grace, peace, and ultimately His Son, Jesus Christ. The Bible emphasizes that all good things are gifts from God, especially the gift of His Son. In 1 Corinthians 4:7, Paul poses a rhetorical question, illustrating that everything we possess has been received from God, underscoring our dependence on His generosity. Isaiah 9:6 further magnifies this gift, declaring that 'unto us a son is given,' highlighting that Jesus is the ultimate gift that brings salvation and eternal life, as mentioned in John 3:16. Moreover, our gifts also include His grace and the fullness of blessings found in Christ, as Paul notes in 1 Corinthians 1:4. Ultimately, everything we have in both this life and the next comes directly from God's gracious hand.

Q: How do we know that God has taken away our judgment?

Our judgment has been taken away because Jesus bore our sins and judgment on the cross. The assurance that God has taken away our judgment lies in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. As stated in Isaiah 53:6, 'the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all,' indicating that Jesus took upon Himself the punishment we deserve. The moment God speaks peace to our hearts, we can rejoice in the knowledge that we are no longer under condemnation. Paul reinforces this in Romans 8:1, affirming that 'there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.' Our judgment was directed to Christ instead of us, fulfilling the justice of God while granting us grace and forgiveness. Thus, our proclamation should be one of thanksgiving for this incredible work of redemption.

Q: Why is it significant that God takes away our reproach?

God lifts our reproach through Christ, freeing us from shame and disgrace. The removal of our reproach is a profound truth rooted in the atoning work of Jesus Christ. In Genesis 30:23, Rachel declares that God has taken away her reproach, a sentiment echoed in our own lives as sinners redeemed by grace. Scripture reveals that prior to salvation, we bear the weight of sin and shame before a holy God, but through Christ’s sacrificial death, our reproach has been taken away. This is affirmed in Psalm 85:2 where it states that God has forgiven our iniquity and covered our sins. Consequently, we no longer need to carry the shame that sin brings because Christ bore it on our behalf, allowing us to stand justified before God and experience His glorious grace.

back with you all. It's always a privilege and a joy to come to Kingsport. If you would, turn with me to the Book of Job, Book of Job, Chapter 1. Familiar text. We'll read this first chapter of the Book of Job. There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God and eschewed evil.

And 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, and a very great household, so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east. And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day, and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with him. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them and rose up early in the morning and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all. And Job said, it may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them. And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered 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 all the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the Lord and said, Doth Job fear God for naught?

Hast thou not made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he has on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thy hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power, only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.

And there was a day when his sons and 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 Sabians fell upon them and took them away. Yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword, and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another and said, the fire of God has fallen from heaven and has burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, the Chaldeans made out three bands and fell upon the camels and 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 smoked the four corners of the house. And it fell upon the young men, and they are dead. And I only am escaped alone to tell thee. Then Job arose and rent his mantle, shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground and worshiped. and said, naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither.

The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. Now this first chapter of Job begins to introduce us to this man, Job, at the height of his glory and his blessings from God Almighty. Verse one tells us that this man was perfect and upright.

That is said about very few men in scripture. And he was given 10 children and enormous wealth. And this is unique in the sense that it didn't fit the narrative that our Lord talked about how seldom shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God. But this man seemingly had everything, and in a single day, the Lord chose to erase everything he had. He took his children, he took his sheep, he took his oxen, he took his she-asses, he took his servants, his camels, and later even took his health.

There was only two things left for our Lord to take. That was his wife and Job's very life. And his wife was no help at all. She told Job, why don't you just curse God and die? And when we finally get to the end of Job's story in chapter 42, we read in verse 10, and the Lord turned the captivity of Job when he had prayed for his friends. Also, the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had had before. And the Lord replaced his family and gave him the same amount of children, seven sons and three daughters.

But I want to look at these words in verse 21 in a different way. I've titled this message, The Lord Gave and The Lord Hath Taken Away. But I want to apply those words not to material possessions, but to those things that God Almighty has given to his chosen elect people, and also those things that he has taken away from them. First, I want to look at the words the Lord gave.

All that we have in this life and the life that is to come was given unto us by the hand of our blessed Lord. Paul asked the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 4, 7, who maketh thee to differ? And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? And now, if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it? Now, in order to receive something, it has to be given.

So everything we have in this life, and certainly everything we will have in the life which is to come, has been given to us by our God. Now there are many things that we read of in God's word that God gave to his chosen people, and first and foremost, he gave us his son. Isaiah 9, 6, for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be on his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." God gave the most magnificent, the most unspeakable, the most unimaginable gift to his people. He gave us his darling son.

First John 4.9 tells us this, and this was manifested, the love of God toward us, because God sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him.

And of course, John 3.16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever should believe on him should have, or should not perish, but have everlasting life. And also our God has gifted us with his amazing grace.

First Corinthians 1.4, Paul wrote, I thank God always on your behalf for the grace of God, which is given unto you by Christ Jesus. Everything that we have, we have in Christ. I started preparing a message one time looking at all the places in the scripture. that use the words in Christ Jesus. And I ended up having to turn that into three messages that that term is used so extensively throughout the entire New Testament, mostly in Paul's writings. And along with His grace, He also gives us peace, joy, assurance, mercy, overflowing goodness. The scriptures tell us that our God has given us all things in Christ. Our blessed Savior is that storehouse in which we find all the blessings of God. Now next, I want to look at what the Lord Jesus gave to redeem us. Isaiah 50, verse 6, this is our Lord speaking.

I gave my back to the smilers and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not my face from shame and spitting. In Galatians 1 verses 3 through 5, grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself. gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. And Paul wrote in 1 Timothy chapter 2, verses 6 and 7, for there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all. to be testified in due time.

And the Lord Jesus also gave us the words which his father had given him. In John chapter 17, in his prayer to the father, I know this is speaking of his disciples, but it can certainly be applied to his elect throughout the ages. Christ said to the father, for I have given them the words which thou gave us me, and they have received them. and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. And he says again in verse 14 of that chapter, I have given them thy word.

Now this gracious God could have left the entire human race in darkness to perish, and he would have been just in doing so. but rather he purposed to make known his will, to make known his mind, to make known the mysteries of God through his word to his people. All the knowledge we have of Christ, of God, of heaven, of hell, of anything, God has given unto us in his word, in that word that you hold in your lap. We would know nothing of Christ or salvation were it not for the gracious act of our God giving us his word.

Now next, there are things that God the Father gave to God the Son. John 17 again, verses one and two. These words spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, The hour has come. Glorify thy son, that thy son also may glorify thee, as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. This verse makes it perfectly clear that God the Father has put all things in the hands of God the Son. Our Lord made this plain when he said to his disciples in Matthew 28, 18, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

All power over all things, all flesh, all circumstances that take place in this world. John 335 says, the father loveth the son and hath given all things into his hand. This is how Daniel could proclaim, all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. And he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth and none can stay his hand or say unto them, what doest thou? But our Lord also included something else in his having all power.

He says that he should give eternal life to who? To everybody. As the religious world says, everybody has at least one chance to be saved, my brother-in-law told me one time. No, he gives eternal life to as many as the Father has given him, to those given unto him before the foundation of this world.

And also in John 17, 24, that same chapter, our Savior mentioned something else which the Father gave to him. Our Lord prayed, Father, I will also, that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me. For thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. When we are at last privileged to see our Lord face to face, we will be overcome with the glory that the Father has given unto him. that same magnificent glory that he laid aside when he came to this earth as a human being, as a flesh and blood man. And another thing that the father had given the son is the right and power to judge his world and all the inhabitants thereof.

John 5.22, for the father judges no man, Christ said, but hath committed all judgment unto the son. And then a few verses later in that same chapter, he says, for as the father hath life in himself, So hath he given to the Son to have life in himself, and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of Man.

So now we've looked at the things that God gave to his people and to his son. We've looked at the things that Christ gave for his people. And now I want to look at a few things quickly that our God has taken away from his people. But the things that God has taken away are nothing like the things that he took away from Job.

God gave 10 children to Job and took them away. He gave him enormous riches and took them all away. God gave Job more than can be imagined, but in his good providence, he took it all away. It appeared that Job had lost everything and definitely was beyond recovery. But we, his chosen people, are infinitely better off than Job ever was. Our God has given us more than any human mind can imagine.

We're aware of many things that God has given us, but one day we will be fully aware when with glorified eyes we see our Lord Jesus Christ and are finally, finally able to lay aside this body of sin and worship Him as He deserves to be worshipped. So then if God has taken away some things from His people, what are they? What has He taken away? Two verses tell us what the Lord has taken away from us, and it is not something to lament as a loss, but it is rather something It is cause for unlimited rejoicing.

Job 34, 5, we read this. For Job hath said, I am righteous, and God hath taken away my judgment. Zephaniah 3, 15, the Lord hath taken away thy judgments. He hath cast out thine enemy. The King of Israel, even the Lord is in the midst of thee. Thou shall not see evil anymore. Now if those two verses don't give your heart cause for rejoicing, then it's pretty sure that you've never known the crushing weight of conviction of sin. To know that you're as sure of hell as if you were already there. To plead with God to spare your life just one more day. And when he finally speaks peace to your heart, he lets you know that he has taken away all your judgments.

But how is it that we can read here in God's word that he had taken away my judgment? Do we not read in God's word also that he is angry with the wicked every day, that he will by no means clear the guilty? Does his word not also warn us that the soul that sinneth, it shall die? So how can it be that he has taken away our judgments? Now to those that know him in saving faith, we know the answer to that because we've read it many, many times in Isaiah 53.

Our judgment is taken away by our blessed Savior. Verse six of that chapter tells us, the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Our judgment has been taken away because it pleased the Lord to bruise him. to put him to grief, to make his very soul an offering for sin, to make him bear our iniquities, and to pour out his soul unto death. Our judgment had been taken away because he had borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, because he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities because the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and because by his stripes we are healed. God hath indeed taken away our judgment, but he does not do away with our judgment. That judgment was taken from us and poured out on the blessed Lamb of God. Now in Psalm 85, verses one through three, we read this.

Lord, thou has been favorable unto thy land. Thou has brought back the captivity of Jacob. Thou has forgiven the iniquity of thy people. Thou has covered all their sins. Thou has taken away all thy wrath. Thou has turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger. Now, as I read that, it reminded me of a story that I read many years ago. I read a lot of history. I enjoy history. As the old saying is, those that don't know history are doomed to repeat it.

But in World War II, the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs on Imperial Japan. The first we know was dropped on Hiroshima. Now, many people that don't know history think that we've never faced a foe like radical Islam, but the Japanese at this time were just as crazy, just as willing to die for the emperor rather than Allah. And it amazes me that it took two atomic bombs for Japan to surrender at the end of World War II. And what's more amazing is, as I've read about this, the emperor's cabinet, the vote was tied whether to surrender or whether not. The emperor himself cast a deciding vote to surrender.

Now that second bomb, however, that was dropped was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. But many people do not know that Nagasaki was not the original target. It was a city called Kokura. But because of cloud cover over this city called Kokura, the decision was made to drop that bomb on Nagasaki instead.

There was the same amount of destruction, the same amount of death, the same amount of suffering, the same amount of judgment and justice. It just fell on another target. And so it was concerning the judgment of our God on his chosen people. Those people that were going to be the recipients of the judgment and justice of a holy God, but that wrath that was to have fallen on the elect of God was redirected to a different target. That verse I just read in Psalm 85 says, thou hast taken away All thy wrath thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger." God did, in fact, take away his anger from his chosen people, but he turned that anger, he turned that malice onto another, onto his darling son who had come to earth for that very one purpose. to die in the place of his people, to suffer that wrath, that fierce anger of the father on behalf of his chosen people.

The same amount of suffering, the same amount of fierce wrath was inflicted on our Lord Jesus Christ as he hung on that tree that would have been suffered by his elect in an eternity in hell. To me, that is unimaginable. That suffering that was taken away from God's elect was put on the Lord Jesus Christ. And there's one more thing in closing that the Lord has taken away from us.

When Jacob's wife Rachel was barren and she suffered great disappointment and shame because she could not conceive, but God heard her prayer and gave her a son whom they named Joseph. And in Genesis 30, verse 23, she says this, or the scriptures tell us this about Rachel, and she conceived and bear a son, and she said, God hath taken away my reproach. This word reproach is an expression of disapproval or disappointment, criticism that often involves shame and disgrace. Now we as sons of Adam were certainly objects of reproach before the eyes of a holy God, but because the Lord Jesus Christ was willing to take that reproach away from us and take it upon himself, we no longer bear that reproach.

It was taken away from us and placed on our great scapegoat. Psalm 22 is a prophetic Psalm concerning our Savior. And in verse six, we read this. This is Christ speaking. But I am a worm and no man, a reproach of men. And despised of the people. Psalm 69 verses 19 and 20 are also speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, when it says this, thou hast known my reproach and my shame and my dishonor. Mine adversaries are all before me.

And then he says this, reproach hath broken my heart, this is the Lord speaking, and I am full of heaviness. And I look for some to take pity, but there were none, and for comforters, but I found none. Now, Paul quoted Romans 69, 9 when he wrote this in Romans 15, verse 3. He says, for even Christ pleased not himself, but as it is written, the reproaches of them that reproach thee fell upon me.

Christ took upon himself all our reproach, all our shame, all our disgrace, all our humiliation, all our vile trespasses, and he bore them away to the wilderness of God's forgetfulness, never to be seen again, never to be brought up against us again.

They are forever taken away. And as I read earlier, after our God took away everything from Job, he restored unto him twice as much as he possessed before. And in that same sense, our God has given his people and will give his people 10 trillion times more than we ever lost in Adam. We are heirs, the scripture tells us, to an unimaginable inheritance that shall never be taken away. Heirs of God, we're told, and joint heirs with Christ.

That's hard for me to imagine knowing myself, and I'm sure it's the same way with you. May we never cease to praise our God for his goodness, for those things that he has given to us, and certainly for those things he has taken away. I hope the Lord will bless that to you.

The Lord Gave And The Lord Hath Taken Away

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about God's gifts to His people?

How do we know that God has taken away our judgment?

Why is it significant that God takes away our reproach?

Sermon Transcript

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The Lord Gave And The Lord Hath Taken Away

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about God's gifts to His people?

How do we know that God has taken away our judgment?

Why is it significant that God takes away our reproach?

Sermon Transcript

Comments

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