to all that I'm about to say. Verse 2, Behold now, I've opened
my mouth, my tongue has spoken in my palate, my mouth. In other
words, he said, I've weighed my words carefully, thoroughly
considered what I shall say to you, as if tasting it, rolling
it over in my mouth. I've been sitting here, and like
he said over there in verse 7 of chapter 32, days should speak. A multitude of years should teach
wisdom. But there is a spirit in man,
and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. Great
men are not always wise, neither do the aged understand Therefore,
I said, hearken to me, I'll show you my opinion. I've been thinking
about this, he said, a long time. While I've been listening to
you men talk, my tongue has spoken in my mouth. I'm going to tell
you now what I've been considering, thinking, what God's taught me.
Verse 3. My words shall be of the uprightness
of my heart. In other words, what I'm going
to say to you. I'm saying with sincerity and
faithfulness. And my lips shall utter knowledge
clearly. I'm going to speak what knowledge
I have given me of God. That's what he's saying. My lips
shall utter knowledge clearly. God's taught me some things.
Now verse 4, he said, The Spirit of God hath made me. God made
me physically, naturally. God gave me life. But more than
that, the Spirit of God had quickened me. The Spirit of God has regenerated
me. And I claim your attention as
a man who has life from God and a message from God. That's what
he's saying here. The Spirit of God has made me. The Spirit of God has raised
me up. The Spirit of God has entered
me. The Spirit of God has sent me. He knew that. reason he wasn't
afraid to speak to these aged men. The breath of the Almighty
had given me life. Now verse 5. If you can answer
me, hear me out, and when I'm done speaking, if you have a
reply, set thy words in order before me. Stand up. Now here's
what it's, hear me out, when I'm done speaking, if you have
a reply. Job, stand up in boldness and
set your answer before me. Behold, verse 6, I am according
to thy wish in God's stead. There are a couple of things
here. If you'll turn to Job 31, just back a page or two, Job
31. Job has expressed a desire that
God would let him speak and defend himself, here in Job 31, verse
35. It's Job speaking here now. Oh, that one would hear me. Oh,
my desire is the Almighty would answer me. Hear me and answer me, that's
what he's saying. That's my desire. My adversary
had written a book. So he says here in verse 6, I'm
here according to your wish. with God's answer in God's stead. In God's stead. I'm here before
you according to your desire in God's stead. Now, but watch
this. I also am formed out of the clay. I am before you as you are, just
a man. I'm formed of the clay. But though
I speak with wisdom because of divine illumination, You have
no cause to fear me." See what he's saying here? Behold, I am
according to thy wish in God's stead, but I also am formed out
of the clay. I'm a man just like you, so behold,
my terror shall not make you afraid. You don't have to be
afraid of me. You have no cause to fear me.
Now watch, this is a lesson for us preachers. Neither shall my
hand be heavy upon you. God's hand can behave upon whom
he pleases, but not my hand. That's what this young man is
saying. Behold, I am according to your
wish sent you in God's stead to speak to you. But I also am
formed out of the clay. I'm a man like you. I have wisdom. God's taught me some things,
and I've got some things to say to you. But you don't have to
be afraid of me. You don't have to fear me. And
my hand will not be heavy upon you. My hand will not add..."
These, Job's friends, had added to his sorrow, added to his grief. Their hands were heavy upon him,
accusing him of sin and wickedness and evil and hypocrisy and all
these things. All right, verse 8. But now,
Job, surely thou hast spoken in my hearing. And I've heard
the voice of your words saying." Now, Job, I heard you say this
with my own ears. As we read the next three verses,
it's pointed out by most all of the well-known writers that
these words, as Elihu speaks them, are not verbatim with what's
written in the book of Job. They're not verbatim. Job didn't
say these. just exactly like Elijah says
them. But, two things. One, it's impossible
to record in this book of Job everything that was spoken over
those days and days and days and days and days when those
men sat and talked. It's just a summary. And what
Elijah was saying, he said, I've been listening a long time, I
heard you say this. So we can feel pretty sure he
did hear him say it. because he said of God. And I'll
read you some of the things he did say, recorded. But here's
what Elijah said, he heard Job say. Job said, I am clean without
transgression. You know, God sent all this affliction
upon Job. Sorrow, heartache, trial, death,
sickness, all these things. And that's what these friends,
three friends came to him and said, you're a hypocrite. You're
bound to be a great, wicked hypocrite, or God wouldn't have done this
to you. And Job started defending himself, and he went too far.
And this is where Elihu said, Job said, I'm clean, I'm without
transgression, I'm innocent. Neither is there any iniquity
in me. And he said, he's blaming the
Lord here, now listen. He findeth occasion against me. God's against me. He counts me
for his enemy. God's seeking fault in me. And
God's seeking the cause for which to break a friendship. God counts
me as his enemy. That's the reason he's doing
this. He counts me as his enemy. Listen, verse 11. He puts my
feet in stocks. He's treating me like a criminal.
You put criminals in stocks. Putting me in stocks like a criminal,
taking away my property, estate, my freedom. He marketh all my
path. He's just looking for fault.
He's looking, that's what Job is saying. He watches untrustingly
my every step. Did Job say these things? Well,
Elihu said he did. But I can show you some things
he said that were awful close to that. Now turn with me to
Job 10. Job chapter 10, verse 6 and 7. And we can identify with this
under stress and duress and depression and heartache and sorrow, deep
sorrow. Why are you doing this to me?
Job 10, verse 6. Verse 6, that thou inquirest
after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin, thou knowest that
I am not wicked. You know that, God, he's speaking
to God here. You know I'm not wicked, but
there's none that can deliver out of your hands. That's what
he said there in Job 13. Let's see what he said here.
Job 13, verse 20. Then call thou, and I'll answer, or
let me speak, and answer thou me. How many are my iniquities
and sins? Make me to know my transgressions
and my sins. Wherefore hidest thou thy face,
and holdest me for thine enemy? Wilt thou break a leaf driven
to and fro when you pursue dry struggle? I write his bitter
things against me, and maketh me to possess the iniquity of
my youth. He put my feet in stocks." He
quoted that, didn't he? Remember he quoted that. Let's look at Job 27. Here's another thing that Job
said that's akin to what Elihu said, that he said. Job 27, verse 5. Job 27, 5 and 6. Verse 4, My
lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. God
forbid that I should justify you till I die. I will not remove my integrity
from me. I will not remove my integrity
from me. My righteousness I hold fast,
I will not let it go. My heart shall not reproach me
so long as I live. He went too far in justifying
himself, no question about that, that's what Elihu's charging
him with. I heard you, he said, justify
yourself before God. All right, verse 12, now here's
what he's saying. Now watch this. Behold, now he
said in verse 8, 9, 10, 11, I heard you say these things, Job. I'm
clean, I'm innocent, God's against me, cast me before his enemy.
In verse 12, now behold, in this you're not just, Job. In this
you're not just. Underline that word, in this.
Elihu did not deny that Job was a man who lived soberly, righteously,
and godly in this world. Elihu knew that. He didn't deny
that Job was a man who loved God, and who knew God, and who
was a child of God, justified in Christ. He did not deny that
Job was a godly man. But he says, in this, Job, you
are unjust. In what you're doing, you're
unjust. You're unrighteous and you're
to blame. Now here's what he's saying. Job, you're protesting
your innocence. You're protesting your integrity. And you're questioning God's
dealing with you as being too severe. That's what you're doing. You're judging God before your
tribunal. You're calling God to give a
reason for what he does before you. You're offering to dispute
his purposes and providence with him. Joe, a creature questioning
the Creator? A man taking issue with his maker? The glory against the powder,
asking why did you make me thus? In this you're not just. That's
why you're protesting your innocence, your integrity, and in doing
that you're questioning God's dealings with you. You're claiming
God's dealing with you too severely. And this is what I've got to
say to you. God is greater than man. I'll
answer you, Job. What you're doing is not right,
it's sinful and evil. And I'm going to answer you,
and here's my first answer, God's greater than man. God is greater than man, not
only in power, we all know that, but in majesty, in justice, in
wisdom, in grace, in mercy, in holiness. in knowledge. Therefore he can do nothing unjust,
he can do nothing unwise. Therefore in contending with
him and finding fault with his judgments, you are sinful, and
you are unrighteous, and you are ignorant to forget the distance
between you and God. And you're casting off the reverence
and awe that you ought to constantly maintain towards your sovereign
Lord. That's what you're doing. God's
greater than men. And there must always be maintained
between us and our Lord a reverence and an awe and a silence before his judgments. And Samuel
teaches us that. Turn to 1 Samuel, 1 Samuel 3. Remember the bad news that Eli,
it's in 1 Samuel 3, but it's Eli that teaches us here, the
bad news that Samuel brought to Eli. The bad news that Samuel brought
to Eli. Verse 17 of 1 Samuel 3, and he
said, What is the thing that the Lord hath said to thee? I
pray thee, hide it not from me. God do so to thee, and more also,
if thou hide anything from me of all the things that he said
to thee. And Samuel told him everywhere. Told him he was going
to kill his sons, and he heard nothing from him. And here was
Eli's remark. Samuel told Eli every wit. He
had nothing from him. And here's Eli's remark. Well,
it's the Lord. Let him do what seemeth him good. Joke started out that way, didn't
it? He said, The Lord giveth and
the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
But he didn't wind up that way. And that's what Elihu's dealing
with him over. In verse 13, listen to him here.
Why do you strive against God? What do you hope to obtain and
to gain by striving against God? Verse 13. He giveth not account
of any of his matters in things temporal. God does all things
after the capsule of his own will, in things temporal, in
things material, physical. He bestows riches on whom he
will, honor, wealth, health, gifts of wisdom, strength, knowledge,
on whom he will, and withholds it from whom he will, to accomplish
his purpose and his glory, and he gives no reason, no account. in things spiritual, he loves,
he elects, he chooses, he redeems, he regenerates, he calls by his
grace, he brings men to glory, whom he will. The blessings of
grace are all his own, he owns them and he gives them and quickens
whom he will. He gives no account of his matter
spiritually. And in the kingdoms of this earth
and the kingdom of heaven, in heaven and earth, among men and
nations, nations rise and nations fall, kings rise and kings fall,
the kingdom of darkness, the kingdom of his dear son, he always
decrees and acts according to his own will. And none can stay
his hand, hinder him, or call him before their tribunal. and demand that he answer. I'll show you what Daniel wrote about
this in Daniel 4. Daniel chapter 4 verse 34. This came from the lips of an
old king named Nebuchadnezzar after God dealt with him in At
the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes to heaven,
and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most
High, and I praised and honored him that liveth forever, whose
dominion is an everlasting dominion. His kingdom is from generation
to generation, and 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 this earth, and none can stay his
hand or say unto him, What are you doing? Why are you doing
it? That's what Elihu charges Job
with. He said, You're bringing God
to judgment before you, questioning his providence, and you're feeling
that he's dealing too severely with you, and you resent it,
and you're sinning. Verse 13, let's read it again.
Why do you strive against him? He's not going to give any account,
he's not going to give account of any of his matters. Nevertheless,
all right, verse 14, nevertheless, God speaketh once, yea, twice,
nevertheless. Now God's not obligated to give
men an account of his matters. purposes. However, he does speak
to men, and he does give them that which is sufficient for
them, which he decrees is sufficient knowledge. And he does it over
and over again. Listen, God speaks once, here
twice, three times, four times, five times. He's been speaking
to us for years. He speaks again and again and
again. Oftentimes he speaks. He speaks. He speaks through
his word. He speaks through nature. He speaks through the conscience.
He speaks through preachers and prophets and all these things. Yet man perceiveth it not. A
natural man doesn't understand. Isaiah said, Well, who has believed
our report? And God told Isaiah, Go down
to this place and preach. They're not going to hear you.
They're not going to believe you. They're not going to receive
your message. God speaks again and again and
again, but man perceives it not. How does he speak? In a dream,
in a vision of the night. And here's what preachers do
today, these poor untaught of God. And I'm not
saying they're not taught, they've got more education than I have,
but they're not taught of God. But this man Elihu is speaking
in his day. This is the oldest book in the
Bible. This is Elihu speaking when there
wasn't any Bible. The Word of God had not been
written. And God spoke in dreams, and God spoke in visions. He
spoke to his prophets. He spoke to Abraham. Abraham
didn't have a Bible. Abraham lived before Moses ever
wrote Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. God spoke
to Abraham in dreams and visions. He told him to go and sacrifice
his son. Let me show you a couple of examples. Turn to Genesis 20. Here God
spoke to a wicked king, Abimelech, king of the Philistines. God
spoke to him in a dream. In Genesis 20, verse 3, God came
to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou
art but a dead man, the woman you've taken, and she's a man's
wife. Abimelech answered God. He had not come near her. He
said, Lord, will you slay a righteous nation? See, he appeared to him,
spoke to him in a dream. God speaks to men in dreams. Genesis 31, turn around, he spoke
to Laban. That was Jacob's father-in-law. In Genesis 31, look at verse 11. The angel of
the Lord spake to me in a dream, saying, Jacob, and I said, here
I am. Now look at verse 24. And God came to Laban the Syrian
in a night, in a dream by night, and said, You be careful you
don't speak to Jacob either good or bad. You just leave Jacob
alone. You be careful. So what? God does not give account of
his matters. He's not obligated to give an
account of what he does. But nevertheless, God does speak. God doesn't just speak once,
he speaks once, twice, thrice, four times, he speaks many times,
he speaks by dreams. Verse 15, In a vision in the
night, when deep sleep follows them all men and slumberings
upon the bed, God speaks. Thank God that's not the only
way God speaks. He opens the ears of men. That's
an effectual speaking. That's the work of the Spirit
of God. God opens the ears. You know, our Lord said they
have ears but they don't hear. These people hear because God
opens their ears. They have eyes but they don't
see. These people see. God opens their eyes. They have
hearts, but they don't understand. Watch it. God opens the ears
of men and seals the instruction. He gives them understanding and
seals it. Now, a dream of Bimelech. That came during the night and
went during the night. But this comes and stays. It's
sealed, preserved. Thank God. He said, My sheep
hear my voice. I give an eternal life." He said,
the Son of God had come and given us an understanding. He said,
I've manifested your word to the men that you gave me. So
God opens the ears and seals the instruction forever in the
heart. It's that state. I can't do that, but God can. We preach. once and twice and
three and four times, but he just opens his ears. You won't forget it if he teaches
you. You'll remember it. All right, verse 17, and here's
his purpose. His word, his gospel is sealed
forever in the heart. Number one, that he may withdraw
man from his purpose. You can't follow two purposes.
God's purpose is my purpose. He's going to wean me from my
purpose. My ways are not your ways. You forsake your way. That's
what you do. He withdraws. He weans us. He takes away us from our purpose,
from our way of life, from our evil works, from the direction
of walking in the flesh. And we say, Lord, thy will be
done. Secondly, he hides pride from man. takes away his self-righteousness,
takes away his pride, just hides it, puts it away. He's got nothing
to be proud of, to boast in. God forbid that I should grow
this egg in the cross of Christ. I have nothing about me in which
to glory. So he hides pride from man, and
he opens his ears and seals instruction. takes him away from his way and
his will, and hides the pride from him, and then keeps back
his soul from the pit. The pit is a dungeon. Christ came to set the captives
free. He delivers us from the dungeon
of sin, power of sin, wages of sin, penalty of sin, from the
pit. The pit also is the grave. He
that believeth on me shall never die. He destroyed him who had
the power of death. And then, listen to this, fourthly,
and his life from perishing by the sword. Whose sword? All the way through the scripture,
God said, I will take hold of my sword. I will take hold of
my sword. My hand will take hold of my
He delivers us from perishing under the sword of God's wrath
and God's judgment. And that powerful sword, two-edged
sword, it goes out of his mouth to smite the nations. So my,
my. God does speak. He doesn't owe
us an explanation. He speaks sufficiently for us. He tells us what we need to know. What we need to know. And he
does it over and over again, but he doesn't just do it in
a warning way. He opens the air. He seals the
instruction. And he turns us away from our
way to his way, and from our pride to his righteousness, and
keeps our soul from the pit, sets us free, and no judgment. And here's another way God teaches
his people. He tells Job this. verse 19. And this man is chastened
also with pain upon his bed, and the multitude of his bones
with strong pain, so that his life abhorreth bread, his soul
dainty meat. He's describing Job here, that's
what he's doing. God not only speaks to us by
words, He speaks to us by judgment and providence and chastening,
discipline. He speaks to us. And Job, this
is what he's doing. He's teaching you. He's teaching
you. Withdraw you from your purpose
and hide your self-righteousness and keep your soul from the pit
and your life from perishing. And he puts you in such a state
that your life, you don't even enjoy food. He just quit eating. Job got
so sick, so pitiful, his soul hated, lost the meat of desire,
it says in the center reference. But verse 21, his flesh is consumed
away that it cannot be seen. His bones that were not seen now stick
out. His soul draws near unto the
grave. and his life to the destroyers.
God's stripping him. That's what this is. This is
called conviction. This is called a broken heart. This is called a stripping of
the flesh. This is called the slaying of
the Lord. God is bringing a man to the end of himself, to the
place where he's without help, without hope, without God at
his wit's end. And he says in verse 23, And
I tell you, he brought men to that place. He brought Paul to
that place, and Paul said in two words, I died. I died. He brought Jonah to that place,
and Jonah said, I'm going to look one more time toward the
mercy seat, the salvations of the Lord. He brought Isaiah to that place.
He saw the Lord. He said, I'm cut off. I'm a man
of unclean lips, I've read amongst the people of unclean lips, I'm
finished. Peter, listen, Luke 5, I want
you to read this, and maybe you've read it before, maybe you haven't,
but read it again. I read it again this morning.
Luke 5, verse 8. Peter saw the Lord perform a
great miracle, the catching of all those fish. of Luke 5, when
Simon Peter saw it, the power of Christ, his majesty, he fell
down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me, Lord. I'm not
fit company for you. I'm a sinful man. You've got no business being
around me. David said, Who am I? And at
the end of this book of Job, Job finally said, I hate myself. I think we ought to read that over
here in verse, I think I can find
it. Yes, chapter 42, verse 5. I have heard of thee by the hearing
of the ear, now mine eye seeth thee. I abhor myself, I hate
myself, I repent and sackcloth and ashes." So that's conviction. All right, verse 23, this is
beautiful here now. So, in that state, stripped of
the Word, stripped by the hand of God, brought down as low as
he can get, verse 23 says, if there be a messenger, a messenger,
is there a messenger? Well, Deuteronomy 18 says there'll
be a messenger. God says, I'll raise up that
prophet, put my words in his mouth, and he'll deliver the
message to you, and you hear him. In Malachi 3, he said the
messenger of the covenant is coming to the temple. Hear him. This is my beloved son. Hear
ye him. He's the messenger. There's a
messenger. All right, read on. An interpreter is one who explains,
who reveals, who manifests. God spoke to our fathers through
the prophets, but he's spoken to us by that interpreter, his
dear son. One among a thousand, he's the
fast among ten thousand. There can't be anybody but Christ
here. To show unto man his uprightness. Whose? Man's uprightness? No. We just looked at that. to show
unto this messenger's righteousness, the righteousness of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, if there be a messenger,
an interpreter, one among a thousand, to show, to reveal God's righteousness,
then he's gracious unto him, gracious to us in Christ, and
says, deliver him from going down to the pit, I found a ransom."
Who is that ransom? What does it say in the center
of Ephesus? Atonement. Christ, our atonement. Let me
read you a scripture over here. Don't turn yet. Let me find it
quickly. In Matthew 20, verse 26, our Lord said this. Matthew
20, 26. Jesus called them unto him and
said, You know the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion
over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon
them, but it shall not be so among you. Whosoever among you
great will be great, let him be your minister. And whosoever
will be chief among you, let him be your servant, even as
a son of man. came not to be ministered unto,
but to minister, and to give his life a ransom, an atonement
for many. Then he's gracious and sayeth,
deliver him from going down to the pit, I've found a ransom. This young man was taught of
God. You think about this as he's speaking to Job. This message He doesn't have
a Bible. He doesn't have Isaiah's writings.
God taught him. And he's talking about Christ.
He's talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. I wish all these religious
folks that talk about the babe in Bethlehem and when Christ,
you know, when Christ began. He didn't begin at Bethlehem. He was the message of these men.
back yonder. He's the Lamb of Satan, the foundation
of the world. Now, if this takes place, look
at verse 25, I've got to go on. His flesh shall be fresher than
a child's. This man with a leprosy of soul
and guilt, he'll be fresher than a child. He'll return to the
days of his youth. I've just got to read this scripture
out here on that point there. Bless the Lord, O my soul, who
forgiveth all thy iniquities, healeth all thy diseases, redeemeth
thy life from destruction, crowneth thee with lovingkindness, satisfies
thy wrath with good things, so thy youth is renewed like the
eagle's." Forever young. Our bodies on the outside are
getting weaker and weaker and weaker, but the inner man is
renewed every day. eternally young, his flesh fresher
than a child, he shall return to the days of his youth, he'll
pray to God, he'll be favorable to him, he'll teach him more
and more of his grace and love and mercy, and he'll see his
face with joy, and he'll render unto that man his righteousness.
And here's our message, we're trying to tell this, he looks
upon me and And as you go and preach to them and talk to them,
if anybody will say, if they'll just say, I have sinned. I have
sinned. I perverted that which was right.
It hadn't done a thing for me. It profited me not. He'll deliver
his soul, his soul too, from going down to the pit. And his
life shall see the light. He'll just say that. I've sinned,
I've perverted that which is right, and it doesn't profit
me. I need help. God will save him. He'll deliver him from going
down the pit, and his life shall see the light. Now, lo, all these
things worketh God oftentimes with man. For twice and thrice
God works it to bring back his soul from the pit. to be enlightened
with the light of the living. Now, Job, mark well, old Job,
hearken to me. I hold your peace and I'll speak. If you've got anything to say,
answer me. Speak. I desire to justify you. I desire to hear you give God
all the glory so all of us can go out of here happy. I want to see you. Now if not, just keep listening
to me and keep your mouth shut and I'll teach you some more
wisdom. I love that chapter. I hope you
got as big a blessing out of it as I did. Living example of God's grace. All right, let's sing. I can
read my title clear. Number 497.