Insight for Living

Bill Meyer: We've all done it—stood in judgment of someone else, certain we had it right. But what happens when we've gotten it wrong, completely wrong?

Well, on Tuesday's *Insight for Living*, we watched as justice began to roll down. Today, Chuck Swindoll shows us what happens next when justice converged with something even more surprising. It's a scene of accountability, but also of grace and restoration.

If you've been carrying guilt or waiting to be made whole, this message is for you. Chuck picks up our study in Job chapter 42.

Chuck Swindoll: It came about after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, verse seven, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends because y'all have not spoken of me what is right as my servant Job has."

That's the reason He was angry. Now, the reason is given here at the end of verse seven, and it is repeated in the very same words at the end of verse eight. Look at it: "because you have not spoken of me what is right as my servant Job has." Because, because.

What does it mean they had not spoken of Him what was right? Well, one man put it this way: in their effort to uphold God's justice, they limited His sovereignty. Isn't that an interesting way to put it? They had insisted that human suffering is always the result of sinfulness.

That boxed God in. It's not true. It's not always the reason people suffer. It is a reason on occasion, but it's not always, and it's not true in the case of Job. They claimed Job had some secret sin. They claimed Job had wrong and transgression that was hidden, and if he would only come to terms with it and deal with it, then he'd be healed of this. That's wrong. It isn't right. They didn't speak of God as they should have. "You have not spoken of me what was right as my servant Job has."

You know what this underscores? And if you're a teacher, hear me well. We who are teachers, we who are communicators of the truth, God cares very much that He is presented in an accurate manner. Let's be sure we do our homework. Let's be sure we represent Him accurately.

The cults feed on this very wrong—not speaking of Him what is right. They'll give half-verses, or they'll give principles that can't be defended in the scriptures. They're notorious for this kind of teaching.

Legalists claim that they stand on the word of God, and so they'll use the word of God to manipulate you or shame you, claiming various characteristics of God as the basis of their condemnation. You live under the guilt of that kind of teaching. It's not a fair representation of the living God. These men have not presented me correctly. They've not said what is right.

I have a good friend who was a part of a real liberal church for his growing up years. It wasn't until he was in his mid-thirties that it began to dawn on him what he was missing as he was exposed to evangelical teaching. He realized what he was missing, and he said to me on one occasion, "You know what, Chuck? I realized that they would have loved me right into hell."

What a chilling way to put that. I heard all about the love of God and the goodness of God. I never heard of the justice and the righteousness and the holiness of God. Whatever it was, it was okay; God's full of love. That's presenting Him in a wrong light. You men have been guilty of that.

Now, I also love the fact that the Lord does something about it. He doesn't say, "As a result, get out of my existence," or "Go to your room," or "You're finished." That's not gracious. That's not merciful. There's justice rolling down, but notice the mercy. "Now, therefore," verse eight presents the mercy. "You have done this, and it is wrong, and you have not done as my servant Job has done. Now, therefore, here's what you do about it."

Look at the plan. "Take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams." Okay, you got it? This is unusual teaching because it's Old Testament teaching. In the Old Testament days, when you came to bring your offering of request for forgiveness, relief from your guilt and wrongdoing, you came with an animal.

You brought the animal before the Lord in various different numbers of animals and different kinds of animals, and sometimes fowl. You would usually cut the throat of the animal, blood would be spilled out, and sometimes you would even place the entire carcass of the animal, as in this case. You would lay it on an altar that's blazing with fire, and it would consume it, and the smoke would come before God as a sweet-smelling aroma.

It's all very strange to us. We didn't live in that era. We've never seen such a thing. But in those days, that's how God's anger is assuaged; it's satisfied. You come with an offering, and you place it on this altar, and it'll be consumed, and I will forgive you.

Look at where they were to bring this. By the way, it was a costly offering, wasn't it? Not just seven animals, but seven bulls that could be used for the purpose of enlarging the cattle in their fields. But no, I want seven bulls, and I want seven rams. He specifies.

"And I want you to go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering." This word means a whole burnt offering from the hoof all the way to the nose. The entire carcass is to be laid on the altar one after another after another. You're to go and do this before my servant Job.

Look, the one who was offended receives the offering of the offender. Really, the ultimate offended is the Lord God Himself who had been misrepresented. "And my servant Job will pray for you." I love that. The offended prays now for the offenders.

For, look closely, "for I will accept him." The Hebrew says, "I will lift his face up." Isn't that a great way to put it? Job will lift his face up. "I will accept his intercession on your behalf as you've offered the offerings and he prays. I will lift his face up that I may not do with you according to your folly," meaning that I may not do for you what you deserve. Because, He repeats, "you have not spoken of me what is right as my servant Job has."

Did you miss something? I went over it rather quickly. Four times He calls Job His servant. What an honorable title. Verse seven concludes, "as my servant Job has spoken of what is right." Verse eight, three times: "bring these bulls and rams and go to my servant Job, offer the burnt offering, and my servant Job, and the end of that verse eight, my servant Job has spoken what is right."

In ancient days and days of the Old Testament, a servant was an honorable title for one who served the living God. It speaks of a bonding between the two. There's a closeness between us. He and I have this relationship that is dear and near.

It's a title of honor, and it's a good place for me to add: anytime you're engaged in the service of the King, you are engaged in an honorable work. Whatever it may be, however God may have you serving—perhaps one that very few people would even know your name, but you serve faithfully there as a servant of His—you are honoring Him in that. It's an honorable role.

Now, justice has come rolling down. Here are these men who have been standing over Job as judges, now getting the animals and coming up before Job and offering their offering, waiting for Job's prayers. Isn't this a great scene? I mean, this is time for humble pie to be consumed by these three men.

It's good for them. It's good for us to confess our wrongdoing to those we have offended and to say by our actions, "We have done what is wrong against you, and our presence is here in all this vulnerability to say to you, we trust our God to cleanse us from the wrong. Pray for me."

And they come, and Job does exactly what the Lord told him to do. Look at Eliphaz, verse nine. Eliphaz and Bildad and Zophar went and did—I have a feeling they did it rather quickly. There was no arguing, there's no wrestling, there's no reluctance.

Because remember, when the Lord instructs, there's no other alternative that will bring any sense of peace and relief. They did exactly as the Lord told them, and look at this: "The Lord lifted up the face of Job." I love that.

It's great that Job doesn't say, "Okay, kneel down. You guys have put me through hell. I'm going to see what you look like when you're humble. Kneel down, get on your faces." There's none of that. I think Job in this moment, having learned what he's learned and having repented as he's repented in verse six, I don't think he carried any further rancor. I don't think there was any sense of lingering offense.

I think he considered himself privileged to represent the need before the Lord. It was part of his obedience too, wasn't it, when he lifted up his face? What a grand scene is here. You know what's happening? Sins are being washed away. That's the greatest moment. There's justice, and there's mercy.

You know what that represents for all of us? The Cross. The Cross. That's why the death of Christ is called efficacious. That's why it's effective. Because God's justice against sin is satisfied in the death of the Lamb, and God's mercy is revealed in the forgiveness of those who trust in the Lamb.

Frederick Faber put it this way: "There's a wideness in God's mercy as the wideness of the sea; there is kindness in His justice which is more than liberty."

And the next generation, William Newell wrote a song we've sung throughout our growing up years as Christians. Says the same thing in other words: "Years I spent in vanity and pride, caring not my Lord was crucified, knowing not it was for me He died on Calvary. By God's word at last my sin I learned; then I trembled at the law I'd spurned, till my guilty soul imploring turned to Calvary. Oh, the love that drew salvation's plan! Oh, the grace that brought it down to man! Oh, the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary! Mercy there was great, and grace was free; pardon there was multiplied to me; there my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary, at Calvary."

Justice rolled down, and when it did, mercy washed over them and graciously got them all back on their feet. It's a wonderful, wonderful setting. Now, the full reward will wait until our next time, but just get a little peep through the tent door here.

Look at verse ten: "And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job." When? When he prayed. Not until. I got the word "when" circled in a bright blue in my Bible. When he prayed for his friends, the Lord restored the fortunes, and the Lord increased all that Job had twofold.

Isn't that just like Him? I told you He was the best at justice. All these long sleepless nights and restless painful days, all of the sermons he had to sit through and listen to from these clowns that have been acting like they're representing truth and their judgmental spirit. And now, Job, broken in his own repentance, having his face lifted up on behalf of his friends—his friends restored because of the mercy.

And now, grace on top of grace, he looks up and the Lord says, "Hey Job, come here. It's going to be twice as good." Boils are gone. I mean, why not? I mean, He made us, so it's all it takes, and He blows them away. He gets his health back, and he gets his home back, and he gets his property back, and he finally gets his family back.

His grace here is so he doesn't get twice as many kids. He gets the same number of kids—ten. He didn't want twenty kids, but he got ten kids back. Remember, Job prayed—not for himself, and please observe, not for his own restoration of fortune. It wasn't like winning the divine lottery where he lucked out.

He has no plans; he has no knowledge of how the story would end. All he knows is that the Lord says, "You lift up your face before me, and you pray for these friends." And they come in with humility and offer up their sacrifices, and Job prays for his friends.

The Lord is so pleased when it's done right, and He says, "Now, come here, Job. Let me tell you what I'm going to do." By the way, you know what's wonderful, too? Where's Satan? In your face, Satan. His silence reveals that he has now witnessed the truth of what God had told him: "Consider my servant Job. He has integrity. Though you may not kill him, you can touch him, and even if you touch him, he'll never curse me." And so the Lord blesses, and that's the way we're going to see the end of this story next time.

Couple of similar-sounding truths emerge from this study. They came to me late last night, and I wasn't sure quite how to end the message like this one. It's a little unusual on justice. But it occurred to me that there are two things to be remembered.

First, forgiveness is worth asking for. It really is. Forgiveness is worth asking for, always of the Lord. It's worth asking for. There's something that's come between you and your Heavenly Father. What in the world are you waiting for? He loves to hear the cries of His children. He takes delight in the humble confession of the saint. Just tell Him. He'll never turn you away.

Forgiveness is worth asking for. And I'll tell you the second: justice is worth waiting for. So you know that application—wait for it. It'll come. If not now, later. If not later, in eternity. God will make it right. His fairness is part of His veracity, and God, who has patiently allowed this experiment to run its course, has now come to terms with it with His servant and has now dealt with it with these friends.

Satan is gone, again proven wrong, and the Lord is still enthroned above us. I don't know what your situation is right now. I don't know what you wrestle with. I don't know who's wronged you. I'm sure several. I don't know how severe it's been. Probably greatly severe in some cases.

I know this, that it's my privilege to spend my life with some of the greatest people I've ever met, and I would number many of you among them. And I know from knowing many of your stories that life hasn't been easy. I know that it has been difficult and obviously not compared to Job—that may have been the worst possible of trials—but your trial has been tough.

I think I sense from you today a desire to cooperate. If forgiveness is worth asking for, I think you'll ask it. And if you've wronged another person, the most wonderful thing you can do is to make it right with them. Just make it right, whatever it takes. It's worth it. It's worth asking for. Spell out what you've done and say it.

Just let it be. Don't worry about your pride. Don't worry about what they're going to think or what somebody else thinks. You answer to God. And then you've had wrong done, turn it over to Him. Just let Him handle it. He has a million ways, a million options, and He will not leave His people in the lurch.

And of course, if you've never brought your offering to the Lord and stood before the Cross and acknowledged the Savior's death is for you, start there. You were in His sights when He said, "Father, forgive them; they don't even know what they're doing." Let's bow our heads.

It's a sweet moment here. You have been generous and gracious people. So many of you are such faithful sheep in the Lord's pasture. I'm not flattering you; I'm telling you the truth. I learn so much from so many of you.

I want your life to be all that it could possibly be as you embrace the truth that it is all about our God. I want you to go there, and I want you to live there so that your whole focus is on Him—it's vertical. You'll be amazed at what it will do to you horizontally. Just be amazed.

You won't be as angry; you won't be as irritable. You'll find that you're approachable and you listen better and, my goodness, getting the forgiveness of someone else will relieve you of that guilt. And giving the forgiveness, releasing that person, will take the strain out. You won't have to act like God. You can let the Lord be the Lord.

It may be a member of your family. It may be one who was once a close personal friend, maybe a former mate, partner. Maybe one of your parents. Could be a pastor or coach or teacher, neighbor, relative. Let it go. Deal with it and let it go.

"Mercy there was great, and grace was free; pardon there was multiplied to me; there my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary."

Father, I thank You that there's now comfort in the Cross, that the bloody sacrifice has been lifted up once for all and the penalty paid once for all. Now there're open-armed invitation inviting us in to live like Your Son modeled for us.

It's a dirty and dusty world, Lord. It gets real complicated really fast, the pace we live. And it's quiet moments like this that help us put things into proper perspective, quiets our nerves, calms our spirits.

Thank You for Job. Thank You for his model, his honesty and his vulnerability. Thank You for his humility and obedience. Thank You for not walking away from those three men who'd made such fools of themselves, but for caring about them too.

We're somewhere in this story, Lord, and wherever we are, Your arms are around us, and You care about the shame and the guilt that we've lived under long enough. I pray You'd help us come to terms with all these things. And as justice rolls down, may mercy follow quickly.

Dismiss us, Lord, in the quietness of this moment with the reminder that You are faithful, and You care, and You're good all the time. We love You, Father. We love You. And all God's people said, amen.

Bill Meyer: As justice rolls down, may mercy follow quickly. What a picture we've seen today. A God who holds us accountable, yes, but who also lifts our faces, restores what was broken, and never walks away. Wherever you find yourself in this story, God's arms are wrapped around you. So if there's guilt you've carried far too long, or perhaps forgiveness you need to ask for, you bring it to Him.

You're listening to *Insight for Living*. Chuck Swindoll titled today's message "Finally... Justice Rolls Down." For several weeks now, we've been describing a book Chuck's written called *Finding God When the World's on Fire*. It's been our featured resource here on *Insight for Living*, but it's one of the last times I'll mention it.

This is a book for anyone on the receiving end of unwanted surprises. Maybe you're discouraged today. Perhaps you've suffered through a broken relationship, a financial disaster, or devastating news from your doctor. With so much uncertainty, nothing seems to ease your fears, and God feels very, very far away.

Well, Chuck's book *Finding God When the World's on Fire* was written exactly for you. Let us send you a copy today. It's yours when your request includes a contribution toward the ministry of *Insight for Living*. We're grateful for you, and we believe this book will be a gift to your soul. Again, it's called *Finding God When the World's on Fire*.

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So how does Job's story end? I'm Bill Meyer. Don't miss Chuck Swindoll's uplifting account when hope has the final word. Thursday on *Insight for Living*.