Study the Word

Guest (Male): With a word of caution on handling the scripture and in particular the book of Job, here's pastor Tom Keller.

Pastor Thom Keller: You got to be careful when you look at the book of Job and pull out scripture verse and say well it says it but it's coming from one of Job's critics who's not expressing the view of God. And that's what I said you can't take scriptures out of context. You can't take scriptures out of context. It's well said that a text out of context leads to a pretext or a proof text. Without examining the context in which something was said, one can misapply or misrepresent a text to support a position that in fact it does not support.

We'll hear more about that on today's study the word with pastor Tom Keller. Last time we considered Job's encounter with his friends. Now with more on the good things they did from Job chapter two, here's pastor Tom. So the third thing they did that was good is they acknowledged his loss and pain and they empathized and mourned with them and probably the best thing they did during their first seven days was what? That's it. Didn't say a word. That was the best thing that they did. For the first seven days they didn't say a word.

On the eighth day they messed up really bad. And it started. They should have kept their mouth shut. Look at verse 13. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and nights. No one said a word for they saw that his suffering was too great for words. And had they kept this up, listen to this carefully. If they had kept this up or left after seven days, this would have been a much shorter book. I counted it up it would go from 42 chapters down to seven. That's where we'd be. Job was have it would have his little argument with God at the end.

They'd patch up and then God blesses him. But no his friends had to open their mouths. Those chapters between chapter chapter four on are all these friends criticizing Job and his defense of their criticisms. And what did they do wrong? Well although they ended up criticizing and castigating Job for the sin in his life that they that they claimed came because of his sin. This isn't how their downward spiral in the criticism began which lasts from chapter four to chapter 37 35 chapters. No it began by his friends trying to explain why these troubles came upon Job.

Remember that. It didn't start by them wanting to criticize him. They didn't want to criticize him. Think about it. Job you're a you're a wicked man. They didn't start that way. They started by trying to explain why this happened to him. That was the beginning of the downward spiral. Now there's a lesson in that for us. You know where do our criticisms begin? Trying to explain why. Trying to explain why. And this is a huge takeaway to be gained from this study in Job. A practical takeaway for all of us. To take away from Job and his friends, it has to be to teach us that we need to be very very careful about trying to explain why certain things happen to other people.

And not only verbally but in your mind. You know until about 10 years ago, I thought that I didn't sin unless I said something unkind about someone else. And then I realized that God hears my thoughts. So if I think a judgmental thought about somebody, if I think something unkind about somebody, it's just as though I said it to them technically as far as my culpability in the sin of that. So when you see something happens to somebody and you say oh in your mind they deserve that. Oh oh oh oh. There you go. Or I can see why they got that illness because they do that.

Oh oh oh be careful. You know somebody said one time wouldn't it be interesting wouldn't it just be interesting if the way God decided to portion out blessings in your life and my life is based upon the amount of blessings we would like to see our least favorite person get. Wouldn't that just be interesting? If the way God decided to dole out blessings to us was he would decide to do that based upon the amount of blessings we would want to see our last our least favorite person get. Wouldn't that change some things? God bless her blessing him boy.

Start blessing him. You know listen we have no right to ever say that God let something happen because had to Charlie or Sonia for such and such a reason. Why? Because the truth is you don't know the reason. You do not know the reason. You're way above your pay grade when you start giving reasons for why something happened to somebody. And this is why this book is so practical a tool for us to learn from today. Why? Because these friends of Job's were just as certain of their reasons for Job's illnesses, his losses as people are today.

And you'll hear this. You know you don't want to be one of these people. And then verse 12 and 13. When they saw Job from a distance they scarcely recognized him. Wailing loudly they tore their robes threw dust into the air over their heads demonstrate their grief. And then they sat on the ground with them for seven days and nights and no one said a word for they saw that his suffering was too great for words. But Job's friends as we will soon see men their philosophers, men who analyze and ponder and they all arrive at the same conclusion.

Job must have really sinned. He must have really messed up somehow because this is why God is punishing him this way. And you know when you think about it, I think it does help to figure to look at these guys as philosophers that they were really a deep thinkers and pondered this. But again the downward spiral began when they tried to explain why this happened. You know it's be interesting if where we get in trouble in life is even when things happen to us when we try to figure out why they happened to us. You know maybe there's just an element of faith that we ought to just say that's way above my pay grade and I'm just going to let that up to God.

And maybe these three thinkers, these three philosophers at the end of the seven days, maybe at night not with Job yet, but maybe as they went to sleep together as a group as they lay there and started philosophizing with one another, just maybe they shared their thoughts with each other one evening before going to bed. And that gave them the courage then to begin their lengthy die tribe against Job proclaiming his guilt. You can always hear that happening can't you? You know as they lay there night six or maybe night seven, you know so far do you really think this could have happened to Job if he hadn't really messed up?

God wouldn't let this happen to him. Would he? Never. Would God do let something like this happen to someone that he loves, that he favors, that he has chosen? No not possible. And so among themselves they start I think they probably started to to form their charge against Job ready to proclaim his guilt. And as we go through these chapters most times I'm going to read the entire chapter at one one reading so we don't lose the feeling of the emotion that's being expressed. Because if you try to take two or three verses out you miss the picture.

And also Job is not a book that you seek truth from. This is important. Listen to this carefully. Job is not a book that you seek truth from from individual verses because much of Job in fact most chapters of the book of Job are based upon wrong premises leading to wrong conclusions. Did you get that? Most of the book of Job, most of the chapters of Job are wrong premises leading to wrong conclusions. And you can't even take what Job said as being always right because he doesn't always get it right. He makes some assumptions.

One of Job's friends speaks from experience and he says experience shows you that this doesn't happen. Well that's not from God. So that's why you got to be careful when you you look at the book of Job and pull out scripture verse and say well this says this in the book of Job. Well that was spoken we say it comes in the Bible. It does come from the Bible. But it's coming from one of Job's critics who's not expressing the view of God. Do you get it? And that's what I said you can't take scriptures out of context.

You can't take scriptures out of context. So that's really true with the book of Job. There may be verses in there that speak to you. There may be verses in there that have some truth. I'm not I'm not trying to take a verse away from you that God and I've used some verses out of Job for funerals. There's some good verses in Job for funerals. I'm just saying don't just generally apply them as truth because they're not. Be careful of that. And remember the next thing Job says, he says before anyone else has said a word.

Okay this next chapter Job's friends have still not spoken. That's important. He's not defending himself. He is not responding to what they've said. This is the first thing Job says. And the way it reads is the last thing he said was to his wife. You speak like a foolish woman. Shall we accept only good things from the Lord? That's the last thing he said. His friends show up seven days not a word not a word. And now Job opens his mouth. Job chapter three verse one. At last Job spoke and he cursed the day of his birth.

He said cursed is the day of my birth and cursed be the night when I was conceived. Let that day be turned to darkness. Let it be lost even the God on high and let it be shrouded in darkness. Yes let the darkness and utter gloom claim it for its own. Let a black cloud overshadow it the day of his birth and let the darkness terrify it. Let that night be blotted off the calendar the day of his birth. Never again to be counted among the days of the year. Never again to appear among the months.

Let that night be barren. Let it have no joy the night of his birth. Let those who are experts at cursing, those who are ready to rouse the sea monster, curse that day the day of my birth. Let its morning stars remain dark. Let it hope for light but in vain. May it never see the morning light. Curse it for its failure to shut my mother's womb for letting me be born to all this trouble. Why didn't I die at birth as I came from the womb? Why did my mother let me live? Why did she nurse me at her breasts?

For if I had died at birth, I would be at peace now, asleep and at rest. I would rest with the world's kings and prime ministers famous for their great construction projects. I would rest with wealthy princes whose palaces were filled with gold and silver. Why was I not buried like a stillborn child like a baby who never see lives to see the light? For in death the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest. Even prisoners are at ease in death with no guards to curse them. Rich and poor are alike. Rich and poor there alike and the slave is free from his master.

Oh why should light be given to the weary and life to those in misery? They long for death and it won't come. They search for death more eagerly than for hidden treasure. It is a blessed relief when they finally die when they find the grave. Why is life given to those with no future? Those destined by God to live in distress. I cannot eat for sighing. My groans pour out like water. What I always feared has happened to me. What I dreaded has come to be. I have no peace, no quietness. I have no rest.

Instead only trouble comes. These are really harsh words. These are dark words. These reflect a dark dark time in a man's life. And when you boil it all down chapter three, the core, the heart, the essence of chapter three is I wish I never would have been born. I curse the day that I was born. Verse three said cursed be the day of my birth. Cursed be the night I was conceived. Verse 11 why did why didn't I die at birth as I came from the womb? Why did my mother let me live? Why did she nurse me from her breasts?

Verse 16 why was I not buried like a stillborn child, like a baby who never lives to see the light? Verse 23 why is life given to those with no future? Those destined by God to live in distress. Listen to what J. Vernon McGee says about this one. He says the book of Job presents the problem. This is good. The book of Job presents the problem. It states the stripping of a man's soul but it does not give a solution. Although answers are suggested, you will have to go to the New Testament for the real answer.

It's sort of like the algebra book I had at school. The problems were in the front of the book and the answers were in the back. That's good, isn't it? The Bible is like that. You get the problem here but you must turn over to the New Testament and get the answer. In many respects the Old Testament is a very unsatisfactory book. Nothing is actually solved in it. As someone has put it the Old Testament is expectation. The New Testament is realization. Ain't that good? I think it was K.P. Yohannan that said the whole purpose of the Old Testament is to find a bride for Christ.

The whole purpose of the Old Testament is to find a bride for Christ. And someone else said that the Old Testament is a beautifully furnished poorly lit room. The Old Testament is a beautifully furnished poorly lit room. And the New Testament Jesus brings light to that room and all of those furniture, all of those pieces in the Old Testament now make sense. They come to light. They all fit together. You see why they're there, why the Passover lamb was offered, why they put blood in the lentil because that was Jesus, why they looked at the serpent and just by looking at the serpent just by faith and looking at that they would live the same as with Jesus.

How all of these Old Testament stories, images, rituals, traditions point to Jesus, all of them. It's a beautifully furnished poorly lit room. Lastly we're going to find only three rounds of speeches by his friends. There are three as we look through all these chapters through chapter 31. There are only there are three rounds of speeches. Three are by Job and then Eliphaz and then Job answers. That's chapter three to seven. That's between Eliphaz and Job and then Bildad chirps in and Job answers him. That's chapters eight to 10. And then Zophar comes along and challenges Job and Job answers him.

That's chapters 11 to 14. And then this happens two more times. Three rounds of those three guys. Those three guys they come at him three times then again and then again. And the third time there's no Zophar. So the the first time is Eliphaz Bildad Zophar. The second time Eliphaz Bildad Zophar. The third time Eliphaz Bildad and Zophar goes home I guess and he doesn't show up. And that's where we'll go. I want to end by making this point. Now if you do if you do studies in the book of Job, you're going to find there are there's a lot of disagreement in this next point.

And you have to decide what do you think about it but I think it's interesting to say just it's worth mentioning. In chapter three verse 25 he says what I have feared has always happened to me. What I dreaded has come to pass. Now some have made the case that because Job lived with this fear, it actually gave Satan access to do what he feared would happen to him because he wasn't expressing confidence in God. Because if you fear something you can't fear and trust God at the same time, right? Can you? Can you fear and trust God?

It's not possible. If you fear you're not trusting God. And so some will make the point that because because if you take him at his word, all that I feared has happened to me. All that I feared. So he didn't say 90% I'm just taking him at his word. Not 80% everything I ever feared could happen to me happened to me. And so did that fear give Satan access automatic access to take those things? You have said this before, we have a lot more free will than Satan does. He can cause a lot more damage than we can but we have a lot more free will than he does because what the Bible says he can't do he cannot do.

If God says Satan you're not doing that, he's not doing it. We have a lot of free will as humans. Satan has a lot of free will but he has to live within the boundaries of what God says he he he can do. For instance in James it says wherever you find envy and self-seeking everything evil exists. Wherever you find envy and self-seeking everything evil exists. Well that's the technicality that Satan lives on. So if he can go into a church, in a business, in a home and find envy and self-seeking, he can bring everything evil with it.

So it's automatic. He has license to do it. Doesn't need to ask God permission. He's licensed. He has automatic permission to do that. So what about when we fear something? We're not trusting God. If we don't fear and we're trusting God, does that put a level of protection over that from happening to us? I don't know. Some make that case. It's a it's an interesting argument. I I think it has some credibility, some validity to it. It's better not to fear anything. It's been said God shares every emotion you do except one. He has no fear.

He's jealous of your love for him. He gets angry. Every emotion except one. He has no fear. So maybe that's something to take to the Lord in prayer. Are there areas in your life where you have fear that you fear something could happen? You know you could be opening a door. It's possible. You could be opening a door that actually allows Satan to bring about the very thing you're fearing. It's something to pray about.

Guest (Male): And speaking of prayer, our teacher pastor Tom Keller will be right back to do so with us. Hope you'll stick around for that. Today on study the word we've been in Job chapter two. Would you like to give this a second listen? Either go to our website at ccleb.com or visit our YouTube page. Simply subscribe to our channel at Calvary Chapel Lebanon and you can watch our services live or on demand. For those interested in a CD copy call us at 717 273 5633. Once again that's 717 273 5633. It takes a team to bring study the word to this station and many others like it.

Please consider sending in a gift today and you can give online at ccleb.com or call 717 273 5633. If you prefer to write jot down this address study the word 740 Willow Street, Lebanon, Pennsylvania 17046. And we also want to invite you to join us for a Sunday service either in person or online. For more information or to watch the live stream visit ccleb.com or again go to our YouTube channel at Calvary Chapel Lebanon. Now to conclude our time by leading us in prayer, here again is pastor Tom. Father we thank you for the truth of your word.

We thank you Lord for the book of Job and when I think of this man Lord I I think of the of Job being in heaven and I think of people coming into heaven and meeting him and saying Job you you don't know how your your book saved my life. I mean I didn't think anybody had troubles like mine and then I read that book and I realized you you had things worse than I did or or you went through what I went through and I learned so much from from reading your story. I thought like you thought and I saw how God spoke to you and he spoke to me as he spoke to you and I'm so grateful for the book and I think Job after after 4,000 years of receiving people and hearing those accounts, I don't think Job has any regrets for what he went through for a few brief years here on earth that have impacted so many people's lives.

And I suspect Father that the same is true for the troubles that we go through. Lord you tell us in second Corinthians that that when we go through troubles you want us to be able to comfort others with the comfort with which we were comforted when we went through our trials. So the primary reason you let us go through trials is so that when others go through trials we can comfort them. And so Lord I pray that you'd help us remember that when we go through difficulties that are not of our making, difficulties that you allow.

Lord that we would remember that your ultimate in that is that we would be able to use we would be able to be used by you to encourage others, to comfort others when they go through similar trials. I think of Greg Laurie losing his son a horrible loss but how you have used that man to comfort so many people. What a blessing he has been to so many families, so many parents. And Lord heaven will reveal the same is true of everything we go through. So Lord help us to have that perspective that on the other side of all that we go through we would be stronger and more equipped to face life but also to be used by you to encourage and comfort others through it.

We pray this in Christ's name and all of God's people said

Guest (Male): Amen.

Guest (Male): Amen.

Pastor Thom Keller: Study the word with pastor Tom Keller is brought to you by Calvary Chapel Lebanon. Join us next time when we'll again be in the book of Job and may God richly bless you as you study the word.