Wrestling With Man And God (Job 4:1-31:40 Pt 2 August 28, 2016)

Transcription

1 Wrestling With Man And God (Job 4:1-31:40 Pt 2 August 28, 2016) Over the years perhaps the angriest, most hurt, most confused people I have dealt with are those who believe they have been treated unjustly. Those who feel falsely accused, abandoned, neglected, misrepresented or betrayed. I have seen them carry bitter grudges for years. I have seen them eaten up from inside. Most of us have felt this type of hurt and betrayal at some point in our lives. A friend, a spouse, a leader, a workmate, an enemy. The injustice we feel inflames any hurt and pain. It can affect our objectivity and our perspective. And when the consequences of the perceived miscarriage of justice are severe our indignation grows all the worse. And if the one who abandons us or accuses us is someone we expect to always have our back the hurt is almost unbearable. We vehemently protest our innocence. We bewail our hurt. We point out the betrayal and abandonment. And whether we admit it or not when these times occur we feel abandoned and rejected by God who knows we are the innocent party and should do something to help us. I have seen this so many times in marriages, in families, in church leadership, in life. So what is a Christian to do when they feel judged, abandoned, wrongly accused, let down, betrayed? What I want to suggest this morning is that: 1

2 It is not a sin to wrestle with man and God as long as you realise your imperfect understanding, cling to faith and never declare God to be unjust. Today we will look at Job as he begins the path from despair back to sanity. This is not an easy road. It is painful. It is confusing. It is messy. It leaves many questions unanswered. And it involves much wrestling with both man and God. If you have ever felt hard done by and abandoned I suspect the Job we meet in these chapters will resonate with you. When we are hurt we can say things we later regret. We can lash out at our spouse or friends. Usually we are a bit more reserved when we talk to God. We usually just say why? it isn t fair? Job goes much further he is raw and open in his challenge to God. He says some of the things we might say if we weren t so restrained. The book of Job is 42 chapters 42 long chapters. Job s wrestling with his friends and God involve three long cycles of argument. Why? Because hurts and pain are not easily resolved. What we see in Job is what I have seen so many times it is a struggle to deal with hurt and pain. This morning we are going to see a man in great pain asking again and again: Why? Job is hurting because of the loss of his wealth, his family and his health. These losses hurt him. But they are not the focus of his pain. 2

3 His focus is on the unfairness and the abandonment. Why did my friends abandon me? Why did my God abandon me? Job is indignant and confused and frustrated. He asks many hard questions. This impassioned struggle comes in the twenty-eight chapters of argument and debate between Job and his friends. We have seen that these chapters outline like this: Chapters 3-31 Job s Despair 3 Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar Cycle Cycle Cycle Job s Defence The section begins in chapter 3 with Job despairing to the point that he longed for the release of death. It seems his speech prompted the three friends who had been silent until then to offer their advice. They did not like the fact that Job did not confess his sin and that he longed to end his suffering through death. They wanted Job to man up and realise why he was suffering and deal with the root issue his sin. Their advice comes in three cycles of speeches. Each of the three friends speaks and Job responds after each one has spoken. Each cycle becomes more direct and more pointed. However, despite their increasingly fervent arguments Job refuses to admit they are right and they refuse to admit they are wrong so by the third cycle the friends are exasperated and resort to exaggeration and insults. Bildad only gives a very short speech and Zophar does not give any speech at all. Then in chapters Job gives a prolonged, impassioned defence declaring he does not have any great hidden sin. 3

4 Last week, we also saw that at the heart of the problem was both Job s and the friend s view of God. They have a very simplistic, commonly held view about God and how He deals with the world. Their view of God and His justice is known by a number of names: Cause and effect justice Proportional justice Retributive justice Basically it says that you reap what you sow. The friends argued that since Job is suffering so profoundly there must be a great sin that caused it. Their logic is simple God is sovereign and God is just. His justice means He must punish sin. So punishment must mean there is a sin causing God to act. Last week we saw that this view of God and justice led his friends to be miserable comforters. But this morning I want to look at Job s wrestling. It seems that before Job s life was decimated he would have said amen to the way of viewing the world espoused by his friends. But as we saw last week in the midst of his pain and hurt, Job began to question this way of viewing God and justice. What we are going to look at this week is this: Why Job wrestled with Man and God What Job did wrong in wrestling with Man and God What Job did right in wrestling with Man and God 4

5 I want you to know that it is not wrong to question and ask why of men or God. Job is never condemned for this. But there is a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it. First: Why Job wrestled with Man and God He felt forsaken by Man and God The form of these debates is that of the courtroom. Job knows that he has no great hidden sin so if his three friends are right that would make God unjust. Job s great strength is that he will not allow God s righteousness and justice to be questioned. Unfortunately in protecting God s righteousness Job goes close to accusing God of negligence. He is absolutely convinced that if all the facts were laid out he would be vindicated before men and God. It is almost as if he thinks God doesn t know all the facts. Look at chapter 6 verses 2 and 3: Oh that my vexation were weighed, and all my calamity laid in the balances! For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea. I have been misjudged. If my vexation my unfair treatment were weighed it would be immeasurable. But while the form is that of the courtroom the language of these debates is the language of a man scorned. If you went back a year Job would have said my friends have got my back. My God has got my back. If tough times come they will be there I know it. He is bitter because the toughest of times came and now he feels abandoned. If we look at Job s speeches, his wrestling with Man and God is based on two perceived failures the abandonment of his friends and His God. 1. His friends have abandoned him In chapter 4, Eliphaz said you are reaping what you sow just confess your sin. 5

6 Job can t believe this. Listen to the hurt. Chapter 6 verses 14-15: He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty. My brothers are as treacherous as a torrent bed. Job tells his three friends they withheld their loyalty and kindness from him. They are treacherous. Then in verses he tells them how it felt. He tells the story of a caravan in the wilderness who have run out of water. But they turn aside to a place where they are sure they will find water that will help them. But when they get there there is none. When the three friends came Job was confident that they would show him unconditional love and support him in his hour of need. Instead they accused him and turned on him. Job then says I never asked anything of you but your love and support and you failed me in my hour of need. Verses Look at me I won t lie to your face don t do this injustice to me my vindication is at stake don t abandon me. When the tough times come you find out your true friends. There are people you expect to turn tail and head for the hills. But there are people you expect to have your back no matter what. When they fail you it hurts it really hurts. Twice in my life someone I really trusted turned on me. The pain, the hurt, the confusion nearly ended me. I know many of you have been there utterly astounded that the people you thought would always have your back are the ones sticking a knife in it. Many of you know how exactly how Job feels. But it is not just men Job feels has let him down. 2. His God has afflicted him He begins in chapter 6 verse 4 the arrows of the Almighty are in me. It is not that God is standing on the sidelines here. Job knows that his trials came directly from the hand of God the arrows in his back were loosed by the Almighty. 6

7 God is sovereign so if Job is suffering God is behind it. Job can t understand why. God was his friend, his master Job served him well. Why? So after addressing his friends in the rest of chapter 6 we come to chapter 7 where Job turns his lament to God. He blames God for the terrible state he is in. He feels God has singled him out for this trial v. 8 Your eyes are on me. Verse 18 Just look away from me leave me alone. In verses 1-5 He cries my months are empty my nights are misery. Verses 6 to 10 My life is racing by and I will never see good times again. I go to the grave and vanish from the earth. How can You afflict one You claim to love like this? Verses Therefore I am justified in speaking out and complaining about the bitterness in my soul. I don t deserve this. I am not something evil like the sea or a sea monster but you seem to be set against me. You harass me even in my dreams I loathe my life just leave me alone. Why am I of any importance that you will persecute me so? This chapter is the anguished cry of a man who cannot understand why his God his master his friend has turned on him and will not relent. Then in chapters 9 and 10 Job responds to Bildad but the real object of his speech is God. In chapter 9 he says I have a problem who can argue with God. How can I show God He is wrong. You Lord are the judge, the police, the King You hold every card even though I am right I have no hope arguing my case before you. Verses 2-3 How can a man be in the right before God? How could I establish my righteousness before You? 7

8 No one can contend with You. No one can answer You. I can t get an opportunity to show you that I am in the right. Verses 4-10 You created and control the earth and the heavens. Verses Who can argue with you? Who can question what you are doing? Verse 15 I am in the right but I cannot answer You back. Instead of vindication I can only ask for mercy but I want vindication it is so unfair. Verse 16 Even if You came You would not listen to me. Verse 19 It is a contest of strength and You win. Verses I am right but You find a way to condemn me. Verse 22 You destroy both the blameless and the wicked. I am blameless and you crush me like I am wicked. It is like a peasant trying to get an audience with a King and trying to get him to reverse a decision. Job feels he is right but he can t get God to even hear him let alone do something. He moves on. Verse 27 What do you want me to do God? Put on a happy face and pretend it is all good? Verses 30 and 31. What is the point of trying? Even if I could find my sin and washed it clean You would condemn me again and throw me back into the pit. Verses You are God I can t take You to trial like an ordinary man. There is no arbiter who can weigh my case and cause you to take Your rod away. It is hopeless. Chapter 9 is raw. This is a man who is hurting, confused he feels abandoned and afflicted. He feels the heavens are as brass. He feels God will not answer him. God has turned His arrows on him and turned His ear from him. I m sure many have been there calling out to God why? and there is no answer the trials just beat on day after day. You are: 8

9 Feeling aggrieved. Feeling abandoned. Feeling afflicted. It seems so unfair and so wrong. This week I looked back over my life to see if I have ever felt like Job. I have felt very let down by some friends. I have felt wronged. But I don t think I have ever felt smitten by the arrows of the Almighty. There have been times where the thought flitted across my mind but I knew it wasn t true. But I know many here have had trials that have made you feel that way. What I want to look at now is what we can learn from Job s responses. What Job did wrong in wrestling with Man and God What Job did right in wrestling with Man and God First: What Job did wrong in wrestling with Man and God I believe you could sum up Job s error this way: He justified himself rather than justifying God Job is hurting. He feels betrayed, let down, abandoned, misjudged by his friends and by God. So he does what so many of us do what I have done again and again he justifies himself. I m right. I know I m right. If the facts are known I m in the right you should know it and God does know it. As we have seen, Job is convinced that God has singled him out and afflicted him with this terrible punishment. And as we saw in chapters 2 and 3 this is actually true. God did paint a bullseye on Job s back and did let Satan loose on Job. 9

10 But here is Job s big problem. Instead of saying since God is always good, He never sins and is never wrong then somehow even though I don t get it God must be working all this for my good. Instead of that Job seeks to justify himself to his friends and to God. And in doing so by default Job does something he really doesn t mean to he apportions blame to God negligence in how Job was dealt with. How do we know this is a problem? In chapter 32 another man Elihu turns up and in verse 2 we read that: Elihu burned with anger at Job because he justified himself rather than God. The place of Elihu is debated but I am convinced he is a prophet who speaks the truth. And if that is not enough we have the words of God Himself. Job 40:8: Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be in the right? Job thinks God is being unjust so he seeks to justify himself I am a good man I don t deserve this. He should have said God you are a good anything I get must be right and for my good. In fact Job does what so many of us do he exaggerates his innocence to near sinlessness even though he knows this is not true. In chapter 10 verse 1 Job says: Since there is no arbiter I will plead my own case I will give utterance to my complaint. Verse 2 I will plead for God to stop contending against me. In verses 4-17 Job says my problem is I can t get an audience with God to plead my case. But God You must know the truth You must know I am not guilty. You created me You know everything about me if I sin You know it so You must know I have done nothing deserving of such pain and punishment. But notice the implication here. God is unjust in the way He deals with Job. Verses Why create me? Why let me be born alive? Why afflict me? 10

11 Why God? Why? Then we see him again justifying himself before his friends. Look at chapter 12. He begins with sarcasm verse 2: No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you. Of course we all agree you are the only wise men in this world and when you die wisdom will be absent from our world. Then he gets to self-justification verse 3: But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these? I was of course not serious that you are the only wise men I am also wise I am in no way inferior to you ask anyone! Verse 4 You think of me as a laughingstock but I was not always this way. Verses 5 and 6 are very interesting. Until misfortune comes on you you never take a good look at the world. If you did you would see the tents of robbers evil men at peace and men who provoke God living secure prosperous lives. Something doesn t make sense here. A simplistic way of viewing the world doesn t work. Verses 7-12 You say what happened to me is so simple even the beasts, birds and fish could tell you the problem. I sinned therefore God punished. But you need to test this wisdom it just doesn t add up. Verses I have looked and seen that God is sovereign over all things. He decides if there is rain or drought. He raises up judges and kings or makes them fools and slaves. He raises up nations and or brings them to nothing. God decides if men have prosperity and privilege or pain and persecution. But I have seen that even the great ones the chiefs of the earth struggle to understand His ways why the wicked prosper and the innocent are afflicted the great ones grope in the dark trying to understand why God does what He does in each case. It is not as simple as you make it out to be. The world is far more complex. 11

12 Chapter 13:1 2: Behold, my eye has seen all this, my ear has heard and understood it. What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you. I understand your argument but I have seen that things do not always run according to your simplistic proportional justice view of the world. I have seen the innocent suffer and the wicked prosper. I am not inferior to you in wisdom so I want to put my case that despite how it seems I am innocent. Verse 3: I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue my case with God. I don t have to justify myself to you what I need to do is to put my case to God. If all the facts are out there God will side with me. Verses 4-5: As for you, you whitewash with lies; worthless physicians are you all. Oh that you would keep silent. You speak lies about me I don t have great hidden sin and your help only leads to more pain you are worthless healers. Verses 6 12: Hear now my argument and listen to the pleadings of my lips. Will you speak falsely for God and speak deceitfully for him? Will you show partiality toward him? Will you plead the case for God? Will it be well with you when he searches you out? Or can you deceive him, as one deceives a man? He will surely rebuke you if in secret you show partiality. Will not his majesty terrify you, and the dread of him fall upon you? Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defences are defences of clay. You speak falsely of me on behalf of God. But you are not innocent. One day you will be searched out and your sin will come to light. You will be in my position and you will regret your hasty words. So for chapter after chapter Job continues his pleading and self-justification and frankly he goes too far. He justifies himself and not God. 12

13 Let me just show you part of it. Look at chapter 23:3 7: Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat! I would lay my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. I would know what he would answer me and understand what he would say to me. Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? No; he would pay attention to me. There an upright man could argue with him, and I would be acquitted forever by my judge. If only I could lay my case out I know I would be acquitted. Then in chapters Job gives one long final impassioned defence of his righteousness. Listen to a few verses. Job 27:6: I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go; my heart does not reproach me for any of my days. There has to be some self-delusion there. My heart reproaches me every day. How can Job say this? He admits several times that he is a sinner. In chapter 31 he lists all the sins men commonly fall into lust, lying, adultery, rejecting the poor, greed, exulting over enemies and he denies falling into these sins himself. He ends by saying if the adversary were to write out all the sins against me and put them on a scroll it would be so tiny it could sit on my shoulder and I would approach God like a prince to plead his case. Chapter after chapter of I am innocent. I don t deserve this! Methinks Job doth protest too much. What is going on here? Job knows he has sin. He knows God is holy. He knows no man is righteous before God. But because there is no great sin directly leading to his suffering Job protests and his protest goes awfully close to saying he has no sin. In a sense Job thinks he will save Himself. In chapter 13 verse 16 Job says: 13

14 This will be my salvation, that the godless shall not come before him. The implication I am not one of the godless I will be saved by my righteousness. No. In chapter 4 Eliphaz had a vision no mortal man can be righteous before God no man can be pure before his Maker. In chapter 9 Job asked How can a man be in the right before God? The implied answer is he can t! Job knows the godless the unrighteous will not come to God but he still has a hope that when his case is heard because he is right God will receive him. Chapter 13 verse 18: Behold, I have prepared my case; I know that I shall be in the right. Wow. Job is too self-righteous. He believes it is up to God to show him his sin Chapter 13 verses 22 23: Then call, and I will answer; or let me speak, and you reply to me. How many are my iniquities and my sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin. I will I lay my case out. I believe I am right. In a very real sense Job is his own Saviour. In Job 40:11 God says that Job thinks his own right hand can save him. Job exaggerates his case to say if anyone could be righteous if your argument is correct then it would be me. And yet you and I do exactly the same thing. None of us is innocent. But we often act as if we are. Let me put what Job is doing in perspective for a moment. Much of the counselling I do involves he said/she said tell her I am right and she is wrong surely you can see my case? What if you have sinned and you are rightly accused of sin how should you respond? David makes that very clear in Psalm 51:3 4: For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. 14

15 I am a sinner. I deserve punishment. I confess that God is justified is right in His punishment of me and is blameless in His judgment of me. But what if you are wrongly accused of sin? What if word sweeps around the church that you have been involved in an immoral relationship and it is just not true? What if you call a meeting and ask for proof and everyone believes the lie? 1 Peter 2:19 23 tells us how we should respond: For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. In this lies Job s mistake. Here is Job who is actually blameless in regard to what he is accused of who is being unjustly accused by his friends and he feels betrayed, abandoned and misrepresented with a fair amount of justification. And he wonders why God has allowed this and he stands up and cries you have it wrong about me I am blameless I am innocent there is nothing. What I need is an Advocate to make God understand I am blameless. But what Job says in this is that God is unrighteous. When you suffer and you justify yourself the implication is that God is unjust in allowing this or in not leaping to your defence. This is what so upset the three friends. This si what caused Elihu to burn with anger at Job. So when the dust settles the charge against Job is that he justified himself rather than God. Instead of trusting that God would do what is right his protests of innocence ended up implying that God had allowed injustice to occur. He should have said even though I cannot understand what is happening the one thing I do know is that God is never unjust and what is happening to me is in the sovereign, just and righteous plan of God and it is good. There is a crucial lesson for us in this. 15

16 I cannot tell you how many people I have counselled who make this same mistake. I ve made it. It is a very, very rare situation where a dispute is entirely one sided. Most of the time there is a great deal of wrong on both sides. However, the way we are put together is that we minimise our faults and we maximise others faults so in our eyes we are sitting with Job the blameless one in the dispute. We feel wronged, misjudged, falsely accused. And all our efforts are poured into justifying ourselves and we go too far. I have files of letters and s telling me why Fred is right and Mary is wrong. Most marriage counselling I do she says the blame is 30% her and 70% him and he responds Oh no it is 20% me and 80% you and that is being really generous. And our sin makes us believe this is absolutely true and we are amazed that the only ones who see this are our close friends who hear only our side of the matter. I have had one couple tell me the blame is 10% him and 90% her and she said no its 100% him and they would have said the same thing to God Himself. They really believed it. If the men who I feel failed me were standing here I have no doubt they would say really? Craig you have it wrong you failed me you were in the wrong. Although I feel the aggrieved party they would say I was wrong. And the reality will probably turn out that we both had fault. It is the way we are put together. As well, what I often hear is this Craig God knows the truth so why isn t He stepping in to show how innocent I am in this? And what is implied is God is acting unjustly. But: Christ left us an example He committed no sin but when he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. When you feel wronged and hurt if you find yourself only defending yourself and not God if you become the hero you may be following Job s error. 16

17 When you are feeling betrayed, abandoned, attacked your natural instinct will be to fight it to show the world I am in the right. Instead make sure you justify God you insist that He is working all things together for good and is never unjust. Finally, I want to look at: What Job did right in wrestling with Man and God He hoped in God and allowed room for mystery Job was too self-righteous. Job did justify himself rather than God. But, when you read through these chapters Job did so many things right. When you read the arguments of the three friends every argument is directed at Job. They never address God at all. They never ask God are we missing something? Job has an issue with his friends and God so he addresses them both. He wrestles with them to find an answer. Job keeps appealing to God. So many times I have seen men and women get angry at God and when they don t get an answer they like they stop talking to God and turn away from God. Job doesn t do that. His pain drives him even closer to God Though he slay me, yet I will hope in him. Job was frustrated with God, he did not understand what God was doing but when push came to shove Job knew that God was his only hope. He refused to turn away from God. Job 28 is a fascinating chapter. Job interrupts his discourse on his innocence to express his faith in God. He asks where shall wisdom be found? His answer comes in verse 28: Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding. It is almost as if Job says- I don t get it but no matter what I will trust. 17

18 Job could not get his mind around what was happening but what I want you to see is that in his wrestling in his confusing in his suffering Job ultimately knew that the one place he could find justice peace is in God. Job can t understand what is happening but what he does know is that he will trust in God. I think that when they got to glory Job and Joseph would have had much to talk about. In a corner of heaven they will be saying no way! You too? Good men, suffering without answers but trusting in God. Joseph obediently doing the work of his father sold into slavery by his brothers refusing the sexual advances of Potiphar s wife only to end up in prison helping the cupbearer only to be forgotten and to rot in prison year after year. Where is God? Why God? It is only when the mystery is revealed and Joseph is raised to rule the land and save his nation that we see although the brothers meant it for evil God meant it for good. Like Joseph, Job had faith that God would do what is right. He questioned this he wondered how it could be but ultimately he kept talking to God and saying God surely You will do what is right. When you are suffering and think it is unjust remember Joseph remember Job. Listen to this declaration of faith in chapter 13 verse 15: Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face. I am going to put my case before God and it might cost me my life He may slay me. But I will still hope in Him. But then as he wrestles we see Job have a moment of doubt. He has a number of these in the book. He is honest enough to think things through and several times we see him have these moments of reflection times when he seems to question his own logic. Look at chapter 14. Man is born and he dies. Man is sinful and there is nothing anyone can do. 18

19 Verse 4 is a crucial verse: Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? There is not one. Job seems to break from his defence of his righteousness as he understands that all men are unclean and there is nothing that can be done about it. He could never stand pure before God in his own righteousness. But Job doesn t just give up hope. He draws an analogy. Job 14:7 9. He imagines a tree cut off just leaving the stump. When rain falls again the stump will bud. Men are not like that. Verses 10 12: Men die and that is it. Then comes some of my favourite passages in this book. Verses 13-17: Oh that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would conceal me until your wrath be past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my service I would wait, till my renewal should come. You would call, and I would answer you; you would long for the work of your hands. For then you would number my steps; you would not keep watch over my sin; my transgression would be sealed up in a bag, and you would cover over my iniquity. I know that no one can bring a clean thing out of unclean men. But here is my hope that you would hide me in the grave until your wrath is done and I would wait for the time of renewing and you would call and I the beloved work of Your hands would rise from the grave and answer You. And in that new life I would be clean no sin, no transgression, no iniquity. Then I could come before you truly righteous. That is faith. In a time when no one knew anything of resurrection that is faith. Even though Job can t put the pieces of what God is doing together he trusts and hopes that somehow God will save him. So what do we learn? 19

20 It is not a sin to wrestle with man and God as long as you realise your imperfect understanding, cling to faith and never declare God to be unjust. Days will come when we will feel betrayed, abandoned, hurt. How do we respond? This is what we learn from Job. We can wrestle with God. We can ask why. We can tell him and others we are hurt. We can remember what Job did wrong justifying himself to the point that God seemed unjust. We can remember what Job did right he refused to walk away from God he kept turning to God in faith. We can remember that at the end of the book Job forgives his friends and prays for God to forgive them. You have to forgive or bitterness will eat you up. As well, Job steadfastly clung to hope that although he could not understand what was happening God did. And he allowed room for mystery room for God to work in a way that he could not comprehend at all. Somehow God would bring justice and good from this evil. Brothers and sisters, you will have times of hurt and pain and confusion and abandonment. You will wrestle with God and man. Whatever you do do not say God is unjust. Don t assume that you know His plans and purposes. Whatever you do do forgive and do trust Him put your hope in Him and know that in Christ and His death and resurrection sense will come to the pain and mess of this fallen world. This is how you wrestle with man and God righteously. 20

21 Wrestling With Man And God (Job 4:1-31:40 Pt 2 August 28, 2016) Main Point: It is not a sin to wrestle with man and God as long as you realise your imperfect understanding, cling to faith and never declare God to be unjust. Think of the times you have been falsely accused, abandoned, neglected, misrepresented or betrayed. How did you feel? Why did you feel this way? Have ever felt God has abandoned you? Why did you feel like this? Why does being turned on by friends make the pain much worse? Is it OK to ask God why? When can this be a problem? Is it OK to reason with friends about how they treat you? When can it become a problem? What does it mean to justify yourself rather than God? Why can justifying yourself make God appear unjust? If you feel God is treating your unfairly how should you respond? If you feel some men or women are treating your unfairly how should you respond? Why is it hard for us to see sin in our own lives? If we are accused of a sin we did commit how should we respond? If we are accused of a sin we did not commit how should we respond? Why can wrestling with God lead to turning from God? How can we avoid this? Discuss why Joseph might have felt abandoned by God. How did God work things out in his case? If we don t understand what God is doing and there seems to be no answer what should we do? What is Job s hope? Where did Job find hope in verses 14:13-17; 16:9 and 19:25-26? Why is forgiveness so crucial to end bitterness? Why is it only in the cross and the resurrection that this fallen world makes sense? 21