Job: Right or Wrong, We Still Need a Mediator INTRODUCTION

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1 Job: Right or Wrong, We Still Need a Mediator Background Passage The Book of Job, Chapters Lesson Passages--Job 33:13-30; 36:8-12 Lesson for July 6-7, 2013 Dr. James Patterson INTRODUCTION Dana stated, You did a great job planning our class s summer party, Mark. Good job! Aw, I had a lot of help. There wouldn t even have been a party without the contributions of Susan, Don, Sharon, and Allen. That s just like you, Mark, to deflect praise and share the admiration of a job well done. You are a pretty modest guy, responded Dana. Pretty modest!? To be honest with you, I m the most humble person I ve ever known. I have taken humility to record heights. They broke the ol modesty mold when they made me! Don t you agree? Well, uh yeah, I guess. Many of us have admirable traits and provide genuine service to others. Many of us do a fairly good job of living a righteous life. However, there was only one person who was perfect in every way. It was not Mark, in the example above; neither was it Job. When we are eventually called to the court of absolute judgment, we will not be able to plead innocent on our own worthiness. We need a mediator, or redeemer, who is able to speak for us and is willing to personally pay the price for our transgressions. Summary of Prior Chapters (Job 31) The entirety of Chapter 31 consists of Job s continued protest of innocence. He went through the list of sins his friends had accused him of and even suggested a few other sins that they might have suspected him of committing. He denied them all. As he made his case, Job defined for us exactly what a righteous man

2 is and what a righteous man does. His life, though centuries before the New Testament, was a testimony to the ethics that would be taught by Jesus Christ. We can use the ethical issues raised in this chapter as a checklist for assessing our own spirituality. Verse 31:6 Let God weigh me with an accurate balance, and He will recognize my integrity. Job explained how he was as honest in his business matters as he was in his personal life. He also claimed to have made a covenant with his eyes not to look with lust at women other than his wife. Verse 31:13 I have not dismissed the case of my servants when they made a complaint against me. Job denied he had ever abused those under his authority; instead, he recognized the value of his servants as equal to his own, as all have been created by God. Did not the One who made me in the womb also make them? In this statement, he was thousands of years ahead of Thomas Jefferson and the all men are created equal concept. Verse 31:16 I have never refused the wishes of the poor. Job had been very generous in his charity and had always met the needs of the poor and helpless. He opened his home to strangers and travelers. Verse 31:24 I have placed no confidence in gold (nor the moon, the sun, etc.) He didn t love his wealth, nor did he take credit for accumulating it. He did not boast, but gave credit to God, considering himself merely a steward of God s riches. Furthermore, he NEVER chased after false gods or worshipped aspects of nature. Verse 31:29 I have never rejoiced over my enemy s distress. He never cursed his enemies or asked God to deal with them harshly. This was centuries before Jesus advised us to love our enemies. Job concluded with a curse against himself, if he had ever done any of these wrongs. Then he fell silent and would speak no more until God showed up. In short, he s saying I rest my case. Now, God, You come and make your case against me. What was God s immediate response?

3 The silence was God s witness to Job that the God of the universe is not at the beck and call of his creations. God doesn t appear just because someone thinks it s time for a showdown. If God chooses to address Job, He will do it on His own schedule. Job had earlier expressed his desire and need for an advocate. He hoped for someone that could present his case effectively--someone that God would respect and listen to. That would not be Friend #4, Elihu (E li gyu), whose monologues form the basis for most of today s lesson. LESSON PASSAGE 1 Job 33: Why do you complain to Him that he responds to no one s words? 14 For God does speak now one way, now another though no one perceives it. 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds, 16 He may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, Angry at Job for daring to criticize and challenge God and frustrated at the three friends for not being able to put Job in his place, the young Hebrew scholar, Elihu, stood up to speak. Elihu has one speech, which is divided into 4 parts and takes up 6 Chapters of the Book of Job. He was younger than either Job or any of the three friends and showed the proper respect by waiting for all of them to have their say before he weighed in. Aside from that, he doesn t appear to have much respect for the older generation, and some of his talk has a very angry tone. After his passage, he is never mentioned again. Most Biblical scholars give Elihu more credibility than Zophar, Bildad, or Eliphaz. He offers some sound wisdom and makes a few valid points, but much of his monologue borders on cockiness and a know it all attitude. He compares his speech to a tasty and nourishing meal, although perhaps many would consider this meal to be part baloney and part steak. In a forthcoming chapter, when God makes His Divine appearance, He will address some of the issues raised by Job and the three original friends, but will have nothing at all to say about any of Elihu s ideas. Therefore, we will limit our consideration of Elihu to just a few of his more salient points. Verse 13: Elihu couldn t understand why Job would dare to call the sovereign God into a courtroom setting to demand answers from Him. Such a demand bordered on arrogance.

4 Verse 14: According to Elihu, God often speaks to us, but we don t always recognize His voice; however, He alone chooses the times and means by which He communicates. It is often when we don t get our way that we assume that God has not heard us. Of course, God always hears us; He just may not honor our request. Verse 15: Elihu identified dreams and visions as two ways God spoke to His people in Biblical times. Examples of people who heard God (or His angel) include Jacob (Gen 28:10-15), Solomon (1 Kings 3:5), and Joseph (Matt 1:20; 2:19-20). Visions were similar to dream revelations, but they might be experienced either while the person was asleep or awake. Examples to whom God (or His angel) communicated with by vision include Abraham (Gen. 15:1), Ezekiel (Ezek 8-11), and John (Book of Revelation). Verse 16: This verse underscores that we need God s help in recognizing His voice and understanding His message. God not only chooses the means and time of His revelations, but He must also open our spiritual ears and eyes so that we can discern His message. Our responsibility as Christians is to be sensitive to God s revelations in whatever form they come. Sometimes God warns us that our present behavior is about to get us into trouble. If a few afflictions cause us to get back on track, they act as blessings to us. God permits us to suffer to keep us from sin. According to Elihu, Job s current condition was proof that God was speaking to him (Job). Since God was not responding to Job s pleas, this was proof that Job had not yet learned his lessons. Afflictions from God may be corrective to turn us from our sins, but they are sometimes preemptive to keep us from sinning in the first place. LESSON PASSAGE 2 Job 33:17 22) 17 to turn them from wrongdoing and keep them from pride, 18 to preserve them from the pit, their lives from perishing by the sword. 19 Or someone may be chastened on a bed of pain with constant distress in their bones, 20 so that their body finds food repulsive and their soul loathes the choicest meal. 21 Their flesh wastes away to nothing, and their bones, once hidden, now stick out. 22 They draw near to the pit, and their life to the messengers of death.

5 Verse 17 God finds ways to communicate with us when we are heading in a prideful or harmful direction. Elihu explained that Job s suffering was a part of planned, divine corrective action. Apparently, Elihu was angry because Job seemed more concerned with justifying himself than he was in magnifying God. Perhaps God was speaking to Job through his afflictions, but Job wasn t listening. Verse 18 People in Job s time often referred to the grave or death as the Pit. Job had questioned why suffering people had to keep living even though they longed for an end to their suffering. Elihu reminded Job that because of God s working to turn Job around from selfish pride, he could be grateful that God had spared his life. Verse Here, Elihu introduced the concept of divine discipline. If Job s suffering was not a divine punishment for sins, then God might be working through it to test and strengthen Job. The English word, discipline, can refer not only to the idea of punishment for misbehavior, but also to a course of action that is difficult yet educational and strengthening. Elihu wanted Job to consider whether his severe losses and pain were things that God might be using to discipline him in this second sense of the word. Verses A suffering person might lose their appetite, or some diseases could lead to severe weight loss, but the outcome of divine discipline is to be corrective and restorative. Sinful actions and attitudes lead people toward destructive paths--as drawing them near the grave--but if Job listened to the divine warning coming through the means of his trials, this heads up would ultimately steer him away from death. Elihu s concept of divine discipline has some merit. It is generally believed that God does indeed send adversity into our lives to get our attention, in order for us to reexamine our priorities and redirect our lives. If we learn from these actions, then we can move toward the light of life, (verse 30) instead of continuing down a destructive path. In the New Testament, the Book of Hebrews teaches us that God s discipline reflects His love for His people (Heb. 12:3-11). God is a loving Father who wants His children to be obedient and to flourish. When we suffer, we should consider if God might be disciplining us rather than punishing us for our sins. What might God be teaching us in these difficult experiences? No one likes the suffering, but we can see a bit of truth on the popular saying, No pain, no gain.

6 LESSON PASSAGE 3 Job 33: "Yet if there is an angel on his side as a mediator, one out of a thousand, to tell a man what is right for him, 24 to be gracious to him and say, 'Spare him from going down to the pit ; I have found a ransom for him'- 25 then his flesh is renewed like a child's; it is restored as in the days of his youth. 26 He prays to God and finds favor with him, he sees God's face and shouts for joy; he is restored by God to his righteous state. 27 Then he comes to men and says, 'I sinned, and perverted what was right, but I did not get what I deserved. 28 He redeemed my soul from going down to the pit, and I will live to enjoy the light.' 29 "God does all these things to a man twice, even three times- 30 to turn back his soul from the pit, that the light of life may shine on him. But even if a man were at the very edge of the Pit, Elihu speaks of the possibility that God could still send him an angel of deliverance. It is absolutely amazing to know that this passage was written thousands of years before the birth of Christ. Verses 23-24: This servant may be an angel. Angels are God s special servants from heaven. But this servant is very special. He is one among thousands. And he chooses to speak to God on behalf of the man. Job had spoken about the need for such a defender (Job 9:32-35; Job 16:19-21). He described this servant of God as a lawyer or a friend.

7 This servant prays to God on behalf of the man. And the servant asks God to save the man s life. The man could not save himself. But someone else has paid the price to save that man. These verses remind us about Jesus. We all deserve to die because of our evil deeds. We deserve God s punishment. And we cannot do anything to save ourselves from that punishment. But God is kind. He sent Jesus. Jesus death was the price to save us from our punishment. God forgives us if we confess our evil deeds to him and we accept Divine Atonement from Christ. God becomes our friend when we invite Him into our lives. Verses 25-28: In Elihu s hypothetical story, God has changed this man s life. The man is grateful. He praises God. Job wanted to be like the man in the story. Job wanted God to hear his prayers. Job wanted to meet God, and he was happy to confess his errors to God (Job 42:1-6). Verses 29-30: Job had argued that God never spoke to him (Job 30:20). But his friends had insisted that God had a message for Job. Perhaps Job was not yet ready to believe God s message. The man in verses did not argue, like Job, that he was innocent. That man only wanted to give honor to God. But Job insisted that he himself was right, instead of insisting that God is always right (Job 32:2). LESSON PASSAGE 4 Job 36: But if people are bound in chains, held fast by cords of affliction, 9 he tells them what they have done that they have sinned arrogantly. 10 He makes them listen to correction and commands them to repent of their evil. 11 If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment. 12 But if they do not listen, they will perish by the sword and die without knowledge. Verses 8-9: Despite emphasizing God s majesty and mercy in disciplining His people to turn from destruction, Elihu shared the friends view that suffering always points to sins committed by the sufferer. His point is that God was using suffering to get Job s attention, so that God could then tell Job the ways he had sinned. Elihu was no doubt sure that God would reveal to Job how sinfully arrogant he was in complaining against God. As before, however, Job could not recall doing anything that deserved such severe discipline. His frequent calls for

8 an audience with God arose from a deep desire to learn what Elihu had just stated: God s explanation of what Job had done wrong. Verse 10 Elihu insisted that God owed no one an explanation. Like Job s other friends, Elihu offered a simple solution confess, repent, be healed. However, like the other friends, Elihu had made no consideration for the work of Satan in human suffering or any other cause beyond an individual s sin. Verses To Elihu, if a person obeyed God faithfully, the result was always a long, happy, prosperous life. Conversely, the disobedient life always marched steadily and painfully down the road of destruction to physical and spiritual death. As Christians, we know from the New Testament that eternal life comes as God s gift through faith in Jesus. We do not expect to live rose garden lives on Earth. Yet, we have faith that God will not allow anything to ever separate us from His love. As Elihu finished up, there was thunder overhead. Elihu has set the stage for God to speak. He had brought the human effort in this debate to its loftiest height, and had helped prepare Job for some of the questions that God would put before him. But it will be left to God to fully reveal what in this discussion was wheat and what was chaff. Unfortunately, we don t reach a happy ending to this story by chapter 37. We have moved the story along today, but satisfaction will have to come from a future lesson. CONCLUSION/LIFE APPLICATION: How will we apply the lessons learned in today s passages? Like many of us, Elihu and the others tried to explain the cause of their friend s suffering. In their own minds, their theories made sense, but they (and we) should be aware that not every problem has a simple explanation. We have only limited observations of others situations, so we cannot hope to get to the bottom of an issue in a few minutes time let alone determine if our friend has sin or righteousness in their hearts. Scripture warns us against even trying to judge another s heart or intentions. Sometimes suffering is the result of divine judgment on sin (Eliphaz), but not always. Sometimes the purpose of suffering is to produce spiritual growth (Elihu). Hardship may also be due to satanic efforts to destroy one of God s

9 people (as in Job s case), or it could simply be a result of natural catastrophe. Sometimes, no answer can be determined. What do we have to help us in time of need that Job only WISHED he had? Some of you will recall that several chapters ago, Job wished for a mediator someone who would be his champion and advocate. In today s passage, Elihu speaks a foreshadowing of such a mediator. We have direct access to the Mediator. Call on Him. In the words of Carrie Underwood: Jesus take the wheel; Take it from my hands Cause I can't do this all on my own; I'm letting go So give me one more chance; To save me from this road I'm on Jesus take the wheel. Heavenly Father: CLOSING PRAYER: Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.