I. The series of comfort from the friends is part of a Satanic attack.

Transcription

1 Lesson Five: The Miserable Comforters of Job First Dallas Discipleship University Winter 2017 Dr. Henry M. Morris III & Brian Thomas I. The series of comfort from the friends is part of a Satanic attack. A. The debate between God and Satan is the source of the counsel. 1. God presents Job as the classic example of His worshipers (Job 1:8). 2. Satan disdains Job s righteousness and challenges God (Job 1:9). 3. Satan declares that Job will reject God if God withdraws. 4. Satan clearly acknowledges that God is sovereign (Job 1:11-12). 5. God gives Satan permission to test Job with harm. B. The attack of Satan was executed in four stages during one day. 1. The oxen were plowing and were rustled by the Sabeans (Job 1:14). 2. The sheep were burned up in another place by the fire of God (Job 1:16). 3. The camels were rustled by three bands made up of the Chaldeans (Job 1:17). 4. The ten children were all killed by a whirlwind (Job 1:18-19). C. The response of Job to the attack was not what Satan expected. 1. Job felt great agony and emotional suffering (Job 1:20). 2. Job fell to the ground and worshiped even in spite of the losses. 3. Job did not sin or act foolishly with God in any way Satan lost. D. The second effort to defeat God is attempted by Satan (Job 2:1-10). 1. The Sons of God came again to present themselves to God.

2 2. The same arrogance by Satan was apparent also the same limits. 3. The taunt to Satan is raised by God of the servant Job. 4. The wager is expanded by Satan a second time (Job 2:4-5). a. He blames God again for protecting Job s life. b. He insists that if God allows Satan to do something horrible to Job, that Job will capitulate and curse God to His face. c. He is given permission by God to do whatever Satan wants to Job s body without killing him. 5. The horrible boils on Job were the strike that Satan made (Job 2:7). E. The result of these two attacks are the worst that Satan can do. 1. Job had lost everything now he was in immense pain and isolation. 2. Job withdrew from his home and city and sat on the garbage dump. 3. Job was so awful in look and smell, that his friends were stunned. a. They did not recognize him at first (Job 2:12). b. They said and did nothing for a full week (Job 2:13). II. The intense and confrontive comfort is founded on a demonic visit. A. The series of messages of the friends is based on a spirit visit. 1. The presence of the spirit is outlined in Job 4:12-16 Now a word was secretly brought to me, and my ear received a whisper of it. In disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake. Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair on my body stood up. It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes; there was silence; 2. The message of the spirit is given in Job 4:16-21 Then I heard a voice saying: Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker? If He puts no trust in His servants, If He charges His angels with error, how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before a moth? They are broken in pieces from morning till evening;

3 they perish forever, with no one regarding. Does not their own excellence go away? They die, even without wisdom. B. The message of the spirit is a series of half-truths. 1. Information becomes a lie when essential truth is omitted. a. The spirit s message ignores grace and love in the heart of God. b. The spirit s message is a bitter reflection of Satan s perspective on man s creation. 1) Satan and angels created to be ministers of the heirs of salvation (Hebrews 1:14). 2) Satan and his angels hate God and despise man ( houses of clay, going back to dust ). c. The spirit s message has no reference to sin. 1) Angels believed they were charged with folly (foolishness). 2) Angels did not recognize their folly as sin or rebellion. d. The spirit s message has no acknowledgement of the consequence of their folly. 1) The folly of the angels ripped heaven apart. 2) The folly of the angels instigated the Fall of Man. 2. Information if only part true becomes a lie when presented as total truth. a. Partial truth, when presented as total truth, is a lie. b. Partial truth is the major weapon of deception of Satan. C. The message of the spirit was one of cynicism and despair. 1. The message required Eliphaz to draw his own conclusions. a. There was no recognition of God s mercy or grace or forgiveness. b. There was no mention of God s promise or gift of salvation. c. There was no concept of a holy God substituting for the sinner.

4 2. The conclusion could only be that man s works of goodness were sufficient to assuage God s judgment and action with man. a. God must punish evil and bless goodness. b. God and man are in a cause-and-effect relationship. 1) Humans eventually die and return to dust. 2) Temporal earthly benefits are the only visible factor that humanity is in harmony with the holiness of God. 3) Unusual deprivation or suffering is the visible result of disfavor with God. III. The friends were corrupted by the vision of the demonic spirit. A. The thinking and the counsel of the friends were infected. 1. They were still theistic creationists in theology. a. They believed in the Creator and the recent creation. b. They had not yet become pantheists or pagan as the corruption in Babel had become. 2. They had some knowledge of God s laws and promises. a. They were aware of the curse of God on the planet. b. They were aware of the inherited sin nature. c. They were aware of the judgment of the Flood. d. They were aware of the rainbow promise of safety. e. They were aware of the absolute holiness of God. 3. They were prosperous and respected themselves. a. They could not accept that Job s sufferings were not related to sins. b. They would have to admit that they would be vulnerable to disaster.

5 4. They had accepted the false reasoning of the spirit s message to Eliphaz. a. Moral goodness and belief in God were sufficient to assure God s blessing. b. Moral failure would result in physical punishment in this life. B. The ultimate lie is the half-truth that man has no hope. 1. The worship of Satan reflects his need to bolster his own deception. 1:31). a. He was very good by God s own word after the six days of creation (Genesis 1) He himself was created (Ezekiel 28:13). 2) He himself was perfect (Ezekiel 28:15). b. He would have to assume a co-equal status with the Creator. c. He would have to believe his own lie before he rebelled. d. He would have to invent some story to sell the other angels. 1) The lie must have involved some form of instant evolution. 2) The singularity that evolutionary scientists speak of for the Big Bang uses that kind of logic. 3) The instant creation of two equal Beings of vast power from an eternal existing force of Nature is common in all ancient creation stories except the Bible. i. The Babylonian Enuma Elish assumes this. ii. The Bahaga Vedas assume this. iii. The Hinduism and Buddhism teachings assume this. iv. The duality and co-equal nature of good and evil is common in all cults and ancient religions. 2. The effect is to eliminate all hope of rescue other than human worship and slavish following (duty) of tenants to the being worshiped. a. Works are the only means and the measure of worship.

6 b. Works must be weighed by the being of one s worship. 1) Good works in the eyes of one being may be different from one god to another e.g. murder of infidels are good works. 2) Bad works usually are dependent on the effect they have on the opposite being i.e. they help the bad god. 3. The judgment of the work is arbitrary and leaves man without hope. C. The friends of Job tried unsuccessfully to make Job sinful. 1. Each man, in turn, rebuked Job for imagined sins. 2. Each man, in turn, urged Job to confess and forsake the imagined sins. 3. Each man, in turn, promised restoration to health and prosperity if Job would only confess and return to an obedient lifestyle. 4. Each man, in turn, kept returning to the theme of the evil spirit s message. D. The focus of the friends led nowhere with no trust and no hope. 1. Eliphaz: Job 15:14-16 What is man, that he could be pure? And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous? If God puts no trust in His saints, and the heavens are not pure in His sight, how much less man, who is abominable and filthy, who drinks iniquity like water! 2. Bildad: Job 25:4-6 How then can man be righteous before God? Or how can he be pure who is born of a woman? If even the moon does not shine, and the stars are not pure in His sight, how much less man, who is a maggot, and a son of man, who is a worm? 3. The solution of the three friends (concluded from the foundation of the demonic spirit s message to Eliphaz) was forlorn and pathetic. a. Suffering was deserved as the result of special sin. b. Special sin may be either known or secret. c. If this reasoning is not true, there is no moral order and man is merely a hunk of clay and will soon disappear. d. This is essentially the philosophy of evolutionary naturalism today. E. The diatribe of Elihu is nothing but stunning self-righteous arrogance.

7 1. Elihu s six chapter monologue is the longest in the book. a. Much of the monologue is self-commendation and self-promotion. b. Job 32:9-10, 18, 20; Job 33:2-3, 31, 33; Job 34:2 Great men are not always wise, nor do the aged always understand justice. Therefore I say, Listen to me, I also will declare my opinion.for I am full of words; The spirit within me compels me.will speak, that I may find relief; I must open my lips and answer.now, I open my mouth; My tongue speaks in my mouth. My words come from my upright heart; My lips utter pure knowledge.give ear, Job, listen to me; Hold your peace, and I will speak.if not, listen to me; Hold your peace, and I will teach you wisdom.hear my words, you wise men; Give ear to me, you who have knowledge. 2. Elihu rephrases the charges made by the other three friends. 3. Elihu seriously distorts Job s testimonies and pleas. 4. Elihu constantly ignores Job s assertions of trust in God. 5. Elihu repeatedly rejects Job s acknowledgement of innate sin, Job s statements that he might have sinned unknowingly, and Job s strong desire to be made aware of whatever may have caused God s (apparent) hostility toward him. 6. Elihu argues that Job sinned by raising questions about God s justice. a. Job 34:9 For he has said, It profits a man nothing that he should delight in God. b. Job 34:37 For he adds rebellion to his sin; He claps his hands among us, and multiplies his words against God. c. Job 35:2-3 Do you think this is right? Do you say, My righteousness is more than God s? For you say, What advantage will it be to You? What profit shall I have, more than if I had sinned? 7. Elihu resorts to distortion and deception; unconscionable boasting and spiritual pride; destroying the possible credibility of his pious and correct statements about God. IV. The responses of Job himself are vital for us to understand. A. Job does not have the complete Bible to guide him in his responses.

8 1. The vague insight from the Garden east of Eden is insufficient (Genesis 3). a. The fall from absolute holiness is clear. b. The necessity of God s merciful intervention is clear. c. The inability of self-sufficient righteousness is clear. d. The necessity of a covering is clear. e. The requirement of a substitutionary Messiah is not clear that is not revealed until the time of the Prophets and ultimately not until the time of the New Testament apostles. 2. The full doctrine of salvation by grace through faith is revealed to Abraham (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23). a. Although Job was a contemporary of Abraham s day, it is clear that Job did not have a clear a relationship with that doctrine as did Abraham. b. Although Job and his friends did still embrace a Creator and a recent creation, they did not totally understand the inability of the sacrificial system to take away sins (Hebrews 10:4-11). c. Although Job (at least) was faithful to the knowledge that he had and was perfect and upright as far as his righteous behavior and personal knowledge was concerned, he still lacked the conscious trust in the coming Redeemer that we are privileged to know today. B. Job correctly and continually insisted that he was unaware of any sin. 1. Job 10:2 I will say to God, Do not condemn me; Show me why You contend with me. 2. Job 10:7 Although You know that I am not wicked, And there is no one who can deliver from Your hand? 3. Job 10:15 If I am wicked, woe to me; Even if I am righteous, I cannot lift up my head. I am full of disgrace; See my misery! 4. Job 16:17-19 Although no violence is in my hands, And my prayer is pure. O earth, do not cover my blood, And let my cry have no resting place! Surely even now my witness is in heaven, And my evidence is on high. C. Job did know that all men were born in sin and must be made holy.

9 1. Job 14:4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one! 2. Job 7:17 What is man, that You should exalt him, That You should set Your heart on him. 3. Job 9:2 Truly I know it is so, But how can a man be righteous before God? D. Job conscientiously lived as he believed God wanted him to live. 1. For Job to admit to secret sin would be a conscious lie and that, in and of itself, would have been a sin. 2. Job 27:2-6 As God lives, who has taken away my justice, and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter, as long as my breath is in me, and the breath of God in my nostrils, my lips will not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. Far be it from me That I should say you are right; till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go; my heart shall not reproach me as long as I live. 3. Modern commentators have suggested that Job was filled with sinful pride as he stated this, but God Himself never condemned Job in fact, continued to recognize him as perfect and upright. a. Job expressed one of the strongest statements of faith in the Bible: Job 13:15-16 Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him. He also shall be my salvation, For a hypocrite could not come before Him. b. Job understood the basic tenet that an innocent sacrifice must be offered for the sins of the sinner and on that basis he obeyed that which he knew to do to please God. c. Job would pray with confidence: Job 7:20-21 Have I sinned? What have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target, so that I am a burden to myself? Why then do You not pardon my transgression, and take away my iniquity? For now I will lie down in the dust, and You will seek me diligently, But I will no longer be. d. Job was confused by his testing, but expected to be found righteous: Job 23:10 But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. e. Job had also been visited by evil spirits: Job 7:13-15 When I say, My bed will comfort me, My couch will ease my complaint, then You scare me with dreams And terrify me with visions, so that my soul chooses strangling And death

10 rather than my body. I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone, For my days are but a breath. f. Job 23:3-5 Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come to His seat! I would present my case before Him, and fill my mouth with arguments. I would know the words which He would answer me, and understand what He would say to me. E. Job was given unique insight into the future resurrection. 1. Job knew that God had promised a coming Redeemer. a. Job 14:13 Oh, that You would hide me in the grave, That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past, That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me! b. Job 14:15 You shall call, and I will answer You; You shall desire the work of Your hands. 2. Job did not know the New Testament promise of 2 Corinthians 5:1-6. a. Job 3:13 For now I would have lain still and been quiet, I would have been asleep; Then I would have been at rest. b. Job 14:10-12 But man dies and is laid away; Indeed he breathes his last And where is he? As water disappears from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dries up, so man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, they will not awake Nor be roused from their sleep. 3. Job knew that he would see God with his own eyes in the future. a. Job 14:14 If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, till my change comes. b. Job 19:25-27 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! Series: The Remarkable Record of the Ancient World Lesson: #5 Book: Job Verses: Overview