Job and His Suffering Part 1

What we can learn about suffering today.

A 4 part series:

B1 Job and his suffering—behind the scenes Job 1:1-

B2 Job and his suffering—Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar respond Job 4:1-31:40

B3 Job and his suffering—Elihu responds Job 32:1-37:24

B4 Job and his suffering—God responds Job 38:1-42:17

Some questions answered

B1 Why do good people suffer?

B2 Why does God allow suffering?

B3 Why do friends abuse the victim?

B4 Why

B5 Why it is important to know the truth. Assumption can be dangerous.

A1 Job Part 1—behind the scenes Job 1:1-3:26

B1 Job is blessed. He is blessed spiritually and emotionally, with health, wealth, and wisdom. He is blessed with a good wife, many children, and many friends. He is blessed to know God, have fellowship with God, not physically, but spiritually. He understood about sin, judgment, punishment, and substitution (a sacrifice). He knew the King of the Universe!

C1 Treasure of salvation (deliverance from God’s wrath): Psalm 3:8 CSB Salvation belongs to the LORD; may your blessing be on your people. Selah 

C2 Treasures of material wealth. God does not guarantee material wealth, but all believers can have spiritual wealth.

D1 Proverbs 10:22 NET The blessing from the LORD makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow to it. 

D2 Matthew 6:20 CSB "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal.

C3 Treasures of having the fear of the Lord (salvation), wisdom, and knowledge: Isaiah 33:6 NLT In that day he will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the LORD will be your treasure.

C4 Spiritual treasures from doing the will of God: 2 Corinthians 6:10 NLT Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.

C5 Treasures of assurance and the knowledge of Messiah: Colossians 2:2-3 WEL That their hearts may be comforted by being knit together in love and into the all the riches of the full assurance of understanding, into the full knowledge of the mystery of God and of the Father and of Christ 3 In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

B2 The devil, satan, having access to heaven slanders Job and blasphemes God’s character by claiming that God has made Job secure and successful and that is the only reason that Job worships and serves God.

B3 Two times satan requests God to curse Job. God refuses but does allow satan to do so.

C1 satan did not have to afflict Job, instigate murder, theft, loss of possessions, etc. satan wanted to do this in his hate for God and for those who serve God.

D1 satan and his followers are liars and murders. Have you ever noted how many people believe the answer to a problem is murder. We see this in abortion to murders at work, at events, at school, at home, etc. John 8:44 NET You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.

D2 An evil heart leads to evil thoughts which lead to evil actions: Matthew 15:19 WEL For out of the heart comes evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies. 

D3 satan loves to oppose God’s work and God’s people: Zechariah 3:1 LEB And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of Yahweh; and Satan was standing on his right to accuse him.

D4 satan loves to pretend he is god, so shows himself as angel of light, which is deceptive, seductive, and disastrous to anyone. This is why we must know God and His character traits well. His followers also will pretend to be real apostles. 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 NIV For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

C2 Why did God allow satan the opportunity to hurt Job, kill his family, cause a loss of all his goods?

D1 God did not want this to happen. It was not His decreed will; it was His will.

D2 Evil

E1 Evil is the absence of good.

E2 Evil is a punishment. Adam was warned by God not to eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam did not believe God. Because of Adam’s sin, the world was cursed.

E3 Some evils that happen to us are from our bad choices.

E4 Some evils that happen to us are from another’s bad choices.

E5 Some evils that happen to us are from the curse on the universe, as hurricanes, earthquakes, mudslides, etc.

E6 Some evils are because satan hates anything good, so he wants to cause pain and affliction. You can see this very thing in abusers. It doesn’t make any difference what kind of abusers. The abusers may be a pastor (pastoral abuse), domestic abuse of all types, parental abuse, child abuse, etc. Note how narcissists, psychopaths, and others do evil. They are doing the evil that satan loves. If you are an abuser, pastor, spouse, parent, boss, leader, whatever, you are doing satan’s will, and you will go to hell to be tormented for eternity.

D3 God allowed it. Why?

E1 The universe is cursed. A promised time is coming when

F1 Revelation 21:3-5 CSB Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God's dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.  Then the one seated on the throne said, "Look, I am making everything new." He also said, "Write, because these words are faithful and true.

F2 2 Peter 3:13 LEB But according to his promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness resides.

F3 Revelation 22:3 NIV No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.

E2 God is not a micro-manager as some Calvinists teach. WCF III 1. God from all eternity did, by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass...  Read the confession. Read it in context. God ordained whatever comes to pass including sending most humans to hell to roast and barbecue for eternity without ever having a chance to repent.

F1 Do words mean anything? Doesn’t God always tell the truth. God says this to the prophet: 1 Chronicles 21:10 NET Go, tell David, 'This is what the LORD says: "I am offering you three forms of judgment from which to choose. Pick one of them.

F2 From a real offer choice that was spurned: Proverbs 1:29-31 NET Because they hated moral knowledge, and did not choose to fear the LORD, they did not comply with my advice, they spurned all my rebuke. Therefore they will eat from the fruit of their way, and they will be stuffed full of their own counsel.

E3 Sometimes we can look back at a bad choice we made, even after praying for God to help us to not make a wrong choice.

F1 There may have been warning signs that we ignored.

F2 The warning signs were new and unknown to us, so we didn’t recognize them. This is a good reason to be aware.

G1 Warning signs of Abuse

G2 Warning Signs of Subtle Abuse and Manipulation

G3 Some abusers are very subtle. They want to deceive. If one has any gut feeling that all is not good, they should leave the relationship.

G4 Identifying the More Subtle Signs of an Abusive Relationship 

G5 The actions of love, real love as defined by God. How do WE measure? 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a Love is very patient and kind; love is not envious; love doesn’t brag about itself, is not haughty, 5 Doesn’t behave improperly, is not self-seeking; love isn’t easily aggravated, doesn’t keep a list of wrongs, 6 Doesn’t rejoice in injustice, but rejoices in the truth, 7 Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, calmly endures all things. 8 Love never ends...

B4 We must know that Job did not give up the faith. Quite a number of people leave Christianity over abuse, thinking that God could have prevented this. Why didn’t God do this for you or me? I don’t know. But, I do know that if we have a commitment to God, persecution will not cause us to permanently give up the faith.

B5 Please read Job chapter 3, for it shows the utter, total personal experience of spiritual, emotional, and physical pain. His words have been repeated many times throughout history, though most would not recognize.

B6 Pain is real. If you are suffering, find someone who will really listen without interruption, offering unasked advice, and someone who is protective of your character.

B7 Hebrews 10:25 LEB not abandoning our meeting together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging each other, and by so much more as you see the day drawing near. 

B8 Romans 12:15 NET Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 

B9 James 1:19 CSB My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,

B10 Proverbs 18:13 GW Whoever gives an answer before he listens is stupid and shameful.

B11 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NET Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we may be able to comfort those experiencing any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.