Introduction:

On May 2, 2001 little 2 years old George Gerome Jr. was laid to rest before a stun and shocked family. How could this have happened? This beautiful little boy crawl out a doggie door down the walkway and into the family pool and drowned. My heart broke for this family as I prayed before officiating this funeral. Funeral director John Thomes could not get the service underway after an hour over session. They would not allow him to close the coffin with their little boy in it. It was one of the most difficult funerals I ever had to do. With great reservation I called a dear friend who two years prior lost his son and saw him die on a soccer field of an aneurism. That friend was Pastor Mark Lydecker who had to bury his own son Owen. Owen was also a great friend to our son Anthony.

I told Pastor Mark what was happening and he gave me advice as a person who had been through this same tragedy. Keep Job’s comforters away from them. Even hearing from other grieving parents may not bring comfort. Then he said something I could use to get the parent out to the garden area so they could close the coffin. Mark said there is no other way to look at this but that this is an act of God. There is no one else to blame so be careful with trying to tell them how God grieves too. He told me of a father who said he had to “take time off from God”. It does not mean we don’t want God but we just don’t know and are incapable of handling it all. His advice helped me to guide them away from the coffin and into a short prayer time. They were stun, heartbroken and confused.

Nothing confuses us and tries our faith more than seeing bad things happen to good people. The fairness of God comes into question when a young child dies or a father is killed, leaving a wife and children or when a teenager is killed in a car accident. Sometimes life seems so unfair because bad things happen to really good people. We ask ourselves, “How can a good God let such bad things happen to people who least deserve them?” The confusion associated with adversity and suffering is as old as time itself. That is why we will consider the man Job and study…

I The Book of Job.

1. When we think about bad things happening to good people the book of Job has to be first on the list to read. The book introduces us to a man living in the land of Uz, whose name was Job. Uz is believed to have been east of Canaan and on the border of Arabia. Others believe that the land of Uz is adjacent to the land of Midian where Moses lived for some 40 years. It was a place of good farming and pastures and it was near to a city. Looking at its name, the Aramaic root word of Job indicates that it may mean “repentant one and the Hebrew meaning is the persecuted one.” The events concerning Job’s suffering and redemption most likely occurred just prior or about the time of Abraham. Job took place during the Patriarchal Age, perhaps between Genesis 11 and 12, the time of its writing is unknown.

2. The book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible, pre-dating the Ten Commandments and the book of Genesis, however we do not have an exact date of its’ writing. It is the18th Book in the Bible. The whole of its writing and wisdom deals with the questions such as: “Why does a good God let bad things happen to good people? Why does it appear some sins go un-punish? Why is their evil in the world? What purpose is there really for living a righteous life?

II. The Man called Job vv1:1

1. There is no record in all of history of a better person who had worse things happen to him or her. Job was blameless. Neither Satan nor any person could accuse him of wrongdoing. Even through the most rigorous tests, Job remained above reproach. Blameless does not mean perfect and we will examine this as we move on. Not only do we discover in verse one where Job lived, but what four things we note about his character.
First, Job was a perfect man this is best translated blameless and should not be understood to mean that Job was sinless. The root of the Hebrew word means “complete” referring to spiritual maturity. It conveys the concept of one who is morally and ethically pure.

Second, not only was Job blameless, he was also upright. This means Job was “straightforward.” In other words, he was not deceitful. His word was always good and clear. His yea was yea and his nay was nay. You didn’t need a New York lawyer to see if his contracts had loopholes or deceptive fine print.

Third, Job feared God. The phrase feared God literally means “revered God.” Job was not afraid of God, but he knew God was holy and righteous and therefore admired God. The Bible states this kind of fear in Proverbs 1:7 is: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge… Job’s fear was a holy respect that led to obedience.

Fourth, Job also shunned evil. In other words, Job “turned away from evil.” He did not toy with temptation or sin. He may not have known this Wisdom of Solomon but he practiced what is written there. Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. Proverbs 4:14,15

2. Job was spiritually mature and straightforward. He revered God and turned away from evil. He was the epitome of godly character. All this is true of Job before man in chapter one but it is also confirmed by God in chapter two. Look at verse three. What does it say?

The Bible is absolutely clear that good and bad circumstances happen to those doing what is right and those doing what is wrong. Some things are unmistakably the consequences of our wrongdoing, and others are tests of faith, stewardship, and other trials. We see in the perfect example of Job that he was a good man yet God allow the testing to come for His own glory.

III. The Application of Job

1. Perhaps the greatest lesson we learn from the book of Job is that God does not have to answer to anyone for what He does or does not do. Job’s experience teaches us that we may never know the specific reason for suffering, but we must trust in our sovereign, holy, righteous God. We come to trust God is good all the time; all the time God is good.

2. His ways are perfect; As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. (Psalm 18:30). Since God’s ways are perfect, we can trust that whatever He does—and whatever He allows—is also perfect. We can’t expect to understand God’s mind perfectly, as He reminds us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. . . . For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8–9).

3. Our responsibility to God is to obey Him, to trust Him, and to submit to His will, whether we understand it or not. When we do, we will find God in the midst of our trials—possibly even because of our trials. We will see more clearly the magnificence of our God as we study the book of Job and learn from his great and enduring trials.

4. Scripture says the just shall live by faith, which doesn’t mean believing something when you’re not sure if it’s true. It means that the just shall live by trusting God. It means we can be like Job, blameless. It means that in every situation you do the correct thing. If you sin against someone, you confess your sin and ask for forgiveness. If you sin against God, you repent and begin to obey Him (Prov. 28:13

Unlike his “friends,” Job always spoke rightly about God. Moreover, in the midst of all his suffering, Job made what I believe is one of the most heroic statements a human being ever uttered. In the midst of abject misery he cried out, “Though he slay me, I will hope in him” (Job 13:15).

Conclusion:

Often the way you handle your sin is as important as the sin itself. When you become aware of your transgression, seek to be blameless in the way you deal with it. If you attempt to conceal your sin, deny it, justify it, or blame others for it, you make the original offense much worse.

Gospel and invitation