Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon Job 38:1-11 “The Problem of Suffering”
Presbyterian Church of Easton
June 20, 2021
Today I am preaching my fourth sermon in a series celebrating 500 years since the trial of Martin Luther. Luther was trying to reform the church. He wanted the church to conform to biblical standards. The church’s response was to excommunicate him and declare him a heretic. But Luther’s writings were extremely popular and this led to the Protestant Reformation.
We have been looking at some of the reformer’s ideas. We first looked at the sovereignty of God. God is the creator and has control over everything that happens, but has chosen to give us freedom. We used this freedom to introduce sin into the world. This has resulted in depravity which makes it impossible to be good enough. But we rejoice because Jesus was good enough and his righteousness has been given to us making us righteous in God’s sight.
Today we will look at the problem of human suffering. And ask, with the reformers, why the people of God suffer? We will get to this, but first, let's pray.
“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)
As your pastor I have come to realize that there is a question you would like to ask me, or God, but many of you are afraid to ask. This question is implied in most of our prayers and is often just below the surface of many of our conversations. It is a question that has plagued humankind since creation. And this question is fundamentally tied to who we think God is. But we don't ask it, because we think it is not OK to ask this question of God.
Thankfully, Job asked it, and God responded with an answer. Let's see how God answers the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”
For 37 chapters Job asks the same question over and over again. We are told that Job is a blameless person. He did not sin. He was faithful to God. But when an invading army killed his sons he asked, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” When a fire destroyed his farm he asked, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” When a hurricane destroyed his home with his family inside he asked, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” When skin cancer covered his body he asked, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”
The same question is on our hearts too. When a granddaughter who has just given birth suffers from cancer don't we ask, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” When you have been unemployed for two years and the day you finally get a full time job your truck breaks down and you have no money to repair it or get a new one don't we ask, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”
When you get lung cancer, having never smoked, or have liver disease without drinking heavily, don't we ask, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”
The problem is that we think God's justice requires that the good be blessed and the evil be cursed. But sometimes this is reversed. Good people suffer while the evil doers go on with their lives. So with Job we ask over and over again, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”
While Job was asking this question his friends came over trying to help. They told Job that at some point in his life he must have disobeyed God. He must be a sinner even though he can't remember doing it. These friends explained that God is just and blesses the righteous and curses the sinner. The curses that Job has received are from God, punishment for his sins. So Job has to repent. He has to change from being a sinner; he has to stop sinning. So said his friends.
But Job wasn't a sinner. The Bible tells us he was blameless. The curses he received were not a punishment for sin. Something else was going on.
Job's life became so bad that he began to curse the day he was born. He demanded an answer from God. “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Beginning in the 38th chapter of the Book of Job, God answers this question.
Job 38:1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said:
2 "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.
4 "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions?
Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it? 6 On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone-- 7 while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?
8 "Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt'?
God's answer to Job was not what he expected and not at all what we expect. Rather than answer our question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” God asks us questions. "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?” What's going on here?
God wants us to know that our idea of who He is is way too small. We think that our God is a God that mechanically passes out blessings every time we do something good and punishes us whenever we do something bad. But that is not what God is about. God is so much more than just a dispenser of blessings and curses.
God also wants us to know that He is the creator and sustainer of the whole world. God's responsibility is to make everything work together. God creates each day, sends the sunshine and the rain. God nurtures the seed in the ground to make it grow. But sometimes the seed dies for lack of water because God has sent the rain to water someplace else. If we focus only on ourselves we would think that God is unjust. But if we could see things from God's perspective we would know that God is good and acting justly. So when we see bad things happening to good people we need to remember that this is only a small part of the much larger plan that God is managing. Since this larger plan is hidden from our sight we are left with a mystery.
Sin is the general cause of suffering. Without sin in the world all suffering would cease. This is our great hope when Jesus returns in the great resurrection. Sometimes there is a clear connection between sin and suffering. I worked for a man who chain smoked all day long. This led to suffering with lung cancer and a premature death. It appears his suffering was caused by his smoking. But we can never know for certain why someone is suffering. All we can do is trust that God loves us and knows what He is doing.
Jesus confirmed all of this when he healed a man blind from birth. Jesus had been teaching on the Mount of Olives. He and his disciples were entering Jerusalem when they saw a man born blind. Here is what happened.
John 9:2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
The disciples, like Job’s friends, assumed that all birth defects had to have sin as the underlying cause. And they figured that Jesus could explain what happened, who sinned, what they did, and how this caused the blindness. But Jesus’ response must have surprised them.
John 9:3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
So the man’s blindness had nothing to do with sin. But it was a part of a much larger plan of God. And God used this blindness to display his glory and Jesus’ power to heal.
So when a loved one loses her health, or a family member loses a house or a job it is OK to ask, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” But we have to be prepared not to receive an answer, at least not the answer we want, because the world we live in is mysterious. We don't know fully what God is up to. So all we can do is to trust God to do what is best for the whole world. And if God is at work in the world we will be truly blessed.
Not knowing fully what is going on around us is difficult for us. We like to be in control. So we pray to God asking God to do what we want done. But if our prayers are not answered and we ask God, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” be prepared to receive not an answer but a question. God may ask you, "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?” And you will be left with a mystery that somehow your loss and pain and suffering are part of God's plan for the whole world.
We need something to sustain us as we face this mystery. That's why God has given us prayer and a Bible to meditate on. The Apostle James put it this way.
James 5:14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Speculating on why someone is suffering is of no use. We will never know fully why God allows someone to suffer. But when someone is suffering there is something we can do. We can gather together with those who are suffering. We can pray over them. We can anoint them with oil.
So many people in this church are suffering. That is why we follow these directions from Apostle James, and have prayer services every Tuesday at 2 and Wednesday and Sunday at 7 where we gather, pray and anoint with oil. If you are suffering or if anyone you know is suffering please come and pray with us.
Moses told us what will happen if we do all this.
Exodus 23:25 Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you.
And David said this.
Psalm 103:1 Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
What happened to Job? He lost everything. His friends told him it was his fault. God told him to look at the bigger picture. Here is what God did for his servant.
Job 42:10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before. 11 All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.
12 The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. 13 And he also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. 15 Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.
16 After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. 17 And so Job died, an old man and full of years.
So, why do bad things happen to good people? Only God knows for certain how human suffering fits into his plan. But we know that God is a loving God who wants the best for all people. We know that sin has something to do with suffering. What we can do to deal with suffering is to gather in worship, pray, and anoint all those who suffer with oil. Come Tuesdays at 2 and Wednesdays and Sundays at 7 and make this church a healing church. Let’s pray.
Father in heaven, we know that you love us and always do what is best for us. But sometimes we just can't figure out, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Sustain us in this mystery with your love and presence and assure us that whatever happens you are in control. We worship you O God, our creator and sustainer. Amen.
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