Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Presbyterian Church of Easton
Sermon – Job 23 – Job Responds
October 17, 2021
Last week we heard a great biblical tragedy. Job had everything: money, family, and health. And then, all of sudden, he lost everything, no money, no family and poor health. More than any other book of the Bible, the Book of Job forces us to see reality as it really is. On our last count we have at least seven members of this church who had everything, money, family and health, but now live in nursing homes with nothing. They have lost everything, and one day so will we. The question of Job is, what will be our response? When we lose everything will we still have our faith or will we lose it? This was the question facing Job. Today we will hear his response, but first let's pray.
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
According to Buddhist teaching the world we live in is a world of suffering. According to the Four Nobel Truths of Buddhism, “Birth is ill, decay is ill, sickness is ill, death is ill.” The purpose of religion, according to Buddhism, is to get away from this world of suffering by denying its existence. Buddhism teaches people to deny themselves and their desires and move to a higher spiritual existence.
Christian teaching is the opposite of this. We learn from the very first chapter of the Bible that God created the physical world and declared it good. The world God created is a paradise made just for us. And we are to enjoy the blessings we receive from a God that loves us.
But if Christian teaching is true, and it certainly is, then why is there so much suffering in this world? How can a benevolent God allow suffering in the good world he created. This is a question each Christian must answer. And our answer is that suffering came into the world as a result of human sin.
We insisted on eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. We want to decide for ourselves what is right and what is wrong. But doing this is called sin. Sin is deciding for ourselves right from wrong. And it is easy to do right if we set the standard ourselves. But we are not to set the standard. That's God's job. And so whenever we decide for ourselves right from wrong we sin and through sin suffering has come into the world. We don't follow the instructions in creation's user manual, the Bible. And we suffer the consequences.
Job had three friends who knew all this. They knew that suffering was a result of human disobedience, sin. So when they sat down to console Job after his losses they made the same mistake we often make. They saw Job's suffering and concluded that Job himself must have sinned. Job must have done something wrong to deserve his suffering. They blamed the victim. But we learned this in the first chapter of the Book of Job.
Job 1:1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.
Job's suffering had nothing to do with him and his behavior. He was righteous before God. He had done nothing wrong. His friends were wrong. Job did not deserve the suffering he experienced.
Suffering is a result of sin. But when people suffer it is not always because they have sinned. Sometimes it is obvious that a person suffers as a result of his personal sin. A drug addict suffers as a result of drug use. A violent person suffers from violence. This list can go on and on.
But it is also true that some good people suffer. Like Job, good and faithful people suffer unjustly. And this creates a problem for Christians who believe in a God who just shouldn't let people suffer for no reason.
When we console someone who is suffering, we must not act like Job's friends and blame the victim for his own suffering. But neither should we blame God for allowing unjust suffering to occur. Job knew that he did not deserve his suffering. And he knew not to blame God. Let's hear what Job had to say.
Job 23:1 Then Job answered:
2 “Today also my complaint is bitter;
his hand is heavy despite my groaning.
3 Oh, that I knew where I might find him,
that I might come even to his dwelling!
4 I would lay my case before him,
and fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would learn what he would answer me,
and understand what he would say to me.
6 Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power?
No; but he would give heed to me.
7 There an upright person could reason with him,
and I should be acquitted forever by my judge.
Job did not despair in guilt for having done something wrong to cause his suffering. Neither did Job blame God for what was happening. Rather Job held onto his hope that God would judge him justly and deliver him from his suffering. All he had to do was find God and ask for a hearing.
This should be our response to suffering. We should rest in the hope that God will redeem us because he loves us and cares for us and wants the best for us. But sometimes it is hard to rest in this hope because at times God seems so far away.
8 “If I go forward, he is not there;
or backward, I cannot perceive him;
9 on the left he hides, and I cannot behold him;
I turn to the right, but I cannot see him.
Wherever Job looks God is not there. This is the problem we often face. When we experience suffering, God seems to be absent. Even Jesus experienced this apparent absence of God when on the cross Jesus quoted Psalm 22.
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.
This seeming absence of God could lead to despair and loss of faith. That's what happened to Job's wife when she told him to curse God and die. But Job's faith allowed him to realize that even if he can't find God right now, God will find him.
10 But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.
Job is confident that God will find him and will listen to his complaint. He is confident that when God hears his plea he will be exonerated because he is righteous and God is just. Job has already prepared his defense. Let's listen.
11 My feet have closely followed his steps;
I have kept to his way without turning aside.
12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.
Job is confident in his righteousness and confident in God's salvation. But don't think for a moment that Job's confidence will overcome his fear. He is terrified of his upcoming meeting with God. He knows his case is solid, but he is appealing to the creator of the universe.
13 “But he stands alone, and who can oppose him?
He does whatever he pleases.
14 He carries out his decree against me,
and many such plans he still has in store.
15 That is why I am terrified before him;
when I think of all this, I fear him.
16 God has made my heart faint;
the Almighty has terrified me.
17 Yet I am not silenced by the darkness,
by the thick darkness that covers my face.
And so Job sits in ashes. His money's gone. He has lost his family. He is covered with sores. His wife has lost her faith completely. His friends all blame him for his own suffering. All he has left is his faith in a just, but terrifying God. And in fear he sits and waits for God to respond. Next Sunday we will hear that response from God.
We have all been there, sitting and waiting for God to come and put things right. We sit in hospital rooms or nursing homes. We hold hands with friends and loved ones, read scripture and pray. We don't know what will come next in their frail lives. All we have is faith in the God who is just, hears their prayers, and sends a Spirit of comfort and strength.
Today we have come into the presence of this God. We remember his son's sacrifice on a cross when he paid for the world's sins. And therefore we can be assured that suffering in this world is temporary because one day Jesus will return to earth, and we will be resurrected to eternal life. And in our new resurrected bodies suffering will be no more. Filled with this hope, I invite you to enjoy being with your savior. Let's pray.
Father in heaven we thank you for being close to us both here in worship and when we need so much. We thank you for sending your son to redeem us from suffering and death with the promise of eternal life. This we pray in his glorious name. Amen.
