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book by book welcome and thank you for

joining us in book by book I'm rich

abused and I'm joined once again by my

colleague dr. Paul Black him and then by

our special guest today the Reverend

Glen Scrivener who is evangelist with

the hour of revival ministries here in

Sussex by the sea Glen welcome laser to

be here thank you

and of course we're right here in

Brighton with the Brighton Pier right

behind us in this great Gorge being the

well in the sunlit areas of South of

England here now our theme is the book

of Job don't be too afraid of it when I

was about 6 years of age and on the

lower slopes of Mount Kenya my

missionary dad took us through the book

of Job as children and we loved it then

let's love it now and as we come to it

well our main theme for the whole of

this little series would be I know that

my redeemer liveth our jobs great

phrases and today's theme let's take it

from chapters 1 to 3 and we're going to

take as our theme today God's question

in verse 8 have you considered my

servant job so let me read a little bit

now verse 1 in the land of Oz they lived

a man whose name was job

the man was blameless and upright he

feared God and shunned evil onto verse 6

one day the angels came to present

themselves before the Lord and Satan

also came with them they're all said to

Satan where have you come from Satan

answered the Lord from roaming through

the earth and going to and fro in it

then the Lord said to Satan have you

considered my servant job there is no

one on earth like him he is blameless

and upright a man who fears God and

shuns evil does Jobe fear God for

nothing Satan replied have you not put a

hedge around him

there's two questions there and I think

we should go on from there to ask

several questions of ourselves really I

mean might this be the first book of the

Bible the oldest book in the Bible some

say so and if so would the Lord God want

to give such a book to us so early

I think it very well might be the first

book written down in the Bible it seems

to be all the characters from the

extended family of Abraham they seem to

know the Lord and yet they don't mention

any aspects of covenant or the acts of

Moses kind of redemption so perhaps it

exists somewhere between Abraham's time

and Moses time which would make it

perhaps the earliest book written down

in the Bible and I think the earliest

book actually deals with the deepest

subject in life which is that the

mystery of suffering really and I

suppose that the book of Job is is a

little bit like the book of the Bible in

miniature what we've got here is in the

beginning in the Land of Oz which I

think technically is in Edom actually

has a place it is a there's an actual

place we learn that in lamentations

chapter 4 but also us means a wooded

place perhaps we might start to think of

something like a garden and we've got

this upright man in a garden who verse 3

says it's in the east and verses 2 & 3

the animals under him he seems to have a

lot of Dominion and then Satan inside in

verse 6 comes along and it all goes

pear-shaped there's a kind of a

catastrophic fall and then there's all

sorts of suffering throughout the book

of Job and and then at the end the Lord

intervenes and brings a happily ever

after that's greater than anything we

had at the beginning so a really job

story is kind of the Bible's story and

you can't tell our story without telling

the story of suffering but I think also

you can't tell God's story without

telling the story of suffering if job's

the first book I guess revelation the

last book of the Bible we also see you

know that wonderful phrase in revelation

5 and revelation 7 the lamb at the

center of the throne and when you think

of the throne you think of the control

the power the authority of God and that

the center is the Lord Jesus the

suffering bleeding victim for you and me

and you see that pushing through to the

deepest depths of deity you find this

mystery of suffering so you can't tell

the story of God without the story of

suffering you can't tell our story

without the story of suffering so so of

course the oldest book is going to talk

about the deepest issue there going to

be a lot of explanation

in this book tamale extenders in a book

of history oh it could it be more like a

parable so you know real people from

real places let's think about that for a

moment

well that's the thing Richard as I've

been studying it sometimes I read people

and they'll say it's just a parable and

animate just what do I often that's a

way of not taking the book seriously as

real life in real history but when we

look at the characters in these

comforters that come to Joby's friends

the real people like elephants the tamer

Knight whose tamer well in Genesis 36 11

it's the grandson of Esau or there's

bildad the shuhite well who's schewe

that's the son of Abraham from cateura

Genesis 25 - so we could go on these are

real people real places but more than

all that this is a real book it's so

true to life as I've been reading the

book of Job over and over in these past

weeks I think here's a Christian man who

I can completely relate to his life and

he's he trusts in Christ and several

times he give us these wonderful

confessions of his faith in his Redeemer

or the intercessor his friend on high he

knows he's got Christ on high

represented and yet he's overwhelmed

with suffering and he's full of doubt

and fear and sometimes despair and then

he sees Christ again and he lifts his

vision up and then his friends come and

they're not always completely helpful

but you think no this is a man who's

living sort of the Christian life in a

way that we relate to it's very real of

Joe it's real people actually I was

looking at Ezekiel 14 verse 14 where job

is lined up with Noah and Daniel so

these are historical people and James 5

lists him alongside Elijah as well so

exactly and then yes the suffering

prophets and the suffering job exactly

look at verse 6 for a moment friends

verse 6 one day the angels come to

present themselves before the Lord and

Satan comes with them how can Satan the

accuser wandering to heaven whenever he

wants I mean who are these sons of God

and where do they come for a sort of

conference meeting in heaven what does

that tell us about the power of the Lord

and the power of Satan yes well there is

this conference meeting I guess in in

verse 6 the angels or the sons of God

same thing and it seems that both the

fallen and the fallen angels are in

attendance including Satan himself and

here's our first clue as to the power of

the Lord versus the power of Satan when

the Lord summons satan hops - and there

he goes and and then when he's asked in

verse 7 where have you come from Satan

answers the Lord from roaming through

the earth and going to and fro I think I

wonder he's got no idea one or a

restless one rule his days that kind of

thing and also it's important that he's

on the earth his headquarters are not

hell hell is his place of punishment as

being prepared for him says Jesus in

Matthew 25 so he roams about the earth

and when the Lord summons him he comes

to the Lord and then we see his his

terrifying proposition

two-strike job and I think it's

important to see that it's it's not the

Lord who says hey you know Satan watch

me

strike job down it's not like that at

all it's Satan who makes this

proposition but then it's the Lord who

permits it in verse 12 the Lord says to

Satan very well then everything he has

is in your hands but on the man himself

do not lay a finger people find that

quite troubling that the Lord would

permit that but I often think well

what's the alternative is the

alternative that that sort of Satan from

his own power base just strikes job and

the Lord wrestles for his soul from

heaven and there's the sort of epic duel

like that sort of Greek mythology that's

not the Bible in the Bible actually

Satan is under the Lord's power and and

you could almost imagine Satan on on the

leash of the Lord's it's an image that

sort of given to us in in chapter 41

verse 5 Leviathan this supernatural

enemy of God's people he's on the leash

with the Lord and that leash is only as

far as the Lord allows it to go which

tells us that evil is not original with

goodness I mean Augustine said that he

said the evil angels though created good

became evil by their defection from the

good so the cause of evil is not good

but defection from the good and the Lord

reigns over that evil and allows only to

go so far what about Satan's basic

philosophy of life then friends I mean

why does Satan look at Jobe in this way

you know in 1 chap

ten does does job fear God for nothing

etc have you not been him et cetera yeah

all the way from even from right back in

Genesis chapter three Satan's philosophy

is basically selfish and he can't

believe anyone would do anything for

nothing so even with Eve he's really

saying look and the Lord's trying to

prevent you from getting something good

let you take this so that you can be

like God then you can get better and

bigger look after number one for a

change he's really saying to Adam and

Eve look after number one how a bit of

me time and then when he comes to tempt

Jesus he's like you're hungry makes us

something to eat do you want the world

to serve you well get a PR department or

something he's always saying think about

yourself put yourself first

always the philosophy through the

Bible's that and so when he sees job

serving the Lord the logos look at job

serving me the devil's immediately that

cynical I he looks at that and says he's

only doing it as a mercenary

he's only because you're paying him to

do it all the way through and so in 1

Peter 5:8 when Peters warning the devil

prowls around looking to devour people

what's it about is tryi the the devil

wants us to try and run away from

suffering and say I don't want suffering

I'll do anything to get away from

suffering and because the devil's like

well you don't want that you need to be

paid you need to get comfort and ease

whereas in reality of course I always

think of Romans chapter 1 whether in a

way the worst thing that could happen to

us is that we get what we want

because that will destroy us more surely

than anything else so the devil says get

what you want the Lord's like no that's

that will destroy you as Satan he's out

to get Jobe but he's also had to get God

I mean he says he's saying in effect

I'll get God on his best man yeah see

see how he gets on them and then so

chapters 1 & 2 should describe how the

disasters strike this robbery upon job's

people is bereavement tested note it

troubles from nature and all the rest

then Satan again comes in to toss to be

allowed to afflict him personally and

then come the three comforters and they

arrive and so Glenn I mean I'm looking

now the sufferings of Jobe seem

unbearable

he fears his own life has fallen apart

he wishes you never been born at all at

3 verse 1 to 11 hmm what shows us the

deep down trust of God yeah well I mean

he does seem to despair so much in

Chapter three I mean he basically says I

wish I was never born in about 11

different ways in in this in this

chapter he kind of curses himself but he

refuses to curse God and that's the big

thing I'm both Satan thinks he's gonna

curse garden and then also his own wife

in verse 9 says why don't you just curse

God and die but that something job

refuses to do and we've got that sort of

mountaintop demonstration of faith in

chapter 1 verse 21 where job says naked

I came from my mother's womb and naked I

shall depart the Lord gave and the Lord

has taken away made the name of the Lord

be praised and I think his vision of

what the Lord is like is is the reversal

of Satan's philosophy of life because

for Joby it's all about what the Lord

has given him everything's about what

the Lord gives him he doesn't say you

know the Lord has paid me what I deserve

and now he's punishing me for what I

deserve you know the Lord doesn't pay

and exact in that kind of way that Satan

always thinks you know that's how God

operates that that's our life operates

no the Lord just gives everything I have

is a gift of the Lord and he's taken it

away now and I and I think knowing that

grace from the Lord enables job not to

curse God's we're winding up our little

study in just a moment or two but

briefly I mean why would the Lord God

allow all this to happen to Jobe what

possible good could arise from this kind

of suffering I mean that's the big

question of the book isn't it and that

right away it's important for us to

confront that a little bit because in

Joe and John chapter 9 when there's the

blind man and the disciples go right

here's some suffering either he sinned

or perhaps his parents did that's gotta

be the only explanation in that way

they're thinking just like these

comforters that we're gonna meet I say

comforters they're no comfort at all but

they they go oh this must be like Glenn

was saying and God is exacting something

he it's this payment thing you've done

something wrong right there's going to

be payment for that and there are

teachers that and if

course that's not how it is and as we go

through the book and as in John 9 where

Jesus has no weight this has got

something to do with the glory of God in

suffering and then as Glenn helps at the

beginning when we come to the cross the

very central thing of suffering no

worries the glory of God displayed more

than there and I think back even in

Deuteronomy where the Lord brings some

suffering Deuteronomy 8 he get he makes

them hungry and you think well that's

not good

suffering make him making people hungry

like that because so that you would

learn that man does not live by bread

alone but by every word that comes from

the mouth of God so one of the things

we're gonna look at is the way that in

suffering the glory of God can be shown

and there's a way of relating to God

that's more profound we we are brought

out of a kind of independence

sometimes by suffering that's what's

possible to learn a kind of dependence

and Trust and a closeness to the Lord

God before we get to the end of the book

we're gonna see some of those things hey

we're just about through I mean the

tantalizing thing about the book of Job

is that we can see the whole picture and

those sons of God who came to speak with

God they can see the whole picture but

Jobe never sees the picture at all he

doesn't know what's going on some of us

will make it like that we think what is

God doing at all

the thing about Jobe is that if he

hadn't suffered what would he have been

well enriched enlarged endowed rich man

a good man and he might have merited

perhaps two lines out of the Bible like

Enoch 'vote who walked with God and was

nothing gone but no because he suffered

we've got much to learn we've got 42

chapters in front of us

god bless you join us again for the next

installment of the book of Job

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