Job And The Crisis Of Faith | Job 1:1-2:13

Crisis and hard times and suffering are unavoidable. Even at this moment as we are here, we are in the midst of an unprecedented crisis. The fury of the people as they go through these trying times are loud and clear. While I might say, that in our case, we were warned enough by the advisors to the nation to take adequate measures to avert this disaster, we failed to do so.

Suffering is hard to understand. Thank God we have a Savior who understands suffering well because he experienced it firsthand and he is able to empathize with us. When we think of the Lord Jesus on the cross, what he went through was terrible. He had the worst:

Physical suffering; Mental pain and despair; Sense of being abandoned.

Jesus too used the same words as so many of us today. He cried out: ‘My God, My God Why…?

Have there not been times when we have asked God Why Me Lord?? Why did this have to happen to me out of all people??

There will be a day when the choices we have made and our responses to God will be tested. When that day comes, how will we respond? Will you compromise and despair? Or will you lift your hands and your voice and worship God?

When we think of suffering and crisis in the Bible, probably the first person that might spring up to our memory is Job.

HF: Today, I want to spend a few moments to look at Job’s crisis and how he handled himself in his crisis and what lessons we can draw from it.

Crisis never comes with a warning. As always in a crisis, Job’s crisis too was completely unexpected and far too difficult to comprehend.  He was tested to the core. This blameless and upright man who feared God and shunned evil lost everything; every sheep, camel, ox, and donkey that he owned.  A total of 11,500 animals died along with the servants who kept them.  Throughout the most disastrous day of Job’s life he was billowed from one story of loss to another and as if the loss of these possessions and people were not enough, Job’s seven sons and three daughters died when a mighty windstorm destroyed the house they were in.

In one day, he lost everything:

his property

his herds

his servants

his children – all destroyed in the blink of an eye.

As if this was not enough, Job’s grief and emotional misery was compounded as he was afflicted with boils from head to toe and his only remaining family member, his wife, urged him to curse God and die.

I am sure we cannot comprehend in our understanding the devastation and loss and heartache that Job went through. Even as we endure these days of pandemic and crisis across the nation, as we see the new channels beaming the news of tragedy after tragedy, the limited resources etc, Job’s tragedy reminds us of a few unshakable truths.

Job’s true crisis was a crisis of faith.  Why does God permit, even encourage, such a test of faith?  The opening chapter of Job reveals that God had much at stake in one man’s response.  One person’s faith made a difference.  That is a powerful lesson.  Like Job, we live in ignorance of what is going on “behind the curtains.”  Our choices of faith matter not just to us and our own destiny but, amazingly, to God Himself and the universe He rules. Ephesians 3:1-13 tells us about Paul’s experience and how he became a servant of the gospel by the grace of God and vs. 13 tells us “I ask you therefore not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you which are for your glory.”

We can trust God even when explanations are missing.  Our human understanding keep us from having heaven’s perspective.   Although we may not obtain the answers to our questions, we can trust and worship God.

Job 1:20-22 tells us how he responded to the most devastating news anyone could hear,  ²⁰At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship ²¹ and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”²² In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.”

In all this Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

1. Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head: Notice that Job grieved. Very rightly, Job mourned his tremendous losses. He had lost his sons and daughters and servants and a great amount of material wealth. It was a time for mourning.

He tore his robe and shaved his head. That’s what people did in Job’s day to express deep grief. Job mourned, but he did not mourn as the heathens or the pagans mourned. He did not cut or gash or tattoo himself for the dead as was the common practice among pagan people of his time (Leviticus 19:28). He felt the pain of his loss, but the beauty of it is instead of becoming angry or bitter at God because of the pain, he poured the brokenness and the pain out to God through worship. Job’s response was amazing. In the midst of trouble, he worshipped!

When we look at the Book of Psalms it is a hymn book for all generations. This last Sunday we heard from Psalm 88. The psalm ends with the words “darkness is my closest friend.” There is no happy ending. No triumphant close. It’s just pure lament and sadness. Why is it included in the Bible then? The Psalms is a collection of hymns that praise God, thank him for his goodness, rejoice at his goodness in peoples life as well as passages that cry for help, cry for justice, and passages that talk about being overwhelmed by darkness. King David knew pain. David exhorts us in Psalm 62:8 “Pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.”

Jesus knows pain because he went through it. As believers, we are not called to deny our pain. We are called to offer that pain to the only One who can do anything about it.

Everyday people are experiencing grief. We have no idea the depths of suffering they are experiencing. And especially in more recent times, hurt is everywhere. If not God, where do we go when we are hurt? If not for the church and the gatherings, where do we go for support and comfort? When we bring our grief into God’s presence we gain perspective. It is a perspective that enables us to soar above the storm. It is a perspective that tells us that Christ is right beside us in our most trying times. Situations may not change. You may not receive the expected healing. You may not receive an immediate answer to the situation. One thing I can assure you is you will experience the sweetest presence of the Savior by your side and that is the best thing that can happen to us.

1. He fell to the ground and worshiped: Worshipping our Maker when in the pit of suffering is not easy but it is the right thing to do. Our sufferings may be intense, but our Father’s worth is far greater. His character, his attributes and his promises which have been fulfilled in our life prove that He is worthy of all worship. In the midst of his mourning, Job also decided to worship God despite his circumstances and feelings. We might say that this was indeed pure worship and greatly glorifying to God. Job 1:11 reads “But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” The devil was in for a rude shock. When the devil was waiting for Job to blaspheme God, he was in for a surprise. He heard Job praising God and blessing the name of God.

Worship in the midst of suffering is difficult, we know that God is worthy of worship, but struggle to praise Him when suffering and sorrow press us to the ground. Worship in the midst of suffering is the right response because when God allows his children to go through that suffering He remains faithful and full of unfailing love. He is Sovereign and His word holds true. Worship is being honest with God.

Job had lost his children, his land, and most of his possessions yet he worshipped God. If worship is being honest with God then it is not based on feelings. It is also not based on circumstances. Job had an unfavorable set of circumstances. He had suffered tremendous loss.

Throughout the Bible we see expressions of praise that grew out of difficult circumstances. The Psalms were written from the midst of pain, heartache, and suffering. Paul wrote the book of Philippians from captivity, yet the theme of that book is “joy.” John wrote Revelation from exile, yet the theme of that book is “victory.”

Later in the book of Job, as spiritual battle is fought in and all around Job, he seems to move very far from these words of worship. However, it is important to remember that a man’s first reaction is often very telling, and reveals what really dominates his heart. Worship was Job’s first reaction to his crisis.

1. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away: Job analyzed his situation in a godly and wise way. Job understood that:

• He came into this world with nothing, so everything he had was indeed a blessing from the bounty of God. If he now had less, it was still more than he came into this world with and more than he would take with him to the world beyond.

His prosperity was not due to luck or his achievements; it was the great blessing of God upon his life. What if we were in Job’s place, we might have said, this was the result of my hard work. All my achievements are down the drain now, but Job acknowledged the hand of God in his life. He knew his every blessings came from God. He said, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken it away.” He knew that God was the source of his everything, that is why he could have this perspective.

In a crisis, a person’s response is significant. Job’s response was striking.  In the midst of a grief that brought him to his knees, Job worshipped. He did not grumble. He did not crib, but He knew the One who gave him all these blessings is Sovereign and is powerful to bless him with much more, but even if he did not give it, Job would still worship God. Job 13:15 says “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in Him.” This act reveals a heart that was as God described it, upright and God-fearing.  Job’s words confirmed his deeds when he spoke to his wife saying in Job 2:10 “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble? In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.”

God was in control of his life, and no matter what the immediate source of adversity or tragedy was, it had to pass through the loving and wise hands of God before it could touch him. God was worthy to be blessed and praised in any and all circumstances of life.

“Job sees only the hand of God in these events. It never occurred to him to find fault with someone or something, to curse the desert brigands, to curse the guards, to curse his own stupid servants, now lying dead for their lack of being watchful. All secondary causes vanish. It was the Lord who gave; it was the Lord who removed; and in the Lord alone must the explanation of these strange happenings be sought.” (Andersen)

We can meditate on the implications of the words, the LORD gave:

• We should never think the good things of this world come to us from the earth; they come from heaven.
• They come to us as gifts; that is, they are undeserved.
• God gives His gifts with kindness and thoughtfulness.

Knowing this sweetens the value of everything we have; things are more precious because they are gifts from a loving God. This prevents us from dishonesty; we want nothing in our hand except what God gives us, and do not want to mix what He gives with what the devil gives.

• It is foolishness to take pride in having more than what another has.
• It is easy to give back to God when we really understand that all we have comes from Him.
• We must always worship the Giver and not the gifts. The Giver is greater than the gifts He gives.

1. Blessed be the name of the LORD: This was the expression of worship mentioned in the previous verse. Job was able to bless the name of God even when he was specifically and severely tempted to cursethe name of God.

Illustration: “Remember the story of a man who was going to give a pound to some charitable institution. The devil said, ‘No, you cannot afford it.’ ‘Then,’ said the man, ‘I will give two pounds; I will not be dictated to in this way.’ Satan exclaimed, ‘You are a fanatic.’ The man replied, ‘I will give four pounds.’ ‘Ah!’ said Satan, ‘what will your wife say when you go home, and tell her that you have given away four pounds?’ ‘Well,’ said the man, ‘I will give eight pounds now; and if you do not mind what you are at, you will tempt me to give sixteen.’ So the devil was obliged to stop, because the more he tempted him, the more he went the other way.

So let it be with us. If the devil would drive us to curse God, let us bless him all the more, and Satan will be wise enough to leave off tempting when he finds that, the more he attempts to drive us, the more we go in the opposite direction.” (Spurgeon)

1. In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong: This demonstrates that Job did not sinor wrongly blame God when he said, “the LORD has taken away.” He was right to understand that God was ultimately behind all things, even if the immediate responsibility for an event was not God’s.

1. Job’s perspective on material possessions is amazing. He truly understood what Jesus said: One’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses(Luke 12:15). There are few in the world today who would endure the loss of such a fortune with such godliness and patient endurance.

1. Job’s unshaken commitment to God, and his enduring love for God despite his losses is amazing. Satan’s accusation – that if blessings were taken from Job, he would curse God – was proved to be a lie, and we might say that God was justifiably proud of His servant Job.

iii. At this point in Job’s life, Satan was singularly unsuccessful in shaking Job from his standing in faith. Job successfully battled against spiritual attack and fulfilled the exhortation that would come many hundreds of years later from the Apostle Paul: that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand (Ephesians 6:13).

• Job made his standagainst fear and did not give in to panic.
• Job made his stand against make-believe pretending and appropriately mourned.
• Job made his stand against pride and humbled himself before God.
• Job made his stand against self and decided to worship God.
• Job made his stand against a time-bound mindset and chose to think in terms of eternity.
• Job made his stand against unbelief and did not give in to vain questionings of God.
• Job made his stand against despair and saw the hand of God, even in catastrophe.
• Job made his stand against anger and did not blame God.

1. This wonderful triumph of faith did not come from Job acting alone, but only as Job reacted to these disasters filled with and connected to God.

1. Though we can say that God strengthenedJob, there was no evident comfortfrom God; nor would there be for a long time. “Thirty-six chapters of agonizing soul-searching will elapse before the Lord so much as lifts a finger to begin comforting Job in these devastating losses.” (Mason)

1. “In this Satan was utterly disappointed; he found a man who loved his God more than his earthly portion… He had been so often successful in this kind of temptation, that he made no doubt that he should succeed again.” (Clarke)

Our words and actions reveal our hearts.

In a crisis, a person’s response is significant. Job’s response was striking.  In the midst of a grief that brought him to his knees, Job worshipped.

Worship in the midst of crisis is possible.

1. Worship is being honest with God. Job had lost his children, his land, and most of his possessions yet he worshipped God.

2. Worship is trusting God. Job had lost most of his worldly possessions yet he continued to trust God. In trusting God during the hard times means we trust in His sovereignty.

In trusting God’s sovereignty that means we must trust His plans. The Bible says “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. “ (Is. 55:8-9)

3. Worship is an act of faith. Faith does not always find comfortable solutions. Faith does not always get easy answers.

Faith is an act of obedience. Sometimes it will not make sense. Sometimes it will not be easy.

Everyone will face times of testing. That’s the time when it really matters that you have already made up your mind to worship God no matter what. Back when Job had his good health, when he was raising his children and watching his blessings increase, before the testing came, Job had made up his mind that he would worship God in every situation.

Job’s experience brings up a question: Would you still worship God if everything in your life was going wrong? It’s easy to worship when everything is going right. The ultimate test of faith, however, is whether you will still worship in the difficult and painful times. Job chose to worship in the midst of his pain. You can make the same choice today that, in every situation, you will still worship God.

Right now is the time for you to make up your mind to praise and worship God no matter what circumstances you may face. As you pray and seek the Lord’s face, you condition yourself to respond to difficult times with worship instead of anger, with praise instead of bitterness. Even in a crisis, if you fast and pray and seek God’s face, you will feel God’s love and comfort and you will receive the wisdom and strength you need to endure and overcome.

Will we worship God if we get nothing in return? (1:1 to 2:13)

The affirmation, “In all this, Job did not sin in what he said”, proved wrong Satan’s predictions that Job would curse God.  It vindicates God’s words.