Sermon Tone Analysis

One of my duties as your pastor is to preach and pray in such a way that you are prepared in mind and heart not to curse God when calamity strikes you or your family.

But even more important than preparing you for calamity is teaching you to worship God and bless him no matter how intense the grief or deep the pain he allows into your life.

For the next five Sundays I would like for us to try to understand the message of the Book of Job, and be changed by it.

Virtually everyone in this room either has or will experience a bitter calamity sooner or later.

As in Job’s case, some of those calamities will almost certainly seem absurd and meaningless and undeserved when they come.

You may be sitting in a restaurant or shopping in the mall or listening to a politicians stump speech when you hear the pop, pop, pop of a gun and your life is irrevocably changed.

You may be at the sink shaving, or in the congregation singing a hymn when you feel the lump on your neck.

You may be buying ice cream for your daughter at the food court when all of a sudden you realize she is gone.

It will seem very absurd, and you will cry out, "Why?" a hundred times before the cloud passes over.

You’ll wrack your brain and ask, “What have I done to deserve this?”

And the answer may well come back, “Nothing.

I’ve been a righteous servant of God, and I’ve done nothing to deserve this.”

Much of our grief and pain comes as a direct result of our sin and disobedience.

Grief and pain are the consequences.

However, some of our grief and pain comes out of nowhere and baffles our sense of justice.

That's why the book of Job is so relevant.

Job's suffering seems to come out of nowhere and has no connection to his character.

His story is recorded for us so that we will have some help in living through these calamities—and coming out the other end trusting in the goodness of a sovereign God.

This evening, we will look at the section of Job that extends through 2:10.

Let's me walk you through the story and then draw out some truths for our lives.

I. CONSIDER JOB'S CHARACTER AND BLESSING

1. Job is introduced to us as a man of faith and character

“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 1:1, NIV84)

a. he is a man of integrity, sincerity, and without hypocrisy

1) the foundation of his upright character is that he feared God and shunned evil

2) in his defense to Bildad’s accusations, Job counsels his friend that fear of the

Lord is the beginning of wisdom

“And he said to man, ‘The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.’

” (Job 28:28, NIV84)

ILLUS.

Oswald Chambers once said, “The remarkable thing about fearing God, is

that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else.”

b. if suffering is always intended as a punishment for evil, Job is not a likely candidate

1) he turns away from evil because he fears God

2) he pursues right

3) his reputation is blameless

4) his reverence for God governs all he does

2. Job is introduced to us a man who God had blessed abundantly

“He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants.

He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.”

(Job 1:2–3, NIV84)

a. in those days, wealth was measured primarily in terms of sons, land, animals, and

servants; and Job had all three in abundance

1) the sheep tell us that he and his estate were well-fed and well-clothed

2) the donkeys and camels tell us that he was a merchant and traded commodities

3) the five hundred pairs of oxen tell us that he farmed extensively

b. we know from other chapters in the book that Job used he used his wealth

generously for the good of others

1) again in his defense to Bildad’s accusations, Job defends his character

“because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist him.

The man who was dying blessed me; I made the widow’s heart sing.

I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban.

I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame.

I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger.

I broke the fangs of the wicked and snatched the victims from their teeth.”

(Job 29:12–17, NIV84)

3. in vv.

4–5 we have a specific instance of Job's fear of God and uprightness toward his

children

a. every time that his sons and daughters gathered for a feast, Job would get up early

the next morning and offer burnt offerings for each one just in case any of them had sinned or cursed God in their heart

b. in other words he was extremely jealous for the honor of God's name, that it not be

profaned, and he was extremely vigilant for the sake of his children, not wanting any of them to come to ruin

c.

Job is undoubtedly a loving and doting father

4. in summary we are told that He was the greatest of all the people of the east

II.

CONSIDER JOB'S CALAMITY

1. calamity strikes out of nowhere

“One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off.

They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off.

They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house.

It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” (Job 1:13–19, NIV84)

a. it was on one of those feast days when all ten of his children were gathered in the

home of the oldest brother

1) First (vv.

14–15) a messenger comes to Job and tells him that the Sabeans had

attacked and stolen all his oxen and asses and killed all the servants with them

2) Second (v.

16) another messenger comes and says that the fire of God had fallen

and destroyed all his sheep and the servants with them

3) Third (v.

17) another messenger comes and says that the Chaldeans had raided

the camel herd and taken them all and killed the servants

4) Finally (vv.

18–19) the message comes that all of his children were crushed to

death when a whirlwind caused the house to collapse

b. two of the calamities were caused by evil men—Sabaens (v.

15) and Chaldeans (v.

17)

c. two were caused by, what insurance adjusters would call "acts of God"

1) probably lighting and fire in verse 16 and a tornado in verse 19

2. in an extremely brief period of time—days, perhaps mere hours—Job is striped of his

wealth and his family

“ ... As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so men are trapped

by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them.”