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Why, God?! Our Scripture lesson is taken from Job chapter 38 vss 1- 7 and 40:3-5 1 ¶ Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He
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As people begin to recover from the shock of things like this,
the natural question they ask, at least many of them ask, is
why did such a thing happen? And for those a little more
reflective, the question was , "if there is a God, why does
he let things like this happen?" Ok, but Job doesn't know about any of that. All he knows is that his world has fallen apart and he's just sitting in the dust scraping himself with a piece of broken pottery, and three men come to see him, three men who are supposed to be friends. The bulk of the book is taken up with the discussions that these "friends" and another man have with Job as they argue about why these things have happened. The main thrust of what these men say to Job is that he must have sinned greatly or else he would not have been afflicted like this. And this goes on for chapter after chapter. I think a lot of what James called "the patience of Job" must refer to Job putting up with the harangues of his supposed friends. Job's response is that these things are not the result of any particular sin and he complains bitterly that God has treated him this way and he cries out for an explanation and a chance for him to plead his case before God. As the story progresses, and his so-called friends and his agony continue to pound on him, Job begins to impugn the character of God. He complains that he is being afflicted without cause. He wants to know why. Just like us, he wants to know why. When we are in the midst of suffering, our natural question is OH GOD! Why !? Well, finally in chapter 38, 39 and 40 , God himself steps into the story and answers Job. Now it is interesting to me that God does not immediately give Job an answer to his question. The fact is, he never answers Job's question, at least not directly. He begins instead by asking Job some questions himself:
Again, from chapter 38 What is God doing here? What point is God trying to make?
First, God is making the point that He - and He alone -
is the Almighty, the creator of all that is. And because
He is the one true God, the creator, He is Sovereign Lord over
everything . This theme of God's sovereignty is seen throughout
the last chapters of this book as God continues to challenge
Job with His intimate knowledge of every aspect of the universe.
In fact you see this whole theme played out through the entire
Bible. In Isaiah 46:10, God says, "I make known the end
from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I
please. Then the flip side to this; if God is God then we are not.
This notion of God's sovereignty over suffering is an important
one, which we should not pass over quickly : Did you catch that? God is the one who makes men blind
and deaf or mute. That is a hard thought. But we have it
right from God's own mouth. This is not what Job had in mind
when he said he wanted an answer to the why of suffering.
It's not the answer I want either. Now that is a pretty sobering thought and it could be terrifying if God were not the loving and merciful God that he is. And I am thankful there is a second but perhaps not so obvious
point that we can see in these final chapters of Job.
This brings to mind Proverbs 3:11: My son, do not
despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, We can also see God's mercy in the end of the book , where Job's fortunes are not only restored but in fact he is given two times as much as he had before. The third point I want you to observe is Job's reaction to
being confronted by the awesome God. It's the same reaction
that we should have when confronted by the awesome God, . .
. repentance and worship. 6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes." What then is the answer to Job's question? Why did he suffer such great affliction? The only answer that Job got was that God is great and God is good. God loved Job and he disciplined him like a son. And in our suffering we should take heart from the fact that the same God who dealt with Job is the God we serve today, the God who loved His people so much that sent His son Jesus Christ to bear the penalty of their sins. From our New Testament vantage point we know more about God than Job did because we have the whole Bible, but God's ways are still beyond our comprehension . But we do have the great promise of Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. This is what we can cling to when we face the trials of life. We can have confidence that somehow every circumstance, every event, every thing is part of God's plan for those who love him and that God's plan is for good and not for evil. This is not easy. I am sure that there are people here today
who are in the midst of terrible crises. And you cry out Why?
Oh God why? But maybe you are broken hearted and don't know Jesus. Maybe you are still separated from God by your sins. Maybe the good promises of the Bible are just empty words to you. It doesn't have to be that way. Come to Christ. Run to Christ. He offers forgiveness and reconciliation and redemption to anyone who admits that they are sinners rightly deserving the wrath of God and who put their trust in Him and his sacrifice as their only hope of salvation. Jesus came to proclaim the good news to the poor and to bind up broken hearts.
We can't always explain how God can take evil acts like the slaughter of innocent children or like the bombing in Oklahoma City or a seemingly sensless tragedy like the drowning of a baby and use it for good, but we know that he does. Think for a minute of what was arguably the most evil act ever perpetrated in the history of the world; the murder of Jesus Christ. He who knew no sin was cruelly put to death for our sins. This was a bad thing from the point of view of the disciples. They were confused and afraid and thought the ministry of Jesus had failed. But later on they realized that it was all part of God's plan for redeeming his people. We can almost never see what God is doing when we are in the midst of a trial - - but then why should we expect to, we are not God. That is the point of God's questioning of Job - to show him that there are certain things beyond our understanding but that nothing is beyond the Lord. When Robert, that little baby who drowned was buried, we had a special memorial service at the church for the friends of his five brothers and sisters - and their friends and teachers from school. For many of these people it was the first time they had ever heard about Jesus Christ. Even in this, we see that God was beginning to use tragedy for a good purpose. The message of God's sovereignty is one of hope for us because
it means that we are not at the mercy of blind chance or fate.
Intellectually, we can say that since God is totally in control
and he is working for our Good, we ought to be able to bear any
trial. But our personal experience and the example of Job
shows us that it is not that easy to do. We are weak and our
faith is weak. Job knew that God is good and that He is Lord.
When the calamities first befell him, he fell to the ground
in worship May God give us the strength of faith to say with Job Though he slay me, yet will I trust him;
"Our concluding hymn was written by a man who suffered
many of the same tragedies that Job did. He suffered great losses
in business and he lost his wife, his son and his four daughters.
Yet as he sailed over the spot where the ship carrying his wife
and daughters sank, taking them to a watery grave, he wrote these
lines, one of the most uplifting and comforting songs in the
hymn book. Let's stand to sing and as we do pay close attention
to the words . . ." |
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