Journey Through Job

The oldest book of the Bible is not the book of Genesis. Genesis goes back to the very beginning, no doubt, but the oldest book of the Bible predates the writing of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible), and that is the Book of Job. It is an interesting book, because it deals with the oldest issue in the world, and that is the problems that human beings deal with.

“Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble” (Job 14:1). Job had his share of trouble. He probably faced more hardship than most of us will in a lifetime. He lived around 2000 B.C. – about the time of the patriarchs. We believe he lived even prior to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because there is no mention of Israel, no mention of Egypt, or the land of Canaan. Job is an ancient book, likely the first one written. This is where we journey today.

Listen: Journeying through Job

Overview of Job

As we journey through Job, we see the theme of the book: Why the righteous suffer. Job probably suffered more than any man in Scripture, outside the Lord Jesus Christ. He lost his wealth, his children, his health, and his friends. He lost his wife’s support. She said, Curse God and die. We can learn a lot from Job and his wife. (Watch Scott’s message on that HERE.)

However, the worst thing Job lost was his hope and his sense of the graciousness of God. It was his one self-inflicted wound. He never cursed God, but he did curse the day he was born. He became bitter. You remember that he began with “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord, and in all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly” (Job 1:21-22). But as the book progresses and Job begins to defend himself against the accusations of others, and he begins to understand questions for which he has no answers, he loses his sense of the presence of God.

God is the Answer to the “Why’s” of Our Problems

Problems are bearable in the presence of God. But when you remove God from the equation, when God is not in the conversation, I do not know how someone can live. How do you even get through it? The number one question people ask in suffering and in trial is this question: “Why?” Everybody wants to know why.

Some people say, “Well, Satan did it.” Well, yes, but God allowed it to come. As someone else said, sin was the cause. Well, there is no doubt Job was a sinner like all of us. Yet, his trouble did not come because he had done something awful. It came because God was accomplishing some great purpose, something that neither Job nor his friends could answer. You remember that three men came along, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar; they all had an answer for him.

It is just like today, when you have a problem, everybody knows exactly why you have it and what to do about it, don’t they? Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar all said, “You have sinned.” Then a young man named Elihu came along and said, “No, the answer is this: Only God has the answer.”

You see, instead of asking, “Why am I suffering?” a child of God should be asking: “What is God trying to teach me? What is it that I’m supposed to learn about God from this?” The true theme of the book: What the godly learn from suffering. This removes our focus from man and turns our attention back to God. That is what we all need? We need God. 

The Key to the Book of Job

You know, the key to the Book of Job is found at the end of the book. Much like Ecclesiastes, you really cannot understand all that is going on in the Book of Job until you come to the end, to the conclusion, if you will.

Do you know how some people hide an extra key near their house? Most people hide the key near the door. Well, the key to these books is often found near the door, and in this instance, it is found near the back door. It is found in the last chapter when Job finally hears from God and sees the Lord. 

Job 42:1-6 says: “Then Job answered the Lord, and said, I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholding from thee. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine I seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” You see, the bottom line of the book is that Job did not just need to see himself; he needed to see the Lord.

Outline of Job

As we can see on our journey through Job, the book progresses from chapter 1 through chapter 42 in this way.

In the first two chapters, we see the disasters of Job. All that he endured.

In chapters 3 through 41, we see the debates of Job back and forth, back and forth. Job debates with Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. And then Elihu, and then finally the ultimate debate, the debate which Job could not win, was when God spoke. Isn’t that what we all need today? We need to hear from the Lord. Open the Scriptures and let God’s Word minister to us all the patience and comfort of the Scriptures.

When you come to chapter 42, you come to the deliverance of Job. What was the deliverance of Job? Was it that his circumstances changed? No, his circumstances will change; no trouble lasts forever. But before his circumstances changed, his perspective changed. He got a fresh glimpse of the Lord. A fresh glimpse of Jesus always corrects our perspective.

The Restoration of Job

When Job humbled himself before the Lord and stopped trying to prove himself or answer all the questions, at that moment, his fellowship with God was restored. And I love Job 42:10: “The Lord turned the captivity of Job.” Job got double back of everything. The only thing he did not get double of was his children. Why not his children? Because he still had them. They were just in another place. I believe these children were with the Lord. Job was going to go be with them shortly. So God restores to him all of the things that he suffers the loss of. 

What is the great message of Job to us? The great message is that everybody is going to go through trouble, no matter who you are, no matter how godly you are. We should not be shocked or surprised. James 1 says: “When you fall into divers temptations…” not if, but when. When it comes, when the trial comes, when the trouble comes, the one thing you must do is you must get your eyes back on the Lord. Keep your eyes on Him.

Christ: The Daysman Between Mankind and God

The Book of Job is only quoted once in the New Testament, in James 5:11. Yet, the Book of Job is intimately connected to the New Testament. Because Job cries out in this book for “a daysman.”He called for someone to lay His hand on God and His hand on Job and bring them together. That is the work of the Lord Jesus. Read Job 9. Jesus is the daysman. Job knew that he needed a redeemer.

There are a number of questions in Job. The answers to the questions of Job are found in Jesus. You see, the end of all trouble is to bring us to God. The end of all trouble is to bring us nearer to Christ. Whatever your question may be today, whatever your difficulty today, run to Jesus. The hymn writer said it this right way: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of Earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.” (Read or listen to the amazing account behind this hymn HERE.)

Conclusion

Hebrews 12:2 says, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Some of you are enduring some trouble today. Friend, you can press on today. Through Christ, you can even have joy in the midst of it, knowing that Jesus Christ endured the greatest trouble for you. He is seated now at the right hand of the Father. He is praying for you. And as surely as He turned the captivity of Job, He can turn the captivity in your life. The message we learn from our journey through Job is this: we must realize the presence of God in the perplexities of life.

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About Scott Pauley

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