Job series #6

Following Jesus When You Suffer6:

EXPLANATIONS THAT HELP

Job 32-37

I received an e-mail entitled, “Just When You Thought You Knew Everything…I’ll bet you didn’t know these things!”

·         No piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times.

·         Donkeys kill more people annually than plane crashes.

·         You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television. (Next time you fall asleep in front of the TV that will be good to know!)

·         A Boeing 747’s wingspan is longer than the Wright brothers first flight.

·         Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.

·         Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin.

·         Marilyn Monroe had 6 toes.

·         Walt Disney was afraid of mice.

·         It is possible to lead a cow upstairs…but not downstairs.

·         A duck’s quack doesn’t echo and no one knows why.

Life can be confusing. Sometimes the pieces just don’t seem to fit. We cannot understand why something has happened. Sometimes, God brings just the right person across our path to help us get back on track.

That is what is going to happen to Job. God couldn’t leave Job with these 3 miserable accusers. He had to provide someone with some insight and compassion. So we are introduced to a new voice. Unsolicited and unsought by Job, God will bring just the right person into his life, who will help him refocus on God and recapture the eternal perspective he needs. His name is Elihu.

Elihu is the voice of a young man, a bystander, who has been overhearing this debate between Job and his friends. Elihu is angry at Job for accusing God of being his enemy and angry at Job’s friends for not pointing Job in the right direction. He is also very talkative…he goes on for 6 chapters!

Elihu gives a partial answer to why Job is suffering. He says that man cannot understand all God allows, but we must trust Him! This is the best answer man can give, yet it is incomplete. Often the best human answers are incomplete because we don’t have all the facts.

But where Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar failed, Elihu will succeed in helping point Job in the right direction. In the end, God will rebuke Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, but not Elihu, because his assessment is on target for the most part.

Job’s 3 friends say that Job must repent of willful sin that he committed before these calamities. They kept saying, “Job you are only getting what you deserve; no more and no less.” Elihu is angry with them because they have been wrong theologically and pastorally. Their approach and their message has shown very little understanding or compassion.

Elihu is also angry with Job because he was justifying himself rather than God (32:2). Job has gone too far in his cries of innocence. It is like Hamlet said, “Methinks he doth protest too much!” John Calvin said that no one is as innocent as Job is claiming to be!

Job’s 3 friends said that Job is suffering because he sinned. Elihu said that Job has sinned because of his attitude during suffering.

He does something none of the others have been able to do – silence Job.

Job has sounded very arrogant! Job 31:35-37 “Like a prince…?” You don’t approach God like a prince! So while Job’s suffering had nothing to do with his past it seems that Job has overstepped the mark since his suffering began.

When we suffer and ask, “Why?” we need someone to help us.

1.      Our first need is for a COMFORTER – someone who loves us, understands our pain, and gives us the courage to go on.

2.      Then we need a COUNSELOR – someone who listens to us, talks to us and leads us through our struggle with the question, “Why?”

3.      Sometimes we also need a CRITIC – someone who still loves us but dares to confront us with the truth so that we will be open to hear God.

So Elihu comes and requests Job to listen. He comes to Job, not as a superior as his friends had, but as an equal.

Elihu summarizes what he heard Job charge God with in 33:8-14.

1.      33:9 Job claims to be innocent, but Job says that doesn’t matter to God. Elihu answers that charge in chapter 35.

2.      33:10-11 Job claims that God has treated him unjustly. Chapter 34 answers that.

3.      33:13 Job claims that God ignores him. That is answered here in chapter 33.

Elihu gives 4 explanations we need to remember when we are suffering that will help us.

Body

I.                   GOD IS NOT SILENT.

Job has been saying that God is not speaking to him, but Elihu says, “Maybe you just aren’t listening!” God is not speaking as Job’s friends think – to punish Job. God is helping you to understand something you don’t understand.

33:12-14 Elihu says that God is beyond us…infinitely greater than our ability to grasp and understand. He is beyond us. His range of understanding is infinitely greater than ours. Man is too ignorant, too limited and too easily deceived to ever lay a charge that God is fickle! So be careful before you complain against God. It just may be our ignorance and lack of understanding. God may be answering you, but in a way you cannot understand. He may be speaking, but you may not be listening.

33:14-18 God speaks through our dreams. Elihu says that God sends dreams and visions to open the ears of men – to get them to listen to God’s Word and obey. (Remember this is before God gave the revelation of His written word.) I have heard testimonies from the mission field, especially from the Muslim world, of people who had dreams of Jesus Christ and either came to faith in Christ or sought out believers for more information.

Obviously, not all dreams come from God speaking to us. (Some of them come from eating pizza too late at night!) But we all tend to deceive ourselves. There are things we don’t like to face and so we shove them down into the subconscious and they may appear in our dreams. They may take the form of warnings where we see ourselves doing things we are ashamed of or horrified by. These are warnings that the tendency, the possibility of doing wrong, is deep within us.

Another way Elihu says that God speaks is through our pain. 33:19-22 Lovingly, God chastens us to turn us away from sin or to impress upon us a lesson we could learn no other way. Most of us have gone through some illness and learned that it tends to do marvelous things to our view of life: our value system changes, we see certain things as far more important than we thought of them before.

C.S. Lewis said, “We can rest contentedly in our sins and in our stupidities, and everyone who has watched gluttons shoveling down the most exquisite foods as if they did not know what they were eating, will admit that we can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

We cannot say that all suffering is directly caused by God because we can cause some suffering ourselves. We also must not say that all suffering is punishment for sin. But Elihu argues that God sometimes permits suffering in order to keep people from sinning and going to the pit. God was helping Job understand something that he didn’t understand and pain was making it possible. Pain can be a surgeon’s knife, not an executioner’s sword.

God uses pain to get our attention and dissipate the illusion that all is well. We have to be careful of reducing everything to a lesson. If God only wanted to give us lessons, He’d have given the Bible in 66 easy lessons instead of books of every type. It’s not really a lesson, but transformation God is getting at. He doesn’t want us to be knowledgeable as much as he wants us to be godly.

I read of a pastor whose daughter lost a leg to cancer. One church member commented to him, “I see now why your daughter had to lose her leg – because it has brought the church so close together!” His comment was, “What if the church started to fall apart? Would God take another leg?” Does God allow suffering on the scale we see it in our world just to teach us lessons?

No, but through suffering we can learn something about ourselves. Job wasn’t punished for some past sin, but his suffering may have shown how far he was capable of falling. Suffering can show us the sinfulness of our hearts. Although Job was a righteous man, there was a sediment of pride in the bottom of the glass and when it was shaken by the criticism of his friends that sediment rose up and contaminated Job’s life and Job will repent of it later. Haven’t you discovered that during times of affliction you are short-tempered and self-centered? I certainly have. Through suffering God was pointing out that you are not as good as you think you are. Suffering can lead us to appreciate God’s love in new ways.

Elihu says that God is not silent. Is he right? Oftentimes, God speaks and we simply don’t listen. But if God answered all our questions, we would not need faith.

Suffering is helpful when we turn to God for understanding, endurance and deliverance.

Suffering is harmful when we become hardened and reject God.

Suffering is helpful when we ask important questions we might not take time to think about in our normal routine.

Suffering is harmful when we refuse to ask any questions and miss lessons that might be good for us.

Suffering is helpful when we are prepared by it to identify with and comfort others who suffer.

Suffering is harmful when we allow it to make us self-centered and selfish.

Suffering is helpful when we are open to being helped by others who are obeying God.

Suffering is harmful when we withdraw from the help others can give.

Suffering is helpful when we are ready to learn from a trustworthy God.

Suffering is harmful when we reject the fact that God can bring good out of calamity.

Suffering is helpful when we realize we can identify with what Christ suffered on the cross for us.

Suffering is harmful when we accuse God of being unjust and perhaps lead others to reject Him.

Suffering is helpful when we are made more sensitive to the amount of suffering in the world.

Suffering is harmful when we refuse to be open to any changes in our lives.

II.                 GOD IS NOT UNJUST.

Job looked at life and he concluded that there was no profit to loving and obeying God. “Look what it’s brought me. Only suffering and heartache.”

34:5-9 Job is dangerously close to buying into Satan’s lie. He is almost ready to throw in the towel. “Why bother worshiping God if this is what it brings me?”

Job sees God as unjust and unfair and unwilling to explain why this is happening to Job. He felt as if he were being treated like a sinner and yet God would not come to court and tell Job what he

had done wrong! At one point, Job said that God was using him for target practice. He kept shooting arrows at him.

34:10-12 God cannot be unjust. An unjust God would be as unthinkable as a square circle or a round triangle. God is always true to His character. No matter how long it may take, God will judge the wicked and bless the righteous, but He may not do it right away. He is a Just Rewarder, giving man what he deserves.

34:13-15 God is beyond accountability to man. Job has been bellyaching, saying, “Where is God?” Elihu says, “God is here. If God were to withdraw Himself for one second from our lives we would all perish!”

God is the CEO of the galaxy. IF God chooses to remain silent and not explain what He is doing, who can charge God with wrongdoing? Just because God does not explain His action to us doesn’t mean that He doesn’t have His reasons.

Elihu impresses upon us over and over an important thing to know in suffering. GOD IS GREATER THAN MAN. His ways are not our ways. So, we shouldn’t always expect Him to give us an explanation for everything He does.

To demand an explanation from God is usually so we can agree or disagree with what He does. We want to pass judgment on God’s actions! We want a presidential veto for anything He might propose and it just isn’t going to happen.

We suffer and become discouraged, causing us to lose sight of God. When life is unfair, it causes us to question God’s goodness. But God is fair and good. God does reward us for our

pain. However, His reward may not come in this lifetime, but it will come.

God is not silent. God is not unjust.

III.              GOD IS NOT UNCARING.

In his 3^rd speech, Elihu declares to Job that God is not distant in our suffering. No, He is right here with us in our pain. God may not intervene immediately in every situation; He may feel distant when we hurt, but really, that is when He is closest.

God is not silent, not unjust and certainly not uncaring.

Job 35:9-11 When we are suffering, we cry out to God for help. At such a time, no one can say, “God is not here for me.” No one can say, “Where is God my Maker?” because God will never leave us. In our darkest hour, God’s presence gives us a song in the night. God gives us His peace and comfort, which is greater than the pain of suffering. In our time of greatest need, God is right there with us.

In the night of sin, God gives the song of salvation.

In the night of sorrow, God gives the song of consolation.

In the night of mystery, God gives the song of revelation.

In the night of despair, God gives the song of hope.

In the time of our greatest need, God is right there with us.

Maybe you’re at that place in your life right now. Maybe you want your relationship with your spouse to work out. Maybe you want your career to work out. Maybe you want your children’s lives to work out. While you’re waiting, remember that God is there with you, giving His peace and comfort. Just wait on Him.

In order to feel the worth of the anchor, we have to feel the stress of the storm.

Job 35:12-16 He hears us! The only time God does not answer is when our hearts are proud and lifted up. It is not until we come to the end of ourselves that we cry out to God in true faith.

Elihu refers to Job’s words about wanting to present His case before God. He says, “Job, wait on God. He hears you and He is reaching out to you. He will give you songs in the night. Just wait on His perfect timing.”

We have seen some of the pictures of the puzzle: God is not silent; God is not unjust; God is not distant and uncaring.

IV.              GOD IS NOT POWERLESS.

Elihu extols the greatness of God’s power in creation. God is not impotent! Nothing is out of control! He is mightily running the universe.

God is almighty and powerful. Job 36:5-10 He uses His power to judge the wicked and help the afflicted.

There are 2 responses to suffering for the righteous. Job 36:11-12

Either obey God’s Word and enjoy prosperity or

Disobey and perish.

Elihu described God’s great power as seen in a storm. Job 36:27-33.

There is evaporation and rain, clouds and thunder, lightning and flooding seas. God uses these powers for blessing and judgment.

Elihu says that God is greater than we can comprehend. We think we are pretty smart but while we are down here sweating, God is painting His next original sunset.

We cannot know Him completely. We have some knowledge about Him, but we can never know enough to answer all of life’s questions, to predict the future or manipulate God for our own ends. Life constantly creates more questions than it does answers, and we must constantly go to God for fresh insights into life’s dilemmas.

I heard about a preacher in Kansas who arrived back in town after a storm. A dishonest businessman, who lamented that his house had been blown away by the tornado, met him at the train station. The preacher said to the man, “That should teach you that God always punishes sin.” The man said to the preacher, “Oh really? And did you know that your house was also blown away by the storm?” The preacher paused and said, “That teaches us that the Lord’s ways are beyond our understanding.”

Job 37:21-24 Elihu concludes with a tremendous truth – faith in God is far more important than Job’s desire for an explanation for his suffering.

“Job trust that God will do what is right in your life. Don’t pretend that you have all the answers. If you do, God will disregard you. Instead, fear God and hold Him in reverential awe. God will honor you and make it right.”

Perhaps Elihu used the weather as an illustration of God’s greatness because he could see a storm brewing on the horizon. A summer electrical storm is awesome and terrifying. Thunder is roaring. Lightening is cracking. The whole scene is frightening

and terrifying. God is like this. Awesome and powerful. He cannot be controlled by man. Threatening and terrifying…that is God!

He describes a winter storm. God commands it. He tells the snow and ice to come and man is helpless when it comes, completely at God’s mercy. God directs the tornadoes. He controls all the elements of nature that can render man powerless.

God was in this storm and is going to give Job the meeting he has been asking for. Job has been asking God a bunch of questions and at last God is going to speak. But God is not going to give Job a set of nice, clean, concise answers. Instead, God is going to ask a few questions of His own – 65 of them – none of which Job could answer correctly.

Are you struggling with questions today? Maybe you’ve lost your job and you’re asking, “Why?” Perhaps you are struggling with some disease or pain and you’re wanting to know, “Why, Lord?”

Like Job, you can ask your questions. Just don’t expect to receive nice, clear, concise answers. His greatness is beyond our comprehension. His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. I believe it was Charles Hadden Spurgeon who said, “God is too kind to be cruel. God is too wise to make a mistake. When we cannot trace the hand of God, we must trust the heart of God.”

CONCLUSION – Elihu says that God restores us with our suffering. God rewards us for our suffering. God reaches out to us in our suffering. God reigns over our suffering. The Lord knows what He’s doing even if we don’t.

Corrie Ten Boom once said, “The older I get the less I question and the more I trust.” If God had delegated creation to me, I would have done things differently. I would have created a world where there is no disease or accidents. I would have created a world where there are no killer hurricanes, no terrorism, and no babies born with congenital defects. There would be no germs and viruses, no spiders and no mosquitoes.

But wait – God did create a world like that didn’t He? But He also created something very powerful: human choice. He gave mankind the option to be cruel and unkind, or to be loving and kind. He didn’t create us as zombies or robots who would automatically bow to Him and love Him. When mankind chose to sin, we unleashed a horrible chain reaction of natural and accidental evil into the world.

That is what Job is about. Job possessed the ability to choose to love God, even in the midst of His pain. If Job only loved
God when things were going well in his life, that love wouldn’t have been real. But Job faced more suffering than any of us will endure, and he still chose to love God.

Remember Corrie Ten Boom and Betsie Ten Boom’s story, The Hiding Place? While they were in the German concentration camp of Ravensbruck, Betsie led a Bible class in the midst of the lice-infested barracks. A woman called out derisively to the group and mocked their worship of God. She said, “If your God is such a good God, why does He allow this kind of suffering?” She dramatically ripped the bandages off her hands and displayed mangled fingers. She said, “I was once the first violinist of the Berlin Orchestra. Did your God will this?”

Everyone was stunned and silent. Then Corrie stepped forward and said, “We can’t answer that question. All we know is that our God came to this earth, and became one of us, and He suffered with us and was crucified and died…and that He did it for love.”

God did not cause these evils to come upon Job any more than He has caused you to suffer. God doesn’t inflict evil. But during the painful times of our lives, God speaks to us in a way that is louder than any other time in our lives.

What was God shouting to Job? He was shouting, “Even in your pain, don’t lose your hope in Me.” I am not silent – hear Me. I am not unjust – trust Me. I am not uncaring – love Me. I am not powerless – put your hope in Me alone.

Outline suggestion from Steven Lawson, When All Hell Breaks Loose

Gary Harner, sermon, “Human Explanations That Help”

David McKenna, The Whispers of His Grace