61. Simple Bible overview: The story of Job

EPISODE 61  The simple Bible overview of…THE STORY OF JOB

You get a brand new cell phone. And shortly after it breaks, I mean, it really breaks at first you're disappointed. Then you get angry. It would have been one thing. If you had abused it, you see a lot of other people doing that, tossing it around, dropping it. You've even seen a friend, use it to tap a nail into the wall to hang a picture of you. You've handled years with kid gloves, screen protector, right out of the box and Otter box to protect it. And then it breaks your parents and friends roll their eyes. They start asking what in the world did you do to your phone? Or they tell you what you did wrong. Then they always have ways that you can fix it. They're trying to make you feel better, but there are rolling eyes and they're simple.

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Fixes just make you feel worse. You know, you can't fix it. You would, if you could welcome to this story of Job Job is our last book of wisdom or poetry. In the old Testament, we looked at David's book, the Psalms, then Solomon's three books, Proverbs Ecclesiastes, these and song of songs. Joe Browns out this section of the old Testament, the poetry and wisdom books. Here's the gist of Job story. Job was a guy who handled life well carefully. Then his life broke badly from the language of Job. He probably lived around the time of Abraham. It really doesn't matter. Job could have lived last week.

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Job represents damage to our families, relationships, our jobs in our health, in the worst kind of damage damage you didn't cause, and probably don't deserve damage. Others don't experience who treated their family, their relationships, their job, or their health, much more carelessly we're told at the beginning Job was a righteous man. He was right in God's eyes. We're told of a gathering of God in heaven and Hells bellboys. God asked Satan, where have you been? He says, you know, just kind of hanging out on earth, watching what's going on. God then asks, what do you think of my boy? Job is a finest guy down there.

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A man of real integrity. What do you think about huh? Satan's reply. He's your boy. All right. You protect him. You press for him. Who wouldn't be your boy. I bet. If you took it all away from him, he curse you to your face. God says to Satan, all right, let's give it a try. You have my permission to take all his stuff. Just leave my boy alone. Satan unleashes wave after wave wiping out his livestock, his servants having delivered a left and right hook. Satan then delivers the finishing uppercut all job's children together in one of their homes, celebrating are killed. When the house collapses on top of them, Job goes from prosperous and protected to a man with nothing but a grieving wife.

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Yet. Shockingly Job says this naked. I came from my mother's womb, naked I'll return. The Lord gave me everything I have and now the Lord's taken it away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. While we're told there was another meeting of God and heaven and Hells bellboys. Again, God brags up. Job his boy. He's passed the test. He's lost everything and still clings to and trust in the Lord as good. Even when circumstances are bad, Satan replies, you said I couldn't touch him. If you let me touch him, he'll curse you to his face. A man will give anything for his health in life.

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I imagine God pausing considering this evil Archangel in front of him than saying you can have his health, but spare his life. We're told Satan struck Job with boils, with terrible boils from head to toe boils. So itchy. He broke a piece of pottery and was scraping his skin with the shard, his life. And now his health utterly devastated. His wife has a suggestion of fix. Are you going to still maintain integrity, curse God and die already, but Job replies. Should I accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad we're told in all of this Job said nothing against his God, completely broken his friends show up.

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They could hardly recognize him. They started the whale, throw dust in the air and rip their clothes. All signs of grieving in that culture. Then it says they sat down across from him for seven days, looking at him, no doubt, rolling their eyes. Chapter three starts. Then Job answered and said, answered what they hadn't spoken for seven days while he's answering their looks. We get a series of speeches between job's friends and Job and Job and guide Job starts by declaring. This is unjust suffering. He's taken every precaution with his life and it's broken. His friends, respond with their diagnosis of what happened.

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Basically they accused Job of sin stuff doesn't happen unless it's caused by sin. They move on to foolishness. It was caused by his foolishness. Each time Job tries to answer their accusations to the best his conscience can determine none of these things are true. His friends then move on to simple ways to fix the problem. Like beg God to take it away or receive it as his discipline from heaven for 39 chapters through these series of speeches, Job three friends examine every possibility about what causes suffering and how it can be fixed sprinkled throughout Job and his friends speeches. Our conversations Job has with God, the same kind we have in those things in our lives where we think we've done all we can, but our relationships or bodies or spirits are still broken in the end.

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God helps. Job conclude the following unjust suffering as a mystery. There are no answers to why there are no simple fixes. Job did not curse God. In fact, his intense suffering drew him to God. We'll see this theme carried forward throughout the new Testament in Romans five, Paul writes our tribulation brings about perseverance and perseverance, proven character and proven character hope and hope does not disappoint. In fact, it leads us to understand the love of God. One writer's called pain, God's megaphone and suffering. The fires that refine us. The book of Job also gives wisdom to us as friends of those who are suffering when it comes to someone deeply suffering in their relationships or their job or their health, even though they've navigated these areas with care.

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Our job as friends is not to come, help them diagnose what went wrong, nor is it to suggest fixes quicker. Otherwise it's to enter into it beside them to encourage them, to persevere through it, to pray for God's mercy in it. And to learn beside them. What only suffering can teach us. The story of Job ends this way. God rebukes job's friends and asked Job to pray for their forgiveness. Then it says, God restored job's life. He had things in his children. Again, whether God raised his children back to life or gave children in their place, having lingered on the Ash heap before God with his questions, God brings beauty from the ashes.

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God always does bringing beauty from ashes. That's going to be God's challenge. As we return to our history books and the story of the Kings of Israel. In first Kings, a few episodes ago, we left off with Solomon. Job suffered deeply for living, right? We're going to study a series of Kings. Most of whom seem hell bent on living life. The wrong way. We'll take a look at their impact on themselves and on the nation of Israel, starting in our next word picture.