Looking for Job

[JLGJLG]

257) God and Job / Job and God

Job 42

After Job had prayed for his companions, God removed Job’s tribulation and restored his prosperity. God gave him double what he had before.

- Is there anything else to add?

- Maybe we need to think a bit more!

- Maybe we need to think about other biblical examples!

- Maybe we need to think about how we would react in such a situation!

- Maybe all this may help us to prepare for a world situation which gets worse and worse faster and faster!

- And maybe we will understand Job’s attitude!

- We should better do it because the storm is in front of us and it’s a big one!

 

[JLGJLG]

258) There is no one like him on the earth and a wealthy farmer


Job 1


There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. He was an upright man of integrity; he feared God and shunned what was bad.


- First of all, we are told about the man Job!


- Integrity!


- Fear of God!


- Going away from badness!

 

[JLGJLG]

259) There is no one like him on the earth and a wealthy farmer


Job 1

His livestock amounted to 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 1,000 cattle, and 500 donkeys, along with a very large number of servants, so that he became the greatest of all the people of the East.


- Second, we are told about Job’s wealth!


- We are told that he became the greatest of all the people of the East!


- It is quite surprising to think about a very rich man who puts his confidence in God!


- They have always put their confidence in themselves!


- Even Jesus says it is very difficult for a rich man to get into God’s kingdom!


- When we think about today’s rich men, it is not different!


- So Job is definitely an exception!

 

[JLGJLG]

260) There is no one like him on the earth and a wealthy farmer


Job 1

Each of his sons would hold a banquet at his house on his own set day. They would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. After a series of banquet days was complete, Job would send for them in order to sanctify them. Then he would get up early in the morning and offer up burnt sacrifices for each of them. For Job said: “Maybe my sons have sinned and have cursed God in their heart.” That is what Job would always do.-


- We have no information about how he educated his children!


- But we can imagine that he did his best!


- And his sacrifices to sanctify them show his personal concern about them!


- And the last sentence emphasizes his personal concern: That is what Job would always do!


- In fact, he is the only one who did such a thing in the Bible!


- So it reinforces the idea that there is no one like him on the earth!

 

[JLGJLG]

261) There is no one like him on the earth and a wealthy farmer


Job 1


And God said to Satan: “Have you taken note of my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth. He is an upright man of integrity, fearing God and shunning what is bad.” At that Satan answered God “Is it for nothing that Job has feared God? Have you not put up a protective hedge around him and his house and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock has spread out in the land.


- The devil has a very strange way to think!


- Parents take care of children and we think it’s normal!


- Animals do the same!


- God created a fantastic earth and he put man on it!


- And it’s a jewel: we know how the planets in the solar system are!


- And look what men keep doing: they destroy it faster and faster!


- Is that normal?


- Is that a way to thank God?


- Fortunately they will pay the price!


- And man won’t be able to do it again!

 

[JLGJLG]

262) There is no one like him on the earth and a wealthy farmer


Job 1


At that Job got up and ripped apart his garment and cut the hair off his head; then he fell to the ground and bowed down and said: “Naked I came out of my mother’s womb, And naked I will return. God has given, and God has taken away. Let the name of God continue to be praised.” In all of this, Job did not sin or accuse God of doing anything wrong.


- Think about Job’s reaction!


- Job is equal to himself!


- How would you have reacted!


- And what’s more striking is the fact he kept behaving the same way all the time!


- How right was God!


- And how wrong was the devil!


- Job will remain as the best example of faithfulness to God in the Bible!


- He will always be a source of inspiration for the human beings who want to stay faithful!


- Of course, he is not a source of inspiration for the majority of human beings!


- That’s why we are where we are without anymore values!


- But don’t expect your children to do better!


- Thus they can only do worse!

 

[JLGJLG]

263) There is no one like him on the earth and a wealthy farmer


Job 1


- Think about what Job would think if he could see what men do today!


- He would be proud of himself!


- But he would be ashamed of humanity!


- You call them superior animals!


- They are ridiculous!


- All that for that!


- Always waiting to get into trouble to start doing something!


- And always listening to stupid people!


- Human beings look like teenagers good to nothing and unable to evolve!

 

[JLGJLG]

264) There is no one like him on the earth and a wealthy farmer


Job 1


- Look at big human empires!


- look at the big human conquerors!


- They are the biggest murderers!


- And all human empires have been destroyed!


- Humanity is unable to last!


- It can only destroy itself!


- And all living creatures!


- And all plants!


- Look at the deserts!


- They are not even able to stop them!

- And they let them grow!

 

[JLGJLG]

265) There is no one like him on the earth and a wealthy farmer


Job 2

And God said to Satan: “Have you taken note of my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth. He is an upright man of integrity, fearing God and shunning what is bad. He is still holding firmly to his integrity, even though you try to incite me against him to destroy him for no reason.”


- As usual, God repeats the same words about Job showing he keeps behaving as usual even if his situation has worsen!


But Satan answered God: “Skin for skin. A man will give everything that he has for his life. But, for a change, stretch out your hand and strike his bone and flesh, and he will surely curse you to your very face.”


- The devil is unable to take Job away from God !


- Thus each time he is more aggressive that shows his powerlessness toward Job !


- And Job shows himself successful toward the devil !


- The devil’s words show his cautiousness toward God !


- But he also wants to show that he knows better than God !


- Does he think he is superior ?


- Can a creature become stronger than his creator ?


- With God, no way !


- With men, yes, we can imagine !


- Because empires are destroyed by others !


- And nature is stronger than men !


- Global warming can destroy humanity !

 

[JLGJLG]

266) There is no one like him on the earth and a wealthy farmer


Job 2


Finally his wife said to him: “Are you still holding firmly to your integrity? Curse God and die!” But he said to her: “You are talking like one of the senseless women. Should we accept only what is good from the true God and not accept also what is bad?” In all of this, Job did not sin with his lips.


- Job resists the devil !


- Job resists the loss of all that he has !


- Job resists illness !


- Job resists his wife !


- Job will resist 4 individuals !

- He will show equal to himself !


- He will be blessed to a great extent !


- All of this testifies about his incredible quality of his relationship to God !


- Once again, there is no better example than Job !


- He is FAITHFULNESS PERSONIFIED !


- A MIRROR of what we are or not !

 

[JLGJLG]

267) There is no one like him on the earth and a wealthy farmer


Job 2


Three companions of Job heard about all the calamities that had come upon him, and each came from his own place—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. So they agreed to meet together to go and sympathize with Job and comfort him. When they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. They began to weep loudly and to rip their garments apart, and they threw dust into the air and onto their heads. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.


- What a powerful weapon against Job!


- They are supposed to sympathize with Job and comfort him!


- They weep loudly with him!


- They rip their garments apart!


- They stay with him for seven days and seven nights without speaking!


- But then they keep striking him with their hard words!


- They keep condemning him!


- They will let him have no rest!


- They will keep striking him again and again!


- But they don’t know Job just like the devil!


- And the fight is meaningless!


- Because Job’s relationship to God is too strong and indestructible!

 

[JLGJLG]

268) There is no one like him on the earth and a wealthy farmer


Job 6

“If only my anguish could be fully weighed And put on scales together with my calamity! For now it is heavier than the sands of the seas. That is why my words have been wild talk.


- Job speaks about what he feels!


- And he feels bad!


- He expresses his feelings!


- And when you feel bad you need to tell about!


- Or not!


- Because either you can become a prisoner of a state of mind!


- Or you can free yourself by evacuating the stress through activity!


- In the case of Job, he can also speaks about his state of mind!


- And there is no escape!


- It’s only wild talk!

 

[JLGJLG]

269) There is no one like him on the earth and a wealthy farmer


Job 6

For the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me, And my spirit is drinking their venom; The terrors from God are lined up against me.


- Job has no possibility to evacuate his stress through action!


- Thus he speaks about his feelings!


- And he only speaks about God as the one who is responsible because he is his only reference!


- And also because he can’t speak with him!


- He can only ask him for help!


- But there is no answer!


- So it must have been really frustrating from Job!


- Because he doesn’t understand anything!


- And in fact, with what he knows there is nothing to understand!

- So he is trapped!

 

[JLGJLG]

270) There is no one like him on the earth and a wealthy farmer


Job 6


O that my request would be realized And that God would grant my desire! That God would be willing to crush me, And that he would reach out his hand and do away with me! For even that would bring me comfort; I would leap for joy despite the unrelenting pain, For I have not denied the sayings of the Holy One.


- Feeling trapped, Job finds only one escape: DEATH!


- But he can’t imagine killing himself!


- And it doesn’t matter how bad he feels, he can’t commit suicide!


- But he wants God to kill him!


- Then he will feel COMFORT!


- Then he will feel JOY!


- But he will never speak against God!


- His ideas are clear and will keep clear!

 

[JLGJLG]

271) There is no one like him on the earth and a wealthy farmer


Job 6


- We see a man with incredible knowledge and experience!


- We see a man with an incredible state of mind!


- We see a man who has an incredible relationship with God which is so difficult for us to understand because the way we live and the society in which we live are so far away from God!


- And understanding this incredible relationship is the only way to understand why the devil decided to attack it and provoke God!


- And nothing was said about Job’s life when he recovered!


- We can imagine that such an experience has increased Job’ s knowledge and experience!

 

[JLGJLG]

272) There is no one like him on the earth and a wealthy farmer


Job 7

Thus I have been assigned months of futility And nights of misery have been counted out for me. When I lie down I ask, ‘When will I get up?’ But as the night drags on, I toss restlessly until the dawning of the day. My flesh is covered with maggots and clods of dirt; My skin is full of scabs and pus. My days go by more quickly than a weaver’s shuttle, And they come to an end without hope.


- Job is able to speak about his physical condition!


- His conclusion is simple: there is no hope!


- He is still alive but half alive half dead!

- And he is only a shadow of himself!


- So yes, the devil is striking him very hard!


- So he is just waiting for death!


- How would we react to such a situation?


- He was alone in front of illness!


- And he wasn’t able to struggle!


- Except with words!

 

[JLGJLG]

273) There is no one like him on the earth and a wealthy farmer


Job 7


Remember that my life is wind, That my eye will never again see happiness. The eye that sees me now will see me no more; Your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone. Like a cloud that fades and vanishes, The one who goes down to the Grave does not come back up. He will not return again to his house, And his place will acknowledge him no more.


- Job is used to action!


- He was in charge of many people and animals!


- He had to organize everything!


- Having nothing to do is something really difficult to do with when you are used to action!


- And now he is waiting for death!


- Really different from his past life!


- And he is only thinking about death!


- So he prefers to be dead!


- Of course, it’s different when you know you are going to die but you can be active and do things!


- Then you can do as much as you want!

 

[JLGJLG]

274) There is no one like him on the earth and a wealthy farmer


Job 7


Therefore, I will not restrain my mouth. I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in my bitter distress!


- If Job can’t be active, at least he can speak!


- And the three individuals are coming to oppose him!


- And he will fight back!


- Because he is not someone who can stay calm!


- He needs to defend himself and his honor!


- And he will keep calling for God!


- Because he is waiting to defend himself in front of God!


- And this hope gives him strength to keep fighting!

 

[JLGJLG]

275) There is no one like him on the earth and a wealthy farmer


Job 7


When I say, ‘My couch will comfort me; My bed will help ease my misery,’ Then you terrify me with dreams And frighten me with visions, So that I would choose suffocation, Yes, death rather than this body of mine. I loathe my life; I do not want to go on living. Leave me alone, for my days are like a breath.


- The devil is always active against Job!


- He doesn’t want him to rest!


- He uses visions to terrify him!


- It works against Job!

- But it doesn’t work on Job because he keeps faithful to God!


- Whatever the devil does, he fails!


- Job will never speak against God!


- Of course, he can say that God is fighting against him!


- Because he doesn’t know the devil is striking him!


- But his faithfulness has no limit!


- And the devil can’t understand that!


- That’s why there is no one like him on the earth!

 

[JLGJLG]

276) There is no one like him on the earth and a wealthy farmer


Job 7

What is mortal man that you should concern yourself with him And fix your attention on him? Why do you inspect him every morning And test him every moment? Will you not look away from me And leave me alone long enough to swallow my saliva? If I have sinned, how could I harm you, the Observer of mankind? Why have you made me your target? Have I become a burden to you?


- How difficult it is when we don’t know what’s on?


- But at the same time, it is difficult when we know what man is doing but there is nothing we can do to stop his foolishness!


- It is difficult to wait and see the situation getting worse and worse!


- Knowing that the only possibility is to wait for God to put an end to this old dying world!


- Then maybe we can think again to Job’s situation and think about today’s situation!