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Before we go on with this sermon in the series of the names of God, I want to project forward a little bit. What is the name of God when you pray? Whether it be the Father or whatever name you use, what is the important thing in worshiping God? How does God hear our prayers? He hears our prayers; we know that!
I’m going to project forward a little bit because apparently, even in The Bible Advocate, they have an article on The Names of God and Should You Use the Names of God? Even in there they did not give the ‘huh’ pronunciation for the name of Jesus. Jesus should be pronounced: Hey-zeus or Hey-zoo. Some people think that that’s another name for Zeus. It’s just a word that means Joshua. That’s all Jesus means. Joshua was the one who took the Israelites into the ‘promised land.’ When it gets down to it, what if:
- you had everything, exactly, perfectly, correct?
- you had the proper pronunciation?
- everything was the way it should be?
but
- your heart wasn’t right?
Obviously then, God wouldn’t answer.
You know the situation about the woman and Jesus and so forth, John 4:23: “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth; for the Father is indeed seeking those who worship Him in this manner.”
That’s a very interesting statement, especially when He emphasizes and says, ‘the true worshipers.’ Could there be false worshipers? Sure! There could be false worshipers. If it were all worshipers, He would just say, ‘and the worshipers of God.’ Here He says, there are “…true worshipers…” and they “…shall worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth.”
He’s also indicating to the woman at the well that when they worshiped the Father in their mountain of Samaria, they were false worshipers of the Father. The Jews used to tell them that you had to go to Jerusalem to worship. He’s saying that the ‘true worshipers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth for the Father seeks such to worship Him.’
Verse 24: “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and in Truth.”
- When you worship God in Spirit, how does the name go to God?
- What is communicated to God?
- Is there something that is communicated to God that you can’t fathom or think of?
I always get a kick out of when someone comes talking about speaking in tongues. Remember, there’s more than one side to the Truth. You can have part of it which is true, but that doesn’t mean there’s another part that is not also true. How many ‘one-siders’ are there that come and believe they are the only ones to have the Truth? That’s where you build cults and all of these things. That’s where you lead off in error because of Truth. That sounds a little contradictory, but it’s true.
Romans 8:18: “For I reckon... [or calculate] ...that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.” This is very appropriate for what we’re going to cover today and we’ll also cover some of the things that happened to Job.
Verse 19: “For the earnest expectation of the creation itself is awaiting the manifestation of the sons of God.” This is all of creation. Everything that God has created.
Verse 20: “Because the creation was subjected to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who subjected it in hope, in order that the creation itself might be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that all the creation is groaning together and travailing together until now. And not only that, but even we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit...” (vs 20-23). How do we communicate with God? Obviously, with His Holy Spirit!
I don’t know exactly how that works. I don’t want to draw a diagram and say, ‘Okay. Here’s a person and here’s God’s Spirit flowing in and out of you. Kind of like it would be a magnetic field or something.’ I don’t think it’s that way but it does say in Rom. 1 about from ‘faith to faith’—God’s faith to us, our faith back to Him, His faith to us and so forth.
“...also groan within ourselves, awaiting the sonship—the redemption of our bodies. For by hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is not hope; for why would anyone still be hoping for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we ourselves wait for it with patience. Now in the same way also, the Spirit is conjointly helping our weaknesses...” (vs 23-26). Can a person have a lot of different infirmities? Sure, they can! Whether they’re physical—the body. the eyes, hand, foot—or just general weakness in the flesh
“...because we do not fully understand what we should pray for, according as it is necessary, but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groaning that cannot be expressed by us.” (v 26).
A lot of the ‘tongues’ people will turn there and say that this is proof that you ought to, in the spirit, speak in tongues. However, this is telling me that if you’re truly going to speak in the spirit to God, that is something that you cannot utter. To utter something means: it can be heard. We’re talking about something that cannot be heard. Which then raises the whole question: If this how God helps us with praying—which it says it does—the Spirit:
- makes intercession for us
- helps us with our infirmities
—and that can be not knowing how to pray as we ought to; that’s part of it—
- not using or pronouncing the right name of God exactly correctly
The Spirit makes intercession for us with groaning that cannot be uttered. In other words, it’s beyond what you are able to say!
What does this mean? When you pray, you pray with all your heart, mind, soul and being, which you do, you know that God will answer your prayer, which He does. In what language does that prayer come to God? It can’t be uttered! I can’t tell you; I don’t know! It doesn’t say! That’s why you have to worship God in Spirit and in Truth.
In other words, your attitude has to be one of being converted, yielded to God and that you are seeking God in His Truth. That what you’re doing is done in Truth:
- not in hypocrisy
- not for a show
- not for something that needs to be done for a little report card type of thing
It has to be of the heart. Really, when you get down to it, that’s why He says right here in the same chapter that we cry unto God, ‘Abba, Father.’
I’m just projecting forward what the final conclusion will be. This puts it into the realm that what God is interested in is our heart and mind. It goes back to the first commandment, you shall love the LORD your God:
- with all your heart; that means every bit of your emotion
- with all your mind; that means every thought that you have, bringing every thought into captivity to God
- with all your soul; that’s the whole reason why you’re living
- with all your strength; whether you have a lot or a little
Who has any strength when compared to God? What’s the difference? Look at some of these weight lifters. They can lift how many hundreds and hundreds of pounds? The best we could do is go out and lift maybe 100 or 150 pounds, if we really strained maybe 200 pounds. What’s the difference to God? That doesn’t mean anything to God!
We’re going to see with Job that you can live according to the will of God, the commandments of God, and still miss the mark—if your heart and attitude are not right. That’s the whole key!
EL SHADDAI: The Pourer Forth or God Almighty.
We’ll learn a little bit of the lesson of Abram.
from: The Names of God In Holy Scripture by Andrew Jukes.
pg 71—This was the lesson Abram learned from the revelation of the name El Shaddai.
He was doing God’s will with Hagar and Ishmael. He thought he was doing the will of God because the child did come from himself. It also had to come from Sarai. That’s why Abram’s name was changed.
This is the lesson we must all learn if we, too, are to know God as Almighty, able to fulfill His purpose in us—from the fruitless Abrams to make us Abrahams—that is: the fathers of a multitude. From the pourer out of His own Spirit, we must receive that Spirit which will make us give up ourselves in all things...
If you’re going to ‘love God with all your heart, mind, soul and being,’ then you are giving up yourself in all things. What happens when you give up yourself in all things? Don’t let the giving up of yourself to God become a tool of leverage that other people can use to take advantage of your faith so that they can use and manipulate it for their own ends. If you give up of your whole self, what then? The ultimate is that you’re going to be filled with the fullness of God! You’re really gaining. What looks like a loss is really a gain.
...and that Spirit, though freely given, we receive only in the measure that we are emptied of all self-will and self-confidence [vanity]. Thus are the elect made fruitful. As long as we lack this breath of God or Spirit of God, though heirs of the promise, we will struggle on for our own will, and even in our efforts to gain the promise—as in Abram’s dealing with Hagar—we are really crossing Yahweh.
When He reveals Himself as the One Who gives Himself, and His own life to us, and by grace we drink into His Spirit—that the renewing of the Holy Spirit, which He sheds forth abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior—then the creature’s will is yielded to God and indeed becomes one with God’s will; and therefore, can do what He will, both in us and with us. Thus, God gives Himself to us...
God has required the same thing of Himself. God, in the form of Jesus Christ:
- emptied Himself
- gave up Himself
- became a human being
What did He do? He poured forth Himself and His blood! It’s really fantastic!
...just in measure as we give ourselves to Him. Thus, His Almightiness comes to us in what appears to be our helplessness.
We can see many examples of that, where a person is helpless. If they are truly yielding to God, then ‘God is made perfect through our weakness.’
The less of self, the more of God and the one and only thing needed on man’s part to receive all this Almightiness is the faith to yield one’s self to God and to let Him do what He will with us.
Gen. 18:12[transcriber’s correction] is where Sarah laughed when God came and said, ‘Next year at this time you’re going to have a child.’ She laughed. What was His answer? ‘Is anything too difficult for the Lord?’ No, nothing!
Luke 18:18: “And a certain ruler asked Him, saying, ‘Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good except One—God’” (vs 18-19).
Note John 2:24[transcriber’s correction]: “But Jesus did not entrust Himself to them, because He knew all men; and He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man” (vs 24-25).
We know that that has to do with ‘the law of sin and death.’ That’s why He didn’t call Himself ‘good,’ and yet, He was perfect. You see how God works on that? Even though Jesus was perfect, He didn’t let anyone call Him good.
Luke 18:20: “You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery. You shall not commit murder. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. Honor your father and your mother.’” He’s summing up those things which have to do with the society around us. Think about what’s happening with the society today—just the things that have already taken place—all these mass murders and teenage killings.
It says in Genesis that the heart of man is evil from his youth up. When you start analyzing—‘as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of man’—maybe they were dealing where all the young people were ending up just like they are now:
- murderers
- treacherous
- roaming around in gangs
- killing
- hacking
- slaughtering
I tell you it’s something!
In the paper, this one boy—they couldn’t figure out why he did it—hacked to death his mom, dad, and sister. He called the kids at school and the stupid kids at school didn’t tell anybody until finally, the rumor spread around. They went out and checked and sure enough...! You know what happened? He filled his head full of this really terrible, punk music. His dad didn’t want him to do it. He went out and:
- shaved the sides of his head
- put on this spike thing
- dyed it black
- came back and hacked up the family
It is miserable! it is evil! You get into all of that rock music. When you have freedom, freedom must be held in a responsible way. Freedom does not mean:
- now you have license to destroy
- now you have license to kill
- now you have license to blow anything into your mind that you want to
I remember some time back I went into a restaurant. They had this music going and some girl singing. It was talking about dying: ‘Come to the river of death, to the river of death.’ It was saying: ‘Dead, dead.’
The manager came up and said, ‘Where would you like to sit.’ I said, ‘Please put me somewhere that I don’t have to hear that music! I don’t want to come into a restaurant to get something to eat and hear about dying! ‘
Can you imagine what that does subliminally to people in their minds and in their hearts? It’s setting them up. I see this society going to become more and more disintegrated and more and more people are going to take things into their own hands. I tell you, it’s something!
Jesus, in this parable, was telling them, ‘You know the commandments.’ If society would follow this one verse—just this one verse—how much better would this world be?
Verse 21: “And he said, ‘I have kept all these commandments from my youth.’ And after hearing these things, Jesus said to him, ‘You still lack one thing; sell everything that you have, and distribute to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come and follow Me” (vs 21-22). We’re going to see a little later that Job lacked something. He did!
Verse 23: But when he heard these things, he became very sorrowful; for he was quite rich. Now, when Jesus saw him become so sorrowful, He said, ‘How difficult it is for those who have riches to enter into the Kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through an eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God’” (vs 23-25).
Why? Because he loves his riches more than he loves God, that’s why. You can’t enter into the Kingdom of God unless you love God with all your heart, mind, soul and being.
Verse 26: “And those who heard this said, ‘Who then is able to be saved?’ But He said, ‘The things that are impossible with men are possible with God’” (vs 26-27). There’s nothing impossible with God!
This is what the angel Gabriel told Mary when she said, ‘How is this going to be?’ Luke 1:37: “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” Immediately we have one of these ‘seeming contradictions.’ Remember, it says, ‘It’s impossible for God to lie.’ Here it says that nothing is impossible for God! Why is it impossible for God to lie? Because God is Almighty and lying is weakness! It is not ‘true being.’ If He has a weakness, then He’s not Almighty. Therefore, God cannot lie. It’s impossible for God to lie because He’s Almighty! God can do anything! Nothing is impossible to God to carry out His will!
There’s something that we have to do. We have to have our part in belief. Just like it’s in Spirit and in Truth, but it also has to be in belief. You know the whole account in Matt. 17. Jesus came down off the Mount of Transfiguration. The disciples had been trying to cast this demon out of this boy that threw him sometimes in the water and sometimes in a fire. The father came, as we see in the account in Luke 9, where Jesus asked him, ‘Do you believe?’ and the father said, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe but help my unbelief!’
Matthew 17:19: “Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why were we not able to cast it out?’…. [cast out the demon] ...And Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your unbelief. For truly I say to you, if you have faith as a tiny mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, “Remove from here,” and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you’” (vs 19-20).
If we have that belief, those things can be done. However, we have to add in here that it has to also be according to the will of God. You’re not going to go around and create earthquakes around the world—instead of being a Johnny Appleseed and throwing apple seeds all over the place, you become ‘Johnny Mountainthrower’—walking around and commanding mountains to go here and there. You might hit the wrong person. God isn’t going to let that happen.
Verse 21: “But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
Belief/Faith:
Let’s talk a little bit about Abraham, belief and why this came to Abraham. When he was Abram, he was trying to do the will of God, which was not contrary. It wasn’t to the letter but it was the will of God, he thought. He didn’t have a complete understanding of how God was going to do this. When he did have the complete understanding on how God was going to do this, his name was changed from Abram to Abraham. God’s will was placed within the name of Abraham—the ‘h’ from Yahweh. Abraham believed!
Romans 4:13: “For the promise to Abraham, or to his seed, that he should be heir of the world... [this tells us that he knew a little bit more about the promise of God than what we read in Genesis] ...was not given through law; rather, it was through the righteousness of faith.”
That’s why Ishmael did not receive the promise. That was accomplished by the will of the flesh, the law of the flesh. God did not tell Abraham, ‘If you keep my commandments then I will do this to you.’ No! He said, ‘I want you! Your whole self, your whole being.’ It wasn’t just a law.
Verse 14: “Because if those of the law be the heirs, then faith is made void, and the promise is made of no effect. For the law works out wrath; because where no law is, there is no transgression. For this reason it is of faith, in order that it might be by grace, to the end that the promise might be certain to all the seed—not to the one who is of the law only, but also to the one who is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, (exactly as it is written: ‘I have made you a father of many nations.’)...” (vs 14-17). That was before Isaac was even born. The Almighty has the ability to fulfill His will! He said you are the “…father of many nations…” before Abraham even had Isaac.
“...before God in Whom he believed, Who gives life to the dead, and calls the things that are not as though they are; and who against hope believed in hope, in order that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, ‘So shall your seed be’” (vs 17-18).
Verse 19: “And he, not being weak in the faith, considered not his own body, already having become dead, being about one hundred years old, nor did he consider the deadness of Sarah’s womb.” You see how easy it would have been to believe, if Abraham and Sarah were married at say ages 25 and 20, and God said, ‘I’m going to bless you and have children.’ Nope! God takes something that is not and He’s looking at it as to what it will be.
We know several who have infirmities of their bodies to where they almost are not. Their weaknesses are such that it’s very tragic. What is God going to do to bless them, that is going to go way beyond anything they could ever have in their fondest hopes, dreams and imaginations, that they could imagine to have right now in this life? God is looking at the things the way that they’re going to be.
Verse 20: “And he did not doubt the promise of God through unbelief; rather, he was strengthened in the faith, giving glory to God; for he was fully persuaded that what He has promised, He is also able to do” (vs 20-21)—because He was El Shaddai! God Almighty!
- able to carry out His will
- able to pour forth His promise
- able to bring all of those things to pass
Blessings:
pg. 72—Abram is witness that by the sacrifice of self through receiving God blessings come down on others who are yet far off. All the kindreds of the earth are blessed in the elect.
Remember what God promised him? When He called him, He said, ‘Abram, get you up out your father’s house and out of your country and you go to the place where I say and I will bless you, and in you shall all the nations of the earth be blessed!’ That’s what God intended.
- What happens with blessings?
- What can you do with a blessing?
You can turn it into a curse and that’s what we’ve done! That’s why we’re going to pay the penalty on it. Every blessing that can be, can be a curse, if you don’t use the blessing according to the will of God!
When he can give himself and his strength and his life and all that he has to God that Yahweh’s will, so long crossed, may have its way every place. Such is the lesson of the name of El Shaddai and it’s connection with circumcision—that is: the self-judgment of the elect—...
We’ve heard of the circumcision that is in Christ, which is the changing of the carnal mind to a spiritual mind. That’s part of it, but what happens with that? The flesh then counts nothing. You become something different.
...and with the higher fruitfulness, which at once results from it. It’s subsequent use in the Holy Scriptures only illustrate the same great Truth that God, by giving Himself and His life to us, can make us like Himself—givers of ourselves and our lives first to Him, and then by Him to others.
It shows how the name of God Almighty is demonstrated in and through that.
Let’s just summarize the final blessing that God gave to the children of Israel. We’ll see the name of God Almighty used in the pouring forth and the giving out of every blessing. Here’s the blessing of all the sons of Jacob, which that included Ephraim and Manasseh. Here’s what He said about Joseph.
Genesis 49:22: “‘Joseph is a fruitful bough... [the ‘Pourer Forth,’ the One Who brings forth fruitfulness, that comes from God] ...a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall. The archers have fiercely attacked him and have shot at him, and hated him’” (vs 22-23). Have you wondered why everyone hates America and Britain? They hate us! The Russians who bring:
- communism
- war
- starvation
- death
Praised! We Americans come and try and bring:
- decency
- food
- democracy
and we’re hated and cursed!
Verse 24: “But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob—from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel—by the God of your father, Who shall help you. And may the Almighty...” (vs 24-25). El Shaddai, the Almighty!
“...bless you... [Remember the pouring forth of blessing? Shaddai comes from the Hebrew ‘shad’ which means blessed. The pouring forth of the ‘milk of God’] ...with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb. The blessings of your father are greater than the blessings of my ancestors, to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him, the ruler, the leader who was separated from his brothers” (vs 25-26). That’s a mighty, mighty, mighty promise!
- take each phrase of that
- think about that
- separate it out
- go over it again
That is really a fantastic blessing. It shows how God is able to ‘pour forth!’ What happened to Joseph before he could receive those blessings?
- he was sold off
- his father was told that he was dead
- spent some time in prison falsely accused
then in one day
- he was raised to be second in charge of the whole land of Egypt; second only to the Pharaoh
If God is going to pour something in, then something has to be poured out. That being poured out is the self. Through tragedy and calamity, if the person is right with God, God will make tremendous blessings come forth, as a result. The self is poured out and then the blessings of God can be poured in!
Trials:
I want to cover one thing in the book of Ruth to show the trials and afflictions that come from the Almighty. Naomi[transcriber’s correction] and her husband left to go to the land of Moab:
- he died
- their two sons died
- life was miserable
Her two daughters-in-law were from Moab. She told her two daughters-in-law, who were Moabites, ‘You stay here in your country. There’s nothing for you back in Judah.’ One daughter-in-law—Ruth—stayed with Naomi and said, ‘I’ll go where you go. Your God is my God.’ She attached herself to Naomi. When they came back they went to Bethlehem
Ruth 1:19: “And both of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they had come to Bethlehem, all the city was moved concerning them, and they said, ‘Is this Naomi?’ And she said to them, ‘Do not call me Naomi, call me Mara. For the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me” (vs 19-20).
There are going to be times when you know people, or maybe in your own life, when God is going to have you pour out yourself—before He can pour something in—is going to have to deal with you pretty firmly, pretty harshly.
Naomi lost her husband and her two sons. God “…dealt very bitterly with me.” She even told her two daughters-in-law, ‘If you come with me into the land of Judah, I’m too old to have children. Even if I could have children, you wouldn’t want to wait for them to grow up to be your husbands, would you?’ It was a pretty bitter thing. Everything was gone! Everything was lost!
Verse 21: “I went out full, and the LORD has brought me back empty...” You can almost read between the lines. ‘Yeah, Who is this Almighty? If He’s Almighty, why am I so down and out and rotten and miserable?’ Sometimes people feel that way about God. There’d be times when maybe even you’d go through a trial that that’s the way it looks to you.
I’m not going to tell you to ‘cheer up’ in your bitterness because if that’s what it is, it’s awfully hard to be cheerful at that point. Nevertheless, see it through a little further.
“‘...Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?’ So, Naomi returned; and Ruth, the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, was with her, returning out of the fields of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest” (vs 21-22).
God intervened and you know the rest of the story. Ruth ended up marrying Boaz and he was one of the progenitors of David. God worked it out. Regardless of how the circumstances may appear, God is going to work things out!
In the book of Job, the name El Shaddai, or Almighty, or Almighty God, is used 31 times. In the book of Revelation it is used 8 times. The book of Revelation shows God as the ‘Pourer Forth,’ the Almighty Who pours forth all the plagues, the wrath of God. Then the tremendous blessings, and it ends up with new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven.
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Some time back, I was reading Job in the New English Bible and that’s a good one to read it in because it’s all in modern English. If you go through and read it, you’ll see every argument and reasoning that is possible that human beings would do against or for God, or the philosophies back and forth. You can just pick them out. It is really quite something.
I heard just a little bit of this on The Jim Easton Show. He had some fellow from The Atheist Foundation and he was advertising the X-rated Bible. He was talking about some things that God was doing. The Bible is a trap for someone who doesn’t believe. It’s a trap! Just like this thing: It’s impossible/it’s not impossible. That’s a trap.
Jim Easton kept saying, ‘The Bible says that anyone whose an atheist is a fool—isn’t that right? The guy said, ‘Yeah, that’s right.’ He kind of got back at him a little bit. If you don’t believe, the Bible is a two-edged sword. It’s going to get you one way or another. So it is with Job.
Lessons from Job:
Job was perfect; he was very righteous; the greatest man in the east.
Job 1:1 “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job.... [don’t ask me were Uz was because I don’t know] ...And that man was blameless and upright...” The first mistake that someone always makes is this: If you are perfect, you’re only going to be blessed. You’re going to have it nice, easy and smooth. If you’re perfect, nothing will go wrong. Isn’t that what most people bring to the book of Job? Most people do!
“...and one who feared God and turned aside from evil. And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters. And his possessions also were seven thousand sheep and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred female donkeys, and a very great household, so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east” (vs 1-3).
Not some little ‘piker’ we’re talking about. We’re talking about a great man. Whether he built the pyramid or not, I don’t know. I don’t know if Egypt was considered the land of the east. Since there’s so much history revealed in Egypt that we have access to today, I haven’t come across anything that shows Uz ; the land of Uz.
Verse 4: “And his sons went and feasted in their houses, each one on his day.... [Some say that this may be on their birthdays. I don’t know.] ...And they sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And when the days of feasting were concluded, Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, ‘It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.’ Thus Job continually did so” (vs 4-5).
Not only was he righteous, but he was diligent to have preventive righteous maintenance. He did it every day. I’m going to carry out the will of God. There’s still a trap in that. You know what happened. Satan came around and God said:
Verse 8: “And the LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil?’ And Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘Does Job fear God for nothing?’” (vs 8-9). Every man has his price! Now you know why we go through trials.
- Do we have our price?
- What is our price?
I don’t want to be turned over into Satan’s hands. No way!
Verse 10: “Have You not made a hedge around him, and around his house, and around all that he has on every side?.…” You’ve placed Your blessing around. It’s worth it to him. Therefore, success begets success, blessing begets blessing, and if everything’s going right, you can afford to be nice. Isn’t that true?
- What happens when the going gets a little tough?
- What happens if you’re frustrated?
- What happens when your temper is brought to a short length?
“‘...You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth Your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse You to Your face.’ And the LORD said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your power. Only do not lay your hand upon him.’ And Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD” (vs 10-12).
You know what happened. Disaster after disaster! On one day:
- the Sabeans came
- the fire came
- his sons died
- his daughters died
One servant was able to come back and tell the story that happened.
Verse 20: “And Job arose, and tore his robe, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.’ In all this Job did not sin, nor charge God foolishly” (vs 20-22).
He could take that. Satan came around again. God says, ‘Look at Job. He hasn’t done what you said.’
Job 2:3: “And the LORD said unto Satan, ‘Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil? And still he is holding fast to his integrity, although you moved Me against him to destroy him without cause.’’”
Here is the doctor’s motto: Verse 4: “And Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘Skin for skin, yea, all that a man has he will give for his life. But indeed put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse You to Your face.’ And the LORD said to Satan, ‘Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.’ And Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the top of his head.” (vs 4-7).
That must have been absolutely painful. Poor Job! That’s why there’s only one Job. I wouldn’t want to go through what he went through. It’s bad enough. We go around and can hardly make it when we’re all stuffed up with the flu, or a cold, or whatever and we’re lying in bed and miserable. Here’s old Job: boils and painful sores festering and coming to a head! That’s when they’re painful. You got to get the core out of those things. It’s miserable! I had one boil one time and I like to died! Job is covered with them, “…from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.”
Verse 8: “And he took a broken piece of pottery to scrape himself with. And he sat down among the ashes.... [Poor, wretched guy!] (Here’s his encouraging wife): ...And his wife said to him, ‘Do you still hold to your integrity? Curse God and die!’” (vs 8-9).
That always happens. Right in the middle of a trial somebody’s got to say something. If you’re a husband, your wife does, if you’re a wife, your husband does—got to say some dumb thing!
Verse 10: “But he said to her, ‘You speak as one of the foolish women speak. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips. Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, and they each one came from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. For they had met together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him. And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and did not recognize him, they lifted up their voices and wept....” vs 10-12). You can imagine this. Here’s old Job:
- sitting out on the ash heap
- brushing away the flies
- scraping with a potsherd, runny, gooey boils and scabs
Painful! When you have a scab and move it, it’s even worse. Picking up the ashes. You have to throw up the ashes to keep the flies away.
If you see any of those pictures from the Middle East, flies are around. They’re terrible! I saw a documentary on what they were doing in North Yemen. North Yemen is one of those little kingdoms where they are still back in the 1100s, except they found oil there. Now it’s changing. They had one Sultan who ruled all of North Yemen and he was fierce, mean, terrible man. He worshiped Allah. Any medication was against god. So, here were all these flies. It showed how the flies would come and crawl all over the kids.
One-fourth of the population is blind because of what happened with the flies trying to drink the water out of the eyes. The flies get up in the corner of the eyes; these poor kids, flies all over them. After a while, you get tired of batting the flies. They just sat there completely helpless with all these flies.
When I was reading this, I was thinking what it must have been like with Job sitting there throwing the ashes. Terrible, painful, miserable thing and here come his friends. It was so bad, all they could do was lift up their voices and weep.
“...And each one tore his robe, and they threw dust upon their heads toward heaven. And they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights. And no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great” (vs 12-13).
The next time you go through a trial, read that. You’re going to realize that what you’re going through is not quite all that bad. Poor Job!
Job 3:1: “After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.” Now his attitude has changed! The long and short of it is because ‘the law of sin and death’ is in us. He just had a higher, or lower, breaking point than someone else. That’s all. However you want to look at it; however you want to measure, up or down. He really lambasted the day that he was born!
He takes off speaking and his friends answer him back. One of them says, trying to encourage him—someone always does this and it really never helps:
Job 5:17: “Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects....” What a terrible time to say that! It’s humorous to sit here and look at it, but when this guy said it, here’s Job sitting out there miserable throwing the ashes and dust and scraping and his friends are all done crying. They’re trying to sit here and philosophically go through it. Isn’t that what happens every time you go through a trial? You go and philosophically try and understand this trial. Somebody, in the pit of their trial, always says, ‘Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects.’ Happiness comes afterward.
“‘...Therefore, do not despise the chastening of the Almighty [El Shaddai]. For He makes sore, and binds up; He wounds, and His hands make whole’” (vs 17-18). Then Eliphaz says, ‘Job, if you’d been doing right, God would have delivered you out of these seven things.’
Job 6:1: “And Job answered and said, ‘Oh, that my grief were but weighed... [you miserable wretches can’t understand anything] ...and my calamity laid in the balances together! For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea; therefore my words have been rash. For the arrows of the Almighty are within me... [The Pourer Forth was having Job pour forth himself!] ...my spirit is drinking up their poison. The terrors of God do set themselves against me” (vs 1-4).
Verse 9: “Even that it would please God to destroy me; that He would loose His hand and cut me off!” Still, he didn’t curse God! All through it, in the whole thing, he still didn’t curse God. Just didn’t do it. We can get bogged down in all of these philosophical arguments. It’s fantastic reading in that New English Bible version.
Job 8:1[transcriber’s correction]: “And Bildad the Shuhite answered and said, ‘How long will you speak these things, since the words of your mouth are like a strong wind? Does God pervert justice?.… [No!] Or does the Almighty pervert that which is right? If your sons have sinned against Him, and if He has cast them away for their transgression; if you would seek earnestly to God... [when you’re supposed to, Job] ...and make your supplication to the Almighty; if you were pure and upright, surely now He would awake for you, and make the dwelling place of your righteousness prosperous’” (vs 1-6).
That’s the way that people think. If you’re perfect God’s going to do nothing but good for you. Job, you must not have been perfect, because look at all this terrible stuff that’s coming upon you.
After some more arguing, Job 9:20: “If I justify myself, my own mouth shall condemn me; though I am blameless, He shall declare me perverse. Though I were blameless, yet, I would not know myself. I would despise my life. It is all one; therefore, I said ‘He is consuming the blameless and the wicked’” (vs 20-22). Wait a minute! That’s not a true statement! Just because you’re going through a trial doesn’t mean God kills the righteous and the wicked. You’re going through a trial!
Verse 31: “You will plunge me into the ditch and my own clothes shall despise me. For He is not a man, as I am, that I should answer Him, that we should come together in court; there is no umpire between us, who might lay his hand upon us both” (vs 31-33).
In words, and in some ways, it sounded like Job’s a pretty humble guy. But in attitude, he’s getting to the point where he’s saying, ‘There needs to be someone here to mediate between God and me.’
Verse 34: “Let Him take His rod away from me, and let not His fear make me afraid; then would I speak and not fear Him; but it is not so with me” (vs 34-35).
Some more of the arguments going on and Job answering and this thing builds up more and more.
Job 13:1: “‘Lo, my eye has seen all this, my ear has heard and understood it. What you know, I know also; I am not inferior to you. Notwithstanding I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue my case before God. But you are forgers of lies; you are all worthless physicians. Oh, that you would stop speaking entirely!.… [Shut up! Hold your peace!] ...And it would be your wisdom. Hear now my reasoning, and listen to the pleadings of my lips.” (vs 1-6).
Verse 15: “Though He slay me, I will trust in Him; but... [Ah-ha! Now it’s starting to come out!] ...I will maintain my own ways before Him.” There it is. That’s the first heart and core. Look how long it took to finally get Job to admit that: “…I will maintain my own ways before Him.”
Job 15:1: “And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, ‘Should a wise man answer with vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind? Should he reason with unprofitable talk, or with speeches, which can do no good? Yea, you do away with fear, and hinder prayer before God’” (vs 1-4). He’s saying, ‘Yeah, Job you really turn your back on God.’
Verse 5: “For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the tongue of the crafty. Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; yea, your own lips testify against you” (vs 5-6). He’s really creating enemies.
Job 16:1: “And Job answered and said, ‘I have heard many such things. Miserable comforters are you all!’” (vs 1-2) You’re just a bunch of miserable guys.
We’re going to learn the whole lesson that’s here. You can’t solve the problems unless you do it God’s way! You can sit down and have long arguments. I’ve had long arguments with people over religion. When you get stuck on something that you know that’s right and you know it’s right, you’re going to keep at it until you make the other person admit you’re right. They’re going to keep after it until they make you admit that they’re right. Round and around and around!
Here’s Job: All these guys coming and saying, ‘Job, really secretly, you’re a louse! You’re a dirty rat! You’re a sinner but you won’t admit it!’ Verse 3: “Is there no end to windy words? Or what provokes you that you should answer?” He really lambasted them.
The book of Job is the most detailed account of human nature, things of God and things of human beings, than anything else. Read Job and go through it yourself. I’ll have to admit that the first time that I read the book of Job I was at Ambassador College and I really thought God was wrong. When I got to the end—going through all of this, I could see the end—but I really thought God was wrong in bringing the trials; after all, Job was a perfect man!
Of course, now I understand it more. You can even take the righteousness of the Law, in the letter, and you can be perfect in it, but unless your heart is right, unless your relationship between you and God is right, it doesn’t matter!
Eliphaz answered again and says, Job 22:3: “Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous, or is it a gain to Him that you make your ways blameless?” He goes on saying that Job is really a sinner.
Verse 23: “If you return to the Almighty, you shall be built up; you shall put away unrighteousness far from your tabernacles. Then you shall lay up gold like dust, the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. Yea, the Almighty shall be your gold and you shall have plenty of silver. For then you shall have your delight in the Almighty, and shall lift up your face to God. You shall make your prayer to Him, and He shall hear you, and you shall pay your vows. You shall also decree a thing, and it shall be fulfilled to you; and the light shall shine upon your ways. When they cast you down, then you shall say, ‘A lifting up shall come!’ And He shall save the humble person. He shall deliver even one who is not innocent, yea, you shall be delivered through the cleanness of your hands” (vs 23-30).
Job 23:1: “And Job answered and said, ‘Even today is my complaint bitter; my stroke is heavier than my groaning’” (vs 1-2). Terrible! Poor old guy, it didn’t work out for him.
Job 29 is absolute an amazing chapter. Here’s where Job really let’s go with himself. Here’s where it all comes out. I’m going to emphasize some things here.
Job 29:1: “And Job continued speaking, and said, ‘Oh, that I were as in months past, as in the days when God watched over me; When His lamp shined upon my head; and when I walked through darkness by His light; as I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle when the Almighty was yet with me, and my children were around me; when I washed my steps with butter, and the rock pressed out rivers of oil for me; when I went out to the gate of the city; when I prepared my seat in the square! The young men saw me and hid themselves; and the aged arose and stood up. The rulers refrained from talking, and laid their hands on their mouths’” (vs 1-9). When he walked in the room, they gasped. That was it. What was he longing for? His own self!
Verse 14: “I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a diadem. I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. I was a father to the poor; and the cause, which I did not know, I searched out. I broke the fangs of the wicked, and plucked the prey out of his teeth. Then I said, ‘I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days like the sand’” (vs 14-18).
He’s saying, ‘I’m going to have it nice and I’m going to die in my nest. I’m going to live to a ripe old age because of what I’m doing. Right down to it, here’s the heart and core of all the book of Job.
Verse 19: “My root was spread out to the waters, and the dew lay all night upon my branch. My glory was fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand. They listened to me, and waited, and kept silent at my counsel. After my words they did not speak again... [He really had it—didn’t he?] ...and my speech dropped on them. And they waited for me like the rain; and they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain. I smiled on them when they did not believe; and the light of my countenance they did not cast down. I chose out their way, and sat as chief; and I lived like a king in the army, as one who comforts the mourners” (vs 19-25). He had it all right there, everything! What are you going to do with an attitude like that?
Job is not quite done, yet. You get emboldened. You see what can happen when you’re in an argument. You just go on and on and you defend it. You defend your position. The more you defend it the more you’re convinced you’re right. The more you convinced you’re right, the more you defend it.
Job 31:35: “Oh, that I had one to hear me! Behold, my desire is... [He got it and his attitude changed.] ...that the Almighty would answer me, and the indictment that my adversary had written. Surely I would carry it on my shoulder, and bind it like a crown upon my head. I would declare to Him the number of my steps...” (vs 35-37). I would just lay it all out for him.
Job 32:1: “And these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. Then was kindled the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram. His wrath burned against Job, because he had justified himself rather than God. Also his wrath was kindled against his three friends, because they had found no answer and yet had condemned Job” (vs 1-3).
Verse 6: “And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, ‘I am young, and you are very old; therefore I was afraid, and dared not show you my opinion. I said, “The aged should speak, and the multitude of years should teach wisdom.” But there is a spirit in man and the inspiration of the Almighty gives them understanding. Great men are not always wise; neither do the aged understand justice’” (vs 6-9). All you can say is, ‘Amen, Washington, D.C.!’
There was a political cartoon showing one of the politicians withdrawing from the race. There were five remaining, all dressed in clown’s outfits. It’s so typical. If you think you can accomplish the will of God through politics, forget it!
Elihu continues and he says: Job 33:1: “Wherefore, Job, please hear my speech, and hearken to all my words.” Job’s been beaten down pretty much now—hasn’t he? When Elihu is done then God takes over and that settles the matter. Job got his wish: ‘Oh that God would answer me!’ If you go through a trial, at least think before you say some things because God just may take you up on it. He took the Israelites up on theirs.
Verse 2: “Behold, now I have opened my mouth, my tongue has spoken in my mouth, my words shall be from the uprightness of my heart, and my lips will clearly speak knowledge. The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. If you can, answer me; set yourself in order before me, stand up. Behold, I am according to your wish in God’s stead; I also am formed out of the clay. Behold, my terror shall not make you afraid, and my burden shall not be heavy upon you. Surely you have spoken in my ears, and I have heard the sound of your words, saying, ‘I am pure, without transgression; I am innocent, and there is no iniquity in me’” (vs 2-9). After all, if I’m perfect, why should this be done to me? He’s doing what he thinks is the will of God and what happens? He’s not doing what he should do!
Verse 10: “‘Behold, He finds occasions against me, He counts me as His enemy; He puts my feet in the stocks; He marks all my paths.’ Behold, in this you are not right; I will answer you, for God is greater than man’” (vs 9-12). Those are some wise words.
Elihu continues. Job 34:5 “For Job has said, ‘I am righteous; but God has denied me justice.’”
Verse 10: “Therefore, hearken to me, O you men of understanding; far be it from God to commit iniquity; and from the Almighty, that He should commit iniquity. For the work of a man shall He render unto him, and cause every man to find according to his ways. Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment.” (vs 10-12).
Verse 35: “Job has spoken without knowledge, and his words were without wisdom.” That’s quite a statement. If you don’t yet know as you ought to know! Did Job know certain things? Yes, he did! He was speaking with the wrong kind of knowledge. He spoke without knowledge.
Verse 36: “My desire is that Job may be tried unto the end because his answers are like those of wicked men. For he adds rebellion to his sin; he claps his hands among us, and multiplies his words against God.’” (vs 36-37).
Job 35:1: “And Elihu answered and said, ‘Do you think this to be right, you that say, “My righteousness is more than God’s”?’” (vs 1-2) He maintained himself right to the end. Elihu proceeded further and talked to him more.
Job 38:1: “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, ‘Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?’” (vs 1-2). The first thing that came out: ‘Who is this guy?’ ‘I’m the greatest in the east, Lord!’ No! Job didn’t answer that!
Verse 3: “Now gird up your loins like a man; for I will demand of you, and you shall answer Me.” Then God starts out with His creation:
- Where were you, Job, when I created the earth?
- Where were you when I made the heavens?
- What’s all this nonsense of your great righteousness?
‘You wanted someone to come down here and talk to you, here I am, Job!’
Job 40:1: “And the LORD answered Job and said, ‘Shall he who contends with the Almighty instruct Him?.… [You’re going to instruct me, Job?] ...He who reproves God, let him answer it.’ [here’s Job answer] …And Job answered the LORD and said, ‘Behold, I am vile!.…” (vs 1-3). He finally got it. It finally started getting through his dim brain.
“...What shall I answer You?.… [I’m going to shut my mouth] ...I will lay my hand on my mouth. Once I have spoken; but I will not answer; yea, twice, but I will proceed no further” (vs 3-5). Job said: ‘I’m not going to say another word, LORD!’
Verse 6: “And the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, ‘Gird up your loins now like a man. I will demand of you, and you declare unto Me. Will you even annul My judgment? Will you condemn Me so that you may be righteous?’” (vs 6-8). You condemn God when you say God is not fair.
Verse 9: “And have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His? Deck yourself now with majesty and excellency, and array yourself with glory and beauty. Cast abroad the rage of your wrath; and behold everyone who is proud, and abase him. Look on everyone who is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place. Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in darkness. Then I will also confess to you that your own right hand can save you” (vs 9-14). It can’t!
Here is Job’s repentance. This is what happens to us also: Job 42:1: “And Job answered the LORD and said, ‘I know that You can do all things, and that no thought can be withheld from You’” (vs 1-2). That must have been interesting for God to listen to all those arguments going back and forth between them.
Verse 3: “You asked, ‘Who is he who hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore, I have spoken that which I did not understand… [I was a dumb dodo, LORD. A fool! no good!] ...things too wonderful for me; yea, which I did not know. Hear, I beseech You, and I will speak; You said, “I will ask of you, and you will declare to Me.’ I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You” (vs 3-5). Literally, in the whirlwind, he did see him.
Verse 6: “Therefore, I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” Now, Job was emptied! What happened? He offered a sacrifice for himself and for his three friends! But notice that he didn’t have to offer the sacrifice for Elihu.
Whenever we get to thinking that we know something great and no one else does, God is going to send a little Elihu and he knows something of God, too. Job didn’t have to offer a sacrifice for him. When it was all over, El Shaddai, God Almighty:
- blessed Job with twice as much as he had
- let him live another 70 years, he died at 140
- gave him seven sons and three daughters, and they were the most beautiful women in the world
Many times in the trials we go through, God is emptying us out so He can put Himself in us and bless us! When we go through some of the trials that we do, or others that we know are going through trials, just keep that in mind.
All Scripture from The Holy Bible In Its Original Order, A Faithful Version by Fred R. Coulter.
Scriptural References:
- .John 4:23-24
- .Romans 8:18-26
- .Luke 18:18-19
- .John 2:24-25
- .Like 18:20-27
- .Luke 1:37
- .Matthew 17:19-21
- .Romans 4:13-21
- .Genesis 49:22-26
- .Ruth 1:19-22
- .Job 1:1-5, 8-12, 20-22
- .Job 2:3-13
- .Job 3:1
- .Job 5:17-18
- .Job 6:1-4, 9
- .Job 8:1-6
- .Job 9:20-22, 31-35
- .Job 13:1-6, 15
- .Job 15:1-6
- .Job 16:1-3
- .Job 22:3, 23-30
- .Job 23:1-2
- .Job 29:1-9, 14-25
- .Job 31:35-37
- .Job 32:1-3, 6-9
- .Job 33:1-12
- .Job 34:5, 10-12, 35-37
- .Job 35:1-2
- .Job 38:1-3
- .Job 40:1-14
- .Job 42-1-6
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
- Romans 1
- Genesis 18:12
- Luke 9
Also Referenced:
- Book: The Names of God In Holy Scripture by Andrew Jukes
- Magazine: The Bible Advocate by Church of God (Seventh Day)
FRC: nfs
Transcribed 02-17-14
Proofed: bo—2-19-14
