1.Job was described as “blameless, upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil” (1:1).He was also very blessed with sons, daughters, and possessions (1:2-5).
2.When God spoke well of Job to Satan, Satan attributed Job’s righteousness to God’s blessings (1:6-11).Therefore, God permitted Satan to take Job’s blessings from him to prove him (1:12-19).Even so, “Job did not sin nor did he blame God” (1:22).
3.The second time God spoke to Satan about Job, Satan attributed Job’s righteousness to his health (Job 2:1-5).Therefore, God permitted Satan to take Job’s health from him (2:6-7).
4.The bulk of the book consists of the dialogue between Job and his friends about the cause and meaning of his suffering (chapters 3-37).In heat of the debate, Job made some foolish statements.
5.In the final section of the book, God spoke to Job and demonstrated His righteousness, wisdom, and authority (chapters 38-41).When Job repented and acknowledged God’s sovereignty over him (42:1-6), “the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning” (42:10-17).
B.The story of Job is not only the story of how Job handled adversity, but it is also the story of how he dealt with the unknown.
1.As difficult as Job’s losses and sufferings were, the greatest source of Job’s consternation was the lack of a satisfactory explanation for it all.
2.Job is such a valuable book to us because it demonstrates the need for patience and faith when our sense of justice is violated.In other words, when bad things happen to good people, the book of Job teaches us not to give up on God – “You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful” (Jas. 5:11).
C.With this context in mind, let us consider some specific lessons we can learn from Job’s story.
II.INTEGRITY
A.Throughout Job’s trials, he did not compromise his integrity.
1.Integrity is moral soundness, wholeness, or completeness.
a.It is the quality of being consistently righteous in words and deeds.
b.It is the exact opposite of hypocrisy, which is play-acting and being disingenuous.
2.It was Job’s integrity that received God’s praise and his wife’s rebuke after Job’s first trials.
a.Notice Job 2:3 – “The LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.’”
b.Also notice Job 2:9 – “Then his wife said to him, ‘Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!’”
c.Job’s integrity was demonstrated when he proved to be of the same character after his trials as he was before his trials (compare Job 1:1 to Job 2:3).
B.In the likeness of Job, every Christian must possess the quality of integrity.
1.Every time Christ taught against hypocrisy, He was admonishing his followers to have integrity.
a.The targets of His strongest rebukes were the hypocritical Pharisees, for they had no integrity (see Matt. 23:1-36, esp. v. 3 – “for they say things, and do not do them”).
b.This is why Jesus said, “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:20)
2.Any Christian who believes he can please God without integrity is self-delusional.
a.This is why James wrote, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (Jas. 1:22).
b.Likewise, Paul wrote, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap” (Gal. 6:7).
3.Therefore, we must not compromise our integrity, but rather we must remain unchanged in character even when we face trials.
a.It is easy to be faithful when all is favorable, but it can be difficult when times are hard.
b.We must imitate the example of Jesus, who did not waver in His purpose even when He was dying on the cross (Matt. 27:35-44; 1Pet. 2:21-24).
III.TAKE THE GOOD WITH THE BAD
A.Job accepted his sufferings with the same reverence for God that he had when he accepted his blessings.
1.Notice Job 1:21 – “He said, ‘Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.’”
a.With these words, Job passed Satan’s test, for Satan had contended that Job would curse God to His face when his blessings were taken from him (Job 1:11).
b.Even without God’s hedge about him (Job 1:10), Job still remained true to God.
2.Even when Job’s health was taken and his wife rebuked him, he said, “Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” (Job 2:10).
a.Again, Job proved faithful, for Satan had contended that he would curse God when he lost his health (Job 2:5).
b.Job was willing to accept any fate (wealth or poverty, health or sickness) without wavering in his reverence for God.
B.Likewise, we must be willing to accept both good things and bad things with equal reverence for God.
1.Consider Paul’s attitude of contentment.
a.In Philippians 4:10-13, Paul stated that he had learned the secret of living in prosperity or poverty, and that secret was strength in Christ.
b.In 2Corinthians 12:7-10, Paul said that he was well content with his sufferings, for in his physical weakness he found spiritual strength through Christ.
2.In the likeness of Job and Paul, we must accept any circumstances of life without waving in faith.
a.The true test of spirituality is whether our faith is affected by physical or material things.
b.The truly spiritual person will not be more faithful when he is blessed or less faithful when he suffers.Instead, he will be true to God in every circumstance.
IV.THINGS TOO WONDERFUL FOR US TO KNOW
A.Job had to acknowledge that he had speculated foolishly about things he could not understand.
1.Job did not have the benefit of knowing the events recorded in Job 1:6-12 and 2:1-7.This led to his incorrect and foolish reasoning.
a.Not understanding, Job complained that God did not hear him, that God was punishing him, and that God blessed the wicked with prosperity.He was wrong on every count.
b.Even when God spoke to Job, He did not explain why these things had happened, for He is not obligated to explain His ways to men.
2.In the end, Job made this admission: “I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know…Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:3, 6).
B.Just like Job, we must also accept that there are unseen and unknown forces that we may not understand.
1.It is foolish to act on speculations and assumptions about things we cannot know.
a.We know of Satan’s dialogue with God concerning Job and a similar situation involving Peter (Luke 22:31-32), but we cannot know when such events are happening even now.
b.Let us accept that some things are too wonderful for us to know rather than speculating and making false assumptions that lead to wrong decisions and wrong actions.
2.Let us realize that our responsibility is to trust God and faithfully follow His word.
a.Even though God’s word does not provide a full explanation for every event that happens, it does provide guidance for us in every situation (Ps. 119:105).
b.Our responsibility is stated in Ecclesiastes 12:13 – “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.”
V.CONCLUSION
A.Although Job stumbled in his reasoning, in the end his integrity, reverence, and faith in God were well rewarded.
B.Certainly, Christians also stumble in this world, but we can expect that our integrity, reverence, and faith in God will likewise be richly rewarded when the Lord comes.
