II.  The Suffering  1:13 – 37:24

  C.  The Third Trial  2:11-

    1.  The Affliction increased.  Job 2:11- 3:26

      a.  The presence of Job’s friends.    Job 2:11-13    A lesson to learn!

      b.  The pattern of consolation.

      c.  The plea of Job.  Job 3:1-26 

        1).  Self pity.  3:1-19

          a).  The state of his life.  Job 3:1

Job 3:1  After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.

            (1).  His examination.    He went from –

               (a).  Prosperity to poverty.

               (b).  Respected to rejected.

               (c).  Saint to sinner. 

            (2).  His exclamation –  ‘Cursed’ – the word means the absence or reversal of a blessed or rightful state or of the lowering to a lesser state. 

     Note that the word ‘curse’ here is a different word than used in –

Job 1:11  But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

Job 2:5  But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.

• which meant to ‘bless not’.   He is not accusing God of wrongdoing!

          b).  The supposed peace of the dead.  Job 3:2-19

                Job believed that it would have been better if he had never been born.

Job 3:2-19  And Job spake, and said, Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived……..Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly? Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck? For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest, With kings and counsellers of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves; Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver: Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light.

There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.

We should learn here the danger of despondency – to stop moving forward.

Do you think Job was the only one to be an emotional wreak?

Remember Elijah – the courageous prophet of God following the amazing victory against the ungodly followers of Baal

1 Kings 19:4, 10  But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers…….And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

Remember Jeremiah, the preaching the message of submission to the proud and arrogant Jews in Jerusalem –

Jeremiah 20:7  O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.

Job was despondent, Elijah was despondent, Jeremiah was despondent.  They did not understand why the great trouble they faced even though they were serving God with all of their hearts and souls.

They learned, as we must, that trusting God and having faith in Him, no matter what our circumstances, giving God glory and praise in all things is God’s ultimate purpose in our lives.  We must follow our Lord and Saviour,  Jesus, who  always pressed forward – John 9:4 “I must work the works of Him that sent me…”

His works must become my works, His will must become my will!

        2).  Suffering without hope.  Job 3:20-25

          a).  Why does God stop short of death.  Job 3:20-22

“Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul; Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures; Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave”?

‘hid treasures’ – will give all they have in anticipation of finding treasure! 

          b).  Why does God not reveal His purpose.  Job 3:23

“Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in”?

          c).  Why does God not accept Job’s sacrifices.  Job 3:24,25 

“For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters. For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.”

Refer to –

Job 1:5  And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that 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 did Job continually.

        3).  Suspected of sin.  Job 3:26

“I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.”

Why have these things come upon Job?  Trouble upon trouble, and now, as if all of that is not enough, instead of compassion and comfort, he is suspected of unconfessed sin!

        4).  Separated and in need of comfort.

Job needed help as he waited on the Lord to reveal why He was permitting this trouble.

His friends had intended to comfort but had become accusers because of their wrong thinking. As we look at this affliction on Job, “… my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?” 

Affliction upon Elijah,

Affliction upon Jeremiah,

And most of all – Affliction upon Jesus!

John 12:27  Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.

Luke 22:44  And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

2 Corinthians 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Yes, affliction can certainly come on us or those we care for. 

How do we deal with it?  – 

          a).  For the afflicted – Trust the Lord. 

Proverbs 3:5-6  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

2 Timothy 1:12  For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

2 Corinthians 4:7-10  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

          b).  For the comforters –

In the last message, we were challenged to examine our hearts, leave the judgment to God, and determine to minister to others with compassion, without compromise of truth,  through the Love of God, and through the Word of God.  Today we want to learn how to do just that. –

            (1).  Exalt the Lord and His promises.

Psalms 27:10  When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.

Psalms 139:7  Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

Matthew 28:20  …I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Hebrews 13:5    … for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

            (2).  Examine the heart for unconfessed sin, without accusation, simply acknowledging the possibility.

1 Corinthians 11:31  For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

            (3).  Encourage the afflicted through the Word of God.

James 5:11  Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

We are blessed through the salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Have you heard the gospel, have you faith to believe the gospel, have you believed?

If so, you have the Word of God to guide you and for you to give to others.

Are you saved, trusting, and ministering the Word of God to others?