II.  The Suffering.  Job 1:13-37:24

  A.  The First Trial.  Job 1:13-22

    1.  The Destruction.  Job 1:13-19

      a.  It was sudden.  Job 1:13a  “…and there was a day…”   Unexpected!

        1).  Remember that you have an adversary. 

        2).  We need to be prepared for the unexpected. 

               How do we prepare?  –

1 Peter 5:6-8  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

2 Timothy 1:12-13  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. Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

      b.  It was staggering.

        1).  He lost his possessions.  Prosperity

        2).  He lost his servants.       Potential.  (He could rebuild with faithful servants)

        3).  He lost his children.       Posterity – (their mindset according to God’s Word)

Psalm 127:3-5  Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

Psalm 128:3-4  Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD.

Deuteronomy 28:1-4  And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.

      c.  Satan was relentless in his attack on Job. 

           Refer to his attack on Jesus.

Mark 1:13  And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.

Luke 4:2  Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.

        1).  The first message

Job 1:14-15  And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

          a).  A serious situation, but not unheard of in those days.

          b).  Respond by pursuing and punishing the attackers and recovering the property.

                Note David’s response in –

1 Samuel 30:1-4, 16-18 And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep…..

…..And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah. And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled. And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives.

This may have been Job’s response, except for receiving –

         2).  The second message.

Job 1:16  While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

          a).  A surprising situation.  Lightening strikes into the ground have killed grazing animals. 

          b).  Again, not unheard of but very unusual for the entire herd to be killed.

        3).  The third message. 

Job 1:17  While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

          a). A solemn situation.   The Chaldeans were fierce warriors and were to be feared –

Habakkuk 1:6-10  For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs. They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves. Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat. They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand. And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it.

          b).  Concern would be turning into confusion.  “What is going on”?

        4).  The fourth message.

Job 1:18-19  While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

          a).  A supernatural situation.     

          b).  Job now realized that he was under the judgment of God –

    2.  The Distress.  1:20  Job’s loss resulted in a natural display of grief!

Job 1:20  Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,

      a.  Grieved over his loss.

      b.  Grieved over his ignorance as to the reason for the loss.  Why?  He was doing every thing that he knew to do!  God testified to Job’s integrity. 

           “Why is the One I love and serve treating me this way”?

    3.  The Dedication.  Job 1:21,22

      a.  He proved his trust in God. 

Job 1:21  And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

      b.  He proved his fear of God. 1:22

Job 1:22  In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

           He was wise in that he did not accuse God of wrongdoing.

           Psalm 111:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…”

How can we have this faith and devotion, that we might always trust God?

Matthew 22:37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

You can love your wives and love God, you can love your husbands and love God; you can love your children and love God, you can love your parents and love God- but you should not love them more than you love God!

We should say – I want to love my wife through you, husband through you, children through you, my family through you.

We should say – I want to live this life for you.  Thank you for giving me all that I have and all that I am.  If you take it away, I will love you.

Can you say this today?