John Brown Job 2 From Riches to Ashes I. A. In our last study of the first Chapter of Job, we saw heavenly beings gathered to give an account to the Lord - and satan was amongst them! 1. satan accused Job of being God's "paid lover" and indicated the Lord wasn't worthy of love and devotion just because He is God! 2. In fact, satan said that if Job's security was pulled from him he would fold like a piece of paper, and curse God to his face. 3. The Lord gave satan permission to test Job, but told him to leave his person alone!!! a) We saw four messengers, one right after the other come to Job and deliver tragic news: (1) The Sabeans killed servants and stole his donkeys and oxen. (2) Then, a fire fell from heaven and burned his sheep and more of his servants. (3) Next, the Chaldeans came and took the camels, and killed even more servants. (4) And finally, a tornado-like wind struck the house where all ten of his children were and killed them all! 4. Pretty much all that Job had was gone. a) Yet, in the final verses of Chapter one, we see the depth of Job's love and devotion to the Lord. (1) Job 1:20 (NKJV) Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. Job 1:21 And he said: "Naked I came from 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." Job 1:22 In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong. II. TEXT A. Job 2:1 (NKJV) Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord. 1. Please notice that they are all reporting to the Lord again! 2. We too will someday stand before the Lord to give account for our stewardship while on this earth! a) 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NKJV) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things [done] in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. (1) The person without Christ will be judged for that very reason and will spend eternity separated from all that is holy and good. (a) This is called the Great White Throne Judgement (Revelation 20:11-15) (2) The Christian will be judged for the purpose of receiving rewards for his stewardship while here on the earth! (a) A very good reason I might add for living for Christ instead of ourselves!! 3. Back to the text: satan is among this heavenly group.He too must give account. He is a created being, not free to do as he wishes. B. Job 2:2 (NKJV) And the Lord said to Satan, "From where do you come?" So Satan answered the Lord and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it." 1. He was, he is, and he still does "go to and fro, and walk back and forth on the earth." a) All you have to do is look at the crime rate to see that he is still in charge! C. Job 2:3 (NKJV) Then the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job, that [there] [is] none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause." 1. The Lord tells us again that this testing is not because of sin in Job's life! a) In other words, satan could find no "justifiable" reason to condemn Job! b) And the Lord also reminds satan that even in the middle of the greatest trial of Job`s life that he was holding on to his integrity with the Lord! (1) But satan makes further accusation. D. Job 2:4 (NKJV) So Satan answered the Lord and said, "Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. Job 2:5 "But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!" Job 2:6 And the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, he [is] in your hand, but spare his life." 1. What satan said in verse four is true for almost every man and woman alive! a) Put our own life in jepeordy, and we would crumble like Peter did! b) But there are a few that have found a greater reason for living and dying. c) Matthew 10:38 (NKJV) "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. Matthew 10:39 "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. (1) If we find our "life" in living for ourselves and the things of this earth, we end up the losers. (2) But if we "die" to those things and find "life" in the things of the Lord it is a greater existence indeed!! (3) satan is indicating that Job has not found that peace and security in living for the Lord alone, and the Lord says, "Test it and see!" E. Job 2:7 (NKJV) So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. Job 2:8 And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes. 1. satan is doing everything he can to "break" Job! To "brainwash" him if you will. a) You see, Job, even now, is convinced that the Lord is a loving and just God and that His purposes are good and noble. b) But satan wants to convince him otherwise and sets up the circumstances to fulfill his plan. He attempts to wear him down little by little. (1) Job was first attacked in the area of finances, then his family, and now physically! (2) I think anyone living for the Lord will find that these are the three areas where we are most vulnerable! (a) If we love money more that the Lord, that will be tested! (i) Matthew 6:24 (NKJV) "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. (b) If we love our family more that the Lord, that will be tested! (i) Matthew 10:37 (NKJV) "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. Matthew 10:38 "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. (c) And eventually, for all of us the final test will come physically! (i) 1 Corinthians 15:24 (NKJV) Then [comes] the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 1 Corinthians 15:25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 1 Corinthians 15:26 The last enemy [that] will be destroyed [is] death. 2. Up to this point all of Job's trials have been "outward".Now, this once healthy, rich man finds himself in poverty and ashes. a) Covered from head to toe with boils that he can do nothing about except scrape for some relief from the itching! (1) But at least in all this loss and pain he has his "help meet" (his loyal and faithful wife) to stand beside him and support him, or does he? F. Job 2:9 (NKJV) Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!" 1. Why is it that when things are going great, we have lots of friends but when the "suffering" starts they quickly abandon ship?? a) Job had many friends before all this started but now he has only three and they are not very good friends as the text will prove. b) Whatever Job's wife's intentions were, this proves how little she knew her own husband and the Lord! (1) Look at his reply to her. G. Job 2:10 (NKJV) But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips. 1. Have you settled that question in your own hearts? a) If you and I are willing to accept the good gifts from the Lord, are we as willing to accept trials and pain? (1) I think and honest answer is, "No!" (2) Why? Because "good" is easy to accept as being from the Lord , but pain and suffering is normally associated with being out of the will of the Lord! (a) As "punishment" if you will. (b) After all, isn't that what Job's wife is indicating? (i) "God is against you Job, you might as well curse Him and let Him kill you!" (ii) Yet, In all this Job did not sin with his lips. H. Job 2:11 (NKJV) Now when Job's three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place--Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. For they had made an appointment together to come and mourn with him, and to comfort him. Job 2:12 And when they raised their eyes from afar, and did not recognize him, they lifted their voices and wept; and each one tore his robe and sprinkled dust on his head toward heaven. Job 2:13 So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that [his] grief was very great. 1. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar came with good intentions. a) They cared about their friend and wanted to comfort him, but they weren't prepared for what they saw when they arrived! (1) Job was disfigured almost beyond recognition. (2) They were so taken aback by his condition that all they could do cry and mourn. (3) They sat with him for seven days and nights without saying a word! (a) As the story progresses, you will see that perhaps they would have been better off if they had continued they way they started. (b) Because their counsel was not Godly! III. A. I want to make it clear as we conclude Chapter two, that God always has a reason for what He does! 1. But that doesn't mean that we will always understand or agree with His reasoning! a) Isaiah 55:8 (NKJV) "For My thoughts [are] not your thoughts, Nor [are] your ways My ways," says the Lord. Isaiah 55:9 "For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. b) For all the evidence we have in our text, Job was a righteous man!! c) There no indication of sin in Job's life, nor the need for the judgment of God to fall upon his life! (1) But, by the sovereign reasoning of the Lord, He allows Job to be tested for a higher reason than Job's immediate safety and security!! (2) But, of this you can be sure.It was for the good of Job and the kingdom of God, not for the entertainment of satan!!!!!!! 2. There will be times in our lives when there seems to be no reason for the suffering! a) When it "feels" like we are nothing more than a "heavenly lab experiment" for satan to kick around like an old football. (1) But,. . He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we may boldly say: "The Lord [is] my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" Hebrews 13:5-6 (2) And we must remember that "His thoughts are not our thoughts, nor are our ways His ways. His ways are higher than ours and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts." (3) Though we may "feel" abandoned, and though we may "feel" like a heavenly lab experiment, we must remember the promises of the Lord. (a) And like Job, we must resign ourselves to the sovereignty of God. Trusting that He knows what is best for our lives! (i) Job 1:22 In all (those trials), learn not to sin nor charge God with wrong. Communion