The Pressure of Pain
Job 1-2
October 19, 2003

Background:

A.     Job one of the three greatest men in the OT (Ezekiel 14:14, 20)

B.     One of the oldest books in the Bible – author unknown but possibly Moses

C.     It could have been a play. It begins with the setting in prose and then become poetic until the final verses which again become prose to explain the ending.

D.     Deals with why do good people suffer pain and trouble. Gives us a view of heaven which leaves us with more questions.

I. Who Was Job?

A.     He was a righteous man (1:1)

1.         Blameless and upright

2.         Feared God and shunned evil

B.     He was a prosperous man (1:2-3)

1.         A large family

2.         Larger ranch than a large Texas spread

C.     He was a great parent (1:4)

1.         His sons celebrated each of their birthdays with a large party

2.         Job offered burnt offerings (offerings of dedication after each of the 7 annual events)

3.         Purpose: in case one of them had “cursed God in their hearts” – a theme of sorts through the Job. Will Job curse God is the question of the story.

II. Who is Satan and How Does He Work?

A.     Who is Satan?

1.         Name means adversary

2.         Created being who has to report to God

a.       He is not a god

b.      He is not the opposite of God

B.     How does he work?

1.         He is active going throughout the earth

2.         He is looking to get to anyone he can

a.       Eph. 4:26-27 “Be angry and sin not… nor give place to the devil”

b.      2 Cor. 2:11 “we are not ignorant of his devises”

c.       “A roaring lion seeking… devour”

3.         He has the power to use “natural forces” to accomplish his horrific purposes (13 -18)

C.     What does he think?

1.         First, man only serves God because of wanting God’s blessings and only when things are going well, “Does Job fear God for nothing?” You have protected and blessed him. That’s why he serves you!

2.         Second, “Skin for skin, all that a man has will he give for his life.” i.e. another spin on the selfishness nature of man and that when it comes to the crunch point we will curse God and die.

III. The Story

A.     Job’s first testing: the loss of everything

1.         God says in verse 8, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him… blameless… upright… fears God and shuns evil”

2.         Satan says that is all because Job is being paid well by God in good treatment

3.         Satan gains permission to try Job within limits

a.       There is no dualism when the enemy has to get permission to attack you!

                                                               i.      God’s baseball team – faith, love, Godly wisdom and grace

                                                             ii.      But the outcome isn’t like the world series…

b.      Satan wiped out all his possessions and all of his family except his wife

B.     Job’s response to the first trail

1.         Read 1:10-22

C.     Job’s second testing: the pressure of pain

1.         severe pain has its own type of trial

2.         chronic pain has its own type of trial

3.         severe chronic pain is horrific

4.         Satan obtained permission to greatly afflict Job’s body

5.         Satan used Job’s wife, “Do you still hold to your integrity?” Curse God and die!”

D.    Job’s response to the second trial

1.         How did he respond to that? “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” (2:10a)

2.         “In all this Job did not sin with his lips” (2:10b)

IV. Some Observations

A.     The real test: the character of Job

1.         He had been concerned that his sons would have inadvertently cursed God inwardly… now he was being tested in this very thing.

2.         “That which I feared, came upon me.”

B.     The real situation: Job didn’t know anything about what was going on in Heaven regarding his life

C.     The next test: Satan was lining up his big guns – Job’s friends

D.     The real context: God is God