The View from the Caildron (3)

Job 2:9-11

It was the US Navy's greatest single-family war loss in history. 

The American evangelist, Billy Sunday, although not in one day, lost all of his sons to violent deaths: George from a "fall" from a hotel window; Billy Jr. in an automobile crash after a night of partying; and Paul in an airplane crash.

Job loses his property, his servants and then house in which all of his children were gathered collapses and they die.  Job’s reaction: “Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. 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.”

So far, so good.  Satan had said that if he could have at Job, Job would quit the faith.  So far, that hasn’t happen.  So far, Job’s discipleship isn’t for sale.  So far.  But there’s more.

Satan comes before God and says that what’s he’s done up until now hasn’t been an attack on Job, it’s been an attack on those around him and what he has.  What if, just what if, Satan strikes him directly?  Say, his health?

Permission granted; Job is hit with a severe skin disease, sores from head to toe.  Job had been a respected judge in the community, one of the leaders and now, he’s reduced to moving out near the city dump, scraping his sores with a broken piece of pottery. 

The scene is set.  Satan has one last strategy.  Job has lost everything—property, servants, family, and now his health.  The only one left is his wife.  And that’s by satanic design.  God’s plan is for the wife to be “a help corresponding to her husband.”  He should have gotten encouragement from her, but she’s no help at all.  Her response is to tell Job to give up, “curse God,” and then either He’ll kill you or you can kill yourself.”  Either way, it’s over.  Did you notice what she said?  She said the same thing Satan said, “He will curse You.” She is recommending the exact response Satan wanted Job to take.

Let’s not forget that she’s been through a rough time too.  She’s lost her children.  She’s lost community position and money.  She has to see her once prominent husband reduced to this miserable estate.  She has to see the deterioration of her husband, the sores.  Not a pretty sight. 

She trashes her husband and all he stands for by telling him, “It’s not worth it to serve God.  Quit!”  Her words are ultimately a sin against God, not Job.  “This isn’t fair; he’s been so faithful, and now this?  This is your reward?  Quarantined.  Sick.  Bankrupt.  He should have been rewarded; not this!  I didn’t expect this!”  Her viewpoint is pagan.  The pagan prays to her god and if that god doesn’t “perform,” she renounces him. 

Her critical attitude must have been a huge blow to Job.

To study her is to study the wrong response to problems: “Problems are a reason to give up” is the wrong response.  If his suffering couldn’t make him give up, her critical attitude surely would do so because criticism is hard to take, especially if it’s from the inside, from family, from the one who’s supposed to help you.  She’s inserting a knife, strategically placed right between the sores.  She is left alive and placed strategically for this moment. 

I heard a fellow in deep financial trouble calling the radio expert for advice.  He gave up a  32,000$ a year job, moved, but earlier had leased a car for over $500 per mo.  He was sinking in the hole every month.  He got a job delivering pizzas and he can’t find a job.  The radio host asked him, “Didn’t you know when you quit your job you had a 500$ car payment?” 

“Yes.”

“Why did you quit your job?”

“I moved.” 

“Why did you move?”

“To be near my finance’s parents.” 

It was hard for him to go against the wants of his finance.  Will Job go against his wife’s calling Dr. Kevorkian?     

Criticism + problems = Quit, Satan knows that equation.  Christ took scathing criticism from religion (“illegitimate,” “demon possessed”).   He even took it from His step brothers.  Paul was took it and was called a “seed-picker,” and was said to be “beside himself.”  Would you affiliate yourself with a group which was stereotyped as “cannibals,” and “incestuous,” and was referred to as drinking blood?  Those were some of the criticisms hurled at the early church, all satanically designed to get believers to quit.  

In the cauldron, we sometimes wish for “steps,” “procedures,” “outlines” on suffering and “techniques.”  But the Bible isn’t a manual of procedures; it’s a book of relationship, your relationship with God.  In Job we see that what’s important is not knowing the answers, but knowing God and trusting God in the cauldron.  When you’re trusting you’re not quitting. 

In life, we’ll have the charge of the mosquito and the charge of the elephant. If you quit trusting in the charge of the mosquito, you’ll stand no chance in the charge of the elephant.

When Job faced the charge of the elephant, what was his response?  When his wife stabbed him in the back, he said, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.” 

It’s over as far as the charge of the satanic army is concerned.  We see that Satan was wrong—Job is not a disciple for sale. 

Have you hit criticism and you’ve toned it down?   Not quite so quick to witness any more, not quite so ready to serve the Lord because the last time you did it, you got criticized maybe by your family?  Speaking of steps, I can give you the steps that will enable you to stop the criticism: (1) Say nothing for Christ (2) do nothing for Christ (3) be nothing for Christ.

Once you start being a disciple, the cauldron heats up, Satan, the roaring lion, is stoking it; with each log he throws under the cauldron, it’s to make it so hot you quit. 

Job’s wife is the poster girl for Ps. 73.  In Ps. 73, Asaph looks at unbelievers and concludes that they don’t seem to be having the problems he does, and besides that, they’re prospering.  This could also apply to believers who aren’t living the Christian life, but are carnal (I Cor. 3:3) and they’re prospering too.  He starts thinking about this and starts to question God.  He sees the people (believers and unbelievers) who just don’t care and they’re doing fine, thank you. 

He thinks about quitting.  He wonders if he’s made the right choice to be a disciple.  He is really, really struggling.  There’s one thing that stopped him: he went to “Bible class” and learned what’s coming for those unbelievers and Christians who compromise.  The unbeliever will be separated from God and the carnal believer will have a rough go of it at the judgment seat of Christ.  He learned that he was like a dumb animal who didn’t have God’s revelation of the future. 

Ps. 72 will help us to adjust our attitude when problems come and we’re tempted to take the wrong solution to adversity.  

Truth to take home: Stay faithful under fire; there’s a great day coming.