Was it My Fault? So, Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People? Lesson Passage: Job 4:6-7; 6:2-3, 24; 8:4-8; 11:6b, 13-15; 13:4, 22-25. Biblical Truth: Each of us should carefully evaluate explanations offered for life’s bewildering circumstances. General Background: As the Sovereign Creator, God rules over all; nothing occurs in His creation that is beyond His ultimate control. He created human beings with the capacity to exercise free will (choice), including the choice to rebel against Him and His ways. Much human suffering is rooted in these two realities. But, some human suffering remains a mystery that only God knows. We see a cry of desperation in (Job Ch.3), where it seems that Job is feeling sorry for himself! After a week in which Job and his three friends sat in grief, Job broke the silence, bitterly cursing his birth. He was bewildered over God’s inexplicable role in his tragedy. Despite yearning for death, however, Job did not renounce God. 1. An Appeal to Justice (Job 4:6-7; 6:2-3, 24) Read The three friends sincerely meant to console Job, but they ended up condemning him and taking Satan’s place by accusing him! Why? Because each of them saw Job’s plight from his own narrow perspective and failed to identify with Job’s perplexity and pain. We all need to obey Romans 12:9-16: Behave Like a Christian 9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.” In Chapter 6, Job admits that his words were rash (v.3), and he explains why his grief was a burden that his friends did not feel or try to help him carry. God was allowing shooting poisoned arrows at Job, and his friends were not applying medicine to his painful wounds. One day God will change our burdens into glory (2 Cor. 4:16-18), “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” But until then, we must bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2) and relieve one another’s wounds. The friends were like desert brooks that dry up when they are most needed. Question to Ponder: Do you disappoint hurting people by being critical and failing to care? 2. An Appeal to Tradition (Job 8:4-8) Read It seems like we see some theology on the part of Eliphaz and Bildad. Eliphaz emphasized the sinfulness of man, and Bildad majored on the justice of God. Both men were right in their doctrine but wrong in their conclusion. They locked God into a formula and refused to let Him exercise His freedom to do what He wants to do. Before the book ends, Job and his friends will discover that God is much greater than the words they used in speaking about Him. We do not need to limit God, but personally know Him without just using theological words. Bildad was a devoted traditionalist who called his witnesses from the past. Someone has said, “Tradition is the living face of dead people, while traditionalism is the dead face of living people.” 3. An Appeal to Logic (Job 11:6b, 13-15; 13:4) Read In Chapter 11, Job has heard two points of the sermon from his friends: man is sinful (Eliphaz), and God is just (Bildad). Zophar now finishes the sermon with the third point: God punishes sin and gives less than we really deserve (v.6) “Things could be worse!” is a cruel statement to make to somebody who has lost everything. People in pain think that their suffering is worse than anybody else’s so do not argue with them. Zophar responded to Job’s words, not his feelings, and that was a mistake. He told Job to repent and seek God, promising that God would hear him. He warned Job that if he did not repent, he would die (v.20). Bildad’s words were not God’s description of Job in (vs. 1:8; 2:3): “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?" (1:8) “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." (2:3) In Chapter 13, we see that Job in the previous chapter, saw God as Creator, but now he sees Him as Judge. “I desire to reason with God” (v.3), which means “I want to meet Him in court.” Job would rather meet a just God than “worthless physicians” like his friends. 4. An Appeal to God (Job 13:22-25) Read Job turned from refuting his friends to speaking directly to God, but God did not choose to respond to him at this time. Job would need to wait longer to hear from God. For the present he must continue trusting God and reflecting upon all that had happened. Sometimes we must wait upon the Lord and trust Him! Isaiah tells us, “But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint” (Isa. 40:31). We notice three key words in the Hebrew vocabulary for sins (v.23), 1. “sins” literally means “to miss the mark,” 2. “iniquities” It refers to distorting God’s instructions, and 3. “Transgression” it describes a deliberate violation of God’s known will. Job’s implication in (v.25) was that God was stooping beneath His proper role in tormenting someone as insignificant as Job. A Sovereign Lord of the universe, it seemed beneath God’s dignity to devote so much effort on one mortal person. Why suffering? 7-things to look at: • Suffering as Judgment – Some suffering is a judgment from God because of disobedience (Gen. 4:3-14) • Suffering as Discipline – Some suffering is for correction, leading to repentance (Heb. 12:5-11). • Suffering as Persecution – Some is from satanic efforts to harm God’s people or their faith (Acts 8:3) • Suffering as Necessity – For the sake of God’s wider purpose (Gen 50:20, 2 Cor. 1:3-4; 1 Pet 3:18). • Suffering as Consequences – Results from foolish or thoughtless behavior (Gal. 6:7). • Suffering as Natural Disasters – Indicates the creation was adversely affected because of human sin (Gen. 3:17-18 and Rom. 8:19-22). • Suffering as Mystery – Some suffering doesn’t fit neatly into any category. God never revealed to Job what lay behind his suffering.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 03:44:00 +0000
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