In recent months I have been studying Luke’s gospel in my daily readings, and been writing notes as I go with the intention of adding them to this blog.  But the notes are still in notebook or word doc.  I like to keep things in order, and wanted to share things in sequence in this blog.  Well, that hasn’t happened.

So this morning as I was doing my daily reading in Luke, one phrase in struck me.  I am in chapter 22, up to the part where it is coming up to passover.  Here is the story:

 Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.” 

So they said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare?” 

And He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.  Then you shall say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’  Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready.” 

So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover. (v.7-11, NLT)

Notice what Jesus told Peter and John:  ”Go and prepare the meal for us, that we may eat.”

Now if that was you or I, we may possibly look at the task and thinking about all the arrangements. At least I would. So I would start planning for this meal… and then start getting stressed wondering how I was going to get it all together. Firstly, I would need to find a place. Then I would need to make it look nice. And all that before even thinking about the food!

But hey, look!!! Peter and John didn’t start to fuss. They simply asked the Lord a question, “Where do YOU want us to prepare?”

And LOOK…. Jesus already had the arrangements in hand. They just needed to listen and follow HIS instructions.  He didn’t tell them to go and make arrangements.  He said, “GO AND PREPARE…”

Hmmm…. I think I can learn many lessons from that… and stress less!!!  Let us go and do as He instructs and leave the details to Him.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Miners penetrate the earth’s darkness, searching the roots of the mountains for ore, digging away in the suffocating darkness.  Far from civilization, far from the traffic, they cut a shaft, and are lowered into it by ropes.

Earth’s surface is a field for grain, but its depths are a forge firing sapphires from stones and chiseling gold from rocks.  Vultures are blind to its riches. Hawks never lay eyes on it.  Wild animals are oblivious to it.  Lions don’t know it’s there.

Miners hammer away at the rock.  They uproot the mountains.  They tunnel through the rock and find all kinds of beautiful gems.  They discover the origins of rivers, and bring earth’s secrets to light.

But where, oh where, will they find Wisdom?  Where does Insight hide?

Mortals don’t have a clue, haven’t the slightest idea where to look.  Earth’s depths say, ‘It’s not here!’  Ocean deeps echo, ‘Never heard of it.’

It can’t be bought with the finest gold.  No amount of silver can get it.  Even famous Ophir gold can’t buy it.  Not even diamonds and sapphires!  Neither gold nor emeralds are comparable.  Extravagant jewelry can’t touch it.  Pearl necklaces and ruby bracelets—why bother?

None of this is even a down payment on Wisdom!  Pile gold and African diamonds as high as you will.  They can’t hold a candle to Wisdom.

So where does Wisdom come from? And where does Insight live?

It can’t be found by looking, no matter how deep you dig, no matter how high you fly.  If you search through the graveyard and question the dead, they say, ‘We’ve only heard rumors of it.’

God alone knows the way to Wisdom. He knows the exact place to find it.  He knows where everything is on earth.  He sees everything under heaven.

After He commanded the winds to blow and measured out the waters, arranged for the rain and set off explosions of thunder and lightning, He focused on Wisdom, made sure it was all set and tested and ready.

Then He addressed the human race:

‘Here it is!  Fear-of-the-Lord—that’s Wisdom, and Insight means shunning evil.’

(Job 28 – The Message)

Well, I thank the Lord for modern technology, because I am able to dig up some good stuff. Here is a sermon by Martyn Lloyd Jones.  He was tackling the same subject in his generation, so this is no new debate ….

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THE AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE by Martyn Lloyd-Jones

An extract from a sermon on: ‘Stand therefore having your loins girt about with truth’ Ephesians 6.14

There can be no doubt whatsoever that all the troubles in the Church to-day, and most of the troubles in the world, are due to a departure from the authority of the Bible. And, alas, it was the Church herself that led in the so-called Higher Criticism that came from Germany just over a hundred years ago. Human philosophy took the place of revelation, man’s opinions were exalted and Church leaders talked about ‘the advance of knowledge and science’, and ‘the assured results’ of such knowledge. The Bible then became a book just like any other book, out-of-date in certain respects, wrong in other respects, and so on. It was no longer a book on which you could rely implicitly.

There is no question at all that the falling away, even in Church attendance, in this country is the direct consequence of the Higher Criticism. The man in the street says, ‘What do these Christians know? It is only their opinion, they are just perpetrating something that the real thinkers and scientists have long since seen through and have stopped considering’. Such is the attitude of the man in the street! He does not listen any longer, he has lost all interest. The whole situation is one of drift; and very largely, I say, it is the direct and immediate outcome of the doubt that has been cast by the Church herself upon her only real authority. Men’s opinions have taken the place of God’s truth, and the people in their need are turning to the cults, and are listening to any false authority that offers itself to them.

We all therefore have to face this ultimate and final question: Do we accept the Bible as the Word of God, as the sole authority in all matters of faith and practice, or do we not? Is the whole of my thinking governed by Scripture, or do I come with my reason and pick and choose out of Scripture and sit in judgment upon it, putting myself and modern knowledge forward as the ultimate standard and authority? The issue is crystal clear. Do I accept Scripture as a revelation from God, or do I trust to speculation, human knowledge, human learning, human understanding and human reasons Or, putting it still more simply, Do I pin my faith to, and subject all my thinking to, what I read in the Bible? Or do I defer to modern knowledge, to modern learning, to what people think today, to what we know at this present time which was not known in the past? It is inevitable that we occupy one or the other of those two positions.

The Protestant position, as was the position of the early Church in the first centuries, is that the Bible is the Word of God. Not that it ‘contains’ it, but that it is the Word of God, uniquely inspired and inerrant. The Protestant Reformers believed not only that the Bible contained the revelation of God’s truth to men, but that God safeguarded the truth by controlling the men who wrote it by the Holy Spirit, and that He kept them from error and from blemishes and from anything that was wrong. That is the traditional Protestant position, and the moment we abandon it we have already started on the road that leads back to one of the false authorities, and probably ultimately to Rome itself. In the last analysis it is the only alternative.

People will have authority; and they are right in so thinking. They need authority because they are bewildered; and if they do not find it in the right way they will take it in the wrong way. They can be persuaded even though they do not know the source of the authority; in their utter bewilderment they are ready to be persuaded by any authoritative statement. So that it comes to this, that we are back exactly where Christians were 400 years ago. The world talks about its advance in knowledge, its science, and so on, but actually we are going round in cycles, and we are back exactly where Christians were 400 years ago. We are having to fight once more the whole battle of the Protestant Reformation. It is either this Book, or else it is ultimately the authority of the Church of Rome and her ‘tradition’! That was the great issue at the Protestant Reformation. It was because of what they found in the Bible that those men stood up against, and queried and questioned and finally condemned the Church of Rome. It was that alone that enabled Luther to stand, just one man, defying all those twelve centuries of tradition. ‘I can do no other’ he says, because of what he had found in the Bible. He could see that Rome was wrong. It did not matter that he was alone, and that all the big battalions were against him. He had the authority of the Word of God, and he judged the Church and her tradition and all else by this external authority.

We are back again in that exact position, and I am concerned about the matter, not only from the standpoint of the Church in general, but also from the standpoint of our own individual experiences. How can we fight the devil? How can we know how we are to live? How can we answer the things we hear, the things we read, and all the subtle suggestions of the devil? Where can I find this truth that I must gird on, as I put on all this armour of God? Where can I find it if I cannot find it in the Bible? Either my foundation is one of sand that gives way beneath my feet, and I do not know where I am, or else I stand on what W. E. Gladstone called ‘The Impregnable Rock of Holy Scripture’.

January 1, 2006 – Sermons Edition
Scripture Passage: Isaiah 37

My aim in this message is to leave in your mind the strong impression and conviction that the victory of God is coming and that your prayers are God’s way of accomplishing the victory of Jesus Christ over this world. The title is “Prayer and the Victory of God,” and the point is that the victory of God is coming and that it is coming by means of our prayers. Let me remind you of the meaning of the victory of God.

The Meaning of the Victory of God

(See Matthew 24:29-31, Revelation 1:7, 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, Isaiah 9:7.)

The victory of God is the coming of his Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords, to punish all who have rejected his grace, to banish all ungodliness and unbelief from the earth into hell, to gather his elect from all the nations, to establish justice and righteousness and peace and joy on the earth forever, and to be worshipped with white-hot affection without end.

This is our “blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).  This is going to happen. It could happen in our lifetime. But it is far greater than any of our lives. God cares about the little details of your life-even a lost key or the earache of a little child. But 0 how much greater is our God and his victory than your and my little life!

Connecting to the Victory of God by Prayer

My aim and my prayer through this message is that this year you might feel yourself captured by a cause and a vision a thousand times greater than your life. I pray that you will feel yourself to be part of the coming victory of God. I know that many of you feel: Look, pastor john, you don’t know what I am dealing with. I just want to survive another day. I just want to keep my marriage together and raise a couple decent kids, and keep my nose clean.

Believe me, I’m not opposed to that. My aim is not to burden you. My aim is for you to feel the liberating, energizing power of seeing your all-consuming problems in connection to God’s global victory. God cares about your marriage, your kids, your singleness, your health. But these only have their greatest meaning in relation to the victory of God. I promise you it is not oppressive to see the littleness of your life in connection to the largeness of God’s victory. Every just war that has ever been fought for a great ideal has given meaning to the loneliness, and the amputations, and the widowed moms.

The connection that I want you to see today between your life and the victory of God is the connection of prayer. Your prayers are God’s way of accomplishing the victory of Jesus Christ over this world. I know that for many of you this is way beyond what you usually pray about. I think God wants to change that. I hope that praying for the victory of God in this world will become part of your life. Don’t object by saying, “I’m too small. I’m unsophisticated. I’m not educated. I’m just an ordinary, simple person.” God chose a simple, peasant virgin to bear his Son. And he chooses simple people of faith to bring his victory by prayer. 0 don’t rule yourself out of this great calling.

Let me show you what I mean by the connection between prayer and the victory of God with some biblical texts and then close with a shocking illustration from Isaiah 37.

I’m going to quote nine texts. Don’t try to look them up. Instead listen carefully and try to fix the connection in your mind between prayer and the victory of God. Ask God to speak to you and seal this truth to your heart and waken a new passion in you to participate in the coming of God’s victory.

In Matthew 6:9-10 Jesus taught us to pray like this:

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

The coming of God’s kingdom and the doing of his will on earth the way the angels do it in heaven is the victory of God. This is the consummation of the ages. This is what everything is moving toward. And Jesus says, Pray for it. Pray for it! Ask God to hallow his name. Ask him to bring in his kingdom. Ask him to make his will be done. Therefore prayer is God’s way of winning his victory through you.

In, Matthew 24:14 Jesus said,

“This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

In other words the good news of King Jesus and his salvation will spread to all the nations. That is God’s invincible purpose and prelude to final victory. But that happens through witnesses and missionaries and evangelists. So what does Jesus do? He says in Matthew 9:37:

“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

There is no doubt that this divine purpose to reach the nations will come to pass. But it will come to pass by means of prayer. Therefore prayer is God’s way of winning his victory through you.

Jesus told a parable once about an unrighteous judge. The point of the parable was that we “ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). A widow kept coming to the judge and saying, “Give me justice against my adversary.” Finally he does it because of her persistence. Jesus makes this point:

“Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily” (Luke 18:6-8).

God’s sure purpose is to give justice to his elect. And his decision is to do it through their crying to him for vindication day and night. This is prayer for the victory of God. Therefore prayer is God’s way of winning his victory through you.

The battles to be fought on the way to the final victory – the battles that prepare the world for Christ’s coming – move forward by prayer. In Acts 4:31 Luke tells us of a gathering of early Christians:

“And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”

When they had prayed they spoke with boldness. That is how the kingdom advances:

Prayer which brings down bold, Spirit-filled witness to Christ. Therefore prayer is God’s way of winning his victory.

The apostle Paul was probably the greatest missionary witness to the victory of God that ever lived. God used him for tremendous breakthroughs for the spread of the gospel. Listen to his repeated plea for prayer as a means to his gospel-spreading ministry:

• 2 Thessalonians 3:1, “Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you.” The word runs and triumphs by means of prayer.
• Ephesians 6:19, “[Pray) for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel." Paul's boldness in the gospel came from God by the prayers of simple Christian believers.
• Romans 15:30, "I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf." The wrestling of Paul to be faithful in all his sufferings was sustained by a wrestling in prayer by the brothers in Rome.
• Colossians 4:3, "Pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison." Open doors for the spread of the gospel come in answer to prayer. Therefore, in the life of Paul it is plain that prayer is God's way of gospel victory.

Finally, there is a picture in Revelation 8:4-5 about how the end-time victory of God is finally executed in the world. Here's the picture:

"Another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.  Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar [where the prayers were burning before God!] and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.”

The altar was burning with millions and millions of prayers:  “Thy kingdom come! Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven!”-mounting up over the centuries! And the angel filled the censer with the flame of those burning prayers and threw it on the earth and the final victory of God came. The prayers of the ages bring the victory of God.  Not one single cry for the coming of Christ and the victory of God is ever wasted.

The Stunning Effect of Prayer Illustrated

Now to fix this truth vividly in your minds-that the victory of God is coming and that it is coming by means of our prayers-look with me at Isaiah 37 and one stunning illustration of prayer and the victory of God.

Sennacherib was the terrifying king of the great nation of Assyria. He came up against all the fortified cities of Judah where Hezekiah was king (Isaiah 36:1). From a human standpoint Jerusalem was helpless before such a force. He sent his general, the Rabshakeh, to warn Jerusalem to surrender. The Rabshakeh mocks the God of Israel and says that no one can deliver them. Hezekiah tears his clothes and goes into the house of God (lsaiah 37:1). Isaiah sends word to Hezekiah that Sennacherib will be diverted by a rumor. So it happens. But the relief is only temporary. Sennacherib sends a letter to Hezekiah with a new threat.

Isaiah 37:10: “Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”

This time the text says in Isaiah 37:14ff…

“Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.  And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord:  ’O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth.  Incline your ear, 0 Lord, and hear; O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.”‘

This is a prayer for the victory of God and the salvation of his helpless people before a great enemy.  The key phrase comes in verse 21ff:

“Then Isaiah the son’ of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, `Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word that the Lord has spoken concerning him: … (v33) Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it.  By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the Lord.  For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.’”

Then God does what he said. Verse 36:

“And the angel of the Lord went out and struck down a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians.”

This may be the one stunning fact that acts like an anchor in your memory for this sermon. Hezekiah prayed for the rescue of Jerusalem and the victory of God. And verse 21 says “because you prayed” God sent his angel to slay 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one sovereign stroke.

One man prays for the salvation of God’s people and the victory of God, and God responds by killing 185,000 soldiers and rescuing his people.

Today the enemies of the church of Jesus Christ are not political or national or ethnic. Paul said,

“We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).

Until our King comes from heaven, we wish the destruction of no man. As Christians we do not kill our enemies, we pray for our enemies, as Jesus taught us to do (Matthew 5:44).

The great battle today is fought not with swords but with the gospel of Jesus Christ crucified and risen. It is fought for the souls of men. It is fought in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is fought with words of truth and deeds of love and justice. And all of that backed by prayer. The victory will come and will come by prayer.

Therefore, in this new year, pray for the victory of God. Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Send forth laborers, 0 God. Open a door for the gospel. Give boldness to your people. Save the peoples, 0 Lord. Vindicate your elect who cry to you day and night. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.

One favourite use I’ve discovered is for reading books and documents.  (Not quite as good as the E-Readers, but who’s to complain with the price.)  This is something I’ve been wanting for some time, and I’ve had my eye on a Sony E-reader.  Anyhow, I’ve ended up with a Pendo for now, and it is doing an okay job.  (One day I’ll look at the other features.)

Anyhow, having said all that, a couple of days ago I started to go through and organize my document files off the laptop and have managed to get them to my Pendo.  This has been quite a treasure hunt.  I am finding some wonderful writings that I didn’t realize I had.  So I want to share these treasures on this blog.

Today I found this powerful and inspiring sermon on prayer by John Piper, called “Prayer and the Victory of God”, based on Isaiah 37, which he delivered back in January 2006.  I’m sure you will agree with me that it is so relevant for us today.  He begins:

My aim in this message is to leave in your mind the strong impression and conviction that the victory of God is coming and that your prayers are God’s way of accomplishing the victory of Jesus Christ over this world. The title is “Prayer and the Victory of God,” and the point is that the victory of God is coming and that it is coming by means of our prayers. Let me remind you of the meaning of the victory of God….  (READ MORE….)

I have many more treasures to share with you from my archives.  Keep watching this blog for more!!

Of course it is good to pray for one another, and the scriptures tell us to. I am so thankful for those God has brought into my life to pray for me. But I want us to think about this when we ask for prayer.

Could it sometimes indicate a lack of faith on our part?

I was thinking about Abraham, and where it says about him:

“Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” (Rom 4:3)

Now then, when Abraham was going through those tough times, did he call on a prayer team to pray for him? No, the Bible just said….

ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD!!!

“It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. 9 And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. 10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God. (Did he have a prayer support team?)

” It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, 18 even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” 19 Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.” (Heb 11)

May we have a faith like Abraham’s. May our prayer requests not be because we lack faith, causing us to depend more on people than on God.

Just something to ponder…. and remember the middle verses of the Bible…

“It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in people.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes.”
(Psalm 118:8-9)

Last week I was chatting with a brother in Uganda who what having trouble to get funds to go on the crusade.  He was to leave the next day.  If I had the funds to give him I would have, but the Lord hadn't provided me with that.  So I encouraged this brother to seek the Lord on it. The next day he came back, still with no funds to go, but instead he had been given a vision in the night.  This is what happened: There was a river where people had t … Read More

via Seeds-2-Sow LIVE Online

“In all this, Job did not sin by blaming God.”

SECOND SESSION:

So the next time the heavenly court meets, Satan reports to God, and God asks again if he had notice His servant Job.  Then He remarks,

“He has maintain his integrity even though you urged me to harm him without cause.”

SECOND CHALLENGE:

So Satan wants to have another go, and his time on his health.  He figures that if Job’s health was taken then surely he would curse God to His face.

So God agrees to take him up on this challenge and allows Satan to attack Job’s health, but he was to spare his life.

SECOND ATTACK:

Oh, and did Job suffer?  He was covered from head to toe by terrible and painful boils.  He must has looked shocking, even his wife had trouble looking at him, and she suggested that he should curse God and die.  But did he?

SECOND RESPONSE:

You know, wives don’t always get it right.  Look at his reply to his wife:

“You talk like a foolish woman.  Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never bad?“

We read:

So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.

Now that is something pretty amazing, when we think about all that Job had lost, especially considering the great wealth he had, and the blessing of his family.  That was the first flood of trouble.  Then he is dealt a double-whammy!!  First his wealth and family, and now his health!!  But he did not sin by blaming God, and he said nothing wrong!

In James 2:2 we read:

For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. (NKJ)

Is that why God said he was “blameless – a man of complete integrity”?  Job certainly proved his integrity!

LESSONS FROM THE STORY SO FAR:

So far, there have been 4 players in this story of Job – God, Satan, Job and his wife.  Before his four friends come on the scene, in the next post, let us make some observations about from the story so far.

• What do we learn about God and Satan, and their relationship?
• What do we learn about suffering, and who can suffer?
• Reading between the lines, what else do we learn about Job’s character?
• And what about his wife?

FIRST SESSION:

Court is in session and we get a glimpse of the proceedings in the heavenlies. Let us read this interesting account from verse 6:

One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the Lord, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them. “Where have you come from?” the Lord asked Satan.
Satan answered the Lord, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.”
Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.” (1:6-8)

THE FIRST CHALLENGE:

Satan presents his case to God. His argument is that Job has very good reason to fear Him, and he gives God this challenge:

• “You have made him prosper;
• “But if You take these away and he will surely curse You.”
• “You always put a wall of protection around him, his home and his property.”

THE FIRST TEST

So God takes Satan up on this challenge. He permits Satan to test Job. He could attack his possessions, but he was not allowed to harm him physically.

THE FIRST ONSLAUGHT

Have you ever had one of those days where everything seems to go wrong? Well I’m sure you can relate to Job.

Satan went out from God’s presence, very pleased to be able to bring this faithful servant down. Will he succeed? As God had permitted, Satan suddenly attacks Job’s property on four fronts. Bang, bang, bang! One after another, news of these disasters was brought to Job.

1. His oxen and donkeys were stolen and the farmhands were killed;
2. A fire burned up his sheep and shepherds;
3. Three bands of raiders stole the camels and killed the servants;
4. A tornado had hit the house where his children were feasting and killed them all.

JOB’S FIRST REACTION?

How would you react on hearing all this bad news? Well look what Job did:

• Job stood up and tore his robe in grief.
• Then he shaved his head and
• fell to the ground to worship.

Notice there is no sign of blaming God. Instead he says:

“I came naked from my mother’s womb,
and I will be naked when I leave.
The Lord gave me what I had,
and the Lord has taken it away.
Praise the name of the Lord!”

Then comes the second court session…. (see next entry)

It gave me a lot of insight into human nature. I started to get quite irate with Job’s so called comforters. They really didn’t have a clue what Job was going through, and they certainly didn’t have a clue as to what God was up to.

I think for Job, the greatest test was putting up with the condemnation from these three guys. It seemed at times he was losing his patience with them. But more on that later.

For now, I want to take a look at the first two chapters and the last chapter. How Job began and how he finished is what is most important. We thank God that he both started and finished well.

So, firstly, let us consider the height from where Job came.

1) Wealth (1:2-3)

Job was in the prime of his life, and we are told in chapter 1, that he was extremely wealthy. God had blessed him with…

• Offspring – 7 sons and 3 daughters;
• Livestock – 7,000 camels, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, 500 female donkeys;
• MANY servants (and he would have needed them to look after all those blessings!)

In fact, he was the wealthiest man around. He was like the Bill Gates of his time. So when we start to look at Job’s trials, we will be able to understand the magnitude of them, and how drastically they would have affected him. It would be like seeing Bill Gates destitute, homeless, and on the streets.

2) Character (1:1,8)

Now, this is amazing! Look at how God praises Job! From God’s viewpoint Job:

• was the finest man in all the earth;
• was blameless;
• had complete integrity;
• was God fearing;
• resisted evil.

WOW!!! Imagine having that on your resume, and especially coming from the Maker of the Universe! And it was because of this that God had blessed him so.

3) Family (1:4-5)

Now it would seem that Job’s children were not always perfect, just like any other kids. They would hold parties, and if you are a parent you would understand Job’s concern, especially if alcohol was involved, as it most likely was. This concerned Job so much that he would regularly intercede by offering burnt sacrifices on behalf of each of them.

Next, I want to look at what Job says about his former blessings.

He shares about them in chapter 29. From verse 2 (NLT) we read:

“I long for the years gone by
when God took care of me,
3 when he lit up the way before me
and I walked safely through the darkness.
4 When I was in my prime,
God’s friendship was felt in my home.
5 The Almighty was still with me,
and my children were around me.
6 My cows produced milk in abundance,
and my groves poured out streams of olive oil.

7 “Those were the days when I went to the city gate
and took my place among the honored leaders.
8 The young stepped aside when they saw me,
and even the aged rose in respect at my coming.
9 The princes stood in silence
and put their hands over their mouths.
10 The highest officials of the city stood quietly,
holding their tongues in respect.

11 “All who heard me praised me.
All who saw me spoke well of me.
12 For I assisted the poor in their need
and the orphans who required help.
13 I helped those without hope, and they blessed me.
And I caused the widows’ hearts to sing for joy.
14 Everything I did was honest.
Righteousness covered me like a robe,
and I wore justice like a turban.
15 I served as eyes for the blind
and feet for the lame.
16 I was a father to the poor
and assisted strangers who needed help.
17 I broke the jaws of godless oppressors
and plucked their victims from their teeth.

18 “I thought, ‘Surely I will die surrounded by my family
after a long, good life.
19 For I am like a tree whose roots reach the water,
whose branches are refreshed with the dew.
20 New honors are constantly bestowed on me,
and my strength is continually renewed.’

21 “Everyone listened to my advice.
They were silent as they waited for me to speak.
22 And after I spoke, they had nothing to add,
for my counsel satisfied them.
23 They longed for me to speak as people long for rain.
They drank my words like a refreshing spring rain.
24 When they were discouraged, I smiled at them.
My look of approval was precious to them.
25 Like a chief, I told them what to do.
I lived like a king among his troops
and comforted those who mourned.

I will look at that passage in depth later, but for now, we have some understanding about Job, and how traumatic this suffering was for him, and how unjust they seemed.  We could not say that he deserved them.

Lastly, let’s look at how things ended up for Job.

In chapter 42 and verse 12-17 we read this:

“So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.  He also gave Job seven more sons and three more daughters.  He named his first daughter Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch.  In all the land no women were as lovely as the daughters of Job. And their father put them into his will along with their brothers.
“Job lived 140 years after that, living to see four generations of his children and grandchildren. Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, full life.”

Hallelujah!! We see that God is faithful, and that He always wants what is best for His kids, even in our troubles. The Lesson??  He has his purpose in it all.

Okay, that is not the end of this study in Job, but this was to give us a backdrop to help us understand the situation better. Let us keep these things in mind as we go back and study the book of Job more closely.