"Behold, the fear/reverence of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding. . ." Job 28:28
- A PERFECT AND UPRIGHT MAN
Much of the book of Job are chapters and chapters of four people who try, but fail, to understand Job's plight. Once a happy, wealthy, faithful, esteemed, family man, Job became a wretch through the devices of Satan. He lost everyone, everything . . . except for his faith. And most of the Book of Job is his and others' response to that. The four others accuse Job of sin. Job, though willing to accept blame if it were true, knew that it was not and denied them. None of them yet knew that Job underwent those trials as an example of a faithful child of God.
In a previous sermon, WE ARE 'JOB', we addressed the ultimate purpose of Satan's experiment with Job. Now we will examine why God picked Job of all people. The back-and-forth conversations between the four men are nearly irrelevant because we know Job did not sin. Quite contrarily, God described Job in this way:
"Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that fears [reveres] God, and eschews [deliberately avoids; abstains from] evil?" Job 1:8
Job was God's choice to exemplify to Satan that a person could love God for who He is, rather than for what He gives. But let's set aside that debate with Satan. God called Job a perfect and upright man. That's a man we want to learn from, a life we want to emulate.
- THE CHARACTER OF JOB
Job was chosen and loved by God, respected and consulted by his contemporaries. . .
. . ."Because I delivered the poor who cried out,
The fatherless and the one who had no helper.
The blessing of a perishing man came upon me,
And I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
My justice was like a robe and a turban.
I was eyes to the blind,
And I was feet to the lame.
I was a father to the poor,
And I searched out the case that I did not know.
I broke the fangs of the wicked, . . .
Notice a pattern: Job took care of people. He used his blessings, his resources, to ensure that his surplus filled others' lack. And not only his surplus, Job devoted his whole self to God, his time and effort to God's children. He was the perfect embodiment of what Jesus taught us in Matthew 25:31-46. When we nourish others, we nourish God. When we neglect others, we neglect God. Whatever we do for/against others, God considers an act for/against Himself. How well or poorly we treat others, especially the misfortunate, is watched and weighed by God.
God values our love for Him; He appreciates our faith. But the epistle of James reminds us that faith without works is dead. Give close attention to the example used:
What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. James 2:14-17
In the example, the supposedly faithful person who does not actively assist the one in need is not an actually-faithful person. At its core, faith is action on behalf of others. As Job has exemplified, God notes and chooses and the people who help people. We all need to do frequent self-evaluations: is our behavior esteemed by men by God?
And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God. Luke 16:15
The things that people gawk over are irrelevant or even an abomination to God. Do we use our life, our time and resources to elevate our status in society or our usefulness in the kingdom of God? Job was useful in the kingdom of God because he used his life, his time and resources help people who had no helper. He was useful to the kingdom of God because he was purposeful on earth.
Job loved, revered, obeyed God. Then he put his love into action. He helped, lifted, clothed, led, fed people. God called him perfect.
- LET ME BE WEIGHTED IN AN EVEN BALANCE
Throughout Chapter 31, Job discusses the things he did not do. Pay attention to their literal and figurative meaning. Since Job did not do these things, and God called him perfect, we should do do these things:
Job did not allow himself to be tempted or deceived. He did not despise or mistreat his servants. He did not ignore the poor; He did not mislead the widow. He did not allow the hungry to starve. He did not leave the naked unclothed or cold. He did not neglect the orphan. He did not make wealth his hope or his idol. He did not have any false idols; he rightly-attributed all good things to God. He was pompous. He did not delight in even his enemy's pain. He did not curse anyone. He did not leave a stranger stranded. He did not try to hide his transgressions; he did not live a deceitful life.
Job stated that if he had done any of that, he would hold himself accountable for it. He wanted to be held accountable for it. He was a good man, not a self-proclaimed perfect one, but good. If he had erred, he wanted to be made aware so that he could repent and correct it. Just as he wanted to, and did, use his resources/blessings to help others. We should be similarly-minded. We should be careful to eschew evil, hold ourselves accountable for our transgressions, and endeavor to change (meanwhile, helping others).
A lot of what Job did, and did not do, is both literal and metaphor. There are numerous ways to help people. There are numerous recourses with which to help people. The help that people need is sometimes food, clothing and/or shelter. There are widows and orphans in the world who need family and support. You may not have every resource every person needs. But you have something. If friendship is all you have to give, give it. Perhaps one day God will say to you, when I needed a friend, you were my friend. Pray to God for the resources and the opportunity to help people. And then use those resources, whatever they may be, to do it.
Give glory to God and goodness to others.
Scripture: Job 1; 28; 29; 31; James 2; Luke 15; Matthew 25