Job has been proclaiming the need for faithfulness when suffering. In Job 28 we see Job proclaiming to anyone who will listen that the fear of the Lord is wisdom. Turning away from evil is understanding (cf. Job 28:28). The friends of Job believed they had come to Job with wisdom to comfort and correct Job. But Job is able to see that they have not proclaimed wisdom. They do not have the words of God, even though they think they do. God alone possesses wisdom. God is the source of wisdom. What Job is going to do next is show his faithfulness before his suffering began and continued faithfulness through his suffering.
Before we begin, I think we should acknowledge something. Faithfulness to the Lord when suffering is hard. It is difficult to remain faithful when you have been wrecked by life. The reason we can acknowledge this is because of Satan’s own words. Go back to the beginning of the book of Job. Look at what Satan said to the Lord.
“But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face” (Job 1:11).
Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” (Job 2:4-5 ESV)
Satan proclaims that if he can allowed to make your life hard enough, you will quit. Take away their blessings and they will quit. Let suffering enter their lives and they will quit. Take their health away and they will quit. Satan knows that faithfulness to the Lord is hard when we are suffering. Job’s faithfulness has been put to the test. Job is going to tell us about the way things were, the way things are, and his continued faithfulness through it all.
The Former Life (Job 29)
In Job 29 we see Job recounting the way life used to be. But I want you to notice what Job says and what he has wrong. In Job 29:2 Job says that he wishes for the months past when God used to watch over him. Now I want us to think about this for a moment. The first point Job misses is not his stuff or his family. What he misses is his relationship with God. Job believes that he has lost God because he is experiencing so much suffering. Job thinks that his suffering means that God is no longer walking with him and showing him the way to go (cf. Job 29:3). Job thinks that his friendship with the Lord has ended (cf. Job 29:4-5). He thinks that his blessings in this life showed that God was with him, cared about him, and led him. Job is making a simple equation. If you have a good life, then God must be with you. If you have a suffering, troubled life, then God must not be with you. Now we have already addressed how this is false in a prior lesson. I ask you to go online and listen to the No Easy Answers lesson for an explanation about this point. But I want us to see that Job’s anguish comes from what he believes his suffering represents. Job is in anguish. But the pain is even greater when he thinks that God is not longer near him or with him. In the rest of chapter 29 we read about Job talking about how he was a blessing to people through his righteousness and faithfulness. I want us to notice something about the way he thought about his future. Look at verses 18-20 and notice what he thought about his blessed life.
“Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand, my roots spread out to the waters, with the dew all night on my branches, my glory fresh with me, and my bow ever new in my hand.’” (Job 29:18-20 ESV)
Job says that he thought his future would continue to be prosperous and full of blessings just like it had in the past. I think this is an important warning. When life is good we can be tempted to think that this will always continue. We can think that we will die in peace when we are good and old and with joy in our house (Job 29:18). His roots would spread wide and deep (Job 29:19). His respect and strength would never fade (Job 29:20). Sometimes our hurts hit deeper because we think that today’s blessings will continue tomorrow and into the future indefinitely. This is why it makes his suffering so much more difficult. Look at the first words of chapter 30.
But Now (Job 30)
The first words of chapter 30 are, “But now.” “But now” are difficult words to say because it admits that things are radically different than what they used to be. But now Job’s life is full of laughing and distain toward him. He has become the object of scorn (Job 30:9). People abhor him and spit at him (Job 30:10). We need to appreciate the pain that Job is experiencing. Sometimes we can only think of Job’s suffering as his own personal health. But we are reading that people are making his life even worse than it already is.
But now Job is going to say some things that another person will come along and rebuke Job for saying. Look at Job 30:18-23. Job says that God has grabbed him by his collar and thrown him into the mud (Job 30:18-19). Job says that God will not answer him and God just stands there looking at him, as if God was helpless to do anything or did not want to do anything. Job says that God has turned against him with cruelty (Job 30:21). Finally, Job says that God wants to kill him (Job 30:22-23). This is what Job thinks. We will talk about why Job is wrong in future lessons. Elihu is going to speak up and set Job straight on these matters. But it is important to see what Job thinks to appreciate how Job has lived his life. Before we look at this, I want us to put ourselves in Job’s shoes. What would you do if you thought God had grabbed you by the neck and thrown you in the mud? What would you do if you prayed and prayed and God just looked at you with no response or action? What would you do if you thought God had cruelly turned against you? What would you do if you thought God just wanted you dead? Would you give up on God? Would you stop praying? Would you stop singing? Would you stop worshiping? Would you stop seeking him? Would you stop obeying him? Would you give up altogether? Remember what Satan said. Satan believes if he can make your life hard enough, you will quit. Would you? Will you? Look at chapter 31.
Continued Faithfulness (Job 31)
Has Job given up? Chapter 31 contains a listing of how Job has continued to be faithful before his suffering and through his suffering. Listen to Job details how he has continued to be faithful in spite of all he is going through. In the first four verses of chapter 31 Job declares that he has made a covenant with his eyes so as to not look with lust for another woman. Will you make that covenant today? Of course pornography is a sin. It is impurity and immorality in every way. But will you also make a covenant to stop watching the trash on television? Stop watching the filth that is put forward as must watch entertainment today. It is shocking that the most popular shows streaming today are shows that are full of nudity and sex. Make a covenant with your eyes to end lust. Turn it off. When we are suffering, we are tempted to let our guard down and to give ourselves over to our desires and lusts. Make a covenant with your eyes to not look upon things that are impure.
In Job 31:5-8 we see Job declare that he has made every effort to not turn from the path of the Lord. Job has chosen the life of honesty before all and has not hurried after deceit. Do not let your suffering become an excuse for deception. Do not let your hardship tempt you to be a hypocrite. Be honest. Do not be fake. Be real. Be transparent. Be clear.
In Job 31:9-12 Job continues to proclaim that he has been sexually pure. He has not been enticed by another woman. He has not desired to be with another man’s wife. Job has determined to not commit sexual immorality. In Job 31:13-15 Job declares that he has been determined to treat others fairly and equally. Christians should never treat other Christians differently. Christians should not treat other people differently, no matter who they are. Job says in verse 15 that God made him in the womb just as much as God made the other person in the womb. God is not partial. How dare we ever act with partiality toward another person because of wealth, background, race, or ethnicity! God has made every person. Job says that has treated people with fairness. Job continues this idea in verses 16-23, declaring he has done good to all people, even the helpless and needy.
In Job 31:24-25 we see Job saying that he has not put his trust in his wealth. He has not been arrogant because of the possessions he had. Remember, we were told at the beginning of this book that Job was the greatest of all the east (cf. Job 1:3). But even with his wealth, he has not put his hope in it. We are tempted when we are doing well to trust in wealth. In suffering, we are tempted to look to our money to save us. But Job says that he did not do these things. Job has not engaged in false worship (Job 31:26-28). Job has not been envious or malicious. Rather, he has been hospitable (Job 31:29-32). Finally, Job says that he has not been hiding his sins and there is no self-righteousness within him (Job 31:33-34).
Please notice how chapter 31 ends. “The words of Job are ended.” Job said what needed to be said. The fear of the Lord is wisdom. Job knew that no matter how good his life was, he would turn from evil. He would make a covenant with his eyes. He would not stray from God’s path. He would not commit sexual immorality. He would treat others fairly. He would not trust in his riches. He would do good to all. He would not hide his sins but live faithfully before the Lord. But Job also knew that no matter how hard life was, he would still turn from evil. He would still make a covenant with his eyes. He still would not stray from God’s path. He still would not commit sexual immorality. He would still treat others fairly. He still would not trust in riches. He still would do good to all. He would still not cover up his sins but live faithfully before the Lord. Job is showing an unwavering faithfulness whether he was rich or poor. Job did not change how he lived if he had his family and his health or if he lost both.
How terrible would this book be if we came to the end of Job 31 and Job said that he did all of these things and then quit his faithfulness because life did not go how he wanted! Can you imagine if Job said that his faithfulness was useless because his righteousness did not lead to having a good life? What if Job said that he thought that he would continue to have a good life, but God threw him in the mud, and now he is not going to be devoted to him any longer? Friends, how terrible would it be that you have walked with God for a time, but then you stopped because life was no longer what you wanted it to be!
Those sad words are recorded in the scriptures. Two times we read about a greeting from a Christian who had been working with Paul. In Colossians 4:14 we read of a man named Demas who greeted that church. In Philemon 24 we read his greeting to Philemon. But then we read something so, so sad.
Do your best to come to me soon. For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. (2 Timothy 4:9-10 ESV)
What happened to Demas? He gave up. We are not told what exactly happened. But we are told what was underneath what happened. He loved this present world. Demas decided faithfulness was not worth it anymore. He loved what this world had to offer: the temporary pleasure of this life. Maybe he did not want to make a covenant with his eyes any longer. Maybe the temptation to sexual immorality became something he did not want to fight any more. Maybe he did not want to treat people fairly and do good to them. Maybe he wanted wealth and desired to hope in it rather than in God. Maybe he was full of envy or jealousy. Maybe he was tired of hiding his sins and just stopped living hypocritically. Whatever it was, I want us to hear the warning. Faithfulness is tested in suffering. Sin is crouching at the door when life gets hard. Focus on being faithful when suffering. Fear God, no matter how good or how bad life gets. Hope in God by continuing to obey your God no matter the circumstances.