Job's Conduct In Crisis

Episode #3 begins with a brief review of key elements from Episode #2, where we examined Job's great character as the preparation and pretext for the dramatic crisis in Job's life. We trace the story of Job from Chapters 1 and 2 of the Book of Job, where, in short order, and in a series of two assaults, Job lost his prosperous livestock business, many of his trusted workforce were murdered by hordes of nomadic raiders, and most tragically, Job's 10 children were killed as they were crushed beneath the rubble of their oldest brother's house where they were feasting. (Job 1:13-19)  As if all of that were not enough for this great man, Satan struck Job with large and painful boils from the "sole of his foot to the crown of his head". (Job 2:7) Nearly everything about Job's life was undone. Job was afflicted in body, mind, and soul. In the only exchange between Job and his wife recorded in the scriptures, Job's wife offers no words of consolation, compassion, or love. While she is no doubt contending with her own grief, she chooses a bitter insult given to her husband in question form, followed by a ringing fatalistic suggestion: "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!" (Job 2:9). Job's gracious and kind heart responded to his wife with wisdom and spiritual maturity, leading him to a time of refection at the Dunghill. 

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Welcome to When Tears Run Dry, the podcast. I'm Mark Janik, your host and author of the recently released book When Tears Run Dry. Well, we're delighted you've joined us on our journey to healing, recovery, and restoration. This is the third episode in our new podcast series, When Tears Run Dry. If you're joining us for the first time, our book, When Tears Run Dry, is about the story of Job as he suffered catastrophic personal losses of every kind. And yet God led him to healing, wholeness, and restoration. And my friend, God wants to do that for you too. So we're delighted you've joined us. Friends, if if you or someone you know is going through or has suffered a catastrophic personal loss, then you've come to the right place. Indeed, this program is for you. So if you're joining us for the first time at When Tears Run Dry, we want to make it as easy as possible for you to join us in our discussions. We'll be drawing much of our material from the recent book release, When Tears Run Dry. So as you join us every week, it'd be helpful to have your own copy of the book since we will be certainly referring to sections and passages as we work through the text. And speaking of the book, you can get a copy of When Tears Run Dry directly from our publisher, Remnant Publications, through our website at when tearsrundry.org or on Amazon and Barnes Noble, they carry the electronic versions, Kendall and Nook, respectively. For those of you that like the convenience of books on your phone or other electronic devices. If you were with us last time in episode two, Job's Perfect Resume, you'll recall that we began our study of Job in the Old Testament book of the Bible that bears his name. That's the book of Job. And we noted that Job was introduced to us by God with one of the most astonishing and laudable biographical sketches in the whole of Scripture. Job is introduced to us as an upright man, one who feared God and shunned evil. And we focused on Job's great character and integrity, as this is certainly one of the key themes that resonates throughout the entire book of Job. And we discussed Job's distinguished character and how it manifested itself in the context of his large family, seven sons and three daughters, and also his great success as a rancher with large herds, and we we must assume also considerable landholdings to support all of that. Well, the scripture records in Job 1, chapter 3, uh, Job chapter 1, verse 3, that Job was the greatest of all the people in the East. Job was certainly a prosperous, respected leader in the community. He had unquestioned moral and spiritual credentials, and frankly, nothing short of heaven's ringing endorsement as to his character, faith, and integrity. If you're following along with us in When Tears Run Dry, we're on page 23, where Job chronicles the first assault on Job by Satan. The first assault was comprised of four rapid, independent attacks on virtually every aspect of Job's life. The first attack was a massive horde of nomadic raiders known as the Sabaeans who raided Job's oxen. He had 500 oxen and donkeys. The second attack, it was a sudden storm of lightning, and it burned up the flocks of sheep. There were 7,000 sheep and the attending service. Horrible thing. And the third attack, it was perpetrated by three bands of raiders, the Chaldeans who made off with the camels. There were 3,000 of those, and also murdering the attending servants. The fourth and final attack of this first assault was a great windstorm, probably a tornado or a severe wind shear. And it leveled the house where Job's ten adult children were having their feast. And the children were crushed beneath the rubble from the windstorm. And in each attack, a lone servant survived to tell Job their tragic story. The attacks were so rapid and calamitous that Job had no time to absorb or even comprehend the scale of one tragic loss before another befell this great and godly man known only to us as Job. Well, we need to pause a moment to step back from the edge and consider the scope and dimension of what transpired in Job's life. On page 24 in When Tears Run Dry, we make the point that bad things do indeed happen to good people. Job's peerless spiritual credentials, as distinguished as they were, did not immunize him from tragedy, suffering, and heartache. However, Job's character, his faith and integrity would be tested as his life was forever altered, even as he contemplated the magnitude of these losses. We make the point in the book on page 25 that the final three verses of Job chapter one, I think, are some of the most astonishing expressions of faith in the whole of the scriptures. Verses 20 through 22, Job chapter 1 records the patriarch's conduct. After all of the attacks, it says, Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshipped, 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. And this post script stands in the ages where it reads, In all this Job did not sin, nor charge God with wrong. So the scriptures capture this scene as one assault in four horrific iterations of violent and deadly decimation of nearly everything Job held dear. There was a lifetime of personal investment of time and labor and resources in his ranching business and the love that Job poured into his family business, his community, and of course, his ten children. And all of this was taken away by forces he could neither see nor comprehend, and for reasons that were not disclosed to him. Job's conduct, he met stunning loss with absolutely equal stunning faith. It's absolutely remarkable to see one man endure mind-bending catastrophic loss in virtually all corners of his life, and yet Job's instinct was to worship. Amazing to be sure. Well, on pages 26 and 27, we discussed Job's great declaration of faith in the passage that we just read. And I want you to note that Job's response to multiple calamities in the first assault was frankly a hundred and eighty degrees the polar opposite of how Satan wrongly predicted that Job would respond. Again, we quote from the book, page 27. He, meaning Job, didn't wallow aimlessly in his sorrows or get drunk to numb his pain, nor did he seethe in bitter rage. There was no shaking of his fist, vowing to take vengeance on the nomads who murdered his servants and raided his herds. No. According to the scriptures, Job arose, tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshipped. Indeed, Job's conduct amid great personal tragedy perfectly reflected the traits for which God esteemed him so highly. The chapter summary on page twenty eight of When Tears Run Dry reads in part Right conduct flows from right character. Job models for us measured speech and quiet strength, all of which flow from his great integrity. But as remarkable as Job's response was to this first assault, Job's troubles were far from over. In chapter two of the book of Job, starting at verse one, we are again given a brief glimpse behind the curtain of the unseen, as God is once again holding court. And verse one begins, Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord. And the Lord said to Satan, From where do you come? Satan answered the Lord and said, From going to and fro on the earth and walking back and forth on it. Then the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job that there is none like him on the earth? A blameless, an upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil. And still he holds face fat and still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without cause. So Satan answered the Lord and said, Skin for skin, yes, all that a man has he will give for his life, but stretch out your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse you to your face. And the Lord said to Satan, Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life. So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes. And then his wife said to him, Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die. Verse 10. But he said to her, You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God? And shall we not accept adversity? In all of this, Job did not sin with his lips. Well, there's a lot to unpack here. But before we do that, if you're joining us for the first time on our brand new podcast, When Tears Run Dry, we want to make it as easy as possible for you to join us in our discussions. We'll be drawing much of our material from our recent book release, When Tears Run Dry. So as you join us every week, it would certainly be helpful for you to have your own copy of the book since we'll refer to sections and passages as we work our way through the text. And speaking of the book, you can get a copy of When Tears Run Dry directly from our publisher, Remnant Publications, through our website, when TearsRundry.org, or an electronic version on Amazon and Barnes Noble. They carry the Kindle and Nook versions, respectively. For those of you that prefer the convenience of the book on your phone or other electronic devices. Personally, I love both the hard copy and the electronic versions. I have the Kindle version on my phone as well, and it's got lots of special features to make it easy when it's not convenient to have the hard copy with you. Well, we do want to remind you that chapter two of the book is frankly the raw and powerful account of this man Job already emotionally bruised and battered by the first assault of Satan, now pelted by an instantaneous affliction of large and painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. So let's focus on a few elements of the text. First, Job's health was seriously compromised by debilitating boils. Without question, this second assault amplified the suffering Job was already contending with, now foisting the addition of pure human physical pain into the mix. It's just an unbelievable, crushing series of events. Job was already writhing in pain mentally and emotionally from all that had just taken place in the first assault. But now the internal pain was compounded by the physical external pain. Job was pressed on all sides by the attacks of the evil one. And after the first assault, Job worshiped. On pages 31 and 32 of our text, we discussed the somewhat odd mention in verse 8 of Job chapter 2 that Job used a potshirt. The biblical text uh does not elucidate why the potsherd was used, although we could conclude that it was likely just readily available there at the dunghill. And it did not mention also what the outcome of the scraping was. But in any case, and I don't want you to miss this, Job used something which was itself humble and broken to attend to the pain of his broken life. He did not call for a physician or other medical professional to assist. He sat alone in pain, dealing with his physical calamity with what he could find to assist. Verse 9 of the biblical text would be a short course in couple's communication for any right-thinking marriage therapist. Then his wife said to him, Do you still hold to your integrity? Curse God and die. How are you, sweetheart? On pages 32 and 33, we discussed the this uh exchange on several levels, so I I'd encourage you to spend some time reviewing the text. But on his on its face, his wife, and we do not know her name, appears to be looking down on her husband in utter disrele uh disbelief at his refusal to give up. She speaks no words of comfort, compassion, or love, and she derides his apparent decision to accept the multiple calamities with the subtle suggestion that Job's death would be the best outcome, but that he first should curse God. Well, Job's response I think is without question one of the most impeccable demonstrations of grace under pressure in the whole of Scriptures. When he says in verse 10 of Job chapter 2, he says, You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and shall we not accept adversity? Again, I I would point you to page 32 of our book where we highlight Job's restrained and compassionate reply to his wife, even as he himself was in massive mental, emotional, and physical pain, Job makes the point that her thinking and suggestions are unwise. But he does so respectively and without insult. I I must also confess that I find this incredibly dark passage, um that there is also a a bit of a hint of wry humor when Job suggests that his wife, although not a fool, is speaking as one of the foolish women speaks, implying that there is a group of women in the community known for speaking foolishly, to wit, with whom she would not want to be associated. Fascinating. Well, verse 10 closes with Job's powerful rhetorical question to his wife that echoes through the ages, followed by a ringing declaration of Job's conduct that seals the intent and demonstration of his character. Shall we indeed accept good from God and shall we not accept adversity? And the postscript, in all of this, Job did not sin with his his lips. Well, in the book, we make the case that not only did Job's stellar resume, demonstrated by his blameless and upright faith, character, and integrity, not immunize him from horrific evil assaults, but indeed they were the very brick and mortar in Job's life that allowed him to withstand the attacks of the evil one. The chapter summary on page 34 gives us a raw observation about the reality of suffering and deep personal loss. There are times we endure a hardship with the belief that the test is over. We begin to reflect on the losses as Job did, only to find that the test was not over. He lost his business, his life's work, his income. Many of his trusted servants and workforce were dead, and of course, most tragically, Job lost his ten children. So he was was writhing in unimaginable grief and suffering only to see his body disfigured and twisting in non remitting physical pain. As all this were not enough, the only person In his life, in his immediate family, still living, was his wife. And she had no words of compassion, encouragement, or love. There was there was no warm embrace to soothe the brokenhearted man with whom she built a great life and family. And yet, amid the pain, the suffering, the mourning, and the grief, God shows us his matchless grace. Indeed, it must be noted that Job shared a measure of God's grace with his wife, who was herself, no doubt, witnessing the wreckage all around them. Well, friends, if you're enjoying our When Tears Run Dry podcast, I would invite you to stay with us. We have some exciting guests in the future episodes that I know you won't want to miss. We have survivors of multiple catastrophic losses who share their stories of healing, wholeness, and restoration as God did amazing work in their lives with a powerful story of God's amazing grace. We'll also have insights from leaders of recovery support groups that share their observations and experiences as program leaders and discuss what they suggest is helpful in the recovery process from their years of experience working with hurting souls. So lots of great things ahead on When Tears Run Dry, the podcast, every Thursday on this same platform at this same time. Well, before we close, I'd like to invite you to check out our website, When Tears Rundry.org. You'll find great support material, helpful articles, and encouraging blog content and various media content, including all of our When Tears Run Dry podcast episodes from this season one. We also would love to hear from you about how the book and the podcast have blessed your life. Tell us a little bit about your story and how God has worked in your journey to healing, wholeness, and restoration. And we invite you to become a member of When Tears Run Dry.org. Members will have access to special members-only content. And of course, your membership helps keep the When Tears Run Dry podcast a valuable resource for those in the midst of catastrophic personal loss. Friends, we're we're just about out of time. And uh I would like to thank you. I'm Mark Jenick saying we're we're so glad you could join us for this third episode of When Tears Run Dry, the podcast. We hope you'll join us again next week at this same time on this same platform. And remember, in the midst of great loss, one often feels unsteady. And so we leave you with these great words of encouragement. Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.