WEBVTT 00:00:00.640 --> 00:00:03.919 Well, if you are brand new, we're doing something this year really interesting. 00:00:04.080 --> 00:00:10.240 We're going through the entire story of the Bible, doing something we're calling the whole story. 00:00:10.480 --> 00:00:11.359 The whole story. 00:00:11.519 --> 00:00:19.280 And so as you can see, what we've done is we've broken the story of Scripture down into 14 different series, and we've been making our way through these all year long. 00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:24.719 The hope is that you understand sort of the scope of the story of the Bible because it's a story you're part of. 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:30.960 The hope is also that you would learn to appreciate the incredible profoundness and practicality of the Bible. 00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:40.960 It's amazing to me that every Sunday we get together, we open up things that were written sometimes 3,000 years ago, and yet they speak to our lives today as if the person who wrote them understands us. 00:00:41.039 --> 00:00:45.200 And that's because the person who inspired it, God, does understand us. 00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:48.240 Whether it was written 3,000 years ago or not. 00:00:48.880 --> 00:00:57.119 Scripture is incredible, and the better we know it, the better we understand this whole story that we're part of, the easier we can connect with God in a variety of ways. 00:00:57.280 --> 00:00:58.320 So it's really, really important. 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:02.560 We are in our seventh series, which is called Better Than Gold. 00:01:02.719 --> 00:01:04.959 We just launched this last week, Better Than Gold. 00:01:05.040 --> 00:01:10.640 We're exploring these books of the Bible that are often referred to as wisdom literature. 00:01:10.879 --> 00:01:17.519 And that phrase better than gold, it comes from the book of Proverbs that we looked at last week, which tells us that wisdom is better than gold. 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:24.400 You should desire wisdom more than you desire wealth, because there's never a scenario in life where you can have too much wisdom. 00:01:24.480 --> 00:01:28.000 There's never going to be a day where you're like, you know, I just, I know too much. 00:01:28.480 --> 00:01:29.359 I know too much. 00:01:29.439 --> 00:01:30.480 It's time for me to be done. 00:01:30.640 --> 00:01:31.680 You can never have too much. 00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:35.760 And the more wisdom you have, typically the better life goes. 00:01:36.079 --> 00:01:38.959 And so last Sunday we looked at the book of Proverbs. 00:01:39.040 --> 00:01:48.400 I, by the way, just have to say that I enjoyed last Sunday as much as any Sunday from a teaching perspective ever, because if you were here, one of the main points was keep your pants on. 00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:53.920 And I don't know many churches that could have that be like one of the main points, but it worked, it was fun, and there you go. 00:01:54.079 --> 00:01:55.120 We got through that. 00:01:55.439 --> 00:01:56.560 Had to teach Proverbs. 00:01:56.640 --> 00:01:57.920 There's a lot of Proverbs about that. 00:01:58.159 --> 00:02:07.519 But but today, today we're going to look at two books that are lumped in with Proverbs and the Psalms. 00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:15.199 But if you read them, and maybe many of you have have read them and are familiar, many of you probably not, they have a very different vibe. 00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:16.479 They've got a different vibe. 00:02:16.560 --> 00:02:19.439 It's the books of Ecclesiastes and Job. 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:21.439 Ecclesiastes and Job. 00:02:21.520 --> 00:02:25.280 If you could take Proverbs and sum it up in a sentence, it might be something like this. 00:02:25.360 --> 00:02:31.919 Hey, if you do these things, if you do these things that Proverbs tells you to do, life will go well for you. 00:02:32.159 --> 00:02:38.479 And if you can take Job and Ecclesiastes and add on to that, it might say, except when it doesn't. 00:02:38.719 --> 00:02:39.199 Right? 00:02:39.360 --> 00:02:44.639 If you do these things, if you're really wise and you do the right thing for the right reasons, life's gonna go really well for you. 00:02:44.800 --> 00:02:49.599 Job and Ecclesiastes show up and go, Except when it doesn't. 00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:54.879 Ecclesiastes and Job get kind of, well, they get kind of dark. 00:02:55.759 --> 00:02:57.360 They get kind of dark. 00:02:57.599 --> 00:03:01.280 And so, for example, Job 3, verses 3 through 10. 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:02.319 This is Job writing. 00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:08.800 He says, Let the day of my birth be erased, and the night that I was conceived. 00:03:09.039 --> 00:03:11.520 Hey, we're getting a lot of amber alerts right now on phones. 00:03:11.599 --> 00:03:13.120 Can we just stop and pray for a second about that? 00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:14.400 I've heard several of those go off. 00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:21.120 So, Father, whatever's going on right now with whatever child is in danger, we just pray in your name that that child is found, that that child is safe. 00:03:21.280 --> 00:03:23.520 Lord, be with the police officers who are searching. 00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:27.039 And Lord, we just pray that that child finds their way home and they are unharmed. 00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:27.919 Protect them. 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:29.280 And we pray this in your name, Jesus. 00:03:29.439 --> 00:03:30.000 Amen. 00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:34.479 Okay, it says, Let that day be turned to darkness. 00:03:34.719 --> 00:03:35.840 This is very encouraging. 00:03:36.080 --> 00:03:38.879 Let it be lost even to God on high. 00:03:39.039 --> 00:03:40.479 Let no light shine on it. 00:03:40.639 --> 00:03:43.759 Let the darkness and utter gloom claim that day for its own. 00:03:43.919 --> 00:03:45.759 Let a black cloud overshadow it. 00:03:45.919 --> 00:03:47.360 Let the darkness terrify it. 00:03:47.520 --> 00:03:50.000 Let that night be blotted off the calendar. 00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:52.080 Never again to be counted among the days of the year. 00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:54.159 Never again to appear among the months. 00:03:54.319 --> 00:03:55.919 Let that night be childless. 00:03:56.080 --> 00:03:57.520 Let it have no joy. 00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:02.479 Let those who are experts at cursing, whose cursing could rouse Leviathan, curse that day. 00:04:02.639 --> 00:04:04.560 Let its morning stars remain dark. 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:06.319 Let it hope for light, but in vain. 00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:08.000 May it never see the morning light. 00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:15.360 Curse that day for failing to shut my mother's womb, for letting me be born to see all this trouble. 00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:17.279 Yeah. 00:04:17.839 --> 00:04:21.920 Woo! It's in the Bible. 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:24.800 Ecclesiastes 1, 2, we'll jump to there. 00:04:24.879 --> 00:04:28.079 Here's kind of the gist of Ecclesiastes if you've never read it before. 00:04:28.560 --> 00:04:31.439 Everything is meaningless, says the teacher. 00:04:31.839 --> 00:04:34.639 Completely meaningless. 00:04:36.720 --> 00:04:46.079 You know, it's like if Ecclesiastes and Job were personified as two friends, they would be like those friends you have that you just don't want to be around that often because they're just bummers. 00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:47.600 Like they just bring everything down. 00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:49.279 I turn 40 on Saturday. 00:04:49.439 --> 00:04:50.720 I'm gonna turn 40 on Saturday. 00:04:50.879 --> 00:04:51.519 Very excited. 00:04:51.600 --> 00:04:53.920 Yes, you I've made it. 00:04:54.399 --> 00:04:55.680 I feel super old. 00:04:55.759 --> 00:04:59.279 When I came here to his hands, I was 23 years old. 00:04:59.439 --> 00:05:02.720 So it's like basically half my life has been here, which is crazy. 00:05:02.959 --> 00:05:07.600 But, you know, it's like I'm gonna hang out with some people probably on my 40th. 00:05:07.680 --> 00:05:08.319 I don't know that. 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:09.439 I'm not in charge of that. 00:05:09.519 --> 00:05:13.600 I've kind of told my wife, let's not do something big, please. 00:05:13.839 --> 00:05:15.040 I don't trust her. 00:05:15.120 --> 00:05:17.519 Uh I'm not sure what's gonna happen. 00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:26.399 But if I was in charge of who's gonna be there, whatever's gonna happen, I would never invite people like Job and Ecclesiastes, like people who have that mentality. 00:05:26.480 --> 00:05:31.519 Because if I invite them to my 40th birthday, I'd walk away from it being like, well, I'm I'm basically dead now. 00:05:31.680 --> 00:05:33.759 You know, all my best years are behind me. 00:05:33.920 --> 00:05:38.319 All that I have to look forward to now is the slow and steady inevitability of death. 00:05:38.480 --> 00:05:44.240 Like that is what I would feel if I hung out with people like this, that have these sort of mentalities. 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:47.040 It's really dark and it's really bleak stuff. 00:05:47.279 --> 00:05:50.879 I've never met a person who said their favorite book of the Bible is Ecclesiastes. 00:05:50.959 --> 00:05:53.600 I've never met a person who says Job is like the best. 00:05:54.800 --> 00:05:59.360 But I'm also super grateful that we have these scriptures. 00:06:01.279 --> 00:06:12.160 Because darkness, struggle, confusion, pain, suffering, it's part of life. 00:06:12.639 --> 00:06:13.680 It's part of life. 00:06:15.120 --> 00:06:33.759 And the fact that God was so good that He gave us scriptures that speak to that part of life with such a level of genuineness and authenticity that when we're in that stage, when we're going through things like that, when that's just where we're at, we have scripture that speaks to it. 00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:39.759 It's kind of like if you're ever having a really bad day, the most annoying thing in the world is like a really peppy song. 00:06:40.240 --> 00:06:41.199 You know what I mean? 00:06:41.439 --> 00:06:46.959 Or like a person who's all bright and cheery, and you're having a rough day, and you're just like, shut up. 00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:52.560 I don't, even if they're trying to cheer you up, you're just like, no, no, I don't, I don't want to be cheered up. 00:06:52.720 --> 00:06:55.360 I want to wallow in my pain. 00:06:55.600 --> 00:06:55.920 Right? 00:06:56.079 --> 00:06:57.680 Maybe we don't say that. 00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:04.560 But sometimes we're going through things that are hard enough that we kind of have to just be in it for a while. 00:07:05.279 --> 00:07:06.720 It's part of life. 00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:14.480 And I love the fact that scripture has such depth that it's not just happiness and everything's gonna be great and positivity. 00:07:14.560 --> 00:07:21.759 No, no, sometimes life doesn't feel that way, and Job and Ecclesiastes are scriptures that can speak to us in those places. 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:29.439 And if you've ever been there, and most of us have, it speaks to us in that place and it gives us wisdom for how to get out of that place. 00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:32.800 See, Proverbs is wisdom for life when it's going well. 00:07:32.959 --> 00:07:39.040 Job and Ecclesiastes are wisdom for when life has not gone the way that you want it to go, and that is how life often goes. 00:07:39.199 --> 00:07:44.879 Life does not often cooperate with our plans, our dreams, our hopes, sometimes even our prayers. 00:07:46.160 --> 00:07:50.480 And when life hits us really hard, we can get to a dark place pretty fast. 00:07:50.639 --> 00:07:52.240 There's sort of this progression. 00:07:52.480 --> 00:07:55.519 And I think most of us have experienced this to some degree. 00:07:55.839 --> 00:08:00.560 You could be doing really well in life, everything can be going great, and then all of a sudden, disappointment hits. 00:08:00.959 --> 00:08:04.879 Something doesn't go the way you wanted it to go, now you're you're disappointed. 00:08:05.519 --> 00:08:12.000 And if you don't deal with that disappointment, if it lingers, it can grow and it becomes discouragement. 00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:15.920 Now you're not just disappointed, now you're you're discouraged. 00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:17.360 Just kind of down. 00:08:17.680 --> 00:08:22.879 And if that grows and it's not dealt with, then that discouragement will become disillusionment. 00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:27.839 Now it's not that you're just discouraged, you're disillusioned, you really can't even see a way out. 00:08:29.920 --> 00:08:32.960 And if that continues, it can become disbelief. 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:39.360 Where you are are in such a dark place that in your mind this is just the way it is, and nothing can change it. 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:41.679 And that can happen in every aspect of life. 00:08:41.840 --> 00:08:49.840 That can happen in your marriage, that can happen with your career, that can happen with the world around you, it can even happen in the way you perceive your relationship with God. 00:08:51.200 --> 00:08:56.399 What do we do when we find ourselves in a dark spot? 00:08:56.960 --> 00:08:59.600 We need wisdom, divine wisdom. 00:08:59.840 --> 00:09:04.639 And Job and Ecclesiastes give us that wisdom for the dark times. 00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:08.399 So let's jump into Ecclesiastes. 00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:09.279 Let's go through this. 00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:13.279 And by the way, I recognize that I hope not all of us are in a dark season. 00:09:13.440 --> 00:09:17.120 That would be, if you are, God wanted you here for a reason. 00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:25.039 I know a lot of you pretty well, and I know a lot of you, I'm just looking around the room, who have been through some pretty heavy stuff very recently, or you're going through it right now. 00:09:25.120 --> 00:09:33.840 But all of us, whether you're in a rough season or a really good one, you know what it's like to be there, and you know that you could be there again one day, and how amazing is it that God wants to speak to you in it. 00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:35.840 So I just want to say that as I frame this. 00:09:35.919 --> 00:09:38.080 Let's jump into Ecclesiastes. 00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:45.919 Verses 1 and 2 of the very first chapter say that these are the words of the teacher, King David's son, who ruled in Jerusalem. 00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:48.960 Everything is meaningless, says the teacher, completely meaningless. 00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:53.679 If you could sum up the entirety of Ecclesiastes, you just say, you know what? 00:09:53.759 --> 00:09:54.960 Nothing matters. 00:09:55.360 --> 00:09:56.240 Nothing matters. 00:09:56.399 --> 00:09:58.000 It's all pointless. 00:09:58.399 --> 00:10:00.159 That is repeated over and over again. 00:10:00.240 --> 00:10:08.639 And Ecclesiastes is really interesting because it's written by Solomon, who was the same guy who wrote Proverbs, but he's writing it in a very different place in life. 00:10:08.720 --> 00:10:13.600 Things have not gone well, he's drifted far from God, he's had a lot of suffering as a result of that. 00:10:13.759 --> 00:10:15.519 And he writes this in a very unique way. 00:10:15.679 --> 00:10:18.879 There's two characters speaking in the book of Ecclesiastes. 00:10:18.960 --> 00:10:24.720 There's the narrator who sets it up at the very beginning, and he introduces this person he calls the teacher. 00:10:24.960 --> 00:10:30.080 And for most of the book of Ecclesiastes, we have the teacher talking to us, saying all kinds of things. 00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:36.320 And then it finishes going back to that narrator who says, okay, now that you've heard from the teacher, this is what you should really take away from this. 00:10:36.399 --> 00:10:40.639 And so it's not that everything in Ecclesiastes is meant to be taken at face value. 00:10:40.799 --> 00:10:48.080 It's not that everything the teacher says is 100% true, and this is how you should live your life, and this is what you should base your life on. 00:10:48.720 --> 00:10:58.240 It's telling you on the front end, hey, there's this guy, this teacher, and he's got a lot of wisdom, but also keep in mind he's pretty jaded. 00:10:58.960 --> 00:11:00.559 He's very cynical. 00:11:00.960 --> 00:11:11.200 And so listen to his perspectives, listen to the teacher's observations about life, glean wisdom from it, but remember, this is a jaded dude. 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:14.320 And so there's a lot of gems in Ecclesiastes. 00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:16.799 There's amazing scriptures like enjoy life. 00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:22.000 There's a big theme in Ecclesiastes that if life is going well, enjoy it because you don't know how long that might last. 00:11:22.159 --> 00:11:24.480 So if you can enjoy life today, go enjoy life today. 00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:26.720 If you can eat good food today, go eat good food. 00:11:26.960 --> 00:11:30.879 Ecclesiastes teaches us that two are better than one, that three are even better. 00:11:31.039 --> 00:11:32.799 That's something that we read at weddings. 00:11:32.960 --> 00:11:37.360 It's the only part of Ecclesiastes anyone would ever want read at a wedding, actually, is that part. 00:11:37.519 --> 00:11:43.919 Ecclesiastes teaches us that there's a season for everything, that everything happens in seasons in life. 00:11:44.080 --> 00:11:49.679 There's so much wisdom, but there's also a lot of bleak darkness in Ecclesiastes. 00:11:49.759 --> 00:11:56.960 And so, for example, Ecclesiastes chapter, oh let's go chapter two, verses 12 through 17. 00:11:57.279 --> 00:12:04.000 He says, So I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and madness, for who can do this better than I, the king? 00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:11.120 I thought wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness, for the wise can see where they're going, but fools walk in the dark. 00:12:11.279 --> 00:12:14.240 And yet I saw that the wise and the foolish share the same fate. 00:12:14.399 --> 00:12:15.360 Both will die. 00:12:15.600 --> 00:12:19.759 So I said to myself, Since I will end up the same as a fool, what's the value of all my wisdom? 00:12:19.919 --> 00:12:21.279 This is also meaningless. 00:12:21.440 --> 00:12:25.919 For the wise and the foolish both die, the wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool. 00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:31.919 In the days to come both will be forgotten, so I came to hate life, because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. 00:12:32.080 --> 00:12:34.960 Everything is meaningless, like chasing the wind. 00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:41.919 He goes on in Ecclesiastes 2 18 to say, I came to hate all my hard work here on the earth, for I must leave it to others. 00:12:42.399 --> 00:12:47.360 Ecclesiastes 12, he says, um, oh no, we'll pause there. 00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:54.240 He goes on and he says things like, I looked at all the oppression in the world, I looked at all the suffering in the world, and I said, This is all meaningless. 00:12:54.399 --> 00:13:03.200 I looked at how like a lot of wealthy people have their wealth from ill-gotten gains, and they use that to just build up their own lives, and the poor people suffer. 00:13:03.360 --> 00:13:06.480 And basically, you read through Ecclesiastes, and it's just like, you know what? 00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:07.440 Nothing matters. 00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:08.879 Everything is meaningless. 00:13:09.039 --> 00:13:11.200 There's injustice, it will never change. 00:13:11.360 --> 00:13:15.039 All your hard work is gonna be handed off to someone else to enjoy. 00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:16.799 Everyone's gonna die. 00:13:17.600 --> 00:13:19.039 Ecclesiastes. 00:13:19.279 --> 00:13:22.639 Yeah, that is that's just like bam, bam, bam. 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:27.120 It's like he's at a bar and he's just kicking them back and he's like, and another thing, you know? 00:13:28.559 --> 00:13:30.399 It's it's it's rough. 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:31.840 It's rough. 00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:34.399 But it's honest. 00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:36.399 It's honest. 00:13:36.480 --> 00:13:48.720 It's interesting to have the perspective of this wise man Solomon writing from a point when life went really sideways, mostly from his own fault. 00:13:49.440 --> 00:13:55.600 And you can be tempted as you read Ecclesiastes to take that as the major takeaway to say, okay, well, this is the I guess there's just no point. 00:13:55.919 --> 00:13:57.039 Why even try? 00:13:57.279 --> 00:14:00.799 But when you get to the end, the narrator jumps back in. 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:03.519 Ecclesiastes 12. 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:05.600 It says, My child. 00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:08.559 This is the narrator, not the teacher talking. 00:14:08.799 --> 00:14:10.559 Let me give you some further advice. 00:14:10.879 --> 00:14:11.840 Be careful. 00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:14.639 For writing books is endless, and much study wears you out. 00:14:14.799 --> 00:14:21.200 In other words, he's saying, like, hey, this teacher that told you all these things, like, yeah, that's knows a lot of stuff, but there's a limit to that. 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:22.799 That's the whole story. 00:14:22.960 --> 00:14:24.639 Here is now my final conclusion. 00:14:24.799 --> 00:14:29.200 Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone's duty. 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:32.799 God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad. 00:14:32.960 --> 00:14:35.759 Now, we talked about this a little bit last week in Proverbs. 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:38.399 Fear God shows up a lot in this section of Scripture. 00:14:38.480 --> 00:14:45.360 It is not saying tremble in fear, be afraid of God because he's out to get you, you've made a mistake, and God is now looking for an opportunity to punish you. 00:14:45.440 --> 00:14:46.559 That's not what it means at all. 00:14:46.799 --> 00:14:55.919 It's this idea of reverent awe, of being so in awe of God that you recognize how big he is, how great he is, and you live your life oriented around God. 00:14:56.080 --> 00:15:01.759 Basically, the the narrator says at the end of Ecclesiastes, yeah, take everything that that teacher said, glean wisdom from it. 00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:05.279 But remember, at the end of the day, just honor God. 00:15:05.519 --> 00:15:09.840 Live your life connected to him and follow his commands. 00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:13.120 That's the best way to live. 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:14.879 Pin that. 00:15:15.039 --> 00:15:16.879 Just keep that pinned in your mind for a moment. 00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:18.399 And let's look at Job. 00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:24.240 Job is a very different story, it's a very different form of literature than Ecclesiastes. 00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:26.639 It's an actual self-contained story. 00:15:26.799 --> 00:15:32.480 We don't have a lot of those in the Bible where you have a whole book that's just start to end one story. 00:15:32.799 --> 00:15:34.159 Job's a really interesting one. 00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:35.360 He's a good man. 00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:36.960 He's a really good man. 00:15:37.200 --> 00:15:40.000 In fact, he's like the best guy alive. 00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:44.960 Like he is, if there is an award for best dude on the earth, Job wins. 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:52.879 And we get this really interesting story about Satan interacting with God, talking about Job. 00:15:53.200 --> 00:16:00.559 And so in Job chapter 1, verses 6 through 12, it says, One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the Lord, and the accuser Satan came with them. 00:16:00.799 --> 00:16:01.600 Where have you come from? 00:16:01.759 --> 00:16:02.480 The Lord asked Satan. 00:16:02.639 --> 00:16:06.799 Satan answered, The Lord, I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that's going on. 00:16:06.960 --> 00:16:09.519 And then the Lord asked Satan, Have you noticed my servant Job? 00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:11.440 He is the finest man in all the earth. 00:16:11.519 --> 00:16:13.840 He's blameless, a man of complete integrity. 00:16:13.919 --> 00:16:15.679 He fears God, he stays away from evil. 00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:20.000 And Satan replied to the Lord, Well, yeah, but Job has good reason to fear God. 00:16:20.159 --> 00:16:22.960 You've always put a wall of protection around him in his home and his property. 00:16:23.120 --> 00:16:24.720 You've made him prosper at everything he does. 00:16:24.799 --> 00:16:25.679 Look how rich he is. 00:16:25.840 --> 00:16:30.639 But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face. 00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:31.519 All right. 00:16:31.759 --> 00:16:33.519 You may test him, the Lord said to Satan. 00:16:33.600 --> 00:16:36.960 Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but do not harm him physically. 00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:38.480 So Satan left the Lord's presence. 00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:41.120 And you might be reading that going, is that how this works? 00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:44.720 Like, because if so, I just want to fly under the radar. 00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:48.559 Like, I don't want to be too good if that's the way things go. 00:16:48.799 --> 00:16:52.399 And look, Job's an interesting book of the Bible. 00:16:52.559 --> 00:17:04.799 Some scholars, many scholars will actually say that it's the oldest of all of the books, meaning that it was written, not that its events necessarily happened first, but it it was written before anything else that we have in all of Scripture. 00:17:04.880 --> 00:17:08.000 It is an extremely ancient document. 00:17:08.480 --> 00:17:13.200 And many scholars believe that it's the story of an actual person who lived. 00:17:13.440 --> 00:17:22.000 Many scholars believe too, and there's merit to both, that it's it's an allegory, that the book of Job is a story that's meant to teach us something just like Jesus would teach in parables. 00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:31.039 And for example, he told the parable of a rich man and a man named Lazarus, and it seems like it could be like a made-up story, even though there's people who have names. 00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:32.480 Lots of merit to both views. 00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:34.079 Not sure which one is true. 00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:40.400 Ultimately, what we have to understand is that this story is meant to teach us some really valuable truth. 00:17:40.960 --> 00:17:42.640 Really valuable truth. 00:17:43.519 --> 00:17:46.000 I tend to lean that Job was an actual person. 00:17:46.559 --> 00:17:51.839 I'm okay with the idea that it's an allegory because of the way that it's written, sort of hints at that at different times. 00:17:52.160 --> 00:17:54.240 But either way, this story is powerful. 00:17:54.319 --> 00:17:57.039 It's scripture, it's inspired truth. 00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:02.720 And it's meant to teach us something really important that if you're too good, Satan comes after you. 00:18:02.799 --> 00:18:03.359 No, I'm joking. 00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:04.880 That's not the takeaway. 00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:07.519 Satan goes hard after Job. 00:18:07.920 --> 00:18:09.119 Really hard. 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:13.440 He loses all of his wealth, all of his children die. 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:15.680 Just like that. 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:16.480 Gone. 00:18:16.880 --> 00:18:19.839 And he is, as you can imagine, broken. 00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:21.440 He is broken. 00:18:21.519 --> 00:18:25.200 And the rest of Job plays out with him trying to process what's happened. 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:28.960 And it's it's his conversations with all of these people who try to help him process. 00:18:29.119 --> 00:18:31.039 So his wife, not helpful. 00:18:31.279 --> 00:18:33.279 She just, and you can understand, she's in pain. 00:18:33.359 --> 00:18:34.880 She says, you should curse God. 00:18:35.119 --> 00:18:38.319 Curse him, abandon God, because clearly he's abandoned you. 00:18:38.400 --> 00:18:46.079 In fact, if there's sort of an overarching theme in Job, just like Ecclesiastes says, nothing matters, it's all meaningless, Job is like, God has abandoned me. 00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:48.000 God has rejected me, he's abandoned me. 00:18:48.079 --> 00:18:49.839 Maybe you've felt like that before. 00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:51.920 And then Job has these friends that show up. 00:18:52.000 --> 00:19:00.799 You know when you're having a really hard time, and you have these friends that mean well, and they come and they talk to you and they try to like give you good advice and talk you out of it, but it's not helpful at all. 00:19:01.039 --> 00:19:03.039 And you just have to sit there and be like, Thank you, thank you. 00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:03.759 Please shut up. 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:05.599 You don't say that, but you feel that. 00:19:05.759 --> 00:19:06.720 Maybe you've never been there. 00:19:06.799 --> 00:19:09.440 I'm not saying I have, but that's Job's situation. 00:19:09.519 --> 00:19:15.920 So he's got these friends, and they come and they're like, Well, Job, clearly, you have done something seriously wrong. 00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:17.519 Because God is punishing you. 00:19:17.680 --> 00:19:20.480 And God is good and he is just and he wouldn't punish you if you hadn't done something wrong. 00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:22.000 So come on, man, like, fess up. 00:19:22.160 --> 00:19:22.880 What'd you do? 00:19:23.119 --> 00:19:23.599 Spill it. 00:19:23.759 --> 00:19:25.279 And he's like, I didn't do anything. 00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:27.599 And they're like, liar. 00:19:28.079 --> 00:19:32.000 You had to have, because look what's happening to you, God would not let this happen to a righteous person. 00:19:33.039 --> 00:19:39.279 See, that's this ancient idea, this religious idea that God blesses the righteous. 00:19:39.839 --> 00:19:44.880 And it's our goodness that is the defining factor in whether or not we're blessed. 00:19:44.960 --> 00:19:48.160 But scripture teaches us time and time again, no, that's not really how it works. 00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:49.680 Thank God. 00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:55.519 And then another one of his friends says, Well, Job, the fact that you're saying you haven't sinned just shows how prideful you are. 00:19:55.759 --> 00:20:00.880 I mean, for anyone to say that they're blameless shows how much pride you have. 00:20:00.960 --> 00:20:03.920 So clearly God is punishing you for your pride. 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:05.039 He's trying to humble you. 00:20:05.119 --> 00:20:07.200 And Job's like, I don't think that's it either. 00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:11.839 And there's this other guy that comes along and he's like, hey, you know, I think God's trying to teach you something. 00:20:11.920 --> 00:20:13.680 Maybe you need to ask what God is trying to teach you. 00:20:13.759 --> 00:20:15.759 And that's like a super morbid thought. 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:19.920 That God would try to teach you a lesson by harming you. 00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:24.160 It'd be like if with my kids, if I said, you know, they really need to learn how to overcome adversity. 00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:25.440 So I broke their legs. 00:20:25.680 --> 00:20:29.759 And I just think that this will teach them that, man, you can overcome anything, you know? 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:31.279 Like, I would never do that. 00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:32.640 That's sadistic. 00:20:32.880 --> 00:20:34.640 God is not sadistic. 00:20:35.200 --> 00:20:37.759 God is not the author of Job's pain. 00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:42.319 Recognize that there's a dynamic in this story that Satan hates us. 00:20:42.640 --> 00:20:47.519 That's why it's so important that we never allow ourselves to be tolerant of evil. 00:20:47.599 --> 00:20:50.079 I don't mean that we're not tolerant of people who struggle with things. 00:20:50.160 --> 00:20:54.640 I don't mean that we're not tolerant of a confused world and society, of course. 00:20:54.880 --> 00:20:59.039 But you don't tolerate anything from Satan because Satan hates you. 00:20:59.279 --> 00:21:05.839 Satan, he's not, like it basically says at the beginning of the story, Satan's wanted to mess with Job his whole life, but God had just put some protection around Job. 00:21:05.920 --> 00:21:09.200 And the second that protection is weakened, Satan is like after him. 00:21:09.279 --> 00:21:09.759 That's Satan. 00:21:09.839 --> 00:21:10.960 We don't tolerate Satan. 00:21:11.039 --> 00:21:11.599 He's evil. 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:13.839 He hates us, he wants to destroy everything. 00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:18.000 He's the author of Job's pain, but Job, he's still going through it. 00:21:18.079 --> 00:21:18.880 And Job's mad at God. 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:22.640 And honestly, like, if you've ever read Job, you kind of get mad at God. 00:21:23.440 --> 00:21:26.799 If you're, I mean, at least I'll be honest, you read it and you're like, God, what are you doing? 00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:29.519 Like, this is not, this is not fair. 00:21:30.400 --> 00:21:35.680 And so Job, he gets to a point where he really questions God, and you can you can see why. 00:21:36.240 --> 00:21:38.000 So let's look at uh Job 19. 00:21:38.160 --> 00:21:40.000 Job 19, 6 through 11. 00:21:41.599 --> 00:21:47.119 He says, It is God who has wronged me, capturing me in his net. 00:21:47.519 --> 00:21:50.160 I cry out help, but no one answers me. 00:21:50.400 --> 00:21:52.400 I protest that there's no justice. 00:21:52.559 --> 00:21:55.359 God has blocked my way so I cannot move. 00:21:55.440 --> 00:21:57.279 He has plunged my path into darkness. 00:21:57.440 --> 00:21:59.680 He has stripped me of my honor, he's removed. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:04.880 The crown from my head, he has demolished me on every side, and I'm finished. 00:22:05.119 --> 00:22:07.359 He's uprooted my hope like a fallen tree. 00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:10.720 His fury burns against me, and he counts me as an enemy. 00:22:10.880 --> 00:22:12.319 Now that's not true. 00:22:12.880 --> 00:22:14.400 But you can see where Job feels that. 00:22:14.559 --> 00:22:15.680 He's in a dark place. 00:22:15.920 --> 00:22:20.000 Like I said earlier, you get disappointed, then discouraged, then disillusioned, then there's disbelief. 00:22:20.079 --> 00:22:24.400 Like he didn't get discouraged, he got devastated, he got demolished, and so everything's happening fast. 00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:28.319 And he gets to this point where he looks at God and he says, Clearly, God, you see me as an enemy. 00:22:28.480 --> 00:22:29.359 You've done this to me. 00:22:29.519 --> 00:22:34.799 Maybe you've been at a point in life where things were going so poorly that it felt like God himself was against you. 00:22:34.960 --> 00:22:36.640 That's how Job feels. 00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:43.839 And there's all this questioning of God, and there's all this borderline accusation of God, and then we get to God's response. 00:22:43.920 --> 00:22:47.119 And as we read this, remember how Ecclesiastes ended. 00:22:47.359 --> 00:22:52.000 I told you to put a pin in that, that idea that we should just fear the Lord and do what he says. 00:22:54.640 --> 00:22:57.039 God shows up and talks to Job in Job 38. 00:22:57.759 --> 00:22:59.920 I'm going to read verses 2 through 18. 00:23:00.160 --> 00:23:01.920 It's about half of that chapter. 00:23:03.279 --> 00:23:06.640 Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? 00:23:07.279 --> 00:23:11.599 Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them. 00:23:11.839 --> 00:23:14.240 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? 00:23:14.400 --> 00:23:16.000 Tell me if you know so much. 00:23:16.480 --> 00:23:19.440 Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line? 00:23:19.519 --> 00:23:20.720 What supports its foundations? 00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:25.279 Who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? 00:23:25.519 --> 00:23:33.279 Who kept the sea inside its boundaries as it burst from the womb, and as I clothed it with clouds and wrapped it in thick darkness, for I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores. 00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:35.759 I said, This far and no further will you come. 00:23:36.400 --> 00:23:38.559 Here your proud waves must stop. 00:23:39.039 --> 00:23:42.640 Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and cause the dawn to rise in the east? 00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:47.279 Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth to bring an end to the night's wickedness? 00:23:47.519 --> 00:23:52.079 As the light approaches, the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal, it is robed in brilliant colors. 00:23:52.400 --> 00:23:55.200 The light disturbs the wicked and stops the arm that is raised in violence. 00:23:55.359 --> 00:23:57.839 Have you explored the springs from which the seas come? 00:23:57.920 --> 00:23:59.279 Have you explored their depths? 00:23:59.440 --> 00:24:01.279 Do you know where the gates of death are located? 00:24:01.359 --> 00:24:03.039 Have you seen the gates of utter gloom? 00:24:03.119 --> 00:24:04.720 Do you realize the extent of the earth? 00:24:04.880 --> 00:24:06.720 Tell me about it if you know. 00:24:07.680 --> 00:24:10.240 How many of you, quick show of hands, are parents? 00:24:10.640 --> 00:24:12.319 You know what this feels like. 00:24:12.960 --> 00:24:20.480 It's those moments where your kids, you know, they get to this point where they kind of like, they challenge you, and it's time to go, you know what? 00:24:21.039 --> 00:24:22.640 You know nothing. 00:24:23.200 --> 00:24:24.319 You know nothing. 00:24:24.640 --> 00:24:28.400 And you have this like, ah, and they're just like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, what happened? 00:24:28.559 --> 00:24:28.880 Okay? 00:24:29.119 --> 00:24:31.519 You kind of get that impression from God and Job. 00:24:31.680 --> 00:24:39.440 Job has legitimate questions and frustrations, and God decides to say, Hey, you have some questions for me, I have some questions for you. 00:24:39.759 --> 00:24:41.839 And this is half of one chapter. 00:24:42.160 --> 00:24:45.599 God does this uninterrupted for four chapters. 00:24:45.920 --> 00:24:47.359 He's just like, and another thing. 00:24:47.519 --> 00:24:48.400 Have you ever thought of this? 00:24:48.480 --> 00:24:49.519 Have you ever considered this? 00:24:49.599 --> 00:24:51.680