The Call of God to New Testament Characters

1. The Call of God to New Testament Characters

2. Lesson 1

3. Lesson Text—Job 1:1-3 Job 1:1-3 1There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. 2 And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.

4. Lesson Text—Job 1:1-3 3 His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

5. Lesson Text—Job 1:4-5 Job 1:4-5 4 And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.

6. Lesson Text—Job 1:4-5 5 And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

7. Lesson Text—Job 1:20-22 Job 1:20-22 20 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,

8. Lesson Text—Job 1:20-22 21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. 22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

9. Focus Verse—Job 1:1 Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

10. Focus Thought Respect, godly fear, is necessary for an individual to have a right relationship with God. Proper respect for God will cause one to hate evil.

11. Culture Connection Honoring God’s Name I. Job Feared God I had never been a person to swear, even before I became a Christian. But having given my life to the Lord while in university, I became even more aware that the name of the Lord is debased through profanity. Out of respect and love for God I felt there were some words I could never utter irreverently.

12. During an English lecture at the same university, the professor asked each student to read aloud from a section of a particular Shakespearean play. The language in some of these plays is often questionable, sometimes obscene. As my turn to read approached, I felt I could not conscientiously read these words aloud. And so, knowing I might risk failing the course, I quietly walked out of the classroom. Later I spoke to the professor and explained why I had left. I. Job Feared God

13. I. Job Feared God I was surprised at his response. He took no offence. To me this had been a test of my own integrity, and in these and in other cases, I have never regretted honoring the name of the Lord. Although I did not fully know the value of the name of Jesus for some time, I have learned that it is the highest and sweetest name that has ever been spoken.

14. I. Job Feared God “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

15. Transparency 1 • Noah • Just • Heard from God • Walked with God in wicked times • Daniel • Excellent spirit • Heard from God • Prayed daily in opposition • Job • Perfect, upright • Heard nothing from God until trial ended • Worshiped in suffering

16. Contemplating the Topic I. Job Feared God The prophet Ezekiel searched his memory for the most outstanding and influential examples of righteous men and chose Noah, Daniel, and Job. He emphasized his choice by stating these three names twice in the fourteenth chapter of his book. “Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God” Ezekiel 14:14). (See also Ezekiel 14:20.)

17. Ezekiel deplored Israel’s desperately wicked condition. The people of God had wandered so far into a spiritual wasteland that even if these three men—each an outstanding hero of faith—were to lay hold on the rebels, they could not drag them safely away from the judgment of God. What common denominator did Ezekiel find in the lives of Noah, Daniel, and Job? I. Job Feared God

18. Noah lived in a time of such universal wickedness that every human being on the face of the earth, except for those in his immediate family, was destroyed. God spared this righteous man’s family because Noah “found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8). “Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God” (Genesis 6:9). The New Testament sheds further light on the account in Genesis 6-8. I. Job Feared God

19. Hebrews 11:7 “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith” (Hebrews 11:7).

20. I. Job Feared God Ezekiel then chose Daniel, whom the Babylonians transported from the land of his fathers to their alien land. Separated from all the external influences of true faith and surrounded with the accoutrements of false religion, Daniel “purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank” (Daniel 1:8). The young man’s “excellent spirit” (Daniel 6:3) endeared him to God.

21. He refused to abandon the spiritual disciplines of prayer and a thankful heart even when threatened with death (Daniel 6:10). The king recognized that Daniel served God continually (Daniel 6:16). Because of his trust in God in the face of adversity, Daniel advanced in the kingdom and exerted a profound influence for good. Although Daniel’s name does not appear in Hebrews 11, he is the one who “stopped the mouths of lions” (Hebrews 11:33). I. Job Feared God

22. Why did Ezekiel choose Job? Noah saved his family; Job lost his. Daniel increased in social standing and spiritual influence; Job lost the loyalty and support not only of his friends, but also of his wife. We in the twenty-first century know that Job’s story ends in restoration and blessing. But before he could reach this satisfying end, Job endured incredible suffering and hardship without knowing why. I. Job Feared God

23. Noah at least had heard a word from God, which gave him something to cling to during the time of extreme adversity (Genesis 6:13). Job had no word from God until his trial drew to an end. Daniel carried with him into captivity copies of Scripture to read and to sustain him (Daniel 9:2). Job, on the other hand, lived in the era before the giving of the law of Moses; he had no Scripture to read. But this man of deep faith in God, with no oral or written revelation, found a place of honor in the New Testament as well s the Old. I. Job Feared God

24. James 5:11 “Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy” (James 5:11).

25. I. Job Feared God We have the written Scriptures in their entirety. We enjoy an intimate experience with God by means of baptism with the Holy Spirit. Most of us exist in a community of believers who share our faith and encourage us during our trials. What can we learn from Job?

26. Searching the Scriptures Job Feared God I. Job Feared God Some people do not believe God would ever intend that a person of faith should suffer, which leads them to the notion that Job’s trial was his own fault. After all, Job said, “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me” (Job 3:25). Those who think faith is a kind of force that attracts its object also tend to think of fear as a kind of negative faith that attracts its object.

27. I. Job Feared God But this leads them to misunderstand biblical faith, which is simply trust in God regardless of the circumstances of life. It also overlooks the introduction to the book, which prohibits us from blaming Job for his dilemma.

28. Job’s Character A. Job’s Character “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil” (Job 1:1).

29. Transparency 2

30. Whatever we may think of Job, we cannot claim that his suffering was due to some imperfection or sin in his life. His friends erred when they thought Job had surely committed some terrible sin for which he was being punished. They presumed the law of retribution was at work. The first verse of the book sets the tone for all that follows. It absolves Job from all blame: he was perfect and upright; he feared God and hated evil. I. Job Feared God

31. This was not merely the opinion of the writer of the Book of Job; it was God’s opinion. (See Job 1:8.) Even in response to incredible, unanticipated suffering, Job did not sin or charge God foolishly. (See Job 1:22.) Even Satan’s most vicious attacks could not provoke Job to lose his faith in God: “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13:15). What did the Lord mean when he said Job was “perfect”? I. Job Feared God

32. I. Job Feared God The Hebrew word tam, translated “perfect” in Job 1:1, derives from tamam, a verb with the fundamental idea of completeness. The meaning of tamam includes ethical soundness or the state of being undefiled (R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament). This does not mean, of course, that Job was perfect in the sense that God is perfect.

33. I. Job Feared God As is apparent from Job’s responses to his friends’ rebukes and in God’s rebuke of Job and his friends, there was room for improvement in Job’s life. (See Job 38-42.) But Job’s trust in God made him “perfect” in the sense of completeness. This is clearly demonstrated in his unwavering faith in the face of unexplained suffering. The Hebrew yashar, translated “upright,” has at least three connotations.

34. I. Job Feared God It is used literally, ethically, and idiomatically (i.e., to do what is right in the eyes of a person). Since it is used here with tam, which already introduces the idea of ethical soundness, the word probably should be read in this third way: Job did what was right in the eyes of God (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament).

35. I. Job Feared God The Hebrew yarē’, translated “feared,” indicates Job’s reverence for God. Although yarē’ can suggest the emotion of fear, it can also indicate reverence or awe and righteous behavior or piety (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament). Precise meaning is determined by context. In this case, context suggests not so much an emotion of fear but reverence for God that results in right behavior.

36. Job’s Life of Covenant with God B. Job’s Life of Covenant with God We witness the nature of Job’s fear of God in his priestly service on behalf of his children. Following his children’s feast days, Job would rise early to offer burnt offerings for them, saying, “It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts” (Job 1:5). This was Job’s regular practice.

37. Job’s fear cannot be construed as an emotion that caused him to cower in fright; his “fear” caused him to reverence God, which resulted in pious behavior. The fact that Job offered sacrifices on behalf of his children indicates he lived in the era before the law of Moses. After Sinai, the offering of sacrifices was strictly regulated. Only priests could offer sacrifices and only in the prescribed way and the proper place—the Tabernacle or Temple compound. I. Job Feared God

38. Job’s Faith was Grounded in God II. Job’s Faith was Grounded in God We who live in the era of written Scripture and spiritual fullness find it difficult to imagine that a man like Job—who never read a verse of the Bible and who did not enjoy the New Covenant promise of the Holy Spirit—could have such unyielding faith. But the fact that Job had no Bible and that he was not baptized with the Holy Spirit does not mean he knew nothing of God.

39. I. Job Feared God In Job’s time, as now, God made Himself known by what is commonly called natural revelation. (See Psalm 19; Romans 1:19-20.) Many people in Old Testament times passed down to their descendants what they knew of God. And, as seen in the Book of Job itself, God spoke personally to communicate His will. People of faith responded to these revelations in life-changing ways. Job is a powerful testimony of this.

40. A. The Lord Had Confidence in Job The Lord Had Confidence in Job This remarkable story reveals not only Job’s trust in God, but also the astounding confidence God placed in Job. Though it may at first seem shocking, it becomes quite clear that the sole purpose for Job’s trial was God’s way of debunking Satan’s accusation that people of faith trust God only as long as He blesses them.

41. Satan could not believe that anyone would trust God only because of who God is, not because of what He does. In the end, Satan was speechless. It is outside the scope of this lesson to explore what the Book of Job tells us about angelology or demonology. We will simply note the straightforward account of the encounter between God and Satan. I. Job Feared God

42. One day when the sons of God—apparently the angels—came to present themselves before the Lord, Satan came too. The Lord asked Satan, “Whence comest thou?” Satan answered, “From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.” The Lord said, “Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil?” I. Job Feared God

43. Satan responded, “Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast thou not made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.” The Lord answered, “Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand.” (See Job 1:6-12.) I. Job Feared God

44. As we begin to look at the first chapter of Job, it would be worthwhile to remember that, like all Hebrew names, the word “Satan” has a meaning. It is simply a transliteration of the Hebrew satan. In the Hebrew text, it is preceded by the definite article, as in hasatan, so that a literal translation would be “the adversary.” His name aptly describes Satan’s nature and actions. Not only is he God’s adversary; he is the adversary of all people of faith. I. Job Feared God

45. We may find that a great deal about this story troubles us. Why was Satan permitted to come into the presence of God? Why did God bring up Job’s name? Why did God put Job in Satan’s hand, even with limitations? After Satan’s first effort to prove his point failed, why did God allow Satan to go further in his attempt to prove that Job would curse God if his physical pain were sufficient? (See Job 2:1-6.) I. Job Feared God

46. Attempts to answer these questions would be largely speculative. Since Scripture itself does not answer them, it may be best to leave them alone. However, one of these questions seems to have an answer, but that answer may not be much comfort. The question is, “Why did God put Job into Satan’s hand?” The apparent answer is, “To prove to Satan his error in thinking God’s people trust Him only because of the benefits they receive from Him.” I. Job Feared God

47. If this is what God wanted to prove to Satan, He certainly chose the right subject. The story of Job’s trust in God in the face of shockingly painful adversity has found a place of permanent honor in human history. It continues to give hope in the face of despair to all who trust in God. I. Job Feared God

48. Storms of Life Did Not Shake Job’s Confidence B. Storms of Life Did Not Shake Job’s Confidence In quick succession, Job lost his livestock, servants, and children. This man whose livestock holdings and servants made him “the richest person in that entire area” (Job 1:3, NLT) was reduced to abject poverty in one disastrous moment.

49. I. Job Feared God In a day when large families were associated with social prominence and fortune, Job went from being the father of seven sons and three daughters to being childless. Still, with no external motivation, Job trusted God.

50. Job’s Worshipful Response to Trouble C. Job’s Worshipful Response to Trouble “Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, and said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:20-21).