The Understanding of Job
Job 42:1-6 Victory Fellowship
August 7, 2022 - Rev. Roderick Grabski
I. Introduction: (my dad when at 16 I drove us to work):
a. In one fell swoop he told me all I had been doing wrong the last few weeks.
b. That’s similar to what God does with Job. He hears the three friends; He hears Job question His motives and then from chapter 38 through the end of 41 God lets off steam. God comes to Job in a whirlwind.
c. He stops long enough in chapter 40 for Job to mutter “I’m gonna cover my mouth”
d. Job may have felt like the boy who asks his dad a question. Dad says go ask mom. Boy says I didn’t want to know that much.
e. (relate the story of Job up to chapter 42)
II. Relating the text:
a. Job has to come to terms with the age-old dilemma: Can I trust God and affirm my faith knowing that Satan is still permitted to work evil in the world?
i. In other words, does God know better than I do about my circumstances and situation?
b. Before chapter 42 Job’s sin was not that he was not righteousness enough so God punished him. It was not that he was a hypocrite and forgot about God.
c. The sin that Job confesses in chapter 42 is that in his pride he demanded that God come down to his level of understanding and power.
i. Job did exactly what everyone does who cries, “How could a God of love cause so much pain and suffering in the world”
ii. When he came to his senses (after God’s whirlwind lecture) Job confessed that he is weak, unwise, unworthy, and that he basically didn’t know what he was talking about because he refused to see God for who God really is.
III. The heart of Job’s confession:
a. God, Your power and Your purpose can accomplish anything for me. (v. 2)
b. God, Your will is good for me. Your will is beyond my understanding but it is better than my will. (v. 3)
c. God, Your presence is now real to me. (v. 5)
d. God, I repent for Your grace is given to me. (v. 6)
IV. Conclusion:
a. Job finally “sees through to God.” To do so, he had to look beyond his devastating circumstances, his level of understanding, and TRUST God with his life and his future.
PRAYER
SONG: Cry Out to Jesus
Job 42:1-6 (NLT): Then Job replied to the LORD: 2 “I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you. 3 You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me. 4 You said, ‘Listen and I will speak! I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.’ 5 I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. 6 I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”