Job wanted someone to intercede for him with God.
- But, he did not know One personally.
- However, we do have a personal Advocate before the Father.
We have a Savior, Jesus the Christ, our Lord.
- We are not without hope.
- We are not without comfort.
- We are not without assurance.
A Quick Look:
Lesson 1)
God does not cause bad things to happen; however, He allows bad things to happen.
Lesson 2)
We can question and complain to God. We can ask “Why God?”
Lesson 3)
We can express our negative feelings toward God.
Our feelings are real, even though our perceptions may be incorrect.
Lesson 4)
The Biblical interpretations of others may be unhelpful, even incorrect.
Lesson 5)
Lesson 6)
God can make good things come from something bad
Lesson 7)
We can hold to our faith in the Truth. We can endure, with thanksgiving and praise.
Lesson 8) BONUS
Through Jesus, our Lord and Savior, we are in right relationship with God the Father, and live in and by the power of the Holy Spirit.
A Recap of the Book of Job
The book of Job discusses the problem of difficult and painful circumstances, appalling suffering and intense sorrow, especially when the reason isn’t obvious.
Job’s story appears to be set in Patriarchal Age, the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel) – a time before Moses, before the Exodus and the giving of the Torah, before the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, the Son of God.
Horrible loss and seemingly undeserved suffering come upon Job.
Job wants an explanation from God for the loss and suffering that he believes comes from God.
Job desires to meet God face-to-face and have Him justify why He is causing Job’s distress.
Barring a face-to-face meeting, Job wants an intercessor to approach God in his stead.
Eventually God does respond to Job’s prayers, even if they are more complaint than petition.
Even so, Job never learns the reason for or the source of his misfortune and pain.
7 Lessons We Can Learn From Job’s Experience For Living Through Bad Time (Including a Pandemic) – BONUS Part 8
The events of the book of Job occur in a time that predates the Exodus, the kingdom of Israel and the split kingdoms of Judah and Israel, the Exile and the return to the Land, as well as the conquest of Israel by the Greeks and the Romans.
What Do We Have During Our Times of Suffering that Job Did Not?
This writing of an early revelation of God reveals a need of all mankind – the need for a way to communicate with God, the need for an Intercessor with our Creator, YeHoVaH.
During his suffering, Job wanted to see YHVH face-to-face.
And if he could not, he wanted someone to represent him before God.
Yes, Job believed he had an advocate on high. But he did not know such an Advocate personally.
However, we believe, and we do have an Advocate before the Father.
We have One we can know personally, intimately.
We have the Son of God, Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus the Christ.
Lesson 8)
Through Jesus, our Lord and our Savior, we are in right relationship with God the Father, and live in and by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Job wanted God to meet several different desires.
What Does Job Want From God?
Job’s desires include:
Job wants to speak directly with God
3 “But I would speak to the Almighty, And I desire to argue with God. Job 13:3 NASB
What We Have
We can speak directly with God our Father.
We do have One in whose Name we can pray and have our prayers answered.
16 “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. John 15:16 NASB
Job wants God to pardon his sin
20 “Have I sinned? What have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target, So that I am a burden to myself? 21 “Why then do You not pardon my transgression And take away my iniquity? For now I will lie down in the dust; And You will seek me, but I will not be.” Job 7:20-21 NASB
What We Have
We have received forgiveness of sin.
13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. Colossians 1:13-15 NASB
Job wants hope – hope found in a hopeless world
15 “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. Job 13:15 NASB
What We Have
We have a living hope through the resurrection of our Savior, for righteousness and salvation from the God of hope.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3-5 NASB
5 For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. Galatians 5:5 NASB
Job wants others, those coming after him, to know and share what he believes
23 “Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! 24 “That with an iron stylus and lead They were engraved in the rock forever! Job 19:23-24 NASB
What We Have
We have a mission, a commission from Jesus, to share the Gospel of the Kingdom.
We are to spread the Word of the Good News to the world by going, baptizing, and teaching.
19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 NASB
What Does Job Believe That We Believe?
Job believes …
Job believes he has a witness, an advocate, before God
19 “Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, And my advocate is on high. Job 16:19 NASB
What We Believe
We believe that Yeshua, the Messiah is our advocate before the Father.
33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Romans 8:33-34 NASB
Job believes his Redeemer lives
25 “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, Job 19:25a NASB
What We Believe
We believe our Redeemer lives, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2 NASB
Job believes that at the end times his Redeemer will reign on earth
25 “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Job 19:25 NASB
What We Believe
We believe that our Redeemer, our Savior, will reign on earth in the Millennial Kingdom.
22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, 24 then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death. 1 Corinthians 15:22-26 NASB
28 “You are those who have stood by Me in My trials; 29 and just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you 30 that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you [the disciples] will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Luke 22:28-30 NASB
Job believes in resurrection
14 “If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle I will wait Until my change comes. 15 “You will call, and I will answer You; You will long for the work of Your hands. Job 14:14-15 NASB
What We Believe
We believe in the promise of resurrection to eternal life.
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16 NASB
40 “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” John 6:40 NASB
Job believes he will see God
26 “Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God; 27 Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me! Job 19:26-27 NASB
What We Believe
We believe we will abide with YHVH in our eternal life on the New Earth.
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, Revelation 21:1-3 NASB
Job believes he should share what he knows with posterity
23 “Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! 24 “That with an iron stylus and lead They were engraved in the rock forever! Job 19:23 NASB
What We Believe
We are called to spread the Word of the Good News to the world.
19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 NASB
What Do We Have That Job Did Not?
Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the Son of God, we have blessings and promises from YeHoVaH.
We have a right standing with God
We have been reconciled into a restored relationship with YeHoVaH through our Savior, Yeshua the Messiah.
18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 2 Corinthians 5:18 NASB
We have a personal, intimate, relationship with God – He is our Father
We can now approach YeHoVaH, Lord of the Universe, as children can approach their earthly father.
14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” Romans 8:14-15 NASB
We have forgiveness for our sins
13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13-14 NASB
We have Yeshua, our Messiah – Jesus Christ, our Lord
We have the Son of YHVH, who gave His life for our salvation.
14 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. John 3:14-15 NASB
We have the Righteousness of Christ.
9 and [I (Paul)] may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:9-11 NASB
We have the Son who acts before the Father on our behalf.
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 1 John 2:1 NASB
We have the indwelling Holy Spirit
We have the Spirit, who is always with us, in us, to help us.
16 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17 NASB
We have the promise of eternal life
3 “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. John 17:3 NASB
What Job DID Have:
Job had faith in his God
Job had Faith.
Job trusted in God.
Job obeyed God.
10 “But it is still my consolation, And I rejoice in unsparing pain, That I have not denied the words of the Holy One. Job 6:10 NASB
Closing Thoughts
During difficult times, let us remember the comfort we have from our God and Father – YeHoVaH is His Name.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 NASB
And at all times, especially in this extraordinary time of the COVID-19 pandemic, let each of us try to emulate Paul in prayer, by continuing …
9b … to pray for [each of] you [to pray for one another] and to ask that [each of] you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that [each of] you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. Colossians 1:9b-12 NASB
Blessings,
TLThomas
It’s ok to doubt, if you check it out!
Be a Berean!
10The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Acts 17:10, 11 ESV
So, what would you like to read about next time?
- I’m open for suggestions. (I definitely want to do something less in-depth.)
- Please, leave a comment.
- Or, ask me a question.
See also:
Is God to Blame For the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Suffering? – Part 1
Can We Question and Complain to God About the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Suffering? – Part 2
Is It Wrong to Be Angry at God About the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Suffering? – Part 3
Biblical Truth During the COVID-19 Pandemic – Part 4
In Times of Trials and Suffering Like the COVID-19 Pandemic, Who Are We Compared to God? – Part 5
In Times of Suffering and Hardship, Such as the Pandemic, Can Good Come From Bad? – Part 6
How Can We Live By God’s Truth Even During the Hardships of the COVID-19 Pandemic? – Part 7
TLThomas ©2021