Bible Reading
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for letting us know you. Please help us learn from your word. Help us to serve and praise you. Amen!
Job 38:1-11, 40:6-14 and 42:1-10, 16-17 (NIV)
38:1-11
The Lord Speaks
¹ Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
² “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? ³ Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. ⁴ “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. ⁵ Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? ⁶ On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone— ⁷ while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? ⁸ “Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, ⁹ when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, ¹⁰ when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, ¹¹ when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt’?
40:6-14
⁶ Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm:
⁷ “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. ⁸ “Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself? ⁹ Do you have an arm like God’s, and can your voice thunder like his? ¹⁰ Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor, and clothe yourself in honor and majesty. ¹¹ Unleash the fury of your wrath, look at all who are proud and bring them low, ¹² look at all who are proud and humble them, crush the wicked where they stand. ¹³ Bury them all in the dust together; shroud their faces in the grave. ¹⁴ Then I myself will admit to you that your own right hand can save you.
42:1-10
¹ Then Job replied to the Lord:
² “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ³ You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. ⁴ “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ ⁵ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. ⁶ Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”
Epilogue
⁷ After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. ⁸ So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.” ⁹ So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.
¹⁰ After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.
42:16-17
¹⁶ After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. ¹⁷ And so Job died, an old man and full of years.
Sermon Outline
- The problem of Evil
- Reading the text flatly
- The super-abundant tour of the grey
- Thanos or Jesus
- Final thoughts on Job
Q&A
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