Sermon
#1399 Miscellaneous Sermons
Title: Five Big Questions
Text: Job 14:1-22
Readings: Don
Martin – Merle Hart
Subject: Questions About Life,
Death, and Eternity
Date: Sunday Evening - April 9, 2000[1]
Tape # V-77b
Introduction:
Serious
men are men of thoughtful contemplation. They do not waste their time and
energy upon trifles, except for necessary recreation. They take serious things
seriously. They ask serious questions. God’s servant Job was such a man. His
experiences in life caused him to ask some very serious, thoughtful questions
about life, death, and eternity. I want us to look at some of the questions he
asked. My text is Job 14:1-22. I have titled this message Five Big Questions.
We do
not really know who wrote the book of Job; but it was probably written by Job
himself, or, perhaps, by Moses. This much we do know: The book of Job is one of the oldest
books in the Bible, if not the oldest. It describes the life experiences of a
man who walked with God in those earliest days, when very few people knew and
worshipped the Lord. Some suggest that Job probably lived in the days of
Abraham. Others suggest that he lived in the days of Enoch, or perhaps in the
days of Noah, after the flood. No one can say for certain. But we do know that Job walked with, worshipped, and served
the Lord God when very few did. God said, there was “none like him in the earth,” and
described him as a perfect and upright man who feared God and eschewed evil
(1:8).
Some
have questioned whether Job was a saved man, suggesting that he was a
self-righteous man because he justified himself. But such questions should
never be entertained. God himself owned Job as one who served him, one who had
been saved by his grace and made perfect in Christ. When he justified himself,
he was not speaking to God, but to men who accused him of hypocrisy and deceit.
When Job spoke to God, he frankly acknowledged his sin. He said, “If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall
condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse” (9:20).
This is very important because unless you understand who Job was and what kind
of man he was, you simply cannot understand the book of Job.
1. Job was a faithful, faithful
servant of God (1:8; 2:3).
Job 1:8 "And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou
considered my servant Job, that there is none
like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and
escheweth evil?"
Job 2:3 "And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou
considered my servant Job, that there is none
like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and
escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst
me against him, to destroy him without cause."
2. He was a man whose faith was
greatly tried.
·
- The Loss of His Children
·
- The Loss of His Health
·
- The Speech of His Wife
·
- The Loss of His Reputation and Influence
·
- The Accusations of His “Friends”
3. At times, Job showed signs
of weakness, frustration, and even unbelief; but even in his lowest times he
worshipped God, maintained his integrity, and believed God (1:20; 2:10; 13:15;
19:25-27).
Job 1:20-22 "Then Job arose, and rent his mantle,
and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, 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."
Job 2:10 "But he said unto her, Thou speakest as
one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of
God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his
lips."
Job 13:15 "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in
him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him."
Job 19:25-27 "For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that
he shall stand at the latter day upon
the earth: 26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: 27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and
not another; though my reins be
consumed within me."
4. In the midst of his heavy,
heavy trials this man Job acknowledged God’s total sovereignty and absolute
dominion over all things (1:20-21; 12:14-16).
Job 1:20-21 "Then Job arose, and rent his mantle,
and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, 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."
Job 12:14-16 "Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot
be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening. 15 Behold, he withholdeth the waters,
and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth. 16 With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his."
5. In the end, God honored Job
and made even his enemies to know that the Lord accepted him.
n He condemned the harsh
judgment of Job’s three “friends” (42:7-8)
Job 42:7-8
"And it was so, that
after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the
Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye
have not spoken of me the thing that is right,
as my servant Job hath. 8 Therefore
take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer
up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for
him will I accept: lest I deal with you after
your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job."
n He gave Job twice as much as
he had before he was afflicted (42:9-17).
Job 42:9-17 "So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the
Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite
went, and did according as the LORD commanded them: the LORD also accepted Job. 10 And the LORD turned the captivity of
Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he
had before. 11 Then came there unto
him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his
acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned
him, and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him:
every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold. 12 So the LORD blessed the latter end
of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six
thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses. 13 He had also seven sons and three
daughters. 14 And he called the name
of the first, Jemima; and the name of the second, Kezia; and the name of the
third, Kerenhappuch. 15 And in all
the land were no women found so fair
as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their
brethren. 16 After this lived Job an
hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations. 17 So Job died, being old and full of days."
Divisions: We have already read the fourteenth chapter of
Job. So I want you to hold your Bibles open at chapter fourteen and follow
along with me, as we look together at these Five Big Questions that arose from Job’s experiences in this world.
1.
“Dost thou open thine eyes
upon such an one?” (v.3).
2.
“Bringest (thou) me into
judgment with thee?” (v.3).
3.
“Who can bring a clean thing
out of an unclean?” (v.4).
4.
“Man giveth up the ghost,
and where is he?” (v. 10).
5.
“If a man die, shall he live
again?” (v.14).
Proposition: If we are wise, we will give thoughtful
consideration to these serious questions about the most serious of matters:
life, death, and eternity.
I. “Dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one?” (vv. 1-3).
Job 14:1-3 "Man that
is born of a woman is of few
days, and full of trouble. 2 He
cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and
continueth not. 3 And dost thou open
thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee?"
This question arose from Job’s
consideration of the frailty, brevity, and utter insignificance of man.
We all like to think that we are somebody, that our lives count, that some part
of this world depends upon us. In a natural sense, of course, certain things do
depend upon us, because God has so ordered it. Even in spiritual matters, it
can be said that certain things depend upon us, again, because God has so
ordered it. But once a man starts to look beyond his nose and sees that the
first cause of all things is God (12:14-16; Rom. 8:28; 11:36; 2 Cor. 5:18),
once he sees that “all things are of
God,” he realizes that before God he is utterly insignificant.
A. “Man that is born of
woman is of few days.”
The longer I live, the more thankful I am
that life in this world is but a very brief part of my existence. I am truly
thankful that since the days of the flood, the life span of the human race has
been shortened. Wouldn’t you hate to live in this world, in its present
condition, for 969 years, like Methuselah did? I much prefer the expectation of
threescore years and ten to 969!
Yet,
we ought to learn to recognize the brevity of this life and learn to apply our
hearts unto wisdom. None of us is guaranteed seventy years in this world, or
even another moment. But if we should live to be the age of 80, 90, or even 100
years, that is just a speck, when you think of eternity. And those few days
will pass by quicker than a weaver’s shuttle.
·
Psalm 90:12
B. The few days we have upon this earth, because we are
sinners in a world full of sin and sorrow, are “full of trouble.”
The
word “trouble” here is one of those
words with many shades of meaning.
·
It might be translated trouble because sin and
trouble always go hand in hand. Where there is sin, trouble is sure to follow.
·
It might be translated commotion because the lives
of men in this world are, like the troubled sea, restless. Fallen man is in a
constant state of uneasiness.
·
The word might also be translated trembling. The reason for
man’s restlessness is, to a very great extent, the trembling of his soul in the
prospect of death, judgment, and eternity.
C. Troubled man, whose life is but a momentary thing in
this world, is as insignificant as withered flowers after the first winter
freeze (v.2).
Job 14:2 "He cometh forth like a flower, and is
cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not."
D. In the light of these facts, Job was simply
overwhelmed with the knowledge that the holy, infinite, eternal, omnipotent God
should take notice of him. -- “And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one?”
Psalms 8:4 "What is man, that thou art mindful of
him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?"
Psalms 144:3-4 "LORD, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him! or the son of man, that thou makest account of him! 4 Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away."
Think
of it. What a wondrous thing this is - That God almighty should look our way,
that he should cast his glance upon us! Job was simply overwhelmed by the thought
of it. Aren’t you?
And can it be
that I should gain
An interest in
the Savior’s blood?
Died He for
me, who caused his pain,
For me, who
Him to death pursued?
Amazing love!
How can it be
That Thou, my
God, shouldst die for me?
Does
God almighty open his eye upon such useless, sinful wretches as we are? Indeed,
he has, and he does!
·
In Electing Love!
·
In Redeeming Grace!
·
In Providential Goodness!
·
In Saving Mercy!
·
In the Exercise of His Preserving Power!
II. “And bringest thou me into judgment with
thee?”
(v.3).
What
a horrible realization this is for a sinful man to come to. Sooner or later you
and I must face up to the fact of divine justice and judgment.
·
The Word of God teaches it.
·
History illustrates it
·
Your conscience bears witness to it.
·
Calvary declares it!
When
Job thought of God exercising the rigor of his strict justice, it was no
laughing matter. He knew that the standard of judgment in that great day would
not be the opinions of men, but God himself. He does not say, “Bringest me into judgment before thee?” That would be bad
enough. But his question is, “Bringest
thou me into judgment with thee?”
Here are two facts that I hope will get your heart’s attention and cause your
soul trouble from which you can find no escape until you flee away into the
arms of Christ.
A.
There is a day appointed by
God when we must appear before his august, great, white throne to be judged by
him.
·
2 Corinthians 5:10-11
·
Hebrews 9:27
·
Revelation 20:11-15
A.
In that great and terrible
day, the standard of judgment will be God himself.
God will bring us into judgment with
himself. Someone once asked, “How good does a person have to be to get to
heaven?” The answer is, you have to be as good as God. God almighty will not
and cannot accept anything less than perfection.
·
Leviticus 22:21
·
Revelation 21:27
III. Understanding both the
brevity of life and the certainty of divine judgment, Job asked this next
question: “Who can bring a clean thing
out of an unclean?” (v.4-6).
Job 14:4-6 "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one. 5 Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass; 6 Turn from him, that he may rest, till
he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day."
Our
translation reads, in response to this question, “not one.” A better translation might continue the question to the
end of the fourth verse. “Who can bring a
clean thing out of an unclean, is there one?” Realizing that man who is
altogether unclean, by imputation, nature, birth, and practice, must stand in
judgment with the holy Lord God, this question is one for which every sensible
soul must seek an answer.
·
The number of our days in this world was determined by God’s decree
before ever we were born.
·
God himself has appointed the boundaries of every man’s existence in
this world, beyond which none can pass.
“As the time of a man’s birth, so the time of
his death is according to the purpose of God; and all the intervening moments
and articles of time, and all things that befall a man throughout the whole
course of his life, all fall under the appointment of God, and are according to
his determinate will; and when God requires of a man his soul no one has power
over his spirit to retain it one moment.” -- John
Gill
A. If man has no power over his own life and death, or
even his own health, it is certain that no man has the power to bring a clean
thing out of an unclean.
No
mortal can give himself spiritual life. No man can give himself faith,
regenerate himself, justify himself, save himself, or even put himself into a
savable condition.
·
Job 9:20
·
Romans 3:9-19
B. But there is One who can bring a clean thing out of
an unclean. The Lord God our Savior can bring a clean thing out of an unclean! He
does so by three marvelous works of grace.
1. Redemption (Rom. 3:24-26)
2. Regeneration (John 3:5)
3.
Resurrection (Phil. 3:21) -- “Salvation
is of the Lord!”
·
-Ephesians 2:8-9
·
- 2 Timothy 1:9-10
IV. Here is Job’s fourth big
question (vv. 7-13). Start reading at verse seven. “Man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where
is he?”
A. When the wicked die in their sins, though their
bodies are in the grave, they are in hell.
Illustration:
-- The Rich Man (Luke 16)
If
you die without Christ, as soon as you close your eyes in death, you will lift
up your eyes in hell, tormented in the flames of the damned, forever imprisoned
in darkness with Satan, the fallen angels, and in company with all your
brethren, all the wicked who have lived and died in rebellion against God.
There, in eternal misery, forever banished from God, goodness, and
righteousness, you shall suffer the wrath of God forever and forever.
B. But when the righteous die in faith, though their
bodies are in the grave, awaiting the resurrection, they are with Christ in
heaven.
·
2 Corinthians 5:1 (Read and explain the intermediate body.)
2
Corinthians 5:1 "For we know that if
our earthly house of this tabernacle
were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens."
As
soon as the righteous close their eyes in death in this world they open their
eyes in glory, in heaven, in the paradise of God, in Abraham’s bosom. There we
shall forever be in the presence of Christ, the holy angels, God the Father,
God the Holy Spirit, the spirits of just men made perfect, free of sin and
perfectly righteous, serving Christ in that house not made with hands until the
resurrection of our bodies.
C. This blessed state of death (life) is for the
believer a matter of hope and expectation, not dread and fear.
Job
prayed for the Lord to graciously take him out of this vale of tears and keep
him, hiding his body in the grave and his soul in heaven until the days of
God’s wrath and judgment against men is over (v.13).
Job 14:13 "O that thou wouldest hide me in the
grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou
wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!"
Isaiah 26:19-21 "Thy dead men shall live, together with
my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for
thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and
the earth shall cast out the dead. 20 Come,
my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide
thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. 21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of
his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth
also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain."
Isaiah 57:1-2 "The righteous perisheth, and no man
layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that
the righteous is taken away from the evil to
come. 2 He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness."
Illustration: When God takes one of his
elect out of this world
graciously takes them away from sorrow
and trouble.
V. “If a man die shall he live again?” (v.14).
Read
verses 14 and 15, and you will understand that Job had absolutely no question
about the blessed hope of the resurrection of the body.
Job 14:14-15 "If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time
will I wait, till my change come. 15 Thou
shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of
thine hands."
1
Corinthians 15:51-58 "Behold, I show
you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an
eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be
raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have
put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall
be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in
victory. 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin;
and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved
brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."
1
Thessalonians 4:13-18 "But I would not
have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye
sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them
also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which
are alive and remain unto the coming
of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in
Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we
which are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so
shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore
comfort one another with these words."
Illustration: The Robin’s Eggs
Application: Let me show you three
things that I hope you will take home in your heart, for the comfort of your
soul. The Word of God describes a bag, a book and a bottle, which ought to
console our hearts throughout the days of this earthly pilgrimage.
1. God has given us A Bag for our Sins (Job 14:17).
Like men buried at sea are sewn and sealed in a weighted bag and cast into the
depths of the sea, so the Lord God has cast the sins of his people into the
depth of the sea of his infinite forgiveness.
2. The Lord has written A Book for our Names (Ps. 139:16;
Phi.4:3; Rev. 13:8). Take heart, child of God, all is well for those whose
names are written in the book of God!
3. The Lord God keeps A Bottle for our Tears (Ps.
56:8-9). It was customary at ancient Egyptian funerals for mourners to have a
small sponge or cloth to wipe away their tears. Then they were squeezed into a
tear bottle and placed in the tomb with the dead, symbolizing the care the
mourners had for the one who died. Even so, the Lord God cares for us.
Can
anything be more comforting? In this world of sin, sorrow, and death, the Lord
our God has put our sins in a bag and buried them, our names in a book to
remember them, and our tears into a bottle to show his tender care for us.