CWA - Old Testament Alt Lesson - Advent 3 - Kieth Bernard Kuschel
Job 1:6-22
6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.” 8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” 9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” 12 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. 13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” 16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” 17 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” 18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” 20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” 22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
Rejoice: What? how?
IA1 Does anyone know what this weekend is known as in the retail world and in the social world? Non-family holiday gathering time. Translate that into understandable language. Office parties. Neighborhood parties. Block parties. Company parties. Community based holiday celebrations.
2 Why are these gatherings held? Tradition. OK. Why the tradition? To commemorate the important events at this time of the year. Hanukkah. Christmas. I know that. But most of those gatherings have nothing to do with Hanukkah or Christmas. So, back to my question. Why are these gatherings held? To cultivate good relationships between the people who work in the same office. To see your neighbors face to face and actually talk to people who you only see in passing most of the year. To thank the workers for another year of hard work. To forward some good cause in the community.
3 How many of you are party animals? What goes on at those non-family gathering times? And what do you like to do at those non-family gathering times. Eating. Drinking. Talking. Playing games. Dancing. Gift exchanges. Fund raising.
4 Why is it possible for these gatherings to be held? Because resources are available. The business supplies the food and drink and the place to gather. The neighbors all bring things to eat and drink and to give as gifts to each other. The company provides all the workers with a bonus. The participants all bring donations to support the cause. I didn’t really answer the question. Why is it possible for these gatherings to be held? Because our gracious God has given us so many physical blessings in this life that we can party.
B1 13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house. We are not told what the occasion was here. Maybe it was family holiday gathering time. What does this sound like? A party. The earlier verses of this chapter indicate that this was a regular thing for this extended family. It also indicates what occasion precipitated parties. 4 His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When a period of feasting had run its course,
2 What made it possible for them to have this party? They had the resources to do it.
2 Job had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
C1 God has blessed us with the resources to participate in the non-family holiday gatherings at this time of the year. We are called upon to “Rejoice” on the third Sunday in Advent. These gatherings certainly enhance our rejoicing at this time of the year. Should there be any cautions as we rejoice at these gatherings? Yes. Our rejoicing needs to be godly. Our eating and drinking needs to be godly. Our talking needs to be godly. Our playing games needs to be godly. We, after all, are representatives of Jesus Christ at those parties.
2 God has blessed us with the resources to participate in the non-family holiday gatherings at this time of the year. We rejoice at those gatherings. Any other cautions needed? Yes. We, according to God’s will, are given our resources to provide our families with the necessities of life, make sure the Gospel gets preached throughout the world, take care of the needy and pay our taxes. Using our resources for partying and then not having enough resources to properly carry out those four duties given us by God would be sinful.
Trans: Lord Jesus, thank You for making it possible for me to rejoice in my life on this earth by filling my life with physical blessings.
IIA1 Partying sometimes provides us with welcome relief from what is going on around us in our world. I don’t remember a time during my life when a war wasn’t going on. Korean War, Cold War, Vietnam War, various short conflicts, war in Iraq and Afghanistan. That is just wars in which the USA was directly involved. At the same time everywhere else in the world, there were constant wars between other nations. Then there are local wars. Daily multiple murders in our large metro areas. Gunmen killing large numbers of people on an almost regular basis in places like malls, schools, factories and office complexes where there are lots of people. Partying sometimes gives us a brief time when we don’t think about all that conflict.
2 Partying sometimes provides us with welcome relief from what is going on around us in our world. There were a thousand wild fires in the USA this year. There is drought throughout the western half of our land. It was so hot earlier this year that the electrical grids couldn't handle it. Then there were the devastating hurricanes in Florida and the Caribbean. Add to that the massive storms on the East Coast and elsewhere. Partying sometimes gives us a brief time when we don’t think about all that devastation.
B1 13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” Sabeans were from Arabia. They were people who were constantly on the move getting resources necessary to stay alive by plundering whomever they could find. Just like today.
2 Another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”. Could have been like Sodom and Gomorrah. Could also have been that lightning struck the hay, the barn and all the animals went up in flames, and the servants acting as shepherds died trying to save them. Natural disaster. Just like today.
3 Another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” Sounds no different from the Sabeans. Just different people. Probably true. Just more people at war with each other. Just like today.
4 Another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” Tornado. Tsunami. Hurricane. Just like today.
C1 We look at today and what happened to Job and we say, “Everything is out of control.” It sure looks like that lots of times, doesn’t it. Where is God in all this? Is Satan in charge? Satan thinks so. Listen to him talk to God. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.” Sounds like the leader of the drug gang. “This is my turf.”
2 Is it really? Satan wants to destroy Job as he wants to destroy us. Did you notice what he had to do first? Get permission from God. 11 But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” 12 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power.
3 What does that mean? In spite of the way things look. In spite of the wars, mass killings, record heat storms, Sabeans, lightning, Chaldeans, and hurricanes, Satan is not in charge. God is. So, rejoice.
IIIA1 Job lost his oxen and donkeys and the servants who were working with them. These were the equivalent of today’s heavy farm equipment. So Job lost his ability to generate wealth in the farming industry.
2 Job lost his sheep and the servants who were shepherding them. So, Job lost his ability to generate wealth in the ranching business.
3 Job lost his camels and camel drivers. These were the equivalent of long haul 18 wheelers, freight trains, cargo ships and cargo planes. So Job lost his ability to generate wealth by transporting his products to near and distant markets.
4 Job lost his family. As parents know, he lost one of his main earthly reasons for getting up in the morning and conducting his farming, ranching, and commerce.
5 How did Job respond to all this loss? 20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. That indicates how devastated he was. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” 22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. How could he have responded that way? The LORD Himself answers that question. There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” Job had a relationship with God. He was blameless, covered with the holiness of the Messiah. He was upright, empowered by the Holy Spirit to do God’s will. That led him to acknowledge that God had blessed him with all those earthly blessings. That led him to acknowledge that the LORD had the right, if He chose to, to remove all those blessings. That led him to confess that whatever the LORD does is the right thing in every circumstance.
B1 All of you are Jobs in one way or another. Maybe in lots of ways. I know all of you. Some of you lost your jobs. Some of you have lost your abilities. Some of you have lost your health. You can’t generate income. Some of you have lost your homes. Some of you have lost loved ones to death. Some of you have lost children to death. And we are just as devastated as Job was. We tear our robes and shave our heads.
2 But you are all here today. Why? You are like Job. You fall to the ground and worship. You also acknowledge that your jobs, your skills, your health, your income generating ability, your home, and your families and friends are all blessings from the LORD. You are like Job. You are willing to confess that God didn’t owe you any of these blessings and He has the right to take them back at any time. You believe that God does what is right for you all the time, even when it looks and feels bad.
3 How can you respond like that? Because you know God has washed away your sins in the blood of Jesus who died on the cross to accomplish that very thing. You know God has covered you with the holiness which Jesus lived as your substitute so you are blameless in God’s sight. You know God has given you a relationship with Him that will last forever because of Jesus’ resurrection. You know according to God’s own promise nothing is going to separate us from His love in Christ Jesus our Lord.
4 So, in spite of loss of job, abilities, health, income, home and loved ones, you rejoice because your relationship with God because of Jesus Christ, your relationship with God’s people in Jesus Christ, and your purpose in life and eternity, praising Jesus Christ, cannot be lost.
LORD JESUS, even when I have torn robes and a shaved head, help me rejoice because I
have You. Change that. Because You have me (in your strong hands.)