Scriptures for Today
Job 1:13-22
And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: 14 And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: 15 And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 16 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 17 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 18 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: 19 And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 20 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.
INTRODUCTION
Let me ask you a question. What’s the worst day you’ve ever had? Maybe you lost your job. Maybe you buried someone you loved. Maybe you got a phone call that changed your life forever. Now let me ask another question.
How many terrible things can happen in one day? One? Two? Three? Imagine your phone rings. Bad news. Before you can process it… it rings again. More bad news. Then again. And again. And again. Every call is worse than the one before. That’s Job.
Today we’re going to watch one of the darkest days in human history. And by the end of the chapter, we’re going to answer one question: Could your faith in God survive Job’s day?
I. THE FIRST MESSENGER ARRIVES
Job 1:13-15
And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: 14 And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: 15 And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
Picture the scene. This is to help you remember this. Job isn’t expecting tragedy. It’s just another ordinary day. His oxen are plowing. The donkeys are feeding. His servants are working. Everything is normal. Then… someone comes running. He’s out of breath. Covered in dust. His clothes are torn.
His face says something terrible has happened before he even opens his mouth. Then he says,
“The Sabeans fell upon them…” Job loses his business in one moment. These people took his oxen and the asses feeding beside them. They killed all his servants. Only the one messenger made it out alive.
Have you ever gotten a phone call that changed your day? Maybe your life? Job just did. When everything else is gone… is God enough?
II. BEFORE JOB CAN BREATHE
Job 1:16
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
Stop. Those five words are devastating. He hasn’t even finished talking. Job hasn’t even had time to think. He hasn’t cried. He hasn’t prayed. He hasn’t asked a question. Another messenger arrives. Can you imagine that? The first man is still talking… when the second one interrupts him.
“The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them.” The sheep are dead. More servants dead. More property gone. Job is losing everything he has.
Imagine standing in your kitchen. The phone rings. Terrible news. You’re still holding the phone. Before you hang up… your other phone rings. That’s Job.
III. IT GETS WORSE
Job 1:17
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
Again. The Bible says: “While he was yet speaking…” Did you notice it again? Job can’t even process one tragedy. Another one comes. The Chaldeans take the camels. More servants die. Everything keeps collapsing.
Sometimes life doesn’t give you time to recover before the next trial comes. This is what life can be like here on this earth.
IV. THE WORST NEWS OF ALL
Job 1:18-19
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: 19 And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
Now the fourth messenger comes. Job has already lost his business. His wealth. His servants. Surely that’s enough. No. The messenger says, “Your sons… Your daughters… They’re gone.” Imagine that silence.
No parent wants to hear those words. The house collapsed. Every one of them died. Picture Job standing there. Four messengers. Four disasters. Four conversations. Everything he spent a lifetime building… gone. In one day.
When everything else is gone… is God enough? God isn’t going away. Is He enough?
V. WHAT JOB DID NEXT
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.
This is where the sermon turns. Everybody expects Job to curse God. Everybody expects Job to quit. Everybody expects Job to walk away. Instead… Verse 20. “Then Job arose…” Don’t miss that. He didn’t stay on the ground. He arose. He rent his mantle. He shaved his head. He fell on the ground. And then… he worshipped.
Would you? Would I? If that happened tomorrow… what would we do? Job didn’t worship because life was good. Job worshipped because God was still good.
It’s easy to praise God after a promotion. It’s easy to praise God after a wedding. It’s easy to praise God when the doctor says, “Everything looks great.” But what about today? What about Job’s day? That’s real faith.
Look at verse 21 again: “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.”
That may be one of the greatest statements of faith in the entire Bible. Job understands something. Everything he had… was God’s already.
Now, please, I want you to hear me on this. Because when we change the way we think on this, our faith can increase. We must change the way we are thinking about things.
Imagine a friend loans you his car. You use it, take care of it, and enjoy it. Years later he asks for it back. You may be sad to give it up, but you know it was never really yours. Job understood that everything he had was God’s before it was ever his.
Everything that we think we have is not truly ours. It is God’s. For example, my wife who I love is God’s. God is just giving her to me for a while. My daughters who I love are not mine. They are God’s children. They are not mine. I just get to be with them for a while. This church is not mine. I just get to be here for a while. And I thank God for what He allows me to have for a while.
The life I have is not mine. My life returns to the one who gave it. We must realize that everything we have is God’s. He gives, and He takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
VI. THE VERSE THAT AMAZES ME
Job 1:22
In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.
Can you imagine? After losing everything. No bitterness. No blame. No accusation. No shaking his fist at heaven. No cursing at God. No anger at God. Why? Because when everything else disappeared… God was still enough for Job. And Job knew what God could do. He knew that He gave. He knew that He took away. And Job knew that God could give yet again.
CONCLUSION
Let me ask you one final question. If everything you thanked God for yesterday disappeared tomorrow… would you still thank Him? If everything in your bank account disappeared… would He still be enough? If your career disappeared… would He still be enough? If your health disappeared… would He still be enough?
Because that’s the question of Job. It’s not, Could Job survive that day? He did. The question is, Could your faith survive Job’s day? When everything else is gone… is God enough? I want you to think about that and how you can increase your faith in God.
Let’s pray.
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