“Why Me?”

By Ben Bailey

 

Introduction:

1.      In the world, we live in things often happen that make us ask the question “why?”  For example:

a.       A mother miscarries an unborn baby.

b.      A spouse dies unexpectantly.

c.       Oklahoma Tornadoes

d.      A friend or relative dies of some dreaded disease.

e.       Columbine shooting

2.      All these questions are indeed legitimate, but they must be answered by a legitimate source—the Bible.

3.      The Book of Job is the perfect place to ask/answer the question “why?”

 

I.                   The Suffering of Job.  Chapter 1-2

 

A.    Satan’s plan becomes God’s proof.  1:6-12

1.      In vs. 6-7 Satan presents Himself before God after a soul-hunt on earth.

2.      Then god offers Satan a suggestion, “What about Job?”  Vs. 8

3.      Because of God’s query, Satan asks God a soul-searching question; “Does Job fear God for nothing?”  Vs. 9

4.      Then in vs. 10-11 Satan gives a two fold response as to why Job serves God:

a.       You have hedged him in with good.

b.      You have blessed him greatly.

5.      As a result of Satan’s accusations, God gave Satan power to cause Job to suffer.  Vs. 12

B.     The First Test.  1:13-19

1.      As Job’s children were celebrating their oldest brother’s birthday, a successive row of catastrophes strikes Job.  Vs. 13

2.      First, Job looses the totality of His economic status (Job goes broke in one swoop) Vs. 14-17

a.       In this period of time wealth and the economy were measured by the number of livestock and servants a man possessed (1:3).  In our day and age, Job just had a black Monday.

b.      This would be like owning a booming factory, then receiving a call in the middle of the night to find out it burned to the ground, and your insurance company does not really exist.

3.      Beside the fact that Job is now devastated by an uncontrollable bankruptcy, Job now looses all ten of his children at once.  Vs. 18-21, Can you imagine loosing all your children in one accident?

4.      This would be the time when a lot of people would throw in the towel, but not Job.

C.    Job’s reaction to the situation.  Vs. 20-22

1.      In great distress and heartache, Job does the opposite of what most people would do—worshiped God!  Vs. 20

2.      While worshiping God, Job realized that life was full of blessing and cursing.  Vs. 21

3.      Amazingly, Job was able to keep his sobriety about him under all this.  Vs. 22

a.       What would we have done?

b.      Would we have lost our temper and let a curse word slip, or even worse blamed God for the situation.

D.    Satan’s 2nd plan becomes God’s 2nd proof.  2:1-6

1.      After the events of chapter 1, a second Heavenly counsel occurs and God again reminds Satan of Job.  Vs. 1-3

2.      In response, Satan asks God for permission to curse Job with a disease, which God concedes to.  Vs. 4-6

E.     The 2nd Test begins.  2:7-11

1.      In these verses Satan does two things to try and make Job curse God:

2.      First, he strikes Job with an awful disease.  Notice some of the characteristics of this disease:

a.       Painful boils from head to toe.  1:7

b.      Sleeplessness.  7:4

c.       Rotten, cracked, puss infected skin.  7:5

d.      Rottenness of the bones.  18:13

e.       Bad breath.  19:17

f.       Great anguish and pain.  30:17-19

g.      Fever and skin rot.  30:30

3.      Job’s disease was so bad; he could only receive comfort by scraping the dead skin off of his body with a piece of pottery.  2:8

4.      The second and most heart rendering attempt to make Satan curse God was accomplished through his own wife.  2:9

a.       Satan, in his wily character, knew that it would hurt Job more for his wife to encourage him to curse God, than it would if she had died with the children. 

F.     Job’s response.  Vs. 10

1.      In Vs. 10 Job realizes that both good and adversity come in life and that we should accept them both.

2.      How many of us have the attitude to serve God in rainy day and sunny days?  Will we serve God apart from the blessing he bestows?

 

II.               Reasons Job suffered, and reasons men suffer today. 

 

A.    The first reason Job suffered was a direct result of Satan.

1.      Satan was the force behind both of Job’s sufferings (physical/mental).  1:12, 2:7

2.      Satan can only do what God allows him, but he is active and has power today.  2:6, I Pet 5:8, Eph 6:16, 2 Cor 11:14, 2 Cor 2:11, 2 Cor 4:4, 2 Tim 2:26, Rev 12:17.

B.     A second reason for man’s suffering may be to prove to Satan and the world that Christians will serve God for nothing.

1.      Job definitely proved this to Satan, and you and I today.

2.      If these things happened to you, could God count on you?

C.    A third reason men suffer may be a means of purifying the soul in godliness.

1.      Throughout the Book Job continues to question God as to why this is happening and while no reason is given, surely it made Job a stronger person (James 5:11).

2.      Suffering today may help us to grow spiritually.  It may help us to gain the Christian virtues we desperately need 2 Pet 1:5ff.

 

Conclusion:

            While Job’s suffering was very intense, it was also multipurposed to help Job and disprove Satan’s claims against God.  In your own suffering have you acted like Job, or have you cursed God for the things that happened to you?