JOB – EXTREME SPIRITUALITY

Job 1:1-8 (KJV)

There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.

His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.

And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.

And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

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?

The book of Job, even the person of Job himself, is one of the most interesting in all of the Bible.

We know nothing about him:

·   Who he was

·   When he lived

·   Where he lived or even

·   If he lived[1]

Regarding the book itself, we do not know for sure:

·   Who wrote the book or

·   When the book was written[2]

I do believe that Job was:

·   A real person who lived in

·   A real place and that his story is

·   A real account of history

But the fact that it is written in a poetical form and that there is mystery surrounding the account indicates to me that the example of Job might be applied to all of us.

·   His story is not one that happened so long ago that none of us can relate to it.

·   His story is one that applies to all Christians in one way or another.

Job is truly an example of “Ye, which are spiritual.”

Would you notice with me first of all,

I. HIS SPIRIT

Job 1:1 (KJV)

There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

I read this description and immediately I think to myself, “no one can live up to that example!”

·   Perfect

·   Upright

·   Fears God

·   Eschews evil

Is there anything wrong with this man?

I sort of think his friends must have thought something like that because, when Job’s troubles came, their envy rose to the surface.

They thought that finally they would get to see what Job’s faults were!

One of my preacher friends believes that Job is a pre-incarnate version of Jesus Christ.

I don’t agree but I do see where he is coming from.

·   Perfect

·   Upright

·   Fears God

·   Eschews evil

What a testimony Job had. What human being do you know, other than Jesus these things could be said of?

My friend would say that Job never sinned in all that happens in the book, but that, like Jesus, he learned obedience through the things he suffered.

·   Perfect

·   Upright

·   Fears God

·   Eschews evil

I want to tell you; every one of these terms may be applied to the Christian, because of Jesus Christ.

·   We are not perfect, but He is perfect

·   We are not absolutely upright, but He is upright

·   We do not perfectly fear God, but He is God in the flesh

·   We do not perfectly eschew evil, but He does perfectly eschew evil

And we, who are Christians, are hidden in the Person of Jesus Christ.

Notice secondly,

II. HIS SUBSTANCE

Job 1:2-3 (KJV)

And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.

His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

In my mind, this dismisses the pre-incarnate Jesus theory.

What it does tell me is that he was a working machine!

·   7000 sheep

·   3000 camels

·   500 yoke of oxen

·   500 she asses and

·   A very great household

Just the sheep would have required hundreds of employees to maintain and care for.

A yoke of oxen is a pair of them – used for cultivating fields.

Bible scholars say the term ‘very great household” is in reference to the size of his estate.

I’m telling you, Job must have had the land and population equivalent to a county in today’s world.

There would have had to have been differing communities,

·   some rural and

·   some more urban

He would have had to have his own systems of

·   Management

·   Supervision and even

·   Enforcement

He was not only a man of

·   great wealth but a man of

·   great influence and of

·   great enterprise

A spiritual person will likely be a very busy person.

He probably has plenty of things to do besides get alone in his closet and read his Bible and pray.

Nevertheless, notice third,

III. HIS SACRIFICES

Job 1:4-5 (KJV)

And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.

And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

Job had to have been a very busy person, but I see that he is devoted to two things besides his business:

·   To his family and

·   To his worship

I would like to say number one

A. Don’t separate the two

Don’t separate your family from your faith.

The most important thing you will give your kids is your faith.

But if you make your faith second to:

·   your work or

·   your hobbies and pastimes or even

·   your family

They will grow up to make faith even less important than you made it.

And I would like you to notice

B. He kept his spiritual interest in his kids even after they were grown

He isn’t telling his kids what to do, but he is still pleading with God for them.

A person honors his parents by heeding their counsel and living like they pray you are.

Notice then

IV. HIS STANDING WITH GOD

Job 1:6-8 (KJV)

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.

And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

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?

It’s one thing when people say that you are:

·   Perfect

·   Upright

·   Fears God

·   Eschews evil

It’s a whole new thing when God says it of you!

I want to take this right back to point number one and insist to you that, when you are saved, God only sees you as:

·   Perfect

·   Upright

·   Fear God

·   Eschew evil

Hebrews 8:12 (KJV)

For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

God doesn’t just overlook our past – He removes it and He forgets it.

·   It doesn’t give you permission to sin but

·   It does give you a great reason to humbly rejoice and live for God

Notice also

V. HIS SATANIC OPPOSITION

Job 1:9-11 (KJV)

Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?

Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

The thesis upon which I am preaching this year is,

You can know you are spiritual.

One of the marks of the spiritual person is that they will be an opposed person.

Satan is not going to like:

·   Your standing before God or

·   Your testimony among men

And he is going to fight you!

One of the things I have noticed about spiritual people is that, though they are constantly in a battle, you might never know it because they always have a smile.

Spiritual people will face opposition, but they will do it with confidence and the joy of the Lord.

Finally

VI. HIS SUMMARY

Job 42:12-13 (KJV)

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.

He had also seven sons and three daughters.

I just want to end by saying…

…A spiritual person lives knowing that God will bless his latter end better than anything that happens in his life on earth.

He can live in victory knowing that, whatever he faces today, it will be more than repaid in eternity.

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[1] I do not doubt that Job is a real person but there are those who question that. Since the book is written in poetic form, some suppose it is to be taken metaphorically. I believe that Job was a real person, that his story is a real event and that his spiritual example is a real one.

[2] I believe he lived in the days of Abraham, came from in or around the Ur of Chaldees and that Moses recorded the account of Job’s life.