Job Ch. 37 | Bible Study by Rick Burgess | 10/29/25

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome into the Wednesday Bible Study. Hello there, I'm Rick Burgess.
Thank you for being with us, whether you are here
in the room. Hello to all the men that are
always here with us. And then those of you men
and women who are out there, either live or are
catching an archive. We are studying the Book of Job.
We have been hanging out in the studio of my

(00:20):
day job for about a decade. Now. I am the
host of the Rick Burgess Show, and that's my day
job Monday through Friday. You want more information about that,
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this particular Bible study started as part of a greater
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(00:43):
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We provide the resources. We provide that strategy. We can
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We'll be in Birmingham and start will coming up in
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So you need to go ahead and get that done.
And we give you a ten dollars per ticket discount
if you have a group that's ten or more. Get
all those details at themanchurch dot com. So let's open
up in a word of prayer and we'll jump right in.
We're going to be in Job, and we're getting close
to the end of our study of Job. We do
have a few more weeks left. Today we're going to

(02:54):
be in Job chapter thirty seven, and we'll tell you
exactly what this entails after we say a word to
the Lord to join us. Lord, thank you for today,
Thank you again for everybody who's made this a priority
to join together to study your Holy Word. May the
power of the Holy Spirit be with us. May your
discernment be the filter that we view this through today.

(03:18):
Help us to apply it to our own lives, Lord,
and to be able to use this to also help
others to know more about who you are and your
holy name. We pray Amen. Well, so I got to
I get texts a lot from you guys, in questions
and emails, and so this is one of my dear friends.
I won't give his name. We have known each other

(03:40):
for over forty years. And he doesn't live close enough
to be able to come here. He lives far away,
but he gets the Bible study every single week on Monday.
The following text from him. So, I'm getting tired of
Big Hugh a lot starting to get on my nerves,

(04:03):
and but you're making me stay with it, really enjoying
the study. Thank you for the job you're doing. I
know a lot of you probably share that. I'm getting
kind of tired of these guys they have they've been
rattling on with job now a lie who's been rattling
on and and we're all getting a little tired of them.
So I have good news. We're done with them today.

(04:24):
So this this will be the last speech from the
so called friends. But as we said last week, we're
continuing with the lie WHU this week. What he was saying,
we didn't have time to get all that in in
one hour last week. But what he is doing without
I think being conscious of it. He is setting up
the arrival of God, which comes next week. So if

(04:47):
the Lord allows us to get together next week, to
me in my Bible and a lot of you, a
lot of you ask this my preference as far as studying,
I like the ESV. I know that I may be
behind the times. We've got a lot of people have
moved on to the new American standard. And there's nothing
wrong with that. King James perfectly find the new King

(05:07):
James perfectly fine. N I V. Be careful with that
a little bit, be sure. It's one of the later
interpretations of the NIV. But you know, and the message
is is a is a paraphrase. It's not a study Bible,
but it can be a beneficial resource. But ESV is
the one I like because I learned I'm more of
a literal learner, even though it's not as poetic and

(05:29):
not as beautiful. I like the This is the Hebrew,
this is the Greek, this is the English, and it
still has its you know, sometimes it can get a
little a little clunky, but it is my my favorite
English translation. So anyway, one thing that my Bible says
about next week, and it just it gives me chills
to read. It is chapter thirty eight above it mine

(05:52):
says the Lord answers Joe. That's that's a big deal.
So that so that's coming up and that'll be the
rest of our study until we're done. I have also
decided what we're gonna do next. So thank you for
all your feedback. Uh and I have prayed over this,
and I really since you know, we've done a lot
of Old Testament, which I love, I really feel the

(06:15):
Lord calling us back to the New Testament for the
next round, and the powerful letters from the apostle Paul,
but the ones that he wrote while he was incarcerated.
So we're going to do Paul's letters from jail, and
we're just going to go through all of them over
the next couple of years. So uh so we'll I'll
let you know which one we'll start with as we
get to the end of this. I mean, just the

(06:37):
Die of Ephesians alone is going to just be meedy,
so uh so we'll, uh we'll we'll talk about that
a little bit later on. So today we have a
lie who that is going to continue to proclaim to
job God's majesty. Last week he talked about God's greatness.
Now this is going to be more about the majesty

(06:58):
of God. Don't don't you see this? Job? Don't you
know this? And a lot of what he said last
week and a lot of what he's going to say
this week are some of the very things that God's
going to say about himself. And when he questions job
or answers job coming up next week. So remember when
we left last week, the analogy of storms show you

(07:21):
how powerful God is. Well, this just kind of continues on.
This is all one speech. It continues on into thirty
seven and Ali who says and this referring back to
the storm analogy, right, okay, remember back to last week.
At this the storm analogy, also my heart trembles and

(07:43):
leaps out of its place. So remember that's finishing what
he said in thirty three of thirty six. He was
talking about the crashing of the storm declares God's presence.
The cattle also declared that he rises, meaning not only
do they represent the animal kingdom which God is going
to talk about, they also react to a storm. If

(08:04):
you've ever seen livestock do that. And then a lie
who says, not only does does does does live stock
respond to the trembling at the sound of one of
these storms, My heart himself also trembles and leaps out
of its place. Storms can be frightening. Anybody ever been
in one of those? Hey storms? They can be frightening,

(08:24):
you know, he said, Humans including me and animals alike,
jump when with their hearts pounding at an approaching storm.
If you've ever been in a show enough storm, and
like I say, as of us recording this, when this
happened or when we did it live? You know, a
Category five hurricane has ripped through Jamaica and going on

(08:47):
to Cuba and even did some damage and killed some
people in the Dominican And if you want to really
know your place as a human being, just face a storm.
You feel pretty insignificant. Uh. You really don't have a
whole lot of recourse other than take shelter and hope.
And if you've ever been in anything like a hurricane,

(09:09):
or have you ever been in a tornado, which I have,
it is unforgettable. Uh, And I can I can still
remember the tornado that I was in. I can still
remember it. I can still remember watching I was in
a civic center. Uh, and watching the lights begin to
shake like this, and feeling the pressure in my ear

(09:29):
and just watching the side of it come off and
and and the rains start coming in on top of everybody.
And I remember seeing and and there was like a
shed that was behind the civic center that had tractors
and you know, lawn equipment and all this stuff in it.
And it was just that storm took it and just
tossed it like it was nothing. And uh, and you realize,

(09:52):
and you know, if you've ever seen, you know, pine
needles go through trees because of the force of the winds,
you know that us compared to whether we have no
recourse other than take shelter and to be in awe
of its power. So this is exactly what Ali who

(10:13):
is talking about. So he goes on in verse two.
Keep listening to the thunder of his voice and the
rumbling that comes from his mouth. Listen to his power job,
Listen to his voice, Listen to the rumbling that's following
the original clap of thunder. Just rumbles you ever heard of,
just rumble and rumble on, almost like there's something falling

(10:36):
down steps or something. And it almost sounds like, you
can see how some of the people that didn't believe
in God, the Pagans, thought it was something going on
in the heavens above them, things falling, things rolling, And
it really does sound like that. And so this is
Ali who's saying. The bottom line is he's trying to say, Job,

(10:57):
you got to be real careful with this questioning of God.
Who are you to question him? Which God will say
himself Verse three. Under the whole heaven, he lets it
go and is lightning to the corners of the earth,
heaven and earth. These storms seem to extend to the
ends of the earth. It's an impressive sight. Job, just

(11:21):
look at his majesty. If you can overcome the fear
that you get when you have a storm, if you
can just get the fear out and stand and just look,
you have to be in awe of what he creates.
And I remember my dad was that way. My dad
was always somebody that like, if we were at the
beach and a storm was coming, he was gonna go

(11:42):
out and look at it. He wanted to watch it.
And you know, if you can ever feel safe and
be far enough away, the beach is a great place
to do it. Because you got you're not in so
much danger, but you can still see it. Some of
y'all that live or are watching listen to this. You
live in different places where we live. If you're not
at the Gulf coast. Uh, it's hard to see them.
We have so many hills and so many trees, and

(12:04):
it's a little bit daunting because it's all around us.
Sometimes we can't lay eyes on it because of the
the topocryphy and and and the landscape. But but those
of you that can see for a long way, you
a lot of times can sit and watch them. Uh,
and it's it's impressive. And so this is a lit
who's saying, if you can overcome the fear, just just
notice what what is going on here? Uh. And then

(12:27):
and then he says, you know, for it's the same
thing after it his his voice roars, he thunders with
the his majestic voice, and he does not restrain the
lightning when his voice is heard. You know, I did
some some research on this because this is all about weather,
and it's it's kind of surprising how much they do
seem to know about weather. But they were talking about

(12:50):
lightning because you know, when Alla who is writing this.
They don't know the things that we know now about weather. However,
did you know even now? And I didn't know this, Uh,
But I studied this to find out that even though
we know how thunder and lightning is created in you know,
in general, we still have found that there's a randomness

(13:14):
to it. We can't quite still pinpoint when it's going
to lightning and where it's going to lightning. Still can't
quite figure that out. Uh. And so this is what
Ali who is talking about. He said, you know, He's
going to decide where it goes. Uh. And he's going
to be the one ultimately that God's you know what
happens with these storms. And it gets back to a

(13:36):
deeper point, guys and ladies out there, a deeper point,
back to the death of Job's children. It was a
storm that killed them. It was God who drew the lines,
and it was Satan that said, I'm gonna work within
the boundaries that you give me, including killing his children.

(13:57):
And we know that the scriptures, and it seems like
these people were aware of this talk about God's control
of the weather. Uh. And you start thinking, okay, so
it is Satan able to take the weather if allowed
by God and do destructive things with it? Are as

(14:18):
God doing destructive things with it? For certainly he can
stop it. You know, is what what what exactly happened there?
What was it God that said part of my removal
of a boundary is that I will create a storm
that will kill Job's children? Are is Satan also able

(14:42):
to take hold of weather if allowed by God and
do terrible things with it? We know God's sovereign. We're
going to get into that more. But uh, and it's
certainly what we're talking about is semantics to a degree,
but it is it's incredibly interesting to think of that.
We know that you know that that Lucifer has supernatural power.

(15:07):
We know that as the highest ranking angel, a big
gap between between him and the God that created him.
But there's no doubt there's a supernatural nature to him.
There's no doubt that when he was trying to give
Jesus things that of course Jesus already had, but at
the time he had the ability to do things if
Jesus would ever fall for the temptation. So it's a

(15:29):
it's an interesting dynamic. So but you can imagine the
way Job must be feeling. Uh And This is just
me speculating. But again, it's all right to speculate when
you teach the Bible, as long as you tell everybody
you're speculating. What it must feel like for Allihu to
be using storms in his analogy, when a storm killed

(15:50):
all of Job's children. This must be a difficult thing
to keep hearing, because what Joe, what what Elihu is
ultimately saying is God did this to you because you're
holding something you're not telling us. So he continues on,
I don't think he just grabbed this randomly, And then
of course we get into five. God thunders wondrously with

(16:14):
his voice. He does great things that we cannot comprehend.
He does incredible, wonderful things. Job, his majesty is so
very evident. Just look at creation, at the power of God.
And I want to get specific. Job. I don't want
you just to look at all the creation right now.

(16:36):
I want you to look at a storm. I want
you to see it. I want you to know that
he does that. Again. This must be a difficult conversation,
and Job at this point appears to be pretty beat
down because he isn't responding anymore and hasn't responded in
a while. Verse six, And this is interesting that we

(16:56):
go winter weather now. He's going to transition now and
he's going to move to winter, snow and rain, all
being controlled by God. He says that. For to the snow,
he says, fall on the earth. Likewise to the downpour,
his mighty downpour. He's saying, Look, if it rains or

(17:18):
it snows, God's the one that creates it. God's the
one that tells it where to go, and it does
whatever he says. And the only thing, back to what
I said at the beginning, we can do is seek shelter.
Look at this in verse seven, he seals up the
hand of every man, that all men whom he made
may know it. He's so powerful. If he sends weather

(17:42):
that is so powerful, humans can't do anything about it
but take cover. They need shelter. They've got to. They
can't stop what he's doing. They can only take shelter
against it. Can anybody in here stop? I mean those
of us, Keep in mind those out there in different places.
I'm talking to a bunch of Southerners. You talk about

(18:04):
some people that freak out there and winter weather. It's
a freak show in here. We don't know what to
do with it. Okay, we don't know how to drive
in it. We don't have we don't have any equipment
for it. And you can take winter weather and you
can shut our whole society down with very little of it.
But the reason why is there's nothing we can do
to stop it. I mean, have any of you ever

(18:26):
ever had a storm or weather ruined your plans? Were
you able to just say, well, I can't have a
snowstorm this weekend, we got plans. I can't take rain
today because I've got plans, So I'm just gonna I'm
gonna stop it from raining so we can do our thing. Now,
what do you do? You either cancel it or if
it's rain, you find a way to be sheltered from it. Right,

(18:49):
my wife has an ideal with the world's greatest pergola
that we're going to do Thanksgiving outdoors. And you know
what I said, we'll see because you know, if God
decides not going outdoors, there's nothing we can really do
about it. So this is the point. And then he
just doubles down and said animals are in the same place.
That's all This next verse says, then the beasts go

(19:10):
into their layers and remain in their dens. Even the
animals go, we just got to go take cover till
this weather's over. There's nothing we can really do about it.
So God controls weather animals and humans can't, showing that
the difference between the two using this analogy verse nine,
From its chamber comes the whirlwind, and cold from the

(19:34):
scattering winds now. Verse nine is interesting, isn't it? So
look over at chapter thirty eight. I'm gonna let you cheat.
Look ahead the next week. Look at verse one. When
God arrives. Then the Lord answered, job out of the whirlwind,
So he says, look, it's chamber. From its chamber comes

(19:55):
the whirlwind, and cold from the scattering winds. Wind and cold,
driving winds, scattering winds. All of these things show God's power.
Do you remember Jesus even talking to Nicodemus about the
wind when he was trying to ask about how about
being born again? And he's talking about all these things.

(20:17):
He goes, well, you know, you feel the wind, but
you don't see it. He's talking about the spirit of God.
When the wind comes, you feel it, but you can't
see it. Where does it come from? How's it created.
And so he's saying, all this wind, all this cold,
any of this is showing the power of God. Verse ten.
By the breath of God, ice is given and the

(20:39):
broad waters are frozen fast. God freezes rain if he
wants to, He freezes water. And what does he have
to do if he wants to freeze an entire lake?
What he do? He just got to use his breath
if he wants to take rain and say, right now
that rains ice, it's just his breath. That's how easy

(21:00):
that is to him. Weather is nothing for him. He
can change it, he can create it. Verse eleven. He
loads the thick cloud with moisture. The clouds scatter his lightning.
Water evaporates loading the clouds, the clouds carry lightning, et cetera.
There's two things clouds do at his command, and they

(21:20):
either create They either fill up with water are are
are lightning. And that's the thing that science can't figure out.
Science says, I can tell you how rain is made. Yeah,
but can you tell us who started the system? Well,
water evaporates into the clouds. How who gave it the
power to a app? Who created evaporation? You know, it's

(21:40):
kind of like these people say, well, everything had to
have a beginning. Well, yeah, he's what was he called himself.
I'm the beginning and I'm the end. So where did
everything begin? God? Granddaddy, Daddy who created God? No one, Well,
there has to be beginning. He is the beginning. You know,
everything has to have a creator. Yeah, that's who he is.

(22:02):
All things are created from him. So no matter what
we know about science and science at one time when
we all had some sense, until we all got too
smart for our own good. At one time even scientists
were just pursuing God revealing how he did things in nature.
And then suddenly it became maud, if you are a

(22:23):
true scientist, you have to believe God is not doing
any of this. Which that was the decision we all
made to say, instead of showing how enlightened we could
be by looking for God and what he will reveal,
we said, no, let's change that, and let's show how
stupid we can be and know everything we know about
science and say that actually said there isn't a God.
But at one time we had enough wisdom to know

(22:45):
it shows us there is a God. Then we decided
to throw all that wisdom out and show how stupid.
We could be and say that science and God do
not coexist, which is completely incorrect. So anyway, so then
he's going to talk about God being sovereign over the weather.
Look at twelve. They turn around and around by his

(23:05):
guidance to accomplish all that he commands them on the
face of the habit of world. So wherever people can live,
wherever people can have habitat, no matter where. That is
everything that's going on. God is sovereign over weather. By implication,
he moves weather to do whatever he pleases. So when

(23:30):
and keep that in mind, because this is this is
sometimes that rub, that tension that you know, we would
call it the rub where I'm from, but if you're
in the seminary, they'd call it tension. This is that
tension that if God controls weather even you know, because

(23:50):
what we tend to do is say, oh, praise God,
the tornado passes by, and and then you find yourself going, well,
you don't think anybod had faith that prayed for it
as well and it didn't pass them by. Do you
think you have more faith than them? So your prayer
moved God, but their prayer didn't. Now we should pray

(24:11):
and like I say, even in the very week that
I speak to you, in the last seventy two hours,
I watched God move in a supernatural way involving my
prayer life in the last seventy two hours, So he
certainly does. I just want us to understand that if

(24:32):
God's sovereign over the weather, there is an uncomfortable question
that you have to ask if you're willing to be
bold enough to have this kind of faith and have
it tested. As Scripture tells us that whatever happened with
me involving weather, God was sovereign over it because he

(24:53):
could stop it. So if he doesn't, then he allowed
out it or he even caused it, So then it's
more important to go. I want now let's learn to
see if I can learn why, because there's always He's
not just doing it randomly, and there's many reasons it
could be. So, So anyway, should we pray? Absolutely? Can

(25:18):
God be gracious and merciful to our pleadings? Yes? Does
he want us to bring our petitions to him? Absolutely?
There's Jesus for the Redeemed that he said he even
you know, is an advocate before our needs, before the Father.
So all that's important. But we also must have the
faith and understand that the truths of God are still

(25:42):
the same. Even if it doesn't go the way that
we wanted it to go. That doesn't change him and
make him any less great. So next he's gonna shift
and say, now, Job, this is the application to you.
What I'm saying is here's how it applies to you,
Job fourteen through eighteen. He comes back and he says,

(26:04):
on the sovereign part, let's hit that real quick in
thirteen because I skipped it. Whether for correction or for
his land or for love, he causes it to happen, everybody, Okay,
what causes? Everybody? Okay? What causes for whatever reason, Joe,
whether it can be a curse or a blessing, whether

(26:28):
it can show his love or it could show his wrath.
And I would ask all of you to uncomfortably, if
it bothers you, to underline the word causes there, because
I think sometimes we're okay with allow, we're a little
more uncomfortable with causes. But right here, the best word

(26:50):
in English is causes. He causes it to happen, whether
for correction or for his land, are for love, he
causes it to happen and learn these things because Job's
got a lesson coming that he's gonna learn. Just because

(27:13):
you're blameless doesn't mean that you've learned everything that God
doesn't have more to teach you. Verses fourteen through eighteen.
Now here's that application. Hear this old Job. He's just
gonna call him out directly. He's gonna speak directly to Job.
He's been doing this all along, but in a special way.
He wants Job to know that these verses will be

(27:35):
one last effort to move Job to acknowledge the sovereignty
of God, which we've just had to do. This is
a lot like God's speech that's coming. Acknowledge my sovereignty
over all that I have made in all that I do.

(27:57):
I think we're okay. I think most of us. This
is me. I'm talking us together. I'm not talking at you.
I'm talking with you. I'm in this struggle with you. Okay.
I still have a sin nature. I'm still being sanctified.
Yes I'm justified. I'm not yet glorified. So I'm still
fighting this battle with you. I'm feeling the tension along
with you. I think it's pretty easy for the redeemed

(28:18):
to say, I will acknowledge your sovereignty over everything you've created.
I'm in Are you gonna acknowledge my sovereignty over everything
that I do? I'm not there yet because some of
the things you do I don't like. Some of the
things you do I don't agree with. Of course he's perfect,

(28:39):
we're not. That's an arrogant statement, but it's honest. He's
not afraid to hear it because he knows it anyway. Right,
he knows it anyway. But we've got to get to
the point to where it's not just I love that
you're sovereign over everything you've made. I'm also at peace

(28:59):
that you're solid and over everything that you do. That's
a different things, and it is a more difficult thing.
I acknowledge that. I think you've heard me mention this
from my wife many times. I think probably the most
honest way to say it is I don't always like
how you do things. I just can't argue against the

(29:21):
results it produces. I acknowledge that what you're doing works.
I just didn't enjoy it. That's all right, you know,
But but praise to you because you're doing the right
thing and it's for my own good because you discipline
and you refine the people you love because we need it.

(29:42):
I know I need it. You ever just get so
sick at your stomach that everything that God has taught you,
and everything that God has done for you, and the
times that He has been gracious and merciful to you
over and over again, and the times that he's taught
you don't touch that's hot. I've taught you that over

(30:02):
and over again, and you still do it. If if
you're a parent or a grandparent, you're in touch with
that emotion, you kind of know how that feels. But
what if you were perfect, Say, you know, my kids
didn't do everything perfectly, but they also didn't have a
perfect dad, and don't have a perfect dad. We do, ultimately,

(30:24):
we have a perfect father, and we still won't adhere
to his teachings. And he still comes back and says,
let's try that again. Now, one day, all that's going
to be over and he's going to be done with
let's try that again, and the church age will be
over and it'll be time for judgment and it'll be
time for glorification, which I'm looking forward to because this

(30:48):
fight between my sin nature and my redeemed former dead
spirit is quite an exhausting battle. But just remember, guys,
the simplest thing I can teach you is the one
you've feed, is the one that use the winds. So
feed the spirit, don't feed the flesh. So anyway, here
is a lie who's saying, come on, Job, I want

(31:10):
you to hear this. Stop and consider the wondrous works
of God. Pay attention, Job, stay with me. Consider God's wonders.
Enough with speeches, consider the wonders. I think he's even saying, Look,
I know you've heard all the speeches you need to hear.
I just want you to focus on God. Listen to me.
Do you think as miserable as Job is, and as

(31:32):
beat down as he is, and as sick as he is,
do you think it's possible that a lie who, after
as long as he's been talking, has to look over
and say, hey, stay with me. Now, I'm almost done.
How many of you some of you are gonna laugh
because you've heard me do it. How many of you
have ever heard the preacher before? Are the teachers saying,
now I'm gonna say this and I'm gonna be done,
and they need to repent of lying. You know what

(31:54):
I mean, because you weren't done. Okay. You told us
to hang with you, that you were going to wrap up,
and this was your last point. You've made two more okay.
And you know it goes back to the old joke
with the little boy and his daddy, doesn't he daddy?
What does it mean when the pastor keeps looking at
his watch and the daddy said absolutely nothing? All right?

(32:16):
So so let's look now next fifteen? Do you know
how God lays his command upon them and causes the
lightning of his cloud? These are all rhetorical questions. Now
sounds an awful lot about God's resume coming up, because
God will say things like that, So did you tell
the water work to stop? Job? Did you do that?

(32:38):
Because I did? And you know you think that's impressive,
you know. So he is asking job, So Joe, can
you explain how he creates lightning? Let's hear from you
right here. Even though we know more now, we still
don't quite have lightning, and like I said, in this
randomness figured out, we still can't predict where it's going

(32:59):
to be. And so he's asking job, can you can
you just tell us how God did that. These are
all rhetorical questions. Now and then he says, do you
know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of
Him who is perfect in knowledge? Do you know? Can
I ask you this, Job? Do you know how God
orchestrates all this and the cosmos? Do you do you

(33:20):
know how He's perfect in knowledge? And are you perfect
in knowledge? Because you know we keep hearing from you
at your blameless Are you so close to God that
maybe you could explain these things to us? Or maybe
there's some things you still need to learn? And Job
just must be sitting there just shaking his head. Now,

(33:41):
he says, you whose garments are hot when the earth
is still because of the south wind? You, I mean,
can you explain how he handles temperature? Now? Of course,
you're just a human being, because when he turns the
heat up us on us, don't your garments get hot
just like the rest of us when you're miserable in
the heat? Can you tell us why we're all hot?

(34:04):
Are you just like the rest of us? You have
no answer for it either, which, by the way, being
hot is one of my least favorites. Can you like him?
Spread out the skies hard as a cast metal mirror.
What an analogy from Elihua? And what the sky looks like?
Can you turn up the heat? Can you do anything

(34:28):
about the brazen skies? Spread out? Look at it, Job,
if you can lift your head, look at it. I
mean it's just laid out like a metal mirror. I mean,
look look at the beauty of that horizon. Look at
the sky, Joe, can you do that? Can you tell
us how that's done? I mean, he's literally setting up
God's speech for him, even though I don't think he

(34:48):
knows that. So after he's done this, he now says,
I'm going to give you an inconclusive conclusion. It will
actually be a conclusion that is inconclusive. So then he
looks to Job and he's gonna tell him that a

(35:11):
confrontation with God. Job, that's ill advised. That this is
kind of my theme. Job, I'm gonna tell you, if
you choose to do this, it will be suicide. Just
be reverent, Just fear God, Just trust God. Just be gracious,

(35:32):
respond in a way, submit to the one who is
truly wise. This is what you should do. Don't pick
a battle with God. Anybody gonna apply that application day
because a lot Who's got a great point here, So
don't pick a fight with God. It is it is
a suicidal mission. He's right about that. But he's not

(36:00):
right about is that Job is not going to compromise
in his integrity, like I say, just to get these
people to be satisfied. So verse nineteen, teach us what
we shall say to him? We cannot draw up our
case because of darkness? Joe, why don't you tell us
what you're gonna say to God? Tell us what tell

(36:22):
us about about this? Now, keep in mind when he
uses darkness here, I want you to understand what he means.
You go back to the original language here. What he
means here when he says darkness. What he's talking about
is ignorance. He said, teach us of what we shall
say to him. We cannot draw up our case because

(36:44):
of our ignorance, because of how dark we are as
human beings. We're ignorant. So we're just too stupid. Job,
Why don't you tell us tell us exactly what you're
gonna say to God? After everything I've said to you,
all the things you know about God, tell us now
us we're so ignorant? What you're gonna say, verse twenty,

(37:05):
shall it be told him that I would speak? Did
a man ever wish that he would be swallowed up?
You go against God? It's death, Joe. It's no one
remember what he's clinging to. This is something that tells us.
Again speculating, but this is something that tells us. They

(37:27):
must know already know to some degree what scripture said
in the Old Covenant that anyone who saw God it
would kill them. Write these down, you can go look
at them later on your own time. Exodus thirty three,
twenty Deuteronomy five, twenty six, Judges six, twenty two, and

(37:52):
twenty three. All of these are places in scripture that
says to look upon God as a man unfiltered is
to die. You can't look upon the glory of God
and survive it. So twenty one and now, no one
looks on the light when it is bright in the skies,

(38:16):
when the wind has passed and cleared them. Now say,
he's using this analogy for what I just said. So, Job,
we can't even look at the sun without cloud cover.
We gotta have some kind of filter. They didn't have
sunglasses yet. We gotta have some kind of filter for
us to even look upon the sun. You can't look
at God without some filter. True, I mean, what are

(38:41):
you thinking You're going to try to look directly into
the sun with no cloud cover? Twenty two out of
the north comes golden splendor. God is clothed with awesome majesty.
It is coming. Job is about to be humbled by
God's awesome splendor, no doubt about that. But what Alaihu

(39:08):
is doing here with his analogy, many think he's using
the analogy of a rising or setting sun. Look at
that sun, Look how it sets, Look how it rises.
What it's showing you is the wonderful splendor of the
one and only living God. There's nothing quite like a
sunrise or sunset? Is there anybody tired of those? Yet? Man?

(39:33):
It's something, isn't it. It's this little farm that we have.
It's one of the things that there are times when
we will be there and we'll be resting, and you
see it. Here it comes and we have this pasture
that goes out, and it's this beautiful rising green with

(39:54):
little slight heels in it. The pasture that goes out,
and right over here to the west, we'll be sitting
here watching it and you can just watch that sun,
just as the pasture is now turning into some trees
and some wooded areas. That just watched that sun. I
probably I looked at this the other day preparing for

(40:15):
this less lesson, and I'm almost I was surprised the
number of times I've had this farm for since two
thousand and seven of October two thousand and seven, so
eighteen years. And I have so many pictures of the

(40:39):
exact same thing. I got to take a picture of
it again. I gotta look at it again. I find
myself on the other end of it. I find myself
and I don't even like to get up early, which
is God's sense of humor what I do for a living.
I remember the first time they approached me and said
they were giving me a promotion and moving me to

(41:01):
do morning radio. And I said, who in the world
listens to the radio in the morning. And they looked
at me and said normal people, and uh. And so
I was like, so nobody, everybody else doesn't get to
work at one pm. And they're like, no, no, most
people go to work much earlier than that, and and so.

(41:24):
But at the farm, even though I can sleep as
long as I want, I find myself disappointed if I
miss the sunrise. I'm hoping I'll wake up and go.
I don't go as far as a set a clock,
but I almost like if I wake up and I
see it hasn't happened yet, I get excited. And what
do you do? You go get that coffee, and you

(41:46):
go get ready for that sunrise. And it's a it's
a beautiful, beautiful thing. And and and raise your hand
that when every time you see when you don't feel
closer to God. Yeah, and so so a I who's
using this analogy to say, look at his splendor. You
don't want to face this and be out of line
with him. You just need to repent. He's going to

(42:07):
be clothed in his awesome majesty, which is all true.
Twenty three the Almighty we cannot find him. He is
great in power, justice, and abundant righteousness. He will not violate.
Now when you look at twenty three, stay with us,

(42:29):
because he says, Joe, I understand that you are going
against the theology that we have all known for our
whole lots, and we can't quite reconcile your statements of
being blameless with our theology, So we're just hitting what

(42:50):
we know. We know he's just, we know he's right,
we know he does not oppress. We know. Listen to
this cause it sounds like he's getting on job and
there's a little bit there. But I don't want you
to miss something else. It's a beautiful truth, a lie
who is also submitting to the truth. I don't know

(43:10):
what God's going to do to you, but I know
he'll get it right. I don't feel good about this,
not with what I know, not with the theology that
I have known my entire life. What you're saying doesn't
reconcile with that. But here's what I'm going to do.
And this is member I've given this advice many times
because it's been given to me when you're just not

(43:32):
quite sure. Cling to the things about God, you know,
the things that you absolutely know to be true. And
this is what a lie who is doing. He is saying,
here's what I know about the Almighty. We can't comprehend him.
His power is too great. But here's what I know.
I know he's just. I know that he is abundant righteousness,

(43:56):
and I know that he's not going to violate his
righteousness by getting it wrong. He's not going to aviolate
things in his character. His character will always be the same,
which is very comforting. And so then here we go
with wrapping it up so a lot who says, therefore

(44:20):
men fear him. He does not regard any who are
wise in their own conceit. Well, this, this sounds an
awful lot less like Ecclesiastes. This is this is Solomon,

(44:40):
you know. And where I go to church right now,
our pastor has taken us through Ecclesiastes, and and you know,
and it's very impressive, and he knows a lot about it,
and it's fun. But but there's there's that side of
me that says, well, I know how this ends, and
and I know it ends. And we have Solomon giving

(45:02):
us all these things about him, looking for to try
everything the earth has ever allowed, anything his flesh desires
to a level that no one other than him had
the finances to do it at the level he did it.
And at the end in chapter twelve, we hear Solomon

(45:23):
say the same thing, the end of the matter all
has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for
this is the whole duty of man. That's it now.
I I want you to miss that because I mean,
I want you to keep coming back. But that's hitting
a nutshell. That's life. You know. If you can leave

(45:47):
today and say, you know what, birds reminded me that
I actually know how life works. Everything hinges on that.
Just fear God and do what he says. Now, that
is simple to hear, but what's hard to apply to
you everyday life, day after day after day after day.
And he is telling job this, feary, don't regard yourself

(46:10):
as being wise compared to him, and don't be conceded.
The conclusion of the matter is, now, does this tell us,
like we were talking, emailing and texting back and forth,
we've already seen him use the analogy of rain, so
we know that if you try to figure out, and
this has been ongoing debate, when was this book written,

(46:33):
when did this happen? Well, most of what we read
is that rain was not readily known and seen till
after the flood because they up to that point there
was like a almost like a greenhouse effect. There was
a dew that kept everything moist. And when the flood
came and all this pouring rain starts, they had never

(46:54):
seen that before. What's obvious A lie who has seen
that before, it's not new to him. So this would
have to put it after the flood. It's not before
the flood, because how would he know these analogies? So
so does he also know what Solomon said? Could just

(47:17):
be parallel thinking. I wouldn't think so did Solomon know
what he said? It's interesting, but they both say the
same thing. But it may just be they both say
the same thing just because it's true. Is therefore men
fear him? He does not regard any who are wise
in their own conceit. God isn't going to decide this

(47:41):
based on your attempt at defending your own integrity. Job.
He's also not going to reject a blameless man. He's
going to look with favor on all those who have integrity.

(48:01):
So a lot who says, I don't know how this
is gonna go. I don't think this is wise. I
don't think you should ask for disappointment. I don't think
you should face him. I don't know what in the
world you're gonna say. But then he does acknowledge. But
God's going to get it right. So that's the one

(48:23):
thing that you should do is just fear him, to
be on the wrong side of him and do what
he says. And when we come back next week, you
talk about how we You know, in my business, you
do a lot of marketing and you try to do
these teasers and the trailer for what's to come. Well
next week the Lord answers job. And if I was

(48:47):
doing this as a promo, the first thing you would
see is next week the Lord answers job. Out of
the whirl win, don't miss it. Let's pray, Lord, thank
you for today. I thank you for or this opportunity
to get together and to ponder these incredible things about you.
Be reminded of who you are. And also today be

(49:08):
reminded that ultimately we just need to fear you. We
need to be in all of you. We need to
want to be right with you, not to earn redemption,
because it's impossible. We can never be holy, holy, holy,
but we can be holy if our holiness comes from
our redemption and justification in You. We stand in fear

(49:32):
of your wrath, we stand in fear of your judgment,
we stand in fear of your awesome presence, and we
just have hearts of gratitude for the mercy and the
grace and the love that are also part of your character.
So we receive you as you are, not as we

(49:56):
might prefer you to be, because that's a savor. Faith.
I have faith into who you say you are, not
who I say you are. And may that be enough.
In the glorious name of Jesus, we pray Amen.