June 11, 2025 • 52 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Wednesday Bible Study. We are so thankful
that you have taken time to be with us today,
whether you're with us live or on the archive. My
name is Rick Burgess. My day job by hosts the
Rick Burgess Show. Find out all you need to know
there by going to Rick Burgershow dot com. Also, I'm
the director of Themanchurch dot Com. We are a men's
discipleship strategy providing resources, a complete strategy for you to
(00:24):
implement a men's ministry strategic plan that is sustainable and
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(00:45):
hundred churches wide, all across the country, even into parts
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So we thank you for being with us. We do
have a new resource available called Men Don't Run in
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we've done. We've done curriculum, we've done devotions. This is
(01:08):
a full length book. Is me remembering the lessons taught
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Run in the Rain, and it has a biblical application.
It has things you can do as a small group
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first one we've ever really done. So it's available wherever
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you get books. You can get it in hardcover, you
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if you haven't grabbed that new resource, go get it.
We're getting great reviews from all over. So today we
are continuing a Bible study that we started at the
first of the year. It is on the book of Job.
(01:51):
We are today going to be in Job seventeen. If
you missed any of it, you can always go back
and get it on archives by going to the Man
Church Manchurch dot com. There's your drop down menu there.
Just click that and you can watch the archive or
listen to it. And of course we also do it
live most every Wednesday at noon Central one o'clock Eastern
(02:13):
on the Rick Burgess Show YouTube channel. So let's open
up in a word of prayer and let's jump into
Job chapter seventeen. Lord, do we thank you for being
with us today as we walk through this incredible and
very provocative book of Job. May we open our minds
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and as I've already learned going through this, I was
familiar with the book, thought I basically knew it, But
there's so many intricate details by going word for word
that we're learning each and every week, and we thank
you for that. They're all in here for a reason.
Help us today as we unpack this powerful chapter, and
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your name we pray Amen. So in Job chapter seventeen,
Job is now replying to Eliphaz, who had another opportunity.
That was his second opportunity to address Job, and last
week Job was telling Eliphaz and his friends that they
are of no help to him. That what he needed
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from them, and even what they said they were going
to provide, they are not providing. And so he was
pretty clear about that. Right toward the end of sixteen,
Job began to address God and he began to cry
out for something that we all know with the New Covenant,
foreshadowing to the New Covenant last week. In those final
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verses of sixteen, Job wishes he had some sort of
heavenly witness, someone that could go before God and plead
his case that he is innocent. Of course, what a
foreshadowing to the New Covenant. So now he's twenty two
of sixteen really gets us into seventeen, and look at
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twenty two real quick, looking back, for when a few
years have come, I shall go the way from which
I shall not return. He's talking about death here, and
as he gets into seventeen, you're gonna see Job really
immerse himself in the prospect, especially verses one and two
and the prospect of a near and unhappy death. Now
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here's where Job is mistaken. He's certain that he's about
to die. But we know because we already know what
happened in history. We know Job's full story. He doesn't
know it yet. Here he's going to live for one
hundred and forty years. So Job's death is not near.
He thinks it is, but it's not. And I would
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kind of throw that out there. Just remember our years
are written down. According to Psalm one thirty nine Versus
thirty teen through sixteen, that the number of our days
are written before we ever lived one. And it says
that God knows the number of them before we've ever
lived one. So let me tell you when all of
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us are going to die when God allows it and
not until then. So we need to keep that in mind. Now,
can we try to play God and take our own life? Yes?
Does God already know we're going to do that? According
to scripture? Likely? Did we still make a choice? Yes?
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I get this all the time. Is that an unforgivable sin?
Nothing in scripture says it is. Is it a sin? Yes,
now that it is, we don't need to pretend that's
not the case. Is it unforgivable sin? Well, you know
you get to play in games with that. Now, because
I've heard all the discussions on this. Does the Bible
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say that that's an unforgivable sin? It does not. It
says the only unforgivable sin is to reject the Holy Spirit,
to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, meaning as God's calling you
to redemption, you reject Jesus as the mode of redemption.
If you reject the Gospel, then yes, there's no nothing
that can be done for you. That sin is unforgivable
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because it cost you the very path to redemption. So
suicide isn't listed that way. It is a sin, but
is an unforgivable sin? Now that's a whole different. That's
a whole different deal. Here's how I've heard it. No
one who is truly redeemed would commit suicide, so that's
a sign they weren't redeemed. Okay, I've heard that, But
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I have a problem with that because I know people
firsthand that I don't have any doubt about their redemption whatsoever, none,
and they killed themselves. They listen to a lie because
we know which leads to a new podcast we're doing
called Strange Encounters. We know that even the redeemed can
be harassed by demons. They cannot be possessed by demons,
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but they can be harassed by demons. The apostle Paul
was harassed by demons, and Job has been harassed by
demons and by Satan himself. But there's two examples right there.
We know that Jesus was harassed by demons. We know
the apostles were often harassed by demons, so they can
be harassed. But sometimes I think that people are harassed
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by demons into believing a lie that everybody would be
better off and their suffering would end if they would
take their life into their own hands. And I've had
some people say, well, the last thing that person did
on earth was a sin. But I would caution you
on that too, because that's saying then if you believe that,
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that's got a little bit of that work based salvation
to it. If you believe that, then you believe that
a person who is fully redeemed could could, in a
bad moment much commit save the sin of lust, or
maybe worse than that, the sin of adultery. They made
a mistake, they got caught in a bad situation, they
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were tempted, and immediately they're like, oh, I shouldn't have
done that, and they're rushing home to their wife to confess,
and on their way home they're killed and correct. And
so they never asked their wife for forgiveness, they never
asked God for forgiveness, and the last thing they did
on earth was sin. So I guess they're condemned. Behell,
That's that's pretty weak theology there. I'd be real careful
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because you know, all of us commit not deliberate perpetual sins.
We have moments where we commit sin. And if you
believe that someone if they commit a sin's the last
thing they did on earth, you better hope you don't.
So I'd be careful with that so so anyway, the
bottom line is this job but has not done this,
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so we don't have to deal with that with job.
But he's he's ready to go, and he's ready for
this to end. He certainly is seeking death, and he
thinks he's going to have a death that is near.
He thinks it's going to be pretty unhappy. And he's
wrong about that. But here he goes. He says, in
verse one and two, my spirit is broken, My days
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are extinct. The graveyard is ready for me. Surely there
are maulkers about me, and my eye dwells on their provocation.
He's saying, I know my life is going to be
cut short. My spirit is broken about this. Let's face it.
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I'm headed to the graveyard. And then verse two, likely
my friends are going to see me die. And when
I look at my friends, I do not see comfort.
All I see are them wagging their fingers at me,
and they're mocking me, and and and and and That's
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that's how it's gonna be for me. That's how I'm
about to go. I'm going to sit here and die.
I'm headed to the graveyard while my friends continue to
wag their fingers at me and they're of no comfort
to me, not the way any of us want to die, right.
I would not sign up for that one. So now
he decides he will address God. He's made his he's
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talked about what he thinks gonna happen, and now I'm
just gonna address God. In verses three through five, lay
down a pledge for me? With you who is there
who will put up security for me? He's saying that
that there's no pledge other than one from God that's
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gonna satisfy these people. Still he's still mad at his friends. Lord,
they're gonna have to hear from you, which they will
is coming. I cannot convince them. They're not gonna listen.
And it's gonna take you and you alone to tell
these people that I'm innocent. It's got to be you,
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because they don't pay any attention to my integrity, they
don't believe my pleas for them to understand that I
haven't done anything that's not been dealt with between God
and me, and and I need you to step in
for me to tell them that I'm telling the truth.
Have you ever been there, ever just had something that
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was spiraling I control? And you're like, Lord, please allow
the truth to come forward. Uh, let let this, let
this be seen, and and that's what he's saying. So
in verse four he says, since you have closed their
hearts to understanding. Hmm, therefore you will not let them
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triumph mmm. So he he thinks that God is not
going to allow them to understand that you must be
in control of this. We think about Pharaoh right here,
don't we that God allowed his heart to be hardened.
There was a point where he said, even God now
is not gonna not gonna let Pharaoh. Let them go
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and let it stand. There's gonna be a moment here. Well,
he's saying that because you know what he knows about God.
You know that I'm innocent. I know that I'm innocent,
and they won't listen to me. Are you not allowing
them to understand what I'm saying? Have you stopped their
ears and their hearts? Is what's going on here? And
he says this, they won't stand with me because they've
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closed their hearts. That them there is added. Some of
the commentary on this is interesting because the way it
was written when they were doing their original interpretation of this,
it says, since you have closed their hearts to understanding. Therefore,
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you will not let them triumph. That them was added
because they had such a problem with this. They're like, well,
job never turned on God, so he wouldn't be saying
God's not going to triumph. So they started looking at
the you know, trying to figure out the intent here,
and so they wanted to make sure that we knew
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that he isn't saying that God will not triumph, because
the words that are used here are saying, really, please
tell me that you're the one that has closed their
heart to understanding. At some point, you're not going to
let their accusations against me stand. But he is saying,
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I know you're in charge, and I know you're doing this,
but that also comforts me because I know they're not
going to get away with it. At some point, You're
going to vindicate me, which God does so verse five,
he who informs against his friends to get a share
of their property, the eyes of his children will fail.
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Now this is really really interesting here because when I
started looking at the various commentaries that I've been studying
on this, they're saying that this is a proverb, but
they don't know its origin. It didn't make Solomon's proverbs.
It didn't. It didn't make the Book of Proverbs. He's
not quoting something from anything they can't find. It seems
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to be something in that day that was a proverb.
That friends should not be sold for a price, is
how it really is interpreted. Friends should not be taken
advantage of. And so what you're seeing is that that
job is crying out against his friends that you know
you don't. You don't take your friends and you don't
sell them for a price, and you shouldn't be taking
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advantage of the situation that I'm in. You're not really
showing your friendship because a true friend would not sell
me out. I mean, you y'all turned on me. You
think I've done something wrong. You say God should is
judging me, and you seem to be kind of enjoying
the fact that all the claims of me being blameless
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and upright and your eyes aren't true, and you're kind
of loving this. You sewed me out, You've turned on me,
and he's saying that friends shouldn't do that to each other.
So now we go to verses six to eight. Now,
now God's not mentioned here, but it is inferred and
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You're going to see some things here that get very
very interesting, that really really have echoes of the Psalm
twenty two. You know how you go read Psalm twenty
two and you're life, this sounds like Jesus on the Cross.
You know, David's talking about things that were happening to
Jesus on the cross, but of course it's happened to
him then, but it sounds like and it is Jesus
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quotes Psalm twenty two from the Cross, and so this
has a little bit of that in there that has
people one wondering how job is choosing these words. But
listen to this. He has made me a by word
of the people's talking about God has and I am
one before whom men spit, so that that's really got
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echoes about the people. I'm in the middle of all this.
I'm a byword. I've lost all credibility. No one cares
about me. As a matter of fact. They spin on me.
They just spin on me, and then look at look
at seven. In verse seven, he goes back and he
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says he will perish forever like his own dung. Those
who have I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm skipped over the
wrong one my eyes that'll come to us in twenty one.
My eye has grown dim from vexation, and all my
members are like a shadow, he said. He said, my
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eyes are growing them in this misery. My whole body,
my whole body is just it's in duress. I mean,
I'm eat up with disease. I'm i'm, I'm gaunt, I'm
i'm I have no nutrition. I'm completely coming apart, and
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I'm wretched to even look at. And then eight, the
upright are appalled at this, and the innocent stirs himself
up against the godless. It's it's interesting that he's using
the word here upright, since that was something that was
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said about him at the very beginning of job, if
you remember, and he said, but the so called upright
now he's being sarcastic here about his friends. He doesn't
mean they're upright, And he's using a phrase that God
used about him, but he's using it about his friends
in a very ironic, smart elic kind of way. He's
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been sarcastic. And he says, the upright are appalled at me. Look,
they can't believe me that I'm in this state, And
the innocent stirs himself up against the godless. Instead of
coming toward me to help me, they distance themselves from
me because they have declared me godless. They're upright, they're innocent,
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they're self righteous, they're sanctemonious, and they want anything to
do with me because they think that I at odds
with God. Now, instead of coming toward me to comfort me,
they're actually distancing themselves from me because of how grotesque
I have become. But they're not comforting me because they're
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saying to me, you had this coming, right, can. I mean,
I know, especially a lot of us at our age
because in this room, because of the time of day
we do it live. There are some young people in
here and some very young, but a lot of us
are are are sixty plus, which means what we see
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a lot of people die. It's pretty common just because
the numbers. I mean, this is our lot. We've lived
longer than we're going to live, and so has everybody
else that we know and love that are you know,
think about it. I mean, if I'm sixty, then my
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parents you are to see my mom She's like, I've
got a child that's sixty. I mean, you know, she's
eighty three years old. My dad went on end at
eighty three. And I've got friends that are even around
my age that that they don't have many days left.
They're sick. But can you imagine? I want you just
to imagine. And I'm thinking about my my dear friend,
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uh that's that has als now and in the days
are numbered, and saw him just last week. But can
you imagine if I walked in there and sat down
and said, you had this coming? Can you can you
imagine his wife's sitting there? What did you just say?
Aren't you one of his closest friends? I am, But
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I tell you what, I don't know what he's done,
but he's done something. This is on you. I'm just
gonna feel like that would not be That's not That's
not really comforting, is it? What's the norm? You come
in and you comfort, and you encourage, and you pray
over and you you weep for the situation, but you
keep reassuring them that God is not punishing them, but
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that their time on this earth of suffering is almost
over and God's going to make them ultimately whole, as
opposed to, well, I don't know what you've done, and
I who knows how this is gonna go. Uh and
that's what he's dealing with. Think about the time, you know,
and and I will say, you know, not not our
own life, but but I know what it's like. You know,
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we went through the you know, the calamity of my
youngest son that that they were there were some people
that were ready to blame us. And I mean and
and just the early I mean just I mean you're
just kind of like, man, wow, you know, and and
and that's one of those things you're like, well, that's
not but our friends didn't do that. I can't. I
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can't imagine our friends coming strangers did that because you know,
they always know all the facts. Uh and and the
times we're living in now, it just gets me how
people can just be so passionately wrong, and they have
a platform to be sure that everybody knows how wrong
there really are. But have you ever thought about the
arrogance of you being a total stranger of somebody. I mean,
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you don't know them at all, but yet you know
exactly what's happening in their life that you haven't spent
any time with them, and you don't have you don't
know anything really about them except maybe an inch deep
and a mile wide, but yet you know everything and
and and you're going you're gonna you're gonna get on
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a platform anonymously, of course, and you're gonna project that
you actually know what's going on with somebody you don't
know it all that. I hope that helps some people
that that's pretty foolish to have that kind of attitude.
But when it's and that doesn't really bother you because
you can say, with these people don't know me, imagine
what it felt like to Job for people who had
been as close as friends. You know, I've gone through
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this and I'm starting to really doubt were they as
close as friends as we were led to believe, because
it doesn't seem like it, does it. So so now
we get into nine. Yet the righteous holds to his way,
and who he who has clean hands, grows stronger and stronger.
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M hmm. So here Job appears to be talking about himself.
He said I'm innocent and and and and I will
grow stronger. And why is he saying that he's innocent
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and he does have hope in death? Because the reason
he says he's going to grow stronger is due to
the fact that he says I'm gonna hold to my integrity,
and I'm gonna hold to my integrity because I know
that my hands are clean. And and this seems, this
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moment in nine, there's a lot of commentary about it.
You know why, because above this, he says, his friends
are appalled with him. His friends, it's nothing but my
eyes grow dim. My body is disease disease ridden. I'm
grotesque to look at. Nobody wants to even be near me.
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I'm being declared godless. They want to distance themselves for me.
And then we're in ten. We're gonna get back to
downtrodden and depressed. But right here nine just kind of
comes out of nowhere and just for a moment, Joe says,
but everything's gonna be all right because I know I'm innocent.
I guess. I don't know if you've had that moment.
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Have you ever been like where you're really ready to spare,
you're really really struggling, and a sudden you'll just grab
some promise of God that you know, and it just
kind of comes out of nowhere and you hang on
to it for a minute, and then sometimes what it
slips away, you go right back to being down again.
But for a minute, it pulled you up for just
a minute. And that's great that we have that. I
think that's what's happening here, just for a minute. He's like,
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but I know I'm innocent, and I'm gonna go stronger.
My hands are clean. How about this? It may be
after I'm dead, but y'all gonna see that, y'all, what
y'all are doing to me? You were wrong. God knows
I'm innocent, and if he how about this, I'm not
afraid to face it. If I died then then right
then my innocence is going to be declared. But it
doesn't last long. That's why so many people are comment
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They're like, was this out of order? Where did this?
Where did this verse come from? I don't think it's
hard to understand. I've done that before, right man. I
got to tell you, ever had a moment where you
all you all? The only way you got through that
moment was remembering one of God's promises. Now that doesn't
mean that you didn't go right back to being down
again a little bit later. And what do you do? Then?
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You just grab another one? But right here, I think
that's what happened. But watch this, you're going to see
how then despair just comes right back in ten through sixteen.
But you know, anytime, anytime you hear that, So nine
you have, the righteous holds to his ways, and he
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who has clean hands grows stronger and stronger. I'm innocent,
my hands are clean, and you know what. I'm righteous.
I'm holding to my way. I will be vinde katy
about God. But you come on again, all of you,
and I shall not find a wise man among you.
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You know, he says, right there, my friends are worthless.
I'm waiting on wise counsel, and here come the three stooges.
I got nothing. Y'all hadn't helped me at all. And
so he says, you know, what he's saying is what
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I just said in nine. I wish y'all joined that chorus.
That's where I think that transition comes. I wish y'all would,
Can y'all not? Why don't you join the course of
where I'm talking with the thing that gives me hope?
And I told you all that about me being stuck
on the plane with that guy. They kept saying, but
that's over, and it's almost like, you know, they come
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over and say well, we thought God was going to
show us that you were innocent. But that's over. Guess
that hadn't happened. I call those people e ors. You
ever been around e ors? You know, everything's all there's
always some you get excited, you know, whatever, Hey, you know,
here we go, here we go to the theme park.
Of course the lines will probably super long. You know
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that there's always some some downer that they bring to
the the whatever. Of course we're going to run into traffic,
you know. Okay, well, just let's have a positive attitude
about just a little bit. Uh So, then eleven my
days are past, my plans are broken off, the desires
of my heart. Huh So, he's been blunt that his
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friends have no wisdom. He sees that his life and
eleven is fading. And this is the part that really
gets I mean, you start really having your heart broken
because what Job is also saying, he said, I understand
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that my life is ending, But what's really bothering me
is that all the things that I still thought I
was going to do, all these dreams and aspirations that
I still have, they will be unfulfilled, and my hopes
are all dashed. I think he's at that point now
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where he said, I thought at some point I'd pull
up out of this. God would heal me, God would
vindicate me. My friends would realize that this is not
what I need to hear. None of that is happening.
And I think that my days that are behind me
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are much brighter than the days that are ahead of me.
My plans are broken off, and I had desires of
my heart things. I still wanted to do, the things
that I loved, and all of those things are gone.
You know. It's you know, we we're not controlled, in
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control of the day that we're going to die. I mean,
we can do the best we can. As I said,
these decisions that we make, we make for quality of life.
I can't find in scripture that we do a whole
lot to extend the days of our lives. Maybe maybe
I've just missed it, but but I but I don't
see it there. But I do say a lot of
the choices were allowed that have a lot to do
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with our quality of life. And you know, kind of
the thing. And there was a time I didn't feel
this way, but as I got older, I now I
now find myself not wanting to waste my life. When
I was younger, I wasted a lot of my life
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because I don't think I cared. But but after I
was redeemed and I realized that, you know, the peace
of my eternity has been resolved. And then there was
an overwhelming pull that this life that Jesus gave me
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that he had to go to the cross for, or
he was willing to go to the cross for is
a better way to put it. He didn't have to.
He was willing to go to the cross to fulfill
the will of his Father, to redeem those that that
God is offering the grace and mercy to the gift
the son taking the wrath that we deserve. I found
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myself kind of like we've talked about so many times
on the show, and I think we but I still
and also in this Bible study, but I think we
have to be sure we got it, you know. And
the and the Apostle pause, the one that seems to
talk about it the most, even though it was the
dedication of them all. But but you remember he talks
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about pressing on, He talks about you know, he's straining
for for the end of his life and he's going
for the well done and all these things he keeps
saying working out as salvation. And sometimes I remember when
I was new to the faith. I'm like, I don't
know what he's talking about. We don't earn salvation, he's
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not talking about that. Paul isn't uncertain of his redemption,
so he's not trying to be redeemed. That's been done.
What is all this action? You know? What is what
is even Peter talking about? And we have a forty
week curriculum on this called impact. What is all this
talk about making every effort to supplement our faith? You
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know with these seven things that are there in first
second Peter chapter one? What is all this? Because if
you justified, you're justified. What is all this about? It's
about making your life count. It's about having an impact
for the kingdom. It's about standing before the one who
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redeemed you, and here, well done, good and faithful servant.
The well done isn't because good job earning your redemption,
because we can't do that. It was good job with
your redemption. You didn't waste the life. And I want
to challenge all of you. I don't care how old
you are. I hope you're not wasting it. I mean,
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if you can breathe make something happen. You know, the
new book that we just talked about, I remember my
dad and the analogy of that. You know, it's the
part about get out of the stands and what my
dad was saying, and I looked at it like the
Apostle Paul was. There's a lot of people right now
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that see the things you're doing in your life and
they have no desire to be part of it. They
don't like the sacrifices that you're having to give. They
don't like that maybe you took your vacation and went
to a third world country as opposed to going to
some five star hotel. They don't really want any part
of any of that. They don't want to sacrifice an
they don't want to go to hell, but they don't
want to count the costs. They don't want to deny themselves.
(33:08):
They don't want to pick up their cross, they don't
want to go through that narrow gate. They want no
part of that right now. But when we all stand
before the Bamas set and they watch the Apostle Paul
getting the crown of righteousness, and they're watching the apostle
Paul hearing well done, good and faithful servants. And then
there's the apostle Paul said, along with all the others
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who live their life the same way, every one of
them is going to wish they did. It's a better life.
It's not an easier life, but it's a better life.
And when you're doing something that matters, the difficulty of
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all of it all doesn't seem to be so bad.
Where I get frustrated is when I'm going through difficulty
in things that don't mean anything. Don't enjoy that, but
difficulty for eternal things. They might be unpleasant for the moment,
but they're not a problem for me because I know
I can see the other side. What's not a lot
(34:14):
of fun is when you're like in some sort of
misery and you don't see what it's doing at all.
I don't know what is going on here? Can we
not run an airline better than this? You know? But
that that's also I found out of what a way
to be a good witness. I did pretty good on that.
I didn't do great, but I did better than the
last time. How about that? And if you fly on
(34:35):
a commercial airline, you're going to get more than one
opportunity to be a good person into rest. Because of that,
they're never ever going to get it right because the
system is flawed and I could fix it if they
just let me. But anyway, So, but what he's saying
right here is everybody's gonna know at some point that
(34:55):
though they have got their idea of what this is
all about, I will be vendicate. But right now I
feel like that the things I still wanted to do
on earth, they're going to go unfulfilled by the way.
He's wrong. He's wrong. God has a plan for him
that's going to be even bigger than what he's already done.
But boy, right now, in that valley, he can't see
(35:16):
it right. It's in the valley. We just have to
clean to the promises, you know, cling to the promises.
There's been a lot of times that you think to yourself,
I don't know how I'm going to get through this.
And you know what, that can be wonderful because finally
maybe we'll stop trying to do it ourselves. Verse twelve.
(35:37):
They make night, and today the light, they say, is
near to the darkness. My friends call evil good, and
they call good evil, And we know that in the
Great Book of Romans that Paul says, the day is
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going to come where the whole society does that anybody
looking around, anybody paying attention, say, Pride Month goes on
for thirty days. Memorial Day is a Monday. Okay, we
take a Monday, and we celebrate people that sacrifice their
(36:19):
own lives for the good of other people. We give
them a Monday. We give celebration of sexual defncy an
entire month. And so when you look at that as
the state of the world, you see that once again
(36:39):
the apostle Paul was saying that day would come, and
that day is here, and he's saying, job is and
this is what my friends, you know, are like. They
take darkness and think they've got day, and then they
take the light and they think it's darkness. I'm sitting
here innocent. They think I'm guilty. And then he goes
(37:00):
on to say in thirteen, if you know, if I
hope for shee hole, if I hope as my house,
if I make my bed in darkness, I expect to die.
I expect to go to the place of the dead
that they always talked about, and I expect to go there,
(37:22):
and I expect to just lie in darkness. Now once again,
this is this kind of throws us back to whatever
time period this is, and that's there's much debate about that.
There doesn't there doesn't seem to be a concept of
the resurrection of the redeemed. It doesn't it seem to
(37:42):
be there. He knows he's going to be all right,
but he doesn't know where he's going to be or
what that's going to be like. And next, you know,
he kind of gets into a grotesque analogy. Here if
I say, to the pit you are my father, and
to the worm my mother or my sister, kind of
(38:04):
an ugly picture here, death and all that goes with it.
They're my new family. My new family is just going
to be the pit and worms. That's what's about to
(38:28):
be for me. Now that that doesn't sound overly hopeful,
because we know that for those that are redeemed, these
things they will be, they will be exempted. We won't
experience that, as we're told in scripture that the redeem
will not experience the wrath of God. So then he
(38:49):
begins to cry out for hope. Where then is my hope?
Who will see my hope. Where is it you ever
been there? Where is my hope? Who will see my hope?
(39:10):
And I think, like when he's talking about facing death
and disease and you know the misery that he's in,
you know that it's one of those things that you
forget sometimes. And I think we've all been there. I
think most of us, especially the guys here from a
certain generation, we probably have a better pain tolerance than
(39:32):
a lot of people. But with the best of pain
tolerances are the best and the toughness toughest people. When
you start stringing together day after day, minute after minute,
hour after hour of misery, it weighs on you. I
don't care who you are, because you know what we
(39:55):
always like a right, this is bad, but I'm gonna
get to the other side of it. But when the
other side of it is so far away, I mean,
you really have to start breaking. If you've ever been
through it, you got to start breaking your life down
into just little segments, you know. Okay, right now, I'm
not completely paying free, but I had I had about
fifteen minutes. They kind of helped me to get to
(40:17):
the next fifteen minutes. They helped me get to the
next fifteen minutes. And see, see if I can't piece
together and you just start hoping because you know you've
been real sick, or do you just keep hoping? Please
tell me I can still go to sleep. Because as
long as you can go to sleep, that kind of
that kind of gets it gets all this behind you.
But what's the problem is what if whatever you got
(40:37):
you can't get any sleep, and then it really begins
to drag, you know. And so that's kind of he's
crying out saying, man, I need some relief, and what
is my hope? Remind me what my hope is? And
you know what we can say what the Apostle Paul said,
to live as Christ to die is gain you know,
(40:57):
I mean I have I have been with people on
their deathbed before and they went from really really down
to really really joyful because they begin to think, Wait
a minute, I'm miserable right now, I'm sick, my body's dying.
Nothing's working right. If they take blood from me one
(41:18):
more time, or put me on another IV, or give
me another shot, or do some other horrible thing to
me here in just a little bit, I'm never gonna
have to worry about sickness. Again. I'm not gonna worry
about the tax rate again. I couldn't give two pennies
(41:39):
who's the next president. I don't care what Putin's doing.
I don't care what's going on in Ukraine. I don't
care if the streets are burning. I'm out. I'm going
to perfection. And if y'all want to keep this world,
y'all can have it, because I'm gone and I'll never
(42:03):
have another anxious moment of my life. Pandemic cranks up again.
I don't care. It ain't gonna it ain't gonna fact
me where I'm at. What's y'all the best I'm gonna
be coming back with Jesus, good luck to you. I'm out. Okay.
So so that that's where his hope could come from, right,
(42:25):
And then then sixteen he just kind of you know,
this is that part where he says, not only am
I going down, We're all going down. Okay. You know that.
I I it's not good if you ever had that
person in your group. You know that says I tell
you one thing. If the police come to me, I'm
(42:45):
telling on everybody. We're all going You know you don't
you don't want that person in your group. You know
what I mean, if you're run it, if you run
as a as a. My granddaddy referred to it as
if you're running with the dogs. You don't need that
guy with you. You know you want some says I'll never
rit everybody out, And if I go down, y'all be good.
Right here, Joe's he's had it. He says, will it
(43:08):
go down to the bars of shee Hold, which of
course is where they thought the dead was going? Shall
we descend together into the dust. I'm going down to death.
And he's looking at his friends and he says, let's
all just die together. My life, my hope, my vindication.
(43:31):
They are all gonna die with me. I know the
truth I know about your accusations, and death is almost here,
and everything, my life, my hope, my vindication, it's all
going to die with me. And because y'all have sat
(43:53):
here and lied about me, and you haven't helped me,
and you haven't been there for me. When I die,
your opportunity, your opportunity to make it right with me
is gonna be gone. And we're all gonna die together.
And that's that's not the most uplifting. Now here's the
(44:18):
part that's really going to bother you. And I can't
imagine where Job was on this. When this seventeen ends,
it changes nothing as far as his friends. Bill Dad
is ready, and let me tell you something. He's got
(44:39):
his gone out. And if you think it's changed his
point of view, you are incorrect. Next week you're gonna
see Bill Dad go. It's good speech. God punishes the
wicked end of subject. And I mean, have you ever
been there? And you're just like, I just don't know
what else to say, man, I mean I can I
(45:00):
can't make you change your view of me. And so
you know what you do, You just go tell God
about it. And you know what we will see before
this is done. We will see not always on our time.
Raise your hand if you've ever wanted God to vindicate you,
and he seems to be taking this time. Yeah, but
(45:21):
if you truly are innocent, it will come. It will come.
And I think the thing that we need to do
more of, okay, And I don't know where other people
are associated to Joe, associated with Joe other than these three,
and then we get a fourth before we're done. I
don't know where anybody else is. We don't see it.
(45:43):
But I will say this, and I'll say this loud
and clear for somebody who's kind of going through some
of it now, even though it's starting to dissipate in
God's own timing. But there's nothing, and I don't know
why we're not willing to do it more. There's nothing
that clears things up. Quicker is if other people who
(46:03):
believe in your integrity will not just tell you I
like that. Hey man, I believe in you. I know that,
I know that what people are saying about you is
not true. That that's good, and that's appreciated. But you
know what's really helpful is if you'll go out there
and fight for that person publicly. Hey, this accusation against
(46:24):
my friend, I know them, that's not true. I'm not
gonna let you say that about them. I'm with them
all the time. You're not. I'm not gonna let that happen.
I'm not gonna let you say that. And and and
that's one of the things that we can do. Now.
I don't know where these people are, because surely there's
not the only people that know jobs found I know,
(46:47):
I know his family. His wife's mad, we know that
she's she's not up for it. It's children, you know,
are dead, so there's nothing they can do for their dad.
But surely there's and I know servants were killed and
people work for him, but surely there's somebody. I mean,
isn't there somebody that can that can step into all
this and go what is this garbage? I keep saying
(47:07):
about job? But but we'll see, uh as time goes on.
But I would, I know, I know what it's like
because look, I've all been I've been there to you.
Sometimes you'll just you'll get it. There'll be something going
on and you're just like, I don't want to get
into that. And uh. And as I've said a thousand
times a thousand times, and this happens at the church,
(47:28):
happens within the church. Look, if you think something has happened,
go to the person and ask them what a concept.
So let's say somebody says, well, so and so did
so and so to so and so, And you're like,
(47:49):
wait mate, I know so and so so. You what
are you saying? Oh? Yeah, well you know they did this.
Isn't that really? Well? Call them, hey, can we talk?
Go to the person, you know, and say I heard
that you did this, this, and then is it that accord?
And then they, if they say yes, say okay, well
I have to disagree with the way you handle that.
(48:10):
I don't think you handled that right. Or if they
go that didn't happen, then you know. But I've noticed
sometimes we'll we'll go and I say this to people
off that we'll go and we'll pout for days about
something that you don't even know if it happened. And
I always say, have you asked them if that happened? Well,
I think that they, uh whatever, whatever? Have you asked them? No? Uh,
(48:35):
why don't you ask them? Have you ever thought somebody
was upset about something, you were certain of it, and
then maybe after a few weeks of you lamenting over it,
and then you're mad that they're mad about it, come
to find out they're not even mad about it. That
never happened. Yeah, I understand you're upset with me about
the other day. What are you talking about it? I
wasn't upset about that. Oh well, I thought you might
(48:57):
have thought I whatever. I never thought that. Oh wow,
I wish I could have three weeks back, you know,
I mean, I mean, it's crazy. I don't understand why
we just why don't we just get to the bottom
of it. Uh, that's I mean, scripture teaches us that
get to the bottom of these things faster, get to
the bottom of it. And uh, and I don't know
why these these three are not leaving job and going
(49:20):
to get other witnesses. Here's how we see it. Do
anybody know anything? And you might have people go, I
just don't see it. I never saw Job do anything
that doesn't sound like job. But that doesn't happen. They
they've made their decision, they think they know and do
y'all realize. And they're passionate too. And I've taught this
(49:40):
so many times. Be clear, you can be passionately wrong.
Just because you're passionate about it doesn't mean it's right.
Just because you're certain of something doesn't mean it's true.
You better go find out, Especially if you're gonna run
somebody down, you better go find out. And it was
(50:04):
that that's the reason why you hear gossip being talked
about so poorly in scripture, because so many times people's
reputation is destroyed over something they didn't even do. And
we need to be real careful about that. Just because
it's juicy doesn't mean it's true. And you know, sometimes
(50:29):
they're partially true, but that's still important because partially still
isn't accurate. You know, go to the source and find
out and ask, and then if you messed up, apologize.
I've done that before. I remember I talked to a
brother one time, and I was certain because I listened
(50:49):
to what people said. I didn't think that sounded like them.
But I got caught up in the height and I
set him down for you know, come to Jesus lunch,
and I launched in my little monolog and he looked
back at me. He said that never happened. I'm like, wow,
that was such a good speech too. I'm just wrong.
And then I had to apologize for not coming to
him before I got my speech ready. I should have
(51:11):
just come to him directly, but i'd already gone that.
I said, well, I need to straighten him out about
that. That shouldn't have happen. Well, it didn't happen. Somebody had
lied about that, or they had the wrong person or something.
So get to the bottom of it. Don't do what
we have here. And when somebody says something, you know,
like job, who's earned I would think he's earned the
(51:36):
benefit of the doubt and they're not giving it to him.
And I think that's what's hurting him the most. And
he knows that God knows the truth and he wants
God to vindicate him. So next week we will listen
to the very, very caring Bill Dad is. He will
take everything that Job has said and apply none of it.
(51:58):
Let's pray, Lord, thank you for today, thank you for
this time together, thank you for the lessons that we've learned.
And Lord, if we would just simply follow your instruction
on how to handle conflict even in the church, the
drama that we could reduce, and the misinformation and the
(52:19):
hurt so unnecessary, so many times when we simply could
just get to the bottom of the truth by talking
to everybody involved. Lord, thank you for this time together.
Thank You for the hope though we find in all this.
Even when Job gets you wrong, those beautiful moments when
(52:39):
he gets you right, and that's what will eventually carry
him through it. When he learns some big lessons about you,
and as much as he knows about you, he's still
going to be talked more. And may we learn it
with him. In your name, we pray Amen, thanks for
being with us,
Welcome to the Wednesday Bible Study. We are so thankful
that you have taken time to be with us today,
whether you're with us live or on the archive. My
name is Rick Burgess. My day job by hosts the
Rick Burgess Show. Find out all you need to know
there by going to Rick Burgershow dot com. Also, I'm
the director of Themanchurch dot Com. We are a men's
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(00:24):
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hundred churches wide, all across the country, even into parts
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So we thank you for being with us. We do
have a new resource available called Men Don't Run in
the Rain. Now. This is a little different than what
we've done. We've done curriculum, we've done devotions. This is
(01:08):
a full length book. Is me remembering the lessons taught
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It has things you can do as a small group
as well. But it's a book, a full length book,
first one we've ever really done. So it's available wherever
(01:31):
you get books. You can get it in hardcover, you
can get it on ebooks, you can get it on
audio wherever you get books. So we would encourage you
if you haven't grabbed that new resource, go get it.
We're getting great reviews from all over. So today we
are continuing a Bible study that we started at the
first of the year. It is on the book of Job.
(01:51):
We are today going to be in Job seventeen. If
you missed any of it, you can always go back
and get it on archives by going to the Man
Church Manchurch dot com. There's your drop down menu there.
Just click that and you can watch the archive or
listen to it. And of course we also do it
live most every Wednesday at noon Central one o'clock Eastern
(02:13):
on the Rick Burgess Show YouTube channel. So let's open
up in a word of prayer and let's jump into
Job chapter seventeen. Lord, do we thank you for being
with us today as we walk through this incredible and
very provocative book of Job. May we open our minds
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and as I've already learned going through this, I was
familiar with the book, thought I basically knew it, But
there's so many intricate details by going word for word
that we're learning each and every week, and we thank
you for that. They're all in here for a reason.
Help us today as we unpack this powerful chapter, and
(02:55):
your name we pray Amen. So in Job chapter seventeen,
Job is now replying to Eliphaz, who had another opportunity.
That was his second opportunity to address Job, and last
week Job was telling Eliphaz and his friends that they
are of no help to him. That what he needed
(03:17):
from them, and even what they said they were going
to provide, they are not providing. And so he was
pretty clear about that. Right toward the end of sixteen,
Job began to address God and he began to cry
out for something that we all know with the New Covenant,
foreshadowing to the New Covenant last week. In those final
(03:39):
verses of sixteen, Job wishes he had some sort of
heavenly witness, someone that could go before God and plead
his case that he is innocent. Of course, what a
foreshadowing to the New Covenant. So now he's twenty two
of sixteen really gets us into seventeen, and look at
(04:04):
twenty two real quick, looking back, for when a few
years have come, I shall go the way from which
I shall not return. He's talking about death here, and
as he gets into seventeen, you're gonna see Job really
immerse himself in the prospect, especially verses one and two
and the prospect of a near and unhappy death. Now
(04:28):
here's where Job is mistaken. He's certain that he's about
to die. But we know because we already know what
happened in history. We know Job's full story. He doesn't
know it yet. Here he's going to live for one
hundred and forty years. So Job's death is not near.
He thinks it is, but it's not. And I would
(04:50):
kind of throw that out there. Just remember our years
are written down. According to Psalm one thirty nine Versus
thirty teen through sixteen, that the number of our days
are written before we ever lived one. And it says
that God knows the number of them before we've ever
lived one. So let me tell you when all of
(05:13):
us are going to die when God allows it and
not until then. So we need to keep that in mind. Now,
can we try to play God and take our own life? Yes?
Does God already know we're going to do that? According
to scripture? Likely? Did we still make a choice? Yes?
(05:36):
I get this all the time. Is that an unforgivable sin?
Nothing in scripture says it is. Is it a sin? Yes,
now that it is, we don't need to pretend that's
not the case. Is it unforgivable sin? Well, you know
you get to play in games with that. Now, because
I've heard all the discussions on this. Does the Bible
(05:57):
say that that's an unforgivable sin? It does not. It
says the only unforgivable sin is to reject the Holy Spirit,
to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, meaning as God's calling you
to redemption, you reject Jesus as the mode of redemption.
If you reject the Gospel, then yes, there's no nothing
that can be done for you. That sin is unforgivable
(06:19):
because it cost you the very path to redemption. So
suicide isn't listed that way. It is a sin, but
is an unforgivable sin? Now that's a whole different. That's
a whole different deal. Here's how I've heard it. No
one who is truly redeemed would commit suicide, so that's
a sign they weren't redeemed. Okay, I've heard that, But
(06:42):
I have a problem with that because I know people
firsthand that I don't have any doubt about their redemption whatsoever, none,
and they killed themselves. They listen to a lie because
we know which leads to a new podcast we're doing
called Strange Encounters. We know that even the redeemed can
be harassed by demons. They cannot be possessed by demons,
(07:04):
but they can be harassed by demons. The apostle Paul
was harassed by demons, and Job has been harassed by
demons and by Satan himself. But there's two examples right there.
We know that Jesus was harassed by demons. We know
the apostles were often harassed by demons, so they can
be harassed. But sometimes I think that people are harassed
(07:27):
by demons into believing a lie that everybody would be
better off and their suffering would end if they would
take their life into their own hands. And I've had
some people say, well, the last thing that person did
on earth was a sin. But I would caution you
on that too, because that's saying then if you believe that,
(07:48):
that's got a little bit of that work based salvation
to it. If you believe that, then you believe that
a person who is fully redeemed could could, in a
bad moment much commit save the sin of lust, or
maybe worse than that, the sin of adultery. They made
a mistake, they got caught in a bad situation, they
(08:08):
were tempted, and immediately they're like, oh, I shouldn't have
done that, and they're rushing home to their wife to confess,
and on their way home they're killed and correct. And
so they never asked their wife for forgiveness, they never
asked God for forgiveness, and the last thing they did
on earth was sin. So I guess they're condemned. Behell,
That's that's pretty weak theology there. I'd be real careful
(08:31):
because you know, all of us commit not deliberate perpetual sins.
We have moments where we commit sin. And if you
believe that someone if they commit a sin's the last
thing they did on earth, you better hope you don't.
So I'd be careful with that so so anyway, the
bottom line is this job but has not done this,
(08:51):
so we don't have to deal with that with job.
But he's he's ready to go, and he's ready for
this to end. He certainly is seeking death, and he
thinks he's going to have a death that is near.
He thinks it's going to be pretty unhappy. And he's
wrong about that. But here he goes. He says, in
verse one and two, my spirit is broken, My days
(09:16):
are extinct. The graveyard is ready for me. Surely there
are maulkers about me, and my eye dwells on their provocation.
He's saying, I know my life is going to be
cut short. My spirit is broken about this. Let's face it.
(09:37):
I'm headed to the graveyard. And then verse two, likely
my friends are going to see me die. And when
I look at my friends, I do not see comfort.
All I see are them wagging their fingers at me,
and they're mocking me, and and and and and That's
(09:59):
that's how it's gonna be for me. That's how I'm
about to go. I'm going to sit here and die.
I'm headed to the graveyard while my friends continue to
wag their fingers at me and they're of no comfort
to me, not the way any of us want to die, right.
I would not sign up for that one. So now
he decides he will address God. He's made his he's
(10:22):
talked about what he thinks gonna happen, and now I'm
just gonna address God. In verses three through five, lay
down a pledge for me? With you who is there
who will put up security for me? He's saying that
that there's no pledge other than one from God that's
(10:44):
gonna satisfy these people. Still he's still mad at his friends. Lord,
they're gonna have to hear from you, which they will
is coming. I cannot convince them. They're not gonna listen.
And it's gonna take you and you alone to tell
these people that I'm innocent. It's got to be you,
(11:07):
because they don't pay any attention to my integrity, they
don't believe my pleas for them to understand that I
haven't done anything that's not been dealt with between God
and me, and and I need you to step in
for me to tell them that I'm telling the truth.
Have you ever been there, ever just had something that
(11:28):
was spiraling I control? And you're like, Lord, please allow
the truth to come forward. Uh, let let this, let
this be seen, and and that's what he's saying. So
in verse four he says, since you have closed their
hearts to understanding. Hmm, therefore you will not let them
(11:52):
triumph mmm. So he he thinks that God is not
going to allow them to understand that you must be
in control of this. We think about Pharaoh right here,
don't we that God allowed his heart to be hardened.
There was a point where he said, even God now
is not gonna not gonna let Pharaoh. Let them go
(12:14):
and let it stand. There's gonna be a moment here. Well,
he's saying that because you know what he knows about God.
You know that I'm innocent. I know that I'm innocent,
and they won't listen to me. Are you not allowing
them to understand what I'm saying? Have you stopped their
ears and their hearts? Is what's going on here? And
he says this, they won't stand with me because they've
(12:39):
closed their hearts. That them there is added. Some of
the commentary on this is interesting because the way it
was written when they were doing their original interpretation of this,
it says, since you have closed their hearts to understanding. Therefore,
(12:59):
you will not let them triumph. That them was added
because they had such a problem with this. They're like, well,
job never turned on God, so he wouldn't be saying
God's not going to triumph. So they started looking at
the you know, trying to figure out the intent here,
and so they wanted to make sure that we knew
(13:21):
that he isn't saying that God will not triumph, because
the words that are used here are saying, really, please
tell me that you're the one that has closed their
heart to understanding. At some point, you're not going to
let their accusations against me stand. But he is saying,
(13:41):
I know you're in charge, and I know you're doing this,
but that also comforts me because I know they're not
going to get away with it. At some point, You're
going to vindicate me, which God does so verse five,
he who informs against his friends to get a share
of their property, the eyes of his children will fail.
(14:04):
Now this is really really interesting here because when I
started looking at the various commentaries that I've been studying
on this, they're saying that this is a proverb, but
they don't know its origin. It didn't make Solomon's proverbs.
It didn't. It didn't make the Book of Proverbs. He's
not quoting something from anything they can't find. It seems
(14:25):
to be something in that day that was a proverb.
That friends should not be sold for a price, is
how it really is interpreted. Friends should not be taken
advantage of. And so what you're seeing is that that
job is crying out against his friends that you know
you don't. You don't take your friends and you don't
sell them for a price, and you shouldn't be taking
(14:48):
advantage of the situation that I'm in. You're not really
showing your friendship because a true friend would not sell
me out. I mean, you y'all turned on me. You
think I've done something wrong. You say God should is
judging me, and you seem to be kind of enjoying
the fact that all the claims of me being blameless
(15:08):
and upright and your eyes aren't true, and you're kind
of loving this. You sewed me out, You've turned on me,
and he's saying that friends shouldn't do that to each other.
So now we go to verses six to eight. Now,
now God's not mentioned here, but it is inferred and
(15:30):
You're going to see some things here that get very
very interesting, that really really have echoes of the Psalm
twenty two. You know how you go read Psalm twenty
two and you're life, this sounds like Jesus on the Cross.
You know, David's talking about things that were happening to
Jesus on the cross, but of course it's happened to
him then, but it sounds like and it is Jesus
(15:53):
quotes Psalm twenty two from the Cross, and so this
has a little bit of that in there that has
people one wondering how job is choosing these words. But
listen to this. He has made me a by word
of the people's talking about God has and I am
one before whom men spit, so that that's really got
(16:17):
echoes about the people. I'm in the middle of all this.
I'm a byword. I've lost all credibility. No one cares
about me. As a matter of fact. They spin on me.
They just spin on me, and then look at look
at seven. In verse seven, he goes back and he
(16:38):
says he will perish forever like his own dung. Those
who have I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm skipped over the
wrong one my eyes that'll come to us in twenty one.
My eye has grown dim from vexation, and all my
members are like a shadow, he said. He said, my
(16:59):
eyes are growing them in this misery. My whole body,
my whole body is just it's in duress. I mean,
I'm eat up with disease. I'm i'm, I'm gaunt, I'm
i'm I have no nutrition. I'm completely coming apart, and
(17:21):
I'm wretched to even look at. And then eight, the
upright are appalled at this, and the innocent stirs himself
up against the godless. It's it's interesting that he's using
the word here upright, since that was something that was
(17:43):
said about him at the very beginning of job, if
you remember, and he said, but the so called upright
now he's being sarcastic here about his friends. He doesn't
mean they're upright, And he's using a phrase that God
used about him, but he's using it about his friends
in a very ironic, smart elic kind of way. He's
(18:08):
been sarcastic. And he says, the upright are appalled at me. Look,
they can't believe me that I'm in this state, And
the innocent stirs himself up against the godless. Instead of
coming toward me to help me, they distance themselves from
me because they have declared me godless. They're upright, they're innocent,
(18:35):
they're self righteous, they're sanctemonious, and they want anything to
do with me because they think that I at odds
with God. Now, instead of coming toward me to comfort me,
they're actually distancing themselves from me because of how grotesque
I have become. But they're not comforting me because they're
(18:56):
saying to me, you had this coming, right, can. I mean,
I know, especially a lot of us at our age
because in this room, because of the time of day
we do it live. There are some young people in
here and some very young, but a lot of us
are are are sixty plus, which means what we see
(19:20):
a lot of people die. It's pretty common just because
the numbers. I mean, this is our lot. We've lived
longer than we're going to live, and so has everybody
else that we know and love that are you know,
think about it. I mean, if I'm sixty, then my
(19:40):
parents you are to see my mom She's like, I've
got a child that's sixty. I mean, you know, she's
eighty three years old. My dad went on end at
eighty three. And I've got friends that are even around
my age that that they don't have many days left.
They're sick. But can you imagine? I want you just
to imagine. And I'm thinking about my my dear friend,
(20:01):
uh that's that has als now and in the days
are numbered, and saw him just last week. But can
you imagine if I walked in there and sat down
and said, you had this coming? Can you can you
imagine his wife's sitting there? What did you just say?
Aren't you one of his closest friends? I am, But
(20:22):
I tell you what, I don't know what he's done,
but he's done something. This is on you. I'm just
gonna feel like that would not be That's not That's
not really comforting, is it? What's the norm? You come
in and you comfort, and you encourage, and you pray
over and you you weep for the situation, but you
keep reassuring them that God is not punishing them, but
(20:46):
that their time on this earth of suffering is almost
over and God's going to make them ultimately whole, as
opposed to, well, I don't know what you've done, and
I who knows how this is gonna go. Uh and
that's what he's dealing with. Think about the time, you know,
and and I will say, you know, not not our
own life, but but I know what it's like. You know,
(21:09):
we went through the you know, the calamity of my
youngest son that that they were there were some people
that were ready to blame us. And I mean and
and just the early I mean just I mean you're
just kind of like, man, wow, you know, and and
and that's one of those things you're like, well, that's
not but our friends didn't do that. I can't. I
(21:30):
can't imagine our friends coming strangers did that because you know,
they always know all the facts. Uh and and the
times we're living in now, it just gets me how
people can just be so passionately wrong, and they have
a platform to be sure that everybody knows how wrong
there really are. But have you ever thought about the
arrogance of you being a total stranger of somebody. I mean,
(21:51):
you don't know them at all, but yet you know
exactly what's happening in their life that you haven't spent
any time with them, and you don't have you don't
know anything really about them except maybe an inch deep
and a mile wide, but yet you know everything and
and and you're going you're gonna you're gonna get on
(22:12):
a platform anonymously, of course, and you're gonna project that
you actually know what's going on with somebody you don't
know it all that. I hope that helps some people
that that's pretty foolish to have that kind of attitude.
But when it's and that doesn't really bother you because
you can say, with these people don't know me, imagine
what it felt like to Job for people who had
been as close as friends. You know, I've gone through
(22:35):
this and I'm starting to really doubt were they as
close as friends as we were led to believe, because
it doesn't seem like it, does it. So so now
we get into nine. Yet the righteous holds to his way,
and who he who has clean hands, grows stronger and stronger.
(22:56):
M hmm. So here Job appears to be talking about himself.
He said I'm innocent and and and and I will
grow stronger. And why is he saying that he's innocent
(23:20):
and he does have hope in death? Because the reason
he says he's going to grow stronger is due to
the fact that he says I'm gonna hold to my integrity,
and I'm gonna hold to my integrity because I know
that my hands are clean. And and this seems, this
(23:42):
moment in nine, there's a lot of commentary about it.
You know why, because above this, he says, his friends
are appalled with him. His friends, it's nothing but my
eyes grow dim. My body is disease disease ridden. I'm
grotesque to look at. Nobody wants to even be near me.
(24:04):
I'm being declared godless. They want to distance themselves for me.
And then we're in ten. We're gonna get back to
downtrodden and depressed. But right here nine just kind of
comes out of nowhere and just for a moment, Joe says,
but everything's gonna be all right because I know I'm innocent.
I guess. I don't know if you've had that moment.
(24:26):
Have you ever been like where you're really ready to spare,
you're really really struggling, and a sudden you'll just grab
some promise of God that you know, and it just
kind of comes out of nowhere and you hang on
to it for a minute, and then sometimes what it
slips away, you go right back to being down again.
But for a minute, it pulled you up for just
a minute. And that's great that we have that. I
think that's what's happening here, just for a minute. He's like,
(24:47):
but I know I'm innocent, and I'm gonna go stronger.
My hands are clean. How about this? It may be
after I'm dead, but y'all gonna see that, y'all, what
y'all are doing to me? You were wrong. God knows
I'm innocent, and if he how about this, I'm not
afraid to face it. If I died then then right
then my innocence is going to be declared. But it
doesn't last long. That's why so many people are comment
(25:09):
They're like, was this out of order? Where did this?
Where did this verse come from? I don't think it's
hard to understand. I've done that before, right man. I
got to tell you, ever had a moment where you
all you all? The only way you got through that
moment was remembering one of God's promises. Now that doesn't
mean that you didn't go right back to being down
again a little bit later. And what do you do? Then?
(25:29):
You just grab another one? But right here, I think
that's what happened. But watch this, you're going to see
how then despair just comes right back in ten through sixteen.
But you know, anytime, anytime you hear that, So nine
you have, the righteous holds to his ways, and he
(25:50):
who has clean hands grows stronger and stronger. I'm innocent,
my hands are clean, and you know what. I'm righteous.
I'm holding to my way. I will be vinde katy
about God. But you come on again, all of you,
and I shall not find a wise man among you.
(26:12):
You know, he says, right there, my friends are worthless.
I'm waiting on wise counsel, and here come the three stooges.
I got nothing. Y'all hadn't helped me at all. And
so he says, you know, what he's saying is what
(26:33):
I just said in nine. I wish y'all joined that chorus.
That's where I think that transition comes. I wish y'all would,
Can y'all not? Why don't you join the course of
where I'm talking with the thing that gives me hope?
And I told you all that about me being stuck
on the plane with that guy. They kept saying, but
that's over, and it's almost like, you know, they come
(26:54):
over and say well, we thought God was going to
show us that you were innocent. But that's over. Guess
that hadn't happened. I call those people e ors. You
ever been around e ors? You know, everything's all there's
always some you get excited, you know, whatever, Hey, you know,
here we go, here we go to the theme park.
Of course the lines will probably super long. You know
(27:14):
that there's always some some downer that they bring to
the the whatever. Of course we're going to run into traffic,
you know. Okay, well, just let's have a positive attitude
about just a little bit. Uh So, then eleven my
days are past, my plans are broken off, the desires
of my heart. Huh So, he's been blunt that his
(27:38):
friends have no wisdom. He sees that his life and
eleven is fading. And this is the part that really
gets I mean, you start really having your heart broken
because what Job is also saying, he said, I understand
(27:59):
that my life is ending, But what's really bothering me
is that all the things that I still thought I
was going to do, all these dreams and aspirations that
I still have, they will be unfulfilled, and my hopes
are all dashed. I think he's at that point now
(28:23):
where he said, I thought at some point I'd pull
up out of this. God would heal me, God would
vindicate me. My friends would realize that this is not
what I need to hear. None of that is happening.
And I think that my days that are behind me
(28:47):
are much brighter than the days that are ahead of me.
My plans are broken off, and I had desires of
my heart things. I still wanted to do, the things
that I loved, and all of those things are gone.
You know. It's you know, we we're not controlled, in
(29:10):
control of the day that we're going to die. I mean,
we can do the best we can. As I said,
these decisions that we make, we make for quality of life.
I can't find in scripture that we do a whole
lot to extend the days of our lives. Maybe maybe
I've just missed it, but but I but I don't
see it there. But I do say a lot of
the choices were allowed that have a lot to do
(29:33):
with our quality of life. And you know, kind of
the thing. And there was a time I didn't feel
this way, but as I got older, I now I
now find myself not wanting to waste my life. When
I was younger, I wasted a lot of my life
(29:53):
because I don't think I cared. But but after I
was redeemed and I realized that, you know, the peace
of my eternity has been resolved. And then there was
an overwhelming pull that this life that Jesus gave me
(30:15):
that he had to go to the cross for, or
he was willing to go to the cross for is
a better way to put it. He didn't have to.
He was willing to go to the cross to fulfill
the will of his Father, to redeem those that that
God is offering the grace and mercy to the gift
the son taking the wrath that we deserve. I found
(30:35):
myself kind of like we've talked about so many times
on the show, and I think we but I still
and also in this Bible study, but I think we
have to be sure we got it, you know. And
the and the Apostle pause, the one that seems to
talk about it the most, even though it was the
dedication of them all. But but you remember he talks
(30:56):
about pressing on, He talks about you know, he's straining
for for the end of his life and he's going
for the well done and all these things he keeps
saying working out as salvation. And sometimes I remember when
I was new to the faith. I'm like, I don't
know what he's talking about. We don't earn salvation, he's
(31:20):
not talking about that. Paul isn't uncertain of his redemption,
so he's not trying to be redeemed. That's been done.
What is all this action? You know? What is what
is even Peter talking about? And we have a forty
week curriculum on this called impact. What is all this
talk about making every effort to supplement our faith? You
(31:42):
know with these seven things that are there in first
second Peter chapter one? What is all this? Because if
you justified, you're justified. What is all this about? It's
about making your life count. It's about having an impact
for the kingdom. It's about standing before the one who
(32:04):
redeemed you, and here, well done, good and faithful servant.
The well done isn't because good job earning your redemption,
because we can't do that. It was good job with
your redemption. You didn't waste the life. And I want
to challenge all of you. I don't care how old
you are. I hope you're not wasting it. I mean,
(32:24):
if you can breathe make something happen. You know, the
new book that we just talked about, I remember my
dad and the analogy of that. You know, it's the
part about get out of the stands and what my
dad was saying, and I looked at it like the
Apostle Paul was. There's a lot of people right now
(32:47):
that see the things you're doing in your life and
they have no desire to be part of it. They
don't like the sacrifices that you're having to give. They
don't like that maybe you took your vacation and went
to a third world country as opposed to going to
some five star hotel. They don't really want any part
of any of that. They don't want to sacrifice an
they don't want to go to hell, but they don't
want to count the costs. They don't want to deny themselves.
(33:08):
They don't want to pick up their cross, they don't
want to go through that narrow gate. They want no
part of that right now. But when we all stand
before the Bamas set and they watch the Apostle Paul
getting the crown of righteousness, and they're watching the apostle
Paul hearing well done, good and faithful servants. And then
there's the apostle Paul said, along with all the others
(33:30):
who live their life the same way, every one of
them is going to wish they did. It's a better life.
It's not an easier life, but it's a better life.
And when you're doing something that matters, the difficulty of
(33:51):
all of it all doesn't seem to be so bad.
Where I get frustrated is when I'm going through difficulty
in things that don't mean anything. Don't enjoy that, but
difficulty for eternal things. They might be unpleasant for the moment,
but they're not a problem for me because I know
I can see the other side. What's not a lot
(34:14):
of fun is when you're like in some sort of
misery and you don't see what it's doing at all.
I don't know what is going on here? Can we
not run an airline better than this? You know? But
that that's also I found out of what a way
to be a good witness. I did pretty good on that.
I didn't do great, but I did better than the
last time. How about that? And if you fly on
(34:35):
a commercial airline, you're going to get more than one
opportunity to be a good person into rest. Because of that,
they're never ever going to get it right because the
system is flawed and I could fix it if they
just let me. But anyway, So, but what he's saying
right here is everybody's gonna know at some point that
(34:55):
though they have got their idea of what this is
all about, I will be vendicate. But right now I
feel like that the things I still wanted to do
on earth, they're going to go unfulfilled by the way.
He's wrong. He's wrong. God has a plan for him
that's going to be even bigger than what he's already done.
But boy, right now, in that valley, he can't see
(35:16):
it right. It's in the valley. We just have to
clean to the promises, you know, cling to the promises.
There's been a lot of times that you think to yourself,
I don't know how I'm going to get through this.
And you know what, that can be wonderful because finally
maybe we'll stop trying to do it ourselves. Verse twelve.
(35:37):
They make night, and today the light, they say, is
near to the darkness. My friends call evil good, and
they call good evil, And we know that in the
Great Book of Romans that Paul says, the day is
(35:58):
going to come where the whole society does that anybody
looking around, anybody paying attention, say, Pride Month goes on
for thirty days. Memorial Day is a Monday. Okay, we
take a Monday, and we celebrate people that sacrifice their
(36:19):
own lives for the good of other people. We give
them a Monday. We give celebration of sexual defncy an
entire month. And so when you look at that as
the state of the world, you see that once again
(36:39):
the apostle Paul was saying that day would come, and
that day is here, and he's saying, job is and
this is what my friends, you know, are like. They
take darkness and think they've got day, and then they
take the light and they think it's darkness. I'm sitting
here innocent. They think I'm guilty. And then he goes
(37:00):
on to say in thirteen, if you know, if I
hope for shee hole, if I hope as my house,
if I make my bed in darkness, I expect to die.
I expect to go to the place of the dead
that they always talked about, and I expect to go there,
(37:22):
and I expect to just lie in darkness. Now once again,
this is this kind of throws us back to whatever
time period this is, and that's there's much debate about that.
There doesn't there doesn't seem to be a concept of
the resurrection of the redeemed. It doesn't it seem to
(37:42):
be there. He knows he's going to be all right,
but he doesn't know where he's going to be or
what that's going to be like. And next, you know,
he kind of gets into a grotesque analogy. Here if
I say, to the pit you are my father, and
to the worm my mother or my sister, kind of
(38:04):
an ugly picture here, death and all that goes with it.
They're my new family. My new family is just going
to be the pit and worms. That's what's about to
(38:28):
be for me. Now that that doesn't sound overly hopeful,
because we know that for those that are redeemed, these
things they will be, they will be exempted. We won't
experience that, as we're told in scripture that the redeem
will not experience the wrath of God. So then he
(38:49):
begins to cry out for hope. Where then is my hope?
Who will see my hope. Where is it you ever
been there? Where is my hope? Who will see my hope?
(39:10):
And I think, like when he's talking about facing death
and disease and you know the misery that he's in,
you know that it's one of those things that you
forget sometimes. And I think we've all been there. I
think most of us, especially the guys here from a
certain generation, we probably have a better pain tolerance than
(39:32):
a lot of people. But with the best of pain
tolerances are the best and the toughness toughest people. When
you start stringing together day after day, minute after minute,
hour after hour of misery, it weighs on you. I
don't care who you are, because you know what we
(39:55):
always like a right, this is bad, but I'm gonna
get to the other side of it. But when the
other side of it is so far away, I mean,
you really have to start breaking. If you've ever been
through it, you got to start breaking your life down
into just little segments, you know. Okay, right now, I'm
not completely paying free, but I had I had about
fifteen minutes. They kind of helped me to get to
(40:17):
the next fifteen minutes. They helped me get to the
next fifteen minutes. And see, see if I can't piece
together and you just start hoping because you know you've
been real sick, or do you just keep hoping? Please
tell me I can still go to sleep. Because as
long as you can go to sleep, that kind of
that kind of gets it gets all this behind you.
But what's the problem is what if whatever you got
(40:37):
you can't get any sleep, and then it really begins
to drag, you know. And so that's kind of he's
crying out saying, man, I need some relief, and what
is my hope? Remind me what my hope is? And
you know what we can say what the Apostle Paul said,
to live as Christ to die is gain you know,
(40:57):
I mean I have I have been with people on
their deathbed before and they went from really really down
to really really joyful because they begin to think, Wait
a minute, I'm miserable right now, I'm sick, my body's dying.
Nothing's working right. If they take blood from me one
(41:18):
more time, or put me on another IV, or give
me another shot, or do some other horrible thing to
me here in just a little bit, I'm never gonna
have to worry about sickness. Again. I'm not gonna worry
about the tax rate again. I couldn't give two pennies
(41:39):
who's the next president. I don't care what Putin's doing.
I don't care what's going on in Ukraine. I don't
care if the streets are burning. I'm out. I'm going
to perfection. And if y'all want to keep this world,
y'all can have it, because I'm gone and I'll never
(42:03):
have another anxious moment of my life. Pandemic cranks up again.
I don't care. It ain't gonna it ain't gonna fact
me where I'm at. What's y'all the best I'm gonna
be coming back with Jesus, good luck to you. I'm out. Okay.
So so that that's where his hope could come from, right,
(42:25):
And then then sixteen he just kind of you know,
this is that part where he says, not only am
I going down, We're all going down. Okay. You know that.
I I it's not good if you ever had that
person in your group. You know that says I tell
you one thing. If the police come to me, I'm
(42:45):
telling on everybody. We're all going You know you don't
you don't want that person in your group. You know
what I mean, if you're run it, if you run
as a as a. My granddaddy referred to it as
if you're running with the dogs. You don't need that
guy with you. You know you want some says I'll never
rit everybody out, And if I go down, y'all be good.
Right here, Joe's he's had it. He says, will it
(43:08):
go down to the bars of shee Hold, which of
course is where they thought the dead was going? Shall
we descend together into the dust. I'm going down to death.
And he's looking at his friends and he says, let's
all just die together. My life, my hope, my vindication.
(43:31):
They are all gonna die with me. I know the
truth I know about your accusations, and death is almost here,
and everything, my life, my hope, my vindication, it's all
going to die with me. And because y'all have sat
(43:53):
here and lied about me, and you haven't helped me,
and you haven't been there for me. When I die,
your opportunity, your opportunity to make it right with me
is gonna be gone. And we're all gonna die together.
And that's that's not the most uplifting. Now here's the
(44:18):
part that's really going to bother you. And I can't
imagine where Job was on this. When this seventeen ends,
it changes nothing as far as his friends. Bill Dad
is ready, and let me tell you something. He's got
(44:39):
his gone out. And if you think it's changed his
point of view, you are incorrect. Next week you're gonna
see Bill Dad go. It's good speech. God punishes the
wicked end of subject. And I mean, have you ever
been there? And you're just like, I just don't know
what else to say, man, I mean I can I
(45:00):
can't make you change your view of me. And so
you know what you do, You just go tell God
about it. And you know what we will see before
this is done. We will see not always on our time.
Raise your hand if you've ever wanted God to vindicate you,
and he seems to be taking this time. Yeah, but
(45:21):
if you truly are innocent, it will come. It will come.
And I think the thing that we need to do
more of, okay, And I don't know where other people
are associated to Joe, associated with Joe other than these three,
and then we get a fourth before we're done. I
don't know where anybody else is. We don't see it.
(45:43):
But I will say this, and I'll say this loud
and clear for somebody who's kind of going through some
of it now, even though it's starting to dissipate in
God's own timing. But there's nothing, and I don't know
why we're not willing to do it more. There's nothing
that clears things up. Quicker is if other people who
(46:03):
believe in your integrity will not just tell you I
like that. Hey man, I believe in you. I know that,
I know that what people are saying about you is
not true. That that's good, and that's appreciated. But you
know what's really helpful is if you'll go out there
and fight for that person publicly. Hey, this accusation against
(46:24):
my friend, I know them, that's not true. I'm not
gonna let you say that about them. I'm with them
all the time. You're not. I'm not gonna let that happen.
I'm not gonna let you say that. And and and
that's one of the things that we can do. Now.
I don't know where these people are, because surely there's
not the only people that know jobs found I know,
(46:47):
I know his family. His wife's mad, we know that
she's she's not up for it. It's children, you know,
are dead, so there's nothing they can do for their dad.
But surely there's and I know servants were killed and
people work for him, but surely there's somebody. I mean,
isn't there somebody that can that can step into all
this and go what is this garbage? I keep saying
(47:07):
about job? But but we'll see, uh as time goes on.
But I would, I know, I know what it's like
because look, I've all been I've been there to you.
Sometimes you'll just you'll get it. There'll be something going
on and you're just like, I don't want to get
into that. And uh. And as I've said a thousand
times a thousand times, and this happens at the church,
(47:28):
happens within the church. Look, if you think something has happened,
go to the person and ask them what a concept.
So let's say somebody says, well, so and so did
so and so to so and so, And you're like,
(47:49):
wait mate, I know so and so so. You what
are you saying? Oh? Yeah, well you know they did this.
Isn't that really? Well? Call them, hey, can we talk?
Go to the person, you know, and say I heard
that you did this, this, and then is it that accord?
And then they, if they say yes, say okay, well
I have to disagree with the way you handle that.
(48:10):
I don't think you handled that right. Or if they
go that didn't happen, then you know. But I've noticed
sometimes we'll we'll go and I say this to people
off that we'll go and we'll pout for days about
something that you don't even know if it happened. And
I always say, have you asked them if that happened? Well,
I think that they, uh whatever, whatever? Have you asked them? No? Uh,
(48:35):
why don't you ask them? Have you ever thought somebody
was upset about something, you were certain of it, and
then maybe after a few weeks of you lamenting over it,
and then you're mad that they're mad about it, come
to find out they're not even mad about it. That
never happened. Yeah, I understand you're upset with me about
the other day. What are you talking about it? I
wasn't upset about that. Oh well, I thought you might
(48:57):
have thought I whatever. I never thought that. Oh wow,
I wish I could have three weeks back, you know,
I mean, I mean, it's crazy. I don't understand why
we just why don't we just get to the bottom
of it. Uh, that's I mean, scripture teaches us that
get to the bottom of these things faster, get to
the bottom of it. And uh, and I don't know
why these these three are not leaving job and going
(49:20):
to get other witnesses. Here's how we see it. Do
anybody know anything? And you might have people go, I
just don't see it. I never saw Job do anything
that doesn't sound like job. But that doesn't happen. They
they've made their decision, they think they know and do
y'all realize. And they're passionate too. And I've taught this
(49:40):
so many times. Be clear, you can be passionately wrong.
Just because you're passionate about it doesn't mean it's right.
Just because you're certain of something doesn't mean it's true.
You better go find out, Especially if you're gonna run
somebody down, you better go find out. And it was
(50:04):
that that's the reason why you hear gossip being talked
about so poorly in scripture, because so many times people's
reputation is destroyed over something they didn't even do. And
we need to be real careful about that. Just because
it's juicy doesn't mean it's true. And you know, sometimes
(50:29):
they're partially true, but that's still important because partially still
isn't accurate. You know, go to the source and find
out and ask, and then if you messed up, apologize.
I've done that before. I remember I talked to a
brother one time, and I was certain because I listened
(50:49):
to what people said. I didn't think that sounded like them.
But I got caught up in the height and I
set him down for you know, come to Jesus lunch,
and I launched in my little monolog and he looked
back at me. He said that never happened. I'm like, wow,
that was such a good speech too. I'm just wrong.
And then I had to apologize for not coming to
him before I got my speech ready. I should have
(51:11):
just come to him directly, but i'd already gone that.
I said, well, I need to straighten him out about
that. That shouldn't have happen. Well, it didn't happen. Somebody had
lied about that, or they had the wrong person or something.
So get to the bottom of it. Don't do what
we have here. And when somebody says something, you know,
like job, who's earned I would think he's earned the
(51:36):
benefit of the doubt and they're not giving it to him.
And I think that's what's hurting him the most. And
he knows that God knows the truth and he wants
God to vindicate him. So next week we will listen
to the very, very caring Bill Dad is. He will
take everything that Job has said and apply none of it.
(51:58):
Let's pray, Lord, thank you for today, thank you for
this time together, thank you for the lessons that we've learned.
And Lord, if we would just simply follow your instruction
on how to handle conflict even in the church, the
drama that we could reduce, and the misinformation and the
(52:19):
hurt so unnecessary, so many times when we simply could
just get to the bottom of the truth by talking
to everybody involved. Lord, thank you for this time together.
Thank You for the hope though we find in all this.
Even when Job gets you wrong, those beautiful moments when
(52:39):
he gets you right, and that's what will eventually carry
him through it. When he learns some big lessons about you,
and as much as he knows about you, he's still
going to be talked more. And may we learn it
with him. In your name, we pray Amen, thanks for
being with us,
Host
Rick Burgess
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