Lessons From the Book of Job #2

(Go To Meeting)

Eduardo Elizondo—May 21, 2025

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We're going to continue what we started last time on the lessons from the book of Job. Before we get started, I wanted to clarify something that I mistakenly said last time talking about the life of Job and his lifespan, because I mentioned something that he was before Abraham.

It doesn't seem to be the case based on the evidence that we have from his friends and contemporaries following the genealogies. Maybe Job was more around the time of Esau and Jacob based on some of the offspring of Esau and the names, life as the Temanite. So, just wanted to clarify that because I think that was not accurate last time with the timeframe.

But nevertheless, it is probably the oldest book, the first book written of the Bible, because not necessarily the events, but the first book written, and then Moses came later and that's when he wrote the first five books of the Bible. But Job, it is one of the oldest books, if not the oldest book. I just wanted to clarify that.

Last time we were talking about lessons in the book of Job, all of this, trying to really understand a little bit more about what it says in Luke 14, we're going to start there just for context and background and then we'll go back to Job.

Luke 14:26: "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers and sisters, and, in addition, his own life also, he cannot be My disciple."

We were talking about this last part of how it is that we come to God and we come to Jesus Christ and we are to hate our own life. We were talking about how in Job, at the end of the book, that is where he came to the conclusion that he came to.

But there were a lot of things that happened last time. We talked about those things that happened in the beginning (Job 1 & 2). We talked about how God gives us a picture of what was happening in the third heaven where God is, and Satan presented himself and the conversation that happened between God and Satan the devil, and what God allowed Satan to do to Job.

Then we go into talking about the misery that Job was put through, allowed by God, but actually performed by Satan the devil, and the thoughts of Job related to all of those calamities that happened. You're probably familiar with the story of Job and all of the things that happened to him, one after another after another.

Then the challenge from Satan to God again, when God had taken everything away, through Satan, he had taken his family, his possessions, everything and everyone except for him. Then Satan comes and afflicts Job with this great plague and he was full of sores. At the end, we're going to read Job 42 again to begin.

Job 42:6—this is after then God speaks to Job, all these things, and Job understands:

• what he has done
• what he has said
• how he had felt

He understood so many more things about God, because God spoke to him. But then the conclusion:

Job 42:5: "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You. Therefore, I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (vs 5-6).

That is the connection to Luke 14:26 about 'his own life, also.' If he doesn't hate his own life, also, and Job got to this point, but he had to go through a lot to get to this point.

Today we're going to continue to read many, many verses in Job because we want to study those things. We want to study in-depth what he said and how he said it. Some of the things behind the things that he was saying, and also learn some things from us, from our conduct, from the thoughts of our heart and see what we can learn today about our own growth and development.

Our entire lives are about conversion, are about changing! God also puts us through trials, not as severe as Job, at least I haven't heard of anybody going through all the things that Job went through at the same time. But our lives are also full of trials and challenges and tests from God, because He wants to see:

• Where is our treasure?
• Where is our heart?
• Where is our love?

He wants to convert us just like he converted Job even more deeply, even though he was a blameless and upright man! That's what God Himself said about Job.

We're going to begin today in Job 14, and we're going to read the whole story. We're going to continue to read some of the words of Job and to think and understand and answer the questions:

• How is it that he abhor himself?
• Why did he abhorred himself?
• Why did he repent in dust and ashes?
• Repent from what?

Sometimes we think, but 'if he was a blameless and upright man,' what does he have to repent from? But we're going to see some of the things that were still in his heart, and that they were coming up with this trial.

The Psalms and the Proverbs talks about how God refines the hearts of man, and how it says that God tries the hearts.

There's a Proverb that says there's a furnace for gold and for silver and the silver is refined in the pot in the heat and all the impurities then rise to the top and have to be removed!

This is what was going on here in the trial of Job. He was going through this trial, and God was putting the fire and all of these impurities and all of these things that God wanted to perfect Job even more! He wanted to cleanse him!

There is not a point in our lives where we can say we are done, 'God is done with me, I've been converted.' We cannot say that during our entire lives till our last breath. We can never say that we have changed to the degree that we ought to and that we have been perfected in the flesh, because that perfection, that sealing of us comes with the resurrection!

But let's read some of the words of Job and let's dive in and see those things that he abhorred himself for and what was he repenting of:

• of things that he said
• the thoughts that he had
• the accusations that he made

Job 14—this is how he was feeling in the midst of this trial. Let's remember this had been going on for a while. It says that his friends for seven days they didn't talk to him. So, this had been going on for a while. This was not like a one day and two three days he's better and he's done. This was an affliction that continued and it was a very difficult challenge for Job, and out of that challenge and out of that pain he spoke these words

Job 14:4: "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one! For his days are fixed, the number of his months is with You, and You have set his limits so that he cannot pass; look away from him, so that he may rest until he shall finish his day, as a hireling" (vs 4-6).

He's talking to God, almost in desperation, where he's saying: "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one!"

But he's basically talking about how unclean we are, and he's basically making the assumption 'I'm suffering, therefore, I am unclean therefore I'm now going to be perfected.' It's almost what he's saying here: "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?"

But he's also saying he's also acknowledging the power of God Who has set his limits and the days, and we all have to die. That's what it says that it's appointed for a man to die once. But then it says:

Verse 6: "look away from him, so that he may rest until he shall finish his day, as a hireling."

In the Psalms we also see that in the afflictions of David where there's a Psalm that says 'look away from me before I perish and I'm no more.'

So, these feelings are very strong, and sometimes we have felt that, as well, during trials. We feel as though the hand of God is upon us and we feel like this. We feel like 'look away from me.' In his distress he starts saying these things.

But he was saying things that he didn't understand and he acknowledged that at the end but we know who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean; we know that's God!

We know He wants to perfect us. We know that we are unclean by nature, and our nature is evil and our nature is not good. The human nature is not good!

That's why the carnal mind and the carnal nature is not subject to the Law of God and it cannot be! That is a definitive statement.

When we think about Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean, God can! God can perfect it, but we have to think about it in a different way, because what God wants to do is to dwell in us! In order for Him to dwell in us we have to deny ourselves, and we're going to see that that's actually a requirement that Jesus set forth! But we cannot deny ourselves:

• unless we see the evil within us
• unless we come to this reality
• that this is how we think
• that this is our default
• that this is how we operate

Sometimes we do feel this pain, but God doesn't want to bring a clean thing out of an unclean! God wants to completely cleanse us and renew us completely, make us according to His likeness!

We're already made according to His image, but the likeness is the process that we're going through! In order for that to happen, God wants to dwell in us.

• we're not seeking our own goodness
• we're not seeking our own cleanliness

That's why Job is looking from human eyes and saying:

Verse 4: "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one!"

But God doesn't want to do that; God wants to completely transform us and He wants to dwell in us!

• that is the way
• that is the process

Job understood, and we talked a little bit about this last time after the first message, we were having the conversation and we were talking about this verse. Job had an understanding about what happens after death! Because he poses in the form of a question. And this is read pretty much at every funeral that the Churches of God perform.

Verse 14: "If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time in the grave I will wait, until my change comes."

So he asked the question: Shall he live again? And he answers it, and it's true! All the days of my appointed time in the grave I will wait, until my change comes."—in the grave is added for clarity, so it just says:

"All the days of my appointed time, I will wait until my change comes." And it's added in the grave, yes, until my change comes, because that's where he was going to be waiting until the resurrection.

• he knew about that
• he knew about the change
• he knew about the change after the resurrection
• he knew that

and

• he believed in it

Otherwise, he wouldn't have said "…until my change comes…" He would have said until the change of something comes or 'I don't know what happens.'

Verse 15: You shall call, and I will answer You…" That is amazing, because that's exactly what Jesus said!

The hour is coming when ALL who are in the graves… [it doesn't just say some. it says ALL] … shall hear His voice.

Job understood this, and there was none of that written at this point.

Verse 15: "You shall call, and I will answer You; You shall have the desire for the work of Your hands."

What is the desire of God—for the work of His hands? That we become sons and daughters of His Kingdom!

• that's the desire
• that we be perfected
• that He can look at His children and say:
• they are like Me
• I dwell in them
• My goodness is in them
• I have transformed them
• I have changed them
• the process is now complete

That doesn't mean that we stop learning, because even Jesus Christ—when He came to the earth—said that what He suffered He learned by obedience.

• He was already perfect
• He was already everlasting
• He was already eternal

But this is an amazing thing because it says, v 15: "You shall call, and I will answer You; You shall have the desire for the work of Your hands."

• let's think about that
• let's rejoice in that
• let's visualize that

When we are raised from the dead; we can see that the desire of God is for all of us:

• to be in His Kingdom
• to be with Jesus Christ
• to be in His house in New Jerusalem forever

That is the most amazing thing that can be!

Verse 16: "For now You number my steps; but do You not watch over my sin? My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and You heap up my iniquity" (vs 16-17). The reason I'm going through this is because of my iniquity!

But God doesn't say that. God said to Satan, 'You move Me to destroy him without cause!'

This is something important for us to think about. When we're going through a trial, yes, many times it can be just the consequences of our actions and the Laws of God working, but not all the time! Sometimes it's the tool that God uses to perfect us!

But we shouldn't be so quick to accuse ourselves. We can be quick to look and see what we've done, and ask God to show us that. But we also have to remember that it might just be the tool that God is using at that moment to change something in us! It's something that He needs changed and perfected within us. That is what God wants to do!

But we can see that, because we all have this thought. It says, "…Now You number my steps…" He's watching closely!

Sometimes we have this image of God as though He's just watching closely:

• to condemn us
• to see what we've done wrong
• to give us a slap in the hand, so to speak, spiritually speaking

But God is a loving God and He's perfecting us!

He looks at it in a different way. He looks at it like He's fine-tuning us.

• yes, it does require some heat
• yes, it does require some trials

I mean, this is not some heat, this is full blast! This is everything that a person can take. That's the permission that God gave to Satan.

This is how Job felt; he felt that God was watching over his sin, and he continued to say: 'but I don't see that sin, because the reality is that God wasn't seeing that sin either! That's the amazing thing.

• God was refining him!
• He was changing him!

There were so many things that Job was going through, but when you see these thoughts and when you see the understanding that Job had as far as what happens after death or how he felt in the flesh and you'll see these back and forth.

You see some aspects of Truth and some aspects that are not true. They are just his place of hurt where he's at; that's how he was feeling.

Then God comes later, and we're going to see this, and shows him what the reality is. But I think it is important for us to reflect and read these thoughts and understand what is going on in this refining process.

Job 19:21—Job is answering his friends. We're not reading the words of the friends purposely because we know what God thinks about the friends. There are certainly many lessons that we can learn from that!

We can identify with this, because we have also been called. Because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, we are also seen as righteous! We are following in the ways of God. But we want to see what Job thinking about his response and his thoughts when he's answering his friends:

Job 19:21: "Have pity on me! Have pity on me, my friends! For the hand of God has struck me."

It is true! In this case, it is true. God gave permission to Satan. It wasn't directly the hand of God. This is a very important thing for us to understand. How God operates and how God can use even Satan and his demons to accomplish His purposes if He wants to, And He decides to do it that way.

"…For the hand of God has struck me. And that's what had happened] …Why do you persecute me, like God is doing" (vs 21-22).

Here we see the truth! Why? Have pity on me. That's what they should have had. God says that. He was angry at the friends at the end! They should have had pity on him. They shouldn't have been so quick to accuse. The same with us, with others, especially with brethren. Do not be so quick to accuse brethren of anything when bad things are happening to them!

I know we may not do it overtly, but sometimes inside we may start thinking the way that the friends thought. What happened? No, we shouldn't go there! God is Judge! He knows the heart and we need to leave it at that.

Yes, we all make mistakes and we many times do suffer the consequences of our actions. But there's lessons here for us to learn, as well. To have pity on our brethren, on our friends, and to truly just be compassionate and try to understand and not layer our self-righteousness into it. Not even in our mind, because God hates that. He hates that self-righteousness and that pride in any of us anytime.

Verse 22: "Why do you persecute me, like God is doing… [God was not persecuting him] …and are not satisfied with my flesh?"

He's telling his friends, you're not satisfied with any flesh or God not satisfied with any flesh! He felt like he was being persecuted not only by his friends, but by God. And that was not the truth! That's why it's all recorded here. Because at some point in the middle of some trial, maybe we felt that way. Maybe we don't feel like God is persecuting us, but we may feel that God is punishing us; that God is correcting us.

Sometimes that may be the case. That doesn't mean that it's never the case. But it doesn't mean that it's always the case, because we don't know. We don't know everything that is going on. There's a big lesson for us to learn from the book of Job.

• to not rush to judgment
• to not accuse others
• to have mercy on others

Verse 23—in his lament Job says: "Oh, that my words were now written!.... [Guess what? They are written] …Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!"

So, it's interesting that he says this. Then I wonder how all of this happened; God inspiring this book to be written, all:

• the words of Job
• the words of God
• the words of his friends

Verse 23: "Oh, that my words were now written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!"

They were, and we're reading them today! It's amazing some of the things that Job says in his pain.

Verse 24: "Oh, that they were cut with an iron pen and lead and engraved in the rock forever!"

They are engraved in the book that has been preserved forever: The Bible! The Word of God!

They're right there. The book of Job was canonized, It's amazing when you read some of these things and you just are amazed that God wanted us to see what happened. I wonder if that's how it happened. That at the end that's how he inspired Job to write the book, because:

• How did he know chapters one and two?
• How did he know all of that to write it?

or

• Who wrote it?

Verse 25: "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that He shall stand upon the earth in the latter days."

Look how much knowledge he had about the Plan of God. That Jesus Christ our Redeemer was living and that He was going to come, and that He's going to come in the latter days! It's unbelievable that some of the words that are here in this book.

Verse 26: "And though worms destroy my skin and body, yet apart from my flesh shall I see God."

It's in the middle of the trial. And again, there's italics here to clarify what he's talking about. But it says:

"And destroy my skin yet apart from my flesh shall I see God" (v 26).

He understood. He understood that to see God it was not going to be in the flesh, but in the spirit in a resurrection! He understood to what level, to what specific details we don't know, but we understand some things from what we can read here. It's amazing when you think about a person that knows God, that loves God, that is righteous, is striving to do what's right, and then to understand that he understood about the resurrection!

This was early on, this was the first book of the Bible that was written down. He wishes that a book was written about what was happening, and it was. It's just amazing to see all of these things and how God is deeply involved in our lives. He cares so much that

I'm going to speak to you directly, Job. If that's necessary, if that's what's necessary. I'm going to speak to you directly. And not only that, I'm going to reveal the things that I was working in you in this trial. And I'm going to reveal what happened and how this trial came about. And I'm going to reveal it so that you write it down and so that all my people throughout history have access to that.

And that's what is here! It just blows our minds when it says that. And to put all of these stamps of the Truth and in the very first book written:

• it talks about the resurrection
• it talks about what happens after death
• it talks about our Redeemer
• it talks about how he shall stand upon the earth
• it talks about the latter days

Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, and chronologically, as to when the books were written, this was the first. It just blows our mind when we see all these things. But when we see the personal connection of God with His servant Job. And that's what He called 'my servant, Job, the perfect man. A blameless man, an upright man.' That's how He thinks about us. When we read these words, it's amazing!

"…apart from my flesh shall I see God, Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another; though my heart be consumed within me" (vs 26-27).

He is holding on to that hope, to that belief, and so should we when we're in the midst of trials; to know that it doesn't matter what happens to us physically. It will not matter in the end. We will see God with our own eyes. We will be in the presence of Jesus Christ on the Sea of Glass at the resurrection, at the seventh trumpet.

To understand that, and now as we are approaching Pentecost, to think about that, to think about the Sea of Glass, to think about these things. This is exactly what Job is talking about:

• that he will see
• he will be right there
• he is one of those who are on the Sea of Glass

that John saw in the vision!

"…my eyes shall behold, and not another; though my heart be consumed within me" (v 27)—though I'm going through this trial! Really, destruction. That's what God calls it, 'destruction of Job.'

This is fascinating, the things that are written in the book of Job, and the wisdom and the knowledge and seeing beyond the words, but the intent of God and how He did this with His servant Job!

Job 21:7—this is Job answering again to his friends: "Why do the wicked live? They grow old and yea, they become mighty in power."

There are many Psalms where David expresses the same thing:

• look at the arrogant
• look at the proud
• look at the elite

It seems like they have everything and they don't have any pain and they don't have any sorrow!

"Why do the wicked live? They grow old and yea, they become mighty in power."

Nothing's happening to them. Sometimes we feel like that when we're going through a trial.

Verse 8: "Their children are established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes."

Have we considered that this is just in the physical? It may not be reality because what we don't see is:

• all the brokenness
• all the hurt
• all the pain

You look at all of these mighty people in the earth and we look at all these powerful people in the earth, but sometimes we don't get the full story. We don't know what they're really going through or what they've really gone through. But it looks like this to us:

Verse 9: Their houses are in peace, without fear; nor is the rod of God upon them."

That's what we see sometimes and that's what it looks like, but that may not be reality. Job actually had that. He actually did have that and he was a blameless and upright man. And he was the blessing from God until God said, 'no more for a time, for more refining.' But he had that. He had what he was saying that the wicked do. He's complaining:

I was here, now I'm low. I was here, now I'm here. But look at all of them. Nothing happens to them.

And that's apparently what we see in the world with all the powerful and all the mighty people on this earth. But that's not the reality. It says:

Verse 9: "Their houses are in peace… [I'm sure he was repenting at the end of saying these things] …without fear; nor is the rod of God upon them. Their bull mates and does not fail; their cow calves, and does not cast her calf. They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. They sing to the drum and lyre, and rejoice at the sound of the pipe" (vs 9-12).

• they have parties
• they are the jet setters
• they have boats
• they have airplanes
• they travel the world
• they have the experiences
• they have the best of the food and things

We can say that today even so much more because of all the modern technology and all the things that we enjoy.

But imagine them like the kinds of things that they go through. This is what he was talking about. He probably had seen it firsthand because nobody was like him in the East. So he probably was enjoying those things or meeting some of these people. He speaks firsthand for having seen the blessings of God!

In this case, not necessarily the blessings of God that others have, but just the blessings that they get to have, because he's talking about the wicked (v 7).

Verse 13: "They spend their days in prosperity, and peacefully they go down to the grave."

But is that the truth? Peacefully do they go down to the grave? People who do not know God don't go down to the grave peacefully! People who don't know the Truth and trust in God and have a relationship with God, they do not go in that peace that he's talking about! That's why he looked back later and said:

I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes from having said that. I had no idea that that's not the reality. I had no idea that God was working with me in this way.

But it seems like this: "…and peacefully they go down to the grave. And they say to God, "Depart from us; for we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways; what is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what profit should we have if we pray to Him?" (vs 13-15). Basically, he's saying:

They rebel, Lord, and you don't do anything about it. But I'm trying to serve You, You afflict me and You take everything from me, even my health.

That's what would be the modern translation. That's what's going behind these words. But this is exactly what he repented of; that's exactly what he abhorred in himself, because:

I was completely wrong. I was missing the boat. I did not understand that You were shaping me and You're not shaping them. I did not understand that that's what they appear to be.

That's what most people appear to be in Facebook and their life is beautiful and everything is great. No! No! No! because nobody vents their dirty laundry on social media. Nobody talks about the troubles of their heart in social media in that way for everybody to see. That's what the wicked and that's what the elite portray: a perfect life, a wonderful this:

• they dress with the best clothes
• they eat the best foods
• they travel

But the reality is we have something so much greater than that. And that's not reality. But in his pain, he was speaking this way. That's why he abhorred himself because of these words, because he had no understanding. But God gave him understanding and we can learn from Job's understanding, as well. To not go there, and look at them. they're great. This and doesn't happen to them.

NO! God is working with each one of us individually. God loves us; He wants the best for us.

Job 23:2—he's answering his friends, answering Eliphaz:: 'Even today is my complaint bitter; my stroke is heavier than my groaning."

The punishment is even worse. I'm not even doing justice to my affliction!

Verse 3: "Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come even to His seat!.... [talking about God] …I would lay my cause before Him, and fill my mouth with arguments" (vs 3-4). I would just defend my case!

The amazing thing is God said that Satan 'moved Him to destroy Job without cause.' That's the amazing thing! But Job was looking at his arguments, at his case, what he could defend himself.

• when it was God Who justified him
• when he was God who was looking at him as a righteous person
• when it was God who decided to allow these things to happen to him for a purpose

Verse 5: "I would know the words, which He would answer me…"

Really? Really, Job? Would you know what God was going to answer?

"…and understand what He would say to me" (v 5).

"I would know the words, which He would answer me…"

It was almost presumptuous, but he was also saying, 'but in that way, if He did that, then I would understand."

Well, he did speak to you, Job, and we know, and we love it. We love it because we can learn from it. We don't love that affliction that he had to go through, but we do love his example. We love God Who wrote these things down for us to learn. And we love that God answered him, that He said things to Job, and that Job actually got to abhor himself, because of those things that God actually answered him.

He said, v 5: "I would know the words, which He would answer me, and understand what He would say to me."

But he didn't say here, 'I would repent and I would abhor myself and I would see how wrong I was.'

But we can now say it because he said it. And it happened. It's a beautiful conclusion at the end of the book that we can all learn from too, because there's a lot of things in us like this, a lot more, that are these kind of thoughts, especially in the affliction, especially in the challenges.

Verse 6: "Will He contend against me with His great power? No, surely He would give heed to me…. [Job knew in his heart that God was good] …There the righteous might reason with Him; and I would be acquitted from my Judge forever" (vs 6-7).

Yeah, he would reason with you. And actually he was going to. And he did. And he was written down for us. Yes! And he was righteous! He called him 'blameless and upright man.' He reasoned with him. "…and I would be acquitted from my Judge forever." He will be acquitted from his Judge forever:

• because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ
• because of the righteousness of his Redeemer

We know Job knew about the Redeemer. We just read about it. He knew about the Redeemer. And he knew about righteousness, and the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Verse 8: "Behold, I go forward, but He is not there; and backward, but I cannot see Him; on the left hand, where He works, but I cannot behold Him. He turns to the right, but I cannot see Him. But He knows the way that I take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold" (vs 8-10).

Amazing! When we think about what we're reading here, you know, that I'm looking for God, but He's not there. That's what it felt like. But God was watching. He was watching because He was patiently letting Job vent and letting him speak. He was seeing what was really in that heart and underneath it all. Because in the trials is where God sees what our true selves are:

• in those times of trouble
• in those times of trial

Are we going to trust God?

It feels exactly like that! We've all been there in the midst of affliction. And we do wonder if God is… We know that He's hearing us, but it feels like—because we cannot see Him—He's not there!

"…I cannot behold Him. He turns to the right, but I cannot see Him" (v 9).

He's not speaking literally. He's speaking figuratively in the spirit. And sometimes it feels like that.

Verse 10: "But He knows the way that I take…"

Again, he had faith and he understood in a sense, to a certain level what was happening. He was not seeing the whole picture until the end, until God spoke to him. But he was seeing what was happening. He knew that he was being tried, because Job says:

Verse 10: "But He knows the way that I take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold."

He knew that just as the refining, the furnaces for gold (Prov. 17:3). He knew this. And it's amazing because Job comes after Proverbs. These are the books of wisdom!

Proverbs 17:3: "The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tries the hearts." Job knew this:

• he knew that the furnace is for gold
• he knew that he was being refined
• he knew that it was God that was doing it
• he knew all those things

Job 23:10 is incredible! It's like you can see some things. So do we; we also know these things. But when we're in the midst of the trial:

• it's hard to remember this
• it's hard to think about this
• it's hard to know and trust that God is good and He's doing this
• for our refinement
• for our good

Where he says, when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold, the furnace for gold. And what a furnace God put Job through! It's unbelievable what he went through.

Job 27:2—This is when he's still responding to his friends and when he's speaking all these things out of his pain. And he says in his speech:

Job 27:2: "As God lives, He has denied me justice; and the Almighty has made my soul bitter. As long as my breath is in me, and the breath of God is in my nostrils, my lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit" (vs 2-4).

That was true. But some things were not right, and he knows that, because we know in the conclusion he says: 'I repent. I abhorred myself and repent in dust and ashes.'—some of the things that he said!

So, he says, v 4: "My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit."

That's true, because wickedness and deceit are two things that are very profound:

• wickedness implies evil
• deceit implies intent to lead astray

Job had none of those. He said some things in his pain and in his hurt that were not true, and that were not accurate. But he was feeling them! So:

• we can empathize
• we can learn from that
• we can understand that even a blameless and upright man like Job would say these things in the midst of a trial

That sometimes we feel like that and we can identify ourselves with that; but learn the lessons from it. It's true!

Verse 4: "My lips shall not speak wickedness..."

He did not have evil trying to do evil. That's what the wicked is against God.

And "uttered deceit"—which is intent to lead astray knowingly! That's not what he was.

Verse 5: "Far be it from me that I should declare you to be right… [talking to his friends; this is not about God] …until I die I will not retract my integrity from me." Meaning:

I've been wholesome with God. I've tried my best. I've done everything.

And that's exactly what God wants Job to see, and all of us to see. That when we try our best, that when we have our integrity, that we don't have wickedness, that we don't have deceit in our mouths. Though yes:

• we do sin
• we do miss the mark
• we do say things that are inaccurate
• we do make mistakes

But it's not coming from a wicked heart and it's not with the intent to deceive!

So we understand that we are trying to do what's right, just like Job was. But it says:

"…until I die I will not retract my integrity from me" (v 5),

But he came to the point where he saw, God showed him, but, Job, that's not enough! 'All your best efforts and all your best things, they're not enough. I need to live in you.'

The righteousness of Jesus Christ in ourselves, not our righteousness at all! That's the lesson! One of the lessons that we can learn from Job is:

Your integrity is great Job, but it doesn't cut it. It doesn't cut it. I love that you're blameless and upright. I love that you're trying to please Me. But there's more; there's a lot more!

Because when we compare ourselves to the goodness and the greatness and the righteousness of God and of Jesus Christ, we are so short, so short, that all we can do is abhor ourselves and repent in dust and ashes!

And that, 'in the contrite and humble heart and the spirit,' that's where God can dwell. 'To this one will I look; in this one will I dwell!' That is the important thing!

"…until I die I will not retract my integrity from me" (v 5).

Yes, Job, but how do you look at those words at the end when God spoke to you? WOW! I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes!

Verse 6: "I hold fast my righteousness, and I will not let it go; my heart shall not shame me so long as I live."

But God will shame us from time-to-time so that we understand Who we're dealing with, so that we understand that He loves us so much He's not going to leave us in our pride and in our arrogance.

• He will show us all of this
• He will put it right before our faces

And we will repent in dust and ashes, just like Job! We will abhor ourselves when we see these things, because we have them, too.

Verse 7: "Let my enemy be like the wicked, and he who rises up against me as the unrighteous." That's true! Actually, God said that.

Your friends, I'm really upset at them because they speak foolishly and they don't know what they're talking about. And then go sacrifice for them so that I don't destroy them.

That's what God told him at the end. And that's why He said, "Let my enemy be like the wicked, and he who rises up against me…"—because his friends were rising up against him!

They still were talking from a human perspective, fleshly perspective, something.

You must have done something. We don't know what it is, Job. You're not confessing, but you must have done something.

But it's amazing what he was seeing as far as his righteousness when we read in:

Verse 6: "I hold fast my righteousness, and I will not let it go…"

For those of us, brethren, especially those of us who have been in the Truth of God, in the Churches of God for a long time, or grown up in the Church of God, this is a big, big lesson for all of us!

That there is no righteousness in us that counts to God. It is the righteousness of His Son and nothing we have done! All the Commandments and the Sabbath and the Holy Days, we have to keep them.

• they are righteous
• they are, they transform our hearts
• they do so many things
• they are a requirement

But those are not the things that justify us! The only thing that justifies us is the righteousness of Christ and the blood of Christ and His righteousness!

• that's the only righteousness that counts
• that's the only one that we need to have
• that's the only one that counts

Verse 6: "I hold fast my righteousness, and I will not let it go my heart shall not shame me so long as I live."

We cannot speak like that, even though we may be years and years in the Church of God and keeping the Truth and striving to please God. We cannot! This is one of the biggest lessons in the book of Job. IF we say things like that or we think things like that because of our righteousness, because we're tithing or our Sabbath-keeping or the Feast-keeping. NO!

That is, Jesus said what that was. IF we've done all that we're commanded, we're unprofitable servants! That's what we're commanded. Those are the Commandments of God.

• we should not hold to our righteousness
• we should not talk about our righteousness and think about that
• or seek to justify ourselves

because there's no justification apart from the blood of Jesus Christ!

Job 28—we're going to read here the last verse only in this one, and we're going to continue moving through the book of Job.

Job 28:28: "And to man He [God] said, 'Behold, the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom! And to depart from evil is understanding!'"

Look the depth of knowledge that he had even before God spoke to him:

• about the resurrection
• about the transformation
• about what's going to happen to the flesh
• about wisdom

"And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom! And to depart from evil is understanding!'"—that is correct, 100% correct!

And to man He said that! He said that is in quotations.

• How did Job know this?
• How did he know this?

What we just read, right in Job 27:6 doesn't sound too God fearing. 'In my righteousness, in my integrity, and I hold fast to it, and I will retain it, and nobody can blame me.' It doesn't sound like the fear of the Lord. But:

• he was learning wisdom
• he was being purified

We're seeing the ugly parts of this transformation process:

• the struggle
• the ugliness
• our human nature

That's what we're seeing here in the book of Job. "…'Behold, the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom! And to depart from evil is understanding!'"

But Job did not know that sometimes our misunderstanding, our pain, our hurt, and all of that, we do spew out evil. Some things that maybe not evil, but things that are false, because that's what Job was speaking. He wasn't speaking evil with malice, with wickedness! I want to make that distinction. He was saying things how he felt them, and God left them there.

God doesn't say, 'let's take up these parts and let's make you look very righteous, Job, because you were.'

No! I want everybody to see, just like David, I want everybody to see your sins. I want everybody to see your shortcomings here.

It's an amazing book because we're seeing his thoughts, because he's expressing these in his pain!

God wrote them down. He had them written down for us to learn. Because as a man thinks in his heart, so is he! This is what was happening. This is what this was the transformation of Job!

Job 29:2—Job continues speaking and said: "Oh, that I were as in months past, as in the days when God watched over me."

You know what? God was watching over you probably more intently right now, but Job couldn't see it! He couldn't see it.

We have the hindsight that's always 2020! Like we have the perspective when the whole book is written in the conclusion and everything that God said to him and we see it. 'Oh, God was watching over you,' but he's lamenting this. That's what I'm saying it's the thoughts of his heart, this is what he's thinking! This is what he's feeling right now!

Verse 3: "When His lamp shined upon my head; and when I walked through darkness by His light." Job knew! He knew that it was because of God:

• because of the righteousness
• because of the blessing of God

He knew that, and we know it, too! We know it! But it's amazing when he's feeling this, yearning this, what he was going through before.

We can spend so, so, so many more hours just studying these thoughts and reflecting upon it, because it's unbelievable what's in the book of Job. It's the mind of a righteous and upright man that was being refined by God Himself directly!

We see actually what happens behind the scenes. It's unbelievable.

Job 29:12—he's talking about himself, about all the things he said: "For I delivered the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to help. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me; and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy" (vs 12-13).

Meaning all of these things. And Fred has said this that the problem is Job didn't give the credit to God! It's like God then showed Job:

'Yeah, you delivered the poor who cried for help because':

• I gave you the ability
• I gave you the compassion
• I gave you the resources to do that

Don't take the credit for yourself!

• we cannot do anything of ourselves
• Jesus Christ could not do anything of Himself

He said that clearly.

How can we think that we can do anything of ourselves? God can do everything through us:

• IF we let Him
• IF we come down from our self-righteousness
• IF we come down from our pride and understand that it is Him who dwells in us

Verse 13: "The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me; and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me…" (vs 13-14)

No! No! We don't put on righteousness on ourselves. Job saw that. Job saw what he said. Probably God showed him that.

"I put on righteousness and it clothed me…"

Oh, no! I abhor myself. I repent and dust and ashes, that was wrong. That's what he would say. That's what he wrote. He didn't do this analysis here with us, right now. But that's why these words are written so that we see that!

Job said, v 14: "I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a diadem."

No! No! He came to see that. And this is a lesson for us to never say this kind of thing. To never saythat:

• we put on our righteousness and then it cloths us
• our justice was like a robe
• I've kept so many Feasts of Tabernacles or Sabbaths
• I've also tithed
• I give even more
• I give to the poor

No! We should never, never take the credit for ourselves!

We should know and understand that anything good, anything that we've done, it has come from God to us, to others.

It is not a diadem that we put on, our justice and all of these things. He did do them and actually God said that he was 'a blameless and upright man who fears God and departs from evil.'

But God said, 'Yes, Job, there's still some evil under here. It's hidden! But let's put a little bit of fire or a lot of fire!'

This was a lot of fire. This is probably as much as a man can take. And he's going to come up and he's going to come up. And he came up; it's right here.

Verse 15: "I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. I was a father to the poor; and the cause, which I did not know, I searched out" (vs 15-16).

• Is that the reality?
• Is that the truth?

He had no idea, and God showed him and then he's thinking:

I had no idea. I've heard of You, but now my eyes see you! And therefore, I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes!'

Brethren, we have to do the same thing! We have to do the same thing. We have to see where we're thinking like this, when we're saying things like this! Some of these things are in the depths of our thoughts, and nobody sees them and nobody ever hears them. But: Are we thinking these things?

Job said these things because the pressure was so much. The trial was so strong. The friends were so accusing that they came up. Basically:

God made this to happen. He made him to go through this trial. He made his friends to come. His friends came, but God didn't make his friends accuse him; that's human nature. It was going to happen. It was going to happen so that these things come up, so that these impurities would come up.

And Job was right: 'I will be refined as gold.' He was being refined as gold because he was saying things like this, and God put him right in front of his face.

• Really, Job? You were the father to the poor?
• You searched out the cause that you did not know?

Verse 17: "I broke the fangs of the wicked…" No, you didn't! You didn't do it by yourself! Even if you did some of that, it was God Who gave you the ability to do that!

"…and plucked the prey out of his teeth…. [yes, it was me. I delivered him] …Then I said, 'I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days like the sand'" (vs 17-18).

• Why like the sand?
• Infinite?
• Why?

He knew about the resurrection! But was God going to resurrect him with these things still in him? No! No! We have to come to:

• the end of ourselves
• where we abhor ourselves
• repent in dust and ashes
• understand our nature
• understand this automatic pride

It's a bubbling effect! It's like the leaven and it comes up all the time without us doing anything, without us even noticing!

This is what he was saying. That's the level of his pride that he got to:

I shall die in my nest and I shall multiply my days like the sand. I am perfect. I've done all these things. I helped the poor and the blind. I heard the cause of the poor and needy and the unjust and I plucked the wicked out of the teeth of the evil one.

No! It was not him! It was not Job! But we see the level.

Sometimes these things are way, way deep in our heart and they don't come up unless that fire comes. Unless we read this and unless we understand that we also tend to think like this from time to time because it's our same nature! That's what Jesus meant by 'hating his own life, also.'

• hating this kind of behavior
• hating this kind of thought
• hating this self-justification

and these things that people can say, 'Well, I've been in the Church for 50 years and I was…'

So what? The only reason is because God has kept you there! Or kept me there. We cannot boast of ourselves of anything. All the credit goes to God for everything that He does!

This is a true purification of the heart in the pot, in the furnace! God wants to do this. There's so many more lessons here. We haven't come to the end. There's more Scriptures that we want to take a look at. There's more things that we want to learn here in the book of Job. We're probably going to have to finish the next time.

We'll do a part three because there's just such a treasure in all of these thoughts of Job and all of these lessons of not only seeing his thoughts, but where God took him and how he viewed himself after!

We'll probably leave it for here for now for this part two, but then we'll continue the lessons from the book of Job in another message.

Scriptural References:

• Luke 14:26
• Job 42:5-6
• Job 14:4-6, 14-17
• Job 19:21-27
• Job 21:7-15
• Job 23:2-10
• Proverbs 17:3
• Job 27:2-7
• Job 28:28
• Job 29:2-3, 12-18

Scriptures referenced, not quoted: Job 1; 2

EE:bo/po
Transcribed: 6/2/25

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