Transcript

Podcast Introduction

Today, we are going to read from the book of Job, chapters 1 and 2. I’ll be reading from the NIV, after which I’ll share some comments. I’m calling today’s show “A Really Bad Day.”

Comments on

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 1-2 NIV

Support

This a value for value podcast. There are no advertisers because advertising=censorship. If you enjoy the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, decide how much value it brings to you. Only you can make that determination. Then put a number on the value and send it to me here: SUPPORT.

Transcript

Download .txt file.

Job 1-2: “A Really Bad Day”

[TEASER – 00:00]
A wisp of smoke on a windy day.

[INTRO S13E005 – 00:09]
Hi there, and welcome to the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. It’s great to have you here today, and I think we’ve got a lot of newbies judging by what I’ve seen so far. This is so awesome. Thank you for stopping by. I hope you’ll stick around for our entire journey through the Bible this year. This is the daily podcast where we will read the entire Bible in a year.

If you’re like a lot of people, you’ve tried to read through it before, but for one reason or another you didn’t complete it. I know that in my own case I tried several times but never made it through until I completed the first year of the Lifespring Family Audio Bible way back in December of 2007. So this is the 13th season of the show, and you know what? Every time I read it again, I get something new out of it. My prayer is that you’ll have that experience as well.

Oh, by the way, my name is Steve Webb. I’m your host.

Well, today we’re going to read from the book of Job chapters 1 and 2. I’ll be reading from the NIV today, after which I will share some comments. So let’s get started.

[JOB 1 (NIV) – 01:09]
Job, chapter 1. (1) In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. (2) He had seven sons and three daughters, (3) and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.

(4) His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. (5) When a period of fasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.

(6) One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. (7) The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”

(8) Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

(9) “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. (10) “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. (11) But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

(12) The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”

Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

(13) One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, (14) a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, (15) and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

(16) While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

(17) While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

(18) While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, (19) when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

(20) At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship (21) and said:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised.”

(22) In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

[JOB 2 (NIV) – 04:28]
Job, chapter 2. (1) On another day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. (2) And the Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”

(3) Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”

(4) “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. (5) But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

(6) The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”

(7) So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. (8) Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.

(9) His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”

(10) He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”

In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

(11) When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. (12) When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. (13) Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.

[COMMENTS – 06:29]
Well, as is almost always going to happen as we read the Bible this year, the chapters will be filled with a tremendous amount of points that we could talk about. Well, the format of this show is not to talk about every point that could be made. What I will do is talk about what struck me as I read. If there are other things that strike you and that you’d like to comment on, I encourage you to do that by calling the Lifespring Family Hotline at 951-732-8511 or by going to comment.lifespringmedia.com and I’ll share some of your comments on the show.

So today, here are my thoughts. Notice the scene in heaven. In chapter 1, verse 6, we read, “One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan also came with them.” Well, this one sentence tells us three things. Number one, that angels exist. Number two, that they have access to go before the presence of God. And three, Satan is an angelic being, albeit a fallen one. He came along with a group of angels. So what?, you might say. Why is that important? Why bring that up? Well, here’s why. Some people think of Satan as the opposite of God, equal to, but opposite, the dark side of the force, as it were, an opponent of God that just might be able to win in a battle of good versus evil.

Well, nothing could be further from the truth. Satan is not God’s equal because Satan is an angelic being and God created angels. Satan was created by God as a beautiful and powerful angel, but Satan became jealous of God and he wanted to be like God. But he never will be like God, and his power is limited by God.

We saw how God limited Satan’s power in the life of Job, but one of the attributes of God is omnipotence, which means he has all power. There are no limitations at all on what he can do, other than those he puts on himself. He cannot be unjust as an example. So never believe that Satan – which I prefer to call the Enemy, instead of dignifying him by calling him by name – never believe that the Enemy is equal to God or that they’re even at all closely matched.

And here’s another thought from today’s chapters. God knew what the outcome of this challenge with the enemy would be. He knew that Job would not curse him. He knew because another of his attributes is omniscience. That means he has all knowledge. So what was the point of this exchange with the Enemy?

Well, before I answer that, I wanna remind you that this exchange took place in heaven out of any possible knowledge of Job. God always has a purpose and end in mind for everything he does. His purpose, as it was worked out with this episode in Job’s life and even in ours, is shown in Ephesians 3, verses 10 and 11, which says, “His intent was that now through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Alright, so what does that mean? It means his intent or purpose was that the wisdom of God would be demonstrated to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. Who’s that? That’s angels, of which the Enemy and other fallen angels are part.

You see, the book of Job takes place at a very early time of human history. Some scholars believe that Job is an even older book than the book of Genesis, and God was teaching the angelic beings that God’s plan for his greatest creation, which is man, would not be thrown off track by any of their attacks or lies. Remember the Enemy told God that Job was only good because God had put a hedge around him and blessed him. He said that Job would curse God to his face if God took everything away. But what happened? Job said, ”Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. May the name of the Lord be praised.” So Job did not curse God like the Enemy said he was going to.

And one last point. We humans have an extremely shortsighted view of our life on earth. We pretty much live in the moment. It seems like what we experience is the only reality. So we naturally assume that pain is bad and pleasure is good. Life is good, death is bad. But the fact of the matter is that our time on earth is but a nanosecond in light of eternity. It’s fleeting. A wisp of smoke on a windy day. What we see and experience is only a tiny sliver of the totality of reality.

Think of the full spectrum of light. As you probably know, light comes in wavelengths. Generally speaking, the shortest wavelengths are gamma rays, then x-rays, then ultraviolet rays, then the visible light that we can see, then infrared, then radar, then FM radio waves, then tv, then short wave, and finally AM radio. What we humans can actually see of the light spectrum is just a tiny portion, and that’s how reality is. We are only aware of a very, very, very small part of it. So when we look at the book of Job and we see what God allowed in his life, we might feel as if it was not fair for God to allow a good man to suffer as he did. But when we step back and consider that we only see things through our limited human perspective, we begin to see that perhaps we might not be judging from a fully informed position. Near the end of this book, Job asks God some pretty pointed questions about why God allowed all this to befallen and the way that God answers Job is awesome. I think when we get there, you’ll think so too.

Well, I always invite your comments and I’ll share some of those comments from the Lifespring family on the show. Remember, I don’t just want you to listen to the show. I want you to participate as a family does. Again, this is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. You are very much a part of the show, so comment at comment.lifespringmedia.com.

[VALUE-FOR-VALUE SUPPORT – 13:07]
I need to remind you that I’m relying on you to support the show with your time, talent, or treasure, which by the way, is not a new concept. My friend Adam Curry, the Podfather, the guy who had a lot to do with the invention of podcasting, might have coined the phrase, but not the concept. You see, the early church incorporated the same principles in the New Testament book, the book of Acts, we read how new converts brought their time, talent, and treasure to help one another. And that’s all I’m asking you to do. If you think that what I’m doing here at the Lifespring Family Audio Bible is worthwhile, then donate one or more of the three Ts: time, talent, or treasure. Your contribution of time might be commenting at comment.lifespringmedia.com. Maybe you could even think of something else that I haven’t thought of. Your talent contribution could be jingles, show art, whatever you’re good at. I’m open. Treasure is, of course, financial donations. Whatever value you think makes sense to you, please go to support.lifespringmedia.com. You’ll find a lot of information there, including how you’ll be thanked for your donation.

This is the way the show will be able to continue. You’re very much a part of the production and you are helping to spread the good news in a very tangible way. And God bless you.

[SIGN UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER – 14:29]
If you haven’t signed up for the newsletter yet. Be sure you do that at news.lifespringmedia.com. I’ll send you a weekly list of the readings for the week. Plus, there’ll be other content that you won’t get on the show.

[OUTRO S13E005 – 14:47]
Tomorrow we’re gonna read Isaiah chapters 1 through 6. Isaiah’s a book that is in the category of prophecy, and there are several prophetic pictures of Jesus the Messiah included in it. Yep, it’s in the Old Testament, but prophecies of Jesus are in there. It’s a fascinating read.

Now, be sure you’re subscribed. If you’re not, go to subscribe.lifespringmedia.com. There are links there to help you get subscribed. Or in most podcast apps, just search for my name, Steve Webb or Lifespring Family Audio Bible. And be sure you tell a friend about the show. I mean, that’s how we spread the word, right? People really have a hard time discovering podcasts, whether it’s through Apple or Google or Amazon or whatever. The best way to spread the word is one to one – you telling a friend.

Comment on the show at comment.lifespringmedia.com or email me at st***@*************ia.com. I’ll read some of your comments on the show and I really want to hear from you.

So until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. Thank you for being here. My name is Steve Webb. Bye.

Transcript corrected by Denise