Text:
Job 2:7-10:
7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.
8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.
9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
Theme:
She Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere
Introduction:
- The Book of Job is the first book of poetry.
- Author unknown
- Believed to be the oldest book of the Bible in that it was written before all of the others.
- Job deals with Divine Doctrine…Psalms with Divine Devotion…Proverbs with Divine Practicality.
- Job’s story is a familiar one:
- Job was noted as a “perfect and upright man”
- Job was tried by Satan as a test to see if he would curse God.
- Job suffered loss and was left afflicted with boils on his skin.
- Job endured the words of his friends who visited him
- Job was delivered to an affluent state after submitting to the Will of God in his life.
- To understand this story one must look a little closer at what Job lost:
- 1 à A messenger came…Oxen and asses taken and all servants slain except the one messenger
- 2 à Another messenger came…Sheep burned and all servants with them except the one messenger
- 3 à Another messenger came…Camels taken and all servants slain except the one messenger
- 4 à Another messenger came…Sons and Daughters killed by house collapsing in storm and all servants killed also except the one messenger
- In all of Job’s loss, he was REAL but STAYED STRONG IN HIS FAITH
- Job 1:20-22, “Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.”
- In our text, we find Job’s first encounter after his drastic loss à His wife
- To top it off, Satan then inflicts Job’s body with boils
- Satan’s argument to God is in Job 2:4, “And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.”
- Job does not let go!
- After seeing her husband in the state that he was in, Job’s wife tells him that he should GIVE UP
- Job rebukes her suggestion
- Job does not let go!
- To top it off, Satan then inflicts Job’s body with boils
- Wait a minute! Have you noticed that with all that Satan had taken away from Job, Job’s wife was not harmed or removed.
- If Satan wanted to get at Job, why didn’t he take his wife away also?
- From the way that the story goes, we must deduce that SHE AIN’T GOIN’ NOWHERE. Why?
- If Satan wanted to get at Job, why didn’t he take his wife away also?
Body:
- When we look through the Bible, we can see other examples that did not yield the same result:
- ADAM and EVE à Sin got them both punished (Genesis 3)
- Genesis 3:6, “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”
- Satan confronted Eve directly
- Eve gave in to the deception of Satan and ate
- Eve offered to Adam and he also ate of the fruit of the tree
- ADAM DID NOT REBUKE EVE è Resulted in Adam eating and covenant broken!
- Genesis 3:6, “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”
- LOT and his WIFE à Disobedience condemned her individually while Lot escaped (Genesis 19)
- Genesis 19:26, “But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”
- Satan worked through Lot’s wife to get her to yield to temptation
- Lot’s wife gave into the sin of disobedience and looked back
- Lot’s wife turned from the direction of Lot given by God
- LOT’S OBEDIENCE WOULD NOT ALLOW HIM TO PREVENT HER FATE
- Resulted in her death and his salvation
- LOT’S OBEDIENCE WOULD NOT ALLOW HIM TO PREVENT HER FATE
- Genesis 19:26, “But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”
- Even in the NT — Ananias and Sapphiraà Disobedience condemned them both (Acts 5)
- Acts 5:9-10, “Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. Satan worked through Lot’s wife to get her to yield to temptation.”
- Greed and deception were the sins that condemned Ananias and Sapphira.
- Ananias and Sapphira sinned and both tried to cover it up!
- Acts 5:9-10, “Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. Satan worked through Lot’s wife to get her to yield to temptation.”
- ADAM and EVE à Sin got them both punished (Genesis 3)
- To understand these married couples, you must first understand what marriage truly is…
- The primary responsibility of the God-given wife is to BE THERE FOR HER HUSBAND
- The God-Given wife…
- Proverbs 18:22, “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD”
- Some of Job’s favor with God was because he had his God-Given wife!!!
- Proverbs 18:22, “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD”
- If God gave him, love Him as unto God.
- Colossians 3:23, “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;”
- If God didn’t give him, then that’s your problem!!
- The God-Given wife…
- The Husband and Wife must BE together as ONE
- The two must become ONE FLESH
- Ephesians 5:31, “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.”
- The two must be of ONE MIND
- Amos 3:3, “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?”
- The two must be of ONE SPIRIT
- God ORDAINS a man and a woman to become one
- Mark 10:9, “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”
- The individual must be one with God to be one with another. The Holy Spirit does just that!
- Romans 8:11, “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”
- God ORDAINS a man and a woman to become one
- The two must become ONE FLESH
- The primary responsibility of the God-given wife is to BE THERE FOR HER HUSBAND
- The results were different with Job’s wife because of one reason à SHE AIN’T GOIN’ NOWHERE
- The three examples were different in their obedience and disobedience:
- PROBLEM: Adam and Eve were not together in their obedience, but they were together in their disobedience
- Eve was hanging out with the serpent while Adam was somewhere else, BUT
- The both ate of the fruit
- PROBLEM: Lot and his wife were together in their obedience, but were not together in their disobedience
- Lot and his wife both left Sodom together, BUT
- His wife turned back to look while Lot obediently continued on.
- PROBLEM: Ananias and Sapphira were together in their obedience, and were together in their disobedience
- Both Ananias and Sapphira were of one flesh, mind, and spirit, BUT
- They were of the wrong flesh, mind, and spirit!
- PROBLEM: Adam and Eve were not together in their obedience, but they were together in their disobedience
- HOW IT WORKS: Job and his wife were together in their obedience, AND did not disobey.
- Some things we don’t know…and it doesn’t really matter.
- We don’t know who did what but we know that their family was provided for
- We don’t know who said what but we know that they communicated
- We don’t know who hung around who but others knew them and respected them in the land
- We don’t know who handled the money but they did because they had amounted riches
- We don’t know what troubles they had but they seemed to not be strangers to a good argument
- We don’t know how or how often they loved each other but they did because they had sons and daughters.
- Some things we do know…and they are what really mattered.
- Job’s home was not destroyed or touch by Satan
- Psalms 65:4, “Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.”
- 1Chronicles 13:14, “And the ark of God remained with the family of Obededom in his house three months. And the LORD blessed the house of Obededom, and all that he had.”
- Obededom’s home was blessed cause of the ark being in his home. Even those who passed by the house of Obededom were blessed…REMARKABLE!
- Everything destroyed was OUTSIDE of Job’s home at the time.
- Job’s wife was not destroyed or touch by Satan!
- Job’s wife was in Job’s house so she could not be touched
- She disagreed with Job’s steadfastness in God
- Job 2:9, “Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.”
- Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
- Job rebuked her or “put her in her place” with regards to her suggestion!
- Job 2:10, “But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.”
- 1Timothy 3:4-5, “One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)”
- She stayed with Job and at home as his wife è SHE AIN’T GOIN’ NOWHERE!
- She was WHERE she was supposed to be
- She was doing WHAT she was supposed to do
- Her error was that she said what she should not have been saying!
- BUT, because she stayed WHERE she was supposed to be doing WHAT she was supposed to do, her error was absolved and she is flourishing still!
- Obededom’s home was blessed cause of the ark being in his home. Even those who passed by the house of Obededom were blessed…REMARKABLE!
- Job’s home was not destroyed or touch by Satan
- Why did Job’s wife say what she did?
- Impatience (like us)
- Frustration (like us)
- Some things we don’t know…and it doesn’t really matter.
-
- How were things fixed in their situation?
- Job rebuked her
- She listened to Job and went back to their home.
- God honored Job’s “headship” and both of their submission to each other.
- Genesis 3:16, “…and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.”
- Ephesians 5:21, “Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.”
- In the end, we know that SHE STAYED WITH JOB à SHE AIN’T GOIN’ NOWHERE
- Through the good times (before Jobs temptation)
- Through the tough times (all the catastrophes)
- When you can’t see your way (she wanted Job to give up)
- Through lonely times (when Job was stricken with boils and out with the three friends)
- To the prosperous times (when God restored their wealth and family)
- Job 42:12, “So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.”
- How were things fixed in their situation?
- The three examples were different in their obedience and disobedience:
Conclusion:
- Can God speak of US as we have spoken of the Job’s wife?
- Can we say “I AIN’T GOIN’ NOWHERE!” You can make it!
- Through the good times à Deuteronomy 8:10, “When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.”
- Through the tough times à 2Timothy 2:3, “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”
- When you can’t see your way à John 9:25, “He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.”
- Through lonely times à As the old song. “Walk With Me”, says.
- Can we say “I AIN’T GOIN’ NOWHERE!” You can make it!
Walk with me, Lord, walk with me — Walk with me, Lord, walk with me
While I’m on this tedious journey — I want Jesus to walk with me.
- To the prosperous times
- Job’ wife was able to enjoy his even more prosperous years.
- Will we be in the right place, at the right time, when Jesus calls our name?
- Some may not but “I AIN’T GOIN’ NOWHERE” à I won’t leave Him!
- Like Ruth said to Naomi in Ruth 1:16, “…return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:”
- I want to see Him!
- As the song says, “WHEN I SEE JESUS, AMEN!!!”
#391
