Job vs. Psalms

Contrast between Job / Psalms

• Pray

• Job wealthy and feared God – Bible says complete integrity (Job 1:1-12)

• Satan tries to drive wedge btwn Job / God – convinces God to allow

Tests. (I’m always amazed at the access that Satan seems to have to The God Of The Universe. [remember, God is perfect, everything about Him is legal and organized because of His perfection] - supiror)

• Story progresses – Job loses: family’, possessions, health

• people that knew him are convinced that through sin, he brought this on himself
• his wife in essence tells him he may as well “end it”

• 4 friends come to talk – Job didn’t talk for days

Friends just sat with him – (sometimes we don’t have to say anything to someone hurting. Just being there is what they need?)

• when they finally could talk to him tried to convince him to repent – his bad fortune caused by God punishing unrepented sin.

• God rebukes Jobs friend for thinking he had something to do with this – good in us always about Him ~ bag always about us or Satan.

• Job makes the case that he is righteous toward God and better than the unrighteous.

• Job not so concerned about what he’d lost, but why he lost it.

• Job asks God, “why” - (God never answers that question – they want argument not answer)

• God, then rebukes Job tells him don’t worry about it I Am Sovereign – what I say goes – tells Job whats what. 38:1- 41:34 
• Job is restored (chapter 42)

• lessons Job learned

1. God is sovereign – ALL AUTHORITY
2. Bad things will happen to good people – Gen 3, Satan (always testing, hates God and His people, Satan has limitations)
3. not that bad things wont happen, how we act when bad things happen – God want us to rely on Him alone.
4. God then fairness…not fairness then God
   
   

   • Even though Job, as well as his friends had the wrong theology (God causes hardship and bad things to happen to "punish or to teach lessons" to people) Job none the less proves he got the point when he didn't reject God when his own (incorrect) theology told him to (Paraphrased from Gregory A. Boyd's Is God To Blame ? - pp 94).

• Psalms are praise, laments, some wisdom (proverbs) all over the place. Not one story…a collection of conversations from the hart.

• Written mostly through David and son Solomon

• All Psalms put God first – acknowledge His Sovereignty

• They never ask “why me, I’m a good guy”

• Job asks until God sets him straight, “I’m righteous, why me?” – ignore God’s Sovereignty

• Psalms always seem to say “you are God, WHY NOT ME?”

• Psalms will ask for help – in doing so acknowledge God is only help

Ask class to draw conclusions btwn Job and Psalms

Job In Context With Psalms

This is one of my very favorite studies and pieces of Scripture. There is so much in this chapter, I believe we not only get a true, accurate picture of God's Nature, but a very accurate picture of what our relationship with Him should look like.

We learn that God is sovereign, independent and above us in every way. We learn that we know next to nothing and that what we do know we know because of Him. We learn that we can't know everything, but He can,  and that He creates everything for our good.

We learn that bad things do happen to good people, that He doesn’t cause bad things, but in the end, He does use them for our good.

I’ve heard it said the book of Job is like a “mini Bible”. In it, we see creation, fall, redemption, restoration and His Grace we also get a look at what God is like.

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• ·         Job wealthy and feared God – Bible says complete integrity (Job 1:1-12)

• ·         Satan tries to drive wedge between Job & God  (Job 1:6 - Always  surprised Satan has access to God)  Note: in Job 1:7   God asks Satan what he’s been up to – He doesn’t ask the Godly angles because He KNOWS WHAT THEY’VE BEEN UP TO .

• ·         As the story progresses Job loses kids, possessions, health, standing in the community  (prob.)

• ·         People that know him are convinced that he, through sin, has brought his problem on himself.

• ·         His wife tells him he may as well “end it” (thanks honey).  Note: the only family he has left is at worst against him, and at best, ridiculing him.

• ·         4 friends come to talk – Job did not talk to them for days – Note: Sometimes we don’t need to say anything to hurting people, just being there is enough.

• ·         When they finally talk to him, they tried to get him to repent – his bad fortune was a result of unrepented sin.

• ·         God rebukes Jobs friends for thinking He CAUSED this. – The good we do is ALWAYS caused by God - bad is ALWAYS about Satan.

• ·         Job tries to make the case that he is righteous toward God and better than the un- righteous.

• ·         Job not so concerned with what he’d lost, but why he had lost it.

• ·         Job asks God, why has bad happened to him when he’s a good guy? (God never answers that question. When we ask that, we are not looking for an answer – we are looking for an argument. God WILL NOT be drawn into that).

•  God gives Job a theology lesson -

·         God, then gets on Job’s case, tells him not to worry about it – He says don’t worry about it, I’m God - I’m sovereign – what I say goes gets on Job’s case (Job 38:16 – when have you walked through the springs of the seas?,  Job 40:2 "Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it.")

·         Job is restored in Chapter 42. (God is good and after Job learned, He made good out of bad experiences because Job loved God and was called according to His Purpose. –  

     (Romans 8:28)

·         Lessons Job learned:

1.       God is sovereign – ALL AUTHORITY

2.       Bad things will happen to good people (what is “bad, what is “good”?)

3.       It’s not that bad things won`t happen, it`s how we treat God and how we react when they do, (Satan has limitations and hates God and His people)

4.       God, then fairness – NOT fairness THEN God

The fact that the Book of Psalms is very next chapter – highlights contrast

·         Psalms are poems and songs of praise, lament, some wisdom (proverbs) – Not one story or account, but a collection of conversations from the heart.

·         Written mostly through David and his son Solomon

·         All Psalms put God first – Acknowledge God’s Sovereignty

·         Never asks “why me, I’m a good guy”

·         Always seem to say, “you’re God, why NOT me?”

·         Psalms will ask for help, in asking with the correct attitude, we acknowledge God is our only help

Psalm 8

Psalm 8

For the director of music. According to gittith ^[a].

A psalm of David.

1 O LORD, our Lord,
       how majestic is your name in all the earth!
       You have set your glory
       above the heavens.

A. 1^st Lord = Hebrew NAME of God. Yahweh, eternal, supernatural

       B. 2^nd Lord = master, superintendent, king, of men

·          the idea is that God of their worship is their master. He is Greater than His creation (Rom 1:19-23)

C. The earth is to small for His Glory – It takes an infinite universe to show The Glory of an Infinite   God

2 From the lips of children and infants
       you have ordained praise ^[b]
       because of your enemies,
       to silence the foe and the avenger.

A.    God uses the weakest, most frail instrument to give him praise. Their instinct is to give Him spontaneous praise – He, because of His Glory, is so apparent.

B.    God uses these to silence those who rail or come against Him (Matt 21:16). – Read Matt 21;14-17

 3 When I consider your heavens,
       the work of your fingers,
       the moon and the stars,
       which you have set in place,

A. The magnificence of the visible heavens for the purpose of illustrating God , who, though the mighty Creator of these glorious worlds of light, makes man the object of His favor.

4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
                the son of man that you care for him?

A.    literally “frail” man

B.    son of man – all lower case, only varies in the form of speech, mankind.

C.    Care – some versions say visiteth = God shows us favor  (Psalms 65:10)

5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings ^[c]
       and crowned him with glory and honor.

 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
       you put everything under his feet:

 7 all flocks and herds,
       and the beasts of the field,

 8 the birds of the air,
       and the fish of the sea,
       all that swim the paths of the seas.

 9 O LORD, our Lord,
       how majestic is your name in all the earth!

      5-8. God has placed man next in dignity to angels, and but a little lower, and has crowned him with the empire of the world.
      glory and honour--are the attributes of royal dignity ( Psa 21:5 45:3 ). The position assigned man is that described ( Gen 1:26-28 ) as belonging to Adam, in his original condition, the terms employed in detailing the subjects of man's dominion corresponding with those there used. In a modified sense, in his present fallen state, man is still invested with some remains of this original dominion. It is very evident, however, by the apostle's inspired expositions ( Hbr 2:6-8 1Cr 15:27, 28 ) that the language here employed finds its fulfilment only in the final exaltation of Christ's human nature. There is no limit to the "all things" mentioned, God only excepted, who "puts all things under." Man, in the person and glorious destiny of Jesus of Nazareth, the second Adam, the head and representative of the race, will not only be restored to his original position, but exalted far beyond it. "The last enemy, death," through fear of which, man, in his present estate, is "all his lifetime in bondage" [ Hbr 2:15 ], "shall be destroyed" [ 1Cr 15:26 ]. Then all things will have been put under his feet, "principalities and powers being made subject to him" [ 1Pe 3:22 ]. This view, so far from being alien from the scope of the passage, is more consistent than any other; for man as a race cannot well be conceived to have a higher honor put upon him than to be thus exalted in the person and destiny of Jesus of Nazareth. And at the same time, by no other of His glorious manifestations has God more illustriously declared those attributes which distinguish His name than in the scheme of redemption, of which this economy forms such an important and essential feature. In the generic import of the language, as describing man's present relation to the works of God's hands, it may be regarded as typical, thus allowing not only the usual application, but also this higher sense which the inspired writers of the New Testament have assigned it.

      9. Appropriately, the writer closes this brief but pregnant and sublime song of praise with the terms of admiration with which

Psalm 1 - Contrast Of The Righteuos And Wicked

Psalms - The psalms are the production of various authors. "Only a portion of the Book of Psalms claims David as its author. Other inspired poets in successive generations added now one now another contribution to the sacred collection, and thus in the wisdom of Providence it more completely reflects every phase of human emotion and circumstances than it otherwise could." But it is especially to David and his contemporaries that we owe this precious book. In the "titles" of the psalms, the genuineness of which there is no sufficient reason to doubt, 73 are ascribed to David. Peter and John (acts 4:25) ascribe to him also the second psalm, which is one of the 48 that are anonymous. About two-thirds of the whole collection have been ascribed to David.

The whole collection extends over a period of about 1,000 years. There are in the New Testament 116 direct quotations from the Psalms.

The Psalms are divided, after the analogy of the Pentateuch, into five books, each closing with a doxology or benediction:

Pray – open meeting

·        The word Psalms for all practical purposes means praise song.

·        This is first psalm and it points out the reward of the righteous and the wicked.

·        The word righteous literally means right standing with God. – How do we get to have right standing with God? (HIS SON, Invite to be saved)

·        The Word Of God is called by the Psalmist David (73), a lamp unto my feet – it is our road - map

Psalm 1

 1 Blessed is the man
    who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
    or stand in the way of sinners
    or sit in the seat of mockers.

God always tells us what is good for us but at the same time, gives us the choice what to do, whether to follow His direction or not. In this verse, He uses the word “blessed” to imply what is good for us – but this verse also implies we have a choice.
Duet 6 : 7-9 - read
Josh 24:15 – read

 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
       and on his law he meditates day and night.

His Love for us is unconditional – His love is unconditional. His blessings, however, depend on us fulfilling a condition. Nothing but being obedient. - how? (meditate on His Word – all the time)  Read -Josh 1:8

^{Exodus 1:18-20  18} Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”¹⁹ The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.²⁰ So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous

Interesting to note that for God to further His Master Purpose – restoring His Kingdom on earth HIS end does seamingly justify the means. However, when looked at in the context of love (for humanity, His children – us, nothing is more important than His “kids”) it is consistent with his command of being under authority (civil, familial, workplace, etc).  He only does what is best for us. The Egyptians had the chance to follow just as all of humanity did.

Ex 2:23 & 24   23 Years passed, and the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites still groaned beneath their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their pleas for deliverance rose up to God. 24 God heard their cries and remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 He looked down on the Israelites and felt deep concern for their welfare.

Also – GOD Always keeps His promises – in this case His covenant to 

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
       which yields its fruit in season
       and whose leaf does not wither.
       Whatever he does prospers.
    
 ·        God's children are so saturated with his grace, that whatever comes to them,                works and tends to their salvation as long as they are rooted in Him.

·        He want His children to “yield fruit” – work for The Kingdom

·        To be successful so as not to be discouraged

4       Not so the wicked!
       They are like chaff
       that the wind blows away.   

4 &5 dealt with equally here :  (read)Isaiah & 17Mat 3:12 

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous            

          
 The idea here is that people who do not have right standing with God (righteousness, Gained by accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior) through His Son Jesus, will be discarded like the waste of harvesting wheat. 
Many times in the Word is the Kingdom and It’s principles likened to a harvest. – Mat 9:37 -38                                                   

6   For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
     but the way of the wicked will perish.

2 Tim 2:19 - read

·        We can know the lord by being / staying in HIS WORD everyday. Find a verse first thing every morning – learn it, write it down if you need to, lay the ground work to meditate on that verse 4 – 5 times in that day.

·        Do right! Plain and simple. Always keep your word, even if not convenient, always do what you say you are going to do – if not let that person know.

Prov 14:12 - read

• God’s Word is the road map
• Lean not to your own understanding – God is saying “ trust Me” – over and over again in HIS WORD – that is His plea to us – “trust Me”

Rom 6:21 - read

• God says to you and me, quit doing things your way,  know  Me, trust me even though My Ways don’t make sense to you or the world sometimes. Your ways only screw things up. Rely on me and I will give you  the /  My wisdom to make the right decisions,

And what happen then?  Josh 1:8 says we will be prosperous and successful.

It will not always be easy, opposition by friends, family, enemy -  (examples)                 When things going good car breakdown, pressure on marriage, finances etc. In the long run though, I have read the end of the book and we win!

How to have favor with The Lord

• Keep company with people who know God – when you ask advice get it from Godly people –

Meditate on the Word every day – get close to & know God – He longs to have fellowship with us. He thinks about us -        

 Psalm 8  says :  3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of your fingers,
          the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

                                        4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you  care for him?

Get to know God through prayer and reading The Word, do the right thing on purpose, help people (remember, He says that when we draw near to Him He will draw near to us). – He never changes, it is always up to us!