On the third and final lesson in the book of Job, we will look at the words of Job and some of his friends who came to comfort him. This section of the book of Job is long but the lesson taught in the end is of the utmost importance. Please turn to Job 3. At this point of his life, Job was to say the least, not in a good mood. So much so that he cursed the day of his own birth by saying: "May the day of my birth perish, and the night that it was said 'A boy is born!'" Job 3:3 The words Job used in these paragraphs all tell us the same thing as Job 3:3. Job curses himself for 23 verses after opening his mouth for the first time in front of his friends. He continues: "That day may it turn to darkness; may God above not care about it; may no light shine upon it." Job 3:4 He goes on to curse every aspect of his birth. But he never accuses God of doing wrong. After he is finished speaking his friends start to talk to him about his situation. Now to appreciate the situation, you must understand that up until this point the Israelites were accustomed to God only punishing the wicked, and giving prosperity to those who serve him. So this was the first time anyone heard about God sending trouble toward someone who he considered to have integrity. Job ends up getting into an argument with his friends, because Job has always taught them that God lets those prosper who obey him. So they argue trying to get Job to confess his sins to the Lord and be forgiven. But Job still insists that his integrity remained intact. His friends told him: "Surely God does not reject a blameless man or strengthen the hand of evildoers. He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips will shout with joy. Your enemies will be clothed in shame and the tents of the wicked will be no more." Job 8:20-22. "Are all these the words to go unanswered? Is this talker to be vindicated? Will your idle talk reduce men to silence? Will no one rebuke you when you mock? You say to God, 'my beliefs are flawless and I am pure in your sight.' Oh, how I wish that god would speak that he would open his lips against you and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin." Job 11:2-6. And Job said to them: "My eyes have seen all this my ears have heard and understood it. What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you. But I desire to speak to the Almighty and to argue my case with God. You however, smear me with lies; you are worthless physicians, all of you! If only you would be altogether silent! For you that would be wisdom. Hear now my argument; listen to the plea of my lips. Will you speak wickedly on behalf of God? Would it turn out well if he examined you? Could you deceive him as you might deceive men? He would surely rebuke you if you secretly showed partiality. Would not his splendor terrify you? Would not the dread of Him fall on you? Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay." Job 13:1-12. Partiality is the key word in all of those paragraphs. Why does God let those who serve him suffer along with those who ignore him? The answer is Partiality. God is strict but he is also fair. The fault in our feeling neglected is our own. It's like the old saying goes: "Everyone wants to be equal, just some want to be more equal than others." Everyone wants the good blessings that come with serving the Lord, but no one want to walk through the fire to be able to earn their rewards. That is why Jesus had to save all of us from burning in Hell. Jesus had to walk through the fire for us. He had to face all of our sins, all of our demons, and all of our intolerance which eventually killed him. It was the will of God inside of Jesus Christ that allowed him to rise from his tomb to become the Christ. The penalty for sin is death. That is why a sacrifice must be made in place of our death. So we can live. Jesus became the sacrifice God made to save humanity from perishing into flames. As long as sin exists in this world then everyone will feel the burden of it, and everyone will feel an equal amount of burden. Jesus said: "come all who are burdened and heavy laden and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28.

Jesus is the one who God appointed to be our sacrifice and rule the kingdom of Heaven at His right hand. He has the authority to take away from our burden. Everyone is treated the same, and the fact is everyone is guilty of sin. We deserve to die. But it is the grace of God through Jesus Christ who saves us from that conclusion. God turns slaves into kings. And he strikes kings down to the lowliest position in heaven and earth. Even Jesus ran into conflict while he was on earth. No one will ever be safe from strife. Not until Jesus breaks through the sky and unleashes the wrath of God upon all who live. God would not be a fair ruler if he showed partiality to anyone. So he lets it rain on the just and the unjust. After Job argued with his critics, God came to them all in a storm. God rebuked each man and proclaimed his glory in front of all who were present. Job and his friends were all rebuked by God for giving counsel to each other without knowledge. Job replied to the Lord: "I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, 'who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.

You said, 'Listen now and I will speak; I will question you and you shall answer me.' My ears have heard you, but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes." Job understood that the universe is the Lords' to do with as he pleases. We are here at the thought of God, and we will perish at his will. We should be thankful that we were even brought to mind. So be thankful for everything you receive. Rather it makes you sick, or kills your dearest loved ones, or gives you wealth beyond everything you can imagine. The final part of the lesson is what I believe is the most important knowledge that we can receive. I want to write this in its entirety so that everyone can understand. "After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite: 'I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.' So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken of me what is right as my servant Job has. So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the Lord had told them; and the Lord accepted Job's prayer. After Job had prayed for his friends the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before. All his brothers and sisters and everyone who known him before he came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring. The Lord blessed the latter part of Job's life more than his first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand donkeys. And he also had seven sons and three daughters. The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. Nowhere in all the land was found women as beautiful as Job's daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers. After this Job lived 140 years; he saw his children, and their children to the fourth generation. And so he died, old and full of years." Job 42:7-17 The message is simple. God is in complete control. Nothing happens without him knowing about it. And even when he casts a hand against you, he will always bring back two-fold. Lay your trust and faith upon him. He is the one worthy of it. Amen