Sermons
In The Land Of Uz
Series: Endurance In Days Of Extremity - The Journey And Journal Of JobIN THE LAND OF UZ
Sermon Outline By Terry Siverd
Cortland Church of Christ / January 15, 2017
This morning I want to begin a new sermon series.
Here in our Cortland Church family, during these frequently dull days of winter,
our hearts and minds are stirred by a warmth that comes as we gather together each and every Sunday.
Last winter we delighted (I did - - and I trust that you did as well) in an exploration of the book of Jonah.
This winter, I want to lead us in a protracted study of the book of Job.
I consider this to be a very important undertaking and I would like to request your prayers throughout this series.
Please pray for me as I aim to give due diligence to my research and sermon prep.
Whereas the book of Jonah has four chapters, Job has forty-two.
This doesn’t mean that this series will be ten times as long as the one on Jonah.
Our “Man Overboard” series on Jonah included thirteen messages.
I suspect this series will be about the same length and I hope to complete the series by Easter.
The book of Job is not an easy book to read or to preach from. It has many challenging concepts.
As you pray for me, pray also for yourself, that you might be
enlightened, inspired and encouraged by this extended study from this great book.
Read from Job 1:1-3
BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION
The theme of the book is the problem of pain - - at least , generally speaking, that’s what many have concluded.
More specifically, it is the issue of the suffering of the righteous.
One scholar, C. Hassell Bullock, in his book, An Introduction To The Poetic Books Of The Old Testament”, pg.64
speaks of two majors poles/themes: the justice of God … and THE INTEGRITY OF THE RIGHTEOUS.
Clustered around these two major poles are other important considerations:
the mystery of evil … the prosperity of the wicked … and the suffering of the righteous.
The book of Job is an example of a THEODICY (God + justice):
a work that seeks to investigate “the problem” of Divine justice.
The book of Job is A JOURNAL OF FAITH. This is an obvious thread woven within the text.
The question arises, “Is our Almighty God concerned with the affairs of men?”.
The book of Jonah has the flavor of a great poet attempting to probe the meaning of life,
especially life where suffering and injustice prevail for seemingly no apparent reason.
We must point out, and this is vitally important, that God is not aloof from Job’s journey.
In fact, Job’s journey begins because God takes the initiative.
Job 1:8 notes that God says to Satan: “Have you considered My servant Job…”
Much later in the book God helps to resolve the issue by declaring to Job in the form of a question:
“Where you there when I laid the foundation of the earth?” (Job 38:4a).
This leads us to the structure of the book.
In its simplest form it includes three elements:
a prologue (opening words) … dialogue (personal discussions about the prologue) … and epilogue (last words).
As to its literary genre, the book of Job has been viewed in a variety of ways: an epic … a tragedy … a parable.
When do a close analysis, it is none of these even though it exhibits properties belonging to each of them.
I have titled this series: A journey and journal of Job - - Endurance in days of extremity.
As to the authorship of the book of Job, we cannot say with certainty who he was?
The unnamed author tells of the spiritual journey of Job. It is a journal of Job, even if written by another.
Three of the more popular suggestions have included: Joseph … Moses … and Solomon.
Concerning Job, we can safely conclude that he was a righteous man who worshipped Jehovah God.
And that he possessed an unshakable faith in the omnipotence and justice of God.
“He was no commonplace thinker, and the likes of whom the world has known very few. He may remain anonymous in name, but let us hope that his spirit and faith will forever be written indelibly upon the heart of man.”
It is always helpful to ask the question, “When was Job written?”.
The date of the book has the appearance of a very ancient document.
The language of Job sounds like it might well belong to the patriarchal period.
It does not reflect the presence of the Torah (the law of Moses) or the Tabernacle of Temple.
Some scholars argue for a date c.2,000 BC. Some place it in the time of Solomon. Others fix it in the tile of the exile.
On final introductory note concerns the land of Uz (Job 1:1).
Father Abraham lived in Ur. Faithful Job lived in Uz - - not Oz, but Uz.
The land of Oz was make believe - - a place to where Dorothy and Toto were transported in a dream.
But the land of Uz was real. The story of Job is fact not fiction.
In a message given by God to the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel concerning impending judgment
on Jerusalem, God alludes to the righteousness of Noah, Daniel … and Job (Ezk.14:14 & 20).
In the New Testament, James references Job as he urges the first-century saints to endure trials (Js.5:11).
Uz was apparently an informal place name applied to a region and not the formal name of a country or city.
Job 1:3 says that Job was, “the greatest of all the people of the East”. But east of where?
Other helpful hints regarding the location of Uz are provided within the Old Testament Scriptures.
Among those who attacked and stole Job’s herds and livestock are the Sabeans (Job 1:15).
They came from Saba, which is also known in the Bible as Sheba.
Saba/Sheba is located in southern Arabia, in what is now known as Yemen.
Another raiding party are the Chaldeans (Job 1:17) who lived in southern Mesopotamia.
These two texts allow us to place Uz somewhere within the reach of the Sabeans and Chaldeans.
Lam.4:21 places Edom in the land of Uz.
One of Job’s “friends” is Eliphaz the Temanite (Job 4:1). Teman was a city in Edom.
Another “friend” is Zophar the Naamathite (Job 11:1).
This is likely a reference to a mountain in NW Arabia.
Two other “friends” are: Bildad the Shuhite (Job 8:1) and Elihu the Buzite (Job 32:2).
These two titles refer to ancestry rather than places or origin.
One other passages from Jer.25:20-21 refers to, “all the kings of the land of Uz”
which includes locations such as Ammon, Moab, Edom and Philistia.
In summary, these clues lead us to place Uz somewhere south and east of the promised land.
For some, today’s lesson may seem dry and boring.
Who cares about the theme … the structure … the authorship … the date … the land of Uz?
These kind of details may be important, but many are content to leave them for the scholars to wrestle with.
While I do not agree with that sentiment entirely, I understand it.
It is only right that we are eager to discover what the book actually says?
What is the overall message of the book? What saith the Scriptures? What do the Scriptures have to say to us?
Specifically, what do the details of the book of Job (the chapters and verses) actually communicate?
Read once again from Job 1-1-3
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job
And that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.
And seven sons and three daughters were born to him.
His possessions also were 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys,
And very many servants; and that man was the greatest of all men in the east.
Next Sunday we will wade more deeply into the text and it is there that we will camp out for the next three months.
For now I want you to be thinking about what might be the deeper message of the book of Job.
One common thought is encapsulated in the title of a book written by a Rabbi named Harold Kushner titled:
When Bad Things Happen To Good People. Some see the book of Job raising the ante:
When The Worst Things Happen To The Best Of People or When Bad Things Happen To God’s People.
I want to plant a seed in your mind this morning that I hope will germinate as we study together in the weeks ahead.
I am grateful to Philip Yancey for his helpful thoughts on this subject. cf. Disappointment With God, pg.163-165
The book of Job is neither primarily or exclusively about the problem of PAIN - - that is actually a just a sub-topic.
Job is predominately and preeminently about FAITH.
The focus-point of the book is not SUFFERING: Where is God when it hurts?
The primary and under-girding point of the book is about FAITH: Where is Job when it hurts?
i.e., where is Job’s faith when it hurts?
Job is the first of five OT books (+ Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes & the Song of Solomon) called the books of wisdom.
Ray Stedman notes: “In these books you’ll find every emotion of the human experience.” (Let God Be God, pg.12).
As we will see next Sunday, Job is a very good man but he soon finds himself in a world of hurt.
We are somewhat astonished at his initial response to such heartache and pain. It almost seems super-human.
The Lord has given and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. / Job 1:21
As the story unfolds, Job’s humanity is laid bare and it is not pretty sight.
When Job’s difficulties are exacerbated, the question becomes will his faith endure in days of extremity?
Here is the cry of a man’s wounded spirit, the deep groaning of a man who desperately
struggles to trust God, even through everything in his life is crumbling. / Steadman
Job’s circumstances address those of us all: man, who is born of woman is short-lived and full of turmoil. / Job 14:1
Job’s journal is syllabus (Life’s Difficulties 101) for all who seek to faithfully endure in times of extreme hardship.
It’s going to be a wonderful study and we hope & pray that you will choose to journey with us each & every Sunday.
