HOPE SATISFIES – Adult Sunday School
Lesson for 10/26/2014
click here for a supplemental
handout
This review is brought
to you by the Kentucky
First Jurisdiction Church of God in Christ Sunday School Department.
LESSON AIM: By the end of the lesson, we will: explore the satisfactory
conclusions of Job and God's conversation; affirm that God will answer our
questions in ways best for us; and become involved in an active and hopeful
prayer life.
BIBLE TRUTH: God can do all things, prevails over all things, and hears our
prayers in trying situations.
Job 42:1-10 | King James Version (KJV)
1 Then Job answered
the Lord, and said,
2 I know that thou
canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
3 Who is he that
hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood
not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
4 Hear, I beseech
thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
5 I have heard of thee
by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.
6 Wherefore I abhor
myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
7 And it was so, that
after the Lord had spoken these words unto Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the
Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye
have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.
8 Therefore take unto
you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up
for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him
will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not
spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.
9 So Eliphaz the
Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did
according as the Lord commanded them: the Lord also accepted Job.
10 And the Lord turned
the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job
twice as much as he had before.
Isn’t it amazing what a life-changing
experience can do for a person’s relationship with God? In looking at the
verses of scripture regarding Job, from 2 lessons ago, he is now in a
completely different place. He begins with confidence and reverence, “I
know you can do anything…you’re omnipotent and omniscient!” He’s come a
long way, right? We’re seeing here that Job is in awe of the Lord’s work. He’s
realizing that his reaction to his own sufferings were misplaced. We’re seeing
a truly changed man.
Notice that after all of this time of
searching for the “whys” of his sufferings, Job never found it. At least, not
what he expected to find. Instead, he finds God. He assumed that since he was
losing his possessions and his friends were against him that God had abandoned
him. NOW, in his maturing, Job finds that he CAN have an even deeper communing
with God, IN his sufferings. This shows that Job has gone to a higher height
and deeper depth in his relationship with God. He’s gone from being bitter, to being
better!
SIDE NOTE: In
many churches, there is a session called, “Testimony Service”. This is where
believers can stand and verbally share what God has done for them, by way of
bring them out of their trials. Or how He has blessed their life. Do you ever
have a testimony? Or, are you the person who sits back and listens to
everything someone else has to say about YOUR God? One day, you’ll experience God’s
grace, blessings, and provisions firsthand. Hopefully, you’ll tell it!
At this point, Job had heard the testimonies
of others and who God is through the point of view of others. Sometimes,
secondhand knowledge is just that…a 2nd pass at learning about
something very important. More than likely, something will be left out. Based
upon this knowledge, Job had the wrong idea about God. “Pray hard and God will
get you out of your trial soon and bless you!” This isn’t always the case. So,
in verse 5 Job was able to realistically understand who he was and needed to be
in God. After seeing who he really was, it lead Job to repent! He took back all
of the things he accused God of doing and felt awful about his own sense of
pride and arrogance.
At that moment, Job traded in pleading his
case and his cry of innocence, to have a higher revelation of God. In a quote
from Charles Dickens, “Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has
taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and
broken, but - I hope - into a better shape.” Job’s being was definitely refreshed by now! Our suffering
comes to teach us something.
When a believer KNOWS that God is in control,
it’s not important to understand the “why” of it all. It’s only important to
draw closer to God and trust in His sovereign will in our lives. When others
look upon us, they aren’t always promised to understand and console us
throughout the suffering process. They could be “blockheads” like Job’s friends
were. But, that may be a part of the test! How will you handle when your closest
friends don’t understand God’s plans? Instead of looking for answers, know that
Jesus IS the answer. That should be enough.
In verse 7, Job is vindicated a little, as God
turns His wrath against Job’s friends. Notice that He excludes Elihu, since he
spoke correctly of God. Their drilling and questioning of Job could have caused
Job to fall. They misrepresented God’s word and His sovereignty. Even now, Job
chooses to cover them in prayer. The same folks that kicked him while he was
down, needed him to intercede on their behalf to God. They gave him pain and
punishment, he is shown here to restore them through prayer. Job wins in the
end!
SIDE NOTE: The
scriptures reveal that God revered Job as a servant 4 times in these ending
verses. He not only served God, but also his friends and family. Job served as
a vehicle of restoration for his friends. He served as a sanctified witness to
you and me, as we read these verses to deepen our understanding of God even the
more. So, is being a servant popular? That is an answer only you can provide to
yourself and your own life.
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