1. He knew he was called of God

Before you quickly move into a place of ministry, be sure God has called you and equipped you for the job. You may not think you can do it, and others may have their doubts; but if God calls you, have no fear: He will see you through.

2. He depended on prayer

The Book of Nehemiah starts and ends with prayer. And in between, Nehemiah oftens sends up quick prayers to heaven and asks for God’s help. “Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers,” said Phillips Brooks. “Pray for powers equal to your tasks.” One mark of true spiritual leaders is their honest acknowledgment of their own inadequacy and their humble trust in the power of God.

3. He had vision and saw the greatness of the work

No matter what God has called you to do, it’s a great work because it’s part of the building of His church; and that’s the greatest work in the world. If you lose the greatness of a vision, you will begin to cut corners in your work, stop making sacrifices, and start looking for something else to challenge you. Nehemiah realized that what he was doing was far bigger than simply repairing gates and rebuilding walls. He was serving the Lord God of heaven and getting the holy city ready for the coming of the Messiah!

4. He submitted to authority

The call of God is not an invitation to become independent and ignore authority. Nehemiah respected the king and submitted his plans to him for his approval before he went to Jerusalem. Even more, Nehemiah submitted to the authority of the Word of God. He invited Ezra to teach the Law to the people so that they too would obey the will of God. It is a basic rule of life that those who exercise authority must themselves be under authority. Nehemiah was a man who was dependable because he was accountable.

5. He was organized in his work

He planned his work and worked his plan, and God blessed him.

6. He was able to discern the tactics of the enemy

7. He worked hard

This is what Charles Spurgeon said to the ministerial students at his Pastors’ College in London: “Do not be afraid of hard work for Christ; a terrible reckoning awaits those who have an easy time in the ministry, but a great reward is in reserve for those who endure all things for the elect’s sake. You will not regret your poverty when Christ cometh and calleth His own servants to Him. It will be a sweet thing to have died at your post, not turning aside for wealth, or running from Dan to Beersheba to obtain a better salary, but stopping where your Lord bade you hold the fort” (An All Round Ministry, p. 197).

8. He lived an exemplary life

You have nothing to hide and nothing to fear. It is when people start to lead a double life that they get into trouble, for nobody can serve two masters. Hypocrisy leads to further deception, until the deceivers get caught in their own traps.

9. He sought to glorify God alone

I fear that the church today suffers from having too many celebrities and not enough servants. The praise too often goes to the workers and not to the Lord. Particularly at some religious conventions, there is so much praise given to men that the Lord is left out of the picture completely.

10. He had courage

There is no place for timidity in leadership. Once you know what God wants you to do, you must have the courage to step out and do it. You must be willing to take some risks and occasionally make some mistakes. You must be able to take criticism, be misunderstood, and even be slandered, without giving up.

11. He enlisted others to work

True leaders don’t try to do everything themselves. They not only enlist others, but they also create the kind of climate that enables others to become leaders as well. Real leaders aren’t afraid to surround themselves with people who can do some things better than they can. Leaders don’t feel intimidated by the excellence of others; in fact, they encourage it. Their job is to challenge others to do their best and help get the job done.

12. He was determined

Nehemiah was determined because the work he was doing was a great work and he was serving a great God. He was determined because the city was in great reproach, and he wanted it to bring great glory to God. He was determined because he was part of a great plan that God had for the world as He worked through the Jewish nation.

So, the next time you feel like quitting, remember Nehemiah and stay on the job until the work is finished to the glory of God.

Excerpted from:
Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Determined (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1996), 148–159.

This is a good rule of interpretation to follow. With this in mind some have erroneously taught that various verses in Genesis suggest that Eve had children prior to the Genesis Fall and that people and entire cities existed before the children of Cain and Abel. Some have gone so far to say that some kind of Pre-Adamic race or previous earth-age existed before Adam that was destroyed because of sin and they actually call it a previous earth age. This reasoning is faulty. First, In Genesis 1:31 God said that all His creation (including the angelic world) was good. This could not be true if there was a previous Adamic race existing on earth prior to Adam’s creation that was deceived by Satan. Second, if God allowed death to occur before Adam, then God is the author of death.  The Bible says Adam (not God or Satan) is the author of death (I Cor. 15:21); therefore, no human race fell before Adam’s time.  Not until man deliberately rejected the known will of God did death make its first appearance on this planet (Romans 5:12). Third, and more importantly, the Bible clearly tells us that Adam was the first man that God created. Let the Bible speak for itself.

1 Corinthians 15:45

And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

Romans 5:12

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Adam was the first man, death came to the world through Adam, and in Adam all mankind has sinned. This is the clear revelation of Scripture. There was no previous race of people before Adam. The generations of man began with Adam (Gen. 5:1). To say that there were people existing on earth before Adam is a weird and wacky conclusion that has no Scriptural base. To say he was the first man after a prior race of millions of men would be severe eisegesis (reading into the Scriptures something that is not there).

But what about Adam and Eve bearing children before Cain and Abel? Is there any logic to this reasoning? Some claim that Genesis 3:16 alludes to the fact that Eve had previous children before Cain and Abel. Genesis 3:16 says, “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.”

The point is made this way. Since God told Eve that He would greatly multiply the woman’s sorrow and her conception in sorrow that there had to be children before the Fall and before Cain and Abel. This is because God said He was multiplying (Hebrew “rabah” – increasing greatly or exceedingly) the woman’s sorrow. You can’t multiply something that did not previously exist.

Several observations can be made about this faulty interpretation.

First, God gave the original command to replenish the earth with offspring back in Genesis 1:28. This verse is a summary of God’s original intent for mankind while He lived in a state of innocence. Naturally, since the Fall took place, God was now adding a new feature or dimension to His original intention and plan for child birth. The idea of multiplying has to do with changing God’s original intention (pain free child birth in a state of innocence) to another plan of childbirth that now involves pain and sorrow, due to the entrance of sin in the human race. It has nothing to do with making something worse than it was before. It’s understood that before Eve had children the curse came upon mankind. A logical and factual reading of the Bible places conception and childbirth after the Fall (Gen. 4:1-2). No one knows how long or short the state of innocence was for Adam and Eve. The Bible simply states that after the Fall children were born. We must allow the Bible to speak for itself on this matter.

Second, God in this statement was simply telling the woman that He would greatly multiply her suffering in general, and more particularly that of her childbearing. Her pains would exceed that of men and particularly during the period of childbearing. And all the ladies said, “Amen!” In a general way, women would experience greater suffering than men (multiplied suffering) and this would be seen when she brings forth children. The idea of multiplying may simply be a comparison between the woman’s suffering and the man’s level of suffering. The woman’s suffering would be greatly multiplied in comparison to the mans suffering, childbirth being a prime example. Her multiplied suffering over the man, especially in childbirth, is a constant reminder that a woman gave birth to sin in the human race and passes it on to all her children. Notice, she can be delivered from this curse to some degree by raising godly children, as indicated in 1 Tim. 2:15.

Third, to interpret the statement (“greatly multiply thy sorrow and conception”) as meaning that Eve would continue to bear children as she did before, but with greater pain, would suggest that there must have been pain in childbirth prior to the Genesis Fall. This is erroneous. The Bible clearly says that pain and death go together and were associated with the Fall (Gen. 3:14-19). They had no existence prior to the Fall. The Bible indicates that nature’s curse (“groaning and travailing in pain”) is a result of the Edenic curse, which came after Adam’s fall (see Romans 8:20-22).

Fourth, the understanding of Genesis 3:14-19 is that none of the curses mentioned by God occurred before the Fall. To say that they did occur prior to the Fall in some form or other is illogical. If pain occurred before the Fall in childbirth, to some degree, then to be honest with the text, you must also say that Adam and Eve faced the battle of the sexes to some degree before the Fall (Gen. 3:16), the ground was also cursed to some degree before the Fall (Gen. 3:17-18), man had to work vigorously to some degree before the Fall to make ends meet, and that death to some degree existed before the Fall (Gen. 3:19). Furthermore, sin must have then existed to some degree before the Fall. All of this is untrue (Rom. 5:12). Interpreting the phrase “multiplying thy sorrow” as a greater sorrow that previously existed opens up a can of interpretive worms. If you interpret one part of the curse as being greater in intensity and existing prior to the Fall, then you must interpret them all in the same way.

Fifth, to suggest that there were children born to Adam and Eve prior to the Fall means that there were sinless babies and children. This too is a faulty conclusion. David declared that children are born in sin (Psalm 51:5). The Bible never talks about a sinless race of people in some kind of prior earth age. To say that there was such a race is pure conjecture. The only race that existed was the one race that existed before the Genesis Flood (2 Pet. 3:6)

Sixth, the Scripture in a clear and understandable fashion suggests that Cain was the first son born to Eve (Gen. 4:1). Eve in this verse said that she had “gotten a man from the LORD” (not another man or the second, third, fourth, or tenth man). Let’s believe what the Bible simply states and says. Cain was the first son. There were no sons or children prior to Cain. Furthermore, Scripture speaks of the three sons of Adam and Eve (Cain, Abel, and Seth – see Gen. 4:25) – not the three hundred sons or children that lived before them.

Seventh, if there were other children born to Adam and Eve before Cain and Abel then why doesn’t Scripture (the final source of our authority) record this anywhere within its pages? Why would God hide this from us? What the Bible does tell us is that Adam and Eve were the first human parents of Cain and Abel. To make assumptions otherwise by reading human reasoning into texts causes us to huckster the intended meaning of the Bible (2 Cor. 2:17 – “For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God”).

It is also suggested by some that there must have been people living before Cain because of the mention of people living in a city. But let’s read what the Bible actually says. What saith the Scripture (Rom. 4:3)?

Genesis 4:17

And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.

The Bible says that Cain was the progenitor of the city as he tried to reverse the curse of wandering that God had placed on him. He brought the city into existence or the first civilization that perished in the judgment of the Genesis Flood. This civilization marked a civilization that wanted to exist apart from God.

Cain said in Genesis 4:14-15:

Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.

But God replied:

And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

Some suggest that since there were people living on earth that could find Cain that there must have been a race of people or children born to Adam and Eve prior to Cain. But once again Scripture debunks this idea (1 Cor. 15:45). Adam was the first man. Cain was simply recognizing that as the earth became populated (Gen. 6:1) he would become a marked man and a moving target for causing such problems in the world. But God made sure that this would not be the case by protecting Cain with some mark or sign that would become a deterrent to others and keep them from killing him. The same mark that saved him was the lifelong sign of his shame. In any event, to claim by this statement (“every one that findeth me shall slay me”) that there was a race of people existing on earth before Cain, or that Adam and Eve had children prior to Cain, is to read into the Scriptures one’s own fantasies. Cain simply was recognizing that as the earth rapidly expands in population he would need God’s protection.

In conclusion, to use hypothetical reasoning with the statements that are presented in Genesis 3:16 and 4:15-17, without studying the context or entire Biblical record on creation, causes one to arrive at anti-Biblical conclusions. The natural reading of Genesis records accurate truth. So remember this old interpretive saying: The main things are the plain things, and the plain things are the main things!

By Pastor Kelly Sensenig

Prelude to Judgment (Genesis 6:5-7)

“Only evil continually.” Now that is a perfect description of unredeemed men and women of any era—including our own. Human beings are not basically good. Because of the curse brought about by Adam’s sin (see Gen. 3 and Rom. 5), human beings are basically bad—completely sinful. How can I say such a thing? We can look around the world and see good things being attempted and noble tasks being achieved. But the problem is not simply with our attempts and our achievements. The problem is with our hearts. Until we come to bow the knee to Jesus Christ as King of the universe, our own agendas remain on the thrones of our hearts—we are without God in the world. And that means that even our best acts are godless acts. And for all the good that homeless shelters, cancer research, or AIDS orphanages will do on this earth, those efforts will not carry over to eternity unless they are done in the name of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

To put it another way: if our hearts are godless, then even our most altruistic deeds are filthy rags because they are done by our own self-effort and not through the strength that God supplies. And that, even in the most loving and giving among us, leads to secret pride: “Look at what I achieved”; “Look at who we helped”; “Look at what mankind has accomplished.” And in that kind of thinking, subtle or unspoken as it may be, there is a robbery of the glory of God who made us and who alone gives us the ability to accomplish what is meaningful.

Some of us do “only evil continually” by blatantly rebelling against God. Others of us do “only evil continually” by failing to acknowledge God as the giver of every good and perfect gift—including the gifts we ourselves give to others. But both lifestyles are equally godless and, as we shall see, worthy of judgment.

Global Judgment

The water covered the entire earth: “And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.” Genesis 7:19

All people and animals not on the ark died: “And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.” Genesis 7:21-23

Arnold Murray doesn’t agree, but Peter does: “Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.” 1 Peter 3:20

Here’s a couple of great articles for more on the flood:
http://www.icr.org/article/842/ “Why Christians Should Believe in a Global Flood”

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab/really-a-flood-and-ark

Man had been placed in the garden by God, and given a task (to tend it and to keep it)—and a prohibition—(Gen. 2:17). Man was created to rule over the animals. The Bible was written as a textbook for man—and like any textbook it does not expect the student to understand everything in the first few chapters. There are many questions left unanswered which are taken up at later times. The fact that a serpent speaks is exceedingly strange for the Bible is not Aesop’s Fables.

The Bible makes a very conscious distinction between man and animals. In the previous chapter it explained that Adam gave names to the animals. (Clearly the animals could not do that themselves!) A speaking serpent is incongruous against the background of the Creation account. Speaking animals would seem to belong to paganism which has no concept of creation. Yet it is only later that we learn that the serpent was an instrument of another power. In Genesis 3 all that is not immediately relevant is omitted. All we are told is that the character of the animal made it a particularly well-adapted instrument for the power that used it, and we learn that it was created by God a beast of the field. That is very important for there was an order of authority in the creation. That order was: man ruling over beast; man ruling over the creation.

Satan planned to interrupt that order—to take the lowliest of the beasts and make that beast rule over man. He wanted man to listen and to follow the lowliest of the beasts rather than for man to obey and follow God. He approached the woman first to induce her to lead her husband astray, and thus further disrupt the natural authority of man over woman.

The Temptation

We can learn a lot from this first encounter with Satan:

1. He wants to confuse us (3:1 “Yea, hath God said…”)

He does the same in our minds: “Maybe that verse doesn’t really mean what it looks as if it means. Maybe God doesn’t mean for us to take that literally. Maybe … Maybe … Maybe …” Satan’s strategy is to make us doubt the reliability and applicability of the clear teachings of Scripture. We must not believe him!

2. He wants to cloud the nature of God (3:1)

Of course God hadn’t said that! In fact, he said that Adam and Eve could eat from any tree of the garden—except the one (2:16–17)! But you see how Satan operates. He twists what God has said. And he takes one small restriction, placed upon us for our good, and makes God out to be a spoilsport. He says things like: “God is always trying to spoil your fun. What’s the matter with looking at a little soft porn? After all, you’re not hurting anyone.” Or, “Why does God care what you do with your money? Doesn’t he want you to enjoy life?” In the face of such lies, we must remember that our God is good, no matter how the devil paints him!

3. He wants to salve our consciences (3:4)

Sin isn’t that big a deal, the devil tells us. “OK, God said don’t eat from the tree. But come now, do you really think he’s going to kill you over this? Go ahead. You know he will forgive you.” Have you ever heard him talk like that? Don’t believe it. The devil is a liar; God hates sin, and “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23).

4. He wants sin to look good (3:5)

There was some element of truth to that statement. Adam and Eve, who had never before known evil, would surely know it now! But do you see what Satan was doing? He was convincing Eve that sin would actually enable liberation and self-actualization! And he is still telling the same lies: “Go ahead and separate from your wife. You’ll finally be free.’ “Go ahead and take out your frustration. You’ll feel much better.” “Go ahead and vent your anger towards God. It’s cathartic.” Lies, all lies! Sin will never make you free. Adam and Eve were promised liberation, but instead (3:7) they received shame. They were promised that they would become like God, but instead they found themselves (3:8–10) hiding from God.

Sin’s seductive promises always turn out to be a mirage! Those relationships we enter against the will of God leave scars that may never fully fade. Those extra trips to the buffet leave us miserable for the rest of the day and place some of us on operating tables. And what about the nicer car, the bigger TV, the latest gadgetry, and the younger wife? All those things grow old and outdated—leaving us just as empty as we were before. Selfishness and sin never keep their promises.

Their Shame

Instead of getting what Satan promised, the first sinners found themselves naked and ashamed. Instead of admitting their sin when confronted, they made excuses! Blame-shifting is a universal human disease. Ever since Adam and Eve, it has been part of our sinful human nature: “I know I sometimes lose my temper. But that is just the way God made me.” “I know I shouldn’t talk to my wife that way, but I’m under a lot of stress at work.” “I know I shouldn’t read these racy romance novels, but my husband isn’t exactly a knight in shining armor anymore.” But anytime we begin a sentence with “I know I shouldn’t … but,” we are on dangerous ground. We ought simply to stop with: “I know I shouldn’t.” God has made himself clearly seen in creation, in the human conscience, and, most of all, in his Word, so that we are “without excuse” (Rom. 1:20) when we sin against him.

Their curse & promised redemption (Genesis 3:15)

Sin would affect every aspect of their lives and our world. It ruins all that it touches. Death would now be a reality. Chapter 5 dramatically illustrates this by repetition of the phrase “…and he died.” But, one day a child of the woman would destroy the works of the devil forever. “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:” Galatians 3:13

sources:

http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v4/i3/fall.asp

Kurt Strassner, Opening Up Genesis (Leominster: Day One Publications, 2009), 33–36.

If I allow my work to get between my heart and the Master, it will be of little worth. We can only effectually serve Christ as we are enjoying Him. It is while the heart dwells upon His powerful attractions that the hands perform the most acceptable service to His name; nor is there anyone who can minister Christ with unction, freshness, and power to others, if he is not feeding upon Christ in the secret of his own soul. True, he may preach a sermon, deliver a lecture, utter prayers, write a book, and go through the entire routine of outward service, and yet not minister Christ. The man who will present Christ to others must be occupied with Christ for himself.

Happy is the man who minsters thus, whatever be the success or reception of his ministry. For should his ministry fail to attract attention, to command influence, or to produce apparent results, he has his sweet retreat and his unfailing portion in Christ, of which nothing can deprive him. Whereas the man who is merely feeding upon the fruits of his ministry, who delights in the gratification which it affords, or the attention and interest which it commands, is like a mere pipe, conveying water to others, and retaining only rust itself. This is a most deplorable condition to be in and yet it is the actual condition of every servant who is more occupied with his work and its results than with the Master and His glory.

“The pagan, anti-God philosophy of this world weaves its way into every part of a culture. For this reason, everything must be judged (1 Thessalonians 5:21) and that which associates itself with a humanistic or depraved way of thinking must be eschewed (1 Thessalonians 5:22). This applies to piercings, modern art, tattoos, extreme hair styles, rock, rap, and country. In other words, we are not to “[fashion ourselves] according to the former lusts in [our] ignorance: but as he which hath called [us] is holy, so be [we] holy in all manner of conversation” (1 Peter 1:14-15). Every aspect of our conduct or behavior is to be distinct. In no way should our externals reflect the old unregenerate life.”

“The truth is that the new definers of worldliness emphasize conduct. It’s just that it is, and ironically, the loose conduct appealing to the lust of the flesh. And they’re judging externals. They will judge your standards (which they do have) to be more strict than theirs, so you must be the legalist and the moralist. Even in writing style they work hard to make it as easy as possible to understand. Even in the dress down style of the sovereign grace ministries, something strategic is going on with their urban chic and soul patches. They are working at attracting or making comfortable a certain demographic. Something is driving all that, but it isn’t the gospel.”

“The grace of God that works in believers “denies ungodliness and worldly lusts” (Titus 2:12). As God is working in both to will and do of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13), true Christians are working out their own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12).”

Read the rest at Jackhammer

1. Creation of Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:26, Genesis 1:27; Genesis 2:7, Genesis 2:21, Genesis 2:22)

2. Institution of marriage (Genesis 2:23-25)

3. Fall of man (Genesis 3:6)

4. Promise of the Redeemer (Genesis 3:15)

5. Universal flood (Genesis 6-8)

6. Institution of human government (Genesis 9:1-19)

7. Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9)

8. Conversion and call of Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3)

9. Giving of Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12:7; Genesis 13:14-17; 15:1-21)

10. Abraham’s marriage to Hagar (Genesis 16:1-16)

11. The birth of Isaac (Genesis 21:1-8)

12. The flight of Jacob (Genesis 28)

13. The selling of Joseph into Egyptian slavery (Genesis 37)

14. The enslavement of Israel in Egypt (Exodus 1)

15. The call of Moses (Exodus 3:1-10)

16. The ten plagues (Exodus 7-12)

17. The institution of the Passover (Exodus 12)

18. The appearance of the glory cloud (Exodus 13:21, Exodus 13:22)

19. The Red Sea crossing (Exodus 14)

20. The giving of the manna (Exodus 16:4)

21. The institution of the Sabbath (Exodus 16:29)

22. The giving of the Law (Exodus 20:1-17)

23. The completion of the tabernacle (Exodus 40:33, Exodus 40:34)

24. The anointing of Aaron (Leviticus 8:1-12)

25. The unbelief at Kadesh-barnea (Numbers 14)

26. The death of Moses (Deuteronomy 34:5-8)

27. The Jordan River crossing into Palestine (Joshua 3)

28. The victory over Jericho (Joshua 6)

29. The death of Joshua (Josua 24:29)

30. The marriage of Ruth to Boaz (Ruth 4)

31. The capture of the ark by the Philistines (1 Samuel 4)

32. The rejection of Samuel by Israel (1Samuel 8:1-9)

33. The anointing of Saul (1 Samuel 9, 10)

34. The rejection of Saul (1Samuel15:23)

35. The anointing of David (1Samuel 16:13)

36. The capture of Jerusalem by David (2Samuel 5:9)

37. The recovery of the ark by David (2Samuel 6:15, 2Samuel 6:16)

38. The giving of the Davidic Covenant (2Samuel 7:8-17)

39. The anointing of Solomon (1Kings 1:39)

40. The completion of Solomon’s Temple (1Kings 6:38)

41. The Israeli civil war (1 Kings 12)

42. The deliverance of Joash from murderous Queen Athaliah (2Chronicles 22:10-12)

43. The Assyrian captivity of the northern kingdom (2Kings 17:6)

44. The deliverance of Jerusalem from the Assyrians (2Kings 19:32-35)

45. The death of Josiah (2Kings 23:29, 2Kings 23:30)

46. The departure of the glory cloud (Ezekiel 10:18)

47. The destruction of the Temple of Solomon (2Kings 25:8, 2Kings 25:9)

48. The Babylonian captivity of the southern kingdom (2Kings 25:11)

49. The return under Cyrus’ decree (Ezra 1:1-11)

50. The completion of the new Temple under Zerubbabel (Ezra 3:1-13)

Download Anger Worksheet [pdf]

We don’t always understand. Job, in spite of serving God faithfully, suffered intensely. Even though his friends desperately tried to point out a cause to Job they failed. His wife offered nothing but despair and suicide as an answer. Job didn’t know why these calamities came. In the end, Job is restored but God never tells him the provocation for his actions. Until the day when God deems it appropriate for our understanding to be enlightened, we walk by faith and not by sight.

Life is not about me. In contrast to when Job endured his calamities, almost universal compassion is extended to Job. Yet he suffered so intensely that hardly anyone can sympathize with his grief. Why did God allow Job’s life to be tormented by the enemy? It may come as a shock to our sinful hearts, but God is primarily concerned about fulfilling His purposes in the lives of His people—not satisfying our every want. As confidence in God grows, then the believer can rejoice that God knows best – His way is perfect.

God is always in control. This truth is our comfort in the most unbearable calamity. If we don’t know the answers, we can trust. If the burden is too great, we can rest in His mercy. “Whatever Satan’s liberty in unleashing calamity upon us, God never drops the leash that binds his neck.” As Job cried out, “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” (Job 1:21). God’s children often are unaware of the next step in God’s plan, but we can never doubt Who holds the future – and He is Good!

No circumstances excuse us from faithfulness to God. Satan did not believe that Job would be faithful to God during his affliction. Job’s own wife declared that it was worthless to continue trusting God. Job was definitely confused and under intense physical and emotional stress, but he clung to His God. “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him” (Job 13:15). Job’s story not only vindicates Job’s righteous standing before God, but, more importantly, his story vindicates God as worthy of worship, honor, and obedience solely based on Who He is.

Overview of the Book

Job’s Calamities

Job is clearly a remarkable man. Of this, God leaves no doubt: “there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil” (Job 1:8). Modern TV evangelists would assume that this man should be healthy, wealthy, and happy. In fact, this is precisely how Job is introduced. Quickly the theme of the book is revealed. Job’s story is not about his prosperity, but his suffering. The key question is not “Will God give those who serve Him everything they want?”, but “Is God worthy of worship regardless of what benefits might be obtained from Him?”After God calls attention to Job, Satan accuses Job of serving God only because of his prosperity. The attack is slandering God as much as Job. “No one would serve You without rewards!” is the attack. God allows Job to endure incredible suffering in response to Satan’s slander. In a very brief time period, Job will lose his family, his wealth, and his health. His suffering was financial, emotional, physical, and spiritual. “In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly” (Job 1:22).

Job’s Counselors

After a period of mourning seven days, Job’s friends begin making mistakes. While they were silent, they comforted Job, but as soon as they spoke insinuations and accusations began to flow freely. Chapters 3-31 detail Job’s conversations with Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. “This alternation of speakers occurs in three cycles, with the order of the friends being Eliphaz (chaps. 4–5, 15, 22), Bildad (chaps. 8, 18, 25), and Zophar (chaps. 11, 20—note that Zophar has no response in the third cycle). Job answers each of them in turn (chaps. 6–7, 9–10, 12–14, 16–17, 19, 21, 23–24, 26–27). Once the friends are reduced to silence, Job contrasts his former happiness (chap. 29) with his present misery (chap. 30) and utters an oath of innocence designed to force God’s hand (chap. 31).”^[1] These rounds of verbal sparring are followed by Elihu’s attack on Job’s friends and on Job himself (ch. 32-37).  While admonishing Job’s other comforters turned accusers, Elihu defends God’s justice to Job.

Job’s Creator

When Job may feel that his entire life is a whirlwind, God speaks to him out of a whirlwind. It is not answers that the LORD brings. Instead Job is met with a series on unanswerable questions. Job is first asked about creation, then God’s control over creation followed by an examination of several specific creatures. God describes many detailed aspects of his creation, praising especially his creation of two large beasts, the Behemoth and Leviathan. Overwhelmed by the encounter, Job acknowledges God’s unlimited power and admits the limitations of his human knowledge.  God returns Job’s health, providing him with twice as much property as before, new children, and an extremely long life.