Lesson 6 Job 2:9-12 (Should be the last missing one.)

Lesson 6
Job 2:9-12

I. Introduction
A. In our last lesson we looked at temptation.
1. We looked at the three parts of temptation.
a. External conditions.
b. The state of the heart.
c. The special thought of the heart to do the deed.
B. We saw Satan's proverb; all that a man hath will he give for his life.
C. We saw how the will to live is instinctively in us.
D. In our present lesson we will explore Job's statement; "What? shall we receive good at the hand of
God, and shall we not receive evil?"

II. The word evil.
A. The first problem in this verse is to define, properly, the word evil.
B. James 1:13 states that God does not tempt man with evil.
C. Job states in his question that God brings evil upon man.
D. What does this mean?
1. The Hebrew word used to translate the word evil is ra'.
2. This word means evil, misery, distress, injury.
E. Therefore, knowing the truth that God does not tempt man with evil, Job is referring to the calamities
in his situation.

III. Job believed in the sovereignty of God.
A. Job believed that everything is ordained by God.
1. Job realized that there was but one ruler in the universe.
2. Job means to say that the happiness and the sufferings of man proceed from the same source.
3. Job knew that natural and moral laws operate under the direction of God.
4. God should be acknowledged in all His dispensations.
B. Job considered it an unavoidable consequence that the life of man should be checkered with good and
evil.
1. God is a moral governor; He judges the actions of man and deals with them accordingly.
2. The fragility of man's nature makes him unfit for uninterrupted prosperity or adversity.
3. Some acquaintance with sorrow is absolutely necessary to modify the corrupting effect of too
uniform happiness.
C. Job received each state of existence with an equal mind.
D. Job sees, in all tragedy, something permitted by God for His own supreme and blessed ends.

IV. What the evils of life teach us.
A. The evils of life open our eyes and make us sensible of real wants.
B. That this life is intended for a state of probation and trial.
C. Teaches the instability of all human affairs and uncertainty of all earthly possessions.
D. Trials form a test of character.