Sermon -- 5th Sunday after Pentecost (June 23, 2024)

JOB 38:1-11

ALL THINGS SERVE AT GOD’S COMMAND.

In the name + of Jesus.

     The patriarch Job endured tremendous loss, pain, and shame.  In one day, sole surviving servants reported the confiscation of his oxen, the destruction of his sheep, the capture of his camels, the violent death of almost all his servants, and the death of all his children as the house of the oldest collapsed on all of them.  Shortly thereafter, Job’s health was afflicted, leaving him a shriveled and festering shadow of his former self.  Because of these events, Job went from a position of prominence and honor to being the laughingstock of society.  The question to consider is this: Who was responsible for Job’s suffering—the Lord, or the devil?

     Atheists challenge God’s existence by challenging God’s goodness.  They demand an answer for this: “If God is so good, then why is there suffering in the world, especially for those who say they believe in him?”  If you are honest, you’ve had bouts with this same question.  How does one answer?  In an effort to uphold God’s honor, we might rationalize pain and suffering this way: God is responsible for all our blessings, but the devil is responsible for all our problems.  That sounds great, because then we can say that God is good and the devil is bad.  But if the devil is responsible for evil and bad things keep on happening, does that mean that God isn’t always in control, or maybe doesn’t pay attention?  Who is responsible—the Lord, or the devil?

     The book of Job does not seem to offer any clarity.  The devil challenged Job’s faithfulness.  He said to the Lord, “‘You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.  But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.’  And the Lord said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your hand’” (Job 1:10-12).  So, who was responsible for Job’s suffering—the Lord, or the devil? 

     St. John’s Revelation says this: “The dragon (that is, the devil) became furious with the woman (that is, the Church) and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 12:17).  So, the devil fights against you.  He brings evil upon you.  Yet, King Solomon wrote this: “In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other” (Ecclesiastes 7:14).  So, who is responsible for the evils we endure—the Lord, or the devil?  The answer is: Both.  All things serve at God’s command, even the devil.

     If you are confused by all this, you are not alone.  Job did not understand it, either.  He had not done anything to rebel against God.  Job was striving for righteous living, but he suffered miserably nonetheless.  For this, Job wanted to have it out with God.  He demanded answers.  And chances are, you do too.  You strive to serve God faithfully, and yet, sufferings still occur.  Why does a tornado appear from out of nowhere, causing a large tree to crush a house, kill a three-year-old boy, and severely injure his mother?  Why does a drunk driver come out of the crash with minor injuries even though he kills someone?  Why does a faithful Christian get Lou Gehrig’s Disease?  The list of questions is endless; and the demand for answers goes without a reply.

     Well, the Lord did reply to Job.  Job demanded answers; the Lord responded in kind: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?  Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me” (Job 1:2-3).  In his reply to Job, God did not explain himself.  He made it clear that he does not have to.  He is God and we are not.  He reigns over heaven and earth, everything in the earth and everyone on the earth.  The Lord shows that we have no understanding of how the universe runs, let alone every incident in our lives.  The Lord, however, has complete knowledge of all things.  He has authority over all things.  He does whatever he pleases and does not need to explain it.  All things serve at God’s command.

     Psalm 95 reminds us, “The sea is his, for he made it” (Psalm 95:5).  He not only created the seas, he also controls them.  Sailors know that they are at the mercy of the wind and the waves.  Not so the Lord.  He gave the command, and the Flood destroyed the earth.  God spoke again, and the Red Sea waters parted.  God asked Job, “Who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb … and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors, and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’” (Job 38:8,10-11)?  As fiercely as the oceans rage, they obey God’s commands.  They know their limits.  The tides follow God’s appointed schedule.  Tsunamis are the exception, not the rule.  All things serve at God’s command, even tsunamis, storms, the winds, and the waves.

     When a violent storm came upon the apostles on the Sea of Galilee, our Lord sent it.  It must have been bad if the seasoned fishermen were panicking.  Jesus, however, was asleep, exhausted from his ministry.  “They woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’  And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’  And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm” (Mark 4:38-39).  When terror and panic strike, we tend to forget God’s promises.  The apostles had forgotten a promise Jesus made to them.  He called them to be fishers of men and preachers of the word.  That would be impossible to do from the bottom of the Sea of Galilee.  Even in moments of terror and panic, God’s promises stand.

     Job had almost forgotten God’s promises, too.  Job had been faithful to the Lord; he concluded that God had been unfair to him.  But nowhere has God promised that, if we are faithful to him, we will have health, wealth, fame, popularity, comfort, and ease.  He may grant these; he may not.  We don’t know what God’s plans are for us, and he does not tell us.  We might want answers, but God is not obligated to explain himself to us.  What God does tell us is that all things serve at God’s command.

     Do you find any comfort in that?  It depends upon what you know about God.  When rough times come, the devil uses them to get us to question what we know.  When the disciples thought their boat was going down, they rebuked Jesus: “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing” (Mark 4:38)?  Did they really think that Jesus did not care about them?  They knew better.  Of course, Jesus cared.  But isn’t that how it still works?  We get bad news, and we trust our experience and forget God’s nature and his promises.  Job forgot, too.  He knew pain and loss and suffering, so he viewed God as his enemy, not as his heavenly Father.

     God had to remind Job that all things serve at God’s command.  This includes events and experiences that we don’t understand, that are painful, and that are evil.  While it is true that the devil wages war upon you and seeks to destroy you, God remains firmly in control.  The devil’s intentions are always wicked; God uses them for his own purposes.  This sinful world is broken, resulting in diseases, disasters, and decay.  God uses them for his own purposes.  God even uses the crimes and callousness of sinners for his own purposes.  Just ask Pharaoh, Caiaphas, and Judas Iscariot.  Therefore, we can trust that whatever we suffer, God uses it for a good purpose—whether that purpose is to bring us out of this world into glory, or to remove from us worldly treasures that we have loved and trusted too much, or to remind us that the world is evil and that we have a better home.  All things serve at God’s command.  But since we don’t know is what purpose our suffering serves, like Job, we demand answers from God.

     Listen again to God’s reply when answers are demanded from him: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?  Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me.  Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?  Tell me, if you have understanding.  Who determined its measurements—surely you know!  Or who stretched the line upon it?  On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone…” (Job 38:2-6)?  Since you and I cannot answer questions about the creation we see, how can we claim to have a right to know about God’s hidden purposes?

     Our hope and comfort come not from knowing why God does everything he does, or by blaming the devil or God for everything that goes wrong.  It comes from knowing the love that God has made known to us.  That love is revealed in Jesus Christ.  God has put his love and mercy on display for the whole world to know.  Jesus shows sinners that there is hope.  God does not owe us answers, but he has revealed his tender mercy.  Jesus Christ has made atonement for all our sin.  He took up the guilt of our anger against God, our challenging his wisdom, and our conclusion that God is unloving because we did not get all we wanted.  Our Lord does not overlook such arrogance from sinners, but he does pardon it for the sake of Jesus who has paid for those sins and for all sins. 

     All things serve at God’s command.  Jesus served at God’s command to save us from death and damnation.  Thanks to Jesus, God works all things for the eternal good for those who love him.  That stands firm no matter what because God is faithful no matter what.  He never stops being your good and merciful Father in heaven.  It is like the sun which never stops shining.  There may be days upon days where we see nothing but clouds and rain.  But the sun still shines, even if we don’t see it.  So, your heavenly Father is still good and merciful even if you don’t see it.

     All things serve at God’s command.  Sun and rain, land and sea, climates and seasons, birds, fish, and animals.  All events serve at God’s command.  Wars and battles, the rise and fall of kingdoms, famines and earthquakes.  All things serve at God’s command, even the troubles and evils we endure.  The devil seeks to destroy your faith through them.  It is not just to mess with you, but to drive you away from the Lord.  That is why he afflicted Job.  But God uses even the devil’s wicked schemes for his own purpose.  He used the bitter hardships to refine Job’s faith and make it purer.  He may do that for you, too.  But no matter what evils befall you, God is still good.  His grace still shines.  Jesus is still your Savior.  All things serve for your good according to God’s command, and no challenge from the devil can change that.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.