Finally . . . Justice Rolls Down, Part 1

0:40 Return to the last chapter in the book of Job, if you will please. I'll begin reading at verse 5. I am undeterred in this process.

1:09 Since I'm speaking on justice today, I think it's appropriate that I go on here. Job 42, verse 5. We will only have about five more Sundays in the book of Job, and then I'll come to the end of the book for you. Job 42.5, I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you. Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes. It came about after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves.

2:15 And my servant Job will pray for you, for I will accept him so that I may not do with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Namathite went and did as the the Lord told him, and the Lord accepted Job. The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased all that Job had twofold.

3:17 chuck titled today's message finally justice rolls down there is something wonderfully satisfying about justice. We love it when right is rewarded and when wrong is punished. No one is better at either than the living God who is all fair and all knowing. When his justice rolls down, it is always right. One of the reasons Christians love to learn about future things is a part of the future things deals with rewards that are promised God's people. Those rewards are sometimes specified for us in prophetic books of the Bible. For example, there are crowns that are promised, the faithful. Not just one or two, but there are five specific crowns, and they make quite a study when you go into the New Testament and learn of the rewards that God has for his own people as we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, which is set forth in the third chapter of 1 Corinthians.

4:36 You may remember singing as a child that little gospel song, Will there be any stars, any stars in my crown when at evening the sun goes down? Actually, the lyrics are fanciful because the Bible never promises stars in one's crown, but it does promise crowns. And there's something wonderfully satisfying about knowing that individuals who may have been ignored or, even worse, mistreated, sometimes martyred for their faith, that they will not be forgotten, that justice will roll down. They will be rewarded. God will not forget or overlook them. Justice has a flip side as well.

5:28 Those who do wrong will suffer the consequences for the wrong. And there's something inside all of us that finds a satisfying relief when we hear that wrong was dealt with. We even have the phrase brought to justice. A close to home illustration comes to mind. Three weeks in October of 2002, a sniper was on the loose in the mid-Atlantic states. There's hardly a person hearing me right now who has not followed the story of the mass murders. Ten of them, as people were cowardly and brutally shot at random, coming out of malls or getting into their cars or pumping gas or getting off of a bus.

6:24 From somewhere, someone had the audacity to kill in cold blood. Cynthia and I have a friend who lives about a mile from where the first shot rang out He's a federal judge And he said to me just this past week when we talked about it That there was a sense of terror that stretched across those communities As they couldn't find the killer or killers And then it seems they've been found and if they are in fact the ones they shot out of the trunk of their cars causing their deed to be all the more cowardly and unfair and something inside us is incensed by that we live for the day that they will be brought to justice and ideally that they will be killed for their deeds So we wait. We're pleased that they've been captured.

7:37 And we're grateful that justice has rolled down yet again, or it soon will. I came across a very interesting statement in the little book of Amos just this week. Amos, just before the book of Obadiah. or just after Joel. I know it's hard to find. Let me just cut to the chase. It's page 1409 in my Bible.

8:11 Maybe not in yours. It's over in the Minor Prophets, and you've probably not turned to Amos and maybe ever in your life, but right in the middle of the book, this prophet who was making the, making the indifferent rather uncomfortable with his prophecy represents the words of the Lord when he says, 521, I hate, I reject your festivals, nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer up to me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them. he's quoting the Lord I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings take away from me the noise of your songs I will not even listen to the sound of the harps let justice roll down don't you like the way that reads let it roll down like water and then in good Hebrew poetic fashion the statement follows that intensifies it Let righteousness, like an ever-flowing stream, roll down.

9:27 It's been a long time coming, says the Lord, but remember I am just, as one man wrote, the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceedingly small. Another in our day put it this way, all God's accounts are not settled at the end of every month. Eugene Peterson in The Message renders this passage in words that probably will seem a little more current to you and me. I can't stand your religious meetings. I'm fed up with your conferences and conventions. I want nothing to do with your religion projects, your pretentious slogans and goals. I'm sick of your fundraising schemes, your public relations and image making. I've had all I can take of your noisy ego music.

10:21 When was the last time you sang to me? You know what? I want justice, oceans of it. I want fairness, rivers of it. That's what I want. That's all I want. You're hearing justice. in these words of passion. God ultimately brings people into account. You know, the problem is that he's often so slow in doing it. I heard of one of the Puritan prayers, very brief for a change, for a Puritan. And he simply said, O Lord, hurry up. Don't you say that sometime? This wrong has been going on long enough.

11:17 Hurry up, God. Or when will he ever step in and deal with whatever? Or reward these people? Why do we say that? Because we want justice. You know what? It's how he made us. We are like God. when in our righteous walk we long for justice. He's pleased with justice and equity and fairness. I am pleased to tell you that in the story of Job, justice finally rolls down. This man who did not deserve the boils that covered his skin or the loss of his business and home and family and happiness ultimately gets them back and gets them back in multiplied fashion, as we're going to learn.

12:19 And those who made his life even more miserable hear from the Lord about that too. He does not overlook either. Our faithful God rewards the righteous, and he also disciplines the unrighteous. Back in Job 42, we were forced to move along rather quickly in our last message and we finished before I was through. That happens somewhat regularly. And I want to go back briefly and pull from it some lessons that I don't want you to miss because I think they will help us in the living of our lives as Job finally sees it through a couple of interesting illustrations with, you remember, the hippopotamus and the crocodile.

13:12 Remember that strange, those strange examples the Lord uses in chapters 40 and 41. Finally, it dawns on Job what the Lord is getting at. That his plan is profound. That his reasoning is right. That his ways are higher that we can ever understand. And Job waves the flag of surrender and says, I back away. I retract and I repent. I said things I shouldn't have been saying. I spoke about things I knew nothing about. And Lord, please know my heart is yours. And I place myself at your disposal. When you get to chapter 42, those are Job's words in verses 2 through 6. And I pulled from these verses four lessons that I want you to remember. And they go with us toward the end of the story.

14:09 Job says, verse 2, I know, he's speaking to the Lord, I know that you can do all things and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. You can do all things and no one can hold you back. Here's the lesson I learned from that. God's purpose is unfolding and I cannot hinder it. Some of you need to hear that. I do not know the details of your circumstances, but surely in a group this large, there must be some pretty tough situations. There are some pretty severe needs. And you may begin to wonder if this is getting out of control and God really is absent. Remember the principle. God's purpose is unfolding, mysterious as it may seem, and I cannot hinder it.

15:09 You will discover before I'm through with these four that the whole focus is on the Lord. It's not on life. It is on the Lord. It's not on others. It is on the Lord. It is not on the difficulties. It is on the Lord. Now, the second comment Job makes is in verse 3. Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge? Sort of a self-confession there. Therefore, I have declared that which I did not understand. I would render the next things too deep for me, which I did not know. Here's the second thought. God's plan is incredible, and I will not comprehend it. I hope after the study of Job that you make a point in your life of reminding yourself regularly, things are happening that I cannot hinder. Things are happening I will never comprehend.

16:07 If you will tell yourself that enough, you will find a peace you've never known before. The lack of peace comes when we try to make sense out of everything that is occurring and try to make it fit our human logic. And we forget his ways are higher than our ways. His plan is deeper. His purposes are far more profound. We cannot hinder them and we will not comprehend them. Let it rest. Let it be. It's okay. You don't have to know to have peace. You have to trust to have peace. Now, the third principle is in verses 4 and 5. Hear now, and I will speak. I will ask you, and you instruct me. He's talking to the Lord.

17:02 I will ask you, Lord, and you, Lord, instruct me. I've heard of you by the hearing of the ear. Now my eye sees you. Third principle. God's instruction is reliable. I dare not ignore it. God's instruction is reliable. I dare not ignore it. I think I should warn every one of you that because you place yourself under the teaching of the word of God, as I do, we are accountable. When you hear principles such as this and then either ignore them or disobey them, there is a consequence that will follow. There's sadness in place of relief. There's a discouragement in place of a sense of fulfillment. His instruction is reliable, and therefore we dare not ignore it.

18:02 This isn't just a religious exercise. This isn't just another way to spend a Sunday morning. This isn't just an empty pastime that we do out of habit. It is a time of allowing his truth to filter into our gray matter and impact us so that our attitudes and our actions and our words change to fit his, to fit him. You see him? You see Job? That's what he does in verse 6. Therefore, since your purpose is unfolding, since your plan is incredible, since your instruction is reliable, I retract. I pull back from a number of the things that I said, things I used to believe. I repent in dust and ashes.

18:49 This is saying to us, God's way is best. I must not resist it. God's way is best. I must not resist it. That did it. When the Lord heard Job's heart, as these words reveal his heart, when the Lord saw the humility and the openness and the teachability of Job, mercy kicked in and grace, grace flowed down. In fact, the Lord decides to use Job in the process of restoring these friends who have gotten so far off track. That's another point. You will be amazed at how the Lord will use you and others' lives when you adjust your ways to His ways. You will be for them a refuge, a point of hope, a reason to go on, a source of strength, a calming presence. You will be that and so much more to those who lack the things that you now possess by his grace. So the Lord hears his servants say that, and he then turns his attention to the three friends. Before we go to this section, he doesn't mention Elihu by name, probably because Elihu, the last of the friends, was more right than the others, probably was more on target, though his heart needed a little adjustment at times, and his pride needed to come down a few notches. He was not guilty as Eliphaz and Bildad and Zophar were, and that's why the Lord addresses them directly. Before I go there, let me give you a statement.

20:33 Life is all about our God. Life is all about our God. Will you say that with me? Life is all about our God. If you, sounds simple, maybe sounds silly, but if you will repeat that every morning when you get up, it'll make a difference in your day. Because from the earliest years, we think life is about us. my comfort my space my rights my will my career my salary my plans my health life is not about that it is about our God and as he works his way and will and purposes through us it is amazing when we get on track how absolutely delightful more of life can be.

21:38 Now, I'm not saying you will be free of any trials. I'm not saying difficulties will leave you by the tons and you'll never know what it is to be depressed or discouraged. That's not what I'm saying. You're only human. I'm just saying the way you've been living will not be the way you will live when you focus on the fact that life is all about your God. Job sees it. These other men don't. They're standing in the background frowning with their arms folded, wondering why the lightning isn't striking Job, and the Lord isn't vindicating them for what they said. Boy, are they in for a surprise. It came about after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, verse 7, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends. Stop.

22:31 I know you want to go on, but stop. I love that. I love it that the Lord says, you made me angry. Your words were wrong words. Your actions were wrong actions. and I have a wrath that is kindled over what you have been doing. You know why I love it? Because I was reared in a world that taught Christians should never be angry. If you are angry, you are sinful. And you need to confess that you got mad. It's a little bit more complicated than that, honestly. I mean, if the Lord can show a wrath that is kindled, surely there's a place for anger. The Lord Jesus driving those people who were desecrating the temple out of the temple as he plaited together those leather thongs and made them into a whip and drove them out.

23:34 You can't tell me, he said, now, gentlemen, I'm a little uneasy about what I'm seeing here. when you have time, would you clean up the mess and be on your way? He drove them out of the temple. I would love to see a picture of that. Got his sleeves rolled up and he is swinging that whip. And I think that is fantastic. Those Pharisees saw him coming toward him. It was like, what is this? But he's never done a sin in his entire existence. So it couldn't have been sinful. It was a righteous indignation. Something's wrong if you don't get mad over that. The Lord God says, it's not a temper tantrum here. It's not a sudden overreaction as he pitches a fit. Hey, this has been a long time coming.

24:28 He's been standing back, waiting and waiting, and finally he reaches the limit of his tether. I'm not talking about an out-of-control rage. talking about a justifiable anger that comes from the heart of one who is holy in God's case.