Page 27 - Job

“Deep calls unto deep at the sound of Thy waterfalls, and all Thy
breakers have rolled over me.” Boy, if that doesn’t describe Job. “All
Thy breakers have rolled over me”. That’s the idea of waves coming
relentlessly one after another. Here comes one, then another, and they
just won’t stop. “All Thy breakers have rolled over me”. One calamity
after another, in quick succession. One person is telling of a problem and
while he is still talking, someone else comes. You have lost your flock;
you have lost your children.
Do not despise it when a quick succession of calamities comes your way.
That gives God the opportunity to get great glory in your life. Don’t get
me wrong, I cry like a baby even when slight things come into my life.
My heart cries out, “Lord, get me out of this!” Help me find the way of
escape. I cannot imagine severe trials, like he faced, coming from every
direction at the same time. But it happened to Job.
I read an article about the fall of the stock market. They say when the
stock market fell, many people lost their life savings, investments and
their fortunes overnight. When people lost their money, they ran to
buildings and bridges and they took their own lives, because they lost
everything. Job did not take that path. His stock market fell. His tragedies
happened quickly and they were incredibly numerous.
A second thing I see is that he had no context to understand what was
happening to him. Job did not have the book of Psalms. Job did not have
any part of the Bible. One of my favorite books, when I am going through
any kind of little trouble, is Isaiah. Boy, there are so many blessed verses
in Isaiah. Job did not have II Corinthians, Paul’s diary of struggles and
how he experienced the all sufficiency of Christ. Job did not even have
the book of Job. He had no part of the Bible. Perhaps we take this Book
for granted when we are going through things. God has given us so many
sustaining promises in His Word. Job did not have any of that, and that
added to the severity of his suffering.
A third aspect of his trials was their all-inclusive nature. I think it is pretty
accurate to say this. Job suffered in every way that it is possible for a
human being to suffer, this side of the grave. I believe that is accurate.
Now let me try to illustrate it for you. Chapter 1:3, mentions his
possessions – 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen and 500
female donkeys. Look at verse 14 and 15 again. When the Sabeans
attacked, they wiped out his oxen and his donkeys. He lost his possessions
and his means of support. Remember, that was what he was doing. He
was a farmer. It wiped out his paycheck. That is what he was talking
about. This was his means of support. What would your attitude be if God

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