Sermon for February 14th, 2016
Job 2:1-10
1One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. 2The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. He still persists in his integrity, although you incited me against him, to destroy him for no reason.” 4Then Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for skin! All that people have they will give to save their lives. 5But stretch out your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, he is in your power; only spare his life.”
7So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and inflicted loathsome sores on Job from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8Job took a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and sat among the ashes. 9Then his wife said to him, “Do you still persist in your integrity? Curse God, and die.” 10But he said to her, “You speak as any foolish woman would speak. Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
Love in the Book of Job
Today is Valentine's day. In our culture, it's a celebration of love. If you pay attention to sermon titles (in the bulletin or on the screen) then you know I'm going to talk about love in the Book of Job. But if you paid attention to the scripture reading, you might also be asking yourself the obvious question, "ok...so where's the love?"
Our loving, heavenly God has recently destroyed Job, taking away his children, his livelihood, his property, for no apparent reason. No love there. Job is left with only his health (which he's about to lose, again for no apparent reason) and his wife. His wife, who tells him to curse God and die. No love there. Job in return, calls her a foolish woman. No love there. So far, we're not off to a promising start for Valentine's day. Don't worry. We'll get there eventually. But first, a romantic story:
