Job 1:21, & 2:10
"Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord."

I know, you're probably thinking, "Oh, joy. A teaching on misery and how it is good for us." I used to think the same thing whenever I heard someone mention that they were teaching on Job. But awhile back I was reading a book, I can't remember what one now, but the author mentioned something from Job that glorified God. So I went to check on the passage, and lo and behold, it amazed me at the glory of God! So I started looking at the book of Job and noticed that the book of Job talks a lot about the glory of God. So that is what I am going to be teaching on for the next few lessons. I have been teaching on this on Wednesdays at my church. And I just feel I should share this with the body as a whole.

Let's start with what Job says when he hears of all the disaster that has befallen him on that first fateful day. "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away." I have heard many people say that this is incorrect and that the Lord gives but He doesn't take away. But I don't think that this is what was in Job's heart when he made this statement. I believe what was in his heart was that the Lord is sovereign and we have no place telling Him anything. Job 34:13-15 says "13 Who gave Him charge over the earth? Or who appointed Him over the whole world? 14 If He should set His heart on it, If He should gather to Himself His Spirit and His breath, 15 All flesh would perish together, And man would return to dust." Did we give Him dominion over the earth? Did we set up the laws of physics? Did we create all there is? NO. He is Lord of all creation, maker of heaven and earth. There is none like unto Him in all the universe. Psalm 89:11 says, "The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The world and all its fullness, You have founded them." He has established the earth (Psalm 93). "When I look into the heavens, see the works of Your hand. See the stars which You created, just as numerous as the sands." (Struck By Your Beauty - words and music by Danny Groff - from In the Shadows) " When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?"(Psalm 8:3,4) Scientists estimate that their are approximately 100 billion trillion stars in the known universe. That means that there are more stars in the known universe than there are grains of sand on the entire earth. (They estimate that there are approximately 1 billion trillion grains of sand.) Yet God holds the universe in the palm of His hand and, according to Psalms 147, "He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name." That is the marvelous God we serve. But I digress. In the book of Psalms God says, "If I were hungry I would not tell you. For the earth is mine and all the fullness thereof." (Psalm 50:12) He is sovereign, He has no need of anything from us. I really like how Matt Redman put it in Breathing the Breath. "I have nothing to give that didn't first come from Your hand. I have nothing to offer You that You did not provide." (Breathing the Breath - words and music by Matt Redman - from Facedown)(sorry, Matt, if I messed up the words I was trying to type them from memory. dlg) If He but closes His hand, we cease to exist. He is most sovereign.

This has just been a preview. I will start the lesson next time with God is Sovereign. Then we will go on to God is Mighty, then God is Mysterious, God is Merciful and Just, My Heart Wonders at God. And then finish up with chapters 38 on with what God says about Himself. I hope that this has sparked a bit of wonder in your hearts at the God we serve. Til next time.....breathe every breath to worship Him.

Part 2 - God is Sovereign