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The book of Job reveals everyone’s opinions about the reason for suffering and how God runs the world. Job has challenged that God has not treated him fairly. He does not think that God has not been right toward him because Job has been blameless and upright. Job’s friends have an opinion that Job must have sinned for all of this calamity to fall on him. Elihu has offered his speeches in which he disagrees with Job and with the three friends (cf. Job 32:1-5). Elihu defends God and challenges what Job has said about God. Elihu does not say that Job sinned and that is why he is suffering. Elihu says that Job’s words have been wrong about God. But there is one person we have not heard from in all of these discourses. We have not heard from God. We have not heard God speak since the first two chapters of the book when God and Satan were talking about the righteousness of Job. As Job and the three friends argued about how God runs the world, we did not know that Elihu was there, listening and then responding on God’s behalf. But even as all this was going on, they did not know that God was there, listening and about to respond on his own behalf. In Job 38 God himself will take the opportunity to speak. What I want us to think about for these final four chapters of the book is God’s message. What do you think God is going to say about suffering? What do you think God is going to say about how he runs the world? How do you think God is going to defend himself? How will God explain himself regarding what he has allowed Satan to do in this trial?
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We have taken a break in our study of the gospel through the lens of the book of Romans. But we are returning to this wonderful book and we are going to see in Romans 7-8 the good life that God has promised to those who belong to Christ Jesus. Romans 7 is considered a complicated chapter. Paul has a few complicated chapters in the book of Romans. I want to make sure that we understand the big message in Romans 7. The way I believe I need to do this is by studying the whole of the chapter. This means that I cannot unearth every detail in this chapter. Rather, I want to communicate how Paul shows us the freedom that is found in the gospel. Please open your copies of God’s word to Romans 7 and we will see the function of the Law of Moses and what that means for all people…
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Job has said many words that need to be addressed. Elihu is in the process of challenging Job on the words Job has said against God. Elihu has been defending God from what Job has said during the time of this trial. Elihu is speaking on God’s behalf (Job 36:2). Further, Elihu declares that he is speaking God’s knowledge and wisdom to Job (Job 36:3-4). In Elihu’s final words, he is going to address one of the biggest issues people have with God and with suffering. The issue is how there can be suffering if God is good and is full of power and strength. If there is a God, then how can there be suffering? How can the righteous suffer if there is a God and this God has power over the world? When we are suffering we can wonder why God does not do something. Why doesn’t God help? Why doesn’t God act? Is God unable to deal with evil in the world? Is God unable to stop the suffering that takes place? Elihu is going to end his speech to Job, the three friends, and anyone else who is listening to him that God is not powerless when suffering…
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