THERE WAS A DAY

I.  THERE WAS A DAY Of Plenty  Job 1:1-4

            A.  There was a Man

                        1.  Perfect

It denotes that in which there is no part lacking to complete the whole.

                        2.  Upright

To be straight, is applied often to a road which is straight, or to a path which is level or even.

                        3.  Feared God

                        4.  Eschewed Evil --> Abstaining from all evil.     I Thes. 5:22 “Abstain from all appearance of evil.”

 

                        “He was a man who was true, blameless, just, pious, abstaining from every evil deed.”

 

            B.  This Man Had Great Possessions

                        1.  Seven Sons --> A perfect number.

                        2.  Three Daughters

                        3.  Numerous Animals

                        4.  Very Great Household

                        5.  In sum:  Greatest of all men of the east.         Prosperous yet pious.  Matthew Henry

 

II.  THERE WAS A DAY Of Plotting  Job 1:6-12

            A.  When Satan Desired Job

                        The holiness and happiness of the saints are the shame and torment of the devil and the devil’s children.                                                  Matthew Henry.

                        1.  Doth Job fear God for nought?  (v. 9)

                        2.  You have a hedge about him.  (v. 10)

                                    to hedge in or about; and hence, to protect, as one is defended

                        3.  Thou hast blessed (v. 10)

                                    a.  the work of his hands.

                                    b.  his substance is increased.

                       

                        Would not anyone be willing to worship God in such circumstances? 

 

True religion is not mere gratitude, nor is it the result of circumstances. It is the love of religion for its own sake — not for reward; it is because the service of God is right in itself, and not merely because heaven is full of glory; it is because God is worthy of our affections and confidence, and not merely because he will bless us — and this religion will live through all external changes, and survive the destruction of the world. It will flourish in poverty as well as when surrounded by affluence; on a bed of pain as well as in vigorous health; when we are calumniated and despised for our attachment to it, as well as when the incense of flattery is burned around us, and the silvery tones of praise fall on our ear; in the cottage as well as the palace; on the pallet of straw as well as on the bed of down.  Albert Barnes Notes

 

            B.  Permission Requested

                        1.  Put forth thine hand now.  (v. 11)

 

                        2.  Touch (smite) all that he hath.

                        Here it means evidently to smite or strike; and the idea is, that if God should take away the property of Job, he                                     would take away his religion with it.  Albert Barnes

 

                        3.  He will curse thee to thy face.

 

            C.  Permission Granted

                        1.  All that he hath is in they power.  (v. 12)

                        2.  Before we are told how his troubles surprised an seized him here in this visible world, we are told how they                                     were concerted in the world of spirits, that the devil, having great enmity to Job for his eminent piety,                                     begged and obtained leave to torment him.   Matthew Henry

 

            D.  Permission Restricted

                        Only upon himself put not forth thine hand.

 

Job himself was not to be visited with sickness nor was his life to be taken. The main accusation of Satan was, that Job was virtuous only because God encompassed him with so many blessings, and especially because he had endowed him with so much property. The trial, therefore, only required that it should be seen whether his piety was the mere result of these blessings.  Albert Barnes

 

III.  THERE WAS A DAY Of Plundering (v. 13)  Job 1:13-19

            A.  Loss of Material Possessions

                        1.  Oxen and Donkeys taken by Sabeans.  (v. 14-15)

                        2.  Servants slain.

                                    All this indicates the rapidity of the movement of Satan, and his desire to “overwhelm” Job with the                                     suddenness and greatness of his calamities. The object seems to have been to give him no time to                                     recover from the shock of one form of trial before another came upon him.  Albert Barnes

 

                        3.  Fire from heaven (lightning) burned sheep and servants.

                        4.  Camels taken and servants slain by Chaldeans.  (v. 17)

           

            B.  Loss of Children --> A part of himself.

                        Tornado? destroys the house the children are all in.

 

IV.  THERE WAS A DAY Of Perplexing (Confusing, Confounding)  Job 1:20-22

            A.  Job’s Response

                        1.  Rent his mantle --> deep grief.

                        2.  Fell down upon the ground.

                        3.  Worshipped God.  (v. 20)

                                    A pious man has nowhere else to go in trial.  Albert Barnes

                        4.  Blessed be the name of the Lord.  (v. 21)

 

V.  THERE WAS A DAY Of Presenting  Job 2:1-10

            A.  Skin for Skin --> Again Permission Requested.<

                        1.  Touch his bone and his flesh.  (2:5)

                        2.  He will curse thee to thy face.

 

            The meaning is plain. A man is willing to surrender all that he has, in order to preserve his life. He will part with             property and friends, in order that he may be kept alive. If a man therefore is to be reached in the most tender and vital             part; if any thing is to be done that shall truly reveal his character, his life must be put in danger, and his true character             will then be revealed. The object of Satan is to say, that a test had not been applied to Job of sufficient severity to             show what he really was.  Albert Barnes

 

            B.  Permission Granted --> He is in thine hand.

            C.  Permission Restricted

                        Save his life.  (2:6)

            D.  Smitten

                        1.  Sore boils.  (2:7)                 

                        2.  Scraping with a potsherd (Piece of broken pottery). (2:8)

                                    One object of taking this was to remove from his body the filth accumulated by the universal ulcer.

                        3.  Wife --> An instrument of Satan. --> Curse God and die.  (2:9)

 

VI.  THERE WAS A DAY Of Plenty

            A.  The U. S. has enjoyed several years of plenty.

                        1.  Numerous indexes have reached all time highs.

                        2.  Multitudes of individuals have become millionaires.

            B.  Morality however has reached all time lows.

                        1.  Pornography is rampant.

                        2.  Abortion is “legal”.

                                    Isn’t it strange (ironic) that the Supreme Court who “legalized” abortion in 1973, had to vacate the                                                 Halls of Justice in 2001 because of the presence of an organism too small to be seen with the                                                 naked eye?

                        3.  Homosexuality is being accepted as an alternative lifestyle.

                        4.  Riverboat gambling and casinos are making their way into many cities.

                        5.  It’s dangerous to walk the streets in some areas.

                        6.  Even quiet respectable neighborhoods are rocked by murder, scandal, etc.

                        7.  Our schools are nearly God-less and definitely dangerous.

 

VII.  THERE WAS A DAY Of Plotting

            A.  In Heaven

                        1.  Did Satan present himself to God again?  I think maybe he did.

                        2.  Did he desire to devastate the U. S.?

                                    Could it be that after Satan has used the U. S. to propagate immorality, that he desired to destroy it?

                        3.  Did he request permission?

                        4.  Did God give him permission? 

                                    God being who He is, may not of desired it, but had to allow it before it could have happened.

                        5.  Did God restrict the permission?  For our sakes, I hope He did.

 

            B.  On Earth

                        1.  Training for a suicide mission.

                        2.  Finances and Passports.

                        3.  Pilot training.

                        4.  Planning to kill, steal, and destroy --> Instruments of Satan.

 

VIII.  THERE WAS A DAY Of Plundering

            A.  Two Landmark Towers. 

                        Like the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated, or the day the space-shuttle “Challenger” exploded, no one                                     will forget where they were.

                        1.  North Tower hit at 8:48 a.m.

 

            The devastation began at 8:48 a.m. when the first plane struck Tower One of the World Trade Center.  American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston crashed into the upper floors of the north tower of the World Trade Center at 08:48 Eastern Daylight Time (1245 GMT). It hit the building between the 95th and 103rd floors.

            Thousands of people were already at their desks in both towers. About 80 chefs, waiters and kitchen porters were also in the Windows on the World restaurant on the 106th floor. Many who worked for firms located in the crash zone were killed instantly. Those on the floors above were already doomed, their escape routes cut off by fire.

 

                        2.  South Tower hit at 9:03 a.m.

                       

            United Airlines flight 175 crashed into the south tower 15 minutes later. The plane caused an explosion on impact and sent a plume of fire out of the opposite side of the building.   Many people in the south tower witnessed the first crash and were already trying to leave the building. Some office workers had been told to remain at their desks, resulting in possibly fatal delays. Some people above the fires chose to jump to their death rather than wait for the flames.  Hundreds of firefighters and police arrived at the scene to help the office workers escape.

 

                        3.  South tower collapses at 10:05 a.m.

 

            Once one floor had melted the collapse became inevitable, as each new falling floor added to the pressure on the floor below. Further down the building, even steel at normal temperatures gave way under the enormous weight - an estimated 100,000 tonnes.  Just over an hour after the second crash, the south tower, which had been the second tower to be hit, crumbled to the ground. Hundreds of firefighters, police officers and people who were trying to escape the towers were crushed in the collapse.

 

                        4.  North tower collapses at 10:29 a.m.

 

            Twenty-four minutes later the north tower joined its twin. The floors "pancaked" down and crushed the many people who remained inside.  People on the ground ran for their lives as a cloud of debris hit the streets of lower Manhattan. The dust clouds coated the city.

           

IX.  THERE WAS A DAY Of Perplexing

            A.  Why God?

            B.  Why did those people have to die?

 

                        Do you suppose the people in those towers were sinners above all?

 

Luke 13:1 “There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 13:2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?  13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.  13:4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?  13:5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

 

            C.  What about us?                                          

                        Why have we sat around while sin destroys a nation built on Biblical principles?

 

            D.  What should our response be?

                        1.  God bless America?

                        2.  Or, God please forgive America?

                                    God cannot and will not bless any one or any nation in their sins.

                        3.  Job was an upright man, yet when calamity came, he fell down and worshipped.

                        4.  What should be the response of a nation steeped in sin?

 

X.  THERE WAS A DAY Of Promise

            A.  On Mount Calvary

            B.  There is yet hope.

 

II Cor. 6:2 “(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)”