WHERE IS GOD AND WHY DOESN’T HE DO SOMETHING

Job 23 & 24

An Agnostic College Professor decided to have some fun with a student, who was reading a Bible lesson. Trying to trip the faith of the student, he said to him, “Tell me where God is, and I will give you an apple.” The student replied. “I will give you a whole barrel of apples if you tell me where He is not.” To understand that God is everywhere is one of the most basic truths of Scripture.

“The Bible clearly teaches that there is

no place where God is not present.”

  

Jeremiah wrote "Am I a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far away?” Jer 23:23. You have to ask yourself! Do you think that God’s vison is limited like ours? Is God not the Ancient of days, the eternal God, whose majesty and omniscience display His glory to the world and to you and I?

  

The Psalmist wrote “The LORD is high above all nations, and His glory above the heavens! Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?” Psalm 113:4-6

R C Sproul said “Omnipresence is altogether different because it means that the fullness of God is present everywhere. Everything that God is is fully present at each point in a given room, at every point in the building outside the room, and at every point outside the building. “More” of God is not found at point A than at point B. God and His attributes, including His holiness, wisdom, goodness, justice, knowledge, power, and so on, are fully present in His creation at every point. We often forget that the Lord is right at hand wherever we are, but our forgetfulness does not indicate His absence.” There is no place that we can hide in all creation because God fills all creation.

No matter where we go,

there our God will be.

He is not limited to only one place, so we cannot build a barrier between ourselves and His presence. This foundational truth is something that Job seems to have forgotten. And what Job has forgotten is that God is a spirit being and He is present everywhere. If Job has a complaint….God is present though you cannot see Him. See the problem that Job has is not with God, it’s with Job.

Where Is God That I Might Ask Him These Questions (V1-V9)

I would love to stand in His court and plead my case so that I could be acquitted of all these charges and accusations. Job has a great desire to find God and to plead his case of innocence. But according to Job and his lack of understanding, he couldn’t find Him anywhere. It’s beginning to look like his three friends are wearing him down. There is only so much a person can take before they start making wrong statements themselves. (v3) “Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come even to His seat.” What is Job saying? He answers in the following verses (v4-v7). There is only one way to escape final judgment before the Judge and that is to settle our case out of court.

We don’t want to plead our

case in His courtroom.

I never want to see His courtroom…because to stand in His courtroom is to stand condemned and lacking the eternal promise. As Paul wrote “Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Rom 3:19-26

We need to settle out of court through the Gospel. To stand in God’s courtroom is to stand condemned and guilty. This is why we can cry out to God for strength and salvation at any time because He is everywhere present.

Though I Don’t See Him Or Know Where He Is, My Life Continues On Persevering By Holding True To His Commandments. (V10-V17)

My suffering and my pain has not diminished my faith and hope for God. Though he felt God was avoiding him for some strange reason, it didn’t diminish his faith despite his sufferings.

(v11) says that Job wanted to walk closely to God in humble obedience. It’s not because of any rebellion or disobedience is the reason for my suffering. I desire to be close and follow after Him daily. (v12) The words of the Lord, the doctrines of grace that came from His mouth, are food for my soul that sustains in every situation.

Where else have seen this same expression of God’s Word

used to describe one’s love for the Savior?

Peter penned this same truth “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” 

1 Peter 2:2-3

Jeremiah penned “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts.” Jer 15:16

The Psalmist wrote “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.” Psalm 119:103-104

David wrote “the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.” Psalm 19:9-10

The summary of all these verse and what Job is saying is that “God’s Word sustains me in everything, though I feel the way I do at this moment in time.” See! How you and I feel at times does not sway us from the truth of God’s Word. This is our necessary food for our weary souls in seasons of unrest.

Job declared he remained true to words of God and it’s important that we feed upon His Word daily to survive moments like these. This is the only way you find the nutrients you need for the soul. And knowing this truth is what “terrifies” Job (v13-v17). The thought of these further afflictions troubles me, and makes me shrink from his unseen presence. Therefore…. Taking into consideration of God’s glorious majesty, and sovereign and irresistible power, by which He can do whatever, He pleases, without giving any account of his matters.

“Terrifies me to deepest parts of my soul.”

We serve an Infinite, Majestic, and Transcendent Holy God, who is not to mocked or taken lightly. Job’s response of the Holy One is a correct response, by a child of God. Each and every one of us, should respond the same way the more we read His word.

“It frightful, but calming,

it’s devastating, but glorious.”

As Paul Washer said “I have Good News and Bad News. The Good News is God is Here, The Bad News is God is here. It depends on which side of the Line you're Standing On.” As the Hebrew writer penned “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Heb 10:31. 

God is close, He is present! 

And He can be found in His Word. He can be seen in His Son. He can be loved through Gospel and He is revealed by His Spirit.

God’s Judgements Will Come And It Will Be Severe In The Day That He Has Appointed. (24:1-25)

An arrogant, religious hating farmer had developed a strong disdain for the religious faith of many people in his community. Most of the farmers there were godly men who gathered to worship the Lord on Sunday instead of working the field.

But this farmer chose to plow on Sundays, often saying, “Hands that work are better than hands that pray.”

Part of his land bordered the church and he would make a point of driving his tractor by the church, during the worship services. Hearing how God has “blessed” so many other farmers, he decided to make a statement about his abilities without God. He plowed, fertilized and cultivated his field, all without God’s help or so he believed.

When October harvest came, this farmer had the finest crop in the county. So he submitted a lengthy letter to the editor of the local paper, attempting to belittle the farmers who believed their harvests resulted from “God’s blessing.”

So he wrote “Sir, I have been trying an experiment with a field of mine. I plowed on Sunday, planted on Sunday, cultivated on Sunday, harvested on Sunday, even carted the crop home to the barn on Sunday. Now, Mr. Editor, what was the result? Well, this October I got more bushels to the acre from that field than any of my Sabbath-keeping neighbors got from theirs. Where is their God?”

He expected support from the editor, a man also not known for his religious beliefs. But when the letter appeared in the local paper, the editor added this comment “God does not settle all His accounts in October.”

This was the problem Job had with his three accusing friends. They assumed that God settles all His accounts in October. But that is not true. God will settle everyone’s account one day, but it’s a day that He has ordained, not ours. It is a day that He will bring to light at His perfect infinite time. 

Just because someone might get away with things that break out hearts this side of Heaven, doesn’t mean they got away with it. We have to be very careful that we don’t fall into the trap of thinking that God’s justice is weak and lacking. God will bring everything to the light of His judgement at His appointed time. The Apostle Paul said “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart….” 1 Cor 4:1-5

Paul says that only God can see the inner motives of one’s heart. Ultimately judgement of every kind, including our ministries will be by Him and in His time. We have no business passing judgements; we only see the outside, the visible and cannot see or know what is hidden in the recesses of the heart. Remember for the child of God “There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Rom 8:1. This is why we see in our society that God hasn’t judged all things according to our desires as His children. We as God’s children would love nothing more than for God to judge this world so that we live in peace. What we see as unfair or an injustice performed by others, is storing up God’s judgement and wrath in the end of their life.

Paul reminded the readers this truth “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.” Rom 2:5

The word “hardness” is used to denote insensibility of mind. A habitual hardness, which is increased by sinning and coldness to everything. A heart which is not affected with sorrow for sin, in view of the mercy and goodness of God. And the result of this God will judge at His perfect ordained time. The day when God shall show or execute his wrath against sinners.

As we read in John’s gospel “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” John 3:36

Thomas Brooks the Puritan once wrote “All men’s secret sins are printed in Heaven, and God will at last read them aloud in the ears of all the world.”

There is coming a day of reckoning and this day is fixed and sure. Marked on God’s calendar. What Job says in this portion of his response is correct and it contradicts his friend’s appeal that all wicked people suffer early. Many wicked people go unpunished and though we might struggle to reconcile that in our minds don’t change the fact that God will bring all things to Himself at His appointed time. There is only one way to escape this final judgment before the Judge if Heaven and Earth.

That is to settle

out of court.

Come to Christ and rest in Him through the Gospel that “saves to the “uttermost those who draw near to God.”. Heb 7:5

One thing is for sure!

Life is uncertain….. and there is are no certainties except God. There are no guarantees in life except what God has promised. Tragedy can strike suddenly and unexpectedly

Life is short …. for every person saved or unsaved. Every single one of us is one heartbeat away from death. What is your life? According to James it’s a “Vapor, it’s for a short time.” James 4:14

  

Life is passing…..our days on earth are numbered and like a shadow, the future is never guaranteed because this life is fragile and easily ends. But the beautiful truth in this uncertainty is that God’s promises are true and He is present to sustain you through them in the gospel of His love. So as God’s children we must, despite our circumstances, give our all, living to our fullest while God gives us life.

The universe that God created

finds the Creator everywhere.

He is everywhere present. There is no place that a person can hide and no chance that a believer will out of His protective care. The fact that God is everywhere present is a constant source of comfort for believers.

Even if you go through the sufferings

of Job in your life.