Episode Transcript
By God's grace, we're going to make that happen this morning.
But God's the teacher, His Word is the textbook.
And so let's get to it.
Last week we left off In verse 20, Job chapter 5, verse 20, for those of you just joining us on the internet.
And we began learning about what God does for us in famine.
He redeems us from death.
So let's pick up right there.
And we read a little bit about earthly famines. and learned that their origin was from Adam's sin.
And we saw how famines were often used to punish Nations who were disobedient to the Lord.
And when God brought a famine to pass, or even as He does today in His divine purpose.
It's often accompanied by a lack of rain.
And without the rain, the grass dies.
And then the crops die and the animals die and sometimes people die.
In Texas, we get a little irritated when we're put on water restrictions, don't we?
We think we've been aggrieved and So on, but the reality of a famine is that things die and people die.
And when God blesses a people who were in famine, Then he brings rain, which brings grass, and then crops and healthy animals and healthy people.
And I touched briefly last week on how Jacob sent his sons to Egypt of all places to buy corn during a famine.
And that was an error in judgment and showed a lack of faith on his part.
He should have simply left that in God's hands and prayed to God to And encouraged the children of Israel around him to do so.
But even after Jacob's bad decision, what did God do?
He redeemed the children of Israel from the power of death in famine.
And he also, by extension, Redeemed Egypt in that respect.
They didn't have nationwide death.
And the reason that happened wasn't because Egypt was doing well.
It wasn't because Egypt was so obedient or had suddenly had a national repentance toward God.
No, their Pharaoh still thought he was God.
It was because God placed Joseph in the right place at the right time.
Joseph, if you remember, was put in charge of all the land of Egypt except for the Pharaoh's throne.
And when the Pharaoh dreamed a dream, Joseph interpreted it.
And from that dream, God told him there would be seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine, which is what we're looking at in Job.
And Joseph commanded that 20% of all the food crops that were grown would be laid up in store.
In anticipation of, in preparation for, that famine.
And this was wisdom that God gave Joseph.
If you look back at Joseph's resume, we saw that when he was 17, he was feeding the animals, he was feeding his father's flock.
We don't have any record that he went to accounting college or tax preparation college or was an economist of any sort.
Nothing more than a livestock herder.
He wasn't a government official, even, until he was placed in his position by Pharaoh.
All of Joseph's wisdom came from the Lord.
And that's where yours comes from, too, if you have any.
It comes from the Lord.
Now you can have the wisdom of man, and the wisdom of man and the wisdom of God don't mesh.
And the seven-year famine that followed was one that God brought upon Egypt.
And speaking of that dream, Genesis chapter 41, verse 32, Genesis 41, 32 says, And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice.
It is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.
So there can be no doubt that God brought that famine upon Egypt.
There can also be no doubt that he was gracious to put that dream in Pharaoh's mind.
He was gracious to put Joseph in Pharaoh's path.
In his palace, so Joseph could rightly interpret the dream.
The famine was coming, but the solution had already been made known.
And in that famine, not from the famine, but in that famine, God redeemed Israel from death.
And in turn, Egypt benefited as well.
The redemption from death and the famine Now listen to this.
The redemption from death and the famine was first made known to the Jews.
The Gentiles and all these enchanters Pharaoh had didn't have any idea what the dream meant.
That's why they came to Joseph.
It was first made known to the Jews and then to the Egyptians, which are the Gentiles.
Even though Pharaoh had the dream, he didn't understand it.
There was a veil over the eyes of his understanding.
And God lifted that veil when his chosen one, Joseph, revealed God's truth of redemption from death in the famine.
Doug already knows where we're going.
Now, before we continue, let's look for a moment at the Hebrew word translated redeem in this verse.
And it means to loosen by cutting.
You'll also see it translated as the words deliver and ransom and rescue.
It's not the same as the word deliver back up in verse 19.
But it's very close.
And when used in the Old Testament, redemption price was sometimes money.
You'll see certain things, animals, certain, even people being redeemed with a certain amount of shekels and so forth.
I'll read an example from Numbers chapter 18 verses 15 through 16.
If you're taking notes, just jot that down.
Numbers 18, verses 15 through 16.
And this is a command that was given to the children of Israel: Everything that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring unto the Lord, whether it be of men or beasts, shall be thine.
Nevertheless, the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.
And those that are to be redeemed from a month old shalt thou redeem according to thine estimation or value. for the money of five shekels after the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty Ghiras.
Now there's an example of money being used as the redemption price.
In other cases, and this is especially good, an unclean animal was redeemed with a clean animal or by a clean animal.
Listen to Leviticus chapter 11, verses 3 through 4.
Leviticus 11, 3 through 4, where God told the children of Israel.
Whatsoever parteth the hoof, now I want you to imagine the hoof of an animal like this.
Whatsoever parteth the hoof and is cloven-footed, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that shall ye eat.
So that would be a clean animal.
Nevertheless, these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof, as the camel, because he cheweth the cud.
But divideth not the hoof.
So his hoof is like this, even though he chews a cut, like a cow that's cloven-footed.
He is unclean to you.
And then Exodus chapter 13, verse 13, Exodus 13, 13 tells the children of Israel what the law is.
Concerning the redemption of a specific unclean animal.
It says, and every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb.
And if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck.
And all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem.
So an ass didn't meet the qualifications of having cloven hoof and chewing the cud.
And to redeem the firstling, the firstborn of an ass, it cost you a lamb, which was a clean animal.
So now, with a maybe a little bit better understanding of the word redeem, let's take a look at what we've learned in Job chapter 5, verse 20.
And look now at the spiritual application of God redeeming man from death in a famine.
That's what Eliphaz said God did.
And to be very clear, there is a spiritual famine.
And the fact that most people think there's not makes it even more dangerous.
I don't think it would take a very intelligent person To drive across the land of a famine and see the dirt cracked and the grass dead, and dead animal carcasses laying around, and no crops growing or producing.
The fruit of trees hitting the ground before it ever even ripens to say, oh, this looks bad.
This looks like a famine.
They may not say the word famine, but they would recognize there's a problem here.
But to recognize and to accept that there's a spiritual famine, those same people.
Don't seem to have that ability or that desire.
It's not just that there will be a spiritual famine one day, there is one.
Romans chapter 12, verses 19 through 20A.
Put the little letter A means we're not reading the entire 20th verse, just the first part.
Romans 12, 19 through 20a.
Paul said, Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the LORD.
Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, Feed him.
Now, what do Christians and our enemies have in common?
Hunger.
We all hunger.
Where do we differ from our enemies in this respect?
We eat of food that cures our hunger, our spiritual hunger, and our enemies refuse that food.
And although a practical application from that passage in Romans about feeding the physically hungry Enemy could be made, and it's certainly true.
There's a the higher spiritual truth that we always want to land on.
And spiritually speaking, what food is it that our enemies need?
It's the same food we need.
They need the Word of God.
And when Paul wrote, if you look at that in context, what I just read, when Paul wrote for the Romans not to avenge their adversaries or their enemies, He told them he himself would repay that vengeance.
He said, God will repay that vengeance.
And therefore, we don't need to starve our enemies.
But to preach God's word to them.
Imagine if somebody came into this church and said, I'll tell you one thing: I'm a Mormon and I'll die a Mormon.
Well, sir, would you have a seat and listen to God's word since you're already here?
I will, but I'm going to stay a Mormon.
I don't believe what you all believe.
You know what we're going to do?
We're going to feed him.
We're going to put some food on the plate and say, There you go, this is the sheep food we have around here.
And if he remains unrepentant, you know what he'll do?
He'll tip the plate over and walk out.
He refused the food.
He's in a famine.
He needs God's word, but he won't take it.
But we still preach that word to them.
And if that word fills our hungry souls, that's why you're here this morning.
If that word fills our hungry souls, it can fill theirs as well, if they'll eat it.
And there is a famine.
And most of mankind suffers for it.
Even the most well-fed people, they suffer from this famine.
And the amazing thing about it is.
The supply, the food supply for that famine has always been the same and it's never run out.
In John chapter 6, Jesus was telling the Jews that he was the bread sent from heaven.
In fact, he encouraged them to eat his flesh.
Do you remember the Old Testament word manna and what it meant?
I bet one of you kids remembers that too.
What did the word manna mean?
What is it?
That's it.
I was right, wasn't I?
I knew which side to look at.
Exodus chapter 16, verse 15.
And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna.
For they wist not what it was.
And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.
Now, if you're not familiar with this, the Bible often defines its own words.
So when it says it is manna, and then you have the colon.
And then it says, for they wist not what it was.
The Bible's telling you this is why it was called manna, because they were asking, what is it?
They wished or they knew not what it was.
That's why the question would be asked.
That's why the word would be defined that way.
Now listen to what Jesus said in John chapter 6 verses 52 through 58 because he's going to reference what I just read you. from Exodus.
John 6, verses 52 through 58.
The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh?
to eat.
Speaking about Jesus.
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life, and I will raise him up the last day.
For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him.
As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
This is that bread which came down from heaven, not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead.
He that eateth of this bread, referring to himself, shall live forever.
Now, the Old Testament Jews Saw the manna and wondered, what is it?
The New Testament Jews saw the manna, the bread of life, and wondered, who is it?
Who is this guy?
Why Jesus would call himself the bread of life.
Why would he?
That's what they wondered.
Because he knew sinful man was in a spiritual famine.
And although this Old Testament manna spoke of the bread of life, Jesus drew a clear distinction between the two.
If the only famine you address, and this is for anybody, if the only famine you address is the physical one, you will die.
For the wages of sin is death.
It is appointed unto man once to die.
If you eat only earth's bread and reject the bread from heaven, You'll not only die physically, but you'll die spiritually.
If you eat of the bread sent down from heaven, Then you'll still die physically, but you'll live forever spiritually.
And that's what Jesus was teaching.
You eat this bread, you live forever.
Now, Jesus, I can imagine if I was a little boy and I was trying to make sense of Jesus saying, Eat my flesh and drink my blood, I'd think, wow, that's.
That's hard to understand.
Jesus was not encouraging the Jews to take a bite out of his arm or to drain his blood in a cup and drink it.
He was teaching them to believe on him.
He said, You drink that blood and you eat that bread, and you dwell in him, and he dwells in you.
That can only be done by faith.
He was teaching them to believe on him to cure the spiritual famine in which they found themselves being descendants of Adam.
In famine, he shall redeem thee from death.
Now, let's go back to our text there in Job 5:20 and look at the next part of it.
And in war from the power of the sword.
He shall redeem thee from death, and in war from the power of the sword.
That is.
God will also redeem us in war from the power of the sword.
Now, if you want to read about wars, you don't have to go find a book about the Civil War War between the states.
I've been corrected before when I said civil war, but whatever your preference is there, you don't have to pull up documentaries about World War I or two, as interesting as they may be.
Just read the Old Testament.
You'll find all the war you want in the Old Testament.
There were wars between Gentile nations.
There were wars between Gentile nations and the children of Israel.
There were wars between the various tribes of the children of Israel.
In Exodus chapter 15, Moses and the children of Israel sang a song.
It was a song of praise to God who had delivered them from the Egyptians.
And in the first part of that song, which is in Exodus 15, verse 3.
They sing, The Lord is a man of war.
The Lord is his name.
God is a man of war.
He knows all about the sword.
There's no weapon that has ever been formed that could defeat him.
He's undefeated.
He's unrivaled.
And even when other nations defeated Israel and took them captive.
It was God who brought it to pass.
Just like He brought the famine to pass in Egypt, He brought those things to pass.
And I noticed in the study about the famine and also about The war here that Eliphaz said, In famine, he shall redeem me from death.
It did not say he would redeem thee from famine.
In other words, that you would never be around when there was a famine.
In this part of the verse, Eliphaz does not say God would redeem thee from war.
He said in war, he would redeem them from the power of the sword.
When I hear people say, if God is so good, why are there wars and famines?
Well, God is so good.
And there used to be no wars or famines or sin or any of its consequences in the Garden of Eden.
When sin entered into the world, death came by sin.
And Romans 5 says, And death passed upon all men, for that all had sinned.
Sin brought about all wars and famines.
So the next time you hear someone say, if God is so good, why does he let Wars and famines happen.
Why does he let any of these bad things happen?
Remind them of who God is and how it was in the garden before sin.
James chapter 4 verses 1 through 3.
You want to know where wars come from?
James 4 verses 1 through 3.
Here's the question he asks: From whence come wars and fightings among you?
Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members.
Ye lust and have not.
You kill and desire to have and cannot obtain.
You fight and war.
Yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it.
Upon your lusts.
There's the answer for the world's biggest question about God, their biggest criticism of God.
Wars and fightings come from the lusts of our members.
It's in man's sin nature to lust.
To want things that he doesn't have rather than being content with what he does have.
If you found a greedy person who had a home and two cars and all the food in the refrigerator and pantry they could ask for, whose children were healthy, who even had a nice dog in the backyard.
And who complained.
And if you were to say to such a person, but you have food and clothing, shouldn't you be content?
They would have no idea what you're talking about.
That's biblical contentment, by the way.
Having therewith food and raiment, let us learn to be content.
God's people are supposed to be content with the food and clothing they have.
And He's been so much more gracious to us than just to give us food and clothing.
But the lust of the flesh wants more and more and more material goods and is not hungry for the things of God.
Now, how backwards is that?
In his own famine, to prevent his physical famine, he is a glutton, and yet to prevent the spiritual famine, he starves himself.
You know, when Adolf Hitler came to power, he wasn't content with just ruling Germany.
He wanted all of Europe.
He wanted Africa.
In fact, he wanted the whole world.
But he did not want God.
He wanted to be as God.
His greed for land and power and influence was insatiable.
Those were the lusts that warred in his members.
Those were the lusts that warred in the members of the rich man who wanted to tear down his barn. and build bigger ones for all his goods.
Those are the lusts that drive people to steal and commit acts of violence against each other.
And in war, the sword is an instrument of killing.
And because of that, the sword has power.
And what is the power of the sword?
It's death.
The sword brings death in war.
And death stops all activity, all ambition, all ownership of anything that is earthly.
It's powerful.
When a man dies from the sword, and the sword is expressive of any instrument that could cause death, but when a man dies from the sword, he takes nothing to the grave with him.
Even the body that he inhabited, the one he says, my body, my choice, you've heard that before.
Yeah, that one.
Will rot over time and return to dust.
That's the power of the sword.
And when a man dies, his spirit goes to one of two places.
The presence of the Lord or hell.
That's it.
There's no purgatory.
There's no in-between.
So the power of the sword, that's the phrase we're looking at in our verse.
The power of the sword is to end earthly life.
And to separate the body from the spirit.
And for the lost person, that sword.
Hastens his trip to hell.
But our text teaches us that in war, God delivers from the power of the sword.
It didn't say he delivers you from the sword here, and I think it's worth recognizing that we are, Jesus said, you're going to have tribulation.
So if you say, well, because I'm a Christian, God will protect me from being killed.
No, he won't.
In fact, you probably, there's a good chance if you were in the right country right now, you would be killed for your faith.
Like in Nigeria, happening every week.
But God teaches us here through Eliphaz that He delivers us from the power of the sword.
Now, A man's own sin and rejection of the gospel is what sends him to hell.
It's not the sword that comes along and makes this decision about who's going to hell or who's going to be with the Lord.
But the sword is the instrument that sends him from here, from his earthly existence.
And it has the power of death, therefore.
Now, although the sword did not kill the man that I'm about to tell you about, it did what swords do when they are used against a man.
They cut, they stab.
In all four of the Gospels in the New Testament, we read of a scene in the Garden of Gethsemane where Peter.
Cut off the ear of Malchus, who was the servant of the high priest.
And in Jesus, in Luke chapter 22, verses 50 through 51.
We see Jesus redeem Malchus from the power of the sword.
It says, and one of them smote the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.
And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far.
And he touched his ear and healed him.
Now on that day, the power of the sword was to cut off the ear of the one who was with those Jews when Jesus was arrested.
And some think Simon Peter meant to kill Malchus, and he was just a bad shot.
He missed.
Now I remember that Peter was a fisherman.
And I think he was probably quite skilled with a fillet knife.
Perhaps the sword was a little awkward for him, I don't know.
But it had the power.
To sever Malchus' ear, and it did so.
But Jesus redeemed Malchus' ear from the power of the sword.
Now, if you were to stop right there and admire only the earthly miracle that took place, that would be amazing enough, wouldn't it?
Benny hens never attached somebody's ear back to their head.
But the lesson Jesus taught did not end there.
Look what he said just after that event, as recorded in one of the other Gospels, Matthew 26, verse 52.
Matthew 26, verse 52.
Speaking to Peter after he cut the ear of Malchus off, he said, Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place, for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
Jesus taught them that the sword has the power to make men perish.
That's the word he used, perish.
John 3:16, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
So, although the sword can cause you to perish from this earthly life, it cannot take everlasting life from you.
And when we believe in the only begotten Son of God, we shall not perish.
The power of the sword is neutered.
It can only kill us.
It can't do anything else to us.
That sinful body dies, but that spiritual man lives forever.
The sword can take away earthly life.
It has that power, but it cannot take away spiritual life.
Because God, through the gospel of Jesus Christ, has delivered us from that power.
Now, something else the sword cannot do, it cannot separate us from the love of Christ.
Romans chapter 8, verses 35 through 37.
Romans 8, 35 through 37.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
As it is written, For Thy sake we are killed all the day long we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
So, in tribulation, distress, and peril, famine, the sword, nakedness, in those things, we are still conquerors.
Even if the sword kills us, we are still conquerors.
Yes.
And Paul is describing a war that is going on against Christians.
And we see it in our day as well.
The Christians in Nigeria are in peril every day from the Muslim terrorists who slaughter them.
Notice what things try to separate us from the love of Christ, but cannot.
Tribulation, distress, persecution, and then famine.
That's one of the things we just read about: famine.
Nakedness, peril, and sword, the other thing we read about in verse 20.
And again, Paul does not say those things will not happen, that you won't be naked.
That you won't be in a famine, that you won't suffer peril and distress.
Because they are happening and they will happen until Jesus makes all things new.
So we go through these things, but we are redeemed from their power.
The worst thing this world can do to you if you're a Christian is kill you.
That's it.
Verse 21.
We're back in our text now in Job 5:21, where Eliphaz says, Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue.
To be hid, or as we would say, to be hidden, is to be in a secret place, to be secreted from the thing from which you're hiding.
Now in their silly attempt to conceal themselves from God after they had sinned, Adam and Eve Hid themselves among the trees of the garden.
And that's the first place in the Bible you see the Hebrew word translated hid being used.
But let's look at those things from which Eliphaz says we will be hidden.
He says it is the scourge of the tongue.
Now, a scourge is a whip, and it's translated that way about as often as it's translated as the word scourge.
So, when you think of scourge, think of the word whip.
And looking at several uses of that word in the Old Testament, it's pretty clear that the scourge brings about pain.
On those on whom it's used, it leaves wounds, stripes, bruises, blood, missing skin.
And when taken to the extreme, the injuries a scourge causes are fatal.
But in general, the scourge is not an instrument of death, but one of chastisement.
So how does the tongue fit in here?
How is the tongue a scourge?
What kind of wounds does it leave on the one against whom it is used?
Now we have to acknowledge that the tongue is simply a part of the anatomy, a group of Organs and tissues and muscles and so forth that we use, bones, that we use to speak words.
And the brain assembles those words.
And the tongue and lips and teeth and the cheeks and the vocal cords and much more work the lungs work together to make the words come out of the mouth.
So, when the word tongue is used in this sense, it represents what a man says.
The words he speaks to others.
Listen to how David described the tongue of Doeg the Edomite, who informed David.
He told Saul that David was in the house of Ahimelech.
In Psalm 52 and verse 2, this is what David said about Doeg.
Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs, like a sharp razor working deceitfully.
He described the tongue as a razor, which cuts deeply when it's sharp.
I know that there's some fine barbers out there, but ever since I entered my law enforcement career, I guess I was aloof.
I was totally unaware before then, but ever since I entered my law enforcement career back in 1988, I've been a little nervous about a barber using a razor around my neck.
I suddenly became aware that I've allowed a man to take the sharpest knife in the industry and put it up to my neck and just hope he didn't decide that was my last day on earth.
The eraser, the tongue, think of the tongue as a razor.
Speaking of evil men, David also wrote in Psalm chapter 140 in verse 3.
They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent.
Adder's poison is under their lips.
Silah.
So not only is the tongue like a razor, it can be poisonous.
Poison enters the body through some kind of wound, or if it's inhaled, it can enter that way.
The fang of a snake is like a hypodermic needle, and it makes a wound and introduces the venom, which causes all sorts of physical problems, even leading to death.
So there are just a couple of images of what the tongue is likened to.
James chapter 3, verses 5 through 9.
James 3, verses 5 through 9.
Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things.
Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth.
And the tongue is a fire, a whirl of iniquity.
So is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body. and setteth on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire of hell.
For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind.
But the tongue can no man tame.
It is an unruly evil full of deadly poison.
Therewith, bless we God, even the Father.
And therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
Now I could read many more verses about the evil tongue.
Because that's the one that is a scourge to someone like Job or to you or to me.
And we're out of time, so we'll have to wait until next week to continue our lesson about the tongue.
Father, thank you for every person who's come.
To the class this morning, for all those who took the time to tune in and to follow along in the study of your word.
Father, we thank you for the promise that your word will not return void.
But will accomplish the purpose whereunto you've sent it.
And with that promise, we have confidence that the people who hungered for your word have learned it today.
In Jesus' name, amen.
