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Job chapter 18, the Bible reads in verse 1, then answered Bildad the Shuit and said, How long will it be ere you make an end of words? Mark and afterwards we will speak. Wherefore are we counted as beasts and reputed vile in your sight? He teareth himself in his anger. Shall the earth be forsaken for thee and shall the rock be removed out of his place? Now again in chapter 18 we hear from one of Job's three friends and I always have to remind you at the beginning of these sermons that Job's three friends at the end of the chapter are told by God that they have not spoken that which was right. So we're in an interesting position when we look at these chapters in the book of Job because yes they are chapters in the Bible, yes the Bible is God's word, but we know that specifically many of the things that these men said were wrong. The book of Job is basically an argument of Job going back and forth between his three friends and himself and they contradict each other. They can't both be right. Job is saying one thing and his friends are in opposition to him. You know with friends like these who needs enemies because his friends are very mean and hateful toward him throughout this whole encounter and then when we get to the end of the book of Job, God weighs in and says Job has spoken that which was right and these three friends have not spoken that which was right concerning me and God says that he's very angry at the three friends including this man. And this whole chapter of Job 18 is one of the friends who God got angry at for speaking that which was not right. Now does that mean that everything that the three friends said was wrong? No and this is what we have to understand. Even somebody who's wrong, even somebody who's a false prophet is going to say some right things, but when you mix the truth with the lie it just becomes a lie. I mean God looks at the whole totality of what the three friends have said and he doesn't say well they said some good things. He says look they spoke that which was not right. Because when you mix truth and error it has a way of it all being tainted and all of it becomes error. Today sometimes you'll point out a false teacher, a false prophet and say you know look at this heresy that they're preaching and then people will say well but look he said these other things that were good things. But we ought not listen to the Bildad, the shoe heights of this world if God says that what they're preaching is a lie. Now obviously no one's perfect. I'm sure that I've said some things that aren't right. I'm sure that every preacher has said some things that were not exactly right. Nobody's perfect but the totality of my message is right. You know when I'm preaching salvation, when I'm preaching the word of God and if it's not then go find a church that is preaching right. But of course Bildad, the shoe heights message is wrong because of the fact that he fails to factor in the fact that good people suffer through bad things and that bad people often temporarily get away with doing bad and don't get punished right away. Now if we look at this whole chapter and we're going to go through it verse by verse, the main thing that Bildad the shoe height is saying in this chapter is pretty much the exact same thing he said last time he had a chance to talk and any of the three friends. They all say the same things over and over again, it's very repetitive. And the basic message that they give is that if you're good, good things are going to happen to you, you're going to be blessed, everything's going to go great for you and if you do evil you're going to suffer, you're going to be punished and to them it's just that simple. So when they look at Job who has lost all of his wealth, he's got a horrible disease all over his body, his wife has turned on him and his 10 children have died, they look at Job and according to their simplistic view of the world, Job must have committed some really bad sin that we don't know about. And Job is telling them I'm innocent, I haven't done anything wrong, and they just keep insisting if you did right this wouldn't be happening to you. Now there are people who believe this way today. The prosperity gospel or name it, claim it crowd. This is the Joel Osteen type, the Kenneth Copeland, the Joyce Meyer telling you if you do right, God's going to bless you. I mean look at me, look at the car I drive, look at all my millions of dollars. See how God's blessing me? And they teach this gospel that says if you do right, you're going to be healthy, wealthy and wise. And if you do wrong, well bad things are going to happen to you. Now there is some truth in that. Just as every effective lie has a little bit of truth mixed in, there is truth to the fact that if you do right in this life, God's going to bless you. There's truth to that. But what they miss out on is that the Bible says, mark the perfect man, and it says the end of that man is peace. And the Bible says, behold we count them happy which endure, ye have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy. See, the latter end of Job is blessed. So yes, if we do right, God's going to bless us in the end. That's the key right there. But between here and there, we're going to go through suffering. We're going to go through trials and tribulations. The Bible says, many are the afflictions of the righteous, but out of them all, the Lord delivers them. So there we see that we're going to suffer, but that in the end, we're going to be blessed. In the end, we're more than conquerors. But through it all, we go through tribulations, through trials, through pain and suffering. That's what Job's friends miss. And not only that, they miss the fact that many evil and wicked people prosper in this world. And in fact, never reap what they've sown in this world. But guess what? They go to hell for all eternity. Well once they're in hell, obviously that's worse than anything that could happen to them on this earth. Now if you're a Christian, if you're a believer, if you're saved, you're going to get it all in this life. Because God's not going to send you to hell. So He'll punish you in this life. So if you're a saved person that goes out and commits a big sin, you're not just going to get away with it. You're going to be punished for that sin in this life because the Bible says, whom the Lord loveth, he chasteth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. So you're not just going to be a Christian, go out and commit a bunch of sin, and have no consequence. You're going to be suffering for it, and it's going to be in this life. And that's why the Bible says, if you be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons. He's saying, look, if you can go out and commit a bunch of sin and not be punished and not suffer for it in this life, it's just because you're not saved. The unsaved can get away with sin. The unsaved can commit sin and prosper all the way to the grave because they're getting their punishment in hell. Whereas God's people get their punishment in this life. Job's friends have no understanding of any of this. That's why you look at a lot of false prophets that preach a lot of lies, and they're just blessed. Look at a guy like Billy Graham. Do you see him being persecuted for the faith? Do you see him suffering, being chastised, because he's a fraud, because he's not saved? He said that Buddhists will be in heaven, Hindus will be in heaven, Muslims will be in heaven. I mean, look, it's in that DVD back down the shelf, you know. I'm glad we got to put that in the New World Over Bible versions movie. Billy Graham saying that all these unbelievers, you know, as long as they just are kind of following the light that they have, you know, and they may not even know the name of Christ, but they're saved. So that's what Billy Balaam lies and tells people, but it's a fraud, because he's a fraud. That's why he gets away with preaching lies and doesn't have any consequences, because he's going to spend all eternity in hell. You look at evil dictator like Joseph Stalin, you know, one of the most evil dictators of the 20th century, you know. Him and Mao Tse Tung, those two guys pretty much hold the record for murdering the most innocent people, you know, even more than Hitler. I mean, Hitler learned how to be an evil, murderous dictator from Joseph Stalin. I mean, Joseph Stalin was doing it in the 20s, okay, in the late 20s, but those guys, they went to the grave. I mean, Joseph Stalin went to the grave as a fairly old man. I mean, you know, he never really got anything close to what he deserved in this life. I mean, he died in peace, but he has got to be burning in the lowest possible hell for all of eternity, and so did he really get away with it in the final analysis? No, but when you read this chapter, Job 18, Bildad is talking about the fact that wicked people are going to suffer. Bad things are going to happen to them, and most of what Bildad says is right. What's not right about it is that he's applying this stuff to Job who's a righteous man, because remember, Job is an upright and a perfect man that feared God and eschewed evil. Bildad is applying these things to Job saying, this is why bad things are happening to you, because bad things happen to wicked people. So is Bildad right that bad things happen to wicked people? Yes. Are most of the things that Bildad says in this chapter right? Yes. But he's wrong to apply it to Job. That's the mistake he's making. So let's look at his individual statements here, and let's walk through this, and let's analyze this in light of other scripture and figure out, okay, what did he say that's right and what did he say that's not right? He starts out by saying to Job in verse 2, how long will it be ere you make an end of words? Mark, and afterwards we will speak. Now this is the same hostility that we see every time Job starts talking, he's hostile to his friends. Of course, he's the one covered in sores. He's the one going through all the suffering. And every time Job's friends answer him, it's with hostility, right away, out of the gate. So you notice right away, when are you going to shut up? That's going to be the modern day, that's the Steven Anderson translation of this verse. When are you going to make an end of words? Mark, and afterwards we'll, he's basically saying, just tell me when you're done, and then I'll talk. You know, Mark, and then afterwards we'll speak. Wherefore, meaning why, are we counted as beasts, and reputed vile in your sight? Then he kind of looks to his friends and says, you know, he tereth himself in his anger. Well, of course he's angry, I mean, look what he's going through. Shall the earth be forsaken for thee, and shall the rock be removed out of his place? So verses 2 through 4 are just him, just kind of being snarky and being hostile. He gets into the meat of what he wants to say in verse 5. And verses 5 through 21 are all making one big point. Wicked people are doomed. Well, great, that's true. But that doesn't mean that every person who suffers is a wicked person. But let's look at this. It says in verse 5, yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine. The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candles shall be put out with him. The steps of his strength shall be straightened, and his own counsel shall cast him down. For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walketh upon a snare. The jinn shall take him by the heel, and the robbers shall prevail against him. The snare is laid for him in the ground, and a trap for him in the way. Now, he's basically said the same thing over and over again in different ways because the book of Job is a poem. So he's repeating himself, just like Job repeats himself, just that's the way that this book is written. So he talks about him casting a net for his own feet in verse 8, and then walking upon a snare. So when we see the net, the snare, verse 9, the jinn, and then verse 10 again, the snare, verse 10, and the latter half, the trap. So about eight different times he articulates the same thing about how a wicked person is going to be caught in a trap that they have laid for themselves. That they are basically the architect of their own destruction in their life. And if we look at that concept that Bildad the Shuhite is laying out, in general that is very true, that the people of this world who are ungodly, they usually end up suffering for it in this life. We brought out some examples of wicked people like Joseph Stalin or Mao Zedong that seem like they just get away with murder, literally. But we know that most people also that are wicked, you know, get what's coming to them in this life somewhat. We see them mess up their lives on this end. And when we see the doom of ungodly wicked people, usually you can say, you know what, they did that to themselves. I mean isn't that what Bildad is saying here? He's saying, look, they've laid a trap for themselves. Verse 8, he's cast into a net by his own feet. He walketh upon a snare. And when we look at a lot of people today that are suffering, sometimes we can look at them and say, you've done that to yourself. Now Job, they can't point out any sin that he's even committed. But when we look at someone, for example, who has been a heroin addict or has been a cocaine addict and now they've completely lost their mind, you know, now they're walking down the street talking to themselves, now they're in a condition where they can't even live a normal life anymore, you know, you have to look at that and say that person has done that to themselves. People through drinking have destroyed their lives and they've become, you know, alcoholics and they've gone through all the suffering in their life associated with being a drunk. All the vomiting, all the embarrassment amongst loved ones, the lost job, the DUI, the tens of thousands of dollars that that entails, and you have to look at that and say these people are destroying their own lives through drugs, through alcohol. People make stupid decisions, whatever decision you want to name, and they suffer the consequences and the repercussions for what they've done. And often they want other people to be responsible for what they've done and to step in and basically take care of their problems and fix things for them when they've messed up their own life and they've destroyed themselves and made foolish decisions that have gotten them to the point where they are. You know, when someone wastes all their money on drugs and riotous living and gets into all kinds of debt and can't support themselves, and then they basically just expect everybody to just be lining up to just help them out and pay for it all and take care of it all. You know, there are people whose children, you know, become an adult and then they go out and they live a sinful, wicked, debauched life. You know, drugs, drunkenness, whoredoms, whatever, and then they just expect their parents to just keep paying their bills, keep bailing them out, keep buying them food and everything like that. Now, obviously the story of the prodigal son is in the Bible and we see that when that person has genuine repentance and comes home to their mother and father and says, I've sinned against heaven and against thee and I'm no longer worthy to be called thy son, make me as one of the hired servants, you know, obviously at that point people should be forgiven and loved and helped out. But you'll see a lot of adult children that are totally unrepentant and they have not come to that point where they say, I'm sorry, I've sinned, it's my fault, and now I'm ready to submit myself unto you, will you please let me come back home? You know, if they were to do that then the parents should welcome them home with open arms. But I see so many times Christian parents who their children still have a bad attitude are still living in sin and yet they feel that they must just continually finance that wicked sinful lifestyle. I'll tell you right now, if I were to, you know, God forbid, but if I were to ever have a child that grew up and committed whoredoms and became drunken and became ungodly and quit going to church and quit doing what was right, that child would not be welcome in my home if they were guilty of the things in 1 Corinthians 5 where you break fellowship with a Christian. Because I'm not just saying just if they're a little backslidden, I'm saying if they're guilty of the type of grievous sins that 1 Corinthians 5 says, you know, with such a one know not to eat, where the Bible tells we should withdraw ourselves from that brother or sister, you know, if I had a child like that, and parents will often say this, well, you know, I just couldn't bear to see them just suffering and not able to pay their bills and so they just kind of keep helping them, keep paying their bills, all the time they're fornicating, all the time they're drunk, all the time they're into drugs, whatever, and you know what happens is that person never really hits rock bottom and then they never come to their senses and they just realize that they can just keep on living that sinful and ungodly life and mom and dad are always going to be there to bail them out. Listen kids, I'm not going to be there to bail you out if that's the life that you choose. If that's the life that you choose and you're going to go out and be a whore and a whoremonger and you're going to be a drunk and a drug addict, then don't come to me when you can't pay your bills and can't feed yourself. You know, you need to go eat with the swine for a while, that will help you to come to yourself. Sometimes the best thing that could happen to people is for them to hit rock bottom and to suffer a little bit and to understand that their sins have consequences. You know, children need to be taught when they're young obviously that their sin has consequences. That's why we spank our children and you know, we spank our children now so that it will never have to deal with that when they're an adult, you know, so that we can train up a child in the way he should go so that when he's old he'll not depart from it. We could, it'd be better and honestly, spanking your children can be a lot of work and it can be frustrating and it can be irritating and you know what, sometimes you just don't want to do it and you get sick of doing it. I mean, does anybody know what I'm talking about that's apparent? You know, it gets old, you get sick of it, but honestly, especially for me with the girls, I'm tempted to go soft. You know, the girls just have me wrapped around their finger and so I'm tempted to go soft but you know what I use as a little mental trick, like if I'm tempted to go soft and not discipline a daughter that needs to be disciplined, I just think about the most rebellious obnoxious women that I've known and I just think about the most ungodly women that I've known and I just think about that and I just think like, is that what I want my daughter to grow up and be like? And then that gives me the resolve to want to discipline my child because I love my child and don't want them to grow up and become an awful person. You know, I want them to be raised up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and so ideally, you know, you could deal with those problems when they're younger, right? But sometimes people got saved after they'd already had kids for a while or maybe they got in church after they'd already had kids for a while so they'd already kind of made mistakes and child rearing and it's kind of too late to fix it or maybe even they were saved all along but they just, you know, they made mistakes and things didn't work out for whatever reason or maybe a child just goes through a phase where they're an adult and they're backslidden, whatever. But I'll tell you right now that if I had a child that goes to the devil in that way, you know what? They're on their own until they're ready to come back repentant and ready to submit unto my rules because anybody who lives in my house is under my rules. No child is ever going to say to me, well I'm 18 years old now. You know, if a child told me that I may say, well there's the door. Because out there in the world, you know what, you have got to make your own way. And if you're an adult, then you're out of here. Because anybody who lives in my house is under my rules. And if anybody doesn't want to be under my rules, they're not going to live in my house. Because the one who's paying the bills is the one who makes the rules. And we, you know, too many parents are literally afraid of their adult children or their older teenage children and say, well I'm just afraid, and I've heard this, I'm thinking of a lot of real life examples right now. This isn't just some theoretical sermon. I'm thinking of a lot of examples of people who literally said, well I'm just afraid that if I come down on my teenager, or I'm afraid if I come down on my adult child, that they're just going to take off. You know, if I come down on them. So I'm going to go lenient. Because I don't want them to just leave, I at least want them to stay here. But here's the thing, it never worked. Every single example I'm thinking of, that child went off into sin. Because being lenient with sin never works. You know, everybody tries it, and it never works. Because what works is laying down the law and saying, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. That's not an option in this house. We will read the Bible, we will follow God's Word, we will go to church, and it's not optional. And if you're an adult that's going to do your own thing, and you're going to be out all night, and you're going to be drinking, and you're going to be a whore, and you're not going to come to church, then get out! That's what needs to happen. And you know what? If children grew up that way, they'd have more respect for their parents and they wouldn't go off the deep end many times in the first place. How do you respect a parent that lets you walk all over them? How do you respect a parent that says, if you do that one more time, and then you do it again, and you do it again, and you do it again, and there's no consequence. How do you respect that? You don't. You have to draw a hard line and say, this is the way it is, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Abraham was a guy that was like that. God said that he knew that Abraham would order his children, order his house, and the Bible says that we need to rule our house. That's the term that it uses. To rule our house as well, and the Bible commands us to have our children in subjection with all gravity. And you know what? That's not saying when they're five years old. That 15 year old, that 16 year old, that 17 year old, you know that 13 year old, no just it's her birthday so I've got to razz her for being 13, this teenager, you know, look, they all need to be in subjection to their parents. That's what the Bible teaches. And children who are rebellious and they grow up and they want to do it their way, they can do it their way, somewhere else. And it's hard sometimes for people to let go or to do that, you know, and I would never want to do that, but I'm ready to do it in a heartbeat. And it's not because I don't love my children, I do love my children. That's the best thing for them. It worked with the prodigal son. Okay son, you want to hit the road? See ya. Now look, dad was praying for him. Dad was hoping that he would come home. When he came home, dad was glad to see him and receive him with open arms and forgive him and love him. But you know what? That boy was a fool and he had to go figure it out for himself the hard way. And then when he came home, he had a different attitude. But you know what? He'd already lost the inheritance. He's never going to get that back. You know, but at least he could still live at home, he could still be with his family, he could still have a roof over his head and good food and a good atmosphere. So you know, yes, people do destroy their own life. They make their own bed and sometimes they have to be allowed to just lay in it. And you can't just always expect everybody to bail you out and fix your problems for you. You've got to take ownership and responsibility, but nobody in our society wants to take ownership for anything. I mean, our society wants to just go out and live their life however they want and just have everybody else pay the bill, everybody else take care of it. I mean, they want to rack up huge debts, right? Rack up a huge debt and then just, I shouldn't have to pay for this. It's like, but you racked up that debt, who else is going to pay for it? You know, and I'm thinking of student loans. You're the one who was stupid enough to pay money to listen to some burned out hippie tell you that there's no God with his gray ponytail up in front of the class telling you about all the dope he smoked in the 60s and telling you about how the Bible's got all kinds of contradictions and you're the one who majored in lesbian poetry. You know, you're the one who majored in, I don't know, basket weaving, whatever weird thing that you majored in and then it's like, well I can't find a job and I've got all these student loans. You're the one who fell for the scam. Now look, I wish that the scam didn't exist, but you fell for it. I'm not going to pay for it. I don't want to have anything to do with it. You know, people want to, and just the way that people treat their bodies today, people just destroy their bodies by, you know, eating junk food, binge drinking, taking all kinds of drugs, zero exercise, just booze and junk food and they don't take any ownership for taking any kind of care of themselves and then they just want everybody else to pay for the same health care. They want everybody to pay the same amount for health care. You know, the guy who's already spending extra money to buy quality food and actually taking the time to cook that food, which is a lot of work, you know, not that I do it, but you know, my wife does it, but you know, people take the time to cook nutritious food and they don't smoke, right, because smoking is going to cause, newsflash, smoking is bad for you, okay? Everybody knows that. Now, you know, 75 years ago, people didn't know that. You know, 75 years ago, one time my dad found this pile of old newspapers in an old cabin that was deserted in a ghost town and it had all these old ads, you know, old newspapers and ads, and there was a track runner and he was on the starting line with a cigarette and he said, it helps my wind, okay? And then doctors, there were ads that say, and you can find some of these online, you know, doctors say that, you know, smoking is good for your lungs. I mean, there are ads like that, okay, but does anybody still believe that in 2014? Nobody does, but people go out and smoke and then they think that like, we should all just be in this big, you know, healthcare, government healthcare thing where the government just provides everybody's healthcare, you know, you can be a homosexual that's, you know, 500 AIDS infected partners and you're smoking and you're drinking and you're doing drugs and you eat a bunch of junk food and you never exercise and you should not have to pay a dime for all the destruction and havoc that you're wreaking on your body, whereas other people are actually trying to take care of themselves and still are going to have illnesses and issues, but not to the same degree as somebody who's just basically just committing suicide with their body the way that they live their life. People need to take ownership for their own actions and their own responsibility for their own life. Let's keep reading. So I mean, some of the stuff that Bildad's saying makes sense, of course. Now here's a really interesting statement in verse 11. This is talking about, again, who? Wicked people. The subject is from verse 5 where it says, the wicked. So all of this is just about wicked people. It says, terrors shall make him afraid on every side and shall drive him to his feet. Now I've noticed this, that the most wicked people in many ways are the most fearful and terrified people. People that are wicked people are characterized often by fear in their lives. It's interesting. Talk to someone who's in the insurance business and, you know, queers are the best customers. I mean, they buy insurance upon insurance. They're just scared of everything. They're scared of all the different things that could go wrong because they're wicked and people who are ungodly are like that. They fear on every side. Okay, God's people should be able to walk through the valley of the shadow of death and fear no evil for the Lord is with them. But think about it, when you've got a guilty conscience, when you're living a wicked life, when you know that the Lord is not with you, why wouldn't you be afraid? I mean, think about it. If you were to walk through the valley of the shadow of death right now, if you were to go through, for example, you know, a really dangerous neighborhood or let's say you were to just be in a place that's unsafe, you'd at least know, you know what, God's protecting me. The Lord is my shepherd. I will walk, yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me. You'd know that the Bible says that the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him. You'd know many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth them out of them all. You'd know that the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. You'd know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose, and that even if bad things happen in the short term, weeping may endure for the night, but joy cometh in the morning. But what if you're just a wicked, ungodly person? Do you have all those promises? Do you have all that assurance? No, you really do have something to fear. Not only that, but the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 2 of the unsaved, it says, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Let me turn there because I want to get the part right before that. I think it's in chapter 2, yea here we go. For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. So the Bible talks about the fact that people who are unsaved have a bondage of fearing death. Now we as God's people should not fear death because the Bible says, oh death, where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is thy victory? Paul said, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. He said, I have a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. And so unsaved people, they just have fear of death all the time, even if they might not act like it, and they might try to say that they don't. I believe what the Bible says, that they're scared of it. That deep down, no matter how cool they are on the outside, deep down they're scared of death. And there's a bondage associated with that of just knowing that they're going to die and that, and you know, I think deep down most people believe or know that God exists unless they're just a complete fool. Because the Bible says the foolest said in his heart that there is no God. And yet you see intelligent people saying that there's no God. You know, I think that in their heart they know there's a God. Only the fool says in his heart that there's no God and actually believes that. And they huff and puff and say that if you don't believe in the big bang and evolution you're an idiot. And you know what, everybody knows that you have to be an idiot to think that this whole universe just came from nothing. I mean you have to be a complete idiot to think that just our genius human minds that have designed all this technology and that are more sophisticated than any computer, and our brains are so much more powerful than the most powerful computers and robots, we have such a more sophisticated system in our eyes than any camera, than any lens, and only a fool would just say, oh that just came from nothing. That's just all just, that's just animals, I mean it's just evolution. You know, evolved this elaborate creature of human beings. It's ridiculous, it doesn't make any sense. Only a fool would believe such a thing, but most people, they actually do believe that there's some kind of a God, even if they don't believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. I mean think about it, when you go out soul winning, don't most people believe in something? I mean how often do you run into people that are just a total atheist? It's not that often. Most people believe in some kind of a God or high power, and if they're not saved, they're nervous about it. You know, what happens? Is there going to be a punishment? They know they've done wrong, they know they've sinned. Will there be a punishment? Of course the answer is yes. But we as God's people, we know we're saved and we don't have to worry about it, you know, because our sins have been separated as far as the East is from the West. He promised that he would remember our sins no more. We're saved. But the Bible says in verse 11, terrors shall make him afraid on every side and shall drive him to his feet. And notice how our nation is becoming a fearful nation the more wicked we become, the more ungodly we become. Because even a backslidden Christian is going to have fear in their life of just kind of knowing that chastisement's coming, scourging is coming. Whereas when you're walking with the Lord, none of us perfect, but at least when you're in general walking with the Lord, you realize, okay, God's going to take care of me. And even if something bad happens, it's testing. It's like Job. He's going to get me through it. I'm going to get through it. But as our country turns away from God, we become fearful and scared of every shadow and the terror alert level is at level orange all the time. Threat level orange, you know, and we're just scared of everything because we just don't believe that God's going to protect us anymore. And we're right. Because as a nation, God's not going to protect us because we've become ungodly. Us as individuals, we can just pray that God will protect us and our church and our friends and loved ones. But honestly, our nation is not under the blessing of the Lord. Our nation is under God's wrath today for rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ and for becoming heathen in our culture and in our lifestyles in general. It says in verse 12, so it said in verse 11, terror shall make him afraid on every side and shall drive him to his feet. Verse 12, his strength shall be hunger-bitten and destruction shall be ready at his side. Now this is one of those words that people would criticize about the King James and say, you know, hunger-bitten? What in the world does that mean? You know, what kind of an archaic word? But here's what you have to understand. That's what the original says, okay? I mean, does everybody know what hunger means? Is that an archaic, off-the-wall word? That's a well-known word. Okay, does everyone know what it means to be bitten? Okay, so hunger and bitten are two perfectly good English words. Now, the fact that Bildad the Shuhite decided to put those two words together and say his strength shall be hunger-bitten, that doesn't really make a lot of sense to me. I mean, is there anybody in here that says that's a really profound statement? But keep in mind, this isn't coming from God. This isn't coming from the Holy Spirit. It's coming from the guy who God said this guy's wrong, Bildad the Shuhite. So you know, I'm not really going to get too hung up on what Bildad the Shuhite, who's a false teacher, meant when he said that the wicked man, his strength shall be hunger-bitten. But that's what the original says. That's why if you look at most of the modern versions, they still say hunger-bitten. Because that's what it says. I mean, you can't get around. But then some of them are like, that's too hard, let's change it. Yeah, but if that's what it says, you know, you can't change it. I mean, that's what it is. It is what it is. Now what does it mean to be hunger-bitten? His strength shall, you know, I was really trying to figure this out. And it's funny because I've read the book of Job almost as much as I've read any book in the Bible. Because I really like the book of Job and I've always liked reading it. But I'll be honest with you, over the years, I kind of speed read the three friends. I mean, I still read them, but I'm not really just poring over every word of these guys. You know, I'm more, when I get to the Job chapters where Job's talking, you know, I'm paying a lot of attention. But preaching these sermons has forced me to really just look at what the three friends even said with the fine-tooth comb. So I was trying to figure this out, you know, what it could mean when it says his strengths shall be hunger-bitten. And here's what I came up with, okay, are you ready for this? This is what I came up with. When you're hungry, when you don't eat enough, it makes you weak. You lose strength, okay? You know, and if you're a person who exercises a lot, you'll know that nutrition has a lot to do with your performance when it comes to exercise. You know, if you're, whether it be running, whether it be weight training, whether it be any kind of sports, if you don't eat enough food, you will not have fuel in the tank to perform. I mean, it's that simple. You must, before some great exertion, ingest a lot of calories. And if you're on a diet, if you're losing weight, and while you're losing weight, you go out and try to perform some feat of strength, you will lose strength. You will not be as strong as when you are gaining weight. When you're gaining weight, you're at your strongest. And while you're losing weight, you're losing a little bit of strength as well. And you know, if you're just maintaining, then you will have the same strength that you normally have, and maybe you could gain strength through working at it, but his strength shall be hunger-bitten. The only thing I can make out of that is that basically, his strength is going to fail just as a person's strength would fail who had not taken in nutrition, who had not eaten. You know, a hungry person is not as strong as a well-fed person. It's that simple. So there you go, folks. The mystery of hunger-bitten has been solved forever. This archaic, difficult, King James word says, his strength shall be hunger-bitten and destruction shall be ready at his side. It shall devour the strength of his skin. Even the firstborn of death shall devour his strength. So if we look at verses 12 and 13 together, it's all kind of saying the same thing. You know, this guy's strength is gone, he's losing his strength, his strength is hunger-bitten. He's becoming weak. It says in verse 14, his confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle and it shall bring him to the king of terrors. Again, emphasizing the same point, that the ungodly are very fearful and scared. And by the way, if we look at a wicked man, remember our example from earlier, Joseph Stalin? You want to talk about somebody who is fearful and scared and terrified? Part of the reason why he's killing so many people is because he thinks everybody's trying to take over. You know, all of his advisors are all out to get him, they're all trying to take over. They're constantly suspecting the people around them because they're terrified and fearful because they know that there's no honor among thieves and that the revolution devours its own children. I mean, if you look at Adolf Hitler, there's a famous event in the story of Adolf Hitler known as the Night of the Long Knives. Has anybody ever heard of that? You know, and it was a time when basically Hitler had a lot of people who had really done a lot to put him in power, killed. Because he felt that they're too much of a threat, that they're getting too much power. So if you look at evil dictators, they're always really scared of being assassinated or of their followers rising up against them or even of their close friends, you know. The Julius Caesars of this world are scared that there's going to be a Brutus that will kill them. And so again, it rings true about wicked people being very terrified. Terror is an extreme fear or an unreasonable fear. That's what the word terror means and it's used twice in this passage about wicked people. They're scared, they're terrified. It says in verse 16, His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut off. His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street. He shall be driven from light into darkness and chased out of the world. He shall neither have son nor nephew among his people, nor any remaining in his dwellings. So again, Bildadz is proclaiming doom and destruction upon the wicked. It's true that they will eventually be destroyed. It says in verse 20, They that come after him shall be astonished at his day, as they that went before were affrighted. Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him that knoweth not God. And then if you just look at the next few verses in chapter 19 just to kind of put it all together. It says, Then Job answered and said, How long will you vex my soul and break me in pieces with words? These ten times have ye reproached me. Ye are not ashamed that ye make yourselves strange. So again, why is Job angry? Why is there an argument going on between these men? Because they're applying all this wickedness to Job. Everything that we just read about what's going to happen to the wicked, they're saying, that's what's happening to you right now, Job. Because look, is Job's skin in very good condition right now? Remember, his skin is covered in boils. His skin is covered in sores from the crown of his head to the top of his foot. And what does it say in verse 13 of Job 18? It says, It shall devour the strength of his skin. See Job? So if you look at a lot of the things that they're saying, they're trying to put this all on Job. So what we take away from this is that when we see bad things happening to someone, we can't assume that it's because they're wicked. Because Job had not done anything wrong and yet went through all these same things. But we will often see wicked people who do go through things like this because they're wicked and because they have laid the trap for themselves, they have made their own bed and they are laying in it. So again, there's some truth in what Bildad's saying, but we need to understand a larger picture. And that's the thing. Some people want to make things just a little too simple. But sometimes the truth can be a little bit more complex. Often the truth is simple, but often the truth can be a little more complex. And some people just want things to be just really simple. They can just wrap their mind around really simple concepts. Like just good things happen to good people, bad things happen to bad, that's all I want to hear about. God loves everybody. It's just that simple. You know, it's just simple. Keep it simple. No, sometimes it's a little more complicated than that. We need to look at the whole scripture, the whole word of God, and we need to learn the whole big picture and see, okay, yes good people are going to be blessed, yes bad people are going to suffer and become weak and become a complete catastrophe and they're going to go to doom and destruction. But we need to understand it's a little more complicated than that because there's the difference between the saved and the unsaved. God deals with them differently. The saved get punished in this life. The wicked, sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. You know, those who do good in this life, sometimes people do good and immediately they're rewarded. I mean, have you ever done something good and you're just immediately rewarded? Think about it. You can probably think of examples where you did something good and just boom, you're rewarded. I mean, one time I remember doing something good and I gave something and literally like days later I go to work and my boss takes me aside and said, you know what, you're not supposed to be getting this bonus. I don't know how this happened. This was only supposed to go to people in management. I don't know why you got this bonus, but for some reason you got this. You know, it was like 130 bucks or something, but to me back then, this is when I was a teenager. I mean, this is huge. It's 130 bucks. Don't tell anybody else because you're the only one who got it. It was probably a mistake, but you know, here's an extra 130 bucks, and I was like, wow, God's rewarding me. You know, I just did that and then just boom, the reward, but guess how many times that happens in life? Yeah, I'm telling you about it from when I was a teenager because I don't have a more recent illustration, okay? So I'm saying, usually when you do good things, you're not just instantly like, you know, put your hand on the screen. If you mail in 100, you're going to get 1,000. You know, mail in 1,000, you're going to get 10,000. If you sow sparingly, you're going to reap sparingly. You know, give as much, I mean, whatever you give, it's going to be 10 times. Show God how much faith you have by giving everything. Call the number on the screen. Operators are standing by, you know. But how often does it really happen that way? Well, okay, I'll ask you this question. How often do you put a seed in the ground and the next day there's a tree with fruit on it? Never. Because it takes a long time to reap what you've sown. Usually when you do something bad, it's not, you know, you don't just get struck by lightning five minutes later. There's a delayed reaction. Sometimes though, you will be rewarded immediately. Sometimes you'll be punished immediately, but usually that's not how it works. But I can think of things that I did and I thought to myself, you know what, God never rewarded me for that. God never blessed me. You know, I don't know why. And then like a decade later you get the blessing and the reward and you're like, okay, it just takes a long time. That's how life is. But the bill dads of this world, they just see it as, you know what, just do good and it's just going to be all roses and sunshine and butterflies and unicorns if you do what's right. And you're never going to have any suffering. You're never going to go through anything. And then, you know, if you do wrong, I mean, it's going to hit you now. And people, this is how they think. So then they'll start sinning and they're like waiting for something bad to happen and nothing bad's happening, I'm getting away with it. And then they'll just keep sinning and dig themselves in deeper and deeper and deeper And then eventually the bill comes. You know, it's always going to come. So you know, in reality, 90% of what Bill Dad is saying is pretty true as long as we understand the big picture. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for your word, Lord, and thank you for the safety that we have as your people that we don't have to live our lives terrified and scared of death and scared of every shadow, Lord, as the wicked are. Thank you for giving us the security and the peace just to know that your angel is looking out for us and that you will take care of us, Lord. Help us to realize that the wicked are really in for some doom and destruction. I mean, Bill Dad had a point about that. Help us never to envy them and want to be like them and want to be like the famous Hollywood stars. Lord, we know they've been set as slippery places. Help us never to fall into that trap of envying their lifestyle. And Lord, help us to realize that if we continue to do what's right, if we live a godly life, you will bless us in the end. Even if we go through temporary suffering, we're going to be blessed for doing what's right. And in Jesus' name we pray, amen.