Sermon 9, Job 2:7-10
It never rains but it pours
This section covers the second bout of tragedies that befall Job, namely the physical harm via sores and the verbal harm from a loved one.
Calvin uses this second bout of tragedies to illustrate how greater hardships often follow lesser ones and this made me think about training for something, I.e. an important event. Calvin even uses the word “training”. When we train we increase our exertions in order to improve. The increased hardships are to better prepare us for salvation. This is quite powerful.
Calvin points out that God could treat us all like Job, and put us through unimaginable suffering. However, God doesn’t do this to us. We don’t suffer as much as Job and for this we should be grateful. In fact this is a theme Calvin develops a couple of times, also in connection with Job’s “We receive good from the Lord; shall we not receive evil?” After all, no matter how much we apparently suffer, even to the point of death, God has given us so much more. On the scales of blessings versus challenges, God has always provided more blessings than challenges. I just have to think about that, perhaps considering my short life with both a “cosmic” and eternal salvation perspective.
Calvin tells us that Job’s wife presents to Job a potentially bigger tragedy than both his sad losses and physical harm. The wife suggests that maybe Job’s whole life has been for nothing, paraphrasing ”Give up, already!”. Calvin makes two captivating points here. (1) Satan is very clever and may get after us using even our closest loved ones, and (2) that we don’t even need a loved one to prompt this sort of thinking. “So I must be angry with myself because that is where my greatest enemies come from.”, “We must battle relentlessly to be steadfast”.
Lastly, there is a huge “Stoicism” overlap in thought in this sermon. Calvin says “…let us learn from Job’s example to resist all our strong feelings and subdue them if we want to serve God.” An encouragement to pause between stimulus and response.
Quotes:
“Moreover, when he has strengthened us, he sends us more troublesome and burdensome afflictions because experience is to have already made us stronger.”
“It is also right that he sends us burdens that are heavier, for when does, he is looking to our salvation.”
“Now we see how Job is obliged to fight against all of his feelings.” And “…let us learn from Job’s example to resist all our strong feelings and subdue them if we want to serve God.”
“Whenever a task is difficult, more time and skill are required to learn it.”
“Our enemy is already inside of us, for all of our fleeting fantasies are just so many of God’s adversaries.”
“…the worst and deadliest temptation that Satan can place before us is to make us think that we waste our time when we pray to God and have recourse to him.”
“Our enemy Satan is very clever.”
“Job is our example.”
“…We must apply all our senses, all our brain power, or we will never achieve our goal.”