LESSONS FROM THE ETERNAL MEDICINE CLINIC: Part Two

1. LESSONS FROM THE ETERNAL MEDICINE CLINIC: Part Two Dale A. Matthews, MD Teammates February 6, 2011

2. TODAY’S PATIENT SCHEDULE • 11:00: Job • 11:30: Hezekiah

3. JOB: The “Woe Czar of Uz”Job 1:1-5 • “Blameless and upright” man who “feared God and shunned evil” (1:1) • Had seven sons and three daughters and prayed for them daily • Owned numerous livestock and had many servants • “Greatest man among all the people of the East” (1:3b)

4. JOB’S FIRST TEST:Job 1:6-12 • God: “Have you considered my servant Job?” • Satan: “Does Job fear God for nothing? … Have you not put a hedge around him and his household?...Stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to his face.” • God: “Everything he has in in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”

5. JOB’S FIRST AFFLICTIONJob 1:13-22 • Job’s livestock was stolen or destroyed • His servants were killed by raiding foreigners • The house of his eldest son was destroyed by wind, killing all ten of his children who were feasting inside • Job’s reaction: “’Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.’ In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.” (1:21-22)

6. JOB’S SECOND TEST:Job 2:1-6 • God: “Have you considered my servant Job…he still maintains his integrity…” • Satan: “A man will give all he has for his own life. But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and homes and he will surely curse you to your face.” • God: “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”

7. JOB’S SECOND AFFLICTION:Job 2:7-10 • Satan afflicts Job with “painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head” • Job scrapes his wounds with broken pottery • Job’s wife: “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!” (2:9) • Job: “Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?” (2:10b)

8. JOB’S FRIENDSJob 2:11 • Eliphaz the Temanite • Bildad the Shuhite • Zophar the Nammathite • These three men “heard about all the troubles…and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him.”

9. JOB’S FRIENDS:Job 2:12-13 • “When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads.” • “Then, they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.”

10. JOB’S COMPLAINTS • “What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What prospects, that I should be patient?” (6:11) • “My body is clothed with worms and scabs, my skin is broken and festering. My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and they come to an end without hope. Remember. O God, that my life is but a breath, my eyes will never see happiness again.” (7:5-7) • “Therefore, I will not keep silent; I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.” (7:11)

11. JOB’S COMPLAINTS • “I despise my life… Let me alone; my days have no meaning. What is man that you make so much of him, that you give him so much attention, that you examine him every morning and test him every moment.” (7:16-18) • “Why have you made me your target?” (7:19a)

12. JOB’S SUFFERING • “Night pierces my bones; my gnawing pains never rest” (30:17) • “Yet when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, then came darkness. The churning inside me never stops; days of suffering confront me.” (30:26-27)

13. JOB’S SUFFERING • “I have become a brother of jackals, a companion of owls.” (30:29) • “My harp is tuned to mourning and my flute to the sound of wailing.” (30:31)

14. JOB IS REBUKED BY HIS FRIENDS • 1. They tell Job that he must have been a sinner, because God punishes the sinful and rewards the righteous: • Elihu: “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Where were the upright ever destroyed? As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it.” (4:7-8) • Bildad: “Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right?” (8:3) • Zophar: “You say to God, ‘My beliefs are flawless and I am pure in your sight.’ Oh, how I wish that God would speak, that he would open his lips against you and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom,  for true wisdom has two sides.  Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin. Can you fathom the mysteries of God? ” (11:4-7a)

15. JOB IS REBUKED BY HIS FRIENDS • 2. They tell Job that he needs to repent and return to God in order to receive forgiveness and healing • Elihu:“Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal.” (5:17-18) • Bildad: “…(I)f you will look to God and plead with the Almighty, if you are pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself on your behalf and restore you to your rightful place.” (8:5-6) • Zophar: “…(I)f you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him, if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then you will lift up your face without shame;  you will stand firm and without fear.” (11:13-15)

16. JOB’S DEFENSE • “I will say to God: Do not condemn me, but tell me what charges you have against me.” (10:2) • “…I desire to speak to the Almighty and to argue my case with God. You, however, smear me with lies; you are worthless physicians, all of you. If only you would be altogether silent. For you, that would be wisdom.” (13:3-5) • “I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.” (27:6)

17. THE FAITH OF JOB • “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him;” (13:15) • “Even now my witness is in heaven, my advocate is on high.” (16:19) • “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God;” (19:25-26)

18. GOD CONFRONTS JOB • God comes to Job in a whirlwind and confronts him: • “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?” (38:4a) • “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!” (40:2) • “Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?” (40:8)

19. THE REPENTANCE OF JOB • Job repents before God: • “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.” (42:2) • “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.” (42:3b) • “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore, I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” (42:5-6)

20. THE REDEMPTION OF JOB • God rebukes Eliphaz: “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” (42:7b) • Job prays for his friends (42:8-9) • Job is blessed once again by the Lord with “twice as much as he had before”(42:10b) and “the Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first.” (42:12a)

21. LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF JOB • Stuff happens: “bad things” do happen to “good people” and life can seem unfair at times • Suffering can be redeemed: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Cor2:9) • God , our Creator and Redeemer, comes to us in our suffering, not to explain it, but to share it and to comfort us in our weakness, so that we may comfort others in their weakness (2 Cor1:3-7)

22. GOD’S PRESCRIPTION FOR ADVERSITY: Perseverance “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” (1 Peter 4:12-13)

23. SIFT AS WHEAT • “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Lk 22:31-32)

24. HARVEST OF RIGHTEOUSNESS • “God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteous-nessand peace for those who have been trained by it.” (He 12:10b-11)

25. “TABLE TALK” Have you ever suffered a loss or setback that left you feeling like Job? What were the most (and least) useful pieces of advice that you received at the time? In the past, what have been the most (and least) helpful things you have said and done with those experiencing grief? In the future, how might you better respond to a grieving person?

26. HEZEKIAH • 13th King of Judah; 2nd greatest king (after Josiah) • Son of Ahaz, an evil king, and father of Manasseh, also an evil king • Ascended to the throne at the age of 25 and reigned between 715 and 686 BC, after probably serving as a co-regent with his father from 729 to 715 BC • Prophets Isaiah and Micah were active during his reign

27. HEZEKIAH’S FATHER: AHAZ • His father, Ahaz, “… did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God. He followed the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, engaging in the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree.” (2 Ki 16: 2b-4)

28. HEZEKIAH’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS • Hezekiah “did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done. He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.)“ • Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the LORD and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses.” (2 Ki 17:3-6)

29. HEZEKIAH’S RELIGIOUS REFORMS • Purified and re-opened the temple, re-establishing animal sacrifices and creating an orchestral group (cymbals, harps, lyres, trumpets) and choir to accompany the sacrifices (2 Chr 29:3-30) • Led the largest Passover celebration since Solomon (2 Chr 30:3-11) • Prayed for all who came, even those not ceremonially clean: “May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone who sets his heart on seeking God-the Lord, the God of his fathers-even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary. And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.” (2 Chr 30: 18b-20)

30. HEZEKIAH’S MILITARY VICTORY • Sennacherib, king of Assyria, invaded Judah in 701 BC with a great army • Hezekiah unsuccessfully attempted to bribe the Assyrian king, who then surrounded Jerusalem to conquer it • Hezekiah (and Isaiah) prayed fervently to the Lord, who promised to defend Jerusalem • That night, an angel of the Lord killed 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp and Sennacherib withdrew

31. HEZEKIAH’S PRAYER • Shortly thereafter, Hezekiah becomes ill and the prophet Isaiah tells him to prepare for death • “Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, “Remember, LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.” (2 Ki 20:2-3)

32. HEZEKIAH’S HEALING • The Lord told Isaiah: ”This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the LORD. I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria…” • Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” They did so and applied it to the boil, and he recovered.” (2 Ki 20:5b-7)

33. HEZEKIAH’S SON • “Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. 2 He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, following the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.” • “He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he also erected altars to Baal and made an Asherah pole, as Ahab king of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them.” (2 Ki 21:1-3)

34. LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF HEZEKIAH • Faith is not genetically transmitted; each of us has to make our own decision • Our worship defines us: we are what we worship • “With God all things are possible” (Mt 19:26b) • Medicine and prayer are both God-ordained methods of healing • “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” (Jas 5:16b)

35. “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) GOD’S PRESCRIPTIONFOR DOUBT: Faith

36. FAITH • So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Cor 4:18

37. Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there…who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Phil 3:20-21 FAITH

39. “TABLE TALK” What are the “high places” and “sacred stones” in your life that do not honor God? How might you dismantle them and how might your worship of God be purified? Do you face (or have you faced) a seemingly impossible situation? How might you handle it? How should you pray?