Sermon Notes: Thankful for Discipline

Thankful for Discipline:
Towards A Better Understanding of Job
(This Sermon was enhanced from its original presentation at Maranatha Baptist Church, on November 1, 2026)

We are now in the Thanksgiving season and we are beginning a series on being thankful.

Today we are focused on something most people would see as quite odd: being thankful for God's discipline.

Our reading this morning:

Job 1:6 KJV Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
 7  And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
 8  And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
 9  Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
 10  Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
 11  But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
 12  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

Pray

As I said before, Job is the oldest book in the Bible.

It is our first look at God in printed form.

The book of Job is not fiction or an allegory

Job was a real man with a real family and real friends.

Since the book of Job uses language and illustrations that are difficult to understand,

many people have taken a superficial misunderstanding and several misapplications.

Job also speaks about real dinosaurs that no longer exist, Like the behemoth,

Job 40:15 KJV Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.
 16  Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly.
 17  He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together.

No, this was not a hippopotamus.

And a real fire-breathing dragon called a leviathan

Job 41:1 KJV Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?

Job 41:19 KJV Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.
 20  Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.
 21  His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.

It sounds unbelievable until you research various unique living creatures like the Bombardier beetle, the skunk, or the lightening bug.

Here is a short synopsis of the book of Job:

Job was a very obedient, and very faithful man that loved God and loved his family.

However, Job was also stepping over a couple of very serious boundaries.

God had to bring discipline into Job's life to correct the problems

The first level of correction did not work, it was resisted, and God did not get the results He wanted.

So God permits a second level of discipline in Job's life, more severe than the first.

The second level of discipline also did not produce the desired results.

Then God sent two waves of people to give godly counsel but the first wave of 3 people failed to give godly counsel

The second wave which provided accurate godly counsel came from a young prophet of God, and his counsel hit the nail on the head.

Still, Job resisted the counsel and, as a last resort, God entered the scene and has a long conversation with Job.

At the end of God's conversation, Job repented, which is what God was wanting at the beginning.

Once repentance happened, the discipline ceased, and the blessings could flow.

This, in a nutshell, is the book of Job.

If Job is not about correction or discipline, then Job is just a random guy God select for the purpose of tormenting some random rich person.

God did not do that to Job and God does not do that to us.

In this book God is trying to give us an understanding of how He thinks and how He responds to our disobedience after we are Saved.

There are some parts of Job that are confusing, like Job's spiritual state of being.

Three times in the first two chapters Job is described as, "tâm" (Strongs Dictionary # H8535)

Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

Job 1:8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

Job 2:3 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.

If Job was sinlessly perfect, it means he would have been born without a sin nature from his father.

Job would have also had to lived his whole life in a perfect, sinless obedience, and submission, to his parents, and to God.

Born perfect, lived perfect, and never needing to repent for anything, ever.

Believe it or not, there are some people teaching this twisted understanding, saying that Job was morally perfect and without sin.

And that Job stayed morally perfect until after his three friends provoked him to sin.

This is a lie. It is a misunderstanding that gets taught as fact.

God said:

Psalms 14:2  The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
 3  They are all gone aside, they are all
together become filthy: there is
none that doeth good, no, not one.

Romans 3:10  As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

So, either God forgot He had a perfect man in Job,

or the translation of, "tâm" (Strongs Dictionary # H8535) to 1611 King James English was understood differently than we understand it now
Since we do not normally speak 1611 King James English today.

Just for fun, let us take that Hebrew word and look for its use in the Old Testament.

The word, "tâm" (Strongs Dictionary # H8535) is used a total of 13 times in 13 verses of the Old Testament

The first use is in:

Gen 25:27  And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.

Do you see it? You don't?

The first use of the word "tâm" is actually translated, "plain".
So, was Jacob "perfect," or was Job a "plain" man?

In Proverbs 29:10 it is translated, "upright";

And in Song of Solomon it is translated twice as, "undefiled".

So what really was Job?

Well, first, Job was not sinless. Only Jesus, the Pure Lamb of God, was, is, and always will be sinless

Everyone else is a imperfect sinner

Rom 5:12 KJV Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
 13  (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
 14  Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

Job is covered in this passage because he lived from Adam to Moses.

Job was born with a sin nature from his father, just like everyone else in the world.

So, what kind of "perfect" was Job?

The same kind of "perfect" we should be.

The same kind of "perfect" pastors should be in 1 Timothy 3:1-7

No, God did not randomly select Job.

Job was in need of correction, and God has a correction process for His children.

This was the goal of the book of Job.

To teach God's people what happens if they resist God's correction.

Job's problem becomes apparent here:

Job 29:8 KJV The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood up.
 9  The princes refrained talking, and laid their hand on their mouth.
 10  The nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.note
 11  When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me:
 12  Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him.
 13  The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
 14  I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem.
 15  I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame.
 16  I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out.
 17  And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.
 18  Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand.

The root of Job's sin should sound very familiar to all of us, because his problem was Pride.

Job elevated himself to the level he could ask God, like a mediator between God and men, for God to forgive the sins of others,

Only Jesus Christ is qualified to be the Mediator

1Ti 2:5 KJV For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

although Job's family were taking no personal accountability for their sin and not personally repenting for their sins against God, Job thought he could do it for them.

He was wrong and he needed to recognize his error and repent from his sin.

Notice how everything in Job's life only changes AFTER he repented.

Job 42:1 KJV Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
2  I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.note
 3  Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
 4  Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
 5  I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.
 6  Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

This is always the objective of God's discipline

It is the same discipline found in Hebrews:

Heb 12:6 KJV For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
 7  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
 8  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
 9  Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
 10  For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.note
 11  Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

God's discipline is actually a great blessing.

It gets us back on track

It confirms to us that we belong to God.

It gives us the opportunity for blessings.

This thanksgiving, and at many times during the year, thank God for His discipline.

END