You will never go a day in your life when someway, somehow, your integrity is not going to be put on the line. It may be in a big thing. It may be in a little thing. But every day, big and small, our integrity is tested. You don’t have to study the Bible very long or very hard to realize that integrity is a big deal to God. There is probably no greater need today in our nation, in our churches, in our homes, and in our personal lives than integrity.
Some say the book of Job is about suffering. Some say the book of Job is about patience. I believe the text of Job really points to the fact that the book of Job is about integrity. It is about man’s integrity. But it is also about God’s integrity. The book of Job seeks to answer two primary questions. The first question is this: “Will a man serve God for nothing?” The second question the book of Job seeks to answer is this: “Is God worthy to be served if it costs me everything?” If this year you lose your job, will you serve Him? If this year you lose your kids, will you serve Him? If this year your body is consumed with cancer, will you still serve Him and is He worthy to be served?
This text gives us 3 simple reminders for maintaining our integrity.
1. Your Integrity Is Precious In The Mind of God. Chapter 2 opens up with a scene in the courtroom of heaven. It is the second scene in the courtroom of heaven in the book of Job. The angels have presented themselves in the presence of the Lord and Satan comes waltzing in.
God says to Satan, “Where have you been?” Satan says, “From roaming through the earth.” And then God says an interesting thing. Listen to what he says to Satan in verse 3. Verse 3= “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth.”
John Piper said this would be like a jewelry store owner walking into his jewelry store late at night and catching a thief red handed. And the Jewelry store owner says, “By the way, did you see my most precious jewel near the front of the store? Did you see my most valued diamond?”
Satan says, “I’ve been roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” And God says, “Have you thought about or considered My servant Job, for there is no one like him on the earth.”
Then God defines this good integrity by beginning to explain what Job is like. It is the third time in the book of Job that Job’s biography is shared. The Bible begins to explain what Job is like. He says, first of all, there is no one like Job.
Verse 3= “a blameless and upright man.”
The root word of the word “blameless” is the idea of an inner quality. This word conveys the idea of completeness or wholeness. He is not only blameless but he is “upright.” If the first word refers to the inner quality of Job, this word “upright” refers to the outer qualities or the behaviors of Job. Job walks straight in line with God, his inside and his outside match. He practices what he preaches. Not only is he blameless and upright, but he “fears God.” Fearing God is rendering unto God what which is a proper response to who He is. Because he feared God, he “turned away from evil.” The idea behind that word is continuous action. It is his lifestyle. Job ran away from evil. He didn’t flirt with it. Job turned away from evil.
Job was a faithful follower. Not only was Job a faithful follower, Job was a faithful father. Job was a man who wanted to be God’s man. He wanted to bless his kids, his business and those around him.
Proverbs 20:7= “The righteous man leads a blameless life, blessed are his children after him.”
Job’s family was blessed because their daddy walked with God. Job’s business was blessed because he walked with God. The folks around Job were blessed because he walked in his integrity. God defines integrity. Job will demonstrate integrity.
2. Your Integrity Is Protected By The Hand Of God. In Job 2:3 God will go on to say to Satan, “although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.” God guards our integrity against the accusations of Satan.
Satan’s general accusation is this: “The only reason that Job serves you God is not because of who You are. Not because of Your majesty. Not because of Your holiness. Not because of how good You are or how great You are. But he serves You because of what Job can get out of it.”
So Satan speaks up and says this in verse 4= “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.”
Listen what he goes on to say in verse 5= “However, put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh. He will curse you to your face.”
“He has lost all his stuff, but You take his health and Job will look You in the face and he will curse You!” Satan’s two primary strategies are pain and pleasure. But understand, the attacks of Satan are limited by your God.
When Satan first enters the room, God says, “Where have you been?” Satan says, “From walking in the earth.”
Understand this, Satan is not omnipresent. He can’t be everywhere at the same time. He goes from one place to another place
Here in verse 6 God will say this, “So the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took a potsherd to scrape himself while he was sitting among the ashes.”
Satan literally brings Job to his boiling point. But understand, he could only go as far as God would let him. In your life and my life the New Testament reaffirms this.
Luke 22:31= Jesus says to Simon Peter, “Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.”
He has to get permission. There is no tragedy or no devastation that will come into your life this year apart from God allowing it to come in!
3. Your Integrity Is Pleasing To The Heart Of God. How did Job make it? His wife says to him in verse 9= “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!”
I mean, after all, that is what Satan said would happen. “God, if it gets bad enough, they will curse you!” Keep in mind, his wife had just lost her home and her 10 kids.
So Job responds to his wife by saying this in verse 10= “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” He was grateful for the control of God in his life. Job’s rock and refuge when everything else seemed to be crumbling was the absolute sovereignty of God. Job says, “I know God is at work. I don’t understand it and I can’t explain it. But God is at work and when this thing is all said and done, I will come forth as gold.”
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