Image generated by A.I.
Bob turned on the television at the end of a long day. He walked across the room and fell into a recliner, exhausted. His wife Julie was seated next to him, using her phone to play an online game of Scrabble with one of her girlfriends.
As the television came on, the screen filled with dramatic lighting, spotlights shining onto a darkened stage. A preacher appeared wearing trendy sneakers and skinny jeans. The microphone near his chin was nearly invisible. He had a Bible in one hand, a folded bandanna in the other. He was nearing the end of a sermon and had worked himself into a lather explaining how to take that next step toward the great life God has planned for you:
“Listen to these words from chapter eight, verse six,” and he looked down and began reading,
“‘Here’s what you must do—and don’t put it off any longer: Get down on your knees before God Almighty … it’s not too late—he’ll come running; he’ll set everything right again, reestablish your fortunes. Even though you’re not much right now, you’ll end up better than ever!’
Suddenly the preacher stopped reading and looked up at the camera: “You’ll end up better than ever! Can I get an amen?”
Bob interrupted his wife. “I’ve never heard that verse, have you?”
“Oh, I wasn’t listening, honey. What did he say?”
“I don’t know … something about ‘God will reestablish your fortunes and you’ll end up better than ever.’ I’m not familiar with that verse.”
“Me neither.”
The preacher went on:
“And let’s turn to chapter eleven, verses fourteen through nineteen. Oh, this is good. Listen to this!” And he began reading,
“‘If you set your heart on God and reach out to him, if you scrub your hands of sin … you’ll be able to face the world unashamed … You’ll forget your troubles! … Your world will be washed in sunshine, every shadow dispersed by dawn. Full of hope, you’ll relax, confident again. You’ll sit back, and take it easy, without a care in the world! You’ll be hunted by many for your blessing!’
The preacher stopped reading and pointed his folded Bible at the crowd. He was shouting now. “People will seek you out so you can bless them! Can I get an amen, my beloved?”
From his spot on the recliner, Bob spoke up again, to no one in particular.
“Chapter eleven of what book? What’s he talking about?”
Julie did not look up from her phone. “What’s that honey?”
“Nothing.”
The preacher continued:
“Now listen to chapter twenty-two, verses 23-30.
‘Come back to God Almighty and he’ll rebuild your life … Relax your grip on your money and … God Almighty will be your treasure, more wealth than you can imagine … You’ll pray to him and he’ll listen … You’ll decide what you want and it will happen. Your life will be bathed in light!’”
“Think about that, my friends. Think about that! ‘More wealth than you can imagine … you’ll pray and he’ll listen … you’ll decide what you want and it will happen.’ Are you hearing this? ‘You’ll decide what you want and it will happen!’” Can I get an amen this morning?”
The crowd shouted “Amen!” and the preacher continued:
“And you know what? I’ve been reading from the Message Bible. Y’all wanna hear some King James? Sometimes you gotta go back to the old King James, am I right? Now listen to this!
‘If thou return to the Almighty … then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. The Almighty shall be thy defense, and thou shalt have plenty of silver!’
That was verses twenty-three through twenty six. But oh, don’t miss verse twenty-eight, my beloved. Don’t miss verse twenty-eight!
‘Thou shalt decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee!’ Did you hear that?”
Then the preacher stepped down from the stage to work the crowd, moving from person to person.
Bob talked to the man on the screen. “Yeah, but what book are you reading? Chapter twenty-two of what? I’ve never heard these verses.”
Julie did not look up from her game.
The preacher continued:
“Did you hear that? It says, ‘thou shalt decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee!’ Did you hear that? Did you hear that?
“Thou shalt decree a thing and it shall be established unto thee!’
‘You will lay up gold like the stones on a riverbed!
Did I read that right? I think I read that right! Maybe somebody better check it, because my Bible says ‘thou shalt lay up gold like the stones in a brook!’ How many of you know—that’s a lot of stones! Have you ever tried to dig in a riverbed? How deep do you have to dig to get past the stones, you understand what I am saying? The Bible says if you seek God, you’ll end up better than ever, Amen?” The audience mumbled. “I said, ‘the Bible says if you seek God, you’ll end up better than ever! Amen?”
The second time the audience answered loudly, “Amen!”
“And people will seek you out so that you can bless them, amen?”
“Amen!”
“And you’ll decide what you want and it will happen, amen?”
“Amen!”
“And your life will be bathed in light, amen?”
“Amen!”
“And you’ll have gold, amen?”
“Amen!”
“Somebody turn to your neighbor and say, ‘you’ll have gold!’”
The cameras showed audience members talking to each other and laughing.
“And you’ll have silver, amen?”
“Amen!”
“Somebody point at your neighbor and say, ‘you’ll have silver!’”
The cameras showed audience members pointing and laughing and talking to each other.
“And you will decree a thing and it will happen! Amen?”
“Amen!”
“I said, ‘YOU WILL DECREE A THING AND IT WILL HAPPEN! AMEN?”
“AMEN!”
The preacher concluded, agreeing with the crowd: “Amen, amen, amen!”
Impulsively, Bob leaned over and grabbed the remote. Then just before he could change the channel, he had an idea. He put down the remote and picked up his phone. He clicked on Google and the microphone icon. Then he talked to his phone: “You will decree a thing and it will happen.” The search engine responded instantly. The first hit read Job 22:28.
Bob spoke that reference into the notes on his phone: “Job 22:28.” Then he went back to Google for another search. “You’ll have gold like the stones in a brook.” The result said Job 22:24. Bob spoke that into his notes. Then he searched a third phrase: “You’ll be hunted by many for your blessing.” Google answered: Job 11:14-19. Bob noted that one, then went right back to Google: “He’ll reestablish your fortunes. Even though you’re not much right now, you’ll end up better than ever.” Immediately Bob’s phone screen said, Job 8:6.
Suddenly, Bob was energized. He got up and retrieved a Bible from the bookshelf. He muted the television. He flipped to Job chapter eight. His Bible included a heading above the chapter: “Bildad’s First Response to Job.” The first verse read, “Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said…”
“I don’t believe it,” Bob said out loud. Then he skimmed down, reading verse six in context. It matched what he had heard from the preacher.
“Now what’s next? Chapter eleven?” He flipped to chapter eleven. Again the publisher had added a heading before chapter eleven: “Zophar’s First Response to Job.” The first verse of chapter eleven read, “Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said…”
“You have got to be kidding me. He actually preached this?” And he skimmed down, reading verses 14-19 in context.
“And the last was what?” Bob said to himself, looking at his notes, “oh yeah, Job twenty-two, twenty-three through thirty.”
Bob flipped over to chapter twenty-two, already knowing what he would find there. Again, the publisher had added a heading: “Eliphaz’s Third Response to Job.” Verse one began, “Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said….”
“Seriously? He seriously preached that?” Just to be sure, the man skimmed down, reading verses 23-30 in context. It was exactly what he had heard on TV. “Unbelievable.” Suddenly Bob raised his voice.
“Honey?!You’ve got to hear this!”
Julie spoke without looking up. “Got to hear what?” She was smiling at her phone.
“No, seriously, honey. Listen.”
Julie smiled, and put her phone face down, and crossed her hands in her lap dramatically.
“Okay,” she smiled, “You have my undivided attention.”
“You know that prosperity preacher you like?”
“Don’t call him that. He’s just an upbeat guy.”
“Well, listen to this! You know what he did? He preached a prosperity message … from the book of Job!”
“Prosperity? In Job?”
“Yes!”
Bob laughed and shook his head in amazement.
“Why are you laughing?” Julie asked.
“Because I just can’t believe it! Remember the story of Job—he loses everything and his friends come and tell him to get right with God, and God will take care of him?”
“Yeah, I know. And God shows up and rebukes Job’s friends.”
“Exactly. Look. It’s here at the end,” Bob turned to the end of the book. “Here it is, I even underlined it. Chapter forty-two. God says to Eliphaz:
“My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends, for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right as my servant Job has’ Job 42:7.”
“And so?”
“And so, your boy—that preacher on TV—he literally preached the words of Eliphaz! The man God rebuked. No wonder I did not remember those words! I mean, God tells Eliphaz, ‘My wrath is kindled against you,’ and this guy is preaching the words of Eliphaz as if they were God’s truth!”
“Wow. Are you sure?”
“Absolutely sure. I looked up all the passages. He’s preaching the sermons of Job’s friends, the men God rebuked!
***
Bob and Julie are fictional characters—as is the imaginary preacher in the skinny jeans. But the scriptures from Job are real. The words of Job’s friends appear to promise that righteous people will receive gold, silver, and the power to ‘decree a thing and it will happen.’ And God rebuked Job’s friends. And God was very specific: “You have NOT spoken of me the thing that is right.”
God rebuked them for taking a Biblical truth of sowing and reaping and applying it unfairly to a single individual. We are not supposed to look on a person’s hardship and judge them to be sinful. We are not to draw conclusions based on health or illness, wealth or poverty.
In this sense, the book of Job is the ultimate rebuke of the prosperity message. Job’s life proves that following God does not always result in health and wealth. After all, the book says Job was “perfect and upright, feared God and turned away from evil” Job 1:1. Job was a remarkably holy man, regularly making sacrifices on behalf of his adult children, v.5. Yet Job lost everything.
As for health, what man of God is there who has not lost his health? Everyone dies. The Christian life is better understood by the words of the martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer who said, “When Jesus Christ calls a man, he bids him, ‘Come and die.’” Walking with God is not for the faint of heart. We are not promised health and wealth.
Now, can we take comfort in the Biblical truth of sowing and reaping? Yes! That is, you will usually reap what you sow. Usually righteous living and wise choices will result in better health and fewer money problems.
But sometimes bad things happen simply because we live in a fallen world and people suffer. We must walk by faith, 2 Corinthians 5:7.
Instead of promising us health and wealth, Jesus promised, “In this world, YOU WILL HAVE TROUBLE” John 16:33. (Think about that for a minute. Jesus promised us trouble.)
Paul understood the struggle to live in a fallen world and preach the gospel to men who hate Christianity. “I have learned the secret of having plenty and of suffering want. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Philippians 4:12-13. Paul said that when Paul prayed about his suffering, Jesus told Paul, ‘My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is perfected in weakness” 2 Corinthians 12:9. God’s grace is sufficient. We will suffer. In fact, we must suffer. Because we are clay pots with candles inside. We are jars of clay, and when we are broken, more light comes out, 2 Corinthians 4:7.
God, thank you for your great compassion, for your mercies that are new every morning! Thank you that good choices usually lead to positive outcomes, that when we sow good seeds, we usually harvest a great crop. But thank you for speaking truth to us, that in this world we WILL have trouble, but your Grace will get us through it. Use us. When we suffer as broken pots, may your light of grace and joy and hope and forgiveness pour forth into a world that needs you. Use us, Lord. Give us the courage to suffer for the cause of Christ.
AΩ
Household Words: 