Bernard and Job

Chris: Hi, this is Chris. Welcome to Adventures in Odyssey.
Bernard Walton: Hi, this is Bernard Walton. You know, I can't think of anything I'd rather do than hang around with you for a time of wonder and excitement than again getting my squeegee caught in my suspenders is exciting to me. Anyway, welcome to Adventures in Odyssey.
Tracy Mulligan: Please call me Tracy.
Bernard Walton: J O B, Job. He played for New England, right?
Tracy Mulligan: You are so lame.
Bernard Walton: What was that?
Tracy Mulligan: Nick did it. He ran over him.
Bernard Walton: Not a very good week, huh?
Tracy Mulligan: They've been practically inseparable.
Tracy Mulligan: Just stay away.
Bernard Walton: You ain't heard nothing yet. There. Takes care of that. At least for another week or so. Miss Mulligan.
Tracy Mulligan: Bernard, please call me Tracy.
Bernard Walton: Yeah, okay. Hey Tracy.
Tracy Mulligan: All finished?
Bernard Walton: That clean as a whistle. Actually, they weren't that dirty to begin with, you know, which is a surprise considering all the animals you got around here.
Tracy Mulligan: Yeah, the menagerie just keeps growing and growing.
Bernard Walton: Uh-huh.
Tracy Mulligan: My daughter Lisa is the Will Rogers of the pet set.
Bernard Walton: Ah, never met an animal she didn't like, huh?
Tracy Mulligan: Nope. The latest acquisition is that dog.
Bernard Walton: Uh-huh.
Tracy Mulligan: She brought him home a couple of weeks ago and promptly named him Wolf.
Bernard Walton: Wolf? That mangy mutt?
Tracy Mulligan: I know. He has scabies, hardly any teeth, and plenty of fleas, but who am I to stand in the way of a girl and her dog?
Bernard Walton: Well.
Tracy Mulligan: They've been practically inseparable and
Bernard Walton: What was that?
Tracy Mulligan: I don't know, but it didn't sound good. Uh-oh. I didn't even see him, Lisa.
Lisa Mulligan: Mom, come quick. It It's Wolf.
Tracy Mulligan: Oh no, what happened?
Lisa Mulligan: Nick did it. He ran over him.
Nick Mulligan: No, I didn't. I I just hit him. I didn't even mean to. Honest. I was practicing driving like, you know, you said I could and you know, just going backward and forward and I felt a bump and
Lisa Mulligan: You hit him.
Nick Mulligan: it was an accident.
Tracy Mulligan: All right. All right. Just help me get him inside.
Lisa Mulligan: Don't you touch him, Nick.
Nick Mulligan: Hey, I'm just trying to help you.
Lisa Mulligan: I don't want your help. Just stay away.
Tracy Mulligan: Set him up here on the table.
Lisa Mulligan: Is it going to be all right, Mom?
Tracy Mulligan: I don't know yet, honey.
Nick Mulligan: Look, I I really didn't mean to do this.
Lisa Mulligan: Yeah, all right.
Nick Mulligan: I didn't.
Lisa Mulligan: You never liked Wolf ever since I brought him home.
Nick Mulligan: Look, that is not true. I I just didn't like his name. That's all.
Lisa Mulligan: Yeah, well I don't like you.
Nick Mulligan: Look, I can't work if you two are going to argue.
Tracy Mulligan: Look, it's not me. It's her.
Bernard Walton: Come on. All right. All right. Lisa and Nick, come with me.
Nick Mulligan: What?
Lisa Mulligan: But But What?
Bernard Walton: Now. Let's let your mom do her job. Come on.
Lisa Mulligan: I can't believe this. On Monday, I lose my homework. Then Wednesday, my backpack gets stolen. And now this?
Bernard Walton: Not a very good week, huh?
Lisa Mulligan: Trying month. No, year.
Bernard Walton: I don't suppose it would help if I told you I know how you feel.
Lisa Mulligan: Did a car ever hit your dog?
Bernard Walton: No.
Lisa Mulligan: Then it won't help.
Bernard Walton: Actually, you sound like a fellow I know who went by the name of Job.
Nick Mulligan: Job?
Bernard Walton: Right. J O B, Job.
Nick Mulligan: I hate to tell you this, but J O B spells job.
Bernard Walton: Not in this case. See, Job was a patriarch.
Nick Mulligan: Oh, so he played for New England, right?
Bernard Walton: No, that's a patriot. A patriarch was one of the old-timers in the Old Testament. And if you think life hasn't been fair to you, you ain't heard nothing yet.
Lisa Mulligan: Why? What happened to him?
Bernard Walton: Well, Job lived in the land of Uz.
Nick Mulligan: As in The Wonderful Wizard of
Bernard Walton: No. As in the land in the ancient Middle East. He was a good man who feared God and he was also a very prosperous man. He had seven sons and three daughters, owned thousands of sheep and camel, hundreds of cattle and donkeys, and had many servants as well.
Lisa Mulligan: Guess he liked animals too, huh?
Bernard Walton: You could say that, yeah. The Bible called Job the greatest man among the people of the East. Job was a righteous man, but he didn't know that someone was watching him, someone very evil.
Lisa Mulligan: Who?
Nick Mulligan: It's the devil.
Lisa Mulligan: Be quiet, Nick.
Bernard Walton: No, actually he's right.
Lisa Mulligan: He is?
Nick Mulligan: I am?
Bernard Walton: Yeah. See, the next part of the story of Job takes place in the presence of God. One day, all the angels presented themselves before the Lord and Satan was among them.
God: Satan, where have you come from, evil one?
Satan: Lots of places. I've been roaming around the earth going back and forth.
God: Have you considered my servant Job, how blameless and upright he is?
Satan: Yes, I've been watching him very closely. Very closely indeed.
God: There is no one on earth like him. He fears God and shuns evil.
Satan: Well, of course he does. Anyone would in his position.
God: Explain.
Satan: Do you not protect him night and day? Have I not placed a hedge around him and his household and all that he has? Have you not blessed him so that his flocks and herds spread throughout the land?
God: I have.
Satan: Then is it any wonder that Job loves you? But take away that protection and strike down all that Job owns. And your so-called faithful servant will surely curse you to your face. Well, Lord?
God: Very well. I will put what you have said to the test.
Satan: Meaning?
God: All that Job owns is in your hands to do with as you please. But the man himself you will not touch.
Satan: Of course. Of course.
God: What have you said?
Nick Mulligan: Missing gold, a haunted mansion, bank robbers? Young Wit is on the case.
Lisa Mulligan: My dad says I'm clever and resourceful.
Nick Mulligan: Read all about his adventures in the Young Wit book series. These five books are filled with exciting tales that are perfect for kids ages 10 and up.
Lisa Mulligan: It's a long story.
Nick Mulligan: Your kids will love these exciting stories and they'll learn important lessons about God too.
Lisa Mulligan: Ha, I told you we'd find treasure in here.
Nick Mulligan: Learn more at youngwit.com. That's youngwit.com.
Lisa Mulligan: Wait a minute. You mean God actually let Satan have control over Job's stuff?
Bernard Walton: That's right, Lisa.
Nick Mulligan: So what happened, Mr. Walton?
Bernard Walton: Well, one day Job's sons and daughters were having another party at his oldest son's house when a servant ran up with terrible news.
Guest (Male): Master Job, Master Job.
Job: Josiah, you are supposed to be with my oxen and my donkeys. What's wrong?
Guest (Male): Oh master, your oxen were plowing and your donkeys were grazing when Sabeans attacked and stole them. I have only escaped to tell you.
Job: Sabeans? Oh no.
Guest (Male): Master, Master Job, Rama. We You were with my sheep.
Job: Oh fire, master. Fire from God fell from the sky. It It burned up all your sheep and servants and and only I escaped to come and tell you. No, no.
Guest (Male): Master, master.
Guest (Male): Abner, Abner, my camels.
Guest (Male): The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties. They swept down on your camels and drove them off. Then they killed all your servants and only I escaped to tell you.
Job: This cannot be happening.
Guest (Male): Master Job.
Job: Sabean, you You were with my children.
Guest (Male): Oh master, master, your your sons and daughters were feasting when a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the house. It collapsed and killed them all and the servants with them.
Job: No, no.
Guest (Male): Only I escaped to tell you, master.
Job: Oh my Lord and my God.
Nick Mulligan: Man, Satan didn't waste any time, did he?
Bernard Walton: No, and he's also pretty clever when it comes to inflicting pain and disaster on someone.
Lisa Mulligan: Job probably felt like I feel now. Lousy.
Bernard Walton: Well, he felt pretty bad all right.
Nick Mulligan: So was Satan right? Did Job curse God?
Bernard Walton: As a matter of fact, no. Instead of blaming God, Job praised him.
Nick Mulligan: What?
Job: Naked I came from my mother's womb and naked will I depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. May the name of the Lord be praised.
Lisa Mulligan: Wow.
Nick Mulligan: Cool.
Bernard Walton: Yes, it is.
Nick Mulligan: I bet Satan was pretty hacked though, huh?
Bernard Walton: Well, if he was, he didn't let on. Instead the next time the angels gathered before God, Satan went there too and this time with an even more devious plan.
God: Satan, back again. Where have you come from?
Satan: You know me, roaming around the earth.
God: Have you considered my servant Job, how blameless and upright he is?
Satan: What nothing but since my last visit?
God: There is still no one on earth like him. He fears me and shuns evil.
Satan: Throw Job.
God: And he has kept his integrity even though you tried to turn him against me by ruining him for no reason.
Satan: Skin of our skin.
God: Explain.
Satan: A man will give all he has for his own life.
God: But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones and Job will surely curse you to your face. What do you say to that? Very well. I will again put what you have said to the test.
Nick Mulligan: Meaning?
God: Job himself is now in your hands to do with as you please. But you are not allowed to kill him.
Satan: Please. It had never entered my mind. Well, maybe just a little.
Bernard Walton: So once again, Satan put his evil scheme into action.
Nick Mulligan: Oh, I know, I know. He caused an accident, didn't he? He made Job's tent crash on his head or caused him to ride a camel off a cliff, right?
Tracy Mulligan: You are so lame.
Bernard Walton: No, actually Satan was a lot more direct. He afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
Lisa Mulligan: Ew, gross.
Bernard Walton: Yeah, totally. Job was in so much pain all he could do was sit in ashes and scrape himself with pieces of broken pottery.
Lisa Mulligan: I repeat, ew, gross.
Bernard Walton: Apparently his wife felt the same way cuz she came up to him and said
Job's Wife: Job, Job, are you still holding on to your integrity, my husband? Curse God and die.
Nick Mulligan: What a kind, pleasant shrew she was.
Lisa Mulligan: Did Job finally cave?
Bernard Walton: Nope.
Job's Wife: You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?
Bernard Walton: And his wife wasn't the only one who didn't support him.
Lisa Mulligan: Really?
Bernard Walton: Really. See, later on four of Job's friends arrived. Their names were Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and Elihu.
Nick Mulligan: How come people in the Bible all sound like they were named during a sneeze?
Bernard Walton: I don't know. Be quiet.
Lisa Mulligan: Job's friends didn't support him at all?
Bernard Walton: Well, they were sorry for him. When they first saw him, they felt so bad they started wailing and crying. Then they sat with him for seven days and nights.
Tracy Mulligan: What they say to him?
Bernard Walton: Yeah, nothing at first. Job was in too much pain, but they made up for it later. In fact, once they started talking, they kept it up for the next 35 chapters.
Nick Mulligan: 35?
Lisa Mulligan: What did they say?
Bernard Walton: Oh, lots of things. The book of Job contains some of the world's greatest philosophy.
Nick Mulligan: Oh great.
Job: Don't worry. I'll just give you the highlights starting with Job. Oh, let the day of my birth be cursed. At least then I would be in peace. Oh why was I born if God is only going to give me a life of misfortune?
Eliphaz: Job, my friend, stop and think. Truly good and innocent people aren't punished. You know that people who sow sin and trouble harvest the same. My advice is confess your sins to God. He'll protect you from evil.
Job: Eliphaz, I cry out in desperation and you condemn me? Stop supposing I am guilty. I am righteous. Don't you think I would admit if I had sinned? I hate my life. Oh God, why have you made me your target?
Guest (Male): How long will you keep speaking empty words, Job? Is God's justice twisted? If you were blameless, he would hear your prayer and bless you. God doesn't forget a good man nor does he allow evil doers to prosper.
Job: I know all that, Bildad, but how can a man be truly good in the eyes of God? So what's the use of trying? Oh God, don't just condemn me. Tell me why you are doing it. Are you so bored that you must hound me for sins you know full well I have not committed?
Guest (Male): Job, listen. I think God is punishing you far less than you deserve. Before you pray to him, repent. Only then can you talk to him without fear.
Job: Zophar, I know that I am righteous. Oh God, don't abandon me. Tell me what have I done wrong? Point out my sins to me. Why do you turn away? Help me.
Bernard Walton: Now there's more, but I'm sure you get the idea. Again and again, Job's friends told him he was a sinner and needed to repent. And again and again, Job replied that he hadn't sinned and didn't know why God was treating him this way.
Lisa Mulligan: So what happened?
Bernard Walton: Well, finally Job and his three friends were all talked out. But Elihu, who hadn't said a word up to this point, grew angrier and angrier at the arrogance of the other men, especially Job. And when he saw that they had all finally stopped talking, he lit into Job with a vengeance.
Elihu: You say you haven't sinned and that God is abusing you for no reason. Well, I say you've sinned just by speaking of God that way. God knows what's going on and he does bring about justice if you'll only wait. But you you cry out against him because he does not instantly respond. Do you think he must tailor his justice to suit your demands or change the order of the universe to suit your whims? God is so great that we cannot even begin to know him. You should be punished even more for the wicked way you've talked about God.
Bernard Walton: And so on and so forth.
Nick Mulligan: Hmm, wow. Pretty heavy.
Lisa Mulligan: Yeah. Did Job agree?
Bernard Walton: No. No, he just sat there feeling very self-righteous.
Tracy Mulligan: I don't think he was self-righteous. I think he was right. He hadn't done anything wrong, but he had to suffer.
Bernard Walton: Well, maybe, but there's more to the story. See, after Elihu spoke
Tracy Mulligan: Lisa?
Lisa Mulligan: Mom, how's Wolf? Is he going to be all right?
Nick Mulligan: Sure he is. He fixed him up good, didn't you, Mrs. M?
Tracy Mulligan: Lisa, honey, I I have some bad news.
Lisa Mulligan: Bad news?
Tracy Mulligan: Wolf didn't make it.
Lisa Mulligan: No.
Tracy Mulligan: Honey, he was old and the damage was just too severe. I'm so sorry. Oh honey.
Bernard Walton: I'm sorry, Lisa.
Nick Mulligan: Me too. Look
Lisa Mulligan: Be quiet, Nick. Just be quiet. It's all your fault. You ran over Wolf on purpose.
Nick Mulligan: Hey, I'm trying to
Guest (Male): No, no, I didn't.
Lisa Mulligan: You're a murderer. A murderer.
Tracy Mulligan: Lisa. Lisa.
Nick Mulligan: Look, I didn't do it on purpose. Honest. It was all an accident.
Tracy Mulligan: Nick, wait. Nick.
Chris: Want to contact us about the episodes you're hearing? Visit our website at adventuresinodyssey.com or talk to someone at Focus on the Family. Call 1-800-A-FAMILY with a parent's permission, of course. We always love hearing from you.
Tracy Mulligan: Bernard?
Bernard Walton: Yeah, oh hi Tracy. Just packing up my gear. Did you find the kids?
Tracy Mulligan: I found Lisa. She 's up in the hayloft in the barn. Still no sign of Nick though.
Bernard Walton: Well, I'm sure he's around somewhere.
Tracy Mulligan: Yeah. Oh Bernard, I am so sorry you had to witness all of this.
Bernard Walton: No, nonsense. This reminds me of when I was growing up. I came from a large family and scenes like this played themselves out on a fairly regular basis.
Tracy Mulligan: Bless your heart. Thanks for understanding.
Bernard Walton: Sure.
Tracy Mulligan: Well, I better go try to talk Lisa down from the loft.
Bernard Walton: Hey Tracy, would you mind if I did it on If it's all right, I mean.
Tracy Mulligan: Well, sure. If you really want to.
Bernard Walton: Yeah, thanks. Lisa, it's me, Bernard. I know you're up there. Why don't you come on down? You You're going to make me climb this ladder, aren't you? Stubborn kids. Okay, here I come. There. Oh boy. Can't believe you made an old man like me do that. I mean, I could have fallen and broken my Oh boy.
Lisa Mulligan: Mr. Walton, are you all right?
Bernard Walton: Never better.
Lisa Mulligan: What? You were just pretending.
Bernard Walton: Guilty as charged. Sorry, but I figure that you have such a compassionate heart you can't stand to see anyone, animals or humans, get hurt.
Lisa Mulligan: Well, I guess I can't argue with that.
Bernard Walton: Yeah. Unfortunately, you also have a large streak of self-righteousness mixed in with all that compassion.
Lisa Mulligan: What?
Bernard Walton: Oh, don't sweat it. You're in good company. You're acting like Job did when his friends came to visit him. Thinking of yourself as being more righteous than maybe you really are.
Lisa Mulligan: See, I don't get why you say that.
Bernard Walton: Oh.
Lisa Mulligan: I agree with Job. He didn't do anything wrong and all these bad things happened to him. He had a right to be self-righteous.
Bernard Walton: Well, God sure didn't think so.
Lisa Mulligan: He wouldn't. He was the one who let everything happen to Job.
Bernard Walton: And you think that's unfair.
Lisa Mulligan: Well, yeah, don't you?
Bernard Walton: No, I don't.
Lisa Mulligan: What? Why not?
Bernard Walton: Because of what God told Job.
Lisa Mulligan: Wait a minute. God talked to Job?
Bernard Walton: Yeah, right after Elihu stopped. There was thunder and a whirlwind and God talked to Job personally and he was not happy.
God: Who is this that darkens my counsel by words without knowledge?
Job: My Lord and my God.
God: Now brace yourself like a man. I will ask you and you will instruct me. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me if you know.
Job: Lord.
God: Who decreed the boundaries of the seas when they gushed from the depths? Have you ever once commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the East?
Job: No, Lord.
God: Have you visited the treasuries of snow or seen where hail is made and stored? Can you hold back the stars? Do you know the laws of the universe and how the heavens influence the earth? Do you have any true understanding of the way the world works?
Job: I I I am nothing. How could I ever find the answers? I cover my mouth in silence. I have said too much already.
God: Stand up like a man and brace yourself. Are you as strong as God and can you shout as loudly as he? All right then. Give vent to your anger. Humiliate the haughty with a glance. Tread down the wicked where they stand. Knock them into the dust, stone-faced in death. If you can do that, then I'll agree with you that your own strength can save yourself.
Job: I can't, oh Lord.
God: Then why do you discredit my justice and condemn me so that you can say that you are right?
Job: Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. Oh my Lord, my ears had heard of you, but now now my eyes have seen you. I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.
Lisa Mulligan: Wow.
Bernard Walton: Yeah. Well, when the creator of the universe talks, you want to listen. And if he's angry with you, well then you really want to listen.
Lisa Mulligan: Yeah. So did God forgive Job?
Bernard Walton: Well, as a matter of fact, he did. In fact, God not only forgave Job, he restored all of Job's property to him.
Lisa Mulligan: He did?
Bernard Walton: Yes, and more. God gave Job thousands of sheep, camel, cattle and donkeys and God blessed him with 10 more children. And in all the land, there were no other women more beautiful than Job's daughters.
Lisa Mulligan: Wow.
Bernard Walton: As for Job himself, he lived another 140 years and saw his children and grandchildren to the fourth generation.
Lisa Mulligan: Cool.
Bernard Walton: Uh-huh. Uh, does that mean you get the point?
Lisa Mulligan: Point? There was a point to all this?
Bernard Walton: Yeah, I knew it. Went in one ear and out the other, didn't it?
Lisa Mulligan: I'm kidding. Of course I get the point.
Bernard Walton: Oh good. What is it?
Lisa Mulligan: My arms are too short to box with God.
Bernard Walton: Meaning?
Lisa Mulligan: Whenever I think life isn't treating me fair, I need to put the blame where it belongs. Sometimes it's with others like Satan and sometimes it's right here with me.
Bernard Walton: I guess you were listening after all. Just remember that God is always in control, Lisa, even when bad things are happening. Our job is to keep trusting in him.
Lisa Mulligan: What's that?
Bernard Walton: I don't know. Sounds like a commotion though. Let's go see.
Lisa Mulligan: Oh puppy is there so adorable.
Tracy Mulligan: Oh, where did you get them, Nick?
Nick Mulligan: Down the road. I saw a sign for him. The owner was giving him away, so I took him. Is that all right?
Tracy Mulligan: We're in animal farm. Why not?
Nick Mulligan: Oh, I thought they'd make up for well, for Wolf.
Lisa Mulligan: They won't. Nothing can replace Wolf.
Nick Mulligan: Oh.
Lisa Mulligan: Maybe they won't have to. I mean, I'm going to miss Wolf a lot. Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't love new puppies just as much. Maybe they can help me get over them a little faster.
Nick Mulligan: Yeah. Well, I'm going to go get him some water.
Bernard Walton: I'm glad everything worked out for you, Lisa.
Lisa Mulligan: Yeah, just like the story. Thanks for telling it to me.
Bernard Walton: Yeah, you're welcome. But you know, there's something else you might want to consider.
Lisa Mulligan: What?
Bernard Walton: Remember how you reacted when I pretended to drip in the barn? You were very compassionate because you thought I was hurt.
Lisa Mulligan: Yeah, so?
Bernard Walton: So I think Nick is still hurting too. Just you have a little compassion for him.
Lisa Mulligan: Yeah. I can. Nick?
Nick Mulligan: Yeah?
Lisa Mulligan: You want to keep one of them?
Nick Mulligan: Really?
Lisa Mulligan: Sure, you can even have first pick.
Nick Mulligan: Well, I I don't know what to say. I've never really had a dog before. Thanks.
Lisa Mulligan: You're welcome. And I also wanted to say I'm sorry I treated you so badly before.
Nick Mulligan: Eh, no prob.
Lisa Mulligan: So which one do you want?
Nick Mulligan: Well, I think I think I'll take this one.
Tracy Mulligan: He seems to approve.
Nick Mulligan: Yeah. What should I name him?
Lisa Mulligan: How about Job?
Nick Mulligan: Job. Yeah, yeah, like that. Hey Job. Oh, get off my face. Oh.
Chris: The story of Job is one of the most outstanding masterpieces of all literature. It's also a beautiful reminder of God's sovereignty. Now you may never face situations as bad as Job faced, but the next time it seems like something bad is happening to you for no apparent reason, think about the story of Job and remember God is still in control. Well, that's it for now except to say that if you'd like to write to us, we'd love to hear from you. Our address is Adventures in Odyssey, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80995. Or in Canada, write to Box 9800, Vancouver, BC V6B 4G3. And when you do, ask about how you can get your own copy of today's episode. It's called Bernard and Job. Adventures in Odyssey is a presentation of Focus on the Family. Bernard and Job was written and directed by Phil Lollar. Our recording engineer was Mark Drury and our post-production engineer was Todd Busteed. And I'm Chris, hoping you'll join us again next time for more Adventures in Odyssey.