Sabbath July 18th, 2026 | Dr. Robert Smith | Butter Steps

Job stands in the middle of a cosmic controversy where God can point to a man and say, “Have you considered my servant Job?” Lucifer, once the light carrier, let position and ego twist him until he thought he was “all that, a bag of chips and 10¢ chain.” God sees him in the heavenly council, and the devil claims the earth because men are slaves to sin. God answers that claim with Job, an upright man who fears God and hates evil.

The accusation against Job cuts deep. Satan says Job only serves God because God has given him everything, all the props and accoutrements of comfort. God permits the test, and Job loses cattle, servants, children, wealth, and security in one awful day. Job shaves his head, rents his clothes, falls on the ground, and worships. Job says, “Naked came I into the world, and naked shall I return. The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of God.”

The second accusation goes after Job’s body. Satan says, “Skin for skin,” and Job is struck with boils from head to toe, blood and flesh marking his steps. Job’s wife, having lost children, wealth, status, and all the life she knew, tells him to curse God and die. Job answers that good and evil both come under God’s hand, and his praise grows louder in the middle of atrocity, vicissitude, and tragedy.

Job 14 shows that Job is not a superhero. Job gets discouraged and cries, “Man born of woman is full of trouble,” but Job is not looking for the undertaker, he is looking for the uppertaker. Job’s real problem is not scabs, sores, and sickness. Job says his issue is sin, transgression, and iniquity, the darling sins and premeditated sins that only mercy has kept from consuming him.

Job 29 remembers the days of “butter steps.” Job remembers when his feet were washed in butter, when young men hid, old men stood, princes got quiet, and the poor, blind, lame, and fatherless found help through him. That memory becomes dangerous when it turns into a pity party. God steps in and asks Job where he was when the universe was ordered, when creatures received their form, when the seasons changed, and when the stars were set. God’s answer means that the One big enough to run the universe is big enough for cancer, ICU, diabetes, broken hearts, hardheaded children, and every little bitty problem. Calvary settles the debt, because Christ was wounded for transgressions, bruised for iniquities, and by His stripes healing comes.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God can commend a servant God holds Job up in the heavenly council as evidence that grace can make a real servant stand. The devil accuses human loyalty of being bought and paid for by comfort, wealth, and protection. Job’s life shows that God’s confidence in a servant rests deeper than circumstances, even when the servant does not know the whole conversation happening above him. [77:30]
• 2. Loss exposes the real question Job’s losses strip away every prop that made life feel secure, yet worship comes before explanation. The question is not whether grief hurts, because Job tears his clothes and feels the blow. The question is whether God remains worthy when everything that made obedience look profitable has been taken away. [79:24]
• 3. Sin is deeper than scabs Job’s boils are terrible, but Job knows the deepest trouble is sin, transgression, and iniquity. Physical suffering can be seen, smelled, and touched, but darling sins hide under respectable clothes and religious talk. Mercy keeps a person alive longer than deserved, not because guilt is small, but because God’s grace is sufficient. [87:05]
• 4. Butter steps can become traps Job remembers when his steps were washed in butter, when honor followed him through the city gate. The memory of usefulness and status can become a place of self pity when pain takes the spotlight. Even good deeds among the poor, blind, lame, and fatherless must stay under God’s hand, or yesterday’s blessings become today’s argument against trust. [90:37]
• 5. God is bigger than little problems God answers Job by pointing to creation, not by giving Job a chart of reasons. The universe itself becomes God’s argument: the One who orders stars, seasons, creatures, and nature can handle what crushes a human heart. Trust does not mean the timing feels easy, but it means God comes through at the right time and in the right way. [94:45]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [70:54] - Birthday Reflections and Gratitude
• [73:47] - Butter Steps Introduced
• [74:30] - Lucifer, Ego, and the Heavenly Council
• [76:20] - God Points to Job
• [77:58] - Satan Challenges Job’s Loyalty
• [78:55] - Job Loses Everything in One Day
• [80:09] - Skin for Skin and Job’s Sickness
• [83:28] - Job’s Wife and Job’s Answer
• [85:21] - Job 14 and Waiting for Change
• [86:28] - Sin, Transgression, and Iniquity
• [89:10] - Job 29 and Butter Steps
• [93:39] - God Steps Into Job’s Pity Party
• [95:12] - Trusting the God Who Comes Through
• [95:41] - Calvary, Freedom, and Appeal

Bible Reading

Job 1:6-12
“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. The LORD said to Satan, ‘From where have you come?’ Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.’ And the LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?’ Then Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.’ And the LORD said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.’ So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.” [01:17:30]

Job 1:20-22
“Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.’ In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.” [01:19:24]

Job 2:4-10
“Then Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.’ And the LORD said to Satan, ‘Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.’ So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. Then his wife said to him, ‘Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.’ But he said to her, ‘You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” [01:23:28]

Job 14:1-4
“Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble. He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not. And do you open your eyes on such a one and bring me into judgment with you? Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? There is not one.” [01:26:28]

Job 29:1-17
“And Job again took up his discourse, and said: ‘Oh, that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me, when his lamp shone upon my head, and by his light I walked through darkness, as I was in my prime, when the friendship of God was upon my tent, when the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were all around me, when my steps were washed with butter, and the rock poured out for me streams of oil! When I went out to the gate of the city, when I prepared my seat in the square, the young men saw me and withdrew, and the aged rose and stood; the princes refrained from talking and laid their hand on their mouth; the voice of the nobles was hushed, and their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth. When the ear heard, it called me blessed, and when the eye saw, it approved, because I delivered the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to help him. The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban. I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. I was a father to the needy, and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not know.’” [01:30:37]

Isaiah 53:4-5
“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” [01:36:07]

Observation questions

1. In Job 1:6-12, what exactly does Satan accuse Job of, and what does God say about Job before the testing begins? [01:17:58]
2. In Job 1:20-22, what actions does Job take immediately after hearing the news of his losses, and what words come out of his mouth?
3. In Job 2:4-10, what changes in the second test, and how does Job answer his wife when she tells him to curse God and die? [01:23:28]
4. In Job 29:1-17, what are some of the pictures Job uses to describe his earlier life, especially the image of his “steps washed with butter,” and how was he treating people around him? [01:30:37]

Interpretation questions

1. God points to Job in the middle of accusation and controversy. What does that suggest about the kind of work grace can do in an ordinary believer’s life, even before any trial starts? [01:17:30]
2. Job worships before he gets an explanation. What does that reveal about what true worship is, especially when comfort, money, health, and security are stripped away? [01:19:24]
3. Job says his deepest issue is not just sores and sickness, but sin, transgression, and iniquity. Why is that such an important shift, and how can suffering sometimes uncover what a person really believes about their deepest need? [01:27:05]
4. Job’s memories of honor, influence, and “butter steps” become part of his struggle. Why can even good memories and past usefulness become dangerous when a hurting person starts building a pity party out of them? [01:33:39]

Application questions

1. Satan’s charge was that a man serves God only when life is comfortable. If the props were removed for a season—health, routine, money, reputation, ease—what would most likely be tested in faith right now? [01:18:14]
2. Job grieved honestly and still worshiped. When loss or disappointment hits, is the first instinct to withdraw, complain, go numb, or turn toward God? What might it look like this week to bring real pain to God without pretending it does not hurt? [01:19:46]
3. “Skin for skin” reminds believers how deeply health troubles can shake the soul. Is there any place right now where fear, pain, exhaustion, or mental strain is making trust harder? What kind of support from God’s people would actually help in that place? [01:20:37]
4. Sin is deeper than scabs. Are there any “respectable” sins, hidden patterns, or darling sins that have been easier to excuse than to confess? What makes those sins so easy to protect? [01:28:33]
5. Old seasons of blessing can become traps. Is there a tendency to keep replaying a season when life felt stronger, easier, or more honored? How can gratitude for the past stay healthy without turning into bitterness about the present? [01:31:54]
6. God’s answer to Job points to His rule over all creation. What “little bitty problem” feels huge right now—broken heart, family strain, sickness, money pressure, or something else—and what would trusting God in that exact place actually look like this week? [01:34:45]
7. Christ was wounded for transgressions and bruised for iniquities. Where is there a need not only for relief from trouble, but for healing from sin, guilt, and shame through Calvary? [01:36:07]