TEXT:
‘There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil’ (Job 1:1 NLT)
THOUGHT:
Job is one of the most remarkable books in the Bible. There is so much to discover when someone is willing to wade through the dialogue. Try it and see for yourself!
Reading it out loud to myself certainly helped me to understand more the depths of despair Job had sunk to, yet he maintained his faith. He certainly is a shining example to the many who let the least thing hinder their relationship with God and attendance at their local church.
The book opens with tragedy hitting this godly man. Bad things happen to good people! God is a good God but Satan is a mean devil. Never confuse the two. Unknown to Job, conversations between God and Satan resulted in him suffering in a way perhaps no other person has.
Today’s Teaching concentrates on the reasons for this unimaginable trial, his reactions to it and its final outcome.
- Job’s Family
Job had a wife, seven sons and three daughters. There was a strong bond of love between all of them. Whenever the sons had a party they made sure their sisters attended. Job described his family life, ‘Oh, how I miss those golden years when God’s friendship graced my home, when the Mighty One was still by my side and my children were all around me, when everything was going my way, and nothing seemed too difficult’ (Job 29:6 MSG).
I am one of seven children and normally we all manage to get together once or twice a year for some special occasion. What fun we have catching up on the news and remembering the past. One thing is for sure, we never all sit around in silence, for there is so much to talk about!
- Job’s Wealth
The Bible catalogues his wealth portfolio, ‘Seven thousand head of sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred teams of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and a huge staff of servants – the most influential man in all the East!’ (Job 1:3 MSG).
With lands and servants he was certainly the richest businessman in that whole area and a leader too. ‘Men and women listened when I spoke, hung expectantly on my every word. After I spoke, they’d be quiet, taking it all in. They welcomed my counsel like spring rain, drinking it all in. When I smiled at them, they could hardly believe it; their faces lit up, their troubles took wing! I was their leader, establishing the mood and setting the pace by which they lived. Where I led, they followed’ (Job 29:21-25MSG).
It’s wonderful when wealth does not crowd out God. Some wrongly think God is against money and possessions. He is not, just as long as money does not possess us! It’s amazing when poor people are generous and rich people mean and stingy. Tithing is a great start to giving because it means we honour God with a tenth however much we have coming in each week.
As the narrative makes clear, Job was certainly a blessing to the poor and needy, on top of his giving to God. Not only could he afford to do what he did, but he wanted to. ‘I delivered the poor who cried out, the fatherless and the one who had no helper’ (Job 29:12).
Then tragedy struck and in one day he lost all his children and all his possessions. No one was left of his workforce, only the ones who brought the news of each calamity. He went from great wealth to zero in just one day. Talk about the great Wall Street crash of 1929, this one was thousands of years earlier. The knock-on effect among local businesses would have been tremendous.
The Book of Revelation warns of a future day when God’s judgment on Babylon leaves all the merchants weeping and wailing as they see their wealth go up in smoke.1 ‘Alas in one hour your judgment has come and such riches come to nothing …. for in one hour she is made desolate’ (Revelation 18:17,19).
Do not hold on to wealth too tightly because it can all disappear in a moment. Make sure you have some treasure in heaven where it cannot be stolen or destroyed.2
- Job’s Fear
Job lived a blameless life to the best of his ability. Yet he feared that when his children had their parties, too much drinking might result in foolish or blasphemous talk. When each party was over, Job offered sacrifices on behalf of his children in case they had acted in-advisedly. It is important to note that he did not do it because he had proof, just the fear that they might have. He wanted nothing to stop God’s blessing on him and all that he had.
He also feared that God who had blessed him with so much, might change His mind and take it all away. This is confirmed by what he said after it was all gone, ‘The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away… Shall we not accept good from God and shall we not accept adversity? … For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me’ (Job 1:21, 2:10, 3:25).
Some wrongly teach that it was fear that let Satan in, and it is true that fear attracts all the wrong kind of things. But the Bible makes it very clear it was God who allowed Satan to attack, to prove that what He said about Job was true and the devil was a liar.
Satan had complained that he could not get at Job because God had put a hedge of protection around him and all he owned.3 God is not in the take-away business, Satan is. When it suits God’s plans and purposes to allow Satan to steal, kill and destroy, always remember that the devil can go no further than what God has permitted.
God is no man’s debtor, for at the end of the trial, there is a double blessing!
In Part 2 we will look at three further aspects of Job’s life.
Endnotes:
1 Revelation 18:9-20 2 Matthew 6:19-21 3 Job 1:10-12
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