Job
1
The book of Job in the Old Testament tells of a person who was blameless and upright, who feared God and shunned evil. He lived in the lap of luxury and was seriously rich – a multi millionaire at today’s prices.
When we first meet Job in chapter 1 he could be singing, “O what a beautiful morning ... everything’s going my way.” But then, suddenly, out of a clear blue sky, it seems as if all hell’s let loose. In a day, everything was wiped out. His livestock were snatched by raiding parties, fire fell from the sky and burned up his sheep and servants and a tornado whipped in from the desert and struck the house where his seven sons and three daughters were celebrating and it collapsed and ended their lives. Imagine the shock and horror of such a sudden reversal of fortune. His business was totally ruined and ten family funerals occurred after such a tragedy.
One reason why believers are drawn to the book of Job is because it faces up to the hard questions in life. It doesn’t pretend that if you put your trust in God, you will live a sheltered life and be happy all the day! Bad things do happen to good people. Like Job we can be groping in the dark disappointed with God, wondering why all this is happening to us. Perhaps, like Job, our faith is on trial.
In chapter 1 of Job we are told something Job never knew. We are shown the scenery behind the things that are seen. Satan, the accuser of the brethren, had come before God after roaming to and fro through the earth. He casts a slur upon God’s servant Job suggesting he’s only serving God because God is hedging him around with blessings. Satan suggests to God if anything goes wrong in Job’s life he will curse You to Your face. Satan implies that God is not worthy to be loved for Himself alone, but only for what people can get out of Him. It’s as if he’s saying, ‘You have to pay Job to love You and serve You.’
God, who knows the end from the beginning, and has plans to prosper His servant Job, allows his faith which is ‘of greater worth than gold’ to be tested and refined. God sets the ground rules. The Devil is not allowed to take Job’s life, but he can steal and destroy his health and his wealth.
A boy in Sunday Club put it rather crudely: “You mean God and Satan had a bet and God won.” Listen carefully. Job, without his knowledge, is being made a test case, an example of perseverance for future generations of believers whose faith will be tried and tested. God had permitted the devil to strip Job down to his naked soul. It is important that we judge nothing before the time. Though Job doesn’t know it, it will work out for his good and the glory of God eventually. But it doesn’t look like it today or while the trial of faith continues. We always think the trial of our faith should end, just when it’s beginning.
It is important to understand that what happened to Job was not punishment for sin. God says to Satan (chapter 2 verse3) speaking of Job, “There is no one on earth like him ... blameless and upright ... He still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.” Of course, there’s a good and sufficient reason in the internal counsels of God, but all the while Job is kept in the dark.
His response, when his world fell apart, is amazing. “He fell to the ground in worship and said ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.’ In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing” (chapter 1 verses 20-22). Job’s assumption throughout is that God has wreaked all this havoc. He doesn’t know what we know. The initial response of this godly patriarch is amazing.
Under pressure, the real Job surfaces and he worships God as he did before. Under pressure, the real Mrs. Job, his wife, also surfaces and she cursed. She lost everything that he lost, but her response is vicious. “His wife said to him, ‘Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!’ He replied, ‘You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?’ In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.”
We need to remember that God found no fault with Job, but Satan did. We must be very careful about explaining why certain things happen to other people. Beware of saying that x has happened to so and so for such and such a reason. We may be very wide of the mark.
I used to think that God tempted Satan to have a go at Job. Of course, God does not tempt anyone, nor can He be tempted by evil (James chapter 1 verse 13). Although God brings up the subject of his servant Job and Satan sees him as a pawn on life’s chessboard and accepts the challenge, we get the distinct impression that God is confident that His servant Job will not fail the test. God is up to something good. On lookers in the unseen realm are watching what is going on whenever faith is on trial.
This great salvation, which has come to us through the Lord Jesus Christ, is something ‘even angels long to look into’ (I Peter I verse 12).