Blessed Be Your Name
Day 50: Job
Job 1-2
- Job is an old old book, despite appearing in the middle of the old testament. In the first verse, Job is described as "blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil." I think it would be awesome to live in a way that would have people describe me in this way.
- he was very rich and was described as the greatest man of all the people of the East.
- his sons would have many parties and Job would always make burnt offerings to the Lord afterwards in case his sons had sinned or cursed God in their hearts.
- there's some dialogue between God and Satan. Basically, Satan says the only reason why Job fears and obeys God is because of his great wealth and stature. Take that away, and he will curse God just like everyone else. So God allows Satan to do whatever he wants to Job's things but he is not allowed to harm Job himself.
- after that, the Sabeans stole all of his oxen and donkeys and killed all his servants, a fire from heaven burned up his sheep and servants attending to them, the Chaldeans took his camels and killed his servants, and a wind knocked down the house of his eldest son killing all of them.
- when Job heard this he tore his robe, shaved his head and FELL DOWN IN WORSHIP saying:
"The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." He didn't sin in all of this.
- Job's second test is his health. Satan says that if you take away his health, without killing him, he will curse God. So God allows Satan to inflict painful sores upon Job's body. Job's wife was foolish and even tried to encourage him to curse God and die. But Job still did not sin.
- Job's three friends (Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar) went to sympathize and comfort him. They wept, tore their robes and just sat with Job for a week without saying anything.
I studied the book of Job way back a few years ago. One important thing that I had to keep in mind later on when the dialogue between Job and his three "friends" began was that the book is written in a poetic style. So it was crucial, to understand what was going on, to not take things literally.
Job is an amazing character and one that I could learn a great many things from. When I look at how God allowed Job to be tested, I'm so sure that I would have listened to Job's wife and cursed God for my suffering. The one comfort I have is that God promises that we will not be tempted beyond what we can handle and that God will always provide a way out - just like he did for Job. Remembering the story of Job will come in handy when I'm going through the darker periods of life.
Another important point was how his friends acted. They truly exemplify what it means to be a real friend...that is, until they open their mouths and try to give Job advice. I think sometimes when someone is going through tremendous suffering, all you can do is mourn with them and just be there with them. Jobs friends sat with him for an entire week not saying anything. I think that's something to keep in mind next time someone I know is going through a really rough time and I don't know what to say.
Job 1-2
- Job is an old old book, despite appearing in the middle of the old testament. In the first verse, Job is described as "blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil." I think it would be awesome to live in a way that would have people describe me in this way.
- he was very rich and was described as the greatest man of all the people of the East.
- his sons would have many parties and Job would always make burnt offerings to the Lord afterwards in case his sons had sinned or cursed God in their hearts.
- there's some dialogue between God and Satan. Basically, Satan says the only reason why Job fears and obeys God is because of his great wealth and stature. Take that away, and he will curse God just like everyone else. So God allows Satan to do whatever he wants to Job's things but he is not allowed to harm Job himself.
- after that, the Sabeans stole all of his oxen and donkeys and killed all his servants, a fire from heaven burned up his sheep and servants attending to them, the Chaldeans took his camels and killed his servants, and a wind knocked down the house of his eldest son killing all of them.
- when Job heard this he tore his robe, shaved his head and FELL DOWN IN WORSHIP saying:
"The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." He didn't sin in all of this.
- Job's second test is his health. Satan says that if you take away his health, without killing him, he will curse God. So God allows Satan to inflict painful sores upon Job's body. Job's wife was foolish and even tried to encourage him to curse God and die. But Job still did not sin.
- Job's three friends (Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar) went to sympathize and comfort him. They wept, tore their robes and just sat with Job for a week without saying anything.
I studied the book of Job way back a few years ago. One important thing that I had to keep in mind later on when the dialogue between Job and his three "friends" began was that the book is written in a poetic style. So it was crucial, to understand what was going on, to not take things literally.
Job is an amazing character and one that I could learn a great many things from. When I look at how God allowed Job to be tested, I'm so sure that I would have listened to Job's wife and cursed God for my suffering. The one comfort I have is that God promises that we will not be tempted beyond what we can handle and that God will always provide a way out - just like he did for Job. Remembering the story of Job will come in handy when I'm going through the darker periods of life.
Another important point was how his friends acted. They truly exemplify what it means to be a real friend...that is, until they open their mouths and try to give Job advice. I think sometimes when someone is going through tremendous suffering, all you can do is mourn with them and just be there with them. Jobs friends sat with him for an entire week not saying anything. I think that's something to keep in mind next time someone I know is going through a really rough time and I don't know what to say.
Labels: Bible Characters
posted by Matt at 4:51 PM
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