Job 1:1-22
All Job's Children Are Killed
1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
4 His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.
6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”
8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”
9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
12 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”
Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
17 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised.”
22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
Job 2:1-13
Job's Loses His Health
On another day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”
3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”
4 “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. 5 But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
6 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”
7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. 8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.
9 His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”
10 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.
11 When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite,heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. 12 When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. 13 Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.
Job 7:1-5
Months of Futility and Nights of Misery Were With Job
1 “Do not mortals have hard service on earth?
Are not their days like those of hired laborers?
2 Like a slave longing for the evening shadows,
or a hired laborer waiting to be paid,
3 so I have been allotted months of futility,
and nights of misery have been assigned to me.
4 When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’
The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn.
5 My body is clothed with worms and scabs,
my skin is broken and festering.
Job 13:15
Though He Slays Me, I Find Hope in Him
15 Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face.
Job 19:25
I Know My Redeemer Lives
25 I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
Job 42:1-6
God Can Do All Things
1 Then Job replied to the Lord:
2 “I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.
4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.’
5 My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
6 Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.”
Romans 8:28
God Works for the Good in All those Who Love Him
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
We are not told how long Job suffered, and he suffered greatly...We know that is more than one week...We know this because his friends came and sat with him for seven days... When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite,heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him...When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads...Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights...No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was...Plus the fact, Job's children were all killed in one incident, and then the evil one comes back and takes his health from him in another incident, we no it is longer than the seven days his friends are with him...
And since he says that he has been allotted months of futility, and nights of misery had been assigned to him, I might assume that his suffering is for at least more than one month...This length and type of suffering gets our attention...And as the time passes, Job and his friends talk and have a lot of dialogue about Job's illness and suffering...Healing for Job did not come quickly and instantly after the evil one had left...We know that this blameless and upright man had suffered for days and days, if not months...
Healing does not always go the way that we want it to...Job probably knew that healing can take different forms and roads...We he get a little better, a lot better, or better at all...In Job's case, I feel that he is sure that God can heal him, but will He...Job knew that God can do all things; and no purpose of His can be thwarted...
We know that Job's suffering is not from any sin or punishment from God...Although Job's three friends debated that it was, in fact, from a sin he had committed, they were wrong...Healing is not always something that comes quickly or instantly...Healing doesn't always look like what we expect healing to be...The healing process for Job is one slow, painful journey through the void and desolation of suffering....He waivers back and forth, and is constantly talking and looking to God for answers...Healing does not always erase our past traumas and wounds....I suspect, Job would remember these days of suffering as long as he lived...And God was a part of Job's suffering...The purpose of God we cannot understand...But we know that God is good, and maybe even more we know that God is God...In the end Job realizes this and the hope of a Redeemer and his trust and love for and in God healed him...Because we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose...