Job 1:1-22
Job's First Test
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 Second Test
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 42:1-6
Job Repents in Dust and Ashes
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.”
The argument I read most about and those who do not believe in God, is the problem of pain and suffering...The problem of evil...Pain and evil are similar arguments that non-believers and atheists use most, it seems to me, in arguing against Him...Many say that there are two types of evil in our world...There is chosen evil or moral evil or maybe direct evil, in which men and women do evil acts and things against others...And there is non-chosen, indirect evil such as personal diseases, and things like hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, storms and such that also cause much suffering and pain...Regardless of types of pain and evil, they happen...
God is Sovereign...He has a Divine Providence...So He is over and above all things...So why can't God, who is above all things create a world where there is no evil or no problems with pain and suffering...The better question is why doesn't He just make everything good, with no evil or pain around...God allows evil, and pain, and suffering on one who is blameless in the Book of Job...Pain and suffering happen to good men and women...God allowed the evil one to enter Job's life...And with the evil one allowed in Job's life, he suffers tremendously for it...And as you read through Job, we really do not get an answer from Job's friends or God as He enters the dialogue...In fact, we get more questions than we do answers...And many of the questions are from God, as He arrives out of a storm...And from this we must learn that God does not have to provide us with His specific reasons or answers to the problems of pain and evil...This seems a little sad to me, because Job suffers greatly...The Book of Job is the Classic Bible Book on pain and suffering...Even his friends can see how much he is suffering, yet we do not learn much from them or get specific answers on the why Job has to suffer...
But we do learn that it was the evil one upon entering Job's life is when his problems start...Job get overwhelmed with pain and suffering from the evil one...We also learn that God even though He allows the evil one to cause these tragedies and heartaches for Job, God remains in control...God remains near to Job...God tells the evil one not to lay a finger on Job in his first test...And then God tells the evil one that he must spare Job's life in the second test...This does not provide us with the whys of the situation, but there is some comfort in knowing that God is here watching our lives unfold...There remains this Great Mystery around why bad things happen to good people...
We are not told this, but I wonder if Job's faith has grown having these two tests...I wonder if his Holy Spirit and soul have strengthened with experiencing these two tests...I I wonder if Job is now closer to God, after all he has experienced...I wonder when Job hears God speak that he now knows one hundred per-cent that God is there...With this trust in hand, Divine Providence has superseded Job's pain and sufferings... Job while still suffering, after he feels the Presence of God, he says he despises himself, and repents in dust and ashes...Maybe Job has found a new trust in Divine Providence and it feels to be the greatest source of comfort even while he continues to suffer on earth...