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 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.
John 9:1-12
Jesus Heals a Blind Man
1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some claimed that he was.
Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”
But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”
10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.
11 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
12 “Where is this man?” they asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said.
We learn from the Book of Job that suffering is not always caused from a personal sin...God knows that Job is a good man, who walked with Him...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 God allows evil things to happen to Job...God even brings the evil one's attention to Job...The Book of Job is the classic book on suffering, and God wants us to learn from it...Trials and tribulations come to good men like Job...Suffering in a finite world is different than understanding the eternal world...
A child was born blind and God allowed it...Now that child is a man, a blind man...And Jesus saw this blind man...His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”...“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him...As long as it is day, we must do the works of Him who sent Me...Night is coming, when no one can work...While I AM in the world, I AM the Light of the world.”...After saying this, Jesus spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes...“Go,” He told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”)...So the man went and washed, and came home seeing...His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?”...Some claimed that he was...Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”...But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”...
Jesus healed this man, who was once a baby who was blind at his birth...God waited to heal this person, who was now a man...Sin is in this world, and God has allowed children to be born blind...So when the Disciples ask Jesus about who sinned, this man or his parents, Jesus tells us neither...This story is much like Job's story...Sin had caused this problem, but not this specific man sinning or his parents sinning...Sin, pain, and evil are in our world, and allowed in this world...The world sometimes is not a good place, and many do not like it...Some non-believers blame God for allowing things like babies being born blind, and believe emotionally that God has created a world that is utterly evil...Yet, it was mankind who fell from grace...Jesus seems to be telling us that the sins of the world, pains the world...But a specific sin of someone is not causing one to be blind or to be suffering...Neither this blind man or his parents had sinned to cause this problem of the man being born blind...
What is really interesting is the same God who allowed this baby to be born blind and be blind all these years, is now healed by His Son He that He sent to help our world...The works of God is displayed in this blind man...God sent Jesus to save our world...He is also the God who sent His Son to die on the cross to take away the sins of the world...Yet, even after Jesus died for our sins, troubles and bad things remain in the world...
If there were no troubles in the world, would more non-believers believe in God?...If there were no problems in the world would everyone believe in God?...Would everyone trust Him and follow Him and do His will, as Jesus did?...We have to believe that God is all knowing and has a reason to leave the world as it is...We have to believe that the He understands everything in the world, while we do not...If we understood all things then maybe we would heal a baby before it was born blind...But we do not have complete understanding...And some non-believers do not want to believe that God could change and heal all, since He does not...But even Jesus did not heal all the sickness in Israel, when He came to earth...But He did have the power to...So there was a reason that Jesus healed those that He healed...
Job got sick and greatly suffered...God could have quickly healed Job, but He did not...God could have healed Job at the very start of his pain...But God allowed Job to suffer for some time...But Job trusted God...Job said though God slays him, so Job still has hope in Him...And by trusting God, in the end, Job is blessed...God knew that Job would remain faithful, through all of his sufferings...Job's faith endured with his hope still in God...Job persevered in his troubles...In the end, Job learned to trust God even in the worst of sufferings...God understands why we suffer...We don't...And if we trust in God, we can believe that good things happen in the end, and the end is eternal life heaven...