Prologue
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 He Loses His Health and He Suffers Greatly
1 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.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
In times of troubles in my life, I turn to the Book of Job...
Right now there seems to be much panic in the world with the outbreak of a new coronavirus...There have been past coronaviruses in the world and this one is new...And we have little knowledge on this particular virus...And so we fear this virus very much, with our little knowledge of it...And we might ask do we make the best decisions when we panic...We need those who have the most knowledge of these things to remain calm and to help us in these times -so they can help us, along with our Father's watchful eye...
It might be added as we see celebrities and our athletes and those close to us get this virus, and with the extra added attention it receives on social media, the news, the internet, and the number of articles in the newspaper adds to my fear and panic...And by constantly having the cases numbers up on a TV or computer screen, does not help me, but does make we more anxious about a disease, I know very, very little about...It would make me just as anxious if the media and others put up the annual influenza numbers and deaths each year cause by the regular flu with the same type coverage...But for some reason influenza is something we have known about for now many years, but the newest virus, we are just starting to learn about...
Job was stricken with many calamities...Job was one who could have been so overwhelmed with panic and fear...After all that happened to Job he could have went into a state of great panic, and be frozen in fear...Job had many tragedies and suffered greatly and he may have panicked, but his questions to God seem reasonable to me...His comments to his friends seem organized and reasonable...And I believe with all that was going on in Job's life at that time, that he did not seem to succumb to fear...I really sense more anger in his questions to God than I do panic...And maybe some anger to his friends for not listening to his ideas on what had just happened to him...
Job didn't necessary like any of the things that the evil one did to him, but who would...He, I believe, had a right to be angry...And let us remember that Job after everything that had happened to him -tragedy after tragedy, replied to his wife when she told him to curse God and die, “You are talking like a foolish woman...Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”...This statement does not seem to be one of panic and/or fear...This statement is a statement of faith, I believe...
And it is best not to panic...Let us do our best thinking now, and turn to God...Job seemed to focus his questions to God, and thus was focused on God during all his griefs...It is best to focus on God when things go badly and wrong in our lives...If we or Job get focused constantly on our tragedies, most likely fear and panic would have taken over...We might wind up in a state of anxiety and panic...
These are challenging times, because of the love we have for our loved ones -and the times are very troubling...But God is watching us, and He knows what is going on...So let us pray to God for His help about this new virus...Let us pray He cures it, or has one or more of our scientists help us with the treatment...Let us lean on His understanding for this help...So let us continue to trust Him, because He knows the details to all things...He knows about these things -He understands these things...