In this lesson, students learn that God helps us pass every test.
Devotion
Matthew 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
The parts of the Lord’s Prayer are not independent of each other. When we compare the fourth and fifth petitions, for example, we are reminded that our need for forgiveness of sin is just as surely an everyday need as the needs of the body, which are called “daily bread”.
Having looked back on our past and seen the many thoughts, words and actions for which we pray “forgive us our sins,” when we look forward we are very aware how weak we are in the face of temptation. It’s not strange, then, that Jesus teaches us to pray that, if possible, the Lord, who leads us like a shepherd, would, on a given day, lead us on a path where we are not tempted.
Perhaps it is helpful to also remember that the Lord’s Prayer has the marks of the kind of prayer we need to pray each day. And that looking ahead some eight to ten hours, we might request the spiritual respite of being led on a route where Satan’s pressures to sin are limited or even (with God nothing is impossible) eliminated.
Since most of the time there is no temptation-free trail God could lead us down, we need His power and provision so that we do not give in to evil. Hence “but deliver us from evil” follows “Lead us not into temptation” as naturally as “when I am tempted” might be followed by “let me rely on Your strength”.
A mother grocery-shopping with her young children might pass up the candy aisle to avoid their being tempted to whining and pouting. In this way she averts unpleasantness and spares her children a trial. Praying, “Lead us not into temptation,” is like praying, “God, don’t take me down the candy aisle today.” Jesus teaches us to remember our human weakness for things less profitable and to ask God in His wisdom to “skip an aisle” on occasion if possible.
Whether we are asking for God to lead us away from sin or from difficult trials, in the sixth petition we are praying a prayer similar to the one offered by David in Psalm 141: “Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil so that I take part in wicked deeds along with those who are evildoers; do not let me eat their delicacies.” (NIV)
Jesus defeated the Devil for us. How wise it is to rely on His strength in time of temptation.
The lesson
1 There was a man in the land of Uz[a] whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright, a man who feared God and turned away from evil. 2 Seven sons and three daughters were born to him. 3 His possessions included seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred female donkeys. He also had a very large retinue of servants. This man was the greatest of all the men of the East.
4 His sons would regularly arrange feasts, each one in his own house on his assigned day, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When the days of the feast were complete, Job would send for them and consecrate[b] them. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them. Job would say, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed[c] God in their hearts.” Job did this regularly.
6 There came a day when the sons of God[d] came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan[e] also came into their midst. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming the earth and walking around on it.”
8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and turns away from evil.”
9 Satan answered the Lord, “Is it without cause that Job fears God? 10 You have put a protective hedge around him and his household and everything that belongs to him, haven’t you? You have blessed the work of his hands. His livestock has spread throughout the land. 11 But just stretch out your hand and strike everything that is his, and he will certainly curse you to your face!”
12 So the Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then. Everything that he has is in your hand. But you may not stretch out your hand against the man himself.” So Satan left the presence of the Lord.
13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their oldest brother, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the female donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 when the Sabeans[f] swooped down and took them away. They put the servants to death with the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
16 While he was still speaking, another servant came and said, “The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the flocks and the servants and consumed them, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
17 While he was still speaking, another servant came and said, “The Chaldeans[g] formed three raiding parties and plundered the camels and took them away. They put the servants to death with the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
18 While he was still speaking, another servant came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and were drinking wine in the house of their oldest brother. 19 Suddenly a powerful wind swept in from the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it collapsed on the young people, and they died, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
20 Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshipped. 21 Then he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. May the name of the Lord be blessed.”
22 In all this, Job did not sin or blame God.[h]
Job 1:1 Most of the evidence points to the southern part of the territory east of the Jordan River as the location of Uz, but there is some evidence that points to a more northerly location.
Job 1:5 Or seek forgiveness for
Job 1:5 The Hebrew text reads blessed, a euphemism for cursed. See also Job 1:11; 2:5,9.
Job 1:6 The term sons of God often refers to believers. Here it refers to angels.
Job 1:6 The Hebrew word satan is a common noun that means adversary or accuser. In the book of Job this title still is written as a common noun with the article, the satan, that is, the Accuser. In later books, as it becomes established as a proper name for the leader of the evil angels, the article is dropped and it is simply Satan.
Job 1:15 People from Arabia, south of Uz
Job 1:17 People from Syria, north of Uz
Job 1:22 Or attribute any impropriety to God