Before
there was Islam, Judaism, Christianity or even Abraham, there were some people
who believed in a heavenly being who created the earth. One of them was Job. He was a very devout man from the land of Uz.
Job took great pains in his devotion to God
and for that dedication, God greatly blessed him.
You
may know the story. One day the
angels gathered in heaven and satan was with them. God asked satan if he noticed Job and how no
one on earth was like him in his devotion to God.
Of
course, satan knew who Job was. From the
scriptures, you could say that satan already tried to get to Job but God
protected him. So the accuser groaned
about how God blessed Job and protected him from harm. It was the perfect situation. If you devote yourself to God you will be
rich and powerful. But, if satan was
allowed to take away everything Job had, he would curse God.
God
told satan he could do as he wished with Job but the man himself couldn’t be
touched. In the course of a day, Job
lost all his riches and children. All
that was left was his wife and the few servants left alive to share the tragic
news. In all this, Job did not charge
God with any wrongdoing.
Again
there was a day when the angels came to present themselves to God. Again, satan was with them. God asked satan about Job and stated, “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.”
Satan retorted Job was just happy nothing
happened to him. God said, “Very well, then,
he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”
Satan
left and more calamities befell Job. He
was afflicted with terrible sores from the bottom of his feet to the top of his
head. Still, he would not curse
God. Mind you, he was probably still
grieving the loss of his children. Don’t
forget his lifestyle was gone. Also, his
high status in the village was gone.
Then his wife, one he needed to be on his side, berated him saying, “Do
you still hold your integrity? Curse God
and die.”
So
Job sat in the trash heap that was now his home.
People wouldn’t help a person that appeared to be cursed by God. Therefore, in terrible pain, with a heart
broken by loss, a stomach growling with hunger, and a crushed spirit bewildered
at what he could have done to cause all of this, Job sat in ashes. He took pieces of broken pottery and scraped
his sores.
When
his friends heard what had happened, they went to comfort him. Of course, we don’t know how long this took
but I imagine Job had plenty of time consider why silence was the answer to his
prayers.
To
me what really demonstrates the depth of what has happened in the reaction of
his friends when they saw Job. At first
they didn’t recognize him. They were so
astonished at what they saw they mourned with him. Still, no one said a word for 7 days because of how
great Job’s suffering was. Let that sink
in.
So
is Job a story about why bad things happen to good people? If you consider the interactions between God
and satan regarding Job, I’m sure you find no comfort in knowing what happens
beyond the veil.
As
you read the rest of the story of Job, you will find God is above and beyond
what we can comprehend. It takes great
suffering to get a clear vision of what God is saying to us, and this is what
the book of Job is all about. I
think one of the most helpful things about the book of Job is that it teaches
us the danger of speaking from an incomplete theology, of trying to analyze
God's workings with only a narrow understanding of how He works, and what are
the causes behind His actions in human life.
Ray
Stedman
Do
you want to know what God says? Keep
reading the book of Job.
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