May 7, 2010 (Job 1-9)

Job - this is one of those books that gives you a glimpse into things that happen in the spiritual realm. First of all though, we see that Job "was blameless, a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil." And to top that off, he had 10 children and was extremely rich. The first thing that caught my attention was that when Job's children had birthdays they had celebrations that lasted for days. When they were over Job would "purify his children". It says he would get up early in the morning and offer a burnt offering for each of them, just in case they sinned and cursed God in their hearts. It was a reminder to me of how important my prayers are for my son.

But here's where things get 'dicey'. This gives us a glimpse as to what happens in heaven:

1:⁶ One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the Lord, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them. ⁷ “Where have you come from?” the Lord asked Satan.

Satan answered the Lord, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.”

⁸ Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.”

⁹ Satan replied to the Lord, “Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God. ¹⁰ You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is! ¹¹But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!”

¹² “All right, you may test him,” the Lord said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence.

The thing that 'bothers' me is that God allowed Satan to wipe out everything Job had to 'test' him. God knew of his integrity, and knew He could trust him, but it still bothers me. And He was right. When Job lost everything, here is what he said:

^1:20 Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. ²¹ He said,

“I came naked from my mother’s womb,
and I will be naked when I leave.
The Lord gave me what I had,
and the Lord has taken it away.
Praise the name of the Lord!”

²² In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.

Next, the same thing happens, only this time God allows Satan to harm Job physically with boils from head to foot. And this time we hear from Job's wonderful wife, the person that Satan didn't take. He probably knew that would be more of a blessing than a curse based upon how she responds:

^2:8 Job scraped his skin with a piece of broken pottery as he sat among the ashes. ⁹ His wife said to him, “Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die.”

¹⁰ But Job replied, “You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.

Next Job's friends try to console him, but they basically say that he must have sinned and is just getting what he deserves. It's so easy to sit in judgement over others.

¹⁴ “One should be kind to a fainting friend,
but you accuse me without the slightest fear of the Almighty.

Even though Job is struggling tremendously, he knows that God is God, as as such can do whatever He wants.

9:¹ Then Job spoke again:

² “Yes, I know all this is true in principle.
But how can a person be declared innocent in God’s sight?
³ If someone wanted to take God to court,
would it be possible to answer him even once in a thousand times?
⁴ For God is so wise and so mighty.
Who has ever challenged him successfully?

⁵ “Without warning, he moves the mountains,
overturning them in his anger.
⁶ He shakes the earth from its place,
and its foundations tremble.
⁷ If he commands it, the sun won’t rise
and the stars won’t shine.
⁸ He alone has spread out the heavens
and marches on the waves of the sea.
⁹ He made all the stars—the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the constellations of the southern sky.
¹⁰ He does great things too marvelous to understand.
He performs countless miracles.

¹¹ “Yet when he comes near, I cannot see him.
When he moves by, I do not see him go.
¹² If he snatches someone in death, who can stop him?
Who dares to ask, ‘What are you doing?’
¹³ And God does not restrain his anger.
Even the monsters of the sea are crushed beneath his feet.

¹⁴ “So who am I, that I should try to answer God
or even reason with him?
¹⁵ Even if I were right, I would have no defense.
I could only plead for mercy.
¹⁶ And even if I summoned him and he responded,
I’m not sure he would listen to me.
¹⁷ For he attacks me with a storm
and repeatedly wounds me without cause.
¹⁸ He will not let me catch my breath,
but fills me instead with bitter sorrows.
¹⁹ If it’s a question of strength, he’s the strong one.
If it’s a matter of justice, who dares to summon him to court?
²⁰ Though I am innocent, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty.
Though I am blameless, it would prove me wicked.

And then Job asks for something that God would indeed give - a mediator - Jesus.

³² “God is not a mortal like me,
so I cannot argue with him or take him to trial.
³³ If only there were a mediator between us,
someone who could bring us together.
³⁴ The mediator could make God stop beating me,
and I would no longer live in terror of his punishment.
³⁵ Then I could speak to him without fear,
but I cannot do that in my own strength.