Job 1:1-12
1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. 2 And seven sons and three daughters were born to him. 3 Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East.
4 And his sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day, and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, "It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." Thus Job did regularly.
6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. 7 And the LORD said to Satan, "From where do you come?" So Satan answered the LORD and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it."
8 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?"
9 So Satan answered the LORD and said, "Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!"
12 And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person." So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.
Job was a great man who feared God and avoided all evil in order to stand before Him in innocence; he kept himself from sin in order to please the LORD God, knowing His displeasure and judgment on disobedience to His word and will. Job would regularly offer sacrifices to God after every feast his sons held with his daughters, in case they had willingly sinned against the LORD by cursing Him in their hearts as well as in their deeds by their disobedience or disregard for His commandments. The account shows that the adversary was among the angelic ones going back and forth from God’s habitation in heaven to men and women on the earth, answering to God for his activities. He certainly could do nothing apart from God’s consent, and is not an equal opponent of the Almighty as some would portray him. The LORD God in His sovereignty then stated the state of Job’s heart and life directly to satan that He might test him, but the enemy immediately tried to question and twist God’s word of truth about Job into a lie, as he did in a similar way in Eden’s garden (Genesis 3:1, 4-5). God asked if the devil considered how holy Job was among the people God created who was serving Him. God called His servant one who feared Him as the Creator and Ruler of all, one who listened to God’s word and did his best to follow Him by willing obedience. Of course, the evil one questioned God’s true assessment of Job, the accuser (Revelation 12:10) reviling and slandering Job as He again questioned and denied God’s word. He blamed God for protecting Job and making it easy for him to live righteously, accusing God of giving him great health and wealth to buy Job’s obedience. He went further to tell God that if He took those things away that Job would cease to be the loyal servant, and even curse the LORD when he did not get everything he seemed to think he was entitled to. The LORD allowed satan to take the possessions of Job away to prove his heart, but the limit was set against the enemy harming Job himself. Satan then ran off to wreak his havoc on God’s creature yet again as in the beginning. We learn this lesson above all, that our enemy lies about God’s word and will by making our obedience seemingly dependent on our health and wealth. This is why the false teachings of our day which promise these things as a test of faith moss the mark of God’s word and trust in His daily grace of provision and goodness not associated with what we own or how healthy we are. True trust relies on God’s providence in spite of adversity, not in lies of the Adversary which frame God’s goodness and our righteousness in the light of how much we are given. We already possess Him in Christ, and in His word we have everything needed for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). When we are tested by adversity, do we do as Job and trust while we continue to do good, or do we listen to the lies of the adversary’s slander and demand God make everything right in our eyes, naming and claiming what we imagine we are entitled to? Job set the example of avoiding evil by fearing God and joyfully following His word by faith, no matter the attacks of the devil or circumstances allowed by the LORD. We do not know fully the details of why the attacks come, but we do know that they refine us when we respond in trusting God in good and bad circumstances.
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