January 4, 2017 – Job 1-5 – Making it through the pain

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Job 1-5. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read His Word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

What Does This Passage Say?

• We take a pause from our Genesis reading to dive into the book of Job. We do so because many scholars believe this is the proper time in our chronological reading to place the events of Job’s life. There are a few reasons for this … 1) the Patriarchy society matches that of Abraham and 2) the sacrificial system, of Job offering his own sacrifice is certainly pre-mosaic covenant, and resembles again the society of Abraham.
• Job is a wealthy man. He had seven sons and three daughters, a large number of livestock, and a large number of servants. Not only was Job wealthy, he was also a righteous man. His righteousness went so far that he sought God’s forgiveness for any sins his children may have committed.
• Job’s righteousness doesn’t go unnoticed. Satan, who was given freedom by God to roam the earth, notices Job’s faithfulness to God, and seeks permission to tempt him away from God. God grants Satan’s request and Job’s life is inflicted. In the first wave of attack he losses everything except his life and his wife. In the second wave of attack his health is inflicted. In all this, Job does not sin against God.
• Beginning at the end of Job 2, we meet three of Job’s friends who come to sit with and comfort him. To be honest, what transpires in the rest of this book confuses me.
• First Job speaks and he curses the day of his birth, throws himself a pity party, and it is understandable. Job is a man. He has a human heart. His health, and his children, and his wealth, and his servants, have all be ripped from him. No matter how faithful one may be, it is hard to see past the hurt and pain in life … especially when you are still in the midst of that pain. Job’s final first words sum up his hurt pretty well … “I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.” (Job 3:26)
• After Job speaks, his friend Eliphaz speaks. This is where I begin to be really confused. What Eliphaz says at times sounds great. But at other times, his words (along with the other two) are not really that comforting. It is strange. My encouragement to you is to read it, soak it up, pray about it, and see what God has to say to you.

What is This Passage Teaching?

• God has allowed us free will. He wants us to choose Him and to follow Him not because we have to but because we want to. That is wonderful. But there is also a down side to it. To truly have free will, Satan must exist and Satan does not like when we honor God. If a truly righteous man like Job still faced the temptation and attacks of Satan, then we too can be prepared to face the attacks of Satan. They may not come in the same forms that Job experienced them, but Satan will attack.
• How we respond is crucial. As we will see as we continue reading the book of Job, in all the hurt that Job experiences, in all the critical words that Job speaks, in none of that does Job sin against God. Sure, he may not fully understand, but he does not sin against God. While we may be angry with God, while we may have questions for God, while we may not understand what He is up to, we too must be careful to not sin against God.

How Can I Apply this Passage to my Life?

• When things go wrong in your life what is your response? Do you get bent out of shape towards God? Do you curse God? Do you blame God? Or do you respond with grace and humility, turning to God for strength, guidance, and support? Sometimes, God may just use the pains in our life to make us stronger … something we may not see until we are removed from the pain.