Job 1
There are 329 questions asked in the book of Job, yet there are not many answers.
Old Testament Words for Today by Warren W. Wiersbe (p. 54)
Job – greatest man of the East verse 1- 3
There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job
and that man was PERFECT and UPRIGHT
and one that FEARED God
and eschewed evil
and there were born to him seven sons and three daughters
His substance also was seven thousand sheep – three thousand camels
five hundred yoke of oxen – five hundred she donkeys
a very great household – so that this man was the
greatest of all the men of the east
Job – family religious leader verse 4- 5
And his sons went and feasted in their houses – everyone his day
and sent and called for their three sisters
to eat and to drink with them
And it was so – when the days of their feasting were gone about
that Job sent and SANCTIFIED them
and rose up early in the morning
and offered 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 did Job continually
LORD questions Satan verse 6- 7
Now there was a day when the sons of God came
to present themselves before the LORD
and Satan came also among them
And the LORD said to Satan
Whence come you?
Then Satan answered the LORD
and said
From going to and fro in the earth
from walking up and down in it
LORD asks second question of Satan verse 8
And the LORD
said to Satan
Have you considered MY servant Job
that there is none like him in the earth
a PERFECT and UPRIGHT man
one that FEARS God
and ESCHEWS evil?
Satan asks LORD’S permission to test Job verse 9- 11
Then Satan answered the LORD
and said
Does Job fear God for nought?
Have not YOU made an HEDGE about him and about his house
and about all that he has on every side?
YOU have blessed the work of his hands
and his substance is increased in the land
BUT put forth YOUR hand now – and touch all that he has
and he will curse YOU to YOUR face
LORD gives limited permission verse 12
And the LORD
said to Satan
BEHOLD – all that he has is in your power
only on himself put not forth your hand
So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD
Job’s children having a feast together verse 13
And there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating
and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house
Sabeans raid Job’s oxen and donkeys verse 14- 15
And there came a messenger unto Job
and said
The oxen were plowing – and the donkeys feeding beside them
and the Sabeans fell on them – and took them away
Yea – they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword
and I ONLY am escaped ALONE to tell you
Fire of God burns up sheep verse 16
While he was YET SPEAKING – there came also another
and said
The fire of God is fallen from heaven – and has burned up the sheep
and the servants – and consumed them
and I ONLY am escaped ALONE to tell you
Chaldeans raid Job’s camels verse 17
While he was YET SPEAKING there came also another
and said
The Chaldeans made out three bands – and fell on the camels
and have carried them away
Yea – and slain the servants with the edge of the sword
and I ONLY am escaped ALONE to tell you
Wind storm kills Job’s children verse 18- 19
While he was YET SPEAKING – there came also another
and said
Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine
in their eldest brother’s house – and – behold
there came a great wind from the wilderness
and smote the four corners of the house
and it fell upon the young men
and they are dead
and I ONLY am escaped ALONE to tell you
Job reacts to the news verse 20- 22
THEN Job arose – and rent his mantle – and shaved his head
and fell down upon the ground – and WORSHIPED
and said
Naked came I out of my mother’s womb
and naked shall I return thither – the LORD gave
and the LORD hath taken away
BLESSED be the name of the LORD
In all this Job SINNED NOT – nor charged God foolishly
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job, and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil (3249 “eschewed” [yacuwr] means to turn aside, to change direction, to reject, conceived of as turning away from something, depart, to go away, or make linear movement in a direction)
DEVOTION: The words that describe Job’s relationship to the LORD should be the same words people should be able to say about all those who claim to be genuine followers of the LORD.
Was Job a sinner? YES!! But we find that once people realize that all humans are sinners they should be able to say that we are a different type of sinner. We are ones that go to the LORD on a regular basis and confess our sins. We can tell individuals that we are sinners that are saved by grace because of the death of Christ in the cross but that we try to sin less because of our relationship with Jesus. If they see that we mean business they might be able to say that we fear God and want to serve HIM genuinely with the realization that we are not perfect. People accept people that are genuine.
So here is a man who is described as: blameless, a person of complete integrity because he fears God and stays away from living in sin. Remember I John makes the distinction of the difference between sinning and living in sin. One is a lifestyle of trying to please the LORD regularly and the other is not caring what the LORD says about a particular sin that is being practices regularly. If we are living in sin and claim to know Christ we will be chastened of the LORD.
If we just claim it and there is not reality to it we will not be chastened which means that we have never made a genuine commitment to the LORD. Those the LORD loves HE chastened when they are sinning.
What the LORD is doing to Job is pruning him which is what HE does when HE wants to mature believers. This is a training time for Job. It is not a time that he might fully appreciate until it is over but he will learn from what is going on in his life. This happens to us today as well if we are genuine believers and living a life that is pleasing to HIM.
Sometimes people might mistake pruning for chastening which is what usually happens to those who are self-righteous in their own eyes and look down on those who are going through these time periods in their life. The LORD knows what is going on in each of our lives and HE determines what we need.
Our responsibility toward those who are going through a hard time is to pray for them and encourage them. We find that this is NOT what his “friends” did as we read the rest of the book of Job.
CHALLENGE: We need to be genuine friends to believers who are going through a rough time, not judgmental friends. We should help our friends to turn away from evil.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 5 And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Hob said, I may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually. (6942 “sanctified” [qadash] means to be holy, removed from common use, to render holy or set apart by means of religious rites, consecrated, consecrate, or dedicate)
DEVOTION: Job is thought to have lived during the time of Abraham or before. He was the family priest. He offered sacrifices to the LORD just as Adam, Noah and other Old Testament saints did on altars they had built.
Here we find that he offered sacrifices for his children for the purpose of setting them apart as followers of the LORD. He would do this each morning to make sure that his children were covered by the blood of sacrifices.
His thoughts were that his children might have sinned against the LORD and he knew that his sacrifice would be pleasing to the LORD. He also had to tell his children what he was doing on their behalf.
He was a man who had a reputation of being a genuine follower of the LORD and with that reputation his children would know where he stood in his relationship with the LORD and he would have encouraged them to have the same type of relationship.
This is what each father should do to encourage their children to follow the LORD. Fathers should tell their children that they are praying for them and their relationship to the LORD on a daily basis. Fathers should set a good example of keeping short accounts with the LORD and with them. Fathers should train their children not to curse God. This is something that should be done from the time their children are born until the time that he dies.
God holds fathers responsible for how they raise their children. It seems from the New Testament that the warning of the relationship between father and children are stated many more times than the relationship between the mother and the children.
CHALLENGE: Fathers take your responsibility seriously and the LORD will bless you for it. Pray for your children and their families.
________________________________________________________
: 8 And the LORD said to Satan. Have you considered MY servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fears God and eschews evil? (8535 “perfect” [tam] means undefiled, blameless, well-behaved, guiltless, not subject to blame, pure, sound, wholesome or innocent)
DEVOTION: Here is God presenting one of HIS human followers to Satan when they get together. We don’t know how often this happens but we know that the angels come and go in the presence of the LORD. We know that no one is ever out of the presence of the LORD.
Why does God allow Satan to come into his presence after the fall? We don’t know but we understand that the Bible teaches that there is still conversations between the LORD and this fallen angel. This takes place even on judgment day.
The LORD describes Job as a faithful follower of HIM. HE defends Job in the presence of this fallen angel. HE states HIS opinion of who Job is as HIS servant. HE raises up Job as an example of what a genuine believer would act like.
We need to use this description of a genuine follower and realize that this is what expected of us when we have made a commitment to the LORD. HE wants us to live a life that is pleasing to HIM and as an example to other believers, as well as, show that a believer can resist sin and be an example to other believers. It is not easy.
Here we find that God is allowing Satan to try Job with trials none of us would like to go through. We go through trials each day of our lives and when we do we need to turn to the LORD for help.
Would the LORD describe us the same way as HE described Job? Can we live a life that is pleasing to the LORD today? The answer is YES with the help of the Holy Spirit and our daily commitment to faithfulness to HIM. It is not easy but it is still possible to live a life that is pleasing to the LORD today.
CHALLENGE: We need to pray for each other that we can overcome the temptations of the devil in our life and in the lives of others we know and love.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in your power; only upon himself put not forth your hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD. (6440 “presence”[paniym] means face, person, countenance, in front of, or before)
Is God omnipresent? If HE is present everywhere, is there any place HE is not? The answer is NO! It is a mystery why the LORD would allow Satan into HIS presence. Yet everyone and everything is always in the presence of the LORD. Some are in HIS presence with favor and others are in HIS presence in disfavor.
Yet we find that throughout the Bible Satan is the accuser of those who are followers of the LORD. Satan is in disfavor with the LORD since his fall from heaven. He has not been finally judged but he will be.
We are now introduced to a man who lived at the same time period as Abraham. This record of Job’s life seems to be the oldest book in the Bible as Moses lived long after this time period.
Job was the priest for the family. Job worshiped the LORD. Job was called “perfect” or mature in the LORD. Job was not sinless. The last verse of this chapter tells us that in all this tragedy he didn’t sin, He worshiped instread!
What led to the conclusion of this chapter? We find that Satan had opportunity to see the LORD. He was one of the sons of God that came before the LORD to give a report. The LORD questioned Satan as to where he had been. HE asked him if he had seen his servant Job.
Satan responded by saying that Job served the LORD because of all the blessing he was receiving from HIM.
Here we see that the LORD can put a hedge around HIS people and HE can remove the hedge at HIS will. The LORD limited what Satan could do to Job. Job realized that everything that happened was for his good. He didn’t sin after he had lost everything, including all of his children.
We need to remember that everything HE does in our lives is for our good. We probably can’t even begin to feel what Job felt when he lost all he owned and his children. But we see that he WORSHIPPED the LORD. Do we understand why the LORD would allow this to happen to Job? NO!!! Does HE want us to understand why? Sometimes!!
Remember that the Bible teaches that God wants us to mature in our faith toward HIM. Two methods HE uses to mature us is chastening and purging. This is an instance of purging. Job had not sinned to cause this to happen to him.
CHALLENGE: Sometimes there are things that happen to us that we think we don’t deserve. Most of the time, we have this feeling when bad things happen to us. What is our feeling when good things happen to us? In both cases we should be like Job and worship the LORD!!!
___________________________________________________________________
: 22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. (5414 “charged” [nathan] means give, put, set, bestow upon, produce, allow, or appoint)
DEVOTION: R.C. Sproul writes in his book on holiness of God: “God can send you to prison for the rest of your life for a crime you didn’t commit and still be just.” It is amazing that HE gives us anything but what HE allows in our lives sometimes is not pleasant.
We find at times that the LORD allows things in the lives of HIS saints that seem odd to us because we think that once we become a follower of the LORD we should be on easy street. In fact, we have preachers who will tell you that if there is anything negative in your life it is because of sin. This is not the case with the LORD HE allows things in our lives to help us mature in our faith toward HIM.
I am presently going through another learning experience with the LORD. HE knows what I need to mature. HE knows what you need to mature. HE knew what it took to cause Job to mature in his relationship with HIM.
This was not to prove something to Satan it was to prove something to Job. It was his learning experience and to us it seems to be more than most people can take but yet the LORD knows our limit and HE knew Job’s limit.
When all of his children died and most of his possessions were taken away, he responded appropriately to this first series of circumstances. He didn’t act foolishly by saying something like “This isn’t fair.” He responded in a way that didn’t dishonor the LORD.
He was hurting but not to the point where he acted foolishly. Do we sometimes think that God owes us something because we have become HIS follower? Do we believe like some false teachers teach that all we are going to receive is good times from the LORD?
We have to realize that we deserve the Lake of Fire for eternity because of our sins. Yet in HIS love HE has promised eternity in heaven for us. HE doesn’t promise heaven on earth for the remainder of our lives here on earth. HE promises persecution if we are faithful followers of HIM. HE promises that people will hate us because of service to HIM. HE promises blessing but that doesn’t always mean we will have money in the bank and food on the table. HE promises to provide for our every need but not want.
CHALLENGE: When trials come, we need to keep a proper perspective on our relationship with the LORD and HIS relationship with us. Trials are a part of the Christian life.
_______________________________________________________________
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Job stated relationship with LORD verse 21
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Job prayer warrior for children verse 5
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Offered burnt offerings verse 5
Job worshiped LORD after tragedy verse 20
________________________________________________________________
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 1, 5, 8, 9, 16, 22
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 6- 9, 12, 21
Talked to Satan regarding Job
Allows Satan to tempt Job
LORD gives gives and takes away
Presence of the LORD verse 12
Fire of God verse 16
Name of the LORD verse 21
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Sons of God verse 6
Satan verse 6- 9, 12
In presence of the LORD
Walking to and fro in the earth
Challenges reason Job follows LORD
Says God has hedge about Job
Say Job would curse God if hedge was removed
Presence of the LORD verse 12
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Job verse 1-5, 8- 22
Land of Uz
Perfect and upright
Feared God
Eschewed evil
Had seven sons and three daughters
Had great substance
Greatest of all the men of the east
Sanctified his children by offering burnt offerings
Servant of God
Sons and daughters eating and drinking in
eldest son’s house
News regarding the lost of possession and
Children’s death
Fell down and worshiped God
LORD gives and takes away and he worshiped
the LORD
Sinned not nor charged God foolishly
Job’s seven sons verse 1, 4, 13
Feasted from house to house
Sabeans fell on Job’s servants
and killed Job’s servants verse 15
Fire from heaven that burned up
servants and sheep verse 16
Chaldeans fell on Job’s camels to take them
and killed his servants verse 17
Great wind came on house where sons and
daughters were gathered – they were
killed verse 18, 19
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Evil verse 1
Sinned verse 5, 22
Cursed God verse 5, 11
Charged God verse 22
Act foolishly verse 22
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Perfect verse 1, 8
Upright verse 1, 8
Fear God verse 1, 8, 9
Eschewed evil verse 1, 8
Sanctified verse 5
Offered offerings verse 5
Servant verse 8
Hedge about verse 10
Blessed verse 10
Increased substance verse 10
Worship verse 20
LORD gives verse 21
LORD takes away verse 21
Bless the name of the LORD verse 21
Sinned not verse 22
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
________________________________________________________________
DONATIONS:
Remember that all donations to Small Church Ministries are greatly appreciated. The treasurer will send a receipt, at the end of the year unless otherwise requested. Please be sure to make check out to “Small Church Ministries.” The address for the treasurer is P.O. Box 604, East Amherst, New York 14051. A second way to give to the ministry is through PayPal on the website: www.smallchurchministries.org. Also, if you can support this ministry through your local church, please use that method. Thank you.
_________________________________________________________________
QUOTES regarding passage
1:22 Antecedent to “this” are the calamities of vv. 13–19. Any one of those events might have caused lesser men to lose faith, abandon hope, or even charge God with neglect or deliberate evil. The “sin” that Job did not commit was to accuse God of “wrongdoing.” He did indirectly acknowledge that God had sent these troubles, but he did not at this point question God’s justice, love, wisdom, or sovereignty. It is a rare and commendable posture that the hero from Uz assumed, one that should characterize all God’s children whatever turns life might take.
Thus the chapter ends with “the greatest man among all the people of the East” destitute, childless, and broken. In the space of less than a page and in a brief span of time, he went from being the greatest to being the least of men. We the readers know something that Job did not, and so we cannot enter into his sorrow. Like God, we know the end from the beginning. We know all about the fact that Job had been chosen as a test case. Because of his godliness God selected him for this trial. Job was unaware that his troubles were a great honor. Would Job remain faithful? Will we? (Alden, R. L. (1993). Job (Vol. 11, p. 62). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
____________________________________________________________
22. Job passed the first test. He did not charge God with wrong. The meaning of the Hebrew word tiplāh (which Job did not ascribe to God) has been often discussed, with no firm result. It probably does not refer to Job’s manner of speech as ‘foolish’ (cf. av). Moffatt says he did not ‘give offence to God’, but the text clearly means that he did not find the fault of tiplāh in God, as might have been expected. The nearest we can come to the root meaning is ‘tastelessness’ as in Job 6:6. But there is no proof that it has to do with spitting as a gesture of moral abhorrence.
However this problem is solved, Job’s attitude is clear. ‘He did not sin in all this; he did not accuse God of anything monstrous.’ Satan’s jibe proved false. Job did not worship God for the side-effects of prosperity. He knew that ‘a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions’ (Luke 12:15). He knew what it meant to be simply a man with God. As naked as a baby or a corpse, he was himself—no more. He began life with nothing but himself; he will go out from life stripped of everything but what he has become. God has given him a rehearsal for death. All things belong to God, absolutely, to be given as gift, not claim, to be taken back without wrong. There is no talk of human ‘rights’. The Lord is the sovereign owner of all, and Job rejoices in this wonderful fact.
Job’s faith does not relieve his agony; it causes it. Job loved the Lord, his Father and Friend, as no Greek could ever love even the best of his gods, as no Babylonian, Canaanite or Egyptian could love any of their numerous gods. Contrary to the Satan’s forecast, Job has the same good opinion of God’s blessedness, even when things go wrong. But this faith cannot survive without a terrible struggle. Because Job sees nothing but the Lord’s hand in everything, how can he escape the horrible thought that God has done something bad? He knows no cause for such a wilful act. It is harder to say ‘Praise the Lord’ when he takes away than when he gives. Job is hurled into a cauldron of doubt concerning the justice and equity of God’s ways with him. He must suffer and grow before he can see why this has happened. So far he has begun superbly. His confidence in God’s blessedness goes beyond Eli’s submissive resignation (1 Sam. 3:18), beyond David’s (2 Sam. 16:11), for these are receiving the just deserts of their wrong actions. Job does not have the satisfaction of knowing that he is paying for his sins, for he has none. None, at least, deserving of punishments of such magnitude. What, then, is God doing to him that he can perceive to be good (Rom. 8:28)? The answer to this question will be found only when we reach the end of the story. (Andersen, F. I. (1976). Job: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 14, pp. 93–94). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. Andersen, F. I. 1976)
_____________________________________________________________
Job recognized that his loss resembled his birth and his death: he had been naked at birth, and he would be naked at death. Similarly, now he was figuratively naked. The words naked I will depart (lit., “return there”) suggest that he would return to his mother’s womb. But how could that be? Speaking of the womb of one’s mother was sometimes a poetic way of referring to the earth (cf. Ps. 139:15; Ecc. 5:15; 12:7). The connection is obvious; for man, formed in the womb, is also made “from dust from the ground” (Gen. 2:7; cf. Gen. 3:19; Job 10:9; 34:15; Ps. 103:14), and the earth, when it yields crops, “living” things, is something like a mother giving birth to a baby.
Recognizing God’s sovereign rights (The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away), Job praised the Lord. It is truly remarkable that Job followed adversity with adoration, woe with worship. Unlike so many people, he did not give in to bitterness; he refused to blame God for wrongdoing (cf. Job 2:10).
Job’s amazing response showed Satan was utterly wrong in predicting that Job would curse God. Devotion is possible without dollars received in return; people can be godly apart from material gain. Job’s saintly worship at the moment of extreme loss and intense grief verified God’s words about Job’s godly character. (Zuck, R. B. (1985). Job. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, pp. 720–721). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books
___________________________________________________________
In this central scene four messengers come to Job, announcing four disasters. The disasters (two natural, two inflicted by humans) strike from all directions: the Sabeans (15) come from the south (Sheba); the Chaldeans (17) from the north; the lightning (fire from God, 16) is from the storms that sweep in from the Mediterranean in the west; and the mighty wind (19) comes from the desert in the east. We see Job so overwhelmed by the calamities that he has no time to recover from one shock before the next messenger arrives.
Job’s reaction is not to blame natural events or human enemies (the Lord has taken away), not to forget God’s blessing (the Lord gave), not to close his eyes to reality (has taken), but to praise the Lord for both good and evil (21). Yahweh’s confidence in Job has proved justified.
Job’s mother’s womb to which he will return at death is probably to be understood as mother earth, out of which humans were created. (Carson, D. A., France, R. T., Motyer, J. A., & Wenham, G. J. (Eds.). (1994). New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed., p. 462). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press)
_____________________________________________________________
The hosts of heaven and of hell watched to see how Job would respond to the loss of his wealth and his children. He expressed his grief in a manner normal for that day, for God expects us to be human (1 Thes. 4:13). After all, even Jesus wept (John 11:35). But then Job worshiped God and uttered a profound statement of faith (Job 1:21).
First, he looked back to his birth: “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb.” Everything Job owned was given to him by God, and the same God who gave it had the right to take it away. Job simply acknowledged that he was a steward.
Then Job looked ahead to his death: “and naked shall I return.” He would not return to his mother’s womb, because that would be impossible. He would go to “Mother Earth,” be buried, and turn to dust. (The connection between “birth” and “Mother Earth” is seen also in Ps. 139:13–15.) Nothing that he acquired between his birth and death would go with him into the next world. Paul wrote, “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out” (1 Tim. 6:7).
Finally, Job looked up and uttered a magnificent statement of faith: “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). Instead of cursing God, as Satan said Job would do, Job blessed the Lord! Anybody can say, “The Lord gave” or “The Lord hath taken away”; but it takes real faith to say in the midst of sorrow and suffering, “Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
“In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God with folly” (v. 22). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Patient (pp. 17–18). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books)
____________________________________________________________
1:22 did not sin nor did he blame God. Better, “sin by charging God with wrong.” Hasty words against God in the midst of grief are foolish and wicked. Christians are to submit to trials and still worship God, not because they see the reasons for them, but because God wills them and has His own reasons which believers are to trust. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Job 1:22). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers)
____________________________________________________________
Ver. 22. In all this Job sinned not, &c.] Not that he was without sin, he was conscious to himself of it, and owns it, ch. 9:20, 30, 31. but in all the above things he did or said he sinned not; not in his rending his garments, in shaving his head, and laying himself prostrate on the ground, which were done as common usages in such cases, and not through excess of passion; nor in anything that dropped from his lips, which were ill-becoming the character he bore as a religious man; and though he might be guilty of some failings and imperfections, as the best of men are, even in doing the best of things, yet he sinned not that sin the devil said he would, that is, curse God to his face; there was nothing of this, nor like it, but the reverse of it in all he said and did: nor charged God foolishly; or gave not folly to him; did not ascribe it to him, did not arraign his wisdom, nor charge him with folly; though there might be some things he could not account for, or see into the reasons of them, he knew the Lord could; he considered that he was a God of knowledge, the only and all-wise God, and did all things after the counsel of his will, and to answer the best ends and purposes, and therefore he submitted all to his wisdom; nor did he himself speak foolishly of him, arraigning his justice and holiness, as if he had done wrong to him; he knew there was no unrighteousness in God, nor in any of his ways and works, and that he had a right to do what he would with his own, to give and take it away at his pleasure: he spoke nothing that was unsavouryn, as the word signifies; nothing contrary to right reason and true religion; nothing unsuitable unto, or unbecoming him as a man, as a religious man, as in connexion with God, a servant of his, and one that feared him. The Arabic version is, nor blasphemed God; and the Targum, “neither did he set in order words of blasphemy before God;” he did not curse God, as Satan said he would, neither in heart and thought, nor in words; this is a testimony of him given by the Lord himself, the searcher of hearts, and who only could give such a testimony of him; and which, as Cocceius observes, is a proof of the divine authority of this book. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 3, p. 200). London: Mathews and Leigh)
_______________________________________________________________
22. See what a seal God the Holy Ghost hath put to the faith of Job. Oh! who would not with Job rejoice in tribulations, if the issue of every trial had this blessed earnest of the Spirit? (Hawker, R. (2013). Poor Man’s Old Testament Commentary: Job–Psalms (Vol. 4, p. 8). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software)
_______________________________________________________________
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
_______________________________________________________________
While the Bible will indeed offer practical solutions to the problems of life, it is no mere self—help manual. The Scriptures are the means by which we come to know the Almighty! Let me challenge you to set aside your problems for a season and read God’s Word with the sole purpose of knowing Him. I am confident that your life will never be the same. (p. 283, From Ordinary to Extraordinary by John MacArthur)
___________________________________________________________________
THE CREATION OF THE WORLD
Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Hebrews 11:3
We are not given a fully detailed account or philosophy of creation, and yet we claim that the account that we are given is wholly accurate. The Bible claims that it is from God. We read in Hebrews 11:3, “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” God gave an account of the creation to Moses or someone else; so it is not man’s ideas or theories. The biblical account does not, however, claim to explain everything.
Second, we must be clear about what creation means. It has been defined as “that free act of God whereby He…in the beginning brought forth the whole visible and invisible universe without the use of pre-existing materials, and thus gave it an existence distinct from His own and yet always dependent on Him” (Berkhof).
Now, we hold to that as against other theories that have been put forward. There are those who believe that matter itself is eternal, while others believe in the spontaneous generation of matter and its spontaneous development. Other views are that God simply worked to form matter that already existed or that matter is just an emanation of the divine substance. Pantheism teaches that matter is but a form of God–that it is God. On the other hand, those who believe in dualism say that God and matter are eternal, while some teach that the world was produced by an antagonistic spirit, another god or demiurge.
But the biblical doctrine is clear: God made everything out of nothing. The world has a distinct existence, but it is always dependent upon God. “By him,” says Paul, “all things consist” (Colossians 1:17).
A Thought to Ponder: The biblical doctrine is clear: God made everything out of nothing.
(From God the Father, God the Son, pp. 127-128, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
_________________________________________________________________
THE DEVIL IS A PERSON
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. John 8:44
The second thing that the Bible tells us about the devil is that he is a person. This is most important at the present time, because it has been the fashion for at least a century not to believe in the devil as a person. This is true not only of those who are unbelievers but also of many who call themselves Christians. They say they believe in the power of evil or an evil influence or a kind of lack in us, but they have a feeling that to believe in a personal devil is to be very much behind the times. But that is thoroughly unbiblical, because the Bible teaches us that the devil is a person.
For myself, there is one proof that is more than sufficient in and of itself, and that is the accounts we have in the Gospels of the temptations of our Lord. Now obviously our Lord’s temptations came from somewhere, and when people say that temptation to evil is something that arises solely from within and from a certain lack of power or positive qualities in us, they have no explanation to offer for the temptations of our Lord. It was a person who tempted our Lord, and our Lord addressed him as such; it was the devil who spoke to Him, and He spoke to the devil (Luke 4:1-13)–not an influence, but a person. Furthermore, we find the same thing in the book of Job in the first chapter, where the devil appears quite clearly as a person and addresses God. And God addresses him.
The biblical teaching is in no doubt at all about this. Our Lord, turning to certain Jews one day, said to them, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do” (John 8:44). How often you find the phrase, “the wicked one”–for example, “then cometh the wicked one” (Matthew 13:19).
A Thought to Ponder: It was a person who tempted our Lord, and our Lord addressed him as such. (From God the Father, God the Son, p. 117., Dr. Martyty Lloyd-Jones)
____________________________________________________________________
Daily Hope Today’s Scripture
Acts 21:1-14
Knowing and following the will of God can be a difficult thing to do! Knowing that the Lord desired us to move from New York to Illinois was easy for me to discern. There were several factors that led me to believe that it was what the Lord desired. However, it was not as easy for our children to accept and agree to the changes that it would bring to their lives. Today, I believe our whole family would agree it was the correct move for us.
Paul had desired to return to Jerusalem and to worship and celebrate the Day of Pentecost with his brethren (20:16). He had been away from the focal point of Judaism for many years and the desire to return and worship in Jerusalem was important to him.
As Paul traveled toward Israel, people prophesied that chains and imprisonment awaited him if he went to Jerusalem. Paul’s focus was intent on going to Jerusalem and to celebrate the feast at Pentecost regardless of his physical wellbeing. This struggle proved difficult and no one was able to answer it other than Paul himself.
The Spirit appears to be expressing contradictory directives to Paul and the disciples. Was the Spirit speaking two messages or a message with conflicting emphasis that only Paul would be able to determine as correct? Paul seemed absolutely convinced that he was to be in Jerusalem. He was compelled and almost driven to get there. Yet, through many disciples, the Spirit spoke clearly of the upcoming difficulties that awaited Paul.
Paul responded with his answer that he was ready to be bound and to die in Jerusalem for his Lord! A weaker, less mature man could have succumbed to the pressure and not gone to Jerusalem. The Lord’s will would have been accomplished differently. Perhaps, instead of Rome paying for his travels and arriving in Rome as a prisoner, he could have traveled there himself and then been arrested and tried. We do know the Lord’s will for Paul was to speak of his Lord before kings and present the message of Christ before Caesar (27:24).
There are times when it appears the Lord is directing us in contradictory directions. Using God’s word, people may advise us one way when we are convinced by the Lord differently than their counsel. The maturity of his faith led Paul to trust his Savior despite the upcoming difficulties. Paul demonstrated his belief in the words of Job, “Though He slay me, yet I will trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him. He also shall be my salvation…” (Job 13:15-16). Like Paul, it is vital that we have a strong understanding of what God desires to do in our life and follow that conviction regardless the impending struggles. With an Expectant Hope, (Pastor Miller)
______________________________________________________________________
We now have a Facebook page for Small Church Ministries – please invite others to join us on Facebook. Thank you. Look for the logo from the devotionals.
________________________________________________________________________