In recent days, with all the suffering and dying around us mostly due to COVID and other diseases, I have spent a lot of time reading and thinking about Job in the Bible, and what we can learn from him.
I realized that the book of Job has an amazing author, is an amazing book, has an amazing character and reveals an amazing God.
AMAZING AUTHOR
No one knows who wrote the book of Job. But the author must have been a genius, and must have truly been inspired by God to write such an amazing book. Did you know it was written as a poem? It has 42 chapters in it and is one of the longest books in the Bible. It is filled with great theological, psychological and physiocological truths.
AMAZING BOOK
Bible scholars know that the Bible is divided into categories. First came the books of the Law by Moses, Then the books of history. Then the books of poetry, which are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon.
Some would ask, if they are poetry, they why don’t they rhyme? Probably in their original language, they did have rhyme and rhythm. But it was lost in translation.
AMAZING CHARACTER
Job was an amazing man. His faith, perseverance and patience were amazing. James 5:11: “….Ye have heard of the patience of Job.” Romans 10:17 “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Yet Job is believed to have lived before any of the Bible was written. Moses had not yet written the books of the law. Most scholars believe that Job lived sometime between the time of Abraham and Moses. Yet he had amazing faith. He also offered sacrifices even though the sacrificial laws had not yet been given by Moses.
We all know the story. There was a meeting in heaven, and Satan was at the meeting. God said, “Have you not considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God…?
Satan replied, in essence, “No wonder he fears you. You’ve put a hedge around him and blessed him. But take away what he has and he will curse you to your face.”
God said, “OK. You can take away what he has.” So Satan caused a great wind to come up and destroy Job’s family, cattle and all that he had. Job, the richest man on earth at the time, is suddenly the poorest man on earth.
Yet his faith remained strong. He said, “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Then Satan got God’s permission to make Job sick, although God told him he couldn’t take his life. The Bible says Job had boils all over him, from the ends of his toes to the top of his head.
His wife asked him, “Why don’t you just curse God and die?” But Job answered, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in him.”
The Bible says, “In all this, Job sinned not and neither charged God foolishly.”
His so-called friends came to him and totally misunderstood why Job was suffering. They thought surely he must have committed some great sin. The book of Job deals more than any other book in the Bible about why the righteous suffer.
After it was obvious that Job had stood the test, God restored Job to his health and at the end of the book he is far richer than ever before.
We don’t know how old Job was when all this happened, other than that he was grown and had grown children. But the last chapter tells us that he lived another 140 years after all this happened, and God blessed him more than ever after he had been tested.
Nahum 1:3: The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm.
Our amazing God has His reasons for all that he does, and we as believers can claim the promise of Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God…”
Job set the example for all of us. No matter what comes our way, keep the faith. If we do, God will work it out for our good.