Thursday, January 6th

Job was a real man. Before we begin to examine the text let’s just take a moment and wrap our minds around that. He is not a literary character or the fictional embodiment of some ideology; he was a beloved creation of a loving God. We need to understand that if we are going to learn lessons from the book of Job.

The modern day location of Uz, the place where Job called home, is unknown to scholars. But one thing that is not in dispute is Job’s character. He was “blameless and upright.” Those traits are also attributed to Noah. We also know that Job was filthy rich. The way that we measure Job’s wealth may also give us some insight into how old this account actually is. Job’s wealth is measured in live stock and servants instead of gold and silver. Some scholars use this fact among other things to say that Job may have lived before Abraham.

Job was also a devout family man. He not only cared about the physical and mental health of his kids; he cared about their spiritual health. He prayed for them. He sacrificed for them. He prayed and sacrificed for the sins that just might have committed in their hearts. Dr. Dobson would have definitely had this guy on his radio show.

Then, just 6 verses into Job’s story, something happens. In fact something happens to the reader. We get a complete frame of reference. The scope of the picture gets much wider. Actually… it gets much higher. We get a glimpse in the heavens right into the throne room of God. And in the throne room there are some powerful lessons that will help us to see life, our relationship with others and our relationship with God more clearly.

First we see The Adversary on a short leash. Satan answers to God… period. Never forget that. He is a defeated foe. There is no power struggle. Our God reigns.

Next God initiates a chain of events. That is important; God kicks this thing off. He points out Job. Now I can’t honestly say that I would want to have a “Job experience” but I love the thought of having Almighty God call me by name and tell Satan, “Have you seen ____” “He/ she loves me and it shows.” Satan takes the bait.

What Satan does next I believe is done because it is in his nature. He does not understand the type of love and devotion that Job has for God. Lest we be unfair, Satan sort of does what many of us may have done when we see someone wealthy or successful praise God. There is often this thing inside of us that thinks, “Sure… if I had their (money, power, family, Superbowl ring, etc.) I could easily praise God too.” Satan asks God to take away “the good life.” So God does.

Before we move on… I wonder how many other people Satan asked to “sift like wheat?” I wonder if God’s response was a “no” and that the particular person in question was not ready for that sort of trial? I wonder if Satan has ever asked God to remove His hedge around me. More so, I wonder what God’s response was? Was I ready for the challenge? God saw Job as being ready.

Imagine your little handy dandy smart phone rings. You pick it up and the person on the other end of the line says something like this, “One of the banks where you keep some of your money just got robbed (with no FDIC) and the guys you employed at the bank were killed in the robbery.” While having that conversation the text alert goes off. It reads, “Unseasonably warm weather (i.e. fire from heaven) has wiped out your agricultural investments and those persons employed to look after the investments.” Next comes the e-mail alert. “You’ve got mail.” Terrorists have laid siege to Job Co. taking all tangible assets and leaving no one alive. Then a knock at the door… it’s the police. “We regret to inform you that you’re family have been killed in a horrific tornado.” Welcome to Job’s world.

Remember that when this happens, Job does not have the luxury of knowing what was written in verses 6 through 12. He just knows that he loves God, was trying to serve Him and that he has now lost everything.

How would you or I respond? Anger, disbelief, bad theology? Job worshipped. Not pretty, Sunday morning, Americanized church worship… Job WORSHIPPED. Job worshipped by falling head long into the truth. “I came with nothing… I’ll leave with nothing. God you gave me everything, you have the absolute right to take everything. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

I have never had to walk that path. The path that men like Steven Curtis Chapman, or Steve Lynch have had to walk. I cannot imagine what it means to lose a child and fall to your knees and worship. But whatever it takes… God had instilled in Job, I believe because Job wanted it there. It had been cultivated before the trial was upon him.

I can however relate to the second test that God allows for Job. Job lost his health. If you have ever been in the position where you have lost your ability to function, as with what happened to me in 2004 when I was diagnosed with leukemia, then you know that you would trade all of your wealth to just be whole again. Job had no wealth to trade. He had children to comfort him.

Job did however have a spouse. Job’s wife could have been a great source of comfort. She could have said all the right words, done all the right things, been his partner in prayer; but she blew it. I know a spouse who’s blown it before. I see him every morning when I shave. I can relate.

Job’s wife reacts out of pain. Remember that she has also lost deeply. She is not in the same place that Job is though. Job not only has to deal with family loss but also family strife. He has to lead his wife to a clear understanding of who God is. He reminds her to think before she speaks and that, in essence, God’s ways are higher than our ways.

Then… come the “friends.” We’ll talk much more about them later. What we can say now is that they hail from identifiable and biblically significant places. They also seem to start off well. Who wouldn’t want some sympathy and comfort right now? Job is in a position of mourning; so they join him. Their garb is that of mourning and they spend a ceremonial 7 days of silence with him much like Ezekiel did when he met with exiles from Babylon.

Can you imagine if the story stopped right there? What if all the scenes from the throne room were left out of the picture? That is how far too many people live their lives. God’s word gives us a panoramic view of life especially during suffering. We need not suffer with blinders on… or standing in front of a mirror, wholly focused on ourselves. When the storm comes we need to remember to look up and remember that God is always at work and His ways are truly higher than ours.