By Bill...
A friend and I are reading through the Bible chronologically and are now in the Book of Job. Here is a summary written by my husband for those who might be reading along with us and finding the book a bit difficult to comprehend.
Overall, Job illustrates two fundamental truths: no man is righteous and God is sovereign, and in the end, always compassionate and merciful.
Job, had an inaccurate understanding about who he was (a sinner), and who God is (all-powerful and utterly holy).
From our perspective, Job was a "good man", and it was because of his goodness that he became a target of Satan's long war against God. In effect, Satan, who currently has access to Heaven but one one day be cast down forever, challenged God regarding Job.
The challenge was this, paraphrasing: "Job only loves and worships you because you have blessed him with health, wealth and family. Take away these blessings and he will curse you."
Astonishingly, God gives Satan permission to test Job, but notice he can only do to Job what God allows during each testing.
First Job is bereft of wealth and family - even his wife advises him to "curse God and die!" But Job suffered all these things and remained steadfast - "The Lord gives. The Lord takes away. Blessed be the Name of the Lord."
Satan then dares God to take Job's health away and watch him lose faith. God allows this trial as well, but puts definite limits to the afflictions that Satan was powerless to go beyond.
To this physical torture, so tormenting Job wished to die, and cursed the day he was born, was added the self-righteous hypocritical "sympathies of his 4 "friends".
But notice throughout the entire ordeal, while crying out to God, and attempting to defend himself to his companions, Job neither took his own life, nor dishonored God.
In the end, after some 39 chapters of physical and emotional testing, God revealed himself to Job, obliterating all his false pictures of self-righteousness, and displaying His true, awe-inspiring Being.
Job rightfully repented in dust and ashes.
Then God turned His attention to Job's useless friends and informed them that only through Job's prayers on their behalf would they avoid His judgment.They thought they knew God and His purposes, yet were worse in their hearts than Job, to whom they directed their torturous self-righteous superiority.
In the end, God blessed Job with precisely twice the blessings He had bestowed at first.
Job is a book which purposely shatters any conception we have about our holiness in light of God's perfect and radiant holiness.
God claims and exercises jurisdiction and judgment over all creation. No created being, including Satan, can operate beyond His knowledge and will.
And no one is righteous except God:
Here is what God says about natural man:
As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”; “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:10-18, NKJV).
Job, had an inaccurate understanding about who he was (a sinner), and who God is (all-powerful and utterly holy).
From our perspective, Job was a "good man", and it was because of his goodness that he became a target of Satan's long war against God. In effect, Satan, who currently has access to Heaven but one one day be cast down forever, challenged God regarding Job.
The challenge was this, paraphrasing: "Job only loves and worships you because you have blessed him with health, wealth and family. Take away these blessings and he will curse you."
Astonishingly, God gives Satan permission to test Job, but notice he can only do to Job what God allows during each testing.
First Job is bereft of wealth and family - even his wife advises him to "curse God and die!" But Job suffered all these things and remained steadfast - "The Lord gives. The Lord takes away. Blessed be the Name of the Lord."
Satan then dares God to take Job's health away and watch him lose faith. God allows this trial as well, but puts definite limits to the afflictions that Satan was powerless to go beyond.
To this physical torture, so tormenting Job wished to die, and cursed the day he was born, was added the self-righteous hypocritical "sympathies of his 4 "friends".
But notice throughout the entire ordeal, while crying out to God, and attempting to defend himself to his companions, Job neither took his own life, nor dishonored God.
In the end, after some 39 chapters of physical and emotional testing, God revealed himself to Job, obliterating all his false pictures of self-righteousness, and displaying His true, awe-inspiring Being.
Job rightfully repented in dust and ashes.
Then God turned His attention to Job's useless friends and informed them that only through Job's prayers on their behalf would they avoid His judgment.They thought they knew God and His purposes, yet were worse in their hearts than Job, to whom they directed their torturous self-righteous superiority.
In the end, God blessed Job with precisely twice the blessings He had bestowed at first.
Job is a book which purposely shatters any conception we have about our holiness in light of God's perfect and radiant holiness.
God claims and exercises jurisdiction and judgment over all creation. No created being, including Satan, can operate beyond His knowledge and will.
And no one is righteous except God:
Here is what God says about natural man:
As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”; “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:10-18, NKJV).
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