Job 1:1-12 slowly and repeatedly.
The main content of the text: Job is a man who completely fears God and is an impeccable righteous man. God also praises him, but Satan belittles him, saying that his piety is due to the blessings God gives him.
Verse 12 Just as God allowed everything to be taken away from Job, who lived in complete fear of God, he sometimes gives suffering to sinless and godly people. This is different from punishment to correct a mistake. This is God’s class that guides you to get to know God himself, beyond the simple and fragmentary understanding that ‘If you believe in God, you will be blessed, and if you commit sins, you will be punished.’ It is a ‘mysterious process’ that leads from suffering ‘without knowing why’ to fearing and loving God ‘without reason’ (verse 9).
Verse 12b God controls our suffering just as God entrusted all of Job’s possessions to Satan but did not allow him to touch his body. He controls the times of pain that come to us so that they do not harm us but become an opportunity for study and training, and guide us to the goodness of God. God’s good is that we become conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29).
What lesson does God give me?
Verses 1-5 ‘Job, who feared God, enjoyed God’s blessings and lived in peace’ is the beginning of the Book of Job. A scene that would fit the end of a faithful person’s life story forms the introduction to the long story that follows. This shows that the lives of God’s people cannot be simplified to just ‘fearing God and enjoying blessings.’ In our lives, there are ‘mysteries’ that cannot be easily reached and ‘ambiguities’ that cannot be understood. Sometimes we feel confused and sometimes we lament, but through the ambiguity of the process, we become deeper and wider. In this way, the Book of Job shows the depth of life and faith that cannot be explained by one or two laws such as mathematical formulas.
Verses 6-11 Satan belittles our faith and love for God. If God gives a blessing, he will pretend to fear God, but I guarantee that if the blessing disappears, he will turn his back on God. Satan conclude that no one can love God when they have lost everything and have nothing. If we worship God because we want to gain or gain something, or if we turn our backs on God because of poverty and suffering, we remain within Satan’s understanding. Let us examine whether we have an unwavering trust and love for God that Satan will never understand. Would you be able to depend on God even if you were to lose everything you possess?
Community Prayer – Living God, help me not to stop fearing you or lose faith in you under any circumstances and lead me to deeper faith and broader wisdom.
Prayer for the Nations – The ration standard provided to the Rohingya in the Cox’s Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh has been drastically reduced from $12 per person per month to $8. Let us pray that relief will not be cut off for the Rohingya people who are facing a food crisis.