6-9-14. Job 1:1-22. No Matter What Happens-May The Name Of The Lord Be Praised –my devotional

Job 1:1-22                                                                                                       6-9-14

Key Verse: 1:21                                                                                               Kevin E. Jesmer

“and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb,  and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” (NIV)

Dear Lord, I thank you that I can trust you. I have been getting a few “on calls” which causes me to worry about finances. But you are there. You are my heavenly Father. You are the God of all Creation. You are the shepherd of my life and my family. Your word tells me, in Matthew 6:33, to seek first your kingdom and your righteousness and all of these things will be given as well. Your kingdom is where you dwell. Your righteousness is Jesus Christ, who is our righteousness through faith. You don’t promise to provide the excesses we don’t need, but the things we do need for life and ministry.  Lord, help me to seek your kingdom and Jesus Christ, my righteousness, as top priority in life. Help me to trust you as I serve your unique calling for my life and family. We trust your provision. We trust your guidance. We trust your deliverance in every sphere of our life. Now, strengthen my heart through this passage in Job. I pray in the name of the greatest provider in the universe…Jesus Christ.

Part 1: Job’s Ultra Blessed Life (1-5)

Verses 1-5, “In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. 4 His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.”

Job was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. God blessed him with every blessing, and put a hedge of protection around him. This man was so, so blessed. He had it all, wife, kids living in close proximity and loving each other.  His home was a multigenerational compound full of children’s laughter. He had wealth, and a spiritual life. He had plenty to eat and drink. He was famous, having the praise and admiration of the people of the land. He had a right relationship with God. The only thing he may have been missing is his health. It is hard to enjoy all of these things if you have a kidney stone, or gall stones, or intestinal diseases, etc. He also never had air conditioning and he had to live in fear of invasion from marauding tribes. But all said, Job was as blessed as one could get at that time and it was God who blessed him.

Job’s success did not make him proud; rather, he was more zealous to serve God. He prayed and offered sacrifices for his children. This is amazing! Wealth usually drives people away from God. Jesus even said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:25) Paul said, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil….” (NIV) (1 Tim 6:10a)  It is not that riches are bad. It is that riches can easily become an idol for those who depend on them. The more we have the more we want. The more we have the more we depend on it. It is tempting to pour all of your energies and mind and heart power to seeking wealth instead of seeking Christ and his Kingdom. That is the danger of wealth. But Job seemed to have it all in order. He seemed to be in control of the temptation of wealth. I pray that my heart may always chase after Jesus and the Kingdom of God and not after the wealth of this world. May my career and the wages that I make not be a stumbling block to walking with the Lord.

I can learn spiritual leadership in the family from Job in Job 1:5. “5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.”  He concerned about his kid’s spiritual life. He cared about their relationship with God. He would start the day off with prayer, seeking their forgiveness of sins. Wow! This is great spiritual leadership in the family. How often do Christian parents despair and give up on their kids? We think that the kids have to meet God personally and God is leading them and then we stop praying for them and caring for them spiritually. But we can see that Job was offering up sacrifices and prayers for his kids, independently of his kids. Why weren’t the kids offering up their own sacrifices each morning? Maybe they were not seeking God as they should have been. But that doesn’t stop Job from behaving like a spiritual father. Our kids’ lack of spiritual fervor, and sometimes lack of faith, should not stop us from being the Christian parent that God wants us to be.

Part 2: Satan Picked The Wrong Believer To Mess With (6-12)

Verses 6-12, “6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.” 8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” 9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” 12 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.”

Here we get a glimpse of the spiritual world. We were looking at the blessed life of Job in the physical world, but there is a spiritual reality also. God is real. The kingdom of God is real. The throne of God is real. And, Yes, Satan is real too. He does roam throughout the earth, going back and forth through it, trying his best to keep the children of God separated from their heavenly Father. “Satan” means “accuser” and we can see his accusing nature at work in this passage.

Satan came before God and set challenge before God. He said, “Does Job fear God for nothing?” He accused Job of being faithful only because he received benefits. But if tragedy struck, Job would curse God. The Lord accepted the challenge.

Satan is an accuser. It is amazing that when we discover the grace of God in Christ Jesus, that is when Satan comes to us to accuse us of all of our sins and mistakes and failings. He wants to remind us of all our sins that we committed even in our youth. The more grace we receive the more memories of past sins flood into our minds. I think this is the Accuser trying his best to keep a person from dwelling in the grace of God. But Gospel faith protects us in these moments. We simply confess, “Yes, Lord I have sinned. But I come to you for your forgiveness and grace. Help me to walk in the way of holiness and righteousness. Sanctify me through and through.” In this way the devil’s attacks turn into episodes of spiritual strengthening. But for those who do not hold onto Jesus, these attacks can lead one into isolation and depression. We will see in this passage on how Job faired with these attacks.

Part 3: May The Name of the Lord Be Praised (13-22)

Verses 13-22, “13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” 16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” 17 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” 18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” 20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb,    and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” 22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.”

Satan swept in, stripping from Job all that Job held near and dear. Job’s wealth and his beautiful children were snatched away in one day. When Job heard the successive bad news, climaxing in the death of his children, he was in agony of soul. I can’t imagine all that Job went through. It was so painful. Any normal person would have had a nervous breakdown and suffered from anxiety attacks for the rest of their lives. They would have blamed God and cursed him for their terrible circumstances. The worst part for me is in verse 18, the loss of his kids. “18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”  This would be something that I would find extremely hard to bear. Even the loss of one child would be a horrible experience. But job experienced the loss of 10 children and dozens of friends. My heart aches for him, though he lived 4,000 years ago.

What is really amazing is that he did not curse God.  He praised the name of the Lord who gives and who takes away. Verses 20-22 read, “At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” 22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.” Job did not blame God. He stayed steadfast to the Lord. It was not God who was doing all of this to him, it was Satan. Why blame God? I suppose that people might say that God could have kept his hedge of protection around Job and because he did not then God is somehow to blame. But there are two principles to consider here. God does not protect us from that which he wants to grow us through. And God chooses not to intervene in many things that unfold in this world and in life. Yet he is with us and strengthening us through them all. For example, if your car is in a head-on collision with a semi truck, God does not disassemble a semi truck and reassemble it behind you, as was done in the movie “Echo.”

We can not blame God. All we can do is draw near to God and find strength and if answers are available, then answers. We should respond with the words of Job, ““Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” One day I will die. Maybe I will have a chronic or an acute illness. Maybe I will loose everything I own. Maybe all that I hold near and dear will be stripped from me. But I pray for the strength to remain in Jesus. I pray to grow in my faith through any circumstance. I pray to glorify the name of Jesus despite of anything that happens. Naked I came, naked I will go. Probably in a plastic white body bag at the local hospital. I can’t take my wife, my family, my quiet house, nor my computer, nor family history info, etc. It will be just me and Jesus facing eternity together. My soul will be with the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Prayer: Lord, help me praise you and glorify the name of Jesus no matter what happens in my life.

One Word: Naked I came; naked I will go. I praise your name, O’ Lord.