Job was a man who hailed from Uz.
Some say he wasn’t, but I say he was.
If not him, ’twould have been one of us—
Enough misfortune for a good man to cuss.
One day God said, “You can put him through hell,
But I know for certain that all will end well.”
So Job went before us to teach life lessons,
And perhaps spare us a few of the sessions.
But as for the journey, we also must go,
Because there are some things we just have to know.
I leave this with questions, just like in the book—
But for a brief preview, take a quick look.
The Book of Job does not offer easy answers to suffering. It opens its doors into mystery.
Job is a good man. The text goes out of its way to say so: he is blameless, upright, God-fearing, and one who turns away from evil. Yet calamity comes—not once, but wave after wave.
This is our first installment in a Bible Chat Daily journey through Job. We will not rush past the hard questions, pretend pain is simple, or make Job’s friends wiser than they are. We will listen, wrestle, pray, and watch for the God who speaks from the whirlwind.
The Reading
Job 1:1–22
There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.
There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. He had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and very many servants; so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east.
His sons used to go and hold feasts in one another’s houses in turn; and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.
And when the feast days had run their course, Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” This is what Job always did.
One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.
The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the Lord, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”
The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil.”
Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not put a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
“But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.”
The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, all that he has is in your power; only do not stretch out your hand against him!”
So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
One day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the eldest brother’s house, a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were feeding beside them, and the Sabeans fell on them and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.”
While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; I alone have escaped to tell you.”
While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three columns, made a raid on the camels and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.”
While he was still speaking, another came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house, and suddenly a great wind came across the desert, struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; I alone have escaped to tell you.”
Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell on the ground and worshiped.
He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.
Have You Considered Job?
“And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?” — Job 1:8
This was a defining moment for Job, and he was not even aware of it at the time.
Something was happening in the spiritual realm that would translate to the world of time and space, and Job was about to be tested.
There are such times in our lives that are defining. Often, we are tempted to believe that God is giving Satan a free hand to harass us. When we peek into this heavenly transaction, it may appear at first sight that God is doing business with Satan—dealing with him and inviting him before His court of justice as if he had the right to appear.
But that is not the whole story.
Satan’s name means adversary and is the same word that can be used for “prosecutor.” He is always accusing, and his case is always before the bar of God.
God, the Judge, is defending His chosen servant, Job, as well as weighing the evidence.
God knows how Job will emerge from this trial because He is Job’s helper and advocate. God knows that Job is about to enter a deeper dimension of fellowship with Him and that, through a series of questions, Job’s wisdom is going to grow dramatically.
God is both defending you and weighing you even now. He is your best advocate as well as your Judge.
In the same way that He believed in Job, He believes in you because He sees you through His Son.
When trials come, He is in your corner, taunting Satan: “Have you considered my servant, [your name]?”
“Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.” — James 5:11
Questions for the Journey
What does the opening description of Job tell us about the connection—and the difference—between faithfulness and an easy life?
What do you notice about Job’s concern for his children and his practice of prayer?
Satan’s question is piercing: “Does Job fear God for nothing?” How might that question reach into our own motives for worship and obedience?
What losses or unanswered questions make Job’s response difficult for you to hear?
In what way do you need to remember today that God is present, attentive, and merciful in the midst of trial?
This is only the beginning. Stay with Job. He will ask questions we have asked, say words we may have been afraid to say, and discover that God is neither absent nor indifferent.
Bible Chat Daily with Tom Sims
biblechatonline.com · linktr.ee/tomsims
