“There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.”
Job is one of those men in the bible that I would love to have been able to spend the day with. I wonder what he was like, how he acted and how he had such amazing faith and trust in God.
In Job chapter 1 verse 8 God says that there is no one like Job in all the world. Wow, what a compliment. Can you imagine if God said that there was no one as faithful or devoted to him, as you in the entire earth! And to the most faithful and devoted man on earth, in one day God allowed:
Satan to specifically attack Job.
All of his oxen and donkey’s to be taken.
All of Jobs servants to be killed.
All of his sheep to be burned.
All of his camels to be taken away.
All of his Children to be killed.
After Job learns of all of these terrible events in job 1:20 it says, Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped.”
HE WORSHIPED! Can you imagine worshipping after learning that all of your children were just killed? I think as Christians it is especially hard, because we know that nothing can happen to us unless God has first allowed it to happen. God deserves worship, at all times even when we do not feel like worshiping.
When reading this you might think that Job did not love his children, or that he was not close to his children. But in Job 1:5 it says that Job would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings for all of his children, just in case any of his children had sinned and cursed God in their hearts. Job was a man would loved his children. I someday hope to be a parent who wakes up early in the morning to go before the LORD for my children.
So how did Job become the biblical model of faith and patience? I think that the entire answer is summed up in Job 1:1
“There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.”
Job feared God and shunned evil. If I were to fear God I would live a life fully pleasing to God. If I shunned evil I would only allow things that were holy into my life. If we live a life of fearing God and hating evil we will be called blameless and upright, just like Job.
LORD please help us to cling to what is pure and holy, hate what is evil and fear you above all others.
xoxo ashby
I am moved to tears by this post AshBear. Seriously. I always think of my sweet friend Rachel when I read this part of Job. Her son died and she has not for one moment stopped praising God and acknowledging that his mercies are new everyday. She is so strong, God is clearly working in her life. Thanks for this perfect post. Love it, Megs
ReplyDeleteFefe, this was SO good! I find so many times we make our relationship with Christ SO much harder than it needs to be. If we hate what is evil and cling to what is Holy that we will be so in tune with the Spirit and know exactly how to dwell with Him. I always screw that up. What I wouldnt give to meet Job as well and spend the day with such a God fearing man. This was so amazing. thank you for sharing this and making me realize I need to just take it back to the simple commands of the Lord.
ReplyDeletexoxo- N