From Riches to Rags

OPENING PRAYER:

Father, today I want to tune my heart to the frequency of the Spirit. I yearn to trust and obey you.

READ: JOB 1

Prologue

1 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.

6 One day the angels[a] came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan[b] 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.

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.[c] 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.

Footnotes:

[a] Job 1:6 Hebrew the sons of God

[b] Job 1:6 Hebrew satan means adversary.

[c] Job 1:21 Or will return there

JOB 1

REFLECT:

Meditate on these words: Every blessing you pour out, I’ll turn back to praise / When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say / Blessed be the name of the Lord.*

If celebrity magazines had been available in the land of Uz, Job would surely have merited a special feature. He was a billionaire of his time, with huge wealth and a glittering family; Job ‘was the greatest man among all the people of the East’ (v 3). Not only rich, Job was ‘blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil’ (v 3, ESV). But was his dedication to God genuine, or did he see worship as a way of getting God to reward him with material blessings? This is the question raised by Satan (the accuser) in verse 11.

Have you met people who have ceased to believe because some tragedy has befallen them? Do you know Christians whose faith sustained them in times of crisis? When natural disaster and wicked people take away everything (vs 13–19), Job still worships God.

Although Satan is the one who brings these calamities on Job, it is only with the permission of God (v 12). Throughout the book, Job is in no doubt that God is ultimately in control, even if his purposes are a mystery. Satan may be an enemy of God’s people, but this is no contest between equals; Satan’s power is limited.

*Matt Redman © 2002, Thankyou Music / Integritymusic.com

APPLY:

Tell the Lord about your own circumstances, be they good or bad, then, like Job, worship him.

CLOSING PRAYER:

Dear Heavenly Father, through all the ups and down of life, sometimes I need special grace from you to see me though. I surrender anew to your will for my life.

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