Job 1 and 2 force us to explore a question about our faith and trust in God. Do people follow God because they believe that God will give them good things?? If everything is being taken away from God's people, will they still be God's people? The backdrop of the story is a little peculiar. Satan and God made a bet. God asked Satan to "consider" His servant, Job - who is blameless and righteous. He would allow Satan to remove everything that Job has, including his servants, animals, wealth, even his sons and daughters. When Job still wouldn't curse God, Satan said that no one would still be loving God if his body is suffering. God replied: "Go do what you want with Job, just don't kill him." So Job was afflicted with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head (OUCH!!). Even when his wife pleaded for him to curse God, Job still wouldn't do it. "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" And so he remained blameless through all these set-up tests.
I often wonder how many people would be able to compare their faith with that of Job. We all remember the lyrics of the song "Blessed be Your name":
You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name
Every time I hear or sing this song, I always think of this book... and I always wonder if I really mean every word...
Excellent point. The words to that song should not be taken lightly, and I do wonder myself the same thing. Would I really praise God regardless of the struggles he puts me through?
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