Job, the name of two men in the Old Testament: The third son of Issachar, and founder of a tribal family, the Jashubites. - Gen. 46:13 - He is also called Jashub. - Num. 26:24; 1Chr. 7;1 -

The central personality of the Book of Job. He was noted for his perseverance and unwavering faith in God, hope in God, love in God, in spite of his sufferings and moments of frustration and doubt.

For your example, brothers, in submitting with patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord; remember it is those who had endurance that we say are the blessed ones. You have heard of the patience of Job, and understood the Lord's purpose, realising that the Lord is kind and compassionate. - James 5:10-11 -

Job is described as a man in the land of Uz and the greatest of all the peoples of the East. A prosperous man. Uz is probably a name for a region in Edom. - Jer. 25:20; Lam. 4:21 -

There was once a man in the land of Uz called Job: a sound and honest man who feared God and shunned evil. Seven sons and three daughters were born to him. And he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred female donkeys, and many servants besides. This man was indeed a man of mark among all the people of the East. - Job 1:1-3 -

Job is humbled by his outpouring of God's power, and he learns to trust where he cannot understand. This leads to his great affirmation of faith, hope, and love in God's. Satan was very jealous and envy of Job  righteousness, materials possessions, a man who feared God, therefore, Satan suggested to God that Job would remain righteous as long as it was financially profitable for him to do so. Then the Lord permitted Satan to try Job's faith, hope, and love in Him. Blow after blow fell upon Job: his children, his servants, and his livestock were taken from him and he was left penniless. Nevertheless,

"In all this misfortune Job did not sin nor offered any insult to God." - Job 1:22 -

Satan continued his assault by sneering, 'Touch his bone and flesh, and he surely curse You to Your face!' The Lord allowed Satan to afflict Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. In rapid fashion, Job's sons and daughters are killed and all his flocks are driven away by his enemies. Even his wife question and asked Job: Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die! But Job refused to curse God and replied: Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?

Once again the sons of God came to attend on Yahweh, and among them was Satan. So Yahweh said to Satan, 'Where have you been?' 'Round the earth' he answered 'roaming about.' So Yahweh asked him, 'Did you noticed my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth: a sound and honest man who fears God and shuns evil. His life continues blameless as ever; in vain you provoked me to ruin him.' 'Skin for skin!' Satan replied, 'A man will give away all he has to save his life. But stretch out your hand and lay a finger on his bone and flesh; I warrant you, he will curse you to your face.' 'Very well.' Yahweh said to Satan 'he is in your power. But spare his life.' So Satan left the presence of Yahweh.

He struck Job down with malignant ulcers from the sole of his foot to the top of his head. Job took a piece of pot to scrape himself, and went and sat in the ashpit. Then his wife said to him, 'Do you now still mean to persist in your blamelessness? Curse God and die.' 'That is how foolish women talk' Job replied, 'If we take happiness from God's hand, must we not take sorrow too?' And in all this misfortune Job uttered no sinful word. - Job 2:1-10 -

This is when Job's three friends - Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar - arrive to mourn with him and to offer their comfort. But instead of comforting Job, these friends launch into long lectures and philosophical debates to show Job the reason for his suffering. Their line of reasoning follows the generally accepted view of their time - that misfortune is always sent by God as punishment for sin. Job argues just as strongly that he is an upright man who has done nothing to deserve such treatment at the hand of God.

Finally, after Job and his friends have debated this question at length and have failed to arrive at a satisfactory solution, God Himself speaks from a whirlwind. He does not enter their discussion about why the righteousness suffer; He reveals Himself as the powerful, all-knowing God. God's message to Job is that He does not have to explain or justify His actions. He is sovereign, all-powerful God who always does what is right, although His ways may be beyond human being's understanding.

Job's faith, hope, and love in God eventually triumphed over all adversity, and he was finally restored to more than his former prosperity. He had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters. He died at the ripe old age of 140 years. - Job 42:10-17 -

Job is a model of spiritual integrity - a person who held fast to his faith and love in God, without understanding the real reason behind his suffering. He serves as a continuing witness to the possibility of authentic faith and love in God in most troubling circumstances.

The Book of Job also teaches us that God is good, compassionate, just, and impartial in His dealings. He restored Job's fortunes and gave him more than He had ever enjoyed. Indeed, God always replaces the darkness of our existence with the light of His presence when we remain faithful to Him.

The dialogue sections of the Book of Job are written in poetry. Great truths are often expressed in such poetic language. These great truths are worth the slow, reflective reading it sometimes takes to grasp their meaning. Great art like that in this book often challenges our understanding. That is why we need to come back to it again and again.

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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -