Wed.’s Devo - The Trials of Job

Read: Job 1:1-3:26; 1 Corinthians 14:1-17; Psalm 37:12-29; Proverbs 21:25-26
The name Job means “a cry of woe” and nothing describes Job’s life and his book more than that. He was from the land of Uz which means “counsel”. Job was a very wise man of whom many people came to for counsel. His friends seem to be counselors also, though not the best ones for Job’s case.
Job had seven sons and three daughters and a lot of wealth. He was considered the greatest man among all the people of the East. Whenever his children met and partied, he would follow it up with spiritual purification and a sacrifice to atone for any slip up they might have made which would have blasphemed God.
Apparently there was a regular meeting in heaven when the heavenly beings came to report. Satan was there since he was an angel of God’s and under his command. When it came his time to report he told God he had been roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it. God asked him if he had noticed Job who was also greatly known in heaven. Satan had noticed Job, of course. God praised Job’s righteousness and goodness which probably made Satan extremely jealous since he had once been the recipient of such praise. Satan immediately belittled Job’s righteousness and said it was because God had blessed him so much. The Lord permitted Satan to try Job’s faithfulness and Satan leaped at the chance.
Satan sent enemies to capture his oxen and donkeys, fire to burn up his sheep, Chaldeans to take his camels, and a mighty wind to kill his children. All his servants except for four were killed by the sword.
Job’s response was mourning and worship. He never blamed God for his loss.
At the next heavenly meeting, Satan and God talked again about Job, and God praised Job again. Satan’s rebuttal was that he had only tested Job with his stuff, but Job wouldn’t stand if he touched his own body. God trusted Job’s heart enough to allow Satan to test him further but he told him he could not kill him.
Satan put boils on Job’s whole body that constantly itched.
Job’s wife advised Job to curse God and die. (That’s what I call a bad help-mate!) Job refused to curse God and called her foolish. He said, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” That is a good line to remember.
Job’s three friends came to comfort him. They didn’t even recognize him at first but sat with him for seven days in silence which was a very comforting thing to do. Too bad, they didn’t leave after that. Job spoke first and cursed his birth and wished he hadn’t been born. He didn’t say he wanted to die just that he wondered why he had been allowed to be born.
In reading Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth we have to remember that Paul was writing to answer questions that they had given him. We don’t have the questions they wrote to Paul, just the answers he wrote back. They must have written him asking him about the way service was being done. Apparently there was a lot of people speaking in tongues and singing in tongues and not a lot of speaking in Hebrew so the service was a little chaotic. Paul answered them by explaining that spiritual gifts are something we should go after but with the spirit of love as our motive. Then Paul explainrd what spiritual gift do.
Speaking in tongues is speaking the mysteries of God with a person’s spirit which will edify the person. Prophesying is to strengthen and encourage and comfort the church. In ministering to the people, the gifts that are needed are prophesy and tongues with an interpreter and songs that they could all sing the words to.
Paul, said that in his own personal life, he spoke both in tongues and in Hebrew, and he sang in tongues and sang songs he could understand so that others could join with him. If a person speaks in tongues he should ask God to teach how to interpret what he is saying.
Lord, help us to see our trials from your perspective and not jump to carnal conclusions. We might not understand what is going on at the moment but we can trust you because you do.