Sat.’s Devo - Job’s Test

Read: Job 1:1-3:26; 1 1 Corinthians 14:1-17; Psalm 37:12-29; Proverbs 21:25-26 No one knows who wrote the book of Job but here are some of the possibilities: Moses, Solomon, or an ancient wise man. Scholars date the book from 2000-1800 B.C. Job was from Uz which means fertile land. It was probably located somewhere to the east or south-east of Palestine and north of Edom. Job means “the cry of woe”. He was upright and known for his integrity. Job and his wife had seven sons and three daughters. He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, and 500 donkeys. No wonder he needed to live in fertile land. No telling how many servants he had to help him. His sons would take turns having feasts and invite the rest of them. When the feast was over, Job ceremoniously offered a burnt offering for each of his children to purify them just in case one of them cursed the Lord in their hearts. God had his heavenly court meeting and Satan attended. When it came Satan’s time to report he told God he had been patrolling the earth. God asked him if he had observed Job who was blameless and feared Him. Satan told him that he feared God because God had walled him in and protected him. If God removed his wall, Job wouldn’t feel the same. He would curse God. God took up Satan’s challenge and told him he would remove the wall but he could not touch Job himself. Satan got right to that assignment. He killed his oxen, donkeys and all his farmhand except one, his sheep and all his servants except one, and all his sons and daughter. Job got this news in one day. But, in his sorrow, he did not blame his misfortune on God. The court met again in heaven and when it came Satan’s time to report, God asked Satan about Job. God commended Job again and said that even though Satan urged God to harm him without a cause, Job did not blame God. Satan said it was because he hadn’t touched his health. God put so much faith in Job’s integrity that he took up the challenge. He told him he could touch his health but he could not kill him. Satan got right to that assignment and put boils all over Job’s body. Still, Job did not curse God or blame him. He cursed the day he was born instead. His statement was, “Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” His three friends came to console him but when they saw Job, they were the ones who needed consoling. What a lesson for us. The minute something bad happens, I tend to think that it is my fault or somehow I have made God upset and this is my punishment. What if we saw every trial as a test which is what it is. A curse is something totally different. A curse cannot come without a cause. A curse comes because we or someone in our family has opened a door by sinning and we need to repent and close the door. Job had done everything to keep a curse from coming. God knew that in the end, Job was going to end up much better than he started but he couldn’t tell Job, that would be cheating in the test. God said we would have many trials and tribulations but to be of good cheer because He has overcome the world. In Corinthians, Paul explains that speaking in tongues empowers the person praying. Giving a prophesy empowers the one it is given to. In the church it is better to prophesy and build up the other members unless you give a message in tongues that is interpreted for the others. Paul has a remedy for everyone: pray in tongues and in languages others can understand. Sing in tongues and in English and that way everyone can be edified. Lord, may we edify You, ourselves and others in what we do and how we worship. Help us to understand our trials are to make us strong and work our spiritual muscles to prepare us for the next battle.