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About this time, there was
dwelling in Uz, in Arabia, a man named Job. Job was a very rich man;
he had great possessions of sheep, and camels, and oxen, and asses:
he was the greatest man in the east at that time. And Job was a holy
man, as well as a rich man. The Bible says, he "feared
God:" the same God whom Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob feared; and he
hoped as they did, to be saved by the Lord Jesus Christ, who was to come
into the world to die for sinners. Job had several children; and he
taught them to serve God, and prayed for them, and offered sacrifices for
them, according to the command of God. "Now
there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the
Lord; and Satan came also among them." What does this
mean? Who were the sons of God, and why did God let Satan come among
them? The Bible does not tell us. Perhaps the sons of God were
His true and faithful servants who came to worship before Him; and,
perhaps, Satan came among them, as he comes now among us, to tempt them to
sin, and to lead them away from God. But
God spoke to Satan, and said to him, "Whence comest thou?"
And Satan answered, "From going to and fro in the earth, and from
walking up and down in it." Then God asked Satan again, if he
had considered his servant Job, what a holy and upright man he was, and
one who feared God. Satan had long known and hated Job, as he knows
and hates all the people of God; and he even dared to accuse Job before
God, and to say, that all his goodness was false and hypocritical; and
that he pretended to fear God, only that he might be rich, and safe, and
prosperous, and not because he really loved him. God
knew all the truth about Job. He knew that Job was sincere, and not
false and hypocritical as Satan said; but it pleased God to allow Satan,
at that time, to try Job, and to vex and afflict him; and God did this for
Job's own good; to make him more humble, more patient, and more
believing. So the Lord said to Satan, "All that he hath is in
thy power, only upon himself put not forth thine hand." Then
"Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord," to use all the
power allowed him, to afflict and trouble righteous Job. There
was a day when Job's sons and daughters were eating, and drinking wine in
their eldest brother's house; and there came a messenger to Job, and said,
"The oxen were ploughing, and the asses feeding beside them, and some
enemies, the Sabeans, fell upon them, and took them away, and have slain
the servants with the sword; and I only am escaped to tell
thee." And while this messenger was speaking, there came
another to Job, and said, "The fire is fallen from heaven, and has
burned up the sheep and the servants; and I only am escaped to tell
thee." And while he was speaking, another messenger came, and
said, "The Chaldeans fell upon the camels, and carried them away, and
slew the servants with the sword, and I only am escaped to tell
thee." And while this man was speaking, a fourth messenger
came, and said, "Thy sons and daughters were eating and drinking in
their eldest brother's house, and there came a great wind, and smote the
house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am
escaped to tell thee." Poor
Job! a very little time before, he had been the richest and most
prosperous man in the east. Now, he had lost everything; his flocks,
and his herds, and his servants, and his children too,—all were
gone. What did he do? How did he bear so much sorrow coming
upon him so suddenly? There was one thing Job still had, and that
enabled him to bear all this patiently and submissively. Job had not
lost his trust in God. He felt quite sure that these troubles did
not come without God's permission; and he knew that God would only permit
what was right and good for him; so, when Job heard all these sad tidings,
though he arose and rent his clothes, to show his sorrow, yet he fell
down, and worshiped God, t show his submission to His will, and said,
"The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of
the Lord." Here is an
example for us; an example of patience. We must all have sorrows and
troubles to bear, though not perhaps so many, and so great as Job
had. Then, whenever they come upon us, let us pray for Job's
patience, and Job's holy trust in God. If we have God for our
friend, as Job had, nothing can really hurt us; and we shall feel this, as
he did, and be willing to submit to all our trials without murmuring, and
to say, "It is the Lord, let Him do what seemeth Him
good." 1 Samuel 3:18.
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