I Didn't Catch This Before

I mentioned in my last post that I was going to talk about some things I have learned thus far in the book of Job. I am only on chapter 4, so this will be cover chapters 1-3, but mainly just 1-2 since chapter 3 I really don't have much to talk about. Let's dive in!

Chapter One: Verses 1-12 "There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east. And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually. Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD."

First, I would like to point out that Satan can ONLY do what The Lord tells him he can do. He is NOT all powerful, not omnipresent, he cannot do all of the things God can because he is not God. I think often times we say or think that it's God against Satan and we must fear Satan because he is out there and ready to harm us, but I think we might need to tweak our thinking. God is all powerful, He is the one to be feared and He is the one who has won the fight. We need to remember that Satan can only do what he is allowed, and to not fear his tactics or his evil motives. If we have been saved and are under Jesus' shed blood, we need not fear! We are COVERED by the blood and our Father is God! The one who has won the fight already! Like I stated earlier, I learned here that Satan is NOT all powerful. His limited powers are controlled by God and there is nothing he can do to us that God won't let him.

Secondly, I learned that God places a literal hedge of protection over His children's lives and things. This excited me to hear! He cares not only about our salvation and eternal state, but also the little things like our houses, cars, jobs, etc. That is such a blessing!

Chapter 1:12-2:13 "And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

(2:1) Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips. Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him. And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great."

Next, we see that Satan was given the power to use natural causes to tempt and steal from Job. He controlled the fire, wind, and even humans. Again, he was allowed to do this because God gave him the go ahead. Satan took away Job's children, flock, and servants (all but 4) and did so using natural causes.

I thought it important to point out that the book of Job (and Genesis with Noah) shows us that it is definitely possible to be so close with God, so spiritual, and fear God so much that God Himself calls you blameless and that a human being can be so sensitive to sin that you immediately repent and get right with God. I think accounts like this show us that we should strive to be as blameless before the Lord as possible, and when we fail to repent and get right with God again!

Chapter 2, Verse 3 tells us what God said Job was "perfect, upright" and "feareth God" so we can be sure that God did not allow Satan to tempt and steal from Job because of sin in his life. While sin most definitely can and will cause chastisement from The Lord our God, in Job's case it was not for that reason. It reminded me that maybe not every time I am being tried by God that I did something wrong, in fact I don't think any of us should think that way automatically. God tests us sometimes to see how faithful we are, to show us what we need to work on, and more. His word has a lot to say about putting His children through the refiner's fire and I definitely have been through that before!

The last thing I wanted to touch on and point out is Chapter 2 verse 10. I have noticed there is a camp of Christians who like to pretend that bad things will never happen to Christians, that Satan will never touch you, or that bad things will happen but that it's never God's will, so you must have done something wrong. I have been in the middle of that second camp, and it definitely creates some anxiety and fear that The Lord is mad at you or at you are not good enough to be loved and treated well by God. If you are feeling this way let me encourage you that God DOES love you, God DOES see you and if you DID sin and it brought on a consequence and God therefore is chastising you, that does not mean He doesn't love you or that you are "less than" another Christian. What I have learned through this book of Job so far is that bad things DO happen to people who have done "nothing" wrong and that it IS God's will sometimes- even if we do not understand it. We still need to trust Him, worship Him, and praise Him through the trial! I will continue this "series" on Job as I continue reading and put more posts up as I feel led to share something or when something has been laid on my heart. Please sign up for email alerts so you can be notified when I post here! God bless you, and if you need prayer, please let me know.

with love,

Lydia.