The Beauty of Holy Choices

Somehow, Job knew about the one, true God who made mankind. The Jewish people were not yet a nation, no synagogues or churches existed, and even the Ten Commandments had not yet been given, but Job had received enough word-of-mouth to know that God expects men to live in obedience to Him and that people of faith at that time offered animal sacrifices to the Lord when they sinned.

Job was the Bill Gates of his generation and culture. His wealth included thousands of domestic beasts of at least four species, a diversified portfolio of investments, if you will. Job had scores of employees to care for and manage his wealth. His wife had borne him ten, healthy children who all grew to adulthood in an age without modern convenience or healthcare, and they had good relationships with each other. These brothers and sisters got along so well, in fact, that they had frequent reunions to celebrate special occasions.

Job cherished his kids and was concerned for their spiritual well-being. He interceded for them before God on a regular basis by offering sacrifices on an altar after every party they threw. He knew his children drank wine at these affairs, and he wanted to make sure everyone’s behavior and heart attitude was covered by God’s grace. Job was the quintessential, “What a guy.”

Now for some extra interesting insight from verses 6-8 of Job 1: 6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them.

In that other dimension where spiritual beings dwell, Satan sought interaction with God. Who knew that God permitted Satan to come and address Him at the Lord’s discretion? Although Satan had been cast out of God’s Presence and down to earth (Luke 10:18), for God’s own purposes, He apparently still allowed “that Old Serpent” (Revelation 20:2) to access Him at least from time to time. In fact, once Satan showed up, it was God who initiated the conversation:

7 The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?"

Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."

8 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."

9 "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. 10 "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."

12 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger." Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

For our understanding, this communication is presented as a regular, back-and-forth dialogue that used spoken language. Whatever it actually was on the spiritual level, one thing is clear. God gave Satan permission to afflict Job, but also laid out some ground rules about how far Satan could go about it. Job was to be put to the test.

Some time later, Job lost nearly everything he owned and all ten of his children in one short day. Two enemy armies cruelly murdered servants and stole all his donkeys, oxen, and camels. “Fire from the sky”, perhaps a severe thunderstorm with lightning that caused a fire, killed all of the sheep. A tornado of some sort, perhaps spawned by the same thunderstorm, struck the house where his children were partying, wiping them all out as walls collapsed on them. Job is left to try and comprehend a tragedy so large that it can only be likened to the worst war trauma or the most horrific torture scenes that human history records.

Numb, and probably on autopilot, Job’s response is awe inspiring:

20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said:

"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart.

The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;

may the name of the LORD be praised."

22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

JOB WORSHIPED. He lost everything, he had no idea why, he could not even fully comprehend what had just happened, and his stress level was literally off the charts. AND JOB WORSHIPED. But wait. There’s more!

1 On another day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?"

Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."

3 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason."

4 "Skin for skin!" Satan replied. "A man will give all he has for his own life. 5 But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face."

6 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life."

7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. 8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.

9 His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!"

Job’s losing possessions and ALL of his children was not enough of a test, somehow. Satan then received permission from God to go to the brink of Job’s very life and rob him of his health and physical appearance. Job was a horrified shell of a broken man, filled with a gross infection that he felt compelled to sit around and scrape. Job had literally nothing left but the roof over his head and his wife.

But Job’s poor wife had been through all the same tragedies as he had, saving the loss of her health. All her children were dead, too. All her wealth was down the drain, the employees were nearly all gone, and the healthy husband she once had was this pitiful, unrecognizable, sick, grotesque-looking man.

Mrs. Job just couldn’t take it anymore and she desperately wanted out. She must have thought, “If only he would die, I could run away and forget I ever knew him.” She had seen how he had lived the best life of faith he could, and it didn’t seem to be enough for God. Tragedy struck anyway. So she wasn’t interested in hanging onto God, either. She wanted out—and that meant rejecting her husband. Job’s response to her rejection is nearly unbelievable:

10 He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"

In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

This book is about holiness, remember? Can you see the beauty of this righteous response? Can you feel the glory of the right choice Job made when he couldn’t see what God was doing and had no idea why this was happening to him?