The Israeli Job“Though
He [God] slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own
ways before Him.” (Job 13:15) There are three things about Job that we should know to give us hope when we are suffering. First, Job dwelt within God’s hedge of divine protection. Because God protected Job, his home, family, and property, the devil who was going to and fro on the earth hated him. The devil told God, “Does Job fear God for nothing?” (Job 1:9), insinuating that Job loved God only because He blessed the work of his hands and increased his possessions. (Job 1:10) Second, Job’s afflictions were from the devil when God lifted His hedge of protection. When God healed Job, the Bible says that He restored Job’s losses and gave him twice as much as he had before. (Job 42:10) When we see afflictions as oppression, we can better understand Acts 10:38 where Peter said, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” Third, Job’s faith was pure and simple. Rather than suppress his feelings over what the devil had done to him or blame God for his shortcomings, Job opened his heart and soul to God. Job said, Though [God] slay me, yet will I trust Him (Job 13:15) and He also shall be my salvation. (Job 13:16) The Book of Job holds out the blessed hope for any of us who are feeling the pains of affliction and loss. Despite all the bad things that happened to him, Job trusted God even when his wife told him to curse God and die. (Job 2:9) And because Job did such a job well done, God blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning (Job 42:12) and He will do the same for us too.Copyright © 2003 Eddy Ministries. All rights reserved. Subscribe/Unsubscribe: eddyn@earthlink.net
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