Tuesday: Blessed be the Name of the Lord
After Satan’s first attack on Job, after the news came to him about all the calamities that befell him, how did Job respond? (See Job 1:20-22.) What is the significance of the fact that, even amid such tragedy, Job “sinned not, nor charged God foolishly”?
Image © Erik Stenbakken from GoodSalt.co
Central to God’s government, a government based on love, is freedom of choice. God wants us to serve Him because we love Him, not because we are forced to serve Him. “Satan insinuated that Job served God from selfish motives. . . . He attempted to deny that true religion springs from love and an intelligent appreciation of God’s character, that true worshipers love religion for its own sake-not for reward; that they serve God because such service is right in itself, and not merely because heaven is full of glory; and that they love God because He is worthy of their affection and confidence, and not merely because He blesses them.”-The SDA Bible Commentary,vol. 3, p. 500.
In the book of Job, Job proved Satan’s charges wrong. However, though God knew what would happen, Job still could have acted differently. He could have sinned, he could have “charged God foolishly.” Job was not forced by God to act as he did. His steadfast faithfulness, considering the circumstances, was an amazing testimony before men and angels.
Compare what happened in Job Chapter 1 to what happened with Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:1-8. How does the contrast make their sin appear so terrible?
Adam and Eve, sinless beings amid a true paradise, transgressed and fell into sin because of Satan’s attack; Job, amid utter pain and tragedy and ruin, stayed faithful to the Lord despite Satan’s attacks. In both cases, we have a powerful example of the great issues at stake in regard to free will.
How does Job’s reaction here show us how cheap, easy, and false our excuses for sin can often be?
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we should always give thanks for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ Eph 5:20Nkjv
It is indeed astonishing that Adam, who possessed perfect and undefiled mental strength and character, blame God for his sin. But Job, who had inherited sinful tendencies from birth several centuries after sin entered our planet, dared not ascribe the blame to God. An admirable character indeed.
But, with the knowledge of chapter 1, we know that his words,'the Lord has taken away' are false. According to chapter 1, Satan took away, not God. But Job had no knowledge of the chapter 1 debate between God and Satan. So, from his perspective, with limited knowledge- he was partly right- hence the Bible says, he did not sin.
In my culture, this verse is often quotedd to console bereave families. However, this should not be because we now understand the great controversy. James 1:12 says; Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lordd has promised to those who love him. 13 No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one. Lets be careful about how we use Job's words here.
it is true that is was Satan who took it, not God. But it is the comfort of the child of God that nothing can happen to him unless it is by God's permission. God only permits suffering to touch us when it is for our own good and for the blessing of others. It is then so much more comforting to know that whatever we may be going through has come from God, the One who loves us eternally, our Father, who is doing us good.
In the same way Adam and Eve tried to make themselves righteous with fig leaves we try and excuse our sin however it is a comforting thought that through Jesus we have no reason to try that at all we must believe in Christs ultimate sacrifice and know we are forgiven but also strive for the sinless life(albeit impossible without the Holy Spirit)
Inspiration says,"There is no excuse of sin" Whether we sin or withhold from sinning is in the power of our will.If we have strong will power and implore the power of Jesus like Joseph ,Daniel or Job did ,we will conquer any situation .Job willed and chose not to sin and that was power on his side to win.
Sinlessness is a state of grace in Jesus, not a checklist of Dos and Don'ts. We are saved by grace. None of us are perfect in ourselves, even the most placid, mild natured kindly Christian, still needs God's grace. (Even Job!!) Our focus should be on Christ, not on ourselves.
We see here that Job could have sinned, but didn't. How come?
He chose not to, that's how come. We can choose not the sin also, correct? And what is sin? It's the transgression, or Violation of God's Law isn't it? Therefore we can choose to keep God's Law, just as Job chose to do. So let's stop making excuses to sin. And let's stop saying that it's impossible to keep God's Law. It is possible. We have the Power of Choice which means we have the Power to Keep God's Commandments, just as JOB did.
And to be fair, if Job had shaken his fist at God in the midst of all that calamity, God would have understood and still been there for Job. Parent's, have you never had a child who was angry with you because you grounded them or took away some privilage in order to teach them a lesson? Did you love them less because they were angry?
I had a teenage daughter who would stay out after she was supposed to be home. She would get angry with us when we insisted that she be back home at a reasonable hour. Harsh words were spoken and doors were shut faster than necessary. But in all that we never stopped loving her, and forgiving her when she broke the rules. What was the alternative? To kick her out of our home? We never even considered it. If she wanted to leave she would have to make that choice herself.
If we want to leave God's love we have to make that choice ourselves.
Job understood the true nature of God. He knew that God is Love and therefore not the one responsible for evil. We must know God like Job did, that we will trust him even in the valley of death.
I don't think Job understood the nature of God any more than us. But he trusted God. And that is hard to do when you cannot see the background story. The question we should consider is; how did Job develop that trust?
To me Adam and Eve did not know or understand sin, so they fell into it easily. While Job have been living in a world of sin. However, this proves to us that we can overcome temptation, and our selfish nature. But we have to love God. Now I don't know for sure about Adam and Eve's love for God,I don't know how they loved him. But I know Job truly loved God.
The one thing that Job had that Satan could not destroy was Job's joy. Satan thought that if he destroyed the things that made Job happy that he could also take away his joy. But he was so mistaken. Happiness is based on things and circumstances. Joy is based on internal peace and trust in God who loves us. That's why Job could say "blessed be the name of the Lord".
Job demonstrates perfect faith. An example for ALL humanity.
God's love for Adam and Eve is the same as for Job. Our choice does not change God's love for us.May god help us to love Him like Job. Remember God's thoughts toward us are pure,good,the best,greatest,therefore, we should always thank Him and praise Him for His love and mercy for all that life experiences.
I am enjoying this lesson, and the comments - I would like to add that I think of Job's faith as a great faith - I often remark that I would love to have his faith, but I would not like to be tested as he was. There are times when we go through something and we say "where was God". I like the comment that Evangeline made, Job knew God's nature, and he knew that He(God) did not cause bad things to happen. We should be able to think the way Job did, because we know that evil does not come from God. Sometimes I find that at the end of what I thought was a bad situation, that the end result is good - blessed be the name of the Lord.
Job gave us an example of true faith. Having lost his wealth and children all at the same time and still retain your faith is not easy. His uprightness and his blessings from God during good times must have helped him during hard times when it became easier for him to doubt. The fact that he offered sacrifices for his children's unknown sins is a sign that he wanted to be perfect . Later on in chapter 2, Satan even went on to use job's wife in order to try and bring his accusation to fruition. We also need to increase our faith while we can in preparation of hard times.
Would the example of Peter (in his denials of Christ,) stand in contrast to the fact that Job did not sin (because of his trials)?
Peter was put to the test, and said that he did not know the Man. Peter openly sinned (lied) in an attempt to shield/save himself.
And didn't Adam "charge God foolishly" when he said to the Lord, "The woman whom YOU gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate" (Gen 3:12)? I find it interesting that Job refers, indirectly, to this very statement made by Adam. (Job 31:33.) Job did not resort to that.
Job example shows us that despite Adam and Eve failed, we can also live an upright and blameless lives.
I think we need to qualify what is meant by "living upright and blameless lives". Any blamelessness we have is given to us through the grace of God through Jesus. It is not of ourselves.
thanks to everyone's comment. i have learn a lot., God bless you all
Job an example of living faith we are the Job of today
Job knew and trusted God despite all he went through. For us today, in whatever situation we find ourselves, we should remember what is written in Jeremiah 29 : 11 - For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
It is all for our good. God allows it, to help us get rid of our earthiness.
Job 23 : 10 - But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
1 Corinthians 10 : 13 - There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Job's steadfast faithfulness despite of the calaminities befall him is amazing testimony before men and angels....what testimony do we have for God's creatures? 1 Thess 5:16-18. Blessed Sabbath..
Well, the thing about the "...contrast...that made their [Adam and Eve's] seem so terrible, is that, it shows, that it was done with a sense of purpose!
As if they meant to side with the evil one!
but then, The LORD GOD SHOWED me (I think) that, this is most likely one of HIS gems in The SCRIPTURES, In Saying, for us to KNOW LORD GOD ! that we would know whom HE IS!
Because in The Knowledge Of Our LORD GOD, we'll know what we would have received from the tree of the knowledge of GOOD and Evil, anyway!
and Job, had that "home turf " advantage (so-to-speak)
Adam and Eve, in their ignorant bliss, did not!
and that knowledge (and know-how), of how to-, and for dealing with sin, brought The Love Of The MOST HIGH TO Job's heart and mind.
so it was a no-brained what ought to be done, when the attempt to him came!
Be it in the form, of his friends, or the Mrs.