Job Chapter 1

Key text:  Job 1:20-22 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,
21 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. 22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

This is our study on Chapter 1 of Job. It says that Job was a perfect and upright man, who feared God, and eschewed evil. Now Job sinned. It is very clear, because He gave sacrifices. We read in this chapter about the sacrifices Job gave and even gave extra for his children just in case. He would have no need to give sacrifices if He was sinless, but in God's eyes, Job was still perfect. It was because of Job's love for God. He was righteous. This tells me that it is possible to be sinless, but still righteous. Not our righteousness, but God's righteousness.

I am bout sick and tired of our candy and dandy Christianity, teaching that we are helpless against sin. If we fear God and eschew evil like Job did, than we can probably go a full day without sinning in our hearts. I truly believe if we have His spirit inside of us, it is our choice whether we want to constantly give in to temptation or not, however I digress.
Job we see was blessed by God. There came a day where the Bible says the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. (see 1:6-8). It says that it were the sons of God, implying that for some reason or another the celestial beings created by God were summoned to His throne, and Satan found his way in there as well. I am not sure whether Satan was summoned or not. The word in the Hebrew here for Satan literally means the adversary or the accuser. Satan's name literally means that it is his mission in life to be at enmity with the people of God, and to try to topple their relationship and faith in almighty God, but I've come to tell you Satan could not hide from the presence of almighty God. As soon as the words came out of YAHWEH'S mouth, Satan had to answer. I want you to know that He may be messing with your life now, but there is coming a day, when our mighty savior is going to send the archangel michael to bind up satan and He is going to have to answer for all He's done to you! In the words of Jordan Gerlach- when Satan starts accusing you of your past, remind him of his future!
We find that God asked satan where He had been, and he said roaming the earth to and fro walking up and down it. He was looking for someone to mess with.
God proposed a challenge for the devil. He said have you considered my servant Job. I don't believe God was trying to pick a fight with the devil, or trying to prove a meager point. We must remember, God has to prove nothing to anybody, He is omniscient. All Knowing. The devil is not. So I believe it was already in the enemy's heart to tempt Job. The reason why I believe this is because he must have already tried b/c He encountered a hedge about Job, And remember he is not all knowing. (see 1:9-10).So Satan struck and took his servants, animals, and children, but God was proved right! God was simply telling the devil, go ahead, do everything short of killing him, He still won't curse me!
 Sometimes God has more faith in us than we do in ourselves!!!
We go through trials, and tribulations, and we start thinking, I donno if I'm gonna make it this time. Oh God you really put me through it now. I might not make it, I might die, I might curse God, I might give up on my faith, it's so tempting to give up. He will never put more on you than you are able to bare!! We have an all knowing God, that already has our trials planned, and already has- our deliverance from our trials planned! God drew perfect praise from Job, b/c Job knew God was in control. Job's relationship told him that whether he blesses me or takes my life away, He still is worthy! He still is worthy! He still is my savior! He still is my redeemer! He still is my provider!
Let's get a Job attitude through our trials! Devil you can take what you want from me, God is letting me go through this b/c he has faith that I will not fail or falter or curse God! That I'm still gonna praise Him!! In fact he challenged you he dared you to try!
If our God is letting us go through trials, it is b/c He trusts us! Let's not get all bent outta shape. Let's say all we have is His anyway, Im not gonna get prideful about anything, it's all God's. It's all His. And I will not curse God, or blame Him. God bless you!

Job- overview.

I am ready to start really studying and posting my studies about powerful books in the Bible and men and women of the Bible. I would like to start with job. I will start with an overview. Which I am posting today.

You can't really talk about Job without talking about thodicy (the justice of God in light of human suffering). Job is a book of a Man of God and his fiery trials. If you are reading this and are in the good fight, I am sure you are no stranger to heartache, to pain, to trials, to doubts, to woes. But I would be hard pressed to find someone tested to the level that Job was. Job pretty much went through all he could short of death.

God allowed the devil to tempt Job. It brings up the question as to whether or not God brings trials or simply allows them. God is all good, but uses evil even for God. Yes, God ultimately has a plan for the fallen angel Lucifer. It ultimately ends with him being bound for a thousand years and thrown in the pit. However due to his rebellion to God he gave himself up to evil, and pride, and rebellion. God uses satans utter devotion to such things, as terrible as they are for our good. The Bible states that all things work together for the good of them that love God.

I will get more in detail, but if you are going through a rough time, drink some coffee, and stay up all night reading Job. It will change your perspective. This book shows us that God is author of all things, and ultimately works them out for our good if we choose to trust Him through it all.
One last thing, our character is revealed in our times of pain.
Job's was this "Though He slay me, YET will I trust him" -Job 13:5.
Is your love for Him so that you will let Him give and take away, have his way with you, throw you in trials, and allow you to suffer.
Job's only purpose was not to have a great and easy life, it was to bless the name of the Lord!