Job tells us about God

Job 1:1; 2:1-10 

    A popular book called, When Bad Things Happen to Good People written by Rabbi Harold S. Kushner , a national bestseller came out a few years back .  I thought how nice that a learned man would take some lessons from the Scriptures and then help us with our faith.  But I was confused when I read passages like this: “ Innocent people do suffer misfortunes in this life. Things happen to them far worse than they deserve----they lose their jobs, they get sick, their children suffer or make them suffer.  But when it happens, it does not represent God punishing them for something they did wrong.  The misfortunes do not come from God at all.”

    Rabbi Kushner bases a lot of his conclusions from the Book of Job.  Now when we read the Bible and the Book of Job in particular, we may ask, if God is not in charge as the good Rabbi says, then who is?  If God created the world and then just left men and women alone without any direction or planning on His part, then what kind of God would He be?  I have always thought that this would not be a very good or powerful God. Why would I waste my time worshipping such a God who does not care?  Because if He cared, then He would do something about it in some way I would think….or He may care but is powerless because the devil and man or more powerful?  Do we see where this leads?

   Yet this is the bottom line question of all our lives.  Why does all this stuff happen to us?  Is God punishing us for something?  Job comes right to the point when he asks his wife ,” What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” 2:10  Here is what Job is saying---if God who we know is in charge just gives us good things, then we will only love the things He gives us and not necessarily Him.  But if God who is in charge of all gives us what we need , and that may include the bad as well as the good, then if we still love and worship Him, then He can see we are not just doing it for what we get.

   Unfortunately the viewpoint I have expressed above is not the main approach in our culture or in a lot of our faith communities.  Many people think that once God stops giving them what they want then they have a reason not to worship Him at all.  So they stop.  And here is the a possible reason----they were never looking at God in the first place.  They were having an immature faith that was no faith in God at all----it was a give me more mentality instead of I love God whatever He gives .  They were only as Job’s wife said willing when the goodies gave out to say, “ Dost thou still retain thine integrity?  Curse God, and die.” 2:9

    My great-grandfather wrote a little book called, The Voice of the Devil , G Campbell Morgan where he looks at the questions that Satan asks in the Scripture to take away our faith.  He looks at Job and says this,”…the devil declared that selfishness is the inspiration of life and religion.  This is what the devil said to God about this man.  Of course the lie is patent.  The outcome of relation to God is blessing. God had blessed Job, but the relation was not the result of the blessing.  He did not fear God and obey Him and eschew evil because He had blessed him; but because he feared God and eschewed evil, God blessed him.”  Do we see the difference?

   In the New Testament we read “ And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God..” (Romans 8:28)  That is commentary on Job.  This is the pattern throughout the whole Bible.  First we are called to love God & then obey Him.  Secondly we look for His blessings in many forms.  His blessings do not always come in the wrapping we want or are looking for.  For He is giver of the gifts .  We are in the hands out receive mode.  That is who we are, and that will never change until we see Him face to face one day.

     I do not know what packages you wish right now you did not receive.  I do know that God wishes the best for His people at all times and in all places.  But sometimes suffering is a part of that plan that God has for us.  We cannot see now the Apostle Paul said, “ For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” I Corinthians 13:12

     Yes, Job was right.  “ Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?”  Both are part of our world.  But God knows and keeps us in His everlasting love for ever because He is God alone.  And we would not want it any other way if we believe that He is God.