He had it all. The Bible describes Job as having a large family. He was rich. He acquired thousands of sheep and camels and hundreds of oxen and donkeys. Job had many servants to care for all his property. He was the greatest man of all the people of the East (Job 1:1-3).
He was the Bill Gates or Warren Buffet of his day.
To top it all off, Job was a great guy! The Bible says he was a blameless man of upright heart who feared God and shunned evil (Job 1:1).
I imagine that everyone wanted to be Job, to be Job’s best friend, or at least be Job’s neighbor. Job was a somebody!
From Somebody to Nobody
Then, all heck broke loose in Job’s life.
Messengers arrived, and each one gave him terrible news.
- First, a messenger arrived saying a foreign enemy came and stole all the oxen and donkeys, and killed the servants caring for them.
- The next messenger arrived and said fire fell from the sky and burned up all the sheep and the servants caring for the sheep.
- A third messenger arrived with news that another foreign enemy came, stole all the camels, and killed all the servants.
- Last, a fourth messenger arrived to tell Job that a strong wind had come up and destroyed his oldest son’s house and that all his sons and daughters were killed when the house collapsed.
How does life get any worse? His sons and daughters were all killed. His servants were all killed. And all his livestock were either killed or stolen in one day!
Despite all these tragedies, Job got up when he heard this news and worshipped God (Job 1:21).
But Job’s trials aren’t over yet!
Job was afflicted with painful boils all over his body. He used the sharp edge of a piece of broken pottery to scrape away the boils.
That hurts just thinking about it!
No Comfort in Sight
And then Job’s wife shows up. You would think she would be grieving the loss of her family and have some empathy for her poor husband… but no. She tells him he should just be done with it; “curse God and die,” she said (Job 2:9).
At last four friends who had heard about all the tragedy that had befallen Job, showed up to comfort him. They sat with him for seven days and didn’t say a word because they saw how much Job was suffering.
Then Job’s friends took turns telling him why all these terrible things had happened to him and what he needed to do.
- One friend told Job all his suffering was God punishing him for some hidden sin in Job’s life. What he needed to do was repent of his sin.
- Another friend took it up a notch, yelling at Job, telling him in no uncertain terms these tragedies were proof of some horrendous crime that Job was hiding.
- A third friend was a religious dogmatist. He thought he knew all about God and could speak for God. He also said that Job was suffering because of some sin in his life.
- Job’s fourth friend was somewhat kinder than the other three but still said the trials in Job’s life were God’s judgment for either some sin in Job’s life or as a warning from God for some judgment to come.
With friends like this, who needs enemies!
Job’s Response
Throughout all the back and forth between Job and his friends, Job’s soul-searching reflects the character of a blameless man of upright heart who feared God and shunned evil.
Yes, Job certainly had a poor me pity party, questioning why he had even been born and wishing he hadn’t been. But through it all, Job said he would trust in the Lord (Job 13:15).
Job was a model of a prayerful man of faith who, no matter what disaster come into his life, maintained his trust in God.
And Back Again
The Lord ends this drama by telling Job’s four friends where they went wrong in accusing Job and in not speaking what was right about God.
Then the Lord began to bless Job once again, giving him twice as much as he had before (Job 42:10). Job had more sons and daughters in his later years and eventually accumulated thousands more sheep, donkeys, oxen, and camels.
Lessons for Leaders
There are two important lessons for us as leaders today.
First, we need to be ready to comfort our brothers and sisters when they encounter trials. However, at the same time, we need to be careful about how we judge the situation and how we represent God.
Second, when trials come upon us, as they undoubtedly will, we need to be strong in our faith, be in prayer before God, and like Job, trust in the Lord with all our hearts!
Join the Conversation
As always, questions and comments are welcome. Is there a co-worker enduring a trial in which you can come alongside as a comforter? How can you and I be men and women of faith in the face of the greatest disasters in our lives?
I’d love your help. This blog is read primarily because people like you share it with friends. Would you be kind enough to share it by pressing the share button?
Category: Relationships | Interpersonal Relationships
[…] #310: From A Somebody To A Nobody and Back Again […]