We all have been asked to testify about God as we grow spiritually, you may ask how can God testify about us? when you read Job, we learn that God testified about Job to Satan. What a powerful testimony to have that from God.
'Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” ' Job 1:8
Job's connection with God seems to be independent of any other Old Testament character. He definitely seems to have lived before the time of Moses and the people of Israel; perhaps even before Abraham.
What’s special about Job that God took note of his ways? why did God testify about Job to Satan? to answer these there are many qualities which Job had that God liked, we can emulate in our life to earn the trust and be a testimony for God.
Job was Blameless and Upright to God
An introduction about Job’s is stated as he was Blameless and Upright, in fact its mentioned 3 times in Bible that he was blameless and Upright
'In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. ' Job 1:1
'Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” 'Job 1:8
'Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.” ' Job 2:3
Blameless - "Job was 'blameless.' This does not mean Job was sinless, but blameless. There is a huge difference. Sin is vertical, blameless is horizontal. . . . as Job lived before the watchful eye of his peers, no one could justly charge Job with moral failure. His reputation was impeccable. His godliness, wealth, and status made it true that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East.
Upright – He was upright in all the earthly things he did, he did not do anything that would not please God, his blessings he had was a result of the uprightness, He constantly looked at himself, all the work and his children to see if they had committed any Sin to God to ask for repentance, We read this as “This was Job’s regular custom”
'His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom. ' Job 1:4-5
He Worshipped God in Good time and Sufferings
We read his he worshiped God “Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, …. This was Job’s regular custom.”
He had a habit to start his day with God everyday morning, his dependency with God was so high, he did everything in consultation with God
He did not curse God in the troubles that came against him, instead we read he worshipped God by falling prostate to ground and praised God for his troubles “Then he fell to the ground in worship … may the name of the Lord be praised”
'At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.' Job 1:20-22
None of us will praise God for any troubles that come in our lives, We need to learn this from Job.
God’s Hedge was on Job
'“Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. ' Job 1:9-10
There is a conversation that goes between God and Satan, Earlier verse God gives a testimony about Job to Satan.
Satan discredits this testimony by saying “Does Job fear God for nothing?”
Satan then gives a testimony to God saying this blessings and Fear to God is only due to the “hedge around him and his household and everything he has?”
God gave permission to remove the hedge around him, then disaster struck Job
'The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord . ' Job 1:12
Remember God’s hedge is around all God’s children and his household and all the things that they touch, Satan has no control over that. It’s a great lesson for us to learn to be more dependent on God and tell Satan as Paul says in Romans 8:31
'What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ' Romans 8:31
Job never rebuked / Sinned against God
A quick view of how much job was wealthy can be read in Job’s introduction
'He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. ' Job 1:2-3
Think of this, all wealth taken away in few hrs. We read how disaster stuck on him after God giving permission to Satan to test him.
'One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” ' Job 1:13-19
He never rebuked God or Sinned against God in these difficult times, if you or I had this same situation, we would have cursed God to say, Why God? Why me?
Job was different he lay prostrate Infront of God “Then he fell to the ground in worship and said … The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised”
We read he did not Sin by charging any wrong doing of God “In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.”
Later his wife asks him to rebuke God, but he responds “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble”
'His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!” He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said. ' Job 2:9-10
Job had three friends Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar all of them counselled same thing to rebuke and ask for forgiveness, we read about this from Job 4 to 38
It is important to remember that God did not forsake Job, while he withdrew the sense of his presence and this was the cause of profound misery to Job, God was present with Job all along, strengthening him with his unseen hand. Job could have never survived this ordeal without that unseen, unsensed hand of God supporting him.
Job humbled before God
'Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. ' Job 42:3,6
Job asks for forgiveness to God for all the laments he did with his friends.
He speaks to God by humbling to Dust and ashes “'Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes “
He repents to God “'Therefore I despise myself “ it can be read as “I reject what I said earlier”, He had done nothing to invite the crisis that came into his life; the reasons for that crisis were rooted in the contention between God and Satan as recorded in Job 1 and 2. Yet he did have to repent of his bad words and bad attitude after the crisis; both for excessively giving into despair in Job 3 and for his unwise and intemperate speech as he contended with his companions.
What did Job have to repent of? In his sermon, Job Among the Ashes, Charles Spurgeon suggested several things:
Job repented of the terrible curse he had pronounced upon the day of his birth.
Job repented of his desire to die.
Job repented of his complaints against and challenges to God.
Job repented of his despair.
Job repented that his statements had been a "darkening of wisdom by words without knowledge"; that he spoke beyond his knowledge and ability to know.
Job’s blessings were a result of righteousness
Job’s blessing was a result of his righteousness and not due to the work he did, God blessed him as he was blameless and upright, in all the suffering he lost everything
Once God got the hedge back on him, he was blessed twice as much as he had before.
'The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. And he also had seven sons and three daughters. After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. ' Job 42:12-13,16
Now the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning: In the beginning of the story of Job we find a blessed and godly man, at the end of the Book of Job we find a man more blessed and godlier. In the end, all the attack of Satan served to make Job a more blessed and more godly man.
God’s blessings that come to us Spiritually not only stops there, he gives us the material blessings that we need, but he decides how much we get and what we get, not the other way around.
Actions we should take
Are we “Blameless and Upright” Infront of God? will God testify us like how he did for Job?
Ask God to see to make you more upright and blameless, show the things that’s not right in God’s eyes and areas where you need to change to align to God’s ways.
Look to God first. Approach him in everything you do, God will bless you with his material blessings, as he did with Job. Job lived true to what Jesus spoke in 'But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ' Matthew 6:33, Let’s aspire to live that kind of life with God first approach in each and everything we do.
Always remember there is a hedge in our life when we are righteous and when we are God’s Children. Satan cannot touch us without God’s permission, the hedge goes away the moment you’re not dependent on God in everything you do. God does not give selective hedge for us. We must be 100% dependent on him to have his hedge.
Let’s copy / emulate what Job did as he went thru the sufferings to praise and worship God, when our human behaviour is contrary to curse and question God for the sufferings of life.