Chapter 406 of 1163

JOB 2

Satan’s prediction about Job was wrong, which shows that he cannot foresee the future as God can. Instead of hearing Job say, “Cursed be the name of the Lord!” Satan heard, “Blessed be the name of the Lord!” Job had lost his wealth and his children, yet he did not blame God. (See James 1:2–12; 1 Pet. 1:3–9.)

Satan never gives up (Luke 4:13). He suggested to God a new test for Job: personal physical suffering (2 Cor. 12:1–10). Pain can weaken our resistance and make everything feel and look worse than it really is. More than one person who has victoriously survived tragedy has fallen apart under the onslaughts of pain.

What kept Job going? His faith in God and his personal integrity. God had no cause to inflict pain on Job (v. 3), and Job knew that he was right in his relationship with God (Job 23:10–12; 27:1–6). God would use Job to refute the explanation of his friends, to silence the accusation of the devil, and to strengthen the determination of all who will suffer in the will of God. If today you are perplexed about something in your life, wait on the Lord and let Him work out His hidden purposes.

God Will Provide

Are health and wealth necessarily marks of God’s blessing? Are sickness and poverty proof that we are out of God’s will? To the Old Testament Jew, the answer would be yes to both questions. God promised to bless Israel physically and materially if they obeyed His law (Deut. 28). The nation of Israel was like a little child that had to be taught by means of rewards and punishments. But these old covenant blessings are not guaranteed to God’s people under the new covenant today. With the coming of Jesus Christ to earth, the “childhood” period of Israel’s history ended (Gal. 4:1–7). Our Lord was poor, and so were the apostles and many of the great men and women of faith (2 Cor. 8:9; 6:4–10; Heb. 11:36–40). Paul lived with a physical affliction (2 Cor. 12:7–10), and one of his most beloved workers almost died from illness (Phil. 2:25–30; see also 2 Tim. 4:20). It is the wicked who seem to be prospering today, not the righteous, but one day, God will turn things around (Ps. 73). God has promised to meet your needs (Matt. 6:25–34; Phil. 4:19), so stop fretting and trust Him to provide.

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