A SUMMARY OF JOB

Job had 10 children who loved to party. After they had partied for days and were finished, Job would offer sacrifices for them in case they had sinned against God in their hearts.

Now Satan was vexed because God said there was none like Job in the earth. He was a perfect and an upright man, one that feared God and shunned evil. Job was the son of Issachar who was the son of Jacob (Genesis 46:13). Job lived during Moses time when Moses was tending Jethro's flocks, before Moses got the commandments from God. We know this because Job was about 70 when these things happened to him and when God blessed him again he lived for 140 years more (Job 42:16).

Job was severely traumatized. He was pitiful and bitter and began to lash out. Let us examine what happened to Job and caused him to do this in chapter 3. As I was reading the 3rd chapter I had to go back to the 1st chapter then go through to the 38th chapter again.

(In Chapter 1) God allowed Satan to do some terrible things to Job. His 10 children died suddenly. Many of his servants were dead. All his camels were stolen. His sheep were burned up. His donkeys and his bulls were stolen. He lost everything. The scripture says in all of this Job did not sin or accuse God (v.22).

(In Chapter 2) God allowed Satan to smite Job with boils from head to foot and his wife mocked him when she told him to curse God and die. The scripture says in all of this Job did not sin with his lips (v.10) and his grief was very great (v.13). Does this mean that Job had sinned in his heart but had not opened his mouth as yet to say what was in his heart?

(In Chapter 3) Job opens his mouth and starts to curse the day he was born. I can't say that I understand what he was going through. I can only imagine how he felt. He must have been in shock with confused thoughts and a lot of insecurities. He must have had questions that he couldn't ask as well as doubts about himself and about the God he had been serving. The entire chapter 3 is a rant. Curse this, curse that. The scripture says out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34). So does this mean that Job was now sinning with his mouth because he had already sinned in his heart?

His friends came to console him but he was inconsolable and where were his relatives? He must have felt like he was completely alone! He and his friends began to have a series of conversations. None of them held God as blameless. No one vindicated God and all including Job spoke half truths.

(In Chapter 38) First, God tells Job to stop darkening the reasoning with words that were being spoken without knowledge. Then God told him to stop acting like a baby and start acting like a man because He (God) was going to drill him (Job) with some question that required answers. Job had done something wrong in all his talking. God then asked Job 184 questions in chapters 38 to chapter 41.

(In Chapter 42) Job began to talk again. This time, he acknowledged God and agreed that no thought is hidden from God. Job also agreed that he spoke about things of which he had no understanding and things which he did not know. Job then said he had been hearing of God with his ears all along, but that now he saw Him with his eye. The Hebrew word RA'AH is used here and it means to look at, inspect, and gaze at intently.

Job literally saw God then repented of his sin and God gave him twice as much as he had before.