February 2 Daily Devotional

Job 1–3

Once upon a time many years ago there lived a man named Job. His home was in the land of Uz, which may have been on the edge of the desert, east of the land of Canaan. Job was a very rich man. His sheep and oxen and asses and camels were numbered by the thousands. He had seven sons, three daughters and many servants. Job was a man of God. He looked up to him and knew: all that I have, God gave to me. He was thankful and prayed a great deal. Like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, he built altars and offered sacrifices to the living God.

For a number of years things went well with Job, then trouble came. One day Satan, who hated Job, said to God, “Doth Job fear God for nought?” For thou hast blessed him and his substance increased. Then the Lord said to Satan, “All that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand.” Then the losses came. Messengers arrived reporting, The Sabeans have taken away the oxen and the asses—the fire of God is fallen from heaven and burnt up the sheep—the Chaldeans have taken away the camels—a great wind came from the wilderness and smote the house where your sons and daughters were eating and drinking, and all were killed. Thus suddenly all the wealth of Job was gone, and all his children he had were lost. It was a terrible disaster. But Job fell down before the Lord and said, With nothing I came into the world and with nothing I shall leave it. “The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” So even when all was taken from him, Job did not turn away from God.

Somewhat later Satan was permitted to send yet more trouble upon Job. He smote him with dreadful boils; these broke out all over his body. His wife said, “Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God and die.” But he replied, “What? shall we receive good at the hand of God and shall we not receive evil?” Then his good friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, Elihu, and Zophar came to comfort him. His pain and grief was so great that for several days they did not speak to him. After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. He said, “Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. Let the day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it. Let the darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it … And for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined to the days of the year … that night be solitary … neither let it see the dawning of the day … For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come to me.” Later Job regretted to have said these words.