April 1 - Job (Pt. 1)

End of week 13.

Job 1:1-5

1 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. 2 He had seven sons and three daughter, 3 and he owned several 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. 4 His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them 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.

Over the next few days, I am going to study the life and experiences of Job. According to the scripture, Job was an amazing, Godly man. Just the words "blameless" and "upright" say a lot of Job. Can anyone honestly say that about you or I?

Blameless? Me? Definitely not.
Upright? More like downright unreliable.

How can Job earn the titles of upright and blameless? Reading further into the same verse we get the answer to that question. He feared the Lord and shunned evil. Oh! It's that easy.

Job was no different from you or me. Job had his normal everyday temptations. He could have given in to sin, but he was fully (yes, FULLY) committed to God and the plan for his life. To add to this, Job was blessed. Livestock, family, servants, feasts, sons and daughters who were socially and financially stable, good health, and he was seen in good light in the community. The Lord blessed Job in so many ways because he was committed to him.

Job even took responsibility for his children's actions. He offered sacrifices to God for each of his kids. Yes, each of his kids. Ten separate sacrifices to plea to have their sins acquitted through God's mercy and love. Verse 5 states that, "this was Job's regular custom".

What we can take from life is that it is difficult and full of trials. It's full of temptation and the world is packed full of evil. What we can take from these five verses is that living for God, fully and completely, is possible and is what God desires for us in our lives. We are his children and he will bless us if we abide by his word and stay close to him.

In what ways can I become more blameless and upright? By fearing the Lord and shunning evil.