Editor's note: Enjoy today's inspiration from 5 Minutes with Every Book of the Bible—Old Testament.
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AUTHOR
The author of Job did not identify himself. Some scholars suggest that Moses was the author because Job was a patriarch, and Moses wrote about the other patriarchs. Some scholars suggest that Solomon was the author because Job is a book of wisdom, and Solomon wrote other books of wisdom. Still other scholars suggest that an unknown author wrote the book after the exile.
The book of Job is an outlier in the Old Testament. It doesn’t further our understanding of Israel or its leaders. It was not intended to be used in worship. It doesn’t prophesy coming judgment or restoration. Instead, it tells the story of one righteous man and his attempts to understand the tragedies that befell him.
Job discussed and debated his plight with friends who came to comfort him. He discussed his suffering with God Himself.
Job didn’t receive all the answers he sought, but he remained faithful to God and was eventually restored.
That is why the book of Job has been a go-to source for suffering people for centuries.
KEY VERSES
There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. — Job 1:1
The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord! — Job 1:21
But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and He will stand upon the earth at last. And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God! I will see him for myself. Yes, I will see Him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought! — Job 19:25–27
I had only heard about You before, but now I have seen You with my own eyes. I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance. — Job 42:5–6
LIFE LESSONS FROM JOB
The story of Job teaches us that what seems to be happening in someone else’s life isn’t always really what’s happening. Job’s wife and friends saw the misery that Job was enduring and jumped to the conclusion that he was to blame. They believed that Job had done something to earn God’s wrath, so they reacted to him based on that assumption. And in their efforts to help him, they made his situation worse.
When we come alongside someone who’s in pain or struggling, we must do so with a spirit of humility.
The temptation to diagnose the situation and offer unsolicited advice is great, but we must resist. Instead, we must be prepared to listen. To sit in silence with the person, if needed. To ask questions in a sensitive and thoughtful way. To pray with and for the person. To share relevant truths from God’s Word.
That’s what Job needed. And that’s what the hurting people in our lives need too.
Excerpted with permission from 5 Minutes with Every Book of the Bible—Old Testament, copyright DaySpring.
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Your Turn
We have to be so careful when we interact with people who are suffering. No one needs to be kicked with they’re down. Let’s practice gentleness, silence, kindness, sensitivity, and prayerfulness with those who are going through what we cannot understand. God does understand and He is with them. ~ Devotionals Daily