Day 4. Won’t you read the Bible with me this year?  It only takes a few minutes.

Read Job 1 – 5.

“There was a man in the land of Uz….” It begins almost like a Fairy Tale.

Look at the FOUR THINGS verse 1 says about Job’s character?

Wow! He was blameless. He was upright. He feared God. He turned away from evil.

Notice his WEALTH!  Today he’d be a millionaire (or even a billionaire).  A godly man whom God blessed tremendously.

Riches = righteousness, right?  Wrong!  When Jesus told His disciples that it was very hard for a rich man to enter heaven, they were aghast.  “Who then can be saved?” they cried. This was after a rich, young, ruler asked Jesus how he could be saved. (Matthew 19:16-26)  Jesus told him, and later the disciples, that the answer was to come to Him and follow Him.

It seems Job was on the right track – watch what happens when he later  loses it all.

Also notice Job’s HEART for his children. Daily he would “atone for their possible sins” by sacrificing. Hmmm. Do I even PRAY daily for my kids, grandkids, and great grandkids? Do you?

Then, by Satan’s hand, and God’s sovereign and limited allowing, the UNTHINKABLE happens to job, from both (1) evil people and (2) nature. (Did you see which did what?)

What are YOUR thoughts about God’s sovereignty in the acts of evil men and unanticipated acts of nature (lightning strikes, tornados, earthquakes, tsunamis, etc.) that harm and even kill people?

How did Job think about it?  Verses 1:20-22 are AMAZING!!

Of course things get worse. (Satan is never happy until he kills us or makes us deny our God.) Job’s own body and his own wife betray him. What was his response? See 2:10  This man is amazing. His heart was toward God.

OK, then come Job’s “friends.” In 2:11-13 what GOOD things did they do? If you wonder how you can help someone sick or dying, in the hospital, or who has lost a loved one… THIS is the answer.

In chapters 3-5 (and beyond) things get “poetic” and kind of depressing, both from Job and each of his friends. (Tough reading, but look for real emotions, true wisdom, and VERY BAD conclusions/counsel.)

YOU are BLESSED when you read God’s Word! (Rev. 1:3) Don’t give up on it, or Job.  Keep reading.