The Man Job

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head.
Then he fell to the ground in worship and said:
"Naked I came from my mother's womb,
and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised."
In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

- Job 1:20-22


Job. This was one man who hit some hard times. He was a contemporary of Abraham, and he obviously had a very strong faith in God. In the above verse, the “At this,” is referring to the fact that he had just been told that all of his children had been killed. This after all of his livestock had been destroyed and plundered and his servants killed. No matter how many times I read these words of Job, I remain in awe.

There was no pity party, and if anyone had a right to throw one, Job would have been the man. Instead Job tore his robe and shaved his head – signs of mourning, then he fell to the ground and worshipped God. He worshipped God! From his words we see that Job had an excellent understanding of who is in charge (God), who isn’t (man), and who’s prerogative it is to give and take. And in all of this sorrow Job did not sin by accusing God of wrongdoing.

Here are some other amazing words of the man Job:

I know that my Redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God;
I myself will see him
with my own eyes—I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!

- Job 19:25-27

Job spoke these words after being visited by a few of his “friends.” As the old saying goes, with friends like these who needs enemies? Job, even in his wrestling with God, knew that he had not sinned, yet his friends were trying to convince him that he must have done something wrong in order for God to punish him so. They were a bit off base. Even today there are countless numbers of Christians who are wounded by just this type of Christian “friend,” but that’s a topic for another time.

What I find so interesting in these words of Job’s is that in them we find Job’s belief in a Redeemer, that this Redeemer will physically come and stand on the earth, and Job’s belief that after Job dies he will be resurrected so that he will see his Redeemer with his own eyes! This is magnificent! No wonder his heart was yearning within him.

It is that same yarning that we should have each and every day – the yearning to see our Redeemer, Y’shua the Messiah, face to face. One day – very soon, I think – our Redeemer will once again stand on the earth and set up His Kingdom in Jerusalem, and we will see Him face to face. Oh, how my heart yearns within me!

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