There was a man named Job, living in the land of Uz, who worshipped God and was faithful to him. He was a good man, careful not to do anything evil. Job 1:1

 

We cannot conclude this month’s Verse-a-day about how God used people in the Old Testament without mentioning the man Job. Job was not selected to do a certain task like Moses or Esther but was chosen for an entirely different purpose.

 

We do not know who Job was and where he lived. The land of Uz is mentioned in a few places in the Bible and might have been in Edom, but there is no certainty about its location. Job was most probably not an Israelite. The Greek translation of the Old Testament identified him with a king from Edom called Jobab, but even that is not certain.

 

The most important thing is that the Bible calls Job a man who worshipped God and was faithful to him. He is also called a good man who was careful not to do evil things. We like to use Job as an example of patience, and admire the fact that he never thought that what had happened to him was God’s punishment for his sins. Although he was obviously a good man, the story is not so much about Job as it is about God.

 

The main message of the book is that God reigns supreme. Although we might have many questions about life, we can never question God’s decisions. Even Job started asking questions eventually, but God’s answer is always the same. Job had to accept His sovereign power and had no right to question his decisions. The same naturally applies to us all. We are, after all, human while He is God Almighty.

 

I think we can all admit that we sometimes find it very difficult to accept the above, especially when it feels so unfair when things go so horribly wrong in our lives. But in the end, we will still experience the greatest joy if we come to realise the truth of what Job said in chapter 42 verse 2 and 3b: “I know, LORD, that you are all-powerful; that you can do everything you want … I talked about things I did not understand, about marvels too great for me to know.”

 

Prayer: Thank you, God, that no plan is too difficult for you to execute, including the plan for my life. Amen