Job 3:1 says, After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.  Though Job did not curse God as Satan said he would, Job did curse his very existence.  Job had reminded his wife that we should remain faithful to God, no matter our circumstances, but now he was in effect questioning God's wisdom in even creating Job.  I believe if we reach the point where we believe that life has no purpose and it would be better if we had never even been born, we are overlooking the eternal nature of our spirit.  No matter what happens here, we are assured of an everlasting relationship with God if we are truly His through faith in Christ.  Verse two adds, And Job spake, and said,  Job broke the silence between his friends and himself.  Verse three continues, Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.  Job began to regret his very existence.  I am not sure how bad things would have to get to bring us to this thought about life, but I do believe that if we reach such a conclusion that we have placed ourselves in the place of God.  God created us all for a purpose and life is never a mistake.   Verse four states, Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.  Job said that he not only wished that he had never been born, but he wished God had never even thought to create him, saying he wished that day had just been darkness.  Verse five adds, Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.  Job regretted his birth so much that he felt the day of his birth should have been a day of death.  In this statement also we can say that Job felt that he knew more than God did.  Verse six continues, As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months.  I believe that Job was once again saying that he wished the day of his birth had never happened.  He wished that day and night had been pure darkness and had never appeared on the calendar.  Verse seven says, Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein.  He again was just wishing not only that he had never been born, but that the whole day of his birth could be eliminated.  Yet, his birth was not the only thing that occurred that day, and I believe that we can say at this point Job had become self-centered.  When things are going badly in our lives, hopefully we will never see our lives as only affecting us.  There are still many other people who have their own lives to live.  Verse eight adds, Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.  Job may not have cursed God and died, as his wife suggested he do, but he was asking that the day of his birth be cursed.  Verse nine continues, Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day:  I believe that Job was just continuing to wish the day of his birth had never existed.  Verse ten concludes, Because it shut not up the doors of my mother’s womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.  Job said that since his mother had conceived and given birth to him that it would be better if that day did not exist, since he was now in such sorrow.  Job's sin was in questioning God, which he was certainly doing by saying that his birth was a mistake.  We must never allow ourselves to question God, even when the world around us seems to be coming apart.  Even if we are suffering, God is still with us, as He was with Job.

Job 2:8 says, And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.  Job was covered with sores from head to toe, and he sought relief from scraping himself with a piece of pottery and sitting among the ashes.  We would probably be told not to scratch the sores and to keep them clean, but Job was simply doing what might bring some relief from his suffering.  Job had lost all his children and material wealth because God had faith in Him.  He still had his wife and friends though, as we see in the next few verses.  Verse nine adds, Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.  At the time when Job needed her love and support the most, Job's wife turned against him.  I believe that when she asked if Job still had his integrity that her answer was that he didn't.  When really bad things start happening to those who claim to be followers of God, it is not unusual for others to question their faith, but we always hope that it won't be those closest to us.  Job's wife should have known the truth of his integrity to God, but instead she advised him to curse God and die.  She told Job to renounce his faith and end his life, thereby ending his suffering.  We can only hope that if we find ourselves under attack from Satan that if we are married our spouse will stand with us and not turn away, as Job's wife evidently did.  She had lost as much as Job did, except her health, and I believe she saw Job as the source of her losses as well.  Verse ten continues, But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.  Job asked his wife if they should serve God only when He blessed them and turn away from God when suffering came.  Job said she spoke as foolish women spoke.  I don't believe that he was saying that his wife and all women were foolish, but instead was speaking of women who did not have a faith relationship with God.  She should have had that type of faith and have known that Job had not brought destruction to them because of a lack of integrity in his relationship with God.  Verse eleven states, Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.  When these three friends of Job heard what was happening to him, they decided to come together and mourn with him and comfort him.  This seems to be a very commendable action on their part, because Job certainly needed someone to offer him comfort.  Verse twelve adds, And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.  They were sincere in their grief for Job, and unlike many who are friends when someone is rich but desert them if they lose everything, these three remained friends of Job.  Verse thirteen continues, So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.  Sometimes, when a person is suffering a very deep grief, we may not know what to say to them, but our presence with them may be a great comfort.  For a week they simply sat and mourned with Job.

Job 2:1 says, Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.  Once again, we might wonder why Satan was allowed to be in the midst of those present with God, but we must remember that until the final judgment that he is allowed to roam freely.  Verse two adds, And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.  This is a repeating of the question asked in chapter one and was not asked because God did not know where Satan had been and what he had been doing.  It was an opportunity for the great Deceiver to tell the truth.  Still, Satan only told a partial truth.  He did not say he had been attempting to destroy people's faith in God. Verse three continues, And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. God repeated His commending of Job, but with the added statement that Job remained faithful even though Satan had destroyed everything Job had. We can only hope that we will have the same type faith when adversity comes into our lives.  Verse four states, And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.  Satan was not silenced by Job's faith, nor did he admit that he was wrong about Job.  We must realize that Satan will never give up on trying to defeat or discredit Christians.  We know that if we truly accept Christ as Savior and Lord that God seals us as His forever, so the best that Satan can hope for is to cause our faith to waver.  Verse five adds, But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.  Satan told God that even though Job had lost everything else, he still had his health.  Satan told God if God took away Job's health that Job would curse God.  Verse six continues, And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.  God did not say that He would do what Satan told Him to do, but instead said He would allow Satan to take away Job's health, but not his life.  I believe we can take comfort in the fact that Satan can never take away our everlasting life.  Even if we lose everything else, we are God's forever if we have accepted Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse seven concludes, So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.  Satan was again in a hurry to prove that Job would turn away from God if he lost his health.  Sometimes physical pain can cause us to do or say things that we wouldn't normally do, but we can never let it cause us to question God.  God is with us through the pain.  We will see that Job remained true to his faith in God.

Job 1:11 says, But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. Satan said that if God took away all that Job had that not only would Job no longer worship God, but that he would curse God.  We may want God to commend our faith, but the question remains whether or not we will remain faithful if it seems that everything has been taken from us.  Satan said that Job only served God for material blessings.  Verse twelve adds, And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.  God himself did not take away the things that Job had, but He did give Satan the ability to do so.  We hear people ask today why bad things happen to good people, and the answer is that Satan is still free to go to and fro on the earth to attempt to get people to turn away from God.  Verse thirteen continues, And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house:  Life was going on pretty much as normal for Job.  Job's children were together eating and drinking, or enjoying the riches of life we might say.  Verse fourteen states, And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: This was but the first of the messengers to come to Job.  Verse fifteen adds, And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.  The message started like a pretty normal day, but then we hear the message change. Job's possessions had been taken away and his servants killed except for the one who brought the message.  Satan wasted no time in putting his plan into effect.  We can certain that Satan will waste no time today attacking those who serve God.  Verse sixteen continues, While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.  Another messenger came with more bad news.  All of Job's sheep and servants had been destroyed by fire from heaven.  We know God did not send this fire.  Still, we might have tended to accuse God, especially if we believe God causes all things instead of believing that He allows all things.  Verse seventeen says, While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.  The bad news just kept coming for Job.  Sometimes, when we either see so many bad things happening in our life or the life of another, we may wonder how much more we or they can endure, but if we are followers of God, He will give us the strength to endure.  Verse eighteen continues, While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house:  Verse nineteen concludes, And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.  So far, Job had only lost possessions that could be replaced, but he now lost his children, who could not be.  Having more children could never replace these sons and daughters.  Verse twenty states, Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,  Satan had said Job only worshipped God because God was materially blessing him, but Job proved him wrong.  The question is would we.  Verse twenty-one adds, And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.  I believe this is the truth of life that we must always realize.  Everything that we have, even life itself, is a gift from God, and we should always give Him the praise, no matter what is happening in life.  Verse twenty-two continues, In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.  God had commended Job's faith, and Job did not fail to stand in his faith.  He never foolishly blamed God, and neither should we when bad things happen in our lives.  We should always be able to sincerely say, "Blessed be the name of the Lord."

Job 1:1 says, There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.  We are told that Job was perfect and upright.  He feared, or I believe more accurately stood in awe of God and hated evil.  We also know that there was only One Who lived a life of perfection, and that was Jesus Christ.  I believe that when we are told that he was perfect that it means that he always attempted to live under the leadership of God.  Verse two adds, And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.  Job was blessed with a large family.  I believe that Job saw his family as a blessing from God, and we today should feel the same. We must acknowledge that only God can give life.  We may hear of life being created in a test tube, but even then life has to come from what God has created and must be sustained by His power.  If we have been blessed with children, whether one or many, we must give thanks to God for blessing us with them. Verse three continues, His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.  We see that Job put his relationship with God first, his family second, and his possessions third.  This is a good order for us to follow today.  We cannot allow family to come before God or possessions to come before either God or family. Job was a rich man, and he still served God.  Though we are told that it is hard for a rich man to be saved, it is not impossible.  As long as a person acknowledges that everything comes from God and is to be used for His glory, then riches will not get in the way of serving God.  Verse four states, And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.  Matthew Henry says this verse means that Job's children were prosperous, and this brought a feeling of joy to his heart.  I believe we can also say that his children were maybe more interested in feasting, or enjoying the riches of life, than they were in serving others for God's glory.  Verse five adds, And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.  I believe this verse confirms what I said about verse four.  Job offered sacrifices for his children daily, because he feared that they might have sinned against God.  We know that we cannot bring salvation to our children on our own, but we can certainly pray and sacrifice for them daily that they might be protected until they come to salvation on their own.  Verse six continues, Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.  I am not sure about the assembly mentioned here, but it is clear that Satan had not been permanently banished.  We know that whenever we assemble together that Satan is going to do his best to disrupt our worship.  Verse seven says, And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.  I believe that God knew exactly where Satan had been and what he had been doing. Satan's power is limited whereas God's is unlimited. Verse eight adds, And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?  This was a great endorsement of Job by God.  If there were such a meeting today, would God call one of us by name and hold us up as an example of faithfulness to Him?  We need to be that type of Christian, upright in our relationship to God and others and never giving in to evil.  Verse nine continues, Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?  Satan, the great deceiver, will always attempt to discredit those who serve God.  If he cannot do it based on our actions, he will attempt to do it based on our motives.  When Christians do good works today, there are always those who claim that we are really doing them for our own benefit somehow.  Verse ten concludes, Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.  Satan's basic question was whether Job served God simply because God had blessed Job materially.  Again, we need to realize that Satan will do anything to discredit those who put their faith in God.

1 Corinthians Review continued

As we continue our review of 1st Corinthians, we know that another issue that Paul addressed was spiritual gifts.  Some of those in the church at Corinth felt that certain spiritual gifts made them somehow better than those with what the saw as having lesser spiritual gifts.  Paul reminded them that all spiritual gifts are from God, and that all are necessary to effectively spread the gospel and to edify the church.  I believe that Paul was teaching us that we are never to covet any other spiritual gift than the one or ones that God has given us.  There is no gift that makes one person more important than others.  We may feel that preachers are more important or morally superior to other Christians, but this is not what the Bible teaches us.  We are all just sinners saved by the grace of God who then are called on to use the gift or gifts that God has given us.  We are never to covet any spiritual gift or to look down on others because we feel that our gift or gifts are superior to that of someone else.  Paul also said that when we use our spiritual gift that it should lead to a clear advancement of the gospel and the edification of the church.  Even early in the church, there were those who were proclaiming that some gifts were a sign that some Christians were superior to others, and it seems that speaking in tongues was one of those gifts.  Paul reminded them, and teaches us, that speaking in tongues, or unknown languages, was a gift for reaching other people and not a sign of moral superiority to any other Christian.  As Paul reminded the church at Corinth, God is not the author of confusion, but of unity through Christ.  Another issue that had arisen concerned the resurrection of the dead.  Paul told those believers at Corinth that without the resurrection of the dead there was no hope at all, not in this life or the one to come.  This will never change.  If Christ did not overcome the power of death by His resurrection, then everything we put our faith in world be a lie and we would be as Paul said most miserable.  If this life on earth is all there is, then we would be justified in living life for our own best interests.  Since through Christ, we know that this life is but a brief prelude to the everlasting life that we know is ours, we need to live under the Lordship of Christ.  Of course, even those who deny the resurrection will one day know of the certainty of it, but unfortunately it will be to late for them to claim redemption that has already been made available through Christ.  Because of salvation and everlasting life through Christ, we are to live life not just for ourselves, but to reach others with the gospel and to put them above our own selfish desires.  We are to follow the example of Christ and pray to God that not our will but His be done, now and forever.  We are going to the book of Job next.

1Corinthians Review

As we review 1st Corinthians, we can first say that it was written partially to correct problems that had arisen in the church at Corinth.  When problems do arise in the church, especially a local body of believers, we cannot just ignore them, but we must get to the root of the problem so it can be corrected. The longer a problem is allowed to exist, the more problems it can cause to our witness for God.  Paul said that some of the believers at Corinth were acting superior to others because of who had led them to Christ.  There is no room for any Christian to feel superior to any other Christian in the church, local or universal.  We may each be led to the Lord through the witnessing of different people, but we are equally saved by the same Person, Jesus Christ.  I believe we can also be sure that if Christian leaders have become aware of problems in a local congregation that the lost people of the world will be also, but the lost, the non-believers will exploit the trouble to attempt to discredit the church.  Paul said there were some false teachers in the congregation at Corinth.  These false teachers were more interested in glorifying themselves than they were in glorifying God.  We cannot look at the history of the church as a whole and deny that at times there have been false teachings that have entered the church.  I believe in the United States, for example, that one issue was the teaching on slavery and the issues that still linger on relationships between the races.  I know that some Christians say that slavery existed in Bible times, and that is true, but the Bible does not endorse slavery or the concept of a superior race.  We know that the people of Israel, the Hebrews or Jews as they are referred to in various places, were God's chosen people in the world, but it was not because they were superior to anyone else due to their own goodness.  God chose them to work through to reveal Himself to the world.  At times, it seems that non Christians have to take a stand against moral injustice in the world before Christians do, and even then it is somewhat reluctantly.  The church, God's redeemed people, need to be at the forefront of working against moral injustice, and not just reluctantly standing up against what is wrong.  I believe that as long as we as followers of Christ see the world in terms of any person or group of people being morally superior to any other person or group based on anything other than a relationship with Christ we will never be as effective in witnessing to the world as we should be.  We are all but sinners saved by grace and equal in the eyes of God.