By Job 1:6–12 One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.” Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
Job 2:3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”
There are many amazing and glorious things in the book of Job. The end of the book is some of my favorite writing in all of Scripture. Yet there are likewise very hard things as well. There are times (like this morning) when I read the beginning chapters and can’t help but think it is wrong of God to allow Satan to do what he did. God allowed Satan to kill everyone of Job’s ten children; all because the devil incited God in His throne room. I couldn’t fathom all of my children being killed because of some incitement the devil brought to God in heaven against my character. Yet I am reminded (simply because I am writing this) that I am far from a blameless and upright man like Job. It was said of Job that he never sinned with his mouth. I am currently probably sinning with my fingers in the things I am writing. Like I said earlier; these are hard things.
God is good. He never does wrong. Therefore, the death of Job’s children was not wrong of God, nor bad. I have to remember that there is no one innocent in all of the earth. Job routinely offered sacrifices for each of his children in case they sinned during their festivals. I am sure that God honored those sacrifices and all ten of Job’s children are alive and happy eternally in heaven. They wouldn’t come back to this earth for any reason. From their vantage point, their death brought them out of a fallen world; out of a fallen body, and into a righteous and perfect heavenly kingdom. If I am wrong and they were judged and sent to hell; they would be just deserving of such a sentence. All people after Adam and Eve are just deserving of God’s judgement, and it is only by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone that anyone of us will escape the fires of hell. If Job’s children were resting on the promise of God to send a Deliverer to crush the head of the serpent; they are dancing in streets of gold with the King of Kings and the LORD of Lords.
Questions for the kids
- Do you find the beginning chapters of Job hard to swallow?
- Can you think of anyone who is sinless and therefore doesn’t deserve a guilty sentence from God’s courtroom?
- Are you just deserving of such a sentence?
Leading Family Devotions 