7 tests of Job

SEVEN TESTS OF JOB

 

Job was declared by the Lord to be a “Perfect and upright man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil” This was the word of God concerning Job. Satan countered the Lord by saying that the reason Job feared the Lord was because of all the many blessings and protections that the Lord gave to Job.

 

(Job 1:8 KJV)  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?

 (Job 1:9 KJV)  Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?

(Job 1:10 KJV)  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 then tempted the Lord (Job 1:11 KJV)  But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

 

The Lord answered in this manner (Job 1:12 KJV)  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.

 

Job then began a series of testing by the Lord through the hands of Satan. The Lord knew Job would not fail because HE had already declared Job to be PERFECT.

The Study below will document these tests and then relate to how we are tested today. We do have the assurance of God’s word though, maybe not like Job, However God’s word does teach us that “If we continue in His (The Lord’s) until the end the same shall be saved.

 

TEST #1                                                                                              JOB

 

(Job 1:13 KJV)  And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house:

(Job 1:14 KJV)  And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them:

(Job 1:15 KJV)  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.

 

Oxen and Asses were the tools of the farmer in Job’s day. They couldn’t just get up and run to the store anytime they needed something. The things needful to provide food for Job and his family was tied to the back of an Ox or a Ass.

 

We know that work is good, it is good to provide for your family through the work of your hands. On this particular day however Job lost the means to work. Have you ever been unemployed for any number of days? Scary isn’t it? It causes one to worry about how the bills will get paid or where the money will come from to buy your next meal.

 

This test however is a very real possibility for all of us. Many people wrap themselves up in their work and come to trust in the work of their own hands instead of thanking the Lord for the ability to work.

 

I myself have been unemployed for several months at a time. The Lord always provided what we had need of because we trusted in him.

 

(Phil 4:19 KJV)  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

 

 

TEST #2                                                                                              FOOD

 

(Job 1:16 KJV)  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.

 

Sheep in those days were the principal form of meat to feed their families with. Refrigerators were not yet invented and normally it would be a waste to butcher cattle. Sheep were small and provided enough meat for ones household.

 

(Num 11:31 KJV)  And there went forth a wind from the LORD, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day's journey on this side, and as it were a day's journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth.

(Num 11:32 KJV)  And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp.

(Num 11:33 KJV)  And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague.

(Num 11:34 KJV)  And he called the name of that place Kibrothhattaavah: because there they buried the people that lusted.

 

The children of Israel complained because all they had was Manna to eat. The Lord then brought them Quail to satisfy their lusts to their own hurt.

 

As we read earlier that in the end days we will not be able to buy or sell without taking the mark of the beast. We will be tried severely by a shortage of food. The Lord, has promised however that we will survive if we trust in him.

 

(Mat 6:25 KJV)  Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

(Mat 6:26 KJV)  Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

 

In the days of Elijah there was a Widow woman who was going to eat the last of her food then die, because there was a famine in the land. The Lord sent his Prophet to her and this is what he said.

 

(1 Ki 17:12 KJV)  And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

(1 Ki 17:13 KJV)  And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.

(1 Ki 17:14 KJV)  For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.

(1 Ki 17:15 KJV)  And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.

(1 Ki 17:16 KJV)  And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.

 

The Lord provides for his children.

 

We are also tested by Food in how much we eat.

 

(Psa 78:30 KJV)  They were not estranged from their lust. But while their meat was yet in their mouths,

(Psa 78:31 KJV)  The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel.

 

(Prov 23:21 KJV)  For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

 

 

TEST #3                                                                                              WEALTH

 

(Job 1:17 KJV)  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.

 

 

I have known many people who were well to do who lost all their wealth after they had been beset by Financial or health problems. The best thing we can learn is not to trust in the deceitfulness of riches.

 

Job’s exceeding wealth was taken from him. We today could find ourselves in much the same circumstances in the end days.

 

(James 5:1 KJV)  Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.

(James 5:2 KJV)  Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.

(James 5:3 KJV)  Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

 

Money in the End day’s will be worth nothing unless you take the mark of the Beast.

 

(Rev 13:16 KJV)  And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

(Rev 13:17 KJV)  And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

 

Jesus warned us about the deceitfulness of riches.

 

(Mark 10:24 KJV)  And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!

(Mark 10:25 KJV)  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

 

And again Timothy warns us ….

 

(1 Tim 6:9 KJV)  But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

(1 Tim 6:10 KJV)  For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

 

 

TEST #4                                                                                              CHILDREN

 

(Job 1:18 KJV)  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:

 (Job 1:19 KJV)  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.

 

How much our children mean to us! What a tragedy to lose a son or a daughter. Job however lost all his children in a day, WOW.

 

Today we are tested by our children also, maybe not to the extent that Job was but tested we are. It might not even be the death of a child, maybe it is just a child gone bad or one that broke the law and went to jail or one that will just not serve the Lord.

 

We cannot save our Children. We can guide them and train them up in the way they should go but that is no guarantee that they will do right by you, the law or God.

 

(Ezek 14:20 KJV)  Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.

 

We can pray for our children, fast for them and make intercession for them but it is all really up to the Lord.

 

(Luke 14:26 KJV)  If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

 

This scripture simply means that your family is not to come before the Lord.

 

We do have encouraging scriptures though.

 

(Acts 16:30 KJV)  And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

(Acts 16:31 KJV)  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

 

(Prov 22:6 KJV)  Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

 

 

INTERLUDE

 

Job faced all these trials in a day. If people kept coming to us one right after another telling us of tragedies that were happening to us we would probably laugh and think someone is pulling our legs. Unfortunately, for job this was not the case. Job had lost almost everything in a day, and what was his reply?

 

(Job 1:20 KJV)  Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,

 (Job 1:21 KJV)  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.

(Job 1:22 KJV)  In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

What trust and faith in god Job had. We could all be more like Job, however, the worst was yet to come.

 

(Job 2:1 KJV)  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.

(Job 2:2 KJV)  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.

(Job 2:3 KJV)  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.

(Job 2:4 KJV)  And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.

(Job 2:5 KJV)  But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.

(Job 2:6 KJV)  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.

 

TEST #5                                                                                              SICKNESS

 

(Job 2:7 KJV)  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.

(Job 2:8 KJV)  And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.

 

We have all been sick at sometime or another. Some things are worse then others, this was one of those worse things for Job. We all wonder why the Lord lets us go though such trying and testing but the fact of the matter is that the Lord is working his perfect will out in our lives.

 

(Rom 8:28 KJV)  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

 

The Lord might be trying to get your attention to some sin in your life or perhaps slowing you down long enough to pay some attention to him, it is remarkable how much more earnestly we pray when we are sick, isn’t it?

 

(Exo 15:26 KJV)  And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

 

(Psa 119:75 KJV)  I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.

 

(Psa 119:76 KJV)  Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word unto thy servant.

 

 

TEST #6                                                                                              SPOUSE

 

(Job 2:9 KJV)  Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.

(Job 2:10 KJV)  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.

 

With a wife like this who needs enemies? Our spouses can test us to the max sometimes. It could be little things like showing patience or maybe big things like being married to a spouse who doesn’t serve the Lord.

 

We must always remember that the Lord comes first in our lives. First in front of our spouses, children, jobs, health, wealth and so on. The first commandment says it all.

 

(Mat 22:37 KJV)  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

(Mat 22:38 KJV)  This is the first and great commandment.

 

We should never let our wives or husbands interfere with doing the Lord’s work. Abraham had been told by the Lord that he would be the Father of many nations and that his seed would be like the sand of the seas. Sarah got impatient and through her prodding got Abraham to marry Sarah’s servant who then bare him a son, Ishmael. While this might have seemed like a good idea at the time we should never try to “help” God to fulfill his promises to us but rather wait on him to keep his word.

 

(Gen 17:15 KJV)  And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.

(Gen 17:16 KJV)  And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

(Gen 17:17 KJV)  Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

(Gen 17:18 KJV)  And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

(Gen 17:19 KJV)  And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

(Gen 17:20 KJV)  And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

(Gen 17:21 KJV)  But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.

TEST #7                                                                                              FACE TO FACE WITH GOD

 

(Job 38:1 KJV)  Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

(Job 38:2 KJV)  Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?

(Job 38:3 KJV)  Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.

 

(Job 40:6 KJV)  Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

(Job 40:7 KJV)  Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.

(Job 40:8 KJV)  Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

 

There is coming a day when we must all face this test. The great judgment day is coming and the scripture says that we must ALL give an account for the things done in this life.

 

Job had been speaking with his three friends before the Lord came down and complaining that the Lord wasn’t there and if he was then he would make his case to the Lord as to why he didn’t deserve all this trouble. Job’s case can be summed up in one simple scripture.

 

(Rom 3:10 KJV)  As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

(Rom 3:11 KJV)  There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

(Rom 3:12 KJV)  They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

 

I believe Job realized this when the Lord demanded of him to make his complaint. What did job say?

 

(Job 40:3 KJV)  Then Job answered the LORD, and said,

(Job 40:4 KJV)  Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.

(Job 40:5 KJV)  Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.

 

Can the clay say to the potter, “What makest thou?” the answer is no, the Lord does all things according to his will. So the next time you have troubles of this sort think of Job and realize that we are just vile creatures. The Lord is working out his good will in us and through us even though it might be painful for us to bear. We do have some promises that should be comforting though.

 

(1 Cor 10:13 KJV)  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

 

AMEN