The Old Testament character of Job was a wealthy landowner and a faithful, godly father who lived during the time of the Patriarchs. Although he is one of the most famous biblical characters, we don’t know much about him. What we do know is that God allowed Satan to strip Job of everything he had. God knew Job was a man of strong character and that, despite Job’s difficult circumstances, he would not turn away from the Lord.
Name
The name Job likely derives from a Hebrew verb meaning “to be hostile to” or “to be an enemy.” As a noun, it means “the persecuted” or “object of enmity.” Other sources suggest the name means “returning” or “father.”
Outstanding Characteristics
Endurance and humility.
Summary
Job was a spiritual and moral patriarch of great wealth and high social position. With God’s permission, Satan robbed Job first of his wealth and livelihood, then his 10 children, and finally his health. Neither his wife nor his friends were supportive as he endured this financial, emotional, physical, and spiritual suffering. In fact, his friends added insult to injury by suggesting that Job’s sin brought the calamity upon him. It seemed that everything and everyone, including God, was against him. Finding no comfort in his friend’s words, Job turned in humility and submission to God, who, in the end, revealed Himself in a new way to Job, ended to his pain and suffering, and restored what had been taken away.
Key Scripture
But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold. (Job 23:10)
Lessons Learned
1. Accept God’s sovereignty
Like a bolt out of the blue, Job’s world explodes, and God didn’t warn him ahead of time. It could happen to you and me. The next airplane trip could be our last. God has a plan but we don’t always know what it is. He just isn’t obligated to inform us.
2. Keep things in perspective
Job isn’t in denial. He faces the music. He’s overwhelmed, broken, sad, and bankrupt. But his vertical perspective is firm, clear, and in place. The God who gives is the same God who takes away. It’s easy to lose sight of Him when hardship assaults us, but stay focused on God. A vertical perspective will keep us from horizontal panic.
3. Use discernment to detect wrong advice
Job’s wife advises him to curse God and die. He refuses because he’s discerning—as we must be when in the midst of trials. We don’t yield. We go back to the Scriptures, find our direction, and stand firm. Well-meaning people do not always have a divine viewpoint. The Bible always does.
4. Don’t encourage using empty words
The only things Job’s so-called comforters had to offer were empty words in the form of philosophical meanderings and theoretical concepts. This brought no relief or break in Job’s misery. Philosophical words fall flat when they are mouthed before those in misery.
5. Remain hopeful and endure through trials
God knows our trials. They are not without purpose. God allows these challenging seasons to be a process for refining and reshaping our character. Like Job, sometimes we have done nothing to deserve suffering but must endure it anyway. We must continue to worship the Lord despite what we’re going through. We can be assured that He is full of compassion and mercy. With the Holy Spirit’s help, we can exhibit perseverance and endurance and imitate the humility of Job under any circumstance. Better times will come—if not soon or if not later on this earth, they will come when we stand before Him and He distributes rewards. God knows. God always remembers. God will reward.
Job’s story teaches perseverance in faith, acceptance of God’s sovereignty, the value of good advice, the necessity of humility and repentance, and the assurance that God will restore and bless those who endure faithfully through adversity.
