JOB 1:20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. N The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” 22In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. Job 1: 20-22
The Old Testament book of Job is one of the most interesting and powerful books in the Bible. In Hebrew, Job’s name means “uncertain.” We should find this piece of information quite fascinating.
Job’s character was first introduced in the Old Testament as a man full of confidence and certainty. He was an extremely wealthy man. He was influential. He was God-fearing. He was a prayerful and dutiful father to his seven sons and three daughters. He seemed to be very favored both by God and by the people around him.
But just when Job thought that he had his entire life figured out, God allowed Job and his family to be visited by a series of unbelievable misfortunes. First, he lost his properties and livestock through theft and fire. Second, he lost all his sons and daughter in a very freak accident that was supposedly by natural causes. Finally, his entire body was afflicted with painful sores from the top of his head to the soles of his feet.
One by one, Job’s vulnerabilities were exposed. The once confident and favored life of Job slowly became uncertain just as his very name meant. But you see, it was in the face of Job’s tragedies and uncertainties that a great, pure and powerful worship arose.
JOB 1:20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship. To fall literally means to go down. It also means to decrease, to be reduced and to be defeated. When Job received the tragic news about what had happened to all his properties and to his beloved children, he did three things to express his grief and mourning: he tore his robe, he shaved his head and finally, he fell to the ground in worship.
It’s amazing how the spirit of God can move a fallen man like Job to break forth in very deep and genuine worship. It’s even more amazing how people encounter God’s glory and God’s presence in their lives at a time of great defeat and when they are reduced to nothing. This experience of being humbled by the Lord has been called in different ways. Some call this life-changing experience purification. Others call it cleansing. For some it is called purging. But for most of us, it is simply called a wake up call.
In whatever term we understand it, one thing we learn from Job is that the journey of true worship begins when God is able to strip away all the layers of self-dependence and pretensions in our lives.
We live in a world that has encouraged people to wear layers and layers of masks in their lives. We live in a society where people’s actions are always governed by self-agenda and self-interests. But as we always say, there is a time and season for all things.
Just as there are glorious moments, there are certainly circumstances of shame and vulnerability. And this is the good news that we hear from Job’s life; that even the fallen can still find hope and healing in the Name of the Lord.
21and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. NThe LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” 22In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. Verse 22 gives us a very powerful definition of faith. Faith is believing that God cannot be wrong. Like Job, faith is our ability to restrain ourselves from doubting the purity of God’s intentions for us, even when circumstances are unfavorable.
In other words, a person of faith is a person of spiritual composure and tranquility. It’s amazing how Job somehow realized that God was accomplishing something good in the midst of all his misfortunes.
When people are visited by tragedies, it is common reaction to be angry, bitter or even indifferent. It is so refreshing to realize that because of faith, we can always take an alternative path when tragedies visit our lives.
It may not always be easy, but it is always certainly worth the try. It is the path that ushers the spirit of true worship in a heart that chooses to rest itself in God’s goodness.
There are 42 chapters in the book of Job. The first 41 chapters do not only speak of Job’s pains and sufferings, but more importantly, it speaks of Job’s efforts to honor God and to reflect his glory.
In the last chapter, 42nd chapter, we read about the glorious fruit of Job’s worship. The spirit of restoration fell upon him with great anointing and all his fortunes and blessings were given back to him, more than what he used to have.
And after all that happened, Job was never the same man. He had fallen hard, but by faith in the Lord, he persevered in worship, received his restoration, and became a symbol of unbelievable hope in the face of astounding tragedies.
Indeed, the name of the Lord be praised!
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