Tuesday, July 19, 2011

The Scariest Book of the Bible

I'm not sure why I started thinking about what book of the Bible I thought was the scariest, but I didn't even think about it very long before I realized that Job scares me more than any other book.  I know some people might think that Revelation is the scariest, which I understand.  Of course, Revelation should only scare you if you or your loved ones are not saved, since it describes the Tribulation period, but it has some pretty dark and confusing imagery that might be considered troublesome.  No, Job is definitely the book that makes me the most uncomfortable.

If you are not familiar with the story, here's the short version:  God and Satan are talking and Satan tells God that Job only loves God because he is very blessed, and if that were to change, Job would curse God.  Job has a large family and is very wealthy.  More important to this story is the fact that Job was a very upright and "perfect" man who lives a righteous life.  Of course, Job isn't perfect, in the sense that we think of today, but he was well-respected, avoided evil, and feared God.  God tells Satan that He will allow Satan to have power over Job's circumstances and Satan arranges it so that Job has an extraordinarily bad day.  He loses his children, his wealth, and eventually, his health.  Through all of this, Job does not curse God even though his peach of a wife actually tells him, "Why don't you just curse God and die?"!  He does do his share of whining, however!

Job has conversations with various friends who are not very helpful, and in fact, spend some of the time trying to figure out the sin that he committed to cause all of the terrible calamity that had befallen him!  All in all, Job's earthly support system is highly questionable.  Towards the end of the book, Job has the opportunity to chat with God (out of a whirlwind, no less!), and God reminds him of who He is, and how He has power over everything.  Finally, as the final chapter headline of my Bible states, "Job submits to God", and then, "God blesses Job".  Job received "twice as much as he had before".  He also lived a long life of about 140 years!

So, why do I think this is the scariest book?  Here Job was, living a pure life, worshiping God, and generally going about his day to day business, when all of a sudden it is all snatched away!  If it could happen to Job, could it happen to me?  I certainly don't think that I'm living the best life that I can for God, but I do try.  What did Job do wrong?  Why did God allow those terrible trials in his life? I love God, and my life has been pretty uneventful.  We had some trials during my pregnancy with our daughter, but that all turned out well, and she is now a wonderful, healthy tween! During that time, we knew Who was in control, and gave it all to Him.  But even though that was very hard, it was nothing like losing all of your children and everything that you owned!

After I read the caption for Job 42 about Job submitting to God, I wondered if that was the key.  I wondered if even though Job did it all right, maybe he didn't have the right heart attitude about it. We know that everything starts in the heart, and maybe not having the right attitude was going to cause Job to veer off course.  I really don't know, and it still scares me a little when I think too hard about it.  But then I take a deep breath and remember Who is in control and know that I really have nothing to fear on this earth.  But I also remember how important it is to guard my heart!

If anyone else has any comments on this book of the Bible, I would love to hear from you!

God Bless!

Proverbs 4:23 ~ "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."

James 4:8 ~ "Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

1 Corinthians 10:13 ~ "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."

1 comment:

  1. Just my thoughts : Job 1:5 says that after the parties/feasting was over Job would call for all of his children to come so that he could sanctify them and burn offerings for them. He did this out of fear... JUST IN CASE they had sinned against God and/or cursed him and turned away from him in the midst of their drunkenness when they feasted. I believe he feared the destruction of his children and was trying to do all he could to protect them from the consequences of what they "MAY" have done. And God allowed what Job feared to come upon him. (Job 3:25)

    What we need to recognize when studying Job is that "there is no fear in love because perfect love casts out fear...punishment is what makes a man fear so therefore there is something imperfect in his love..." (1 John 4:18)

    Be Blessed !

    Voice From The End of Town
    http://hsmentormom.blogspot.com

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