WHEN BAD HAPPENED TO GOOD

         There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job, and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil (Job 1:1).  Such is a pretty favorable description by any standard.  But we can also add that Job was righteous (Ezk.14:14) and steadfast (Js.5:11).  Who among us would not yearn to have these words summarize our life?  Job was richly blessed with seven sons and three daughters, 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys and many servants (Job 1:2-3).  Job was also a conscientious patriarch - - rising up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings for his sons (Job 1:5).  The Scriptures pro-nounce Job to be “the greatest of all men of the east” (Job 1:3b).  Job breaks on the scene as one who is healthy, wealthy and wise.  

         Suddenly and unexpectedly Job is confronted with calamity.  His massive wealth goes up in smoke (Job 1:16) and his children are crushed to death by a collapse brought by a storm (Job 1:19).   To make matters even worse, Job finds himself smote with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head (Job 2:7).  And to add insult to injury his dear wife urges him to curse God and die (Job 2:9).  Yet, in the midst of all of this, Job asserts his faith declaring,  The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.  Blessed be the name of the Lord (Job.1:21).  One can’t help but be struck by Job’s profound trust in Almighty God:  Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity? (Job 2:20).  How is it that so much bad could happen to some one who was so good?     

         One might be inclined to blame it all on Satan.  The prologue of the book of Job “sets the stage” as if the story might have been a theatrical production.  The prosaic prologue appears to tell the audience more than Job himself knows.  It’s noteworthy that Job never assigns his troubles to Satan.  The bulk of the book of Job is poetic dialogue (between Job and his associates) that struggles to offer an adequate explanation for what has happened to Job.  Our lives continue to echo this wrestling for an answer.  It will help us greatly to study Job’s journey and journal.  His endurance in days of extremity offers significant insight for our own sojourn.

                                                                                      Terry Siverd / Cortland Church of Christ