There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.- Job 1:1
I'm so glad to be done with the book of Joshua, even if it is to head over to probably the most depressing book in the Bible. Yes, Job. We've all been there... just when you think nothing worse can happen to you, it does.
The good news is that nearly all biblical scholars agree that Job is poetry; an ancient story told and retold through the millennia. Really, you can tell it is a fictional story just by reading the first chapter. It sounds like the plot of a movie... God and Satan get together to discuss God's favorite person. It doesn't sound a lot different from "It's a Wonderful Life."
In "It's a Wonderful Life," there are a couple good lessons to be learned, but in the Book of Job, there are many. It's a treasure trove of valuable life lessons as well as spiritual lessons. Every story in the bible does not have to be completely factual history to be of important use. It is believed that Job is the oldest book in the bible, written even before Genesis. It talks about the human struggle of understanding why bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. We all know that struggle, so this is one story that speaks to all of us in every age.
God of Our Fortune and Misfortune,
Help us to praise you in the sunshine and in the storms. Amen.
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