The day arrived when Satan began to inflict Job. It happened when it was Job’s eldest son’s turn to host a feast for his siblings. Job did not attend this gathering. While home, Job was visited by a series of messengers of bad tidings.
The first messenger relayed that on one of Job’s estates, while Job’s oxen were plowing and asses feeding, Sabeans (men of stature who were rivals to Uz -- perhaps from Sheba) fell upon the land. Job’s servants were struck down and livestock taken away. The messenger relayed, I alone escaped to tell thee.
While this messenger was speaking, a second arrived and conveyed another tragedy. He relayed how the fire of God fell from heavens, consuming the servants and sheep in another of Job’s properties. Again, he was the sole survivor.
A third messenger came while the second spoke. He indicated how three bands of Chaldeans (nomadic marauders from southern Mesopotamia) invaded and struck down Job’s household by the edge of the sword. Notably, they pounced upon Job’s camels and took them off.
Alas, Job faces the horror of horrors from the final messenger. This man describes, Your children were eating in the Home of Your first born. Behold, a great wind came from the wilderness and struck the four corners of the home. The building collapsed and all of the young people (Job’s children) were killed. I alone escaped to tell the tale.
It becomes apparent that Satan can exert great influence over this world. He uses forces such as the weather, fire as well as our enemies to impose tribulations. A lesson is that some portion of suffering we face is NOT a penalty for sin. Tribulations provide us the tools necessary for navigating this World. Those perils we face, at times, are for God’s purpose, even when we have no ability to determine said purpose. This opening chapter provides a revelation on a tinge of the nature of God. Our Lord is both majestic and mystifying.
Despite the worst circumstances that can befall any man, Job’s initial reaction is ideal. He worshipped. More particularly, Job rose, tore his garments and shaved his head, which was once a tradition of near-Eastern mourning. Job fell to the earth, bowed and proclaimed:
Naked I came out from My Mother’s Womb; and Naked shall I return thither.
The Lord has Given; and the Lord has taken away.
Blessed be the Name of the Lord.
Job was accepting of his plight and limitations. He sets a near impossible example of how to stomach extreme affliction.
With all Job suffered, he did not offend. Nor did he question God’s justice or wisdom. It serves as an early victory of a Faith that will be further tested. We see the embodiment of a phrase that has come down through the ages, the patience of Job, which doesn’t last. Soon we will move onto chapters of soul-searching, doubt and debate. Then the Lord will speak.
We are also taught that our mothers who bear us are analogous to mother earth, which our remains return to. Another beautiful lesson is that we only come to this earth with what God gives us; and more poignantly, we leave with nothing earthly. Within the words of the first chapter is the idea that when we start our lives, we are naked and vulnerable. We also leave in a similar state of powerlessness. We are subject to something greater – independent of our wants and will. At all times, we must regard our Lord as worthy of reverence. All the good that comes to us are precious gifts, including health, shelter, and any material possessions.