SOAP = Scripture Observation Application Prayer
S: Job 1-3, 38-42
Job 1:12 “All right, you may test him,” the Lord said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence.
O: This is one of the strangest passages in the entire Bible. A heavenly court meets. Satan somehow shows up. He tells God he’s been roaming the earth. God asks if he’s noticed what an outstanding man Job is. Satan’s reply is that Job is righteous only because God has pampered him all his life. That leads to the “Job test” in 1:12.
Will Job cave in and curse God if all the good things of his life are stripped away? Verses 20-22 answer the question: 20Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. 21He said,
“I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!” 22In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.
A: Yea, Job later questions God. Yea, Job’s faith wobbles a bit…but Satan was wrong about him. His faith was real. It endured even though everything fell apart in his private world. The question that haunts me is would my faith endure if I lost my health, my family, my possessions, my friends, my dignity, etc.? Would I be able to say “naked I came into the world and naked I will depart”? Do I follow God because of what he gives me or because of who he is? Tough questions.
P: Father, give me a tough, Job-like faith. A faith that doesn’t blame you when things go wrong in my life or in this world. A faith that withstands Satan’s tests.
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Posted on
Wed, November 2, 2011
by Phil Print