The children of Job
The book of Job is one of the oldest in the Bible, and the experience of this man of God as well as the many teachings that the book contains, all very valid through the millennia during which it has been read, are of an extraordinary value. For example, the phrase "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth” (Job 19:25), has deep spiritual significance and were said by him who lived at the time of Abraham, long before Moses and the law.
James, who calls himself "servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ," writes in his epistle: "Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful." (James 5:11).
Early on we learn that Satan not only wanders the Earth, but:
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he has access to the presence of the Lord in heaven, where he accuses the servants of God: his name means "adversary" or "accuser ";
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the Lord knows deeply every person on Earth;
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the Lord allows Satan to put to the test the character and the loyalty of his servants;
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Satan, on the other hand, can do no evil against them without the permission of the Lord, for the Lord places "a fence" around them and all they own (Chapter 1:10)-how much comfort it gives us!
After losing all their children and all their possessions, Job's wife said to him: "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!", but he replied: "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" (Job 2: 9-10). The faith and loyalty of Job were unshakable and, after much physical suffering and temptations proposed by his "friends", Job emerged victorious, because continued faithful to God through everything, and received a large reward from the Lord, even here on Earth.
The entire book of Job focuses on the experience of this righteous man. His wife is only mentioned when she had this dialogue with him. His sons appear at the beginning of chapter 1 where we learn that there were ten of them (seven sons and three daughters), and they had very easy lives enjoying the riches of their father because “his sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day, and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them" (Job 1: 4).
We know nothing of their righteousness or fear of God, but they had a priest in the person of their own father, "So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, ‘It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.’ Thus Job did regularly.”
One day all "… were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they all died…" (Job 1:19). This was one of several calamities that came to Job, caused by Satan with the permission of the Lord, to prove his faithfulness to God.
But this calamity was disastrous to his wife and their children as well. His wife suffered until the trial was finished, and their children lost their lives, although Job's life was spared as ordered by the Lord. After the trial, Job was rewarded with a much larger flock of animals, another seven other sons and three very beautiful daughters and lived over one hundred and forty years, seeing his descendants up to the fourth generation.
No doubt God had a plan for the lives of the sons of Job, and they were to be short. None of us knows if we will have short or long lives, only God knows! If we have been saved by the grace of God through faith in Christ, our lives here on Earth will be for His service. Our death is a good thing, because we will go to the place prepared for us in heaven. Job’s children went to their place in Sheol, and we hope they went to paradise, which would be the case if they followed their father in his faithfulness to God. A good thing for them as well!
There is scarce information given in the Bible about the sons of Job, but it is sufficient to remind us that:
- As children, we should not think that the faithfulness to God of our parents assures us a long and happy life, however much they care for us materially and spiritually.
- As parents, our children are blessings from God and must be brought up in the ways and in the wisdom of the Lord from childhood because, although they benefit from having us as parents, they will only have spiritual life by their own decision, taken on the basis of what they know. Yes, let us pray for them, but also let us do our part in their spiritual education.
- We are all part of a great plan of God to the world, and we don't know how many years we are destined to live here, according to His determination. Let us use the time wisely to serve our God, in order to be approved as good workers by our Saviour when we are brought to His presence.
Our God is the Supreme sovereign and it is up to us we do His will in this world.
R David Jones
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