“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.  The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”  —  Job 1:20-21

Job was a man who feared God and was careful to do nothing wrong.  God blessed Job with seven sons and three daughters. He also had camels, sheep, oxen, donkeys and many men servants and maid servants.  He was the greatest of all the men in that part of the world, the land of Uz.

After Job had enjoyed his blessings for many years, God sent trouble on him.  Satan presented himself to the Lord and the Lord said to him, “Have you considered my servant Job?  There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” Satan replied by saying, “Does Job fear God for nothing ….  Stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”  So God allowed his riches and his children to be taken from him.  He lost his oxen and his donkeys.  He lost his sheep.  Enemies had taken his camels and killed his servants who were taking care of them.  He lost all of his sons and daughters.  All of this happened in one day and Job’s response, after falling to the ground in worship, was that he had nothing of his own when he was born a child into the world, and that he would have nothing when he dies and goes out of it, that the God who gave him his children and his riches is the God who takes them away again.

Then, Job is tested a second time, allowing Satan to afflict him with painful sores.  This was not just in one area.  This was from the soles of his feet to the top of his head the Bible says.  His wife asked him if he was still holding on to his integrity, to curse God and die.  Job replied by saying, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”

“Perhaps the most blessed thing is what Job said concerning the hand of God in all things: “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” I am so pleased to think that Job recognized the hand of God everywhere giving he said, “The Lord gave.” He did not say, “I earned it all.” He did not say, “There are all my hard-earned savings gone.” What a sweet thing it is if you can feel that all you have in this world is God’s gift to you! A slender income will give us much content if we can see that it is God’s gift. Let us not only regard our money and our goods as God’s gifts; but also our wife, our children, our friends. Alas! some of you do not know anything about God. What you have is not counted by you as God’s gift. You miss the very sweetness and joy of life by missing this recognition of the Divine hand in giving us all good things richly to enjoy. But then, Job equally saw God’s hand in taking them away. If he had not been a believer in Jehovah, he would have said, “Oh, those detestable Sabeans! Somebody ought to go and cut to pieces those Chaldeans.” That is often our style, is it not,–finding fault with the secondary agents? Suppose my dear wife should say to the servant, “Where has that picture gone?” and the maid replied, “Oh, the master took it!” Would she find fault? Oh, no! If it had been a servant who took it down, or a stranger who removed it, she might have said something; but not when I took it, for it is mine. And surely we will let God be Master in His own house: where we are only the children, He shall take whatever He pleases of all He has lent us for a while.”  — C. H. Spurgeon