The Fragility of “Life” “Life” is: A precious gift from God, Gen.2:7; Like a vapor, Jas.4:14b; Psalm 39:4-6; Full of peaks and valleys, Psalm 23:23,5; And is therefore also a very tenuous and fragile thing, Psalm 90:3-12.

No bible character encapsulates the fragility of life quite like Job. Things were going great for Job:  His spiritual life was exemplary, 1:1;  He had a nice family, 1:2;  He was very successful, 1:3; and,  His faith was strong, 1:4-5. Seemingly, things just couldn’t be better, then…

No bible character encapsulates the fragility of life quite like Job. Things began to happen:  First it was the oxen, donkeys, and servants, 1:13-15;  Then it was the sheep and more servants, 1:16;  Then the camels and more servants, 1:17; and,  Finally, it was all his children, 1: All were lost in a single day- in a moment it seemed. His “life” had been destroyed….

Or had it? Note the very next verse, 1:20, “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped.”  Tearing the robe was an oriental custom that expressed deep grief, cf. Gen.37:29,34; and  Shaving the head was likely either a similar expression of deep anguish, Isa.22:12; or part of a cleansing/bathing for a special purpose, event, or activity, Gen.41:14.

Or had it? But don’t stop there, see also 1:21, “And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”  Rather than becoming angry with God for the tragedies, and turning away from Him,  Job thanked God for His past blessings, and worshipped/praised Him!

Or had it? But again, don’t stop there, see also 1:22, “Through all of this Job did not sin nor did he blame God. ”  Rather than blaming God for his losses, Job simply accepted the realities of the situation, and moved forward as best he could, cp. 1Sam.16:1!

How could Job possibly have so reacted? There are a couple of things that should be noted in this regard:  Job realized the truth of Luke 12:15b;  Job loved, trusted, and served God, not His wealth, cf. Matt.6:19-34; 19:16-22; 1Tim.6:17; and,  Job embodied the words of Jesus in Matt.10:

Now, “Life” is indeed a fragile thing:  It has peaks and valleys, good times and bad, triumphs and tragedies.  Our whole “lives” can be turned upside down and shaken out in an instant.  We can lose everything dear to us- our possessions, our children, our spouses (cf.Job 2:9-10), and our health (cf. Job 2:7-8),  But this doesn’t necessarily destroy our “lives”…

If:  Our “lives” do not consist in/of these things! Matt.6:19ff  Our “lives” are spiritually-oriented beforehand, 1:1.  Our “lives” consist of spiritual dedication and devotion through knowledge, faith, and trust, 1:5.  We are willing to acknowledge and be thankful for what we’ve been given rather than just counting what we’ve lost, 1:21.  We are willing to turn to and worship God rather than turning from and blaming Him, 1:20,22. (Job’s calamities came from Satan, not God, 1:6-12.)

“Life” is a fragile thing…  Unless our “lives” are founded on the Rock that no storm of Satan can destroy, 1Pet.2:6; Matt.7:24-27; 16:  You may lose your possessions, your family, and even your health,  but if you have knowledge of, faith in, and trust of God, your “life” will not be lost for it will endure forever in heaven with God, Matt.10:39.