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Published byVirginia Kennedy Modified over 8 years ago
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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.
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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…
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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, 1:18-19. All were lost in a single day- in a moment it seemed. His “life” had been destroyed….
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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.
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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!
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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!
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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.10:37- 39.
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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”…
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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.)
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“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; 16:16-18. 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.
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