DAY 18 Read Job 1 through 5.
Today's reading: Nobody can be absolutely sure when Job lived, but various kinds of evidence indicate a period between Jacob and Moses. The story opens with the beginning of Job's troubles.
Memory gem: "In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly" (Job 1:22).
Thought for today:
Sooner or later trouble comes to us all, for it's the common lot of human beings. Many of us remember this childhood jingle: "Never trouble trouble, till trouble troubles you." That is, never look for it. But we don't have to; it comes, unsought, and all too soon and too often. "Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward," the book of Job tells us (Job 5:7); and it is certainly an authority. Yes, trouble comes to both good and bad--to saint and sinner--to all men everywhere.
Back in the old days many people had the idea that trouble was a sure sign of God's anger and that the person suffering must be bad. In other words, they thought that trouble was God's finger pointing out the sinner. But we know that was a wrong idea. While it is true that evil does come back upon the doer, it is not always apparent in this world.
And you will remember that Job had a lot of trouble. He lost everything he had--his property was destroyed or stolen; his children were killed--and in his loss and grief he himself was struck down with a terrible sickness. Even his wife advised him to renounce God and die (see Job 2:9). But it is clear that all these troubles did not come to Job because he was a bad man. He did not understand why he should suffer so much, and sometimes he said so in forceful language; but he never "charged God foolishly" (Job 1:22) nor gave up his faith in Him.
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Difficult or obscure words:
Job 1:1. "Uz"--This area cannot be located positively. Evidence seems to indicate a region southwest of Damascus.
Today's reading: Nobody can be absolutely sure when Job lived, but various kinds of evidence indicate a period between Jacob and Moses. The story opens with the beginning of Job's troubles.
Memory gem: "In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly" (Job 1:22).
Thought for today:
Sooner or later trouble comes to us all, for it's the common lot of human beings. Many of us remember this childhood jingle: "Never trouble trouble, till trouble troubles you." That is, never look for it. But we don't have to; it comes, unsought, and all too soon and too often. "Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward," the book of Job tells us (Job 5:7); and it is certainly an authority. Yes, trouble comes to both good and bad--to saint and sinner--to all men everywhere.
Back in the old days many people had the idea that trouble was a sure sign of God's anger and that the person suffering must be bad. In other words, they thought that trouble was God's finger pointing out the sinner. But we know that was a wrong idea. While it is true that evil does come back upon the doer, it is not always apparent in this world.
And you will remember that Job had a lot of trouble. He lost everything he had--his property was destroyed or stolen; his children were killed--and in his loss and grief he himself was struck down with a terrible sickness. Even his wife advised him to renounce God and die (see Job 2:9). But it is clear that all these troubles did not come to Job because he was a bad man. He did not understand why he should suffer so much, and sometimes he said so in forceful language; but he never "charged God foolishly" (Job 1:22) nor gave up his faith in Him.
----------------
Difficult or obscure words:
Job 1:1. "Uz"--This area cannot be located positively. Evidence seems to indicate a region southwest of Damascus.
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