In Reply to: a ? 4 kathy.. posted by ray on August 08, 2003 at 04:53:32:
Yikes. I had better not post a question like that and then go off for three days. We have been up in North Georgia picking blueberries. It was so peaceful - no cars, just hills everywhere, and pastures and a few cows and acres of blueberries and beautiful breezes. Idyllic. But I'm back in civilization now.
Ray, I am so glad you have asked that question about Job because I've been meaning to get to this subject. Thank you! In spite of our differences I find you very, very endearing and I certainly hope that my being so tenacious of my position doesn't alienate you completely because I find you very lovable and kind and you provide our board with a LOT to think about. Many of our discussions would have been possible without your questions.
I've spent the last year pondering the book of Job, among many other things. The one thing I felt the Lord impressing upon me this past year is the importance of trusting God and having faith, not fear. Especially not voicing your fear and negative thoughts, something I have had a problem with.
What I saw in the book of Job was this. Job was a very godly man. As far as I can tell, he had no Bible and no Word but he strove to be righteous and loved God and he was blessed by God.
The Bible doesn't seem to indicate that Job's children were industrious or hardworking or god-fearing. Job had 500 yoke of oxen which means he had a huge labor force and a huge job to be done, but the sons didn't work. They partied a lot:
Job 1:4. And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.
Job 1:5. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered 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 did Job continually.
Job continually sacrificed on behalf of his sons because he was afraid that if he didn't, harm would befall them. And this is the key. If the woman in Proverbs 31 is an example in the Bible of an industrious, god-fearing woman, then Job's sons would have to have been the antithesis of that. I believe that the more his sons partied and caroused, the more fearful Job became that he and they would lose God's blessings.
Now, we know from 1 Peter what Satan does on the earth: 1 Peter 5:8. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour;
Here is a Kathyism, believed by some, but not everyone. So I am just asking you, Ray, to remember that not everyone feels the same way I do here, but, as is the case every time I write, I'm telling you I believe this to be the truth because I discovered the truth of it in my own life and maybe I can share that testimony later down the road.
Here it is: I believe that when Job allowed himself to be overcome with fear, he gave the devil permission to come in and do what the devil really wanted to do. As long as he had faith and didn't allow fear to dictate his actions, Satan couldn't touch him. Satan acted like God wouldn't allow him to touch Job, but the truth was that there was a hedge of protection Job had built around himself through his righteousness that prevented Satan from doing him harm. But the minute Job let down his guard and allowed himself to be ruled by fear, the wall of protection broke and Satan then had a legal right to come in and do what he did.
The rest of the book of Job is about his friends trying to convince Job that he or his ancestors had done something to deserve these punishments from God. But the fact is, none of it came from God. It came from Job letting down his guard sufficiently that Satan had a legal right to bring these sufferings into his life.
I want to tell everyone, in another post, what letting fear in did to me this year and what I finally did to overcome it and what the results were.