ヨブ記1:1-22　Job 1:1-22,

This February I would like to preach you about a man called Job in the Old Testament book of Job. Job was a very fine and serious man who believed in God and helped people in need. He had seven sons and three daughters and a lot of livestock: 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen and 500 female donkeys. That’s really a lot of livestock. A yoke is a tool used when ploughing a field with two oxen. So, 500 yoke of oxen means 1,000 oxen. Job was blessed with children and wealth, and lived a very rich and happy life.

One day, while God and the angels were gathered together, Satan suddenly arrived. God said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Then Satan said back to God, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” In other words, “Job is a good man because God protects him, his family and his property. If God took them away from him, Job would curse God in a bad way. Horrible things, says Satan! Then, to our surprise, God says to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.”

After that, Job received bad news one after another. Satan took away Job’s children and property one after another. “The Sabeans came and plundered his cattle.” “Fire fell from heaven and burnt the sheep and the shepherds to death.” “The Chaldeans came and stole the camels.” “While your sons and daughters were gathered together for a feast, a great wind blew and the house collapsed, killing all of them.” When all these bad and unfortunate things happen one after another, a normal person would say, “Oh, no!” and lose hope. And then, he/she would say, “God has abandoned me!” “There is no God!” and stop believing in God. But Job was different. Job said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” In saying this, he praised God. In other words, he said: “I was born into this world naked as a baby, so I don’t care if I lose my possessions and become naked. God can give many things, or he can take them away. I praise God.” That is an amazing faith!

There are many sad things in this world where we live. You probably saw on the news that many people died, were injured or lost their homes in the Noto Peninsula Earthquake on 1 January. Japan is an earthquake-prone country, so you never know where the next earthquake will strike. And in the world, many people have died, been injured or lost their homes in wars. When we think about it, we may suffer the same as Job. Can we live with faith in God then? Job’s story asks us such a big question. And then, Job is faced with an even greater challenge. What will happen to Job? I will tell about it that next week.