3) Job’s Reaction
(Job 1:20-21) Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down on the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
Job Could Return All that He Had Willingly Out of His Fear of God
After God said to satan the word, “all that he has is in your power; only on himself put not forth your hand,” satan went away. Then sudden violent attacks came upon Job: First, the oxen and asses were taken away and the servants were killed; then the sheep and the servants were burned up and consumed; then the camels were taken away and the servants were killed; finally, his sons and daughters were deprived of their lives. The series of attacks were the sufferings Job underwent when he was first tempted. In the attacks, satan only aimed at Job’s possessions and his sons and daughters and did not do harm to Job himself, as commanded by God. But Job instantly turned from a rich man of great wealth into a man with nothing. No one can bear such a blow like a thunderbolt or face it properly. Job, however, showed his transcendence. The scripture describes it this way: Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down on the ground, and worshipped. This was Job’s first reaction when he heard that all his possessions and his sons and daughters were lost. First of all, he did not show any surprise or panic, much less any anger or hatred. It can be seen that he was sure within that all the calamities were not accidental or from man’s hand, much less were they retribution or punishment coming upon him, but rather, it was that Jehovah’s trial came upon him, and that Jehovah wanted to take away his property and his sons and daughters. Job at that time was very quiet in his heart and was very sober-minded, and his perfect and upright humanity caused him to make a right judgment and decision rationally and naturally on the calamities he encountered. So, he acted extraordinarily calm: He arose, rent his mantle, shaved his head, and fell down on the ground and worshipped. “Rent his mantle” means that he was naked and had nothing. “Shaved his head” means that he returned before God like a new-born baby. “Fell down on the ground and worshipped” means that he came naked to the world and still had nothing now and returned to God like a new-born baby. Job took such an attitude toward all the things that came upon him, which no other created being can have. His faith in Jehovah went beyond the scope of believing. This was his fear of God and his obedience to God. He could thank God not only for God’s bestowing to him but also for God’s taking away from him, and could even more return all that he had willingly, including his life.
from A continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh
