Job 1:20-22

20 Then Job ['Iyowb] arose [quwm], and rent [qara`] his mantle [ma`iyl], and shaved [gazaz] his head [ro'sh], and fell down [naphal] upon the ground ['erets], and worshipped [shachah],

21 And said ['amar], Naked [`arowm] came I out [yatsa'] of my mother's ['em] womb [beten], and naked [`arowm] shall I return [shuwb] thither: the LORD [Yahovah] gave [nathan], and the LORD [Yahovah] hath taken away [laqach]; blessed [barak] be the name [shem] of the LORD [Yahovah].

22 In all this Job ['Iyowb] sinned [chata'] not, nor charged [nathan] God ['elohiym] foolishly [tiphlah]. KJV-Interlinear

20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. 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.' 22 Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God. NASB

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Job woke up in the morning the father of ten and a very rich man, if not the wealthiest man in all of the East. Being so prominent, he would have had a reputation known throughout the region.

By nightfall, he was poor. Except for his home, Job had lost the greater portions of his wealth, his employees had been murdered, and his children had all died in a major storm.

Job was hit with one bad report after another, and when the last report had been made, even with the earlier messengers still in Job's presence, Job was overwhelmed with sorrow and grief.

One can just visualize Satan secretly standing there with silent glee as he observed the sadness, which he had brought onto Job.

But even in his perceived victory, Satan will suffer defeat. As Job, himself will provide a phenomenal spiritual lesson both for you me, and for all of humanity who happen to read this story, and for Satan as well.

Some will grasp the lesson, most will reject it.

Job neither behaved like a cold and indifferent person, nor like a man filled with heated anger at his loss.

Job arose. He must have been seated when the reports were coming in. Job arose, tore his shirt, as was the custom in his day, and shaved his head. His sorrow was both controlled and poised, despite the emotional bombshell he had just been hit with.

Job's first reaction was not to scream and throw things. Job did not blame his wife. He did not blame the local government for not protecting his property. Job did not blame God. Job did not even blame Satan. In fact, we see here that Satan is not even mentioned.

Satan was probably looking for at least some recognition in his actions against Job, along with Jobs anticipated sudden hatred of God. Satan got neither.

Jobs response is the only proper response that anyone should have when they suffer loss.

Into this world, we all come naked. We are born out from our mother's womb. God at that moment, the moment of our physical birth, assigns us with our instantly created human life, which resides in the soul. Both are imputed into the physical body, which has been forming in the mother's womb for the previous nine months.

As a newborn infant, we come into this world naked in body, as well as naked in soul. We know nothing. We bring nothing into this world with us. We neither created anything new for the world, just as we did not create ourselves.

Our bodies came from the dust, the elements of the earth. Our soul and human life comes from God who breathes life into our empty vessels when we are born. At the moment of our death, that human life which is in our soul, leaves the body, absent from the body, and appears before the Lord, while the body of dust is left behind to decay back into the dust from whence it came.

Of course, when you believe in Christ, then a third component of your life is formed in you. That third component is your human spirit, giving you a regenerated life, a rebirth. Inside of that human spirit is imputed eternal life. It is that all-important third life, which qualifies you to live in heaven with God forever.

The soul and the spirit are united permanently and forever, at the moment when you believed in Christ, and they together, leave your physical body when you leave this earth. Your physical body will never leave this earth.

Naked we come into this world. Our body is naked, and that is a perfect picture of our newly created soul. Inside we have nothing with which we can boast that we have done in our short little life.

Likewise, when we leave this world, we take nothing with us. Here Job is referring to anything physical. We have our soul and, if we have believed in Christ, we have our spirit. Inside of our soul resides any knowledge we have acquired along with evidence of any carnal works, wood and hay and stubble, together with any evidence of spiritual production, gold and silver, and precious stones.

The carnal works will be destroyed at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Only your spiritual production will remain. But as for anything tangible from this world, nothing will follow you into the hereafter.

So again, you will leave this world just as you came into it. No money, no real estate, no assets of any kind. All things of this world are temporary. Try as you may, everything that you acquire, everything that you accomplish, everything that you achieve in this life will fade into oblivion when you die.

The only things that you will take with you into eternity, are your spiritual assets. Study and learn, and grow up spiritually and you will have great wealth in eternity. Don't study, don't learn, don't grow up in your spiritual life and you will lose that future great reward as well.

Hustle in this life, accumulating everything possible, yet ignoring your spiritual life and your life will have virtually no meaning. Only through spiritual growth, can your life have significant meaning both now and forever, regardless of what kind of a life you have on this earth.

Your spiritual side only, provides meaning in your life, not the carnal side.

And the kicker here!

All things come from God. God is the true owner of this universe, not you. Humanity is on this earth courtesy of Gods grace. We are nothing more than tenants. All that we have, including life itself, comes from God.

Man has no room for boasting because of his intellect, because of his accomplishments, because of his physical beauty or abilities. All came from God. Whether you are rich or poor, brilliant or not so smart, pretty or ugly, physically fit or handicapped to the max, all came courtesy of Gods grace.

Our life here on this earth is to learn and come to an understanding of Gods truth and grace. God created us out of dust and nothing. God has waiting for us, the most phenomenal future, even a future beyond our ability to imagine. We neither deserve it, nor can we earn it. It is all a gift.

Sometimes God has to jostle us around a bit in order to get our attention. Especially when we get our eyes on things, and off of Him.

Though Satan initiated all of the heartache that Job is now suffering, it is God, who authorized it. All of the storms, all of the criminal attacks came courtesy of Gods control over history.

Man may think his way through life and make decisions that are both good and bad, but none of them occur without Gods permission. Jesus Christ controls history, not you, not Satan, not anyone.

Exalted is the name of the Lord, not the temporary things of this life. It is from God, that all things come.

Job did not have a raging fit. Job did not lose his temper. Job did not throw things. Job did not presume that anyone, not even God, had it in for him. Job did not blame anyone for his loss. God gave out of grace and God removed out of grace. Job's priorities in life were well founded in doctrine. Job did not play the 'Why me?' game. He did not play the 'poor me' game. He did not play the conspiracy game. He did not blame anyone, or look at his own life as something special such that the world is now against him. He did not rationalize that his wealth was somehow behind the reason for the poor and helpless raiders who robbed his livestock and murdered his employees.

The last verse in this passage says it all, 'Job did not sin Job did not blame.'

Job did not look for excuses.

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