Dr. Lawrence Butler

The Bridge Church, Pembroke

“Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon 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 hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:20-21).

These verses cover the immediate response of Job to his tragedies.

This is one of the high points of this book and illustrates the godliness that the Father expressed about him.

So many times we bless God in the good times, only to grumble or even curse God when tragedies come our way. Job’s actions show a deference to the will of God even when he did not understand.

Consider the actions of this desperate man; he arose, tore his clothes off, shaved his head, fell upon the ground and worshipped.

In the beginning he arose, only to fall on the ground at the conclusion of this verse. Five of the nineteen words in this verse are verbs of action and Job performed them all.

The tearing of the clothes and the shaving of the head were common demonstrations of overwhelming grief in the Middle East. The article of clothing that he tore was an outer garment typically worn by people of high rank such as priests. Job friends also wore similar garments which were called mantles (Job 2:12).

What makes Job so unique is that he did not scream at God. Neither did he say, ”Why me, Lord?” His reaction was a model of submission and surrender to the will of God.

Job said, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21). This simply means he came into the world with nothing, he would leave with nothing, and that was ok. The critical conclusion of this chapter is this; “In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly” (1:22).

Let’s consider our life experiences. Often we have been overwhelmed by life’s tragedies and difficulties. What was your reaction? Did you scream, “Why? Let this happen to someone else, not me.” Are you yet angry with God because you or your family were hurt? This does not bring relief. Mostly it keeps you from the healing presence of the Lord. Turn to Him today, even though you don’t understand, and watch healing come to your heart.