Job 1:8    Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."

      

I've always thought it was tough on Job that the Lord drew Satan's attention to him, but there are three things about this verse that counter that. The first is God's acclamation of Job. If God says he is unique ("no one on earth like him"!) and that he is blameless, then he IS unique and blameless. Why is he blameless? He is blameless because he is upright, or as the Message version puts it, “honest and true to his word, totally devoted to God and hating evil.” Job is outstanding in all the world. So what we have here is God saying that Job is the best of the best.

 

Second, by putting forward Job like this, the Lord certainly knows that Satan will rise up and challenge this, because he always does. Yet the Lord has complete trust in Job that he is not going to completely fail. What a trust! Job, you are up to this test that is about to come your way!

 

The third thing, is that God is going to allow Job to be used as THE example of a man who suffers under trials, to reveal his humanity, his weakness as a sinful human being and, under the pressures of the enemy, almost come to the end of himself. If this unique man struggles like this, we certainly will. But what is the end of the story? The Lord doesn't cast him off because of his human frailty; He completely restores him. This is the incredible grace of God revealed. He doesn't want to destroy but exalt! So, if you are having a tough time, reflect on Job and see yourself as a possible example of an overcomer.

The apostle Paul wrote, "His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms," (Eph 3:10) i.e. by how we receive our salvation and all of God's grace that goes with it, we will reveal to the onlooking angelic hosts the wonder and the goodness of God, and He will be praised. That was what Job was about, and it is what our lives are so often about - revealing the wonder and the goodness of God - even as we pass through difficult and trying times. May it be so!