Job

Job is one of the brightest stars in the constellation of Old Testament saints. He is known as a man of legendary patience (cf. James 5:11) and as the "much-suffering" one, inasmuch as he experienced every loss and pain that a human might possibly suffer, and yet Job never forsook his relationship with the Lord God.

Job lived in the land of Uz (Ausis), which lies between Arabia and Idumea. He was one of the descendants of Esau, in the fifth generation after Abraham. Job was a wealthy man with a large family. Above all, though, he was a holy man, "perfect and upright, one who feared God and eschewed evil" (Job 1:1). Job regularly offered up sacrifices of burnt offerings to the Lord, to seek forgiveness not only for his own sins, but for the sins of his family as well. At a certain point in time, however, Job lost everything at the instigation of the Devil: his children were killed when a windstorm toppled their house, his cattle were stolen by bandits or destroyed by fire from heaven, and a horrid and disfiguring disease ate away at Job's body. Nevertheless, Job raised his voice to bless the Lord who gives and takes away.

Job also lost the respect of his friends, who foolishly interpreted his catastrophe as a sign of divine disfavor. In the face of their unjust accusations, Job defended himself and the honor of the God with whom he had lived as a friend for so many years. Many of his statements of faith reflect deep prophetic insight, as when he spoke of both the General Resurrection and the Incarnation, saying, "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that He shall stand in the latter days upon the earth; even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God" (Job 19:25-26).

In the end, the Lord vindicated Job by word and deed. First, from the center of a great whirlwind, the Lord silenced both Job and his friends with a recital of His transcendent wisdom that surpasses human understanding. Then the Lord restored the fortunes of Job so that he was twice as wealthy as before. Job lived another one hundred and forty years after his trial. He shines forth forever as a brilliant example of patient and faithful endurance in the face of every conceivable suffering.