Job was the man who was considered the wealthiest person in the east during his time.
As the Bible says, “Seven sons and three daughters were born to him. His possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and very many servants; and that man was the greatest of all the men of the east,” (Job 1:2–3).
Now, you might assume that with all of this wealth, Job had every need met and every desire fulfilled. But interestingly enough, his prosperity is actually the second thing that God mentions about him, not the first.
It’s important to think about our culture today and how we view the wealthy. When you think of the people you know who are wealthy, does their wealth come to mind first or does their desire for God come first?
Job was a man who was not only wealthy, but also godly and right with both God and his neighbors. His life, as depicted in this story, is truly picture-perfect. I would argue that Job’s wealth is necessary for the story to unfold, but it’s almost incidental.
The point is that Job heard the voice of God “out of the storm” (Job 38:1), and that his prosperity served as a backdrop for a great test that was coming, followed even more greatly by a blessing of a strengthened faith towards God.
So let’s learn from Job’s story and remember that wealth, though it may be nice to have, is not what defines us as people. It’s our relationship with God that truly matters in this life.
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For the next devotion in this series click here.