SSLS 2016-12-19
2016 4th Quarter
Lesson 13, December 17-23, The Character of Job
Monday, December 19
When Job reminisced with deep longing for his life before calamity, he acknowledged just how good life had been for himself. But notice, also, how he connects those blessings to his righteous works so deeply grounded in the principle of unselfishness.
“Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me;… When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about me; When I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poured me out rivers of oil;… When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me: Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem.” KJV, Job 29:2, 5, 6, 11-14.
Job’s righteousness will bear fruit in the Kingdom of Heaven. And so shall it bear fruit for us in God’s presence. “When the redeemed stand around the throne of God, those who have been saved from sin and degradation will come to those who worked for them with the words of greeting, ‘I was without God and without hope in the world. I was perishing in corruption and sin. I was starving for physical and spiritual food. You came to me in love and pity, and fed and clothed me. You pointed me to the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world.'” (Ellen White, Letter 74, 1901. Also, Vol. 7, Testimonies for the Church, 238.)
Why would Satan consider Job? Because the righteousness of Job reflected the unselfish love of God. Satan had rejected God’s wisdom and love.
“Unselfishness, the principle of God’s kingdom, is the principle that Satan hates; its very existence he denies. From the beginning of the great controversy he has endeavored to prove God’s principles of action to be selfish, and he deals in the same way with all who serve God. To disprove Satan’s claim is the work of Christ and of all who bear His name.” (Ellen White, Education, 154.)
“It is not our right to live to please ourselves in spirit, thought, word, or action. As Christians we have duties to do for the benefit of others. We owe to all our contribution to increase the sum of human happiness. In order to do this we must draw from the source of infinite grace through our Lord Jesus Christ. We must let the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness shine into our hearts, that we may reflect light to others. We may daily be blessed, and be a blessing to others, promoting love, joy, and peace wherever we go. With Job we may say, ‘When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me.’ A large share of life’s happiness depends upon giving and receiving Christ-like courtesy. The sharp, rude angles and rough points in our character, the manifestation of selfishness in unkind words and actions, tear away the delicate fabric of human love and happiness.” (Ellen White, Review and Herald, July 18, 1893.)