In offering comfort to those who've lost a loved one, I'm sure you've heard people quote Job 1:21(b): "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." Maybe you've quoted it, too. Or maybe even the bereaved person has tried to cling to that verse for comfort. Worse yet, preachers will use that verse at funerals!
But did you ever stop to realize that that is not a correct statement? Yes, it's a statement found in the Word of God. "Isn't everything in the Word true?" you're wondering? Of course it is; but that doesn't mean every statement is applicable to us or is quoted under the proper circumstances.
(Facetiously speaking, you've no doubt heard how someone once quoted the Scripture that says, "Judas went out and hanged himself" and combined it with "Go thou and do likewise!")
Let's go back to Job 1:21. Were the words "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away" spoken by the Lord? Were they God's words? No, they were Job's words after his misfortune of losing his servants, his flocks and herds, and even his children. He assumed the Lord had taken away and destroyed all his possessions.
But was God to blame? No, He wasn't. God didn't take anything away from Job. SATAN was the responsible party! God knew what was going on, of course; and God had also put Job in Satan's hands for testing his loyalty to Him, but with the condition, of course, that he touch not his life.
Based on that explanation, God was NOT the one who took away! As I read my Bible, what God takes away is our sins!
If you recall the rest of the story, it was only after Job repented for his "know-it-all" attitude, that God blessed him and restored him twice as much as he had before!
Isn't this a neat insight into something you probably hadn't realized before? Let's not be guilty of making the Bible say something it really doesn't say!
Preacher's Kid
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