Job 1:20–22 - How Job Worshiped God in Great Tragedy (Session 4)

In this verse-by-verse Bible study of Job 1:20–22, Reasoning Through the Bible examines one of the most powerful responses to suffering in all of Scripture. After losing his children, wealth, and livelihood, Job falls to the ground and worships. This session explores what Job’s response teaches about grief, lament, faith, and the character of true worship in the face of great tragedy.

This study highlights the famous words, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord,” and explains how Job mourned deeply without blaming God. It also considers whether it is really possible to worship God in suffering, how believers should think about earthly possessions, and why eternal treasure matters more than worldly success.

This episode speaks directly to those walking through grief, sudden loss, unanswered questions, and hardship. Job’s example reminds believers that God remains worthy of worship even in pain, and that faith can endure when earthly things are stripped away.

Topics in this episode include:

•  Job 1:20–22 explained 
•  Job’s response to tragedy 
•  worship in suffering 
•  lament without blaming God 
•  the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away 
•  grief and faith in the Bible 
•  eternal treasure over earthly possessions 
•  trusting God in sudden loss 
•  why Job did not sin or blame God 

Reasoning Through the Bible is a verse-by-verse Bible teaching ministry committed to careful exposition, biblical context, and faithful application.

Transcript

Tragedy Reveals What Matters

SPEAKER_00 0:16

No one really knows what will happen in a great tragedy prior to the tragedy. But then when it happens, we find out how we would react, what we're made of, what our internal compass is pointed towards, and we find out what's really important to us. Today we're learning about a man in the Old Testament named Job, and he had a life that was going quite well until it wasn't. Great tragedy happened. Today we're going to see how this man reacted in the face of great tragedy. We are reasoning through the Bible. We go verse by verse through the word of God. We trust that you'll be going along with us. If you have your Bibles, open it to the book of Job. And we're in chapter one. If you were with us last time, we saw God and Satan having a conversation. God initiates the topic of Job. He approaches Satan and says, Have you considered my servant Job? God brings up the subject of Job. We also saw God in total complete control. Satan can only act when God allows it. Satan, along with all the other created beings in heaven, have to periodically parade in front of God as a type of inspection. Well, God lowered the hedge a little bit and said, you can touch the things around Job, but you can't touch him. And we saw Satan then take away Job's children, uh, all of his means of making a living. So he's had great tragedy happen in his life. We pick up today at the end of chapter one. We're going to see how Job responds to this great tragedy that has come on quite suddenly to him in his life. So, Steve, can you read in chapter one, verses 20 to 22?

SPEAKER_01 2:11

Then Job got up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground and worshiped. He said, Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Despite all this, Job did not sin, nor did he blame God.

SPEAKER_00 2:36

And as we mentioned earlier in the study, the book of Job has a lot of very vivid, very descriptive language. Most of the book is written in Hebrew poetry, and it has a lot of repetition of ideas. It has these great phrases, this wonderful literature. Yes, this is a true event that happened in history to real people, but it's also written in very, very great poetry. It's one of the greatest works of literature that's ever been written. And so we have these phrases in here that catch our eye that are just so emotional. Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord take away. So we see there Job's response. So, Steve, what do you think about this response? How do you read that response? What do you think of when you see what Job how Job reacted?

Lament Without Blame

SPEAKER_01 3:33

What I think of is the very last verse. Despite all this, Job didn't sin and he didn't blame God. So although he had all this wealth and livestock, this wealth in families, seven sons, three daughters, and the servants that went with it, and he had to have had a lot of other means by which to feed the livestock and et cetera. So he was very, very wealthy considering the time that he lived. Yet he has this outlook of the Lord gave all this to me, the Lord has taken it away, and he doesn't blame him. He doesn't find any fault in God through this tragedy that has entered his life. So to me, it shows that he has a relationship with God, one such that he understands who God is, how God has blessed him, and that God is going to take care of him no matter what. So to me, it it shows that he has a great relationship with God, even though this tragedy has hit him in such a personal way.

SPEAKER_00 4:37

None of us really know how we would react if we were in the face of a sudden great tragedy. But if we ask this question of ourselves, Steve, how would you say you would react if you were in Job's shoes and suddenly there was this great disaster?

SPEAKER_01 4:52

I hope that I would react the same way that Job would, and I say that, and only because I don't think any of us really know how we would react. We want to react in a certain way, but when the situation comes, we really won't know it until it actually happens. My thought is that it would be the same type of reaction. I know where my destination is. I know where my citizenship is. As Paul says, our citizenship is in heaven. And that's the ultimate direction that I'm headed. I'm going to have a glorified body. This is not the body that I'm going to have here. All of my earthly things that I have aren't going to be part of that. So I would hope that I would have the same outlook and response that Job had.

SPEAKER_00 5:35

In this chapter, God approached Satan. Have you considered my servant Job? Satan makes the accusation, and then God says, okay, I'm going to lower the hedge just a little bit, and you can go this far and no further. Satan then attacks everything around Job. That's what we see here in chapter one. So does God give an answer as to why he's allowing Satan to do this?

SPEAKER_01 6:02

No, he doesn't. Not at this point in the narrative. And we know ultimately he doesn't give one either. But no, he doesn't give any type of answer directly to Job at this point.

SPEAKER_00 6:12

And I think overall, that's really one of the lessons of the book. God has a purpose, or we wouldn't see what we're seeing. The whole book is to help communicate to us some truth. But God, from start to finish, never really gives an answer as to why he's allowing this. What we do have, if you look at the end of verse 20, we have what Job does. So what does Job do after this tragedy?

SPEAKER_01 6:39

It says that he got up, tore his robe, shaved his head, fell to the ground, but then he worshiped God. So he is lamenting over what happened, but at the same time, he's not cursing God, he's worshiping him still.

SPEAKER_00 6:54

It's interesting. In the face of huge tragedy, again, he he he loses 10 children, all of his wealth, suddenly all in one afternoon. And the first thing he does is worship God. Then, if we look at the end of verse 21, what is the first thing he says?

SPEAKER_01 7:12

He gives this view of naked, I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there, meaning that he came into this world with nothing. And at this point, he, if he were to be taken, he'd be taken out with anything.

SPEAKER_00 7:27

And he sums it up with blessed be the name of the Lord. So I find it interesting. Here is this man. And again, God had said at the beginning of the book, he was blameless and upright and feared God. Therefore, great tragedy happens. And the first thing Job does is worship God and bless God. Now, Satan had said, God, he's going to curse you to your face if you take away all these things. Exactly the opposite happened, which was it caused Job to worship God and bless God. So we see here a true believer, a true faithful servant of God, in the sense of great tragedy, in the face of that, he blesses God. He doesn't curse God and try to walk off and separate himself. That is a great example for us. Then in the last verse in this chapter, through all this, Job did not sin, nor did he blame God. Steve, what does that tell us about Job as a person?

SPEAKER_01 8:28

It tells us that he was upright and feared God as God posed it to Satan as to the type of person that Job was. We see who Job is just like God said that he was.

Can We Worship While Suffering?

SPEAKER_00 8:44

Job's a character in the Bible. We can hear ourselves say, okay, this is a real person, really happened in history, but it's still something we're reading about in the scriptures. We're hearing about it in the scriptures. If this were to happen to us or happen to someone near us, in today's world, is it really possible in the face of great tragedy, is it really possible that the first thing we do is worship God and praise God in the midst of great tragedy? The reason I ask that is because there are people in the face of tragedy use that as evidence to walk away from God. There's been great individual tragedies that's happened to people. There's been great world tragedies, and people think sometimes wrongfully, but they nevertheless think this. Well, if God's going to allow that tragedy, how could I follow such a God? So is it possible in a real world, in the face of real true suffering, to worship God and bless God?

Eternal Treasure Over Earthly Stuff

SPEAKER_01 9:47

I can emphatically say yes, in that I've had a personal tragedy and losing my wife many years ago to cancer. And I could say that at her passing, while it was very emotional for me and tragic for me, I can't describe the words as to how tragic it was. At the same time, it was a relief knowing that she was no longer in any pain and knowing where she was, that she was now present with the Lord and Jesus, and that I would, at some point, in my belief, going to be able to see her again. So it's a situation, very much what I think maybe Job is thinking. Of course, that's just one of my relatives. He lost seven of his sons and his three daughters all at one time. But I think it does give a glimpse as to Job's outlook. Later on, we're going to see Job say that he knows that his Redeemer lives. He has this view of resurrection and an afterlife. He has this relationship with God. So even though this tragedy has struck him, he I think has this outlook that God is there taking care of everything, and that he's going to see his sons and daughters again. That they are with God in a spiritual sense. And from that particular point of view, then you can worship God. And you can have this attitude of, I came into the world with nothing, I'm going to leave with nothing. The Lord gives and the Lord takes. You have this unique perspective with this relationship that you have with God. So, yes, I think at a particular point of tragedy in one's life, if they have a relationship with Jesus Christ, who we believe to be God, then we can go through these situations and still have an attitude of worship.

SPEAKER_00 11:50

Verse 21 has this very emotional language: naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there. Again, very beautiful language, but it communicates a great spiritual truth. How much of our money and our belongings are going to have eternal consequences?

SPEAKER_01 12:10

None of them are going to have eternal consequences as far as the monetary wealth that we have or the things that we've accumulated. Jesus himself says, Love the Lord your God, but he also says, store up your treasure that's in heaven, where your heart is, that's where your treasure is going to be. So the long-lasting effects that we have are through the deeds that we do here and the rewards that we're going to get. Those deeds are going to be reviewed at what is known as the Bima seat of Christ. The Bima is just being a raised platform. Everything that we have done, both good and bad, is going to be judged, not for salvation. It's clear, the scripture says, but it's going to be judged as to the rewards that we have. So those rewards aren't dependent upon the monetary wealth that we've accumulated or the other type of material wealth. It's dependent on the things that we have done here in regards to Jesus. Jesus gave us the great commission, go spread the gospel, making disciples in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. That's the commission that we've been given to do. Teach his word, make disciples, bring those to Christ in a relationship with him. Those type of things that we are doing, those are the ones that are going to last because that's the treasure that we're storing up in heaven.

Practical Steps Toward A Godly Outlook

SPEAKER_00 13:43

It makes me think of the line, you know, Steve, whenever the richest man in the world dies, you know, how much he's going to leave? How much? He's going to leave all of it. He's going to leave all of it. He's not going to take any of it with him. And that's true with all of us. So the money, belongings, we're going to leave all of it. We can't take it with us. It's those things do not have eternal consequences. And it's the same thing with our accomplishments. The things that we do here, the things we accomplish, how many of those will have eternal consequences? Well, the things we do for ourselves or the things we do for the world's recognition, none of that will have eternal consequences. We'll be good to be remembered two days after we die, let alone eternally. What does have eternal consequences is when we do work for the Lord. That will have some great consequences in the sense of connecting people's lives with the Word of God. That will have great eternal consequences because the people that we influence will turn around and influence others. We also know here that the things that we accumulate in our lifetime and all of the things we accomplish, we're gonna leave all that behind. We're tempted to say that we came with nothing and will leave with nothing, but it's not exactly true. We can take to heaven those that we lead to Christ. Those kind of things will have eternal consequences. Too often, I think we need to take Job's perspective. Too many people today hold on to possessions instead of holding on to God. We should ask ourselves, if I lost all my possessions, that's what happened to Job here. He lost all of his possessions. We should ask ourselves, if that happened to me, I lost my family, what would I do? Would I despair or would I worship God like Job did? We have here a great example of this man who just lost all of the worldly things that you could ever lose. The first thing he does is worship God. And the one of the first things he says is, I couldn't take it with me anyway. So praise the Lord. When we get to him and face to face with the Lord, and he asks us, What did you do with what I gave you? What answer will we have? Will we be able to say, I did work for you, Lord, that has eternal consequences? Or will we just say, Well, I spent it all and I wasted it? I'm reminded of a seminary professor that I had that when he was young, he had been on the national championship football team. They won the collegiate national championship for that sport. He told me the, you know, the day it happened, of course, he was he was elated. This was the height of his sports career. He said three months later, it was all kind of forgotten, the emotion was gone, and it was just back to regular life, and it really didn't have any carryover three to four months later, let alone eternally. And that's when he started questioning his life and came to Christ. So, Steve, with all of that, what can we do when, because we all get kind of sucked in sometimes to these ideas of earthly accomplishments and earthly possessions, what can we do on a practical basis to ensure that we don't get attached to worldly things, but take a godly perspective?

SPEAKER_01 17:12

First thing, if we aren't already, is to give our life to Jesus Christ, to recognize the sin that we have and there's a debt to be paid, and that Jesus in his death, burial, and resurrection paid that sin debt, and that we can have eternal life. Confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts, and we shall be saved, as Paul says in the book of Romans, and build that relationship with Jesus Christ. That's the first thing. Because once we do that, Paul lets us know that we are now a new creation and that we have a different attitude. Now that's what Paul says, but I can tell you from personal experience, that's also what you feel. You have a different outlook on life because you know that your death no longer has power over you, and that your spiritual life is going to be one that's going to be eternal and it's going to be living with Jesus. So that changes you. Once that change takes place, then you come to a realization that the things here on earth aren't things that we've just got through talking about, that's not going to go with us. So what's lasting is the treasures that you have in heaven. Everything that we've been talking about is what you know your life is about. Now, that doesn't mean that you don't falter. I faltered many times. It doesn't mean that you might stray from God. I strayed from God for a period of my life. But through all of that time, I had salvation and I knew I had salvation. And when I came to a point that I got serious about my relationship with Jesus, and part of that was to be serious about my family and that they needed to have a relationship with Jesus as well, and I needed to be that example, then my life even took a greater turn towards Jesus Christ. So you have this difference of attitude once you become a believer of who you are, what your purpose here is on the earth, because it's it has a matter of where you're going. So your outlook on life. We're told to love one another, especially fellow Christians. All of those things go through the book of James. If you want to have a learning of how to live a practical Christian life, go and study and read through the book of James, and you'll get all of those practical things that are there. So your life changes. And your question was how can we hedge against being attached to these earthly things, have a relationship with Jesus Christ, because that truly will change your life?

Does God Have The Right?

SPEAKER_00 19:59

The last part of Job 121 says, The Lord gave and the Lord is taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. So, how much of our possessions and the things that we have are given to us by God?

SPEAKER_01 20:12

Everything that we have is given to us by God. We've been created. We are an imager of God. The body that we have, the creation that He has, the environment, how we have rain cycles and we have seasons. We can plant crops which are self-sustaining because they produce seeds that we can then grow again. All of the things that we have, one way or another, has been given to us by God. Now, whether or not somebody recognizes that, that's a different question. But everything that we have has been given to us by God. And when we have that perspective on it, because we have a relationship with him through Jesus Christ, then again, our life changes and our perspective changes, and we acknowledge that what we have is here given to us by God.

SPEAKER_00 21:06

So he says here, Glad out, the Lord has given these things to us. We're down here soaking up his sunshine and breathing his air and enjoying his reign. Therefore, he gave us all these things. The follow-up question is: Does he have the right to take them back again? That's what Job is claiming. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Does God have the right to take all our possessions and the things we own? Can he take those back again?

SPEAKER_01 21:37

Yes, if he's given them to us, then he can take them back. Now, the question is when does a loving God want to do that? Well, sometimes it has to do with discipline. Sometimes we're not given the answer. What's happening here to Job is not because of discipline. Job doesn't know why it's it's happening. We know it because we're reading the narrative of What's going on? Job is a righteous, upright person with a correct relationship with God. He is a God-fearing person. He worships God. He offers burnt sacrifices on behalf of his sons and daughters just in case they might have offended God. So we have this vision of Job. And what is it? God offers him up to Satan, the accuser, because of the relationship that he has with God. So what is happening with Job is not a disciplinary matter. And so sometimes what happens to us might be discipline for what we've done. It might be consequences of what we've done that we've brought upon ourselves. Or it could just be something there that's uh in relation to showing someone else how a proper relationship with God can be a blessing in the long run. And I think that's part of what we're going to see as we continue in our study with Job, is that there's a blessing that will come out of this situation that Job is going through.

Round Two Teaser And Closing

SPEAKER_00 23:13

The accusation that Satan had made to God earlier in this chapter was that, yeah, it's easy for Job to follow you, God, when he's wealthy and he's got all these family and his health. Take all those things away and he'll curse you to your face. Well, Satan did take all these things away. In the last verse of chapter one, through all this, Job did not sin, nor did he blame God. So Job has passed the first test. Job did not sin. He did not blame God. Each of us should ask ourselves, what would happen to me if I lost everything around me? If I suddenly lost all my money, if I lost all my family, would I still worship God? Would I still follow him and be faithful? And if the answer is no, then why are you really having faith with him now? Is it because of the blessings? That's what Satan had said. It was because of the blessings. So I submit that God is worthy, regardless of whether he rains down on us money. Some of us would sin more greatly if we had more possessions. So Satan attacked Job, but he passed the first test. He did not sin, nor did he blame God. And Steve, what's interesting to me is we're told by the scholars this is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, book in the Bible. And yet the meaning is so up to date. It's current to our lives right now. We probably should stop right there for today. We're at the end of chapter one. Good place to pause for now. Chapter two, we're gonna see round two when Satan comes back to attack Job again. So be back next time as we continue to reason through the book of Job. Thank you so much for watching and listening.

SPEAKER_01 25:04

May God bless you.