To know that someone loves us is a joyous matter. It is a tremendous pleasure to know that someone is really happy about us. When parents, relatives, teachers, bosses or friends commend our efforts, we know our labours have not been in vain.
However, very often people forget or neglect our real efforts. Worse still, some people repay our efforts with false allegations, slander and even persecution. Very often, the labours of God’s people have gone unnoticed and unrewarded. This is even true in churches. But the Lord whom we worship and serve is a great rewarder of our service for Him.
The Lord Jesus said, "And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward" (Matthew 10:42). The Lord looks upon every faithful, upright child of His with great pleasure. He will commend them. He is eager to talk about them before His Father and the holy angels. In Luke 12:8, we read Jesus as saying, "Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God."
The Lord’s remark about Job in Job 1:7-8 shows that He would acknowledge His servant not only before the Father and the holy angels but even before His arch-enemy, the devil. "And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?" (Job 1:7-8).
The above remarks of the Lord remind me of the truth that the psalmist wrote about a happy father who delights in his children before his enemies: "Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate" (Psalm 127:5).
The devil is a false accuser and a destroyer of the testimonies of God’s children. So, God holds up his faithful child, Job, as a trophy of His victory over Satan. The Lord delights to lift up the testimony of His servant Job for His own glory, and to the shame of His wicked foe.
Take note that God’s praise of Job is very open and lavish. He is unrestrained in His commendation of His child. If the devil dared to question Job’s integrity at this point of time, he would not be just challenging Job, but the LORD God Himself and His perfect integrity. So the devil did not put up an argument about the truthfulness of God’s statement concerning Job.
We must also note that here the Lord was not defending Job, but commending him. The righteousness of the child of God was His arrow against the devil. Again, my mind goes back to Psalm 127:4, 5 - "As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate."
I certainly believe that the Lord will be very pleased to take glory through the sanctified lives of His people. O saints of God, how do you feel in your heart today to know that your Lord is very proud of you and that you are His prime subject of His boast before His arch-enemy?
Be like Job. Well, I am not suggesting that you must be rich as Job. The world may appreciate you if you are rich. But notice that the Lord had not boasted to Satan about Job’s wealth! Rather, the Lord’s praise of Job was all about his spiritual virtues. In verse 8, we read, "And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?"
This truth is brought to our attention by the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 9:24, "But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD."
The Lord delights in lovingkindness, judgment and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things He delights. So, those who are His saints must know what will please their Lord, and go about fulfilling His pleasure and be His delight:
I am sure some of you might be thinking how you can ever be a delight to Him, knowing that sin will not make the Lord happy with you and that there are sins that easily beset you? Are you wondering, “Can I ever be His delight?”
Dear brethren, this is the time when we must look to the Lord. To be the delight of the Lord, we must trust in our Redeemer all the time, that we may be cleansed and sanctified. Job 19:25 says, "For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth". (Cf. Job 33:26 - "He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto him: and he shall see his face with joy: for he will render unto man his righteousness.")