The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away.
Job's response to losing everything — in one day.
The episode in a glance.
- 01Job lost his children, his wealth, and his health in a single day.
- 02His first response was worship, not anger.
- 03'Blessed be the name of the Lord' — in loss and in plenty.
- 04Job's faith wasn't dependent on his circumstances.
Read along.
Job 1:21 — 'And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."' This is Job, literally on the ground, having just lost everything he owned and all ten of his children.
The messengers came one after another. Your oxen are gone. Your sheep are gone. Your camels are gone. Your children are dead. And Job's first act is to fall down and worship. Not question. Not curse. Worship.
'The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away.' This is not fatalism. Job isn't saying nothing matters. He's saying everything belongs to God. What I had was a gift. What I lost was also his to take. And his name is still worthy of praise.
'Blessed be the name of the Lord.' In all this, Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. That's the line that makes this verse famous. Job wasn't happy. He was devastated. But he didn't blame God. He worshiped him. That's a different level of faith.
This is the test everyone fears: can you worship God when he takes instead of gives? Job's answer was yes. And it's the answer that made him the model of suffering faith for the rest of history.