Job’s Children

Our Bible reading this week took us into Job.  Since our reading plan is chronological, we are reading the earliest events first. The exact time of Job's life is unknown, but most believe that he was a contemporary of, or came not long before, Abraham. That’s why our plan has us reading about him just before the story of Abraham. 

Job's children are mentioned in chapter 1. We find all ten of them old enough to have houses of their own, which they generously open up to one another in a wonderful example of sibling sharing. 

The harmonious relationship that they had with one another seems to have been the same kind relationship that they had with their parents. 

Job 1:5 states “And it came about, when the days of feasting had completed their cycle, that Job would send and consecrate them, rising up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually”  From this it can be very clearly inferred that they were very outwardly righteous and devout, and gave Job no obvious cause for concern. His concern for them was for secret sins of the heart, which no man can know. He would not have been concerned for such sin if the more common and obvious sins were alive among them.

These children enjoyed as good a life as one could have, right up until Satan took it from them for his own selfish purposes. Surely the great and just God who dealt so right with Job received these kindly as well.