Monday: Steps Bathed in Cream

As Job struggled to come to terms with the calamity that befell him, he did think about his past life and how good it had been for him and how he had lived. Talking about the earlier days, Job said that in this time “ ‘my steps were bathed with cream’ ” (Job 29:6, NKJV).

Image © Lars Justinen Goodsalt.com

For instance, in Job 29:2, Job talked about the time that “ ‘God [has] watched over me.’ ” (NKJV). The Hebrew word for “watched over” comes from a common word used all through the Old Testament to talk about God’s watchcare for His people (see Ps. 91:11, Num. 6:24). Beyond question, Job had the good life. The important thing, too, was that he knew that he had the good life.

Read Job 29:8–17. What do these verses tell us about how others had viewed Job and how he treated those who were struggling?

We can see here just how much Job was respected. The phrase about his taking his “ ‘seat in the open square’ ” (Job 29:7, NKJV) brings in the idea of some sort of local governance, of which Job was obviously a part. Such seats would usually be given to the senior and respected members of the society, and among them Job was highly esteemed.

But we can see that even the “lowest” members of the society loved and respected him. The poor, the perishing, the blind, the widow, the fatherless, the lame, and the blind—those who had not been blessed as Job had been blessed were the very ones to whom he gave aid and comfort.

“God has given in His word a picture of a prosperous man—one whose life was in the truest sense a success, a man whom both heaven and earth delighted to honor.” — Ellen G. White, Education, p. 142.

Verses like these and others (as we will see) show us why Job had been a very successful person in every way, both in the sight of men and of God.

It’s easy to be kind and respectful to the rich and the powerful and the famous. How, though, do you treat those who have nothing to offer you at all?