WHAT A RICH MAN! If giving is not enough when someone asks us for help, he was the type of man that did not wait for someone to ask, he searched for those who needed help. Could this have been a reason for his wealth?

In the Bible, God has provides us with practical guidance on how to live above the stresses of life, and we are given instructions on how to manage the resources He has given us.

In this series,

From a biblical perspective, we are looking at how to effectively manage the resources God has given us while prioritizing What Really Matters.

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Let’s Pray

Heavenly Father, in your word, you say blessed is the person who considers the poor. Thank You for such a promise. We ask that you will help us to make it our duty to consider the poor.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen 

He was that kind of man. Job did not wait for the poor to come to him. He searched out those who were in need and offered his assistance. Sounds like someone who offers excellent customer service!

Job was such an outstanding manager of God’s resources that we see in Job 1:8 God commending him to Satan.

What does God say about him?

8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” (Job 1:8) 

This man, Job, was so perfect and upstanding that no one else on the earth at that time could compare to him. This commendation of Job did not come from someone else, it come directly out of the mouth of God. 

You need to know that this commendation brought on an outright attack from Satan. Job experienced one catastrophe after another. Yet with each disaster,  God repeated his commendation of Job. There is no one on earth like Job. He was perfect and upright. This God could say even after Job’s adversary Satan was allowed to introduce the element of the disaster to his life.

What’s more, after these attacks, God in Job 2:3, applauds Job to his adversary Satan, adding:

3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still, he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.” (Job 2:3)

In Job, we are allowed to get a powerful glimpse of the war between good and evil through the life of Job.

Job maintains his integrity and uprightness. We see him refusing to let go of God despite all that happens to him. Job’s wife even seems to turn against him. She says some terrible words to him in Job 2:9:

Job 2:9

9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9)

 Job had to feel pretty bad by what his wife said.

But, in Job 29:12-16 we learn something else about the character of Job that shows us what he was like before all the calamities fell upon him.

12 Because I delivered the poor who cried out, The fatherless and the one who had no helper.

13 The blessing of a perishing man came upon me, And I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.

14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; My justice was like a robe and a turban. 

15 I was eyes to the blind, And I was feet to the lame.

16 I was a father to the poor, And I searched out the case that I did not know. (Job 29:12-16)

One of the most insightful things Job says here is in:

Job 29:16

16 I was a father to the poor, And I searched out the case that I did not know. (Job 29:16).

That is so awesome! Job didn’t wait for people in need to come to him for help. Job was proactive rather than reactive. Job went looking for people in need. Then he did everything he could to help them.

This is what is advised in Testimonies for the Church, “Do not wait for them [the poor] to call your attention to their needs. Act as did Job. The thing that he knew not, he searched out. Go on an inspecting tour and learn what is needed and how it can be best supplied.”—Testimonies for the Church, volume 5, page 151.

How Job responded to those in need is to be commended. It is the level of money management and stewardship of God’s resources that is beyond the practice of many of God’s professed people today.

Yet God in Isaiah 58:6–8 expresses this desire for his people.

6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?

7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh?

8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. (Isaiah 58:6-8)

Here is what happens when we open our hands wide to those in need.

“As you open your door to Christ’s needy and suffering ones, you are welcoming unseen angels. You invite the companionship of heavenly beings. They bring a sacred atmosphere of joy and peace. They come with praises upon their lips, and an answering strain is heard in heaven. Every deed of mercy makes music there. The Father from His throne numbers the unselfish workers among His most precious treasures.”— The Desire of Ages, p. 639.

God in Psalms 41:1-10 declares deliverance to those who consider the poor. Listen to what it says in Psalms 41:1

1  Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him; (Psalms 41:1)

In the end, God delivered Job.

No, helping the poor will not save you. Because we are saved by God’s grace and our faith in Jesus Christ. But they are sure thermometers of our relationship with God and others.  Blessed is the person who considers the poor!

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