To steal is to wrongfully and selfishly take something that belongs to someone else and place it amongst one’s own possessions.
God offers no account of anyone (apart from Jesus Christ) who ever suffered quite like Job. Job in many ways serves as an example for believers today.
The true riches and honour come only from the Lord (1 Chronicles 29:12). Only the Lord has the infallible wisdom to determine the riches each man can rightfully possess in order to bring God the greatest glory. The Lord warned His people that as their riches increased, they would be tempted to forget the origin of those riches: God. He told them to remember that it was He that gave them power to get wealth in the first place (Deuteronomy 8:18). Solomon stated that the ability of men to possess riches and partake of those riches was the gift of God. Unfortunately, as men’s riches increase, many men lose sight of these truths.
No believer should knowingly marry an unbeliever (2 Corinthians 6:14). Additionally, the unmarried should look for other strengths and weaknesses in a prospective spouse before agreeing to marriage. Oftentimes, these strengths and weaknesses can be seen by interaction with the other’s parents. Isaac lied about Rebekah (Genesis 26:6-7) just as his father Abraham lied about Sarah (Genesis 12:10-13; Genesis 20:1-2). Solomon’s weakness for women (1 Kings 11:1) was first witnessed in his father David (2 Samuel 11:1-4). Rachel learned deception (Genesis 31:32-35) by watching her father act deceptively (Genesis 29:25). A careful observation of parents can reveal prospective problems in a future spouse.
Few men, if any, have been afflicted like Job. His troubles involved the catastrophic loss of family members as well as physical ailments beyond most people's ability to endure. During the depths of these difficult trials, Job's three “friends” (Job 2:11) visited him. They showed up to comfort him but instead turned out to be additional sources of grief. Each word spoken by his friends seemed to compound his already miserable condition and circumstances. Job did not consider this to be the work of a friend and told them that, “To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend.” Later in the same chapter, Job said that his friends dug a pit for him (Job 6:27). Job’s friends should have shown him pity during his troublesome times instead of scorning (Job 16:20) and abhorring him (Job 19:19). True friends know how to comfort and console their friends as they experience trouble and pain in life. They certainly do not unrighteously judge and condemn.
