“But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he (Job) hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord” (Job 1: 11, 12).
Today the word “stuff” generally means personal property or provisions. “Stuff” originally meant “stop up a hole with a plug of coarse fibres.”
Today when we hear someone say “don’t touch my stuff,” we know they mean don’t touch their personal property. By “stuff” they mean all their stuff, their stuff includes their children, things in their house, in their yard, in their car, in their storage, and even in their desk at work. We get upset when people mess with or touch our stuff. How we react when people touch our stuff reveals a lot about us.
Job had a lot of stuff. “And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. His substance (stuff) also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen (one thousand oxen), and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east” (Job 1: 2, 3). Our children are included as stuff because they belong to the parents and whenever someone touches the children they touch the parents.
The word “touch” means “to lay the hand upon, to strike, smite, or hit violently.” With Job, when God gave Satan permission to touch his stuff, it was giving Satan permission to take his stuff. That’s why we don’t want people touching our stuff. We’re afraid they’ll take our stuff.
People get their identity and are defined by the stuff they collect and possess. They impress others with their stuff. If they lose their stuff they lose their identity and can no longer define themselves.
Satan knows the importance people place on their stuff. He knows that if he touches their stuff he’s touched their nerve center and things are bound to happen as a result of touching their stuff. The more stuff we have the more stuff Satan can touch and the more impact it will make on our lives. The less stuff we have the less there is for Satan to touch and the less impact touching our little stuff will make on us.
Satan assumed that Job’s faith in God was based on all the stuff he had received from God, and that by taking away his stuff he could destroy his faith. Satan essentially accused God of paying Job to worship Him. And that would be spiritual blackmail.
When Job lost all his stuff he recalled how he brought no stuff with him when he was born and that he’d carry no stuff with him when he died (v. 21).
The word “stuff” also means “any immaterial principle or essence; as, the stuff of which brave men are made.” Job passed the trial in which all his stuff was taken because he was made of the right stuff.
I Listened Today
I listened today to all the sounds
To decipher them in an orderly way.
I listened carefully so I might find,
What makes all the noise that comes my way.
♢
All those sounds heard together make a noise,
But when each one is singled out,
And has a chance to make its own sound,
We’re surprised at the beauty that’s all about.
♢
I listened carefully to each single sound,
As it curled it’s way up into my ear,
Some made a sound I heard from afar,
Others whispered so low I could barely hear.
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But I heard the katydid in his tree,
And I heard the mighty ocean roar.
I heard the wind walking barefoot through the grass,
And I heard the fair maiden snore.
♢
I heard the snake sliding slowly through the weeds,
And the bugs crawling on the dry leaves.
I heard the rain dancing on my old tin roof,
And heard her laugh as she slid over the eaves.
♢
I heard the eagle scream high in the sky,
Then the rabbit run quickly down the path.
I heard the fishes splashing in the pond,
And the mockingbird taking his bath.
♢
I listened to the hound in the distant woods,
And the cricket chirping in the brush.
I listened to the fat ole river rolling by,
And the singing of the fluted thrush.
♢
I listened to children playing on the beach,
And an old sailor tell his favorite tale.
I listened to seagulls on an ebony bay,
And the muffled clapping of a departing sail.
♢
I listened to the late night train whistle blow
As it rumbled through the majestic hills.
I listened to the sounds of home at ev’ning
And I felt the feelings they make me feel.
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Everything had a distinctive sound,
That set it apart from all of the rest.
One has to un-thread them from all the noise,
And listen to their sound as it falls and crest.
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I listened also for another sound
A sound I had hoped to hear today,
The sound of the trumpet at Jesus’ return
When our Savior comes to call His Bride away.
James H. Cagle
