Job 1:21
And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
We come into the world with nothing and leave it with nothing, for life and all we possess are lent to us by God to hold in trust, and he remains sovereign Lord when they are taken away under his permission. It belongs to the account where God allowed Satan to strip his righteous servant of possessions and children and to afflict his body, showing that grievous suffering is not always the result of a sinful life. Though abhorred by friends who wrongly charged him with bringing it on himself, Job kept his integrity and loyalty to God, and God did not forsake him but afterward lifted him up with greater favor than before. In bereavement it teaches submission to God's sovereignty by acknowledging that what is dearest, even life itself, was received from him and may be removed by him, blessing his name without murmuring or accusation through the loss of children and of a spouse. That confession is upheld by trust in his mercy and comfort in the darkest hour and by hope beyond this world that he will raise the dead in Jesus and reunite those who rest in him.
Trial and Meaning
The words were spoken in the account in which Satan was permitted to vent his wrath upon the righteous servant Job, whom God allowed to be afflicted, showing that suffering is not always the result of a sinful life. When permission was given Job was stripped of everything, losing his worldly possessions and his children and suffering bodily affliction. The affliction was so severe that he suffered greatly and was so afflicted in body that he was abhorred by his relatives and friends. What a person possesses comes from the Lord and may be taken away when God permits it.
His friends wrongly accused him of bringing the suffering upon himself by his own course, and in doing so misrepresented God. Despite loss and severe suffering he preserved his integrity and remained faithful and loyal to God. God had not forsaken him but afterward lifted him up, rewarding him and showing him more favor than before.
The first part of the saying means that people enter the world and leave it with nothing of their own. Life and possessions and wealth are given in trust by God, entrusted to men, and may be taken away under His permission, and He remains sovereign when they are removed. Those who are closely connected with God may therefore lack prosperity in the things of this life and may often be sorely tried and afflicted.
His steadfastness proves the faithfulness of God's promises and His abiding presence and sustaining grace. It proves the power of faith to withstand the powers of the world and worldly opposition and to rest in God in the darkest hour. God does not prevent the plottings of wicked men but causes their devices to work for good to those who maintain faith in trial and conflict. He brings His children near to Him in the furnace of trial and affliction to show them their weakness and His strength and to teach them to lean on Him.
Blessing God in Bereavement
In bereavement a person can submit to God's will and sovereignty by acknowledging that life itself and all that is dear are received as gifts from the Lord that He may take away, and by blessing His name without murmuring or accusing Him. That confession of God's giving and taking away, with His name still worthy of praise, can become the language of the heart through the deaths of children and of a spouse. When a child dies despite all that human care and skill can do, the parents can still submit to the Lord's will and bless His name in recognition that He gave the life and has taken it away.
The confession holds even in the darkest hour because God's mercy is trusted to be present there. Comfort comes through Jesus amid grief, since hope is not confined to this world and death does not end it. The submission is joined with hope in the resurrection, for God comforts the bereaved and enables them to trust His power to give life to the dead, so that those who rest in Jesus will be reunited.
People enter and leave the world with nothing of their own, for wealth is entrusted by God, so those who love money and fail to use what they have to help others cannot take it with them. To attribute a child's death to God when a mother's reckless choices caused or contributed to it is a misuse amounting to blasphemy. This is so, for example, when exposing the child to cold through unsuitable clothing brings on fatal affliction yet the taking away is ascribed to the Lord.