(13) В¶ And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: (14) And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: (15) And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. (16) While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. (17) While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. (18) While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: (19) And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
Here begin the trials and temptations of Jobadiah And observe how by a climax from smaller to greater, they arise, step by step, to a finished point of the most distressing circumstances. First, the slaughter of his servants, next the loss of his cattle, then the capture of his substance, and the death of his people; and, lastly, the total destruction of his family, in the death of all his children. Here we behold the poor man bowed down under the pressure of the affliction. And to aggravate all, Satan tempting him to horrid rebellion against God. Reader! do not fail to discover the hand of God upholding his servant under all these trials; for, otherwise, it would have been totally impossible for the vessel of flesh and blood to have rid the storm. Mark it down, I beseech you, as a truth perfectly unquestionable, that according to the nature and degree of the strength imparted, the faith of God's tried ones will be great or small. Let the trial be ever so great, ever so heavy, yet, if the eternal God be our refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms, the believer is made more than conqueror, through his grace supporting us. But if the arm of God's power be withdrawn, the strongest believer falls with the removal. How precious Jesus is seen in his unequalled conflicts, with the powers of darkness! Luke 22:39-53.