| Job 1:1-5
Starting with scene one we learn a lot about the man Job. Job 1:1 sets the scene for us. Here we learn that Job was from the Land of Uz. In the introduction we saw that the Land of Uz was part of Arabia.
Job’s home was a desert. Job’s name means the persecuted one. This
comes from the Hebrew and Greek Septuagint root of the word, in the
Arabic Job’s name means repentance. It seems his name was given in
anticipation of the events that were to take place in the life of Job.
Both meanings apply and make sense. The giving of a name to anticipate
an event was a common practice of the times. A name could also be given
to commemorate an event that had already happened. We are not sure
which is the case for Job.
Job’s character is then described.
Four basic facts about Job are stated. One is that he was perfect, two
was that he was upright, the third that he feared God and the last that
he shunned evil. In the Septuagint we learn that the word perfect means
a life of integrity. A paraphrases from Job out of the Septuagint says;
“He was a man who was true, blameless, just, pious, abstaining from
every evil.” It is clear that Job was a man of integrity in all
relationships of life. He is not sinless though; this comes from his
own confession later in the book. (Job 9:20; 42:5,6)
The term upright indicates a straightness of character. He was a
religious man. He had a high and holy concept of God. Because of the
above, Job’s fourth trait was that he departed from the evil. The sense
here is more of a hatred for evil. Thus Job’s life contained the four
elements essential to true religion.
From verses 2 and 3 we
learn of Job’s great wealth. First we learn of the size of his family.
We are given only numbers, no names. We know that he had seven sons and
three daughters. These children were well cared for as all of Job’s
wealth is mentioned next. Job owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke
of oxen, 500 she-asses, and a very great household. As job’s wealth is
mentioned we need to notice what is not mentioned. This is the land.
Job was part of a nomadic culture and therefore moved from place to
place according to the need for forage for his animals. It is believed
that Job possibly had two homes or residences, a permanent one and the
one that moved with the animals.
To understand the wealth of
Job one must understand the importance of the animals he owned to the
people of his day. Camels were beasts of burden and were very valuable
to the Arabic nomad. Their unique makeup made them invaluable and thus
someone with so many would be considered rich. The oxen point to the
fact that Job might have done some farming, thus the indication of a
permanent residence. She-asses were considered almost as valuable as
camels. They required less food than horses, could be ridden, and the
mike could be used for food.
Concerning the mention of the
large household, it is not clear as to whether or not those mentioned
were slaves. It is clear that in one form or another they were
servants. This large number of people would require wealth for their
care. This also is an indicator of Job’s wealth, the ability to care
for so many people.
At the end of verse three we are made
aware of Job’s fame. It is believed to have been far-reaching and
considered to be great. He was known in all the land to the east. This
would be the land east of Palestine and was a vast area. He was a man of importance and well known with great influence.
As
we move into verse four we learn more about Job’s family. This family
observed the custom of the day and had many family get-togethers. This
feasting was more of a family gathering than an extravagant party, such
as families in today’s era might do for fellowship or a Sunday dinner.
The gathering was not for the purpose of excesses or drunkenness. The
word drink means to gather together, to banquet together. It signals
the children of Job gathered together for a good time. Also it is seen
that everyone took their turn hosting the gatherings. Possibly the
birthdays set the gathering times. The picture being described is that
of a large family living in harmony. The fact that the young sisters
were included supports the idea of a family oriented gathering instead
of a gathering for the purpose of revelry.
As the siblings
gather to fellowship, Job went to work offering sacrifices. The text
supports the idea that this offering was not done for the specific
wrong doings but for things that might have happened. It is a bit hazy
as to when Job might have begun his offerings. The Septuagint renders
this to mean, “When the days of entertainment were finished.” In other
works, the idea is that the festivals have gone full circle. Never the
less it is important to note Job’s concern for the spiritual welfare of
his entire family. Job gathers his family around him and he offers
sacrifices to God to renew his sons and daughters relationship with
God. Job feared that in the partying that God had not been properly
remembered. Job acts as the high priest of his family and he acts to
make pure, or to consecrate his children to God. He procured
forgiveness for them according to the custom or practice of the time.
Both Noah and Abraham acted the same for their families. (Genesis 8:20; Genesis 12:7,8; Genesis 13:18; Genesis 22:13)
This
section of the drama is closed with a clear understanding of the person
Job. It is the picture of a wealthy man with a good family who is
devote in his religious practices. Verse 5 states that Job regularly
offered sacrifices for his family or in other words acted as the high
priest of his home. This picture does not lend itself to the support of
the kind of treatment Job will receive from his friends later in the
book. The curtain falls on a life where things are going well.
Job 1:6-12
Scene
two opens in a different location, heaven. There are different
characters, but Job remains the focal point though not seen. We find
that we are looking at a meeting. God is meeting with the sons of God
who give an account of their activities and then receive more orders of
what they are to do. The language gives the impressions of a monarch
receiving reports from returning messengers or ambassadors on the
important matters of state. This type of meeting would be set on a
fixed day with a fixed time. We are not made privy of when the meeting
takes place, just that it happened. The whole narrative supports the
notion that the sons of God are angels or celestial beings. We also do
not find any fixed number in attendance. The gathering could have been
very large. Nowhere does the passage imply that this is not an ordinary
meeting.
To this meeting comes a very unusual visitor. The
word Satan paints a vivid picture in the mind. This word means
basically the same thing in all ancient texts. The idea is that of an
adversary or an accuser in a court of justice, one who opposes, as in a
war. Its first usages were in the common form. It is only later that it
becomes a proper noun and a name that is applied to the prince of evil,
the accuser of men. Thus it is clear that the being that enters this
meeting is evil and not one of the sons of God.
God does not
appear surprised by Satan’s appearance but rather uses this appearance
to question Satan’s activities. Satan is asked for an accounting of his
activity. This shows then that even Satan is subject to God and
dependant upon God’s commands. Satan responds that he has been moving
to and fro in the earth. The meaning here is of one moving rapidly, one
in a hurry, passing from place to place. The idea is of Satan being is
a hurry to make a survey of the earth. The context implies the intent
of Satan’s journey is to investigate the affairs of humans with the
goal of opposing good men.
God draws the attention of Satan to
Job. He actually asked Satan whether he has considered Job. The literal
translation is whether Satan has set his heart on Job. This is more
than mere observation. It implies a close attention to the affairs of
Job with the intent to injure him. God uses Job as an illustration to
Satan of a person that does not conform to Satan’s observations of
mankind. Job is the very highest example of virtue and piety.
Satan
responds to God with a question. The context here is almost a ridicule
of God. Why wouldn’t Job be pious? He has all that he needs. God has
abundantly rewarded Job for serving Him. Job’s life is not a true test
because Job is well taken care of by God. Satan continues by asking
about God’s protection of Job. The hedge that Satan talks about is not
the hedge used around yards for decoration or separation. It carries
the idea of protection. It is something an army would raise for
defense. Thus because Job was so divinely protected, Job would
naturally serve God. The original idea of the blessings paints the
picture of someone who has been materially blessed beyond measure like
a river bursting its banks and spreading over the land.
Satan
makes a request. Touch Job and all that he has, Job will then turn and
curse God. Satan request God to touch Job with the intent of causing
injury. Touch Job with violence and he will turn from God. Satan
believes that Job would openly curse God and become an enemy.
In
answer to Satan, God delivers Job into Satan’s hands with some
limitations. All that belongs to Job, both his property and his
children become the property of Satan to do with as he pleases. Because
Satan claimed that Job’s piety was the result of the blessings that
encompassed him, Satan could only touch those things to prove his
point. Job was off limits to Satan.
It seems that Satan was
satisfied at this point. He leaves God’s presence to go do evil to Job.
The scene closes with the meeting adjourned.
Job 1:13-22
In
scene three we find that the setting has again returned to earth. It
opens in the elder brothers home. The rotation of the feasting had
moved its way around in the cycle to have all the siblings at his home.
A
messenger met Job in his home, while the children feasted. In the
Hebrew this word translates out to mean angel. Here the word properly
means one who is sent. We learn that the animals here mentioned were
performing the routine function they were purchased for. The Hebrew
lets us know the gender of the donkeys. This is because the females
were more valuable. This then shows or points to a greater loss for
Job. The cattle or oxen and the donkey were working side by side in the
field.
By researching, it is learned that the Sabeans here mentioned were probably from southern Arabia
and were a predatory tribe. It is possible that this group of people
wandered for the purpose of preying on other people. This tribe’s
action was with violence and unexpected. What they did not kill or
destroy, they took as plunder. The Hebrew word for servant identifies
the servant as a boy. It calls the servant boy as the slave was so
called in the Southern States of a century ago. One servant alone
managed to escape the violence to return to Job to report.
Satan moved rapidly as he moved upon Job. The following servants enter in rapid succession. His
desire is to overwhelm Job. He does not give Job time to recover or to
properly deal with the suddenness of everything. If the trials had come
with breaks between, Job would have been able to rally his strength and
withstand the overwhelming tragedy of it all.
The Hebrew
translates out to fire of God in verse 16 of chapter one. It is
probably a local expression used to denote lightening. It would seem
impossible to comprehend that lightening could destroy an entire herd
of sheep, but in recent years there have been reports of entire soccer
teams knocked to the ground during a match when lightening struck the
playing field. Having left the scene the messenger may not have been
aware of the true damage. But it is clear that something happened out
of the ordinary that caused the messenger to report such destruction.
The
next messenger comes right on the heals of the other. The Septuagint
translates the term Chaldeans to mean horsemen. It can be supposed that
the Chaldeans were known for their horsemanship and thus blamed. The
Chaldeans were a war-like tribe. They originally inhabited the northern
part of Assyria and Mesopotamia. Habakkuk 1:6-11
gives a very good description of the Chaldean people. It shows that
they retained their character until Habakkuk’s time. In Job’s time they
were a predatory race having wandered far for the sake of plunder. For
whatever reason that is not made clear the attackers divided into three
fronts and fell upon the camels. The idea is that they spread out over
the countryside as a company of marauders. Again only one servant is
spared to tell the grisly details.
While Job is trying to take
in all that has already happened another servant enters with even more
tragic news. A great wind had hit the house were the families of his
children were gathered. Tornadoes are not uncommon in this region of
the world. They abound in the regions around the equator, in hot
countries more than in those of higher latitude. This tornado came
racing across the desert. On the plains of Arabia the
tornado would have had ample opportunity to garner great destructive
power, taking everything before it. The Hebrew word for wilderness more
properly denotes a desert, an open, desolate place. The tornado struck
the house and it fell upon the revelers. Though the daughters are not
specifically mentioned the Hebrew word used would include them. The
word can be translated young people.
At the conclusion of the
message Job responds. His response is one of grief. He tears his outer
garment, as was the custom of the day to demonstrate the depth of ones
grief. The clothing of Job’s time started with under garments. These
were generally a tunic much like a man’s dress shirt with wider sleeves
and large loose fitting pantaloons. Over these garments was worn a
full-flowing robe. This robe had no sleeves and reached down to the
ankles. The outer robe was used to denote rank or position in society.
The shaving of ones head was also a custom of showing sorrow. Sometimes
it was done formally by cutting, other times it was violently plucked
out by the roots. Sometimes even the facial hair was removed by
plucking. Both expressions by Job demonstrate the depth of his despair.
Job’s action of falling on the ground is two-fold. The first being his
complete despair and grief, the second was as an act of homage to God.
He is bowing before his God in a time of great difficulty. Job resigned
himself to God’s will. A pious man has nowhere else to go in trial but to God.
The
next two verses reveal Job’s heart in this matter. Job states the truth
of everyone’s life; we all begin life with nothing. We are destitute
from birth. Job is referring to the earth when he talks about his
mother’s womb. He is born of the earth and will return at his death.
The idea of nakedness is that of having nothing. Being both born and
dying this way show Job’s understanding of fortune and lack. These
verses express Job’s submissive piety. Job traced the losses to God and here admits that God has the right to do what was done.
The
word for Lord here is Jehovah. Job is acknowledging that what he had
was by God’s providence and God could remove it if He chose. It is to
be noted that Job does not vent his anger on the agents of destruction.
Job lived with the realization that God was in control. Job found
comfort in the fact that an intelligent and holy Sovereign God presided
over his affairs.
The object of Satan was to induce Job to renounce God. But the result instead leads Job to bless God.
Thus far Satan has been foiled and God has been vindicated. In all of
Job’s feelings and expressions he did not sin. He does not foolishly
charge God with folly. He does not murmur against God. Job does not do
anything wrong and so Satan must be disappointed.
From this
portion of Job’s life we can learn several things. The first being,
that when tribulations and trials enter our lives we should bear them
without murmuring. Having the proper understanding of God allows us to
rest in God’s sovereign control. The second is to not place blame on
the instruments or messenger of the trial. But instead instantly turn
to God for His direction and support. The third lesson is more a
realization that all belongs to God and so He therefore has the right
to remove whatever He likes whenever He wants. In the fourth lesson Job
examples to us complete resignation to the will of God. We may not
always see the reason but we can bow to His will knowing He is right.
Lastly we learn that the true comfort comes only when we turn to God.
God is an intelligent God and all that happens has happened according
to His plan and intent. There is an end purpose and not just a
haphazard or random selection to life.
Our relationship with God
gives us strength and empowers us to live victorious lives. Our
relationship with God provides answers along with direction and
comfort. It is not a dark world we must deal with when we trust God.
| | 1
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
2
And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.
3 His substance
also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five
hundred yoke of 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. 4 And his sons
went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and
called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. 5
And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job
sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered
burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.
6
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
7
And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
8
And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
9
Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
10 Hast not
thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that
he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his
substance is increased in the land. 11
But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
12
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
13
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. 20
Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,
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. 22
In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.
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