Job 1
McGeeCHAPTER 1THEME: Drama in heaven and on earth
Job 1:1
LAND OF UZThe land of Uz was somewhere in the Middle East, but beyond that there is nothing specific known about it. The historian Josephus gives us a glimmer of light on its location. In Gen_10:22-23 Uz is listed as a son of Aram, a son of Shem. In Gen_22:20-21 Huz (or Uz) is the firstborn of Nahor who was Abraham’s brother. Josephus tells us that Uz was the founder of the ancient city of Damascus. Damascus is, in fact, the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. So I think we can say that Job lived somewhere in the Syrian desert. That same desert is the place where the Lord sent the apostle Paul for his “postgraduate studies.” God schooled and disciplined many of His men out on that desert. My friend, your land of Uz and my land of Uz may be in different places geographically. It could be any place on this earth. That is not the important matter. The important thing is that there are certain lessons God wants us to learn in that place. We are told Job was perfect. What does it mean when it says he was perfect? It means he was perfect in his relation to God in the sense that he had offered the sacrifices (as we will see in v. Job_1:5). In those days the sacrifice was a burnt offering. Then we read that he feared God. He had a high and holy concept of God and, as a result, he hated evil. You can see that he is different from modern man who is without any knowledge of God.
Job 1:2
He had a wonderful family of ten children. He was very wealthy, and they all lived in luxury and ease. He had camels for transportation. He must have been in the trucking business of that day. He also had she asses for milk. That was considered a delicacy in that day. It’s one delicacy that I’m willing to miss, by the way. This man lived in the lap of luxury. The last part of verse Job_1:3 would indicate to us that he was Howard Hughes, John D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, and the oil men of Texas all rolled into one.
Job 1:4
They were living in the lap of luxury and certainly had it easy. But notice that in the midst of all that plenty and ease there was a fear in the heart of Job.
Job 1:5
The thing that interests me is that he didn’t feel that he needed an offering. He felt that he was right with God. But he thought that maybe these sons and daughters weren’t as close to God as they should be, so he offered sacrifices for them. He was the high priest in his own family. Now this is the end of scene one. It is a gorgeous scene of a wealthy man with a lovely family living with an abundance of everything. But he had one fear in his heart. It is a fear that a great many folk have today about their sons and daughters. He recognized that he couldn’t cope with that problem himself, so he went to God. My friend, there are a great many parents who are distraught today because they have a son or daughter who has left home and gotten into trouble, and is maybe even on drugs. Many of these parents have never been able to go to God themselves as Job did. As a result, they carry with them problems that they cannot solve. Job knew where to go with his fears. He offered a burnt offering for his children. That burnt offering speaks of Christ. This man is a man of God.
Job 1:6
HEAVENOur next scene opens in heaven, and what a scene it is. Neither Job nor any of the other people in this book knew that this took place at all. But this scene will enable us today to understand and interpret some of the things which happen to God’s people. I don’t say that it is the total explanation, but it is a part of it. Now this is the scene in heaven. The sons of God, His created intelligences, come before Him. I must confess I know very little about them. I think they are numberless, as numberless as the sand on the seashore, which means you and I cannot count them. And they are not human beings; they do not belong to our race. Yet these are God’s created intelligences, and they are responsible creatures. They must come to report to God as a matter of regular routine. That is something I suppose we would expect. But there is also something here that is rather shocking. We are told that “Satan came also among them.” That is a surprise.
Job 1:7
By the way, Satan must also make a report. That is amazing, isn’t it? Do you think he came from hell? No, he didn’t. Friends, hell hasn’t been opened up yet. No one is in hell today. It will not be opened up until the Millennium takes place on this earth. Hell is the place prepared for the Devil and his angels, but they are not there yet. The fact of the matter is that Satan has as much access to this earth as you and I have, and more so. This earth is the domain of Satan. He has not been in hell. He says that he has been going up and downeast, west, north, and southon this earth. Remember that Scripture calls him “… the god of this world …” (2Co_4:4) and “…the prince of the power of the air …” (Eph_2:2). So that we know that he has great access and freedom on this earth today. We are warned by Peter, “Be sober, be viligant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1Pe_5:8). My friend, this is a warning, and this is exactly what we are told here in the Book of Job. Satan himself said that he has the freedom to go up and down this earth. You remember that when Satan tempted the Lord Jesus he offered to Him the kingdoms of this earth. The Lord Jesus never said, “You don’t have them to offer.” He simply refused the temptation. Apparently those kingdoms are accessible to Satan, and he has that kind of freedom. When you look at this earth today, it does look like Satan is running things, does it not? God is overruling all things but He has given Satan a period of freedom. We are told that this world in which you and I live is controlled by Satan. He must be overcome, and we can only overcome him by the blood of the Lamb. Now this is quite a revelation, isn’t it? And it is contrary to modern thinking.
Job 1:8
God gives a good report of Job. He says he is an outstanding man. It would seem that Satan has been trying to get at Job. I draw that conclusion from Satan’s next statement.
Job 1:9
Apparently Satan had been trying to get through to Job and made the discovery that he couldn’t get through to him because there was a hedge about him. He tells the Lord, “You have put a hedge around him, and I can’t touch him.” I believe that there is a hedge about every believer today, and I do not think that Satan can touch you unless God permits it. And if God permits it, it will be for His purpose. That is what this book teaches us.
Job 1:11
Now Satan casts this slur upon Job. I think he despises mankind. He suggests that Job is really a timeserver to God. And Satan has no use for you or me. He says we are timeservants and that if God took down that hedge and took everything from us, we would curse God. Mind you, there are a lot of people in the world who would curse God. There is no question about that. All one needs to do is listen to men on the street here in Southern California. I hear God cursed nearly every day. One day I walked by a construction site where one of the foremen was attempting to make some sort of an adjustment. It didn’t work and the piece fell down. My, he began to curse God. Now he may go to church on Sunday and carry a big Bible under his armI don’t know about that. But I do know this, he cursed God. We hear that constantly today. Men are not rightly related to God, my friend. This man Job had a hedge around him, and when Satan found he couldn’t touch him, he said, “I’d like to get to him.” Satan hates mankind. Why in the world anyone wants to serve Satan is more than I know, because he despises us. I wouldn’t want a master like that. I want a master who will love me and be sympathetic toward me. And that is the kind of Master I do have.
Job 1:12
We learn here that sometimes God permits Satan to take away from us those things that we lean on. I know that when our little security blanket is taken away from us we feel so helpless, incapable, and lost in this world. Many of us cry out to God at such a time. Notice that God is going to permit Satan to take all Job’s possessions from him. Believe me, Satan would destroy us if he could. He has slandered both God and Job, inferring that God is not worthy to be served and loved for Himself alone, but that He must pay Job to love Him. Satan is the enemy of God and man.
Job 1:13
BACK IN THE LAND OF UZJob’s children were having a high old time, friends. They were going around from one brother’s house to another, and it was a banquet every day. They were really living it up.
Job 1:14
Here Job has been having a rather nice life, and then suddenly things begin to happen. He didn’t even know he had enemies like this, but now the Sabeans come in and take away his cattle.
Job 1:16
“The fire of God.” That is interesting. I kid a friend of mine who is an insurance agent. You know the policy always states they are not liable if your house is destroyed by “an act of God.” We always blame God if something is destroyed. They were saying the same thing in that day. Why didn’t he say, “The fire of Satan”? Who did it? Why, Satan did it! Why don’t the insurance policies say, “If God permits Satan to destroy my house”?
Job 1:17
We talk about the crash of the stock market. I tell you, Job had real stock, and it was all taken away. Everything was wiped out.
Job 1:18
Here is a tragedy beyond tragedies. All of his children are slain. A real Texas-style tornado hits that house and all his children are killed. What would you do in a case like that? Notice what Job does:
Job 1:20
Watch this man and listen to his testimony. Here is a viewpoint of life and a philosophy of life that Christians need today toward material things. You and I came into this world with nothing. We were naked as jaybirds when we came into this world. And we are going to leave the world the same way. Remember the old bromide, “There are no pockets in a shroud”? My friend, you can’t take anything with you. The story is told that years ago all the relatives were standing outside the bedroom door of the patriarch of a very wealthy family. They were waiting for the old man to die and for the family lawyer to come out. When he came, he announced to them all that the father had died. Immediately one of the more greedy ones asked, “How much did he leave?” And the lawyer replied, “He left it all. He didn’t take anything with him.” That is the way it will be with all of us. It makes no difference how many deeds you have or how strong your safety deposit box may be, what you accumulate or how much insurance you have. When you go and when I go, we’re going just like we came into this world. It is very important for us to get this into our philosophy of life. You may be living today in an expensive home, or you may be living in a hovel. You may have a big bank account, or you may not have anything to count at all.
You may have a safety deposit box filled with stocks and bonds, or you may not even have a safety deposit box. It makes no difference who you are. We’re all going to leave the same way we came into this world. Whatever you have, you are simply a steward of it. Really, in the final analysis, it does not belong to you, does it? This man Job falls down, and he worships God. Oh yes, he rent his mantle, he shaved his head, and you could have heard this man weeping half a mile away. He has lost everything, even his sons and his daughters. But he says, “The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” My friend, whatever you have, the Lord gave it to you. And He can take it away if He wishes. He is gong to hold you and me responsible for how we use the things He permits us to have. That is the reason that in 2 Corinthians Paul calls us all “stewards.” A steward handles what belongs to someone else. God is going to ask us how we used His material things. Everything down here is His, and you are just using them. When you leave, you won’t be taking them with you. Job understood this, and he did not lose his faith. He is still holding on to God. “In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.”