Job 1

¹ There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. ² There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. ³ He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. ⁴ His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. ⁵ And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually. ⁶ Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. ⁷ The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” ⁸ And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” ⁹ Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? ¹⁰ Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. ¹¹ But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” ¹² And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. ¹³ Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, ¹⁴ and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, ¹⁵ and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” ¹⁶ While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” ¹⁷ While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” ¹⁸ While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, ¹⁹ and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” ²⁰ Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. ²¹ And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” ²² In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

The name of Job is one of those names that is well known even outside of the Church today. It is known through things like the popular saying, “the patience of Job,” which is almost a colloquialism today that speaks generally of endurance or patience in the face of suffering. Another reason why Job is so well known is that the experience of Job is so well known, namely, the experience of suffering.

In his novel Intruder in the Dust, William Faulkner wrote that “the whole chronicle of man’s immortality is in the suffering he has endured, his struggle toward the stars in the stepping-stones of his expiations.”[1] Is that an overstatement? Certainly those who have known real suffering would say that it is not, and even those who have not known real suffering would have to agree that suffering is one of the true constants of the human story and human experience.

This is the case to the extent that one cannot imagine a time in which the story of Job might become unfashionable, for that would require a very long period of time devoid of suffering. The world has yet to know such a period.

Job is likely here to stay. This is a good thing, for this is a profoundly and uniquely powerful text, a text that seeks to grapple with the reality of pain and misfortune. Job may or may not give one answers that will satiate our intellectual and emotional questions in the exact ways that we want, but if one grapples with this amazing book, one will be forced to consider the dynamics of suffering in ways that go well beyond surface considerations. More than that, the book leads one into the presence of God, a presence that is greater than suffering and the only presence in which suffering can be rightly approached.

The first chapter of Job is a truly astonishing chapter and one that sets the stage for the rest of the book.

The question of Job is the question of how to understand the existence of evil in light of the goodness of God and the absence of perceivable reasons for it.

The first chapter of Job makes two crucial points for helping us understand what is happening in this book and what is being said. It makes a theological statement and a personal statement. Theologically, it asserts that God is good, sovereign, and worthy of worship. On a personal level, it speaks of the uprightness of Job.

¹ There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. ² There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. ³ He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. ⁴ His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. ⁵ And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.

The name Job has often be translated with the idea of “to be hostile to,” “object of enmity,” the assailed.” W.F. Albright, however, “connects the name Job with a larger form in northwest Semitic names which means ‘Where is my Father?”[2] Whichever of these translations is correct, the name speaks of some kind of struggle and some type of broken relationship. This strife and this broken relationship will be seen in the unfolding of Job’s story.

The story begins, however, with a dramatic demonstration of Job’s righteous and blessed state. This can be seen for instance in Job’s great material wealth. The IVP Bible Background Commentary notes that “the size of Job’s herds was enormous,” especially in light of the fact that Aristotle claimed “the Arabs” as a whole had 3,000 camels, even though “the ratio of small animals to large in Job’s herd is fairly typical.”[3] Yet Job’s greatest wealth was the richness of his character and his relationship with God. Hesychius of Jerusalem, the 5^th century Bible commentator, observed of Job:

You see the greatness of Job’s external wealth; but his internal wealth was even greater. The visible riches were splendid, but the invisible riches were even more splendid because they last; visible riches grow old, lose their value and continually collapse into the most pitiful corruption.[4]

This is true. Job “feared God” and Job worshipped God. He was also concerned about his children’s relationship with God as can be seen in his sacrifices on their behalf.

We might take pause at the idea of Job as blameless. Are not all people sinners? Indeed they are. It needs to be understood, however, that the first chapter is trying to establish the point that the trials of Job cannot be linked to some sort of antecedent wrongdoing. Job is certainly aware of the reality of human sinfulness as can be seen in his sensitivity concerning his children possibly sinning against God.

Even so, the book of Job, and Job 1 in particular, is trying to strike against a particular and pernicious assumption that people have always had. The assumption is that good people have good things happen to them and bad people have bad things happen to them. This assumption effectively becomes a template that we then seek to put over each and every situation, even if the situation does not fit. Thus, if a person you thought was good has bad things happen to them, it likely means that they actually are bad and you just did not know it. So, in this scheme, bad things can be explained as the result of wickedness, and, in the case of people who appear to be good but have bad things happen to them nonetheless, the bad things that happen must be explained by secret sins. In other words, they must be forced to fit into the template.

This is an ancient idea, and a modern one. It is a very simple and very seductive idea. It can be seen in John 9:2 in the question that was asked about the man born blind: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Today it can be seen in certain heretical strands of Christianity in which it is asserted that a person who truly believes and is truly obedient will be blessed by God with wealth and health and a person who is not blessed with wealth and health must not truly believe or be being truly obedient.

We once took a visiting family to lunch after they visited church. The wife was of a particular camp within this strand of false teaching and she boldly asserted that a person who is truly following Jesus will never get sick. To my amazement, and to the amazement of my family, this lady was being completely serious as she went on to demonstrate in our conversation. Needless to say, the conversation went south quickly.

The first chapter of Job is seeking to remove this faulty assumption from the problem it is considering. The question of Job is the question of how to understand the existence of evil in light of the goodness of God and the absence of perceivable reasons for it.

The scene in heaven establishes (a) that God has ultimate sovereignty over what happens on the earth and (b) that there exists an active agent of evil in the world who God allows to inflict harm without this allowance impugning the character of God.

To help us move to the central problem of the book, we are next taken to the throne room of God.

⁶ Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. ⁷ The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” ⁸ And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” ⁹ Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? ¹⁰ Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. ¹¹ But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” ¹² And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

This fascinating scene is seeking to establish two truths: (a) that God has ultimate sovereignty over what happens on the earth and (b) that there exists an active agent of evil in the world who God allows to inflict harm without this allowance impugning his character. God’s ultimate sovereignty is seen in the fact that Satan had to present himself before God and had to get permission from God before he could strike.

Satan’s answer to God’s initial question about his previous whereabouts is telling. “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” This is consistent with Peter’s idea in 1 Peter 5:8 that “the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” While it is the devil who is the pernicious force of evil in this situation, certain realities should be acknowledged about God’s role in the story of Job:

• It is God who points Job out to Satan in verse 8: “Have you considered my servant Job…”
• It is God who takes the leash off of Satan so that he can strike.

This raises difficult questions, questions, in our minds at least, of culpability, of blame, of responsibility. If Satan strikes a righteous man and his family but only after being allowed to do so by God, does that not make God ultimately the cause of evil and suffering? We teach our children to pray, “God is great, God is good,” but is that true?

Three things must be said about this. The first is that the biblical witness as a whole, and Job included, clearly proclaims the goodness of God. “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good” (Psalm 136:1). “The LORD is good” (Psalm 100:5). In fact, Mark 10:18, Jesus proclaimed that only God is good: “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” The Bible is filled with such assertions.

Secondly, the first chapter of Job is seeking to convey the goodness of God even alongside God’s ultimate allowance of Satan’s attack. The pronouns related to the word “hand” in verses 11 and 12 are most intriguing.

¹¹ But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” ¹² And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Satan tells God, “Stretch out your hand and touch all that he has…” The Lord responds with, “all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” I believe this is the author’s way of communicating that though God allows evil this does not make Him the author of evil, much less evil Himself. It is still Satan’s hand that strikes though it was God’s hand that loosed.

Thirdly, there is a deep element of mystery and even paradox involved in this dynamic of the goodness of God alongside God’s allowance of evil that arises necessarily from His ultimate sovereignty. This is the mystery and the tension with which the book of Job grapples, as we will see. I believe it is not sinful to feel the weight of this tension. It is a tension with which we as the people of God must live.

One may deeply worship while one yet deeply grieves.

Even so, Job 1 shows us that the tension is not merely something we must grit our teeth and endure. On the contrary, our trust in the goodness and mercy and love of God can grow even as we grapple with suffering and even as we grieve. Put another way, one may deeply worship while one yet deeply grieves. The last chapter of Job 1 demonstrates this in a most striking way.

¹³ Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, ¹⁴ and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, ¹⁵ and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” ¹⁶ While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” ¹⁷ While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” ¹⁸ While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, ¹⁹ and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

In essence, Job loses it all. What, then, will he do? How will he respond?

²⁰ Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. ²¹ And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” ²² In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

Is this not one of the astonishing and humbling texts in all of Scripture? Stricken, wounded, grieving Job “worshiped” and praised and “did not sin or charge God with wrong.”

Simply amazing.

This shows us that worship is possible in the midst of deep suffering. Against all odds, against the protests of those who do not know God and His goodness, against the critics who seize upon instances of suffering to level their charges against the character of God, the people of God yet trust and trust even more that God knows exactly what God is doing.

Mark Dever has proposed that the book of Job can be understood in terms of these three truths:

1. we often suffer
2. we sometimes understand
3. we can always trust[5]

Indeed we can!

For followers of Jesus, this is because, in addition to the proclaimed and revealed goodness of God throughout the life of Israel and the patriarchs and the prophets, we see the goodness of God and the reality of suffering comingle on the cross. At the center of our faith is a sign of suffering, and that sign is the ultimate evidence of the goodness of God. So suffering and goodness collide in Christ for us on the cross. That makes all the difference! It makes such a difference that, though we feel the tension that such suffering brings to our faith and trust, we nonetheless reject all efforts to use suffering as an accusation against God’s goodness.

Of Francis of Assisi, Bonaventure, his early biographer, wrote:

Once when he was suffering more intensely than usual, a certain friar in his simplicity told him: “Brother, pray to the Lord that he treat you more mildly, for he seems to have laid his hand on you more heavily than he should.” At these words, the holy man wailed and cried out: “If I did not know your simplicity and sincerity, then I would from now on shrink from your company because you dared to call into judgment God’s judgments upon me.” Even though he was completely worn out by his prolonged and serious illness, he threw himself on the ground, bruising his weakened bones in the hard fall. Kissing the ground, he said: “I thank you, Lord God, for all these sufferings; and I ask you, my Lord, to increase them a hundredfold if it pleases you, for it will be most acceptable to me. ‘Afflict me with suffering and do not spare me’ (Job 6:10), since to do your will is an overflowing consolation for me.”[6]

It is an amazing thing, this praise comingled with suffering, but the latter need not blot out the former, for Christ has come and Christ has suffered for us and in Him we find our healing.

 

[1] William Faulkner. Intruder in the Dust. (New York: Vintage Books, 1991), p.151.

[2] John D.W. Watts, John Joseph Owens, Marvin E. Tate, Jr., “Job.” The Broadman Bible Commentary. Vol. 4 (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1971), p.35.

[3] John H. Walton, Victor H. Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), p.495.

[4] Manlio Simonetti and Marco Conti, eds. Job. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: Old Testament. Vol. VI. Thomas C. Oden, Gen. Ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2006), p.2

[5] Mark Dever, The Message of the Old Testament. (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2006), p. 469.

[6] Bonaventure, The Life of St. Francis (San Fancisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco, 2005), p.152.