Job and His Family

INTRO

Today we start a new book of the Bible—Job—and a new division of the Bible—the Wisdom Books, or the poetical books. Also, this is our 365th lesson today, so we are exactly halfway through our study. The title of the book bears the name of the major character in the book, Job. MacArthur states, “This name might have been derived from the Hebrew word for persecution, thus meaning ‘persecuted one,’ or from an Arabic word meaning ‘repent,’ thus bearing the name ‘repentant one.’”¹Throughout this book, we will see the theme of persecution and the need to repent in the process. The author was not Job “because the book’s message rests on Job’s ignorance of the events that occurred in heaven as they related to his ordeal.”²Some scholars suggest Moses could have written the book because he spent 40 years in Midian, land adjacent to Uz where Job was living. A second possible author was Solomon because he authored the book of Ecclesiastes, which bear similarities to Job, as well as other wisdom books. Other possibilities include: Elihu, Isaiah, Hezekiah, Jeremiah, and Ezra.³

Some scholars suggest Job is the oldest book in the Bible. MacArthur states the book may have been written well after the events within the book took place based on: (1) Job’s age when the book took place (Job 42:16); (2) Job’s life lasted 200 years (Job 42:16), which puts him in the patriarchal period; (3) the social unit during Job’s time was the patriarchal family; (4) the Chaldeans who murdered Job’s servants (Job 1:17) were described as nomads, not city dwellers; (5) Job’s wealth was counted in livestock only, not in precious metals (Job 1:3; 42:12); (6) Job served as a priest within his family (Job 1:4–5); and (7) the book is silent on things like the Abrahamic covenant, the nation of Israel, the Exodus journey, and the Law of Moses. MacArthur concludes that “the features found in the book appear to place the events chronologically at a time probably after [the Tower of] Babel (Genesis 11:1–9), but before or contemporaneous with Abraham (Genesis 11:27ff.).”⁴

The Wisdom Books include Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs. These books are not national in intention but are personal in nature. In some of the books, the meaning of life is discussed, while in others the practicality of living life is outlined. Our phrase for the book of Job is the Promised Redeemer. Amidst Job’s pain and suffering, God’s promise was to provide a redeemer (Job 19). MacArthur points out that God allows His children to walk in suffering and pain, sometimes as the result of personal sin, sometimes as the process of discipline for strengthening the individual, sometimes as the opportunity to reveal God’s comfort and grace in our lives, and sometimes it is just unknowable.⁵

TEACHING

Job 1:1-5: Job is introduced in verse one as a man from Uz with “perfect integrity, who feared God and turned away from evil.” Job’s character was impeccable. Uz was in northern Arabia, close to Midian. Job’s description does not mean he was perfect, because no human being is perfect (Job 6:24; 7:21; 9:20). Job was wealthy and had been enormously blessed with seven sons and three daughters, a large estate, and thousands of livestock and animals (vv. 2–3a; 42:13). “Job was the greatest man among all the people of the east” (v. 3b). Job’s sons would give banquets at their homes and invite their sisters, having family time (v. 4). After each banquet was over, Job would purify his children with burnt offerings, just in case his children had sinned in their hearts (v. 5a). This had become Job’s regular practice––to act as a priest for the family (v. 5b).

Job 1:6–12: The “sons of God” were angelic hosts who reported to God on their ministries around the world (v. 6). Nelson’s Commentary describes the sons of God as “a heavenly council over which the Lord sits as Supreme King.”⁶There is the image here of a courtroom. Satan, a fallen angel, came with them, so he has not yet faced his final banishment from God’s court.⁷ God asked Satan where he had come from, and Satan said he had been roaming through the earth and walking on it (v. 7). MacArthur states that, “Emboldened by the success he had with the unfallen Adam in paradise, [Satan] was confident that the fear of God in Job, one of the fallen race, would not stand his tests, for he had fallen himself.”⁸ Obviously, God knew where Satan had been and what he had been doing. God presented his servant Job to Satan as a man of perfect integrity who turns away from evil (v. 8). Satan asked, “Does Job fear God for nothing?” (v. 9). Satan pointed out that Job had good reason to fear God because God had blessed him so abundantly (v. 10). Satan challenged God to take everything away from Job, and then He would see Job curse the Lord (v. 11). God put everything Job owned under Satan’s power, but would not let him touch Job himself (v. 12). Satan left to confront Job. In this courtroom setting, Job didn’t even know that his life was being discussed by God’s council. Four disasters were about to quickly come Job’s way.

Job 1:13–19: Satan’s goal is to always take people’s vision and perspective off of the Lord. Job’s sons and daughters were at another banquet (v. 13), and a messenger came to Job and reported the Sabeans had taken away the oxen and donkeys in the field and killed all the servants except the messenger (vv. 14–15). Then, a second messenger came while the first was still speaking and reported that lightning struck from heaven and burned up the sheep and all the servants except for him (v. 16).

Then, a third messenger came while the second was still speaking and reported that the Chaldeans had taken away the camels and killed the servants (v. 17). Then, a fourth messenger came while the third messenger was speaking and reported that Job’s sons and daughters were killed in the oldest brother’s house when a powerful wind collapsed the house upon them, and he alone had escaped (vv. 18–19).

Job 1:20–22: Job tore his robe and shaved his head in mourning, but he fell to the ground and worshiped the Lord, acknowledging that everything he had was God’s to give and to take away (vv. 20–21). “Throughout all this Job did not sin or blame God for anything” (v. 22).

CLOSING

We are to submit to trials and still worship God, not because we know the “why” but because God wills them for His own reasons.⁹