job 1
==job 1:1:Job 1:13:
In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. |
This does not mean that he was absolutely sinless. It means that he was a God-fearing man who sought to do what was right before the Lord. Job's awareness of his own sins is acknowledged by the fact that he sacrificed animals to the Lord as atonement for his sins in chapter 1. "Uz" probably refers to a place in or near Edom, the territory to the southeast of the Dead sea, in what is now the southern part of the Kingdom of Jordan. The exact location is less important for literary appreciation of the book than the fact that it is non-Israelite territory. By making Job a foreigner, the author hints that the story will treat a theme of universal interest.
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Bruce Ashford Files
The biblical writer introduces Job as a wealthy and powerful Gentile living far away from the promised land, yet one who “feared God and shunned evil” (1:1). When Scripture speaks of “fearing” God, it is referring essentially to living wisely under God’s reign. Job is also described as “the greatest man among all the people of the East” (1:3).
The fact of Job’s wealth and power is significant to note. The Bible says of wealthy people that it is harder for them to genuinely trust God than it is for a camel to crawl through the eye of the needle. In other words, there is something about affluence that tends to corrupt a man. Yet, the writer of Job makes clear that Job did not fit the stereotype. Job genuinely trusted God, which is a remarkable characteristic.. -Bruce Ashford; 4.10.22
The fact of Job’s wealth and power is significant to note. The Bible says of wealthy people that it is harder for them to genuinely trust God than it is for a camel to crawl through the eye of the needle. In other words, there is something about affluence that tends to corrupt a man. Yet, the writer of Job makes clear that Job did not fit the stereotype. Job genuinely trusted God, which is a remarkable characteristic.. -Bruce Ashford; 4.10.22
==Job 1:6:
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Job 1: 6:
One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. |
God is not threatened when Satan appears among the "angels" (or some translations use "sons of God") at heaven's council. Without an invitation, Satan intrudes upon heavens council meeting. Satan, however, comes to disrupt, not to learn. How so with many Bible critics.
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Oscar Amaechina Files
In 2 Corinthians 11:26, Paul mentions false brethren in the list of dangers he faced on his missionary journeys. There are many of us who have escaped their manipulations, but the dangers they pose to the faiths of many are a daily phenomenon. I personally have suffered so much in the hands of false brethren who claim to be custodians of the Gospel. I have been wounded so severally that sometimes I resort to solitude and even contemplate quitting my ministry. Many in the Church have been deceived because they’ve been often taught that everyone in the visible Church is a true believer. "One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them" (Job 1:6). Sadly, the devil oftentimes attends church services. Every believer should ask the Holy Spirit for the gift of discernment.
--Oscar Amaechina; president of Afri-Mission and Evangelism Network, Abuja, Nigeria. 2.24.22
--Oscar Amaechina; president of Afri-Mission and Evangelism Network, Abuja, Nigeria. 2.24.22
==job 1:7:
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Job 1: 7: The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."
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Rather than banishing him from heaven, God calls him into accountability. Satan's confession is of a vagabond spirit, pacing the earth with frustration of a caged lion and preying upon unsuspecting victims. In stark contrast to God's orderly and meaningful nature, Satan epitomizez the ultimate of evil, when alienation, aimlessness, and anxiety--the essence of hell--obsess the soul.
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==job 1:8-9:
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Job 1:8-9:
The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil.” Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? |
God recognizes Job’s faithfulness. He remarks to his Satan (a Hebrew word meaning simply “accuser”), “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil” (Job 1:8). The accuser spots an opening for mischief and replies, “Does Job fear God for nothing?” (Job 1:9). That is, does Job love God only because God has blessed him so richly? Is Job’s praise and his burnt offerings “according to the number of them all” just a calculated scheme to keep the goods flowing? Or to use a modern image, is Job’s faithfulness nothing more than a coin fed into the vending machine of God’s blessing?
We could apply this question to ourselves. Do we relate to God primarily so that he will bless us with the stuff we want? Or worse yet, so that he won’t jinx the success we seem to be achieving on our own? In good times, this may not be a burning issue. We believe in God. We acknowledge him — at least theoretically — as the source of all good things. At the same time, we work diligently, so God’s goodness and our work go hand in hand. When times are good, and we do in fact prosper, it is natural to thank God and praise him for it. -Theology of Work |
William Henry Green Files
Under the pressure of intense affliction men are in danger of falling into one of two extremes, either of which is inconsistent with fidelity to the Lord's service. The first is that of repining and murmuring at the divine allotment. The other is that of bearing it in a spirit of hardened indifference. The wise man warns us against both. "My son do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction: For whom the Lord loves He corrects..."(Prov 3:11-12). Job avoided both of these dangers in that subdued but noble demeanor which has been in all ages since the model of submissive resignation. The stricken patriarch, bowed with grief, adopts the token of the most profound humiliation and sorrow: he rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell upon the ground. Not to sit in the sullen silence and brood despondently over the terrible losses which he had sustained, not to complain of the providence of God which had dealt so hardly with him, no, he prostrates himself in reverential worship; he bows with meek submission to Him who had smitten him, and his only language is that of grateful adoration to the Source of all blessings, who in removing all had but taken away what He Himself had given. Job fell down upon the ground and worshipped and said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21).
--William Henry Green; The Book of Job Unfolded; 1874
--William Henry Green; The Book of Job Unfolded; 1874
==job 1:21:
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Job 1:21:
And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.” |
 William Henry Green Files
"The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21). The bitterness of his loss is made the measure of the preciousness of the blessings God had given. The severity of his trial consists in parting with what God had bestowed. Every pang that now rends his heart is a fresh proof of how gracious God has been. The magnitude of the loss determines the value of the gift, and the depth of his anguish enhances his grateful sense of the goodness of the Giver. The more deeply he mourns the treasures which have been taken away from him, the higher is his appreciation of the gracious kindness of Him who bestowed them. Thus the more profoundly he grieves, the more fervently he blesses the name of the Lord.
--William Henry Green; The Book of Job Unfolded; 1874 |
John Piper
So, we’re not surprised when we read in Job 1:11–12 that God makes Satan the instrument of the terrible suffering that he used to test his servant Job. Satan says to God, “‘Stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.’ And the Lord said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.’” Satan goes out and, with God’s permission, takes all of his oxen, all of his camels, all of his donkeys, and then kills all ten of his children. Job’s astonishing response that magnifies the worth and trustworthiness of God is this: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away.” He didn’t say Satan has taken away. “The Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). He pays no attention to Satan whatsoever. For all we know, he doesn’t even know what happened in the heavenlies with regard to Satan, but he goes straight to the ultimate source of his pain and blesses God, trusts God, casts himself utterly on God. --John Piper: Desiring God: How Not to respond to Suffering 10.31.24