Job 1, Part 1, Chapter 1, Verse 1...and pictures of goats

Today's blog post is very creatively titled, "Job 1", because that's where we are starting our series in the book of Job. If you want an introduction and explanation, read yesterday's blog, (just scroll down to see it).

Job had lots of these...for some unknown reason.

So who was Job?
"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. There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 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," (1:1-3).

Well there you go. Job probably lived around the time of Abraham and Isaac, (though scholars disagree). Let's keep in mind that the divine revelation at the time of Abraham was Creation, the Flood, and the Tower of Babel. There was no written Word of God at this time. There was also no direct person to person relationship between God and man, (that is recorded in Scripture anyways), except for Abraham. Just something to keep in mind. Job has just lived according to the revelation he has received.

We also see that Job has been a faithful and righteous guy. He was "blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil." He was not a guy that was a decent fellow, he was an extremely righteous and God fearing man. He is also a very blessed individual. He's got seven sons, (seven signifying perfection), and three daughters, (and three weddings to plan, whoa!). He's got lots of animals. In short, he was one of the greatest of the people in the area.

Camels are dangerous. They eat pyramids.

In verses 4-5 we see that Job is also a very humble man. When his sons and daughters would get together to party he would offer sacrifices to God afterwards just in case one of them had sinned and cursed God inadvertently. In short, Job is a righteous and faithful dude. There is no chink in his armor. There was no stain on his character. One commentator put it, "He is not Everyman; he is unique," (Anderson - NetBible).

The first chapters are setting the stage and context for what's about to happen. We've met the protagonist/good guy, (Job). We're about to meet THE bad guy, (Satan).

"Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. 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.' 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?' Then Satan answered the Lord and said, 'Does Job fear God for no reason? 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. But 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.' So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord." (6-12).

Observations/Thoughts:
- The 'sons of God' in this sense refers to angels.
- Satan, a fallen angel, comes from wandering around the earth. In 1 Peter 5:8 we are told that Satan prowls around a lion, looking for someone to devour. Great guy, huh? So Satan's intentions are bad and he starts talking to God about Job. Uh-oh.
- God is pointing out Job to Satan as a man who fears God and turns from evil. Satan points out that Job just fears God because God gives him stuff. He proposes that Job will curse God if God takes away his things. This leads to an uncomfortable question: If my family, possessions, and safety is taken from me, will I still think God is worthy of my praise? If God takes away my stuff, will he still be worthy to me? That's uncomfortable to think about, isn't it? Unfortunately for Job, we're about to see how that scenario will play out in his life.
- Satan is a nasty little thing, isn't he? We can see why God calls him the "accuser of the brethren", in the book of Revelation 12:10. Satan just comes out of the gate like a angry boxer, vilifying Job's character before God. His whole tone just seems judgmental, mean, and vicious.

- Satan has to get permission from God in order to touch Job. He's like a nasty, vicious, and murderous Rottweiler, but he's a dog on God's leash. The observation: God is the sovereign ruler of the universe. There is no good force of the universe, (Luke Skywalker), fighting against the dark side, (Darth Vader, who also happens to be Luke's father, but I digress). There is no yin and yang. There is God, the Lord of everything, and a very evil and fallen angel, Satan. God is in control. That's going to be a very unpleasant fact for Job here in a bit, but his theology on God's position in the universe is not incorrect.

So off Satan goes to do some very bad things. The weird thing is that God allows it. How do we make sense of that? I don't know. That's why we're reading the book. Stay tuned. It's about to get ugly.