A Study in Job part two

The book begins with the ultimate Foreword—an incredible character reference:

“There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil” (Job 1:1).

Job was a sinner, and like the rest of us he battled against his sinful nature. However, he was “blameless” (no doubt through the sacrificial system), and he uniquely feared God and rejected evil. He wasn’t “born again” with a new nature, regenerated as the believer is in Christ, with the Holy Spirit helping him in his weaknesses. Yet in his unregenerate state, he shunned evil. That’s amazing for a human being, of whom Jesus testified that we love the darkness and hate light. We run at sin as a moth flies to a flame.

The cynic may look at Job and say that there was a reason he shunned evil. Poor people steal because they want to be rich. Job had no reason to steal because he was already rich. He was very rich. He had no reason to covet, be greedy or bitter at life’s realities, or be envious or jealous of others. So there go half of the seven deadly sins that poor people have to battle. Here’s how rich he was:

“And seven sons and three daughters were born to him. Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East” (Job 1:2-3).

Job was rich, powerful, and he was blessed with ten healthy and happy kids. He had it made. However, the veil into the supernatural world is pulled back to give us a glimpse into the spiritual realm. Here we see God Himself speaking about Job to the ultimate cynic:

“Then 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, one who fears God and shuns evil?’ So Satan answered the Lord and said, ‘Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!’ And the Lord said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.’ So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord” (Job 1:8-12).

We are then told that Job’s children were celebrating in their oldest brother’s house, when a messenger came and told Job that thieves had stolen most of his animals and killed his servants. Then the messenger said, “…and I alone have escaped to tell you!” While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived and said that Job’s sheep and more of his servants had been struck by lightning and killed. Then he said, “…and I alone have escaped to tell you!” While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived, and said that Job’s camels had been stolen, more of his servants murdered, and then the messenger said, “…and I alone have escaped to tell you!” Then (believe it or not), while he was still speaking another messenger came and said that Job’s beloved children were partying when a tornado hit the house in which they were sitting. All four corners collapsed, and killed them. Then the messenger said (you guessed it) “…and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

The Bible is full of, well, things that are intellectually embarrassing, and this is one of them. The narrative sounds like some sort of four-men-came-into-a-bar joke or the beginning of a Grimm’s fairytale. There are four disasters, and with each disaster only one person was saved. Each one finds Job and parrots the exact same sentence. For two servants to show up and say the same thing would be an amazing coincidence. Three is a big stretch. But four is ridiculous….that’s unless it’s in the Bible. It’s because it is in Scripture that the dynamic radically changes. If it’s in the Bible we are no longer talking about a coincidence or a big stretch. We are talking about the Supernatural.

Continued tomorrow...