The Righteous Man: Job 1: 1-5

Good morning church, thank you so much for having me back this morning to bring you the word of God in the absence of pastor Chad. As always, it is an honor and a blessing to me to be here this morning before you.

If you have your bibles, please open them to the book of Job, chapter 1, verses 1-5, and when you get there please stand for the reading of God’s holy and perfect word.

English Standard Version (Chapter 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.

The reading of God’s holy word, you may be seated.

As many of you may know, myself, and Mike Kessler who is dearly missed this morning, have begun our training as elders. One of the many tasks set out before us was to begin a series of sorts when for when we rotate into the pulpit. After much thought and deliberation, going back and fourth a few times, I decided to really challenge myself to do what I believer preachers ought to do, and work through the scriptures verse by verse, chapter by chapter, book by book. And surprisingly, I chose to start here, in the book of Job.

Job is a very special book to me. It was the very first book of scripture I read myself all the way through, on my own. I was 20 years old, in college, and although I had the blessing of growing up under the headship of a Christian father, I had yet actually read the bible from cover to cover. And I literally just closed my eyes, and opened my bible. Providentially, I landed on the book of Job. Little did I know that reading through this book would transform me as a man.

So, I’d first like to introduce you to the book of Job. It’s origins are somewhat mysterious. And, as far as we can tell, this book was not written by Job himself, but by some gifted Israelite poet, and may not have even been finished until the time of Solomon. It is a theological and literary masterpiece. And a wonderful portrayal of God decreeing that a righteous man undergo immense suffering and loss. In the book of Job, we encounter some of the most significant theological themes and practical truths. We encounter God in absolute sovereignty over all that comes to pass in our lives, in the world, and in the unseen realm. We see God’s perfect and infinite wisdom over and against both human and demonic wisdom. His incredible power, which is made evident through the contrast to mans sinfulness, finitude, weakness, and frailty, made especially obvious later in the book by Jobs family and friends offering well meant, but utterly awful counsel. We will also see Jobs faithfulness in the goodness of God in spite of all the apparent evidence to the contrary.

Job also speaks to some of the most important and common questions from both Christian and critique alike such as “If God is good, why is there suffering in the world?” or “Does God decree even acts of evil?” As we embark on this journey through Job, we’ll get to those questions among many others. But today I want to look at the character of Job, a man whom we can look to, to see and understand what it means to be a righteous man. A man who, in shadow, typifies Christ. A man who, like Paul says, we can imitate as he imitates Christ.

Before we begin we have to answer a couple questions, which will inform out context. First, was Job a real person and therefore is this real history? And if so, when did he live?

Now, There are some scholars and skeptics who question as to whether or not Job is a real figure, but that mainly arises due mysterious origins of the book which I previously mentioned, and due to the poetic nature of his book. In fact, in many ways it’s written like a dramatic Shakespearean performance. With long monologues, different acts, scenes, and characters who enter stage right.

However, the general consensus is that he was indeed very real, and therefore this is not just a parable, but real history. If we apply good heremeneutics, that is good reading of the bible, we see that Ezekiel mentions Job alongside Noah, or Daniel, as a real historical figure. One who in the face of great tribulation, remained faithful to God. Job would have lived during the patriarchal period, sometime around the life of Abraham, perhaps before or after - around 2000 to 1500 BC. And as we read, he lived in the land of Uz, that is roughly where modern day Syria, Palestine is. Unintentional timing, considering world events right now.

Now verse 1 states that Job was “blameless and upright” and that he was one who “feared God and turned away from evil”. Consider this is God speaking in His inspired word, calling this sinful man blameless. If Job is a created man, like you and I, and a son of Adam, like you and I, how could God call Him blameless? Is not only Christ blameless? Well it’s precisely because of Christ that Job was blameless. How could this be? Thousands of years before Christ was born, Job is made blameless through Christ? How is this possible?

Let’s briefly look at another passage of scripture. Romans 4:3 says “For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’” You see, although these men were not yet under the formally established Covenant of Grace (although the covenant of grace was in effect in the form of a promise) both Abraham and Job are counted as righteous, the same way that God can look upon you and I upon the day of judgement, sinners though we are, and call us righteous. It is the righteousness imputed (or applied to us) from Christ’s substitutionary atoning death on the cross that covers all of God’s elect, both before and after the cross. Abraham and Job, and all the Old Testament saints would have looked forward to God’s promise of redemption, as you and I look back on it, and have faith that God’s word is true.

Job is described as a man who feared God, and turned away from, that is repented of, evil. Job understood Christ’s command in John 14:15 before Christ became a man and spoke those words to His disciples, when He says “If you love me you keep my commandments”. Job loved the Lord, and in turn his heart was pleased to obey God’s law. This is important, we must not miss this. Job loved God, and out of the love he had for God, not out of fear, he kept the laws of God. This is especially astonishing, knowing that when these things took place there was very little in the way of scriptures written, Moses had not yet been born so we had no Mosaic covenant nor the ten commandments, and yet Job knew the very God of Abraham Issac and Jacob. God has always been faithful and just to reveal Himself to His people at all times in history.

Moving on, verse 2 says “There were born to him seven sons and three daughters” Remember this verse as we’re going to come back to this in a moment.

The text goes on. Verse 3 says that Job “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.” That is quite a title, quite a reputation for man who wasn’t even a Jew. Job had incredible wealth.

But this is interesting. You see Jesus tells us how difficult it is for a wealthy man to enter the kingdom of God in Matthew 19:24 when He says “it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven” Job is described as one of the wealthiest men to have lived in his day, and yet also the most holy of his time. Job did not allow his enormous wealth to pervert his mind, and he remained faithful and devout to his God. Notice here, the mere possession of wealth is not sinful. Love of wealth is, 1 Timothy 6:10, but God is the giver of wealth, and God blessed Job with tremendous wealth. Job’s moral character is profound, and absolutely critical for the entire book of Job.

So far we see have seen Job as a man who obeys the Lord, a man blessed with tremendous wealth and yet remains uncorrupted by it, and as a man who is of outstanding reputation in his land, the greatest of the people of the east. We’re starting to get an idea of who this character is and why we ought to consider him. Perhaps you are starting to see why this book grabbed me as a young Christian man setting off into the world on my own, even in just the first few verses.

Verse 4 states “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.” As we can see here Job is head of a large family. At a minimum from verses 2 and 3, we know of at least 10 children, a wife, and many servants. God endowed Job with much responsibility, and indeed many blessings. So Job was not just wealthy financially, but wealthy in terms of lineage. The man was well ready to leave a legacy. And his family as we see, was also very blessed. Clearly Job has not held any blessing back from his own family. They were all partakers in the bounty that Job had provided, as we see in their regular feasts, and in their own homes. Job provided for his family well. He stewarded well what God had given him.

It appears that Job’s children were also well respected and honorable individuals. Successful in their own right, considering they had their own homes, had to schedule their feasts, and based on their regular family gatherings, still had love for one another. And at no point does Job or the scripture scoff or denounce their behavior. Rather it implies that at the very least they cherished one another, enjoyed spending time celebrating together as a family. Their feasts were not in public places nor houses of poor reputation but in their own homes, rotating one to another, maintaining harmony and unity among the family. Job had raised his children in the fear of the Lord, and as far as we can tell, his righteous parenting is reflected in the behavior of his children.

Now we do not know if his children in and of themselves, were righteous in their hearts. It certainly is possible that they his children abused their inheritance, but I am not going to speculate where the scripture is silent.

With such responsibility and wealth, we can clearly perceive that Job was a busy man, not a lazy man. To manage his household, his family, his great flocks and herds, his servants, and as you’ll soon see his spiritual duties, he would have worked very, very diligently. Again showing us he understood the very expectations of God, even before most of the scriptures had been written. 1 Corinthians 10:31 “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the Glory of God.” Job worked, to the glory of God, and was blessed for it.

Verse 5 states “And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate (sanctify) 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.” We see here that Job, as a righteous man, loved his children and cared deeply for their souls. He recognizes that his children are still sinful men and women, and still need to be cleansed before the perfect and holy God.

It says that Job would rise early, a pretty good indication that this was of great importance to him, and he would do that which we later see as the duties of a priest. Job, before the establishment of the mosaic law, was acting as the very priest of his home. Offering sacrifices of atonement to God for the sin of his children. Job doesn’t even know for certain if his children had actually acted outwardly in sinful rebellion but he says that it MAY be that they sinned in their hearts! Job knows the condition of mankind, and he knows the sinful nature of the human heart, and as the head of his family he stands up as a federal representative, as a true patriarch, to seek forgiveness for sin he doesn’t even know specifically.

This man loved his family dearly, and it was because Job loved God more. He was concerned with the right things and because his heart was set upon God his actions followed. Now some of you may know the story of Job, and so you’ll hopefully recognize that painting this picture of Job will help us understand just how great his losses are in the next few verses. And we will get there in time. But for now, we must seek to understand and apply what we know about this man in verses 1 through 5.

So, In light of Jesus the Christ, how then can we filter Jobs story through the gospel and apply it to our own lives? I would be remiss to offer you all of this information about what the text says and means, without calling you to be transformed by it.

First and most importantly, Job acted out a love and affection for his God. He was not merely acting to punch his “get out of hell free” card. This blameless man sought the heart of the living and almighty God before all things and God calls him blameless.

Beloved many, Matthew 21 says, MANY will stand before God and on judgement day saying “didn’t we do this or that in your name?” and God in turn will say “I never knew you”. Church that should terrify you. Are you saying “lord lord” because you are terrified of the consequences of your sin? Or are you, like Job, joyful and willing to obey God out of true affection for Him?

Secondly, are you living your life in a way that reflects your love and affection for your King? You see the way Job is described here is similar to the way God describes the qualifications for a minister of the gospel. We read in Titus 1 that an elder or overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, have believing children, not be arrogant or a drunk or violent but rather a love of good, self controlled, upright, holy, and hold firm to God’s word. That sounds a lot like Job as described in the scriptures. If God calls Job blameless, and God sets these standards for His ministers of the gospel, is this not the standard we should all strive to achieve?

Thirdly, are you, like Job, taking dominion over all the responsibilities God has given you? Husbands, are you working hard towards holy leadership in your family? Mothers are you striving for parenting that is above reproach? Children, are you obeying your parents with the same diligence as Job had for obeying God’s law? Are any of you being lazy? For those of you with the blessing of financial prosperity, are you stewarding that blamelessly? Giving generously? Or are you seeking earthly pleasures?

Finally, church, are you rendering to God what is rightfully His? Job understood that all of his blessings were gifts from God, not from the toil of his own hands. Even, and especially his children. It was because of his love of God before all things that we would seek to sanctify his children through offerings and prayer. Job knew that in order to truly, rightly, love his children, and to steward his resources, was to ensure all of these things were to come second to God.

Beloved you must love God more than you love what God has given you. You must love God more than yourself, more than your job, more than your comfort. You must love God more than your spouse, more than your children. In fact if you love your children more than you love the Lord, you are, in reality, hating your children. If you love your spouse more than the Lord, you cannot properly love your spouse. And you have absolutely no chance of being called blameless.

These truths are hard. Perhaps scary. And if they are scaring you, I urge you to repent and to seek after the heart of God. But these truths are so, so comforting. Christ has overcome sin and death. He bled and died on the cross so that, like Job, you too could be called blameless. So that I, Justin VanRiper, chief of sinners, could stand before almighty God on the day of judgement, and be called righteous. Praise the Lord for His infinite mercy and goodness.

Let us pray.