Job 1:1 Mr. Integrity

1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job, and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil.

We are immediately introduced to, not the fictional Dorothy in the Land of Oz, but the non-fictional Job in the Land of Uz. Both the book of Ezekiel (14:14, 20) and the book of James (5:11) treat him as an historical figure. The book could have been written any time from the days of Moses to the lifetime of Ezra. No genealogy is given – just the name of “Job”; and his name signifies one who is sorrowful, or one who weeps, or one who is repentant, or one who is hostilely treated. He lived in the land of “Uz” – an area that cannot be pinpointed with accuracy on the map, but suffice it to say that it could have been located anywhere from northeast of the Sea of Galilee (around Damascus? A monastery built to honor "Job" is located in this area) to the land directly east of Israel, to the area southeast of the Dead Sea known as "Edom".

But even though his genealogy or his mailing address is left open to speculation, his immense wealth and noteworthy character is not.

He was “blameless” – a word signifying wholeness and completeness. His entire heart was "bent toward God." He was a person of great integrity – an “integer” – a whole man that didn’t lack in any of his relationships to God or his family or his neighbors or his employees. There was no part lacking in Job.

He was “upright” – a word that signifies “straightness” and is used to describe a level road or a straight path. He was a man that would look you straight in the eye and level with you. He didn’t need a 12 page contract to enforce a handshake agreement. His word was his bond.

He also “feared God” – Job had a continual reverence for God and was a devout man. His language was the same whether he was shooting the breeze with his fishing buddies or visiting with the pastor.

And verse one concludes by saying that Job “was turning away from evil.” The King James uses the old French term “he eschewed evil” – essentially meaning that he shunned or avoided evil. (The words “eschew” and “shy” come from basically the same root – “to avoid”). There were definitely some issues in Job’s life that were black and white. There wasn’t just a squishy “what’s right in your world may not be right in my world.” He saw some things as absolute and he avoided even the appearance of evil. When he went to lunch with his secretary, if his wife couldn't come along he made sure there was at least one or two others that joined them.

These four terms paint a picture of a man who was honest inside and out. What he was in the boardroom he was in the bedroom. What he was in church he was in the car on the way to church. He was not a dichotomous man. It was said of a recent president that “he was a great president, but not a great man.” What a tragedy it would be if, as pastors, we were known as great preachers but average-at-best family men. That wasn’t true of Job. He was Mr. Integrity and a Promise Keeper’s Promise Keeper. F.I. Anderson says of Job, “He was not Everyman – he was unique.” An internationally known figure, a great Sheik, the Emir of Uz who was immensely wealthy (more on that in verses 2-3), but was even greater in the depth of his character and the riches of his integrity.

Are we people of integrity? Are we one person at work, someone else at home, and still another person at church? Would that God would help us to be “not Everyman.”

Introduction

It seems that every Christian should have one or two books of the Bible that they can call their own. Over time they get to know their portion of Scripture so well that it seems they can almost live in the shoes of the author. For me there is one such book: the Old Testament book of Job. For many years I have been fascinated with this amazing story of endurance, despair, hope and healing. I have read it through several hundred times in many different versions, and yet each time I read it something new is discovered on its pages. Francis I. Anderson says in the preface to his little commentary on the book of Job, “It is presumptuous to comment on the book of Job. It is so full of the awesome reality of the living God. Like Job, one can only put one’s hand over one’s mouth (40:4).” “There was a man in the land of Uz…” We aren’t sure when the book was written, we aren’t exactly sure where Uz was located, and we can’t say with certainty who the author was. But I am convinced that its pages are no less inspired than those of the Psalms or Isaiah or the Gospel of John or the book of Romans. The purpose of these writings is not to try to tackle the technical aspects of how some obscure passages should be interpreted or why there are only two speeches of Zophar but three from Eliphaz and Bildad or why Elihu seems to be so long winded. With my very limited knowledge of Hebrew I wouldn’t be able to do that anyway. It is rather to simply try to minister to the human heart and to try to bring hope and encouragement to those who are discouraged, to those who are depressed or despairing, and to those who are facing a multitude of “Why's?” in their own lives. Sometimes I have wished that the Lord had burdened my heart with one of the smaller books of the Bible…maybe something like III John :>). I have picked up the book of Job and begun to study it or to write about it many times, only to lay it aside because of a feeling of being overwhelmed by its length and depth. But then the Lord, through the Holy Spirit, quickens something new to my spirit and encourages me to dig into it again. Job is ultimately a story of hope and healing – it ends with a “…and they lived happily ever after” fairy tale flair to it. But between chapter 1:5 and chapter 42:10 we are met with the desperate struggles and the raw emotions of a man who has lost everything and who is racked with an awful, awful disease. During the dissection of the verses and the speeches between Job and the three “comforters” it is easy to lose sight of his condition. We constantly need to bring ourselves back to his ugly circumstances and surroundings, lest we find ourselves shooting theological darts at him from our comfortable ivory towers. He is living at the local dump, his businesses have failed, his children are dead, his skin is covered with running sores, his bones ache with fever and it seems that his God has forsaken him. But finally Jehovah comes upon the scene and speaks to Job out of the divine whirlwind. And in chapter 42 our hero withdraws his lawsuit against Jehovah, he repents, and healing and restoration follow close behind. I pray that through the reading of these devotional thoughts on the book of Job you will be encouraged, your faith will increase, and that you may grow more deeply in love with Jesus. Dan Vander Ark November 2009 onetoomanypotatoes.blogspot.com