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.”