A Lesson From Job
"In the land of Uz there
lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and
upright; he feared God and shunned evil...He was the
greatest man among all the people of the East." (Job 1:
1; 2b)
Whenever Christians hear the name "Job" most of us think of
one thing - trials. We wonder, "Why do bad things happen to
good people?" A dear friend, Dr. Ron Herrod, founder of
RHEMA Ministries, goes even further. He says, "Some of the
worst things happen to the best people." It's the truth. But
I would like to focus your attention to a different aspect
of Job's life, one that is often forgotten in the midst of
our thinking and wondering about his trials. I want to look
at who Job was before his trials began. Many Bible scholars
believe Job to be one of the oldest books in the Bible. To
understand who Job was and learn from his life we must
understand a little of the culture he lived in.
Job most likely lived during the time of the patriarchs -
after the flood and before the Lord established judges over
the his chosen people, beginning with Moses. Most people
groups outside of cities and kingdoms were ruled by a
patriarchs. Patriarchs were men, often shepherds and
nomadic, who were the physical and spiritual leaders of
their families. Abraham was a patriarch, and God allows us
some insight into Job through looking at Abraham. You can
get more these details in Genesis, chapters 12-25, but
here's a brief overview. These men of God were responsible
for providing for their families a place to live and food to
eat, but acknowledged that God was their ultimate provider.
(See Gen 12 as an example of Abraham's trust in God)
Because the system of
priests had not yet been established, they were the
"priests" of their families. In verse 5 of Job 1 it shows
Job fulfilling this role for his children. "When a period
of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them
(his children) purified. Early in the morning he would
sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking,
'Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their
hearts.' This was Job's regular custom." Abraham also
built altars and called on the name of the Lord everywhere
he went (see Gen 12). They were warriors, and protected
their families and livestock from bands of thieves and many
of the small, barbaric kingdoms in the cities of the area
that would raid their land. (see Gen. 14) Their families
were extended, and were watched over by the loving heart and
hand of the patriarch.
Verse two of Job 1 says Job "was the greatest man among all
the people of the East" - the greatest patriarch. Why? Verse
1 explains it very well. Job "feared God and shunned
evil". This is what made him "blameless and upright".
So often we get things turned around in our Christian walk.
We think that what we do - our physical actions - is what
makes us "blameless and upright"! But God makes it clear
here that it was Job's relationship - his fear, respect and
reverence of God, that allowed him to shun evil, and this
caused him to be blameless and upright. It was because of
His relationship with Job that God chose to bless him. Job's
concern and care for the spiritual and physical welfare of
his family was also an extension of his relationship with
God. Job understood long before the trials came what he said
at the end of chapter 1. Even in those terrible
circumstances, verses 20-22 say he fell to the ground in
worship, saying, "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken
away; may the name of the Lord be praised." And remember
what God had to say about Job; "There is no one on earth
like him..."
So why bring it up? Two reasons:
1) Because men of this age need to be reminded to be the
leaders of their families in every aspect. Many Christian
men in America do very well at providing for the physical
needs of their families, but have left the role of spiritual
leadership to their wives and the church. May it never be!
The patriarchs were men of faith, looking forward, not
seeing the promised Savior but believing in His coming. In
the same way today's man of faith looks back, believing that
same Savior came (see Heb 11). God has give us the lives of
Job and Abraham as an example of how men of faith should
live. God never intended us to give up the role of spiritual
leadership. It was Job's regular custom to be concerned with
the spiritual welfare of his family, and to take care of it.
As men of God we must pray to be like Job and make it our
regular custom to lead our family in Spirit and truth,
feeding them the "bread of life", and not just put bread on
the table.
2) Because our society is so "do" oriented. Most of us, men
and women alike, are so busy we don't make the time to hear
from God. Oh, our intentions are good. We have a true desire
to be like Job, but are going about it the wrong way,
allowing ourselves to be influenced by the world and
traditions in the church instead of seeking the Lord and
what He has to say. We all need to be reminded at times that
it is our relationship with God that brings His blessing,
not what we might try to do for Him. The cultivation of that
relationship will make us people who are "blameless and
upright", who "fear God and shun evil". It is that
relationship, and its richness and love, that will filter
through to our spouse and family so that we may love them as
God intended.
Are you striving hard to do the things that you think God
requires of you to be blameless and upright? Stop striving
and put more time in your life for your relationship with
God. Spend time every day, not just Sunday and Wednesday,
with the One who made us to fellowship with Him for
eternity. I know it's easy to say and harder to do, but
unless all of us, me included, make time with God a priority
we will continue to be "ineffective and unproductive in
our knowledge of our Lord, Jesus Christ" (see 2Pet
1:3-9). It is your relationship with Him, through worship
and prayer, that will be the fuel that ignites the rest of
your life and make it pleasing to our Lord and what he wants
it to be: light and life in a dark, dying world! And my
prayer is that God will be able to say of me and you what He
did of Job, "Have you seen my servant ________? There is
no one on earth like ________; blameless and upright, one
who fears God and shuns evil."
Singing for the Audience of One.......
Tom Hacker
Friend of Answers2Prayer, p.weeministries@juno.com
Appearing Saturday, June 24, 2003