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Job 1:1–12: “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. Seven sons and three daughters were born to him. His possessions also were 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and very many servants; and that man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

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. When the days of feasting had completed their cycle, Job would send and consecrate them, rising up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.”

The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.”

Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing?

Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side?

You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.”

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him.” So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord.”

Authorship: Unknown

Historical: Specific Date is Unknown. Possibly near the time of Solomon (1000 to 900 BC)

Support for a Patriarchial Setting

1. Job’s wealth is measured by livestock similar to Abraham and Jacob’s (Genesis 12:16; 13:2; 30:43; 32:5)
2. The Chaldeans and Sabeans appear as nomadic marauders (Job 1:15, 17) which indicates an early date.
3. We only find the Hebrew word for “piece of silver” with Jacob (Genesis 33:19; Joshua 24:32).
4. Job offered sacrifices to God as the patriarchs did before a priesthood or sanctuary (Job 1:5)
5. Job’s long life span correlates with those of the patriarchs (Job 42:16)
6. Using Shaddai as the divine name instead of Yahweh in the poetic sections of the book may indicate a date before the Exodus (Ex 3:14, 15)

(Credit: Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary. Earl Radmacher, Ronald B. Allen, H. Wayne House. P. 611)

Is Job mentioned elsewhere in the Bible?

“Son of man, if a country sins against Me by committing unfaithfulness, and I stretch out My hand against it, destroy its supply of bread, send famine against it and cut off from it both man and beast, even though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only deliver themselves,” declares the Lord GOD.” (Ezekiel 14:13-14)

“Or if I should send a plague against that country and pour out My wrath in blood on it to cut off man and beast from it, even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in its midst, as I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “they could not deliver either their son or their daughter. They would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.” (Ezekiel 14:19-20)

“We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.” (James 5:11)

Geographical: Uz

Often identified with Edom, southeast of the Dead Sea, Uz was distinguished from and perhaps before the time of Jeremiah.

“and all the foreign people, all the kings of the land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the Philistines (even Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron and the remnant of Ashdod); Edom, Moab and the sons of Ammon.” (Jeremiah 25:20–21).

Uz was then a “daughter” of Edom, a possession or neighbor of Edom (Lam. 4:21).

“Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, Who dwells in the land of Uz; But the cup will come around to you as well, You will become drunk and make yourself naked.” (Lamentations 4:21)

Some scholars suggest that Uz was in Bashan, south of Damascus; others say Uz lay east of Edom, in northern Arabia. However, “the customs, vocabulary, and references to geography and natural history relate to northern Arabia.”

Edom

Regardless of Uz’s specific locale, it was:

Near a desert (Job 1:19)

“And behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” (Job 1:19)

Fertile for agriculture and livestock-raising (Job1:3, 14; 42:12)
1. His possessions also were 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and very many servants; and that man was the greatest of all the men of the east. (Job 1:3)
2. A messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, (Job 1:14)
The LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had 14,000 sheep and 6,000 camels and 1,000 yoke of oxen and 1,000 female donkeys. (Job 42:12)
Probably outside Palestine.^[1]
Significance of “men of the east.” (Job 1:3)

^[1] Zuck, R. B. (1985). Job. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, pp. 718–719). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Job was the wealthiest of an apparently prosperous group of people in northern Arabia.
The “people of the East” are identified with Kedar, in northern Arabia (Jer. 49:28).
1. Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated. Thus says the LORD, “Arise, go up to Kedar And devastate the men of the east. (Jeremiah 49:28)
The men of the East were known for their exceptional “wisdom, expressed in proverbs, songs, and stories.”^[1]
1. Therefore, Job was the greatest of the greatest, the Cream of the Crop.
Possessions and their Possessions
1. 7,000 sheep provided
  1. WoolàClothing
  2. Food.
2. 3,000 camels
  1. Transportation
  2. Milk
3. 1,000 oxen (500 yoke) provided food and milk, Plowing power
4. 500 donkeys also provided transportation.

Setting

Satan approaches God in Heaven

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

Job à Righteous and Prosperous
God vs Satan
1. Satan is restricted to what God approves with man’s Possessions
  1. Family
  2. Livestock, Crops, Buildings
2. Satan is restricted to what God approves with man’s Family
3. Satan is restricted to what God approves with man’s Body
4. Satan is restricted to what God approves with man’s Life

Purpose

Job is written with the Theological Purpose of demonstrating God’s sovereignty, including the dominion over of the righteous man’s life.

Conversely, Job and his friends each believe in Retribution Theology or the modern-day “Prosperity Gospel.” They believed that a man right with and obedient to God is guaranteed physical health and material wealth.

In other words, Job and his friends believed that all suffering or struggling resulted from disobedience to God; not trying or working hard enough, lack of intelligence, etc.

Job quickly responds amidst excruciating family and financial loss, along with physical torture that he will remain loyal to God. Job refuses to abandon God!

Retribution Theology (Baylis, 2015)

Characteristic of rationalistic thinking – i.e., gods of other nations
Upright and innocent do not suffer!
If suffering – – repentance required for relief.
God’s character – simple – moral purity – judgment for less

^[1] Zuck, R. B. (1985). Job. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 718 – 719). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Rick E. Meyer’s passionate heart for helping others leads him to read an average of five books per week since the mid-1990s.

Rick’s unique background includes running over 134,000-lifetime miles since June 1978, a B.S. in Agronomy (soil, water, and crops) from Kansas State University, and his M.A. in Christian Leadership from Dallas Theological Seminary provides unique synergistic insights.

Attendees will dash out of the arenas filled with mind-boggling insights into metaphors such as planting seeds, proper tilling, harvest, and seasons.

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