READ: Job 1:1
CHALLENGE: Be a Good Person
We’ll look some at the book of Job and extract lessons from it. They believe it’s one of the first biblical books written. It wrestles through the deep question as to why do bad things happen to good people. It lands on the fact that we trust God no matter what even though we don’t understand. As Job says at the end, “I spoke of things I didn’t understand” and we can be guilty of that ourselves.
Who was Job? Here is a man who will go through the fires of great lost and a painful health issues. He maintains his innocence throughout the book and will finally meet with God. Amazing!
A. DEVELOP GOOD CHARACTER
V1 – 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.
The very first comment about Job is that he lived and he was a righteous person. So the story isn’t just about loss and suffering. The story is about character and remaining righteous while going through the wringer!
- Good Character in Your Day
Job was a real person and lived in a specific town and era. It was the land of Uz. Most think this was northeast of Palestine in Arabic regions. He’s not living among the chosen people or in the Promised Land. But here’s the truth, it doesn’t matter where or when you live, you can still follow God and do the right thing.
Where do you live? Jefferson? Kingsville? Ashtabula? Geneva? Roaming Shores? Dorset. It seems we tend to settle down and live in the same place for a long time. And from this place in the world, we build relationships and hopefully become meaningful and influential in our community.
Let’s note that while it talks about his wealth, the first thing mentioned is his sterling character. It would be great for us to describe who people are before we talk about what they do or how much they have. Oh, so and so is a banker or a doctor or a teach or an athlete. Yeah, they make a lot and live in a nice house.
What if instead, everyone was first discussed by virtue of their character. This is clearly far more important than anything else. Who you are is bigger than how big your bank account is.
Let’s think about Job’s days. Since the first book written in the Bible is about Job, it’s safe to say that there was no Bible to guide him. Yet, even though there is no 10 Commandments as such, Job has quite a bit of knowledge about God. He lives in a day without the Bible, without churches, without priests, without holy days or religion. Yet he was blameless. How did they know so much about God? The teachings were passed down from the fathers. It’s truly fascinating. They made observations. They certainly had a sense of theology.
Job 15:17-18 – “Listen to me and I will explain to you; let me tell you what I have seen, 18 what the wise have declared, hiding nothing received from their ancestors”
Job 21:29 – Have you never questioned those who travel? Have you paid no regard to their accounts—
They learned about God through their experiences, their family, and what was learned from others. Clearly there was a concrete belief in God to the point the Job made sacrifices for his children. They believed in the “law of retribution” which meant that good people get good things while bad people get bad things. In their world, if you suffered, you deserved it. The theology of Job’s friends cannot even comprehend an innocent person suffering and thus the back and forth dialogue throughout the book. Obviously though, they had a strong sense of right and wrong. Way before the Bible, there was right and there was wrong!!
Job was a man of character in his day. We can be a person of character in our day.
We live in a far different world from Job. We’re not as moved by the awe of nature. We’re scientific. We have made unreal strides in technology. But no matter what the day, we can still leave behind a legacy of good character.
- Good Character is Rooted in God
I say that his character stems from his walk with God because he fears God and the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. If you didn’t have God, you couldn’t be living for God.
- Job is Blameless
Your character is what you’re mostly known for. It’s your reputation. Let’s say that you’re known as a “nice” person and that means you’re reliably nice. Maybe not “perfectly” nice every second but most times, that’s what you are. My wife knows me as patient but that doesn’t mean I’m never impatient! Maybe I’d get an A but never an A+.
You may be known as a hard worker. You may not kill it every second, but no one would peg you for a slacker either. You get an A minus perhaps. You may be known as wise. While you might not ace every decision, you’d be a person that people would listen to. You get an A but not a perfect score.
Job was known as blameless, but this didn’t mean that he was sinlessly perfect because that doesn’t exist. However, overall, you’d count on this person. He’d get an A on his conduct report card. Even God will say that he’s blameless. I don’t even think Satan, the accuser, argued the point. This is truly who Job is.
And that’s when you know you’re doing well. When even Satan would agree that you have good character in a certain area, you’re doing something right. If someone accused you falsely, the devil might say, “that’s not true because I’ve tried and tried to make them that person, and they’re not”.
Now, since he was known to be this type of person, it must have been noteworthy and it set him apart. If everyone else in his day was also blameless it would hardly be worth mentioning. It would be like saying, “Job breathed” or “Job woke up every day”, it barely sets you apart.
The word blameless comes from a Hebrew word that means, “complete” or “integrity”. An example of the secular use of complete would be if you bought a dozen eggs, you’d get a dozen eggs. If every time you bought a dozen eggs from the neighbor, there were only ten, you’d think yourself cheated. You’d probably buy elsewhere because that person’s reputation would be two eggs short of a dozen! Not blameless.
If an animal was “blameless” it didn’t have any blemishes, broken bones, or damage. There were no flaws and it was fit to bring to God.
If someone’s speech was blameless, it meant that it was completely in accord with the truth and fact. Integrity means that when we make a promise, we keep that promise – that’s being blameless.
The word then moves toward what is ethically sound and upright.
He would be like Daniel. When his enemies looked for something to use against Him, they couldn’t find anything. He wasn’t corrupt, so even though they tried, they could not find any charges to bring against him. He didn’t take bribes or kickbacks. He didn’t cheat anyone. He did the right thing on a consistent basis even when no one was looking.
Spiritual leaders are called upon to be above reproach. 1 Timothy 3:2 – Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
You want to be a leader, be above reproach. That’s worship team singing to leading in anywhere capacity. It’s the first thing we’re looking for. You don’t want to leave a crack unsealed where Satan can worm his way in and he’s clearly looking for that opening to attack you.
What are you known for? I would hope to be known as a good husband, father, grandfather. Honest, hard-working, loyal. That kind of thing.
- Job Is Upright
What does it mean to be “upright”? It comes from a word that means to be “level and straight”. When compared to crooked, you can see the importance. When selecting lumber I prefer not to use lumber that is twisted.
This word is a reference to “ethical uprightness”. This guy stayed in line with God’s laws and didn’t vary all over the place. We typically know what’s right and the ethical person actually does what’s right. When you support your family and love people and work hard and deal honestly and are moral, you’re upright. You’re following a code.
I remember going to work with many others and I saw right away that my code was different. I was working and they were loafing. My code was that you work as unto the Lord but that code did not register with them.
I was conscious of the words that came out of my mouth. You kept your language clean and that really spoke to the guys. That was a different code.
I didn’t trash talk my wife while many of them did. I didn’t call her the old ball and chain or express negative views about marriage. Thankfully all the nonsense that they told me about being married was not true. You just wait!!
What is the code that guides your life? You might say, “I’m not going to spend time alone with the opposite sex outside of my family”. You’d just be looking for problems. Job will later say that he made a covenant with his eyes not to look lustfully on another woman. That was his code. That’s being upright – you’re guided by ethics. There is the standard of God’s Word that we live by.
- Job Feared God
To fear can mean “reverence” or “awe”. It’s a respect that we hold for God. He’s so great that we want to please him. They say that fearing God and proper living are virtually synonymous. You’re concerned about your behavior before God.
It’s interesting that the righteous deed most associated with fearing God is kindness to the stranger.
Deuteronomy 10:18-20 – He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. 19 And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. 20 Fear the Lord your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name.
Even in Proverbs when he starts talking about ethical behavior starts with helping people.
Do we fear God? There are plenty of things that I respect. I’ll walk on icy environments but I’m super careful how I step in these situations. It might lead me to putting on ice cleats. If the river is flooded, I don’t walk across it. The thickness of ice and depth of water dictated where we crossed a creek recently. The respect for my surroundings dictates how I behave.
My dad was a great guy. I wouldn’t try back talking him though. I never had to fear him unless I was disobedient. We don’t need to be scared of God but if we’re not doing the right thing, that’s a different story.
The fear of the awesomeness of God certainly sets some limits. When you think about the idea of awe – do we admire God? Are we content with some head knowledge or are we observant and truly seeking Him out? God is amazing. In Job, nature alone caused an awe of God. Ice, lightning, storms. It all pointed to One in control. Where is our awe and reverence.
I’m super fascinated that he feared the Lord. And the respect came because of the many blessings, not because of the problems. God had built a hedge about him and he was close to God.
- Job Shunned Evil
To shun means to depart it. Leave it. Walk away. Self-discipline is critical. Like dietary discipline of not eating certain things. Stay away from it!
Jesus said to say no to ourselves and to take up our cross and follow Him. It starts with denying self and then we can carry the cross. The ability to say “no” and to deny our own flesh is a big part of following God. Walk away from evil and stay away from it.
Look at that original sin. It was the unwillingness to say “no” to Satan’s temptation. The devil was telling Eve to ignore God and he offered her that delicious forbidden fruit. She should have said no.
Proverbs starts out with telling us not to go along with sinners when they are enticing us. Stay out of their company. Fear God and shun evil is repeated there. Paul said in Romans to abhor evil and cling to what is good. Is there something in your life that needs to be a hard “no”? I’ve been there at times – just had to hard “no”.
When I was a teen, I was a hard “no” to drugs. It was out there but I already knew my answer and you couldn’t persuade me. It was a no. It takes resolution. It’s good to know what you won’t do. Daniel knew he wasn’t going to drink. His friends knew they wouldn’t bow to a false God. Righteousness is the ability to say no to bad things.
How is your character?
B. SPIRITUALLY CARE FOR YOUR FAMILY (vv2-5)
Vv2-5 – He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
4 His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be 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.
Job had a big family. He had all kinds of animals. He had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the east. There was no one wealthier or better known than him.
His children would hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays. Nice to know that people celebrated birthdays even then. Not sure how you kept track of the days without the calendars like we have, but they did. And this is a little peek into the family. They all got together. They would celebrate for a “period” of time.
When their partying was over, he made arrangements for them to get right with God. He would offer a burnt offering for each of them to seek atonement. His fear was that they might have sinned by cursing God in their hearts. He was very concerned for the spiritual side of his family. Are we concerned with how our children are doing in their relationship with God?
He feared they might have cursed God in their heart. Apparently he knew they would never say it out loud, but they might think it. This word “curse” is the typical word for bless. Here it would be used to take God lightly or to treat him as less. Perhaps it would be a pride in their hearts of not caring what God thought. Perhaps they might think that they don’t need God.
I get the sinning part anytime alcohol is involved. I don’t know that my mind has ever readily gone to the possibility that in my child’s heart of hearts that they would curse God. You ever wonder if people in the neighborhood are cursing God? We may look at addiction, adultery, drunkenness, anger, lying, etc. We’ll notice these things and say that’s wrong. Cursing God doesn’t even make the list of things I think about. Why? I just don’t know that I think they do.
But if we’re talking about taking God as if he’s not important. That, I could definitely see. You would think on their birthday and being rich, that they would not have a bad thought about God. However, if you look at the rich and the famous, they don’t seem like a group that talks positively about God.
Sometimes it’s the wealth that gets in the way. Paul said that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Sometimes, it’s the good times that make us take God lightly and think we don’t need him. Perhaps this shows the depth of Job’s wisdom and the depth of his wealth. It might make you forget that you need God.
There could be a real danger of thinking less of God. Of not being in awe of Him the way we should be. Regardless, Job makes offerings for their sins. What does this say. He takes God seriously. He’s blessed and that has led him even closer to God.
He’s close to God and leading his family and seeking to be right with God. This is a man who prayed for his family.
Perhaps we could ask, if we take God seriously? Do we take service seriously?