Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. 2 And seven sons and three daughters were born to him. 3 Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East. 4 And his sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day, and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did regularly. This is an ancient book about a man in the time of the patriarchs— “‘in the land of Uz'— We regard it as little short of a miracle that this very ancient book should have been accepted by the people of Israel as part of ‘the oracles of God,’ which were ‘committed’ to their hands (Romans 3:2). Job may have been a contemporary of Abraham but he was certainly not of Abrahamic stock, and therefore a Gentile, and yet introduced to us with such words of commendation as we hardly find accorded to any son of Israel. In the book moreover is no allusion to the law in which the Jew made his boast. There was therefore in it nothing that would particularly appeal to the Jew, but rather that which might offend. Yet there through the centuries it has stood, and been handed down to us.” (F. B. Hole) "A popular belief in ancient times was that prosperity and well-being were proofs of godliness, but poverty and suffering were proofs of ungodliness. They were signs that God was either rewarding or punishing a person, according to whether that person's life was good or bad. The book of Job contradicts this belief.” (Donald C. Flemming) Job— signifying “sorrowful, or he that weeps”— lived “in the time of Genesis, in which book burnt offerings only are mentioned. In the nation Israel sin offerings, trespass offerings and peace offerings were later introduced in Exodus and Leviticus.” (L. M. Grant) —“‘and that man was perfect,’ (1a) in the same sense as Noah, Abraham, and Jacob were; not with respect to sanctification, unless as considered in Christ, who is made sanctification to His people; or with regard to the truth, sincerity, and genuineness of it; or in a comparative sense, in comparison of what he once was, and others are.” (John Gill) “The Chaldee, שׁלם shālam ‘complete, finished, perfect.’ The idea seems to be that his piety, or moral character, was ‘complete in all its parts.’” (Albert Barnes) “Noah in like manner is said to have been ‘perfect’ (Gen 6:9). Abram was required to be so (Gen 17:1), and Israel generally (Deut 18:13), though the adjective in these places is not quite the same as that used here; and our Lord required the same high standard of His disciples (Matthew 5:48), while He also, through the gift of the Spirit, made it possible.” (C. J. Ellicott) Job is also described as “'upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.' These are the essential elements of true religion everywhere; and the whole statement in the book of Job shows Job was, though not absolutely free from the sins which cleave to our nature, eminent in each of these things.” (Albert Barnes) Wisdom consists of “refusing the evil and choosing the good, of aiming at a lofty ideal of excellence and of shunning that which is fatal or opposed to it....” (C. J. Ellicott), as "he has free will and is using it rightly... [Yet], when his friends accuse him having concealed a life of willful sin, the reader also knows that such an accusation is false.” (Mark Dunagan)—> I am no Job. Help me, Lord, not to grieve the Spirit- to both hear the word and to do it with Your help. I hear it: “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) “‘And seven sons and three daughters were born to him.’ (2) The numbers three and seven, and their product, ten, are certainly sacred numbers, regarded as expressive of ideal perfection. But this does not prevent their being also historical. As Canon Cook observes, ‘Striking coincidences between outward facts and ideal numbers are not uncommon in the purely historical portions of Scripture.’ There are twelve apostles, seventy (7 × 10) disciples sent out by our Lord, seven deacons, three synoptic Gospels, twelve minor prophets, seven princes of Persia and Media, ten sons of Haman, three of Noah, Gomer, Terah, Levi, and Zeruiah, seven of Japhet, Mizraim, Seir the Horite, Gad, and Jesse (1 Chron 2:13-15), twelve of Ishmael, twelve of Jacob, etc. Our Lord is thirty (3 x 10) years old when he begins to teach, and his ministry lasts three years; he heals seven lepers, casts out of Mary Magdalene seven devils, speaks upon the cross seven ‘words,’ bids Peter forgive his brother ‘seventy times seven,’ etc. It is thus not only in vision or in prophecy, or in symbolical language, that these ‘ideal numbers’ come to the front far more frequently than ethers, but also in the most matter-of-fact histories.” (The Pulpit Commentary)—“‘Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East.’ The introduction of this man's history in this matter is beautifully chosen, in order to prepare the mind for the several most interesting pages in his life, which are to follow.” (Robert Hawker) “‘And his sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day,’ (4a) “The seven sons took it in turn to dine with one another the week round, and did not forget their sisters in the loneliness of the parental home, but added them to their number. There existed among them a family peace and union which had been uninterruptedly cherished;... The writer might have represented this celebration... every seventh day, but he avoids even the slightest reference to anything Israelitish:.. the sacred observance of the Sabbath, which was consecrated by God the Creator, was first expressly enjoined by the Sinaitic oracles .” (Keil & Delitzsch) Also Oehler and Clericus “would understand by the above phrase a week of festivity, with its attendant lustration and sacrifice on the seventh day, or sabbath. Thus they infer a high antiquity for the division of time into weeks and the observance of the sabbath…(in the Creation account)— ‘and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.’ (4b) A joyous home, over which religion shed its heavenly light. Its influence is seen in the spirit of pure affection that bound together the hearts of the ten children. It was honourable in the young men that they should thus at the same time consult their own and their sisters’ happiness; as if the festive circle must be incomplete without the crowning joy of their presence.” (Daniel Whedon) “‘So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course,— ’when the annual period of these festivals had come to a close, when everyone of the brothers had arranged and celebrated his feast, ‘that Job sent and sanctified them’, to atone for probable transgressions by sacrifices of purification, ‘and rose up early in the morning and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all’, Job himself officiating as [high] priest of the congregation of his family and making his offering at a time when the hearts would be most inclined to quiet contemplation; for Job said, ‘It may be that my sons have sinned, forgetting the careful watch over every single word and act which quiet sobriety demands, ‘and cursed God in their hearts,’ renouncing or forgetting Him and His fear, as they abandoned themselves to their pleasure.” (Paul E. Kretzmann) “‘Thus Job did regularly.’ Heb. ‘all the days’; that is, in the renewed seasons, he was not weary of well doing, but steadfast and unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, always renewing his repentance, and faith in Christ, figured by those sacrifices; for the ceremonial law was their gospel.” (Daniel Whedon)“For ‘he that is washed needs to wash his feet,’ John 13:10. The acts of repentance and faith must be often renewed, because we often repeat our transgressions. All days, every day, he offered up his sacrifices, was constant to his devotions, and did not omit them any day. The occasional exercises of religion will not excuse us from those that are stated.” (Matthew Henry) “For Job said, ‘It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.’ Job’s view of the heart partly anticipates that of Christ: ‘Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts.’ Job evidently regarded the heart as the seat of evil, the source of moral action, and the fountain-head of responsibility. A dominion is thus betokened not only over overt action, but the more mysterious realm of thought. Job knew that evil thoughts needed an atonement. The senseless and practically Epicurean maxim, ‘Thought is free,’ found no favour in that earnest age. The flames of whole burnt offerings ‘continually’ proclaimed, as with solemn tongues of fire, man’s responsibility for all his thoughts.” (Daniel Whedon) “He purified their hearts, and not their bodies, by prayers; and that this lustration resembled an apostolic purification, not a Levitical one.” (Chrysostom) "It was not the sin offering of the Mosaic Law which Job offered, but a burnt offering wholly given to God, which was common to many peoples (cp. Numbers 23 Micah 6:5-8).” (John Dummelow) “The indications are, that this sacrifice preceded those of the Levitical dispensation, and belonged rather to those of the patriarchal... As a whole victim was offered for each of the sons, the thoughtful family must have read in the ascending flames the enormity of sin against God, the doctrine of vicarious sacrifice, and the necessity of entire consecration to him. In the substitution of one for one, they may have descried afar off the One Being who should die for each sinner.” (Daniel Whedon)
6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Yahweh, and Satan also came among them. 7 And Yahweh said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” 8 Then Yahweh said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” 9 So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” 12 And Yahweh said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of Yahweh.
In Zechariah 3:1 and Revelation 12:10, Satan is spoken of as, the accuser of our brethren. “And that is just what we see him doing here: he does not change.” (F. B. Hole) “It seems strange, that, God should give Satan such a permission as this. But he did it for His own glory, for the honour of Job, for the explanation of providence, and the encouragement of his afflicted people in all ages.” (John Wesley) The writer here provided for mankind “a polestar which would guide him through all the entanglement of the succeeding conflicts. This he does by disclosing to us those events occurring… which led to the divine decree concerning Job, the execution of which thereupon follows.” (August Dillmann)
"The best light upon this Scripture may be taken from other Scriptures. And, indeed, we are so commanded to explain them comparing spiritual things with spiritual, 1 Corinthians 2:13. Zechariah was commissioned to relate to the church the particulars of a vision, in which be beheld Satan confronting Joshua the high priest before the Lord. Zechariah 3:1-2. And John had another commission to deliver to the church, in the close of the canon of Scripture, where the final ruin of the arch fiend was celebrated in heaven by the song of the redeemed, in which particular mention was made, that the victory over hell was wholly obtained by the blood of the Lamb. Revelation 12:9-11.” (Hawker's Poor Mans Commentary)
“Now there was a day”—- “i.e. a certain time appointed by God...” (Matthew Poole), perhaps an annual one, prophetic of the future antitype — when the sons of God will come to present themselves before Yahweh. "'Before Yahweh'— God says (Exodus 6:3) that He was not known to the patriarchs by this name. But, as the name occurs previously in Genesis 2:7-9, etc., what must be meant is, not until the time of delivering Israel by Moses was He known peculiarly and publicly in the character which the name means; namely, ‘making things to be,’ fulfilling the promises made to their forefathers. This name, therefore, here, is no objection against the antiquity of the Book of Job.” (Jamieson, Faussett, Brown)
“The Targum supposes that this assembly took place on the day of the great atonement, which occurred once each year.” (Adam Clarke) If so, this was a clue that even the feast (the ten high day sabbaths) existed before the Sinai revelation for, it seems, here is one of them —“‘when the sons of God,’— pious men— ‘came to present themselves before Yahweh,’ gathered for instructions in righteousness.
They must "give an account of what they had done, and to receive further orders in regard to what they were to do... It is language taken from the proceedings of a monarch who had sent forth messengers or ambassadors on important errands through the different provinces of his empire, who now returned to give an account of what they had observed, and of the general state of the kingdom.” (Albert Barnes) “That these 'sons of God' should be called upon at stated times to give account of their deeds is not an unreasonable thought for us — a race upon whom the sense of responsibility is stamped; and who will be summoned to undergo our ordeal at the close of life.” (Whedon’s Commentary)
“‘And Satan, the adversary, the accuser, came also.’ The Arabians, says Schultens, call the serpent Satan, because he elevated his head.” (Joseph Sutcliffe) The accuser of souls, that of the brethen, “hath, from the first seduction of Adam in the garden to the present hour, had access to the hearts of men, is a truth too sad to be thought on, but with sorrow; and too true, but to be lamented with tears.” (Robert Hawker)— >
“And Yahweh said to Satan, ‘From where do you come?’ etc. God condescends to address the evil spirit, and asks him questions—not that anything could be added to his own knowledge.” (The Pulpit Commentary) "So Satan answered, ‘From going to and fro on the earth,’ where, by thy permission, after being expelled from heaven (Isa 14:12) and given dominion, as “the prince of the power of air” (Eph 2:2) and “the god of this world.” (2 Cor 4:4) “This establishes the fact that Satan is not omnipresent, as God is. Satan can be only in one place at a time, however quickly he may travel. Yet he has many agents, evil spirits, who carry on his wicked work throughout the world, and we know that work is prospering dreadfully. Some have questioned too whether Satan knows our thoughts. Absolutely not! Only God knows the hearts and the thoughts of mankind. He only is omniscient.” (L. M. Grant)
“Compare our Lord’s words in Matthew 13:25:
‘But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away.’ St. Peter evidently had this passage in mind (1 Peter 5:8, ‘walketh about’).” (C. J. Ellicott) “The words are exceedingly emphatic;… he sets himself to walk; he is busily employed in it.“ (Adam Clarke) “While we are on this earth we are within his reach. Hence it concerns us to be sober and vigilant.” (Matthew Henry)
“The Targum, after the words, ‘from going to and fro in the earth,’ very significantly adds, ‘to try the works of the children of men.’.” (Joseph Benson) “Then Yahweh said to Satan, ‘Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?’ Thou hast been doing at him, I doubt not, but canst do no good on it. Thou hast set thine heart upon him, and tried thine utmost skill to overturn him, but hast met with thy match, and been sent away without thine errand; thou hast but beat upon cold iron; thou hast struck fire, but without tinder; thou hast knocked at the door, but there was none within to open to thee. Thus God speaketh, to sting Satan; and triumphing over his and Job’s adversary.” (John Trapp)
So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him,…?’ Or, hast thou not trenched him in, and secured him with thine own bare hand, as in a town of war, or tower of brass? thou thyself either art the hedge, or makest it; and that not only about his person, but about his people, children, servants, etc., yea, about his whole estate, so that there is no coming at him:…— ‘On every side...’ The devil could... never a breach. Oh the safety of a saint, that goes always under a double guard, the power of God without him, and the peace of God within him! The Lord himself is his keeper, the Lord his defence upon his right hand.” (John Trapp)— “The idea is that there was nothing genuine about his piety; that religion could not be tried in prosperity; that Job had an abundant compensation for serving God, and that if the favors conferred on him were taken away, he would be like the rest of mankind. Much of the apparent virtue and religion of the world is the result of circumstances, and the question here proposed ‘may,’ it is to be feared, be asked with great propriety of many professors of religion who are rich; it ‘should’ be asked by every professed friend of the Most High, whether his religion is not selfish and mercenary. Is it because God has blessed us with great earthly advantages? Is it the result of mere gratitude?’” (Albert Barnes) “Satan could not deny that Job was faithful, but he questions Job’s motivation. ‘It’s all a front. He serves You only because of what he gets out of it. Take the pay away and he’ll quit the job’ (Zuck p. 15).” (Mark Dunagan Commentary)
“And Yahweh said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your power...’ etc. Mighty as the principle of evil is in the world, it is nevertheless held in check by One who directs it to His own ends. Such is the uniform teaching of Scripture.” (C. J. Ellicott) — “‘So Satan went forth from the presence of Yahweh’ ready to begin his work of destruction, for he is a murderer from the beginning; plunder and destruction are his delight.” (Paul E. Kretzmann) “The Scriptures consistently affirm that God tempts no one (James 1:13). That is, He is not the source of temptation and, therefore, the author of evil. He does not seduce people, trying to get them to sin. However, it is equally clear that God allows us to experience temptation from other sources for our welfare (James 1:2-18). The primary sources of our temptation are the world (1 John 2:15-16), the flesh (James 1:14), and the devil (Job 1-2).” (Dr. Thomas Constable)
Morning Repost: Job 1: The Sabbath for the People of God-
13 Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house; 14 and a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 when the Sabeans raided them and took them away—indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!” 16 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you!” 17 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!” 18 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 19 and suddenly 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 are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you!” 20 Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away; blessed be the name of Yahweh.”
22 In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.
We have our holy days and our lands, but there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. (Heb 4:9) “God allowed Satan to test Job by removing anything that belonged to him, but he was not to harm Job's body (12).” (Donald C. Flemming) “There are dark days in our lives”— when the Sabeans and the Chaldeans come, as seeming judgments, even very acts of God come “not single foes, but in battalions." (Shakespeare)— “when messenger follows on the heel of messenger, and we sit down amid the ruins of our happiness. All that made life gay and beautiful has withered and we are treading a dreary waste; our soul is almost dead within us and our feet are blistered.” (F.B. Meyer)
When the storms of life are raging, stand by me;
when the storms of life are raging, stand by me.
When the world is tossing me, like a ship upon the sea,
Lord, who rules the wind and water, stand by me.
In the midst of tribulation, stand by me;
in the midst of tribulation, stand by me.
When the host of hell assail, and my strength begins to fail,
Lord, who never lost a battle, stand by me. - Old Hymn
“‘And there was a day’ - a sabbath, “that is, on the day on which the regular turn came for the banquet to be held in the house of the older brother; compare the notes at Job 1:4.” (Albert Barnes)— “‘when his sons and daughters were eating, and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house’; “it should rather be rendered, ‘in the house of their brother, the firstborn’; that is, of Job.” (John Gill) So this happened at the height of the religious learning; as after Job’s death, this son would be the head.— Eating “and drinking wine”- This circumstance is omitted in Job 1:4. It shows that wine was regarded as an essential part of the feasts, as a shadow of the blood of the everlasting covenant.
“A messenger came to Job and said, ‘The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, when the Sabeans raided them and took them away—indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!’ (14-15) “Satan stirred up the Sabeans, a nomadic people, probably robber tribes and under his direction they plunder Job of his most valuable cattle and murdered the servants.” (Arno Gaebelein) But God intervened. As the burnt offering- “While he was still speaking, another also came and said, ‘The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you!’ (16) All that Job owned was consecrated to God. No heathen could have them. The fire is associated with the appropriation of God’s wrath. “The writer, also, can scarcely have intended lightning (Rosenm., Hirz., Hahn), but rain of fire or brimstone, as with Sodom and Gomorrha.” (Keil & Delitzsch) “The fire of God fell in Elijah's time ( 1 Kings 18:38; 2 Kings 1:10).” (Gary H. Everett)
“While he was still speaking, another also came and said, ‘The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!’ (17) Seeing the handwriting on the wall, God protected Job’s children and took them Himself. “While he was still speaking, another also came and said, ‘Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and suddenly 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 are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you!’ Then Jesus got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it was perfectly calm. The men were amazed and asked, ‘What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey Him!’” (Matthew 8:26b – 27)
“Job arose, tore his robe,’ tearing the garments, ‘shaving’ or pulling off the hair of ‘the head,’ and “prostrated himself; lay all along upon the ground, with his face in the dust” (Adam Clarke)— that substance from which Adam was formed and to which all shall at last return. — ‘and [he] worshiped.’ Job grieved but worshipped. These two activities are not incompatible. He saw God’s hand in the events of his life. Moreover he had a proper perspective on his possessions. His faith did not relieve his agony; it caused it. Many people believe that if one has enough faith, he or she will always be happy. Job’s experience does not bear this out.” (Thomas Constable) — “And he said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away; blessed be the name of Yahweh.’ (21) He justly concluded, that God had resumed His own; and that as he came naked into the world, so he must return to his fathers.” (Arno Gaebelein) “The Vulgate, Septuagint, and Coverdale, add, ‘The Lord hath done as he pleased.’... May God alone be all my portion!” (Adam Clarke)
“In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.’ (22) Instead of cursing God, which Satan said he would do, he adored Him, and gave Him the glory of His sovereignty, and of His justice, and of His goodness also, in this most severe dispensation.” (Poole) "In his prosperity, he does not forget to praise God for his blessings. Thus, when the temporary is taken away, the permanent still remains." (David McKenna) My children will live again at the resurrection of the just, at the last day.