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 that feared God, and eschewed evil

As any parent knows, children can ask questions that wise men cannot answer. The questions of a three-year-old may seem simple, but there are many for which mom and dad have no answer. Job is a book that tackles many of the big questions like, “Why is there evil in the world?” and “Why do bad things happen to good people?” It addresses the big question about the nature and person of God. Job is also a book of calamity, 42 chapters of poetic misery. Job lost his health, wealth, family, and farm. He lost everything except his wife who told him to curse God and die. You may say it ends well, but Job had more anxiety, problems, and heartaches than most of us could endure.

Before we look at Job’s story, we should consider three dynamics: virtue, evil, and ignorance. These play some role in our understanding of what we are going to read in Job’s story. First, consider virtue. Job 1:1 says, “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, one that feared God, and eschewed evil.” Job was a good man. Are you a good person? Would your spouse and kids think so? Would God think so? Verse 8 says, “And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil.” Here was a man who in the eyes of people and of God had virtue.

In verse 9 the devil replies, “Doth Job fear God for nought?” He is saying, “Doesn’t Job have a reason to fear, love, and follow God? God has been so good to him.” Untested virtue is merely good digestion. You feel well, you do well, and you think, “Why is this other person doing bad things?” Well, we all have a sin nature, but sometimes we have not committed a certain sin because we have never been tempted. Someone who has untested virtue really doesn’t have virtue. You have no idea how strong the current of your own nature and the culture around you is unless you try to go the opposite direction. An untested virtue is no virtue.

There is no virtue without a standard. There is no evil without a standard. If there is no God, then there is no good. This brings up a certain question. How could a God who has such power allow the devil to do what he did? The bottom line is that there is no evil by any standard unless there is a standard of absolute right and good, and that would be God. The devil himself said, “Does Job fear God for nought?” God had been good to Job. So, there is virtue.

Second, there is evil. Verse 6 says, “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.” There is evil in the world, and Job did not know that the devil was involved in his story. Sometimes I have naively thought to myself, whether I am thinking about my neighbors, society, or the world, “Why can’t we all just get along?” That is naïve because we all have a sin nature and are selfish. Evil is global. There is conflict whenever there is more than one desire. The Bible says, “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?”

There is an unseen evil. We tend to either blame the devil for everything or ignore him altogether. As one friend said, “The devil will give you what you want, but it will cost you what you have.” There is a devil, but I can’t say he made me do it whenever I do something wrong. The reason we notice the evil in the book of Job is because we think, “What did Job do to provoke this calamity?” The truth is, most people reap calamity simply by being given what they want by the devil. They want happiness and they end with misery by sowing what they think they want in the short term. So, there is virtue and there is evil.

Lastly, there is ignorance. There is so much in Job that we just don’t know. If fact, the people in the story did not know much. Job 2:9 talks about Job’s wife. She said, “Curse God, and die.” Now, she was going through this calamity too, nonetheless, that is not great advice. Verse 11 introduces us to Job’s three friends. So much of what they said is really good, but it is misapplied to Job who probably didn’t deserve a lot of it. God seems to indicate this Himself in the last chapter of Job.

So, there was Job, his wife, and his friends. Did any of them realize they weren’t the only players in the story? Did any of them realize God was involved in this? To some extent, yes, but did any of them realize there was a devil involved? I don’t think they did. They didn’t know that God actually spoke of Job’s integrity to the devil. They didn’t know that the devil was the accuser of the brethren, including Job. In fact, both God and the devil demonstrate the goodness and the sovereignty of God. God says, Behold, all he hath is in thy power.” God was in control. There brings up some profound question. How can God be good and sovereign and then produce the world we have?

Let me list four things in conclusion to the three dynamics we considered. First is humility. Realize there are things you do not know and cannot know. You cannot know someone else’s heart and you cannot always know the mind of God and everything that God has in store. You don’t know what evil or good there is afoot in the world that you cannot see.

Second is vigilance. I Peter says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”  There is a devil and evil, and that evil is sometimes in us.

Third is patience. James tells us that Job was a man who had endurance. He was patient. That may have wavered at times, but patience is important both in the struggles we endure and as we engage other people. We need to be patient with people and vigilant with ourselves.

Fourth is appeal. Realize there is an authority higher than your own and knowledge, power, and understanding that exceeds anything you can understand. That is the knowledge, power, and understanding of God.

Remember humility, diligence, patience, and to whom to appeal as you consider the three dynamics in Job. There is a lot we don’t know, but we have a glimpse into some of that in the book of Job.

 

Share This