Prologue Details (Job 1:1-2:13)
In the prologue itself, there are seven things we ought to note, observe, and consider:
“Uz”
Job is from a place called Uz that we don’t really know much about other that it was east of Israel. But it is important to note that he is not a Hebrew. And his friends, a Temanite, a Shuhite, and a Naamathite weren’t either. (One can play around with names, genealogies, and speculations to come to the conclusion that some of these peoples might have been at most related to the Hebrews.). What is interesting here is that we have a biblical account that appears God dealing with people other than the promised line of Abraham. And, that there were people outside of the special revelation of Scripture, who worshiped and followed God.
“blameless”
Job, like Noah before him, is considered Tām, a word that we translate as “blameless” or “perfect.” Of course, the implication here is not that Job is without sin. The Hebrew sense of the word is more “complete” or mature. The idea is that Job was a man of integrity. Apparently, he was the man of most integrity of his generation.
“seven sons and three daughters”
The way this story goes, with the poetry and the heavenly throne room opening, the curses and blessings at the end, it can be hard to remember… these are not cardboard cut outs. These ten people, along with countless servants and livestock, are living beings. If you think about it too much and simply take the literary opening at face value, it seems incredible that God allows Satan to kill them all to test a theory and prove a point. And the point is definitely something to keep in mind! If the point of the Book of Job in the end is proven right, then these people did not just die as a result of a careless bet.
“the adversary”
We love us some good spiritual warfare and demonology these days! But for all our obsession with evil, the Bible is not as caught up with that aspect of things as we are. The word “satan” is used more for its literal meaning “adversary” in the OT (seven passages), than for the supernatural enemy of God (only twice outside of Job). And, both here in Job and in one of the other two uses, it is “the adversary” and not Adversary. Much of the personification of the devil that we know today is born out of teaching and interpretations long after Bible times. All that is not to say that it is bad or wrong (although red, horns, and tail are certainly not right) but rather to caution us as we read Job. We get caught up in the trappings of the story here and we will miss the truth being revealed.
“Does Job fear God for nothing?”
This is a crux of the message of Job. On trial here are two intertwined worldviews: a) people are only good because they know that goodness brings rewards and evil brings punishment, or b) God treats people based on how they live. Good people are blessed and bad people are punished. We might think the story is judging Job; is he really as good as he appears? But the real question is: Are either of these worldviews even right?
“Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
You might have known that the popular praise and worship chorus comes from Job, but are you consciously aware of it when you sing it? All too often these popular songs have a way of deadening our perspective about what we are singing. Job lost everything he had and his children. Would we sing the same song in those original circumstances?
“incited Me…”
Finally, we have this whole interaction between God and the devil. Do we think that the devil (or any other cast-out angels) regularly waltzes into the throne room of heaven with the other angels? Do we think that he really provoked God into killing a bunch of people and cursing His most faithful servant? Or is there something deeper going on here?
“Uz”
Job is from a place called Uz that we don’t really know much about other that it was east of Israel. But it is important to note that he is not a Hebrew. And his friends, a Temanite, a Shuhite, and a Naamathite weren’t either. (One can play around with names, genealogies, and speculations to come to the conclusion that some of these peoples might have been at most related to the Hebrews.). What is interesting here is that we have a biblical account that appears God dealing with people other than the promised line of Abraham. And, that there were people outside of the special revelation of Scripture, who worshiped and followed God.
“blameless”
Job, like Noah before him, is considered Tām, a word that we translate as “blameless” or “perfect.” Of course, the implication here is not that Job is without sin. The Hebrew sense of the word is more “complete” or mature. The idea is that Job was a man of integrity. Apparently, he was the man of most integrity of his generation.
“seven sons and three daughters”
The way this story goes, with the poetry and the heavenly throne room opening, the curses and blessings at the end, it can be hard to remember… these are not cardboard cut outs. These ten people, along with countless servants and livestock, are living beings. If you think about it too much and simply take the literary opening at face value, it seems incredible that God allows Satan to kill them all to test a theory and prove a point. And the point is definitely something to keep in mind! If the point of the Book of Job in the end is proven right, then these people did not just die as a result of a careless bet.
“the adversary”
We love us some good spiritual warfare and demonology these days! But for all our obsession with evil, the Bible is not as caught up with that aspect of things as we are. The word “satan” is used more for its literal meaning “adversary” in the OT (seven passages), than for the supernatural enemy of God (only twice outside of Job). And, both here in Job and in one of the other two uses, it is “the adversary” and not Adversary. Much of the personification of the devil that we know today is born out of teaching and interpretations long after Bible times. All that is not to say that it is bad or wrong (although red, horns, and tail are certainly not right) but rather to caution us as we read Job. We get caught up in the trappings of the story here and we will miss the truth being revealed.
“Does Job fear God for nothing?”
This is a crux of the message of Job. On trial here are two intertwined worldviews: a) people are only good because they know that goodness brings rewards and evil brings punishment, or b) God treats people based on how they live. Good people are blessed and bad people are punished. We might think the story is judging Job; is he really as good as he appears? But the real question is: Are either of these worldviews even right?
“Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
You might have known that the popular praise and worship chorus comes from Job, but are you consciously aware of it when you sing it? All too often these popular songs have a way of deadening our perspective about what we are singing. Job lost everything he had and his children. Would we sing the same song in those original circumstances?
“incited Me…”
Finally, we have this whole interaction between God and the devil. Do we think that the devil (or any other cast-out angels) regularly waltzes into the throne room of heaven with the other angels? Do we think that he really provoked God into killing a bunch of people and cursing His most faithful servant? Or is there something deeper going on here?
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