The Wisdom of Uz (Job 1:1–22)

The book of Job is considered  “wisdom” literature in the Old Testament. As a godly man experienced unparalleled trouble, he sought answers to important questions. He sought wisdom. He wanted to make sense of what was happening to him. He wanted answers to what he deemed to be important, essential questions. Job was confused by the actions of his Creator. After all, “the book of Job is not about suffering in general, and certainly not about the sufferings common to men and women the world over. Rather it is about how God treats his friends” (Bob Fyall). Job sought clarity to this seeming paradoxical behaviour. It is in this context that he was exposed to the various types of wisdom offered in his land of Uz. The book is, in one sense, about the wisdom of Uz.

As we read these 42 chapters, we hear the wisdom of Job’s three friends, of Job himself, of a young man, and of God. It is the latter wisdom that matters. In fact, it is the only true wisdom found in the book. And strangely, it is wisdom that did not answer all of Job’s questions! But it was enough wisdom to enable Job to make sense of life and to live it, once again, to the full. As Atkinson says, “It will show us how one man at the end of the day was enabled by grace to live with his questions.”

So, there was a lot of “wisdom in Uz” but the reader is called upon to pay careful attention and discern what is true wisdom and what is not. In other words, not all the wisdom of Uz is actually wise. So in our own “land of Uz.”

Books, psychologists, psychiatrists, and a host of advertised counsellors claim to provide wisdom for living a fulfilled life. They offer their “wisdom” concerning how to handle life when it falls apart. Like the wisdom of Uz, some is better than others, yet most of the wisdom peddled as sure and certain is a mixture of truth and falsehood—and often more of the latter than the former.

But even the church can get it wrong, and it certainly does when its only wisdom is the so-called prosperity gospel, or possibly the so-called therapeutic gospel. The church needs to preach the biblical gospel, which is not, “Lord, I’m empty: Fill me” but rather, “Lord, I’m an offence to you: Rescue me” (Tico Rice).

The biblically instructed believer understands that the only wisdom that reaches the bar is the wisdom that comes from Yahweh, the sovereign Lord. Richard Belcher has helpfully captured the theme of Job when he summarises, “God allows in his wisdom what he could easily prevent by his power.” Job came to see this. This is the wisdom of Uz. May our studies help us to learn and live this as well.

Richard Belcher offers the following helpful outline of Job.

1. Prologue (1:1–2:13)
2. Job’s Lament (3:1–26)
3. The Cycle of Speeches (4:1–27:23)
4. The Wisdom Poem (28:1–28)
5. Job’s Last Speech (29:1–31:40)
6. Elihu’s Speeches (32:1–37:24)
7. God’s Speeches and Job’s Response (38:1–42:6)
8. Epilogue (42:7–17)

For our purposes in this study, we will look at chapter 1 under four headings:

1. A Man of Holy Character (vv. 1–5)
2. A Meeting of the Heavenly Council (vv. 6–12)
3. A Mixture of Horrific Calamity (vv. 13–19)
4. A Marvel of Humble Confession (vv. 20–22)

A Man of Holy Character

In this first chapter of the prologue the reader is introduced to a unique individual, one who though not sinless (13:26; 14:16), nevertheless is described as “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” The narrator writes,

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people 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. And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate 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 children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.

(Job 1:1–5)

In more than material ways, Job is described by the author, under inspiration, as the “greatest of all the people of the East.” Christopher Ash helpfully summarises: “A good man became a great man, and a pious man became a prosperous man.” Yet the question to be addressed is, “will he continue to be a good man when he ceases to be a great man; will he cease to be a pious man when he ceases to be a prosperous man?”

His Fear

Tremper Longman reminds us that the word “fear” means “to be in awe,” as in to declare as “awesome.” He writes, “Those who fear Yahweh know their proper place in creation. They are not the centre of creation; God is much greater. The person who fears God thus is willing to listen to God and to obey God; in this way it is the beginning of wisdom.” This is the kind of man that Job was (see 28:28).

It is essential to keep this testimony, affirmed by God (v. 8), in mind. It will help us to avoid simple and fallacious answers as to why some people suffer. In a very real sense, this verse immediately raises the question, why do bad things happen to good people?

I have often been critical of this statement and, as it is usually bandied about, it should be criticised. But we need to keep before us that the doctrine of human depravity is not the centre of this story. The story of Job is such a compelling story because a good person suffered grievously. Though none are sinless, many are nevertheless “good” (Acts 11:23; Galatians 5:22).

His Family

Job had ten children: seven sons and three daughters. Ten is a number of fullness. The imagery of the chapter suggests that his was a family that feasted rather than fought when they got together. It was a happy family.

His Fortune and Fame

Job’s wealth was vast. In a culture in which wealth was measured by livestock, Job’s wealth was sufficiently immense that he was considered “the greatest [perhaps the wealthiest] of all the people of the east.”

His Faith

Most significantly, Job was a worshipper of the true God, Yahweh (see v. 21). He “feared God and turned away from evil.” But he did not fear a generic god; he was devoted to Yahweh, the true God (v. 21). And, in his devotion, he understood his, and his family’s, need to be right with God through sacrifice.

Verse 5, I think, helps us to date the book before the time of Moses. Under Levitical law, Job would have been prohibited from offering sacrifices apart from the priesthood and tabernacle. The absence of reference to the sacrificial system suggests that Job predated it. He was perhaps a contemporary of Abraham, which serves to further commend his walk with God. Ash writes, “Here was a man who knew almost nothing of God, and yet, as we shall see, he knew God and trusted and worshipped him as God.”

Regardless of the story’s dating, we are told enough to realise we are looking at a man who feared the Lord. He was thewiseman of Uz.

McKenna observes that Job was both “the religious mentor of his children as well as their spiritual mediator.” He took seriously both his responsibility and opportunity to lead his family to the Lord. A burnt offering speaks of God’s fiery wrath against sin. Job took this gospel truth seriously.

There is no reason to assume that his children were sinning in their feasting, but Job was so concerned about their spiritual condition that he did what he could to intercede for them. He was continually conscientious (“early in the morning”) about their standing before God. This is, sadly, all too rare among professing Christians, and especially among the wealthy (which is most of us!).

Are we giving our children what they want or what they need? Consider these words from McKenna:

Many modern youth from wealthy families fall victim to the dread disease, “affluenza.” Rather than finding happiness in affluence, they suffer the symptoms of being lost, lonely, and loveless. Often they resort to hard and expensive drugs, giving credence to the statement, “Cocaine is God’s way of telling you that you have too much money.”

Job understood the principle later stated in Matthew’s Gospel: “What does it profit a person to gain the whole world and yet lose their own soul?” (Matthew 16:26). He was truly a wise man.

To summarize, Job was a man characterised by “enormous wealth, impeccable integrity, [and a] happy family” (Alden). He was “great,” indeed (v. 3).

A Meeting of the Heavenly Council

Verses 6–12 describe a meeting of the heavenly council, or perhaps a meeting in the heavenly court. These verses set forth the plot of the book at large.

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 have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around 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 stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

(Job 1:6–12)

The Sons of God

The sovereign Lord called to his court his counsel of angelic messengers, here called “sons of God” (see Deuteronomy 32:8; Psalms 29:1; 89:5–7; 1 Kings 22:19–23). Satan (literally, “the Satan”) was among them. The devil is a fallen angel (Revelation 12:9).

Be careful of reading so much into this text that you miss the point. And be careful of universalising and absolutising this scene. Whatever happened here is not said to happen all the time concerning every Christian. I doubt the Satan has ever given me much thought. We should heed the counsel of Alden: “We are given what we need to know, not what we want to know.” Whatever mystery remains, the story still applies.

The Satan of God

The Satan is clearly portrayed in this text as the Satan of God. I use this description in two ways.

First, the Satan is under God’s authority of God. As Luther famously stated, even the devil is God’s devil.

Second, the Satan (the word literally means “adversary”) is primarily the adversary and accuser of God. His main accusations are aimed at God. Satan is the ultimate cynic. We can say that he is the source of cynicism. Francis Anderson is spot on when he observes, “Cynicism is the essence of the satanic.”

The direct object in Hebrew (the Satan) most likely emphasises what Satan does and his diabolical character: He is the accuser. He accuses God to man and believers to God. We see the first of these in Genesis 3:1–5 where Satan, in the form of a serpent, tempted Eve with cynical ideas about God: “He is not good, he does not have your best interest at heart, he is stingy, he cannot be trusted, his word is deceptive.” So human history has continued. Here, the accuser accused both a believer to God and God himself (cf. Zechariah 3:1–2).

Satan accused Job of serving God only because of what he could get from him. As Longman puts it, “The accusation is that Job is virtuous and innocent for his own benefit not for God’s.” God had just affirmed Job’s integrity and the accuser immediately attacked it. In this, it seems that, ultimately, the accuser was attacking God’s integrity and wisdom.

Satan was accusing Yahweh of ulterior motives in blessing Job so abundantly with this providential hedge (v. 10). “You only bless Job so he will serve you. You are not good, and neither is Job. Neither he nor you can be trusted.” Without getting too far ahead, I smile at God’s calmness in it all. God knows. God is wise. Satan does not know. Satan is a fool. So are all who follow his cynical approach to God and his people.

We should be aware, as we sit under God’s word with God’s people, that the accuser aims for us to have a cynical response. That is, as the sons (children) of God gather with the Lord, Satan wants us to doubt what we hear and to think the worst of those we see. But, like every other satanic thing, cynicism doesn’t hurt those dismissed, yet it destroys the cynic. Be careful.

Satan, and those he has persuaded to be cynical, desires the fall of those who openly worship God in order that God will be dishonoured. He wants people to curse God to his face (v. 11).

The Sovereignty of God

It is interesting, is it not, that the same verses that address the presence of Satan also address the sovereign control of God (cf. 1 Chronicles 21:1 with 2 Samuel 24:1).

Yahweh initiated the conversation with the accuser: “I know you have been up to no good.” Satan confessed, “Yes, I have been here, there and everywhere and nowhere in particular.” And then the Lord asked if, in his wanderings, he had come across Job. The sovereign Lord knew the cynicism of Satan and so he challenged him. The sovereign Lord was behind the test and his goal was his glory.

“My servant” is a rare compliment from God in the Bible. Job was everything the author said he was (v. 1).

The accuser was foolishly happy to accept the challenge, yet Yahweh set the parameters. Satan could attack “all that [Job] has…. Only against him do not stretch out your hand” (v. 12). God, not Satan, was control. With this sovereign restriction placed upon him “Satan went out from the presence of the LORD” (12). Yet the Lord remained powerfully present in all that would transpire. “God is always sovereign, and Satan is always only an adversary on a chain” (Atkinson).

When trials come, don’t go down the path of looking for the devil’s hand or the path of blame. Rather respond under the influence of the biblical teaching of God’s sovereign rule over all for his glory and for the good of his people.

Remember: After chapter 2 Satan is entirely out of the picture, while God is all over it!

A Mixture of Horrific Calamity

In vv. 13–19, the test commenced. What would Job experience and how would he respond?

Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were ploughing and the donkeys feeding beside them, and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, there came another 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.” While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

(Job 1:13–19)

Calamity Strikes the Feast

Verse 13 is important as it points us back to v. 5 showing that the troubles began at the end of one cycle of sacrifices. Think of it as if you just returned from full-hearted worship of God, singing his praises, learning his truth, giving for his glory and then—boom!—the hammer of hardship begins. Job now began to experience “stab after stab of misfortune” (Atkinson).

Calamity Strikes the Fortune

In vv. 14–17, three horrific tragedies befell Job’s possessions. Two of these were at the hands of evil people and one was an “act of God.”

First, his servants who were shepherding his oxen and donkeys were attacked and killed and the livestock stolen (vv. 14–15). The second tragedy was a natural disaster of lightning consuming his flock of sheep and the servants who were tending them (v. 16). The third calamity was the theft of all his camels and the murder of his servants (v. 17). Job had lost his wealth.

Calamity Strikes the Family

Of course the greatest tragedy was the death of his ten children (vv. 18–19). I can’t even imagine the heartache. His happy family, together to celebrate, became the innocent victims of a tornado-like wind. The house they were in comes crashing down, crushing the life out of each of the seven sons and three daughters. The sole survivor arrived with the traumatic news. We should pause and sense the loss, the pain, the mind-stunning news.

The hedge had been removed and all manner of hurt had rushed into Job’s life. Heartache had replaced happiness; pain had shattered the peace; calamity had crushed the calm.

We should also pause to consider the context: God was still sovereign. Ultimately, Yahweh and not the Satan, was behind this. As Yahweh would later claim, “I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the LORD, who does all these things” (Isaiah 45:7). Again, “Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it?” (Amos 3:6).

From what follows, it is clear that Job understood this truth. Do we?

A Marvel of Humble Confession

The opening chapter concludes with Job’s marvellous, humble confession:

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

 

In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

(Job 1:20–22)

One could also characterise this response as miraculous, for rather than “Woe is me!” Job declared, “It is well with me.” We find in this confession two attitudes or postures, which are summarised in the closing verse.

Job Bowed

Job’s response was not what the accuser expected. Rather than cursing God, Job blessed God. Rather than responding foolishly, the man from Uz displayed true wisdom in Uz. He wept, yet worshipped. He was broken and yet continued to bow. Though grieved, he glorified. He was hurt and yet he remained holy—ruined, yet reverent, harmed, yet humble. McKenna comments, “Someone has said that we are more prone to sin in prosperity than in poverty. If so, Job stands taller than ever as a ‘perfect’ man.”

Job Blessed

Job did not serve God out of the promise of prosperity. It’s clear from his response that he served God because he loved God. He placed no demands upon the Lord, for he knew that he was finally and ultimately dependent upon the Lord. Whatever he had acquired came from Yahweh (Ecclesiastes 5:15). His treasures belonged to God. Rather than cursing God, He did the unexpected (at least from the accuser’s perspective): He blessed God. “A man may stand before God stripped of everything that life has given him, and still lack nothing.” (Anderson)

Job’s Blamelessness

The chapter ends as it opens, with Job’s integrity intact: “In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong” (v. 22). Job, we are told, did not sin by charging God with wrong. Though tempted by the accuser, he would not accuse; though in soul-agony, he did not commit sinful anger; though assailed on almost every front, he did not apostatise. Rather, he remained faithful to his heavenly Father. He continued to fear the Lord. He displayed wisdom in Uz and before all who were watching him in Uz.

As we bring this study to a close, let me encourage you to learn from Job’s response. Let us be aware of what Job was not aware: that behind our trials is an attempt to move us away from our confession of faith.

When trials come, we may not know why, but we can know how to respond: by worshipping in our lament. Others are watching; let us respond in such a way that they will know that God’s name is to be blessed and not cursed. Our God is to be trusted, not turned from. Let us respond with increasing confidence in the Lord rather than with sinful and indignant cynicism.

Of course, the only ones who can respond rightly are those who can sing, “It is well with my soul.” How can that be? By acknowledging our sinfulness and trusting the one who has died as Mediator between God and man: Christ Jesus the Lord.

Job would later cry for a mediator. By God’s grace, we have one. He suffered in ways that Job could not even imagine. And he did so for sinners who will trust him. Why should we trust him? Because of his death on the cross, his subsequent resurrection and ascension, and his continuing intercession. Believe on the one who is the true wisdom in Uz, the one who is the wisdom of God, the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:24).

AMEN