Man From Uz – Job 1:1-5

Have you ever had a brush with fame, you know, run into someone very famous? I was once in a hotel for a conference in Chicago and as I was getting off the elevator coming in was Mr. T. Not famous enough (“I pity the fool”)? I also remember walking through the Memphis airport after a flight and saw a famous country/western singer walking toward the gate. As I caught his eye and he knew he was recognized this funny look came over his face, like, “Oh man, I hope I don’t have to talk to a fan.”

We’re going to have a brush with fame in the book of Job. I know, he isn’t currently famous. Of course, he’s dead, and he lived a really long time ago, but we are going to learn something from this famous man’s life that just might change our lives.

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, ESV)

Job, and unusual book about an unusual man. Where Uz is we don’t know, except that it is in the east, which, from the standpoint of the Biblical writers would be east of the Jordan River, outside the holy land. The author describes Job as “blameless and upright” and mentions two facets of his righteousness: 1) he feared God, which is standard Biblical terminology for someone who deeply respected and loved God, and 2) he turned away from evil, which we should understand to be the result of his love for God.

And he was filthy rich, in fact, “the greatest of all the people of the east,” a description kind of like our Time’s Man of the Year, Forbes’ Richest Person in the World, or People’s Sexiest Man Alive. And part of what makes him great was he was a family man, enjoying his many kids even as they enjoyed each other, and in frequent prayer for them and making sacrifices on their behalf in case they might have strayed from the faith. Whether that was really effective or not (would not his children need to make confession themselves?), he was obviously devoted to his children and concerned about their relationship to God.

Why are we being introduced to this man? We are going to go on a strange and painful journey with this man, a journey that in some respects we all have made in kind, but which is magnified to the extreme, even as Job’s character is magnified. And we are going to get a behind the scenes look at not only Job’s experience and thoughts, but God’s hand in all of Job’s journey.

Question. If someone were to describe our life, how would we measure up to Job? This is important, because what happens to Job may happen to us in some measure, and we may be tempted to say we don’t deserve it, because, hey, look how good a person we are. But if we don’t deserve to suffer, how much less did Job deserve to suffer? That will be a critical fact to take into account in Job’s story. Are you ready to travel this road? Let’s go.

Discussion Questions for Small Groups

1. Describe what your perfect day would be.
2. How would your worst enemy describe you? How about your best friend?
3. Why might we compare ourselves to someone like Job, or would we prefer to compare ourselves to someone of less stature?
4. In Moses’ preaching of the Law he summarizes how we are to relate to God, loving Him with all our heart, soul and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5). Can this really be synonymous with fearing God?
5. What would turning away from evil entail? What list can we make?
6. Would you feel comfortable asking God to make you a person like Job, especially in regard to his spiritual life?