Job 1:1-3 “That Man Was Blameless and Upright”

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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.
Job 1:2 And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.
Job 1:3 His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

Introduction

This book of Job is as much a part of “the testimony of Jesus Christ” as is the book of Revelation. The book of the revelation of Jesus Christ opens with the admonition that we are to “keep the things written therein: for the time is at hand” and, as we have just learned, it concludes with the same admonition.

Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Rev 22:6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
Rev 22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

Once we are granted to notice that these are the words of our Lord, we should now know beyond any doubt that “the testimony of Jesus” spoken of in the book of Revelation includes “every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” and not just the words of the book of Revelation.

Rev 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Rev 1:2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

If we are to “bare record of the Word of God and of the testimony of Jesus Christ and of all things that we see”, then we must bear record of the Christ- centric nature of every single book, every chapter and every word of the entire Bible, which is “the Word” of God.

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

This is what “The Word” reveals to us all concerning Himself:

Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

“The words I speak to you, they are spirit”. What difference does that make? What is Christ telling us? What that means is that Christ’s words all have a spiritual meaning which is much deeper than the physical words used to express that meaning. Christ is said to be both a ‘Lamb’ and a ‘Lion’. Those are spiritual words which have nothing at all to do with either a literal lamb or a literal lion. Those words are used only to tell us how vulnerable and yet powerful our Lord is.

It is granted only to a few who believe on Christ to understand that “the holy spirit teaches comparing spiritual things with spiritual… not in words which man’s wisdom teaches…”

1Co 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

It was not pagan Romans or Gentiles Christ refers to when He tells us:

Mat 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them [It was the multitudes who came to Christ to hear Him teach] in parables?
Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

It was “those Jews which believed on Him”, but who at the same time “had no place within” them for His words (Joh 8).

Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh 8:33 They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
Joh 8:37 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

So it is to this day. The multitudes of Christianity do not even believe that it is possible to “believe on Him” and at the same time “want to kill” Him. “It is not given” to the multitudes of Christianity “to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God” to this very day. The multitudes of orthodox Christianity are not given to believe that “the kingdom of God is within you”, but all those to whom this incredible gift is given will readily acknowledge that the experience of Job is an integral part of bringing us to that kingdom of God within each of us when we first come to know Christ. We all believe in Christ, and yet ‘have no place within us for His Words’ when we first come to Him.

Those with whom God is working to bring them to that blessed and holy first resurrection eventually come to see that they must live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, and they must be the first to do so. Those words include the words of this book of Job, where we come to see ourselves as “those Jews which believed on Him” and who, like those Jews who came to Christ, and like Job ‘have no room in us for His words’.

Mat 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

So if we apply Mat 4:4; Rev 1:3; and Rev 22:6-7 to the words of this prophecy, what we will find in this prophecy is that God has used this entire book of Job to demonstrate that we are all the self- righteous Pharisee who looks down on the repentant Publican before we can become that repentant Publican. What we will find in this study of this book of Job is that Job’s condemnation of God to make himself righteous, is the “same event” we all experience, when we see ourselves as a blameless Pharisee, thinking we are living our lives in the service of our Lord, when in fact we are doing nothing less than “contending with God”, and ‘condemning Him in order to make ourselves righteous’.

Job 40:1 Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said,
Job 40:2 Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.

While the commentaries are forced to acknowledge that Job was contending with God and actually condemning God and God’s ways to make himself righteous, they have not been granted eyes to see that it was Christ Himself who brought Satan into this relationship, for the very purpose of showing Job and you and I that Satan is nothing more than a tool in His hand. They are not granted eyes to see that this entire story demonstrates for us all, that until we all acknowledge the total sovereignty of God in all the affairs of all of mankind of all time, we too, are contending with God to maintain our own righteousness, and our own supposedly superior ways, when the Truth of the matter is that even our self- righteousness was itself ‘written in God’s book before any of our days were’.

Psa 139:16 Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.

This verse revealing that Christ is the author of every one of our books should make another New Testament verse even more meaningful to us.

Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

We must all be brought to the same humbled position to which God brought Job, via His use of the waster He created to destroy our old man.

Job 40:3 Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
Job 40:4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
Job 40:5 Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.
Job 40:6 Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Job 40:7 Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
Job 40:8 Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

Isa 54:16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

The function of “the waster to destroy” is as much a part of the revelation of Jesus Christ, as is the first and the last Adam. Satan in this story is revealed to be “the waster to destroy” our old man and all his possessions. Not one person in a thousand understands that Noah before the flood is a shadow of our old man, just as Job, before his trials is a shadow of our old man. Even fewer realize that Noah after the flood is the type and shadow of our new spiritual man, still in an earthen vessel, and Job, after his trials, is also a type and shadow of our new spiritual man, still in an “earthen vessel… till the redemption of the purchased possession”.

2Co 4:7 But we have this treasure [“Christ in you, the hope of glory”] in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Col 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

“Christ in you… That the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us”. That is the lesson of this story of Job. That is the understanding which Job lacked simply because “… that man was blameless and upright”. We, just like Job during his trials, simply cannot understand when we first hear of Christ that our every breath is literally a work which He is performing in us. Neither he nor his first three comforters, could understand that their own actions, and our own actions, be they for good or for evil, are done only at the direction of God Himself. None of us is able to understand that even our sins are His work making us wicked for our own “day of evil”.

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Isa 63:17 O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

This is what Job, and the whole world, cannot accept to this very day. This is what is to this day “hid from ages and from generations, but is now made manifest to His saints”.

Job 40 is God’s words summarizing Job’s and our true spiritual condition while under the illusion that he and we, because of our own will and because of all our own efforts and our own hard work and all of our good works we have performed, therefore we are not a wicked men, but Job and we are, in our own eyes, all very righteous people.

Here we all are, as Job, contending with God.

Job 10:7 Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand.
Job 10:8 Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me.
Job 10:9 Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again?

Job 27:5 God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.
Job 27:6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.

All of God’s elect, who He will use to bring all the rest of mankind to Himself, must first endure these severe trials that ‘bring us to our wits end’. Until we have done so, we are not fit to deal with others who must also “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”.

Psa 107:24 These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.
Psa 107:25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
Psa 107:26 They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.
Psa 107:28 Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30 Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
Psa 107:31 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

This story of Job is just one account of how God, via “the waster… commands and raises the stormy winds…’ and brings us all ‘to our wits end’.

“You do destroy me… will you bring me to dust again?” The answer to that question is a resounding, “Yes indeed!”

Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
Jer 18:5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer 18:6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.
Jer 18:7 At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;

Are you “the Israel of God” Paul speaks of in Gal 6:15-16?

Gal 6:15 Certainly, it doesn’t matter whether a person is circumcised or not. Rather, what matters is being a new creation.
Gal 6:16 Peace and mercy will come to rest on all those who conform to this principle. They are the Israel of God. (GW)

If you and I are truly “the Israel of God”, then He is not “making it another vessel”, just like the first “marred… vessel of clay.” The new ‘Israel’ is the “new man” who will be “born again… of the spirit… having this treasure within this earthen vessel” only “until the redemption of the purchased possession”.

Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

2Co 5:16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Job’s experience “happened to him and it is written for us upon whom the ends of the ages are come” (1Co 10:11).

When we declare that we are not wicked, and we declare our own righteousness, we are, out of our own mouth, demonstrating our total lack of knowledge of the mind of God and the mind of His Son, who tell us this of our own flesh:

Mat 19:17 And he [ Christ] said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

Psa 14:3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Psa 53:3 Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Rom 3:12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Job was a self-righteous Pharisee who considered himself to be “blameless” as did the rich young ruler, the apostle Paul, and as do we all when the word of God first begins to purge us of this terrible spiritual affliction.

So the message of this story of Job is that his experience is an essential part of the experience which is common to all men.

Ecc 9:2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

We will be studying this book with the same key that opens all of God’s word up to us. We will not be seeking to simply learn what happened to Job, instead we will seek to know how these words apply to us as the scriptures instruct us.

1Co 3:21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;

Here is Job 1:1 in the Rotherham’s Emphasized Version:

Job 1:1 A man, there was—in the land of Uz, Job, his name,—and that man was blameless and upright, and one who revered God, and avoided evil. (REV)

Christ did not deny that the rich young ruler had kept the law from his youth up:

Luk 18:18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
Luk 18:19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.
Luk 18:20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.
Luk 18:21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.

Paul too, was “blameless” in his adherence to the law of Moses.

Php 3:4 Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:
Php 3:5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
Php 3:6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

But being “blameless… touching the righteousness which is in the law” is not quite ‘blameless’ enough, and because it is not the faith of Christ. What we intended for our own good, thus becomes our greatest sin; the sin of self- righteousness.

It is not our lack of righteousness which stinks before God. To the contrary, it is our own “righteousnesses”.

Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

What does Paul think of his own righteousness?

Php 3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
Php 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

Job, while contending with God, is our natural man, and the natural man cannot understand what advantage there is in “being made conformable unto His death”.

Our next couple of verses demonstrate how appealing it is to be in this self-righteous state of mind, while being completely unaware of how critical our spiritual health is, and being completely unaware of the impending destruction of our old man that God is in the process of working within us.

Job 1:2 And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.
Job 1:3 His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

These numbers of Job’s family and his possessions, are all very revealing in themselves. His seven doomed sons and his three doomed daughters symbolize the good and the bad that is in the “seven churches” within us. His three daughters foreshadow the process of the judgment of those churches within. We are to hear what is being said to all of the churches, not just Smyrna and Philadelphia.

Rev 2:29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

His seven new sons and his three new daughters are the new man and new church, “the heavenly Jerusalem… the mother of us all”, the church of God, which is being formed through and upon the unbelief and destruction of our old man and the unbelief and destruction of the great harlot church who has “deceived the whole world”.

Rom 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

The “seven thousand sheep” symbolize God’s complete flock which is first deceived by the dragon and who are saved only through their own destruction and death.

Isa 54:16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

His three thousand camels symbolize all those in our lives who serve to help carry us through this process of being judged. They too, are us.

1Co 3:21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;

The “five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses” are the symbol of the grace and faith which work to make us wealthy in the things of Babylon, and which help to bear our burdens at that time in our walk.

It all adds up to a “very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

So “this man was [both] blameless and upright…” But he was also very wealthy in this part of His experience, so that “this man was the greatest of all the men of the east”.

How can we possibly fail to see a parallel between Job’s spiritual condition and our own, as those who are of the church of Laodicea?

Rev 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

As this part of our walk progresses, we have no idea that we are wicked and vile. We think we are letting God work in our lives for the good of many, and we expect to be rewarded well for our “many good works”.

But what does God think of our works?

Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Christ does not deny that these “Jews that believed on Him” had done ‘many wonderful works in his name.’ Nevertheless, it is those very works to which Christ refers when He tells us that we “work iniquity” simply because we are denying His sovereignty by giving ourselves the glory for those ‘many good works’.

So this is a book about much more than just the struggle to understand the great war in the heavens, and the struggle between the powers of evil and the powers which are good within us. Far more important is the emphasis in this book on the total sovereignty of God over all things within us, both the good within us and the evil within us.

Next week, Lord willing, we will cover these verses:

Job 1:4 And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.
Job 1:5 And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered 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 did Job continually.
Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
Job 1:7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

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