Commentary of Job Chapter 1 – character, wealth & fatherhood

This is a commentary and breakdown of Job chapter 1:1-5 and includes biblical art paintings (no copyright infringement intended).

Job is a man we can all be inspired by as disciples of Jesus Christ in this new covenant of grace! Job had it all, greatness, financial wealth, a family and fame but yet he still served God with integrity and played a faithful role of fatherhood to his children! In the following chapters of the book of Job we also get to see a picture of his calling as a husband, that he was faithful to his wife even to the point of vowing to not look at other women with lust. However, in this post, let’s break down some interesting points and revelations about Job taken from Job 1 when we are introduced to him, his conduct, his wealth, his children and household.

His Character

There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. 

Job 1:1 (nkjv)

Job was blameless. There are only a few people that the bible tells us were blameless (in terms of righteousness) before the coming of Christ. These are Noah, Daniel, Job and also Zachariah and his wife Elizabeth (the parents of John the baptist). That is pretty special! So what is it that made Job so special that God brags about him to Satan? Let’s look at 4 characteristics that the bible highlights about Job’s character:

Job was blameless. The Hebrew word used for blameless is tam which means perfect, sound, complete, morally innocent and having integrity.

Job was righteous. The Hebrew word used for righteous is yashar which means straight, upright, correct, right, pleasing, correct, straightforward & just.

Job was one who feared God. The Hebrew word used for “and one that feared” is yare’ which means fearing, reverent, afraid. The bible tells us in Proverbs 9:10 and 1:7 that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom. The reverent fear that Job had for God, shows us that he was a man of godly wisdom and knowledge.

Job shunned evil. The Hebrew word used for “shunned” is cuwr which means to turn aside, to depart, avoid, to be removed, take away, put away, depose, to come to an end. The Hebrew word used for “evil” is ra` which means bad, malignant, bad, unpleasant, evil (giving pain, unhappiness, misery). Meaning that Job distanced himself from evil things, that is, all things that God hates. Now one will need to be mature in their faith to know the things that God hates, hence why the bible says in Hebrews 5:12 “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

This all shows us that Job was a man who was mature spiritually and a man who had great faith. You and I can all be a people who are blameless in our walk with the LORD, children who walk in the reverent fear of the LORD and shun evil; if we allow ourselves to grow in faith under the leading of the Holy Spirit. The key to character building and growth is knowing and doing the Word of God so as to produce fruits of righteousness, even as Job did.

His Wealth

And seven sons and three daughters were born to him. Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East.

Job 1:2-3 (nkjv)

When I was studying this I was led to calculate Job’s wealth according to modern day prices. At times, modern day Christians may not have an idea of how the bible is measuring Job’s assets and world goods, crediting them as “wealth”. Moreover, when studying wealth in the bible, the bible usually gives us two different words for financial assets, it either calls them riches or wealth; the latter describing something of greater measure than riches. So here is a calculation of Job’s livestock:

7000 Sheep/ cost on average £250 = £1.75million

3000 Camels/ cost on average £13000 = £39million

500 Oxen/ cost on average £900 = £450 000

500 Female donkeys/ cost on average £500 = £250 000

Other Things To Consider Regarding Job’s Wealth:

servants taking care of the animals,

food resources to feed all this livestock,

shelter/storage to keep all this livestock

the large household mentioned in this scripture (likely a mansion with servant quarters according to modern day standards)

Total estimate of Job’s wealth (livestock only) = £41 million

Job’s livestock (excluding the very large household mentioned in the bible) according to modern day value was £41 450 000 that’s £41 million. However, I perceive that in those times the livestock was worth a lot more, perhaps not in monetary value but in society value. Why? It is because between then and now, these animals are now more available due to reproduction, our economies and lifestyles changes etc but back then these would have been great assets, a huge commodity and a known display of wealth economically, financially and environmentally. Taking in consideration that in those days, there was rarely any forms of animal mass producing like we have now through machinery and chemicals. The meat from the animals would have been significantly more valuable, healthy and nutritious. Also Job’s livestock wealth can also open our eyes to consider how they were bred, fed and cared for. There would have been servants doing this, a great amount of feeding schemes and food resources needed, a place where the livestock was kept, be it on acres of land or barns and more. If we consider all the wealth of Job after adding all the pieces to the puzzle such as servants, tools used for animal labour, food used to feed these livestock, acres of land/storage, the worth of his very large household including the costs of running this very large household on a day to day basis, it can be estimated that Job’s wealth would have well been over £200 million in modern-day value. How many men or women do you know in your city, that are worth £200+ million? It is understandable how Job would have been the greatest man in the land of Uz, in the East.

His Fame

Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East.

Job 1:3 (nkjv)

Due to Job’s wealth the bible kind of gives a picture that Job became well known due to his wealth and was rated as the greatest man of the region he lived in, the land of Uz, in the East. In modern times Job would have been on the Forbes top 100 greatest and wealthiest of the people from the East and he would be number 1 on that list. The bible here is giving us an important facet about wealth on earthly terms, that it is a sort of power, so powerful that it gives a status of greatness on earth. The bible says in This is to be understood from the point of view of the human needs on earth, that is to mean that most forms of physical need require the currency of money. Be it health-wise, shelter, food, education, travel, family planning, marriage etc it all needs some sort of money to aid performance, maintenance or effectiveness.

Now the word used in Hebrew for “was the greatest” is gadowl which means great; large (in magnitude and extent), in number, in intensity, in importance. Job’s wealth made him the greatest of all people in the East. Keep in mind that Job was also a priest (revealed in Job 1:5 and Job 42:8). In the modern day climate, Job’s wealth would have caused many arguments, debates and heresies. Job would have had many people telling him that he shouldn’t be wealthy because he is a priest, that he is stealing offerings (in those days offerings were in the form of livestock) and must be humble by being poor! The greatness and wealth of Job is a testament that debunks modern-day skewed doctrines & debates which state that Christians and particularly pastors & leaders, should be poor. Those who say such things have not really understood the mind of God concerning riches, the anointing of wealth and the kingship He has given His children on earth through Christ.

Fatherhood – Job’s Sons & Daughters

And his sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day, and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according tothe number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did regularly.

Job 1:4-5 (nkjv)

Job had 7 sons and 3 daughters and when you read about Job’s sons you can’t help but giggle a little. The bible invites us into their lifestyles of parties and celebrations. They were somewhat frivolous! The LORD said to me these words as I was learning about Job, “his sons did not emulate their father.” His sons were not like their father; blameless, upright, God fearing and shunning evil. However, there was something admirable about Job’s sons! I believe Job’s sons had to be close with their sisters and had a good sibling relationship because the bible highlights that each time the boys had parties, they would always invite their sisters and each one of the son’s would have his turn to have a party and the sisters were always invited. This gives us a picture of the relationship these children had and also how Job and his wife raised their children, well enough to show unity, good communication, care and bonding even in times of plenty. Sometimes in families when people have plenty, they forget their siblings or family members. Moreover, this is important to note because in modern times we often see a lot of sibling rivalry which later affects people in friendships and even marriage. Such people who always competed with their siblings can end up in their adult life competing with their friends and even with their spouses. Sibling rivalry is partly a result of poor parenting and also an individual’s poor mindset that feeds on competing, envy and jealousy. The world calls sibling rivalry normal, yet when you look at it with spiritual eyes you can see it is a dangerous mindset that enables toxic thoughts and behaviour! Thank God for fathers like Job whose character of protection, family unity and care, rubbed off on his children and is seen in how the sons related to the daughters.

On the other hand, Job’s sons seemed to be the only source of worry in Job’s life. Job would be so mindful and concerned about them such that every time they had their parties he would wake up early in the morning to go and sacrifice (Job was a priest) some his livestock for the sins of his sons, in case they had sinned in their hearts. If we look into this deeply, we can see that the lifestyle of Job’s sons not only affected Job (his sleep pattern disturbed) but also affected Job’s wealth (sacrificing for their sins). Moreover, these parties his children had, also show us that Job may have had eyes (people or his own spiritual discernment) watching his sons’ behaviours to hear if they had sinned publicly. Job had a fear that his sons would openly curse God or sin during these parties. Now even if they didn’t sin publicly, Job still followed the law and covered his children in case they committed a sin of the heart and/or cursed God in their hearts. Sins of the heart are sins that are unnoticeable to the physical eye but only to the spiritual eye. For example, a man looking at a woman in lust the bible says that it is the same as having sex with her in his heart (adultery) or a person smiling at their acquaintance outwardly yet inside they have a hatred or jealousy towards him or her. These are all sins of the heart.

Never the less, the conduct of Job towards his children should be inspiration to many fathers in our generation. Primarily that fathers are to cover their children spiritually, materially and emotionally. They are to protect through prayer and not to kill through words (emotionally, mentally) even when their children do the things that typical teenagers do. The bible says in Colossians 3:21, “Fathers, do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged.” Fathers are to have grace with their children, allowing them to also be themselves as they manoeuvre through the spaces of life. Job did not stop his children from having parties but he stopped any open door that the enemy may have tried to come in through these parties/lifestyle. This does not mean that children should not be disciplined by their parents, no, but it shows us a picture that parents ought to run to God first with problems & issues that come with raising children. This passage gives us wisdom on how there are ways that parents can tackle things in the spiritual realm before things are tackled in this physical realm! Job was a man of the Word and of prayer. He didn’t go knocking on his son’s doors early in the morning, commanding and questioning them but instead he sanctified them! How? Through the Word of God (water in those days) and he went before the throne of grace presenting their sin to the LORD, on behalf of them.

The act of Job rising up early to sanctify his children and to also sacrifice for their sins is very important to ponder on, it shines a light on how fathers should know the Word of God so that there are in a position to speak the Word when troubles rise up concerning the children that God has blessed them with! Indeed, that fathers ought to rise up early to sanity their children with the Word before they complain to their children about their children’s weaknesses! Dear reader, Job’s story is showing fathers the importance of knowing the Word of God and walking in the Word of God in order to successfully raise up children! There is only so much that a parent can do to protect his/her children from bad things happening but God is able to protect a parent’s child(ren) from every bad thing. Job understood this and hence put his trust in God concerning his children’s shortfalls.

In His Service

Dephne

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