The Book of Job – Part three

“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?” (Job 1;8)

This Job is presented for examination before a being called the “Satan” and raises for us the second major problem—who was Satan? Seeing that Satan “came among the Sons of God” and in the second appearance (ch. 2:1), “also come among them to present himself before the Lord,” it seems quite logical to assume that whatever conclusion we reach regarding the identification of the “Sons of God” would be equally applicable to Satan.

The one other occasion in the Book of Job when the phrase occurs is in chapter 38:7 — “The Sons of God rejoiced at creation.”

In this case there seems little doubt that it refers to the angelic beings who participated in the wonderful work of creation ; shall we assume, then, that the “sons” of chapter one are angels, and that Satan therefore, is an angel? It is a simple hypothesis.

There are two examples of the use of an imaginary court scene to dramatize a problem : in 1 Kings 22, t h e prophet Micaiah suggests a discussion between God and the host of heaven as a means whereby to entice Ahab : and in Zechariah 3, there is another example of a court scene : the vision of the writer-prophet, where Joshua stands before the Angel of the Lord in filthy garments.

But there is a vital difference between the examples we have suggested and our problem in Job, for there is no evidence of disagreement between God and His ministers!

Indeed, throughout Scripture there is constant and clear evidence of complete harmony between God and His “ministers who do His will, hearkening to the voice of His Word.”

There are many evidences of the fact that they are not only in complete spiritual harmony with the Creator, but are aware of His purpose and have many of His powers — certainly there is no evidence of any evil cynicism demonstrated by the Satan. We regard any argument that supports the idea of evil, or lack of harmony among God’s ministers, or even an angel who has fallen from his high estate, as of extremely doubtful value.

There is a second possibility. In the Book of Genesis, ch. 6, the phrase “the sons of God” occurs in a setting that seems most likely to refer to what we might call a “religious society.”

For example, the modern use of the word Christian is very broad in its application — anyone nominally a member of one of the orthodox denominations, and who attends church occasionally, is called Christian, in contrast to those who are frankly non-religious or ungodly. To narrow the matter down to ourselves — the word Christadelphian means “brother of Christ,” yet we know, of course, that many of the Chris­tadelphians are not true brethren!

The phrase “present themselves before the Lord” is clearly indicative of a formal worship in Josh. 14;1, and 1 Sam.10:19, and others, so it seems reasonable to suggest that the writer of the Book of Job is referring to the men and women of Job’s day meeting for worship and to offer sacrifices.

Satan being among them would suggest, of course, that the Adversary was a man — but even to this there are objections. It is quite out of harmony with the Divine Majesty that God argue on terms of equality with a human being ; there are a number of other objections to the conception of a literal conversation.

The only alternative, in the mind of the present writer, is that of personification. What could be said to be among the “sons of God” and at the same time be of the spirit exhibited by the adversary? There is one thing to be found in every society, and especially in religious — the spirit of envy and jealousy.

“Jealousy is as cruel as the grave” said Solomon, and it is very true. The spirit of envy was responsible for the crucifixion of Christ, and readers will remember how our Lord personified this Spirit that was present in the Pharisees and likened it to the spirit of Cain when he slew Abel.

God therefore used, and personified, the very thing that might question Job’s motive and in its innermost thought, wish that evil might come upon him. The innermost thoughts of Job’s contemporaries were envious and jealous of his wealth and position, and being unable to find any outward flaw in his behaviour, on which to base any accusation, questioned his motive.

We now have two of the essential elements of our problem — (1).. The description of a man, “Job was a perfect man and an upright, one who feared God and departed from evil.” (2) A question: “Doth Job serve God for nought ?” There is a third element emerging from Job’s experiences that supplies the material whereby we arrive, eventually, at a solution to his character and problem.

First let us briefly consider the disasters — some have felt that they did not actually occur, but that an arrangement was made between the “adversary” and an agent to bring false news of the loss of his possessions and family. This is an attractive suggestion for it eliminates a very real problem regarding the character and operations of God whose ways are not always understandable by men.

But the context of the whole story demands that we accept the reality of the experiences, that Job believed the stories, that there was a period of mourning involved, time for the news to reach his friends, time for them to make the necessary arrangements to travel together, to finally reach Job and share his mourning for seven days — all this would, or could, have taken weeks and possibly months. It is extremely doubtful that a hoax could have been maintained for so long a time.

Therefore, we accept, without question, the factual nature of the narrative. The design appears to have been to shock, that the loss of property and servants came first, and the final blow was the loss of family. In the normal man this would have brought an outburst, and the revealing of the inner motivations — but Job wasn’t a normal man; he was of extraordinary calibre.

The question arises here as to the basis for Job’s reaction to the calamitous news. It is traditional to regard verses 20-22 as evidence of sublime faith in God, but Job’s reaction cannot be fairly characterized as faith, for a vital element, of faith in the individual concerned is a recognition of purpose, even though the purpose may, for the moment, be veiled.

It is clearly evident in all Job’s speeches that, to him, there was no logical reason or purpose in the whole affair. There is a recognition of power, however; He who gave, can take away what He has given, and Blessed be His Name. This is stoicism — strength of will of a very high order — coupled with a great pride in the esteem of his contemporaries. This, we hope to elaborate later.

What was accomplished by the first trial ? From the point of view of his enemies, i.e. personified in the Adversary, it was a failure. Though plunged into grief over the loss of his sons and daughters he remained unbroken; without sinning or permitting a word of reproach to escape his lips. But was it a successful trial from God’s point of view ?

If the objective was the bringing of Job to re-assess his way of life, to cut away pride, that his mind might be brought into harmony with God, then it was a failure, and this is corroborated by the fact that a second trial was necessary. In the second scene, the “Sons of God” again come to worship ; and the personification of the spirit of envy is asked the same question, “hast thou considered my servant Job ?” and there is a sentence added that provides us with another clue to his character, “He holds fast to his integrity.”

Satan’s reply is one of the most cynical in the whole Book, “skin for skin, all that a man hath will he give in exchange for his life.”

It is suggested that the phrase “skin for skin” was a proverb implying that a man’s “skin” was representative of his physical well­being and was of more value than anyone else’s “skin.” It is to say, in effect, that Job could disregard the tragic deaths of his family and his wife’s grief, so long as he retained his own health and strength.

Of course, it was untrue, but because the initial trials had failed to produce the effect in Job that God desired, the will of the Adversary is permitted to go forward.

Job is now afflicted with a loathsome disease. There has been a great deal of speculation as to the nature of the affliction, but its precise nature has never been absolutely defined. The one suggested as the most likely to fit the description, given in Job’s, various references to his condition, is Elephantiasis. We cannot however be dogmatic on the matter.

We do know that it brought him constant irritation and torment — robbing him of sleep, giving him a loathsome appearance, and that he believed it to be incurable, and expected death at any time. Undoubtedly adding to his trial was the attitude of his wife, who reflected the belief of the day that blasphemy brought swift retribution, and so suggested that he curse God and bring his sufferings to a swift conclusion.

In his answer Job again demonstrates his immense self-discipline and strength of mind, “shall we receive of God good, and shall we not receive evil?” There is added, one final clue in a simple significant sentence, “In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”

Now, from the Adversary’s point of view, both trials had failed. Neither in Job’s behaviour, nor in a single word was there anything for which he could be reproached : his behaviour and speech were, at least outwardly, impeccable. It is difficult, at this stage, to say just what was accomplished from God’s point of view, but there is no doubt that the dreadful experiences played their part in the eventual bringing of Job to see himself from the Divine perspective and to repentance.

To us, who are seeking for clues to Job’s character, and to the whole story, there are several significant statements in these first two chapters that lay the foundation for further research. First : there is his fear of God, referred to in chapter 1 ;1, where it is related to self-discipline ; and in verse 5, where he is shown in constant concern lest the retribution of God should fall upon his children due to even a careless word spoken in the height of revelry.

Second : his immense self-confidence. Job’s anchor in the storm breaking over him is expressed three times — once by God in Ch. 2 ;3, by his wife in ch. 2 ;9, and again by himself in one of his speeches — “He held fast to his integrity.”

Third : The great importance attached to the spoken word. Chp. 1 :5, shows the nature of Job’s concern about his children; 1 ;22 “He did not charge God with wrong”;nChp,2 ;10 “He did not sin with his lips.”

Of course, the whole objective of the Adversary was to force Job to break his self-discipline ,and by talking, to reveal the true man within. As will be seen later, pride enters into this facet of character, for he was greatly concerned with his standing in the community.

A final word at this stage of the series of articles : The reader will, by now, begin to discern the direction we are going with regard to the character of Job and the possible reason for his experiences; and, considering the traditional attitude towards him, might feel a sense of repugnance simply ask that judgment be deferred until the whole story is told.