What is the meaning of Job 1:1? There was a man • Scripture opens the account with the simple, down-to-earth statement, “There was a man…” (Job 1:1). The wording roots the book in real history, not myth. • Ezekiel 14:14 places Job alongside Noah and Daniel as actual, righteous men—evidence that God treats him as historical. • James 5:11 points to “the perseverance of Job,” encouraging believers to endure just as this real man did. • By beginning with an ordinary phrase, the Spirit highlights how God can use any person—whether John the Baptist (“There was a man sent from God,” John 1:6) or you and me—to display His glory. in the land of Uz • Uz was a definable region; Jeremiah 25:20 and Lamentations 4:21 mention it in the same breath as Edom. The setting is concrete, not fictional. • Placing Job outside Israel shows God’s universal care—He was at work among Gentiles long before Pentecost (compare Genesis 12:3). • This remote backdrop also magnifies the reach of God’s sovereignty: “The LORD has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all” (Psalm 103:19). whose name was Job • Giving Job’s name further grounds the account; God knows His servants personally (Isaiah 43:1). • Ezekiel 14:20 again calls him by name, confirming his standing before God. • Job’s story begins with a name and ends with one: “Job died, old and full of days” (Job 42:17). The Lord is faithful from first chapter to last. And this man was blameless and upright • “Blameless” and “upright” describe moral integrity, not sinless perfection—Noah received the same testimony (Genesis 6:9). • Psalm 15:2 says the one “who walks with integrity” may dwell in God’s presence; Job already fits that pattern. • Proverbs 2:7 promises that God “holds success in store for the upright”; Job’s later restoration proves it. • His public reputation matched his private character, an antidote to hypocrisy. fearing God • The fear of the LORD is “the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7) and the hallmark of true wisdom (Job 28:28). • Psalm 112:1 links this reverent fear with blessing: “Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in His commandments.” • Like Cornelius, “a devout man who feared God” (Acts 10:2), Job demonstrates that genuine faith transcends cultural boundaries. • Loving awe of God was the engine driving all his actions. and shunning evil • Job didn’t merely avoid evil; he turned from it deliberately, echoing Proverbs 3:7: “Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.” • Psalm 34:14 gives the same rhythm—“Turn away from evil and do good”—showing that righteous living includes both rejection and replacement. • 1 Thessalonians 5:22 urges believers to “abstain from every form of evil.” Job models this New Testament command centuries beforehand. • His active resistance to sin prepared him for the spiritual conflict soon unleashed against him. summary Job 1:1 introduces a real man, in a real place, with a real name—and an extraordinary testimony. Scripture portrays him as a person of integrity who reverenced God and deliberately rejected evil. These opening words set the stage for a cosmic drama, while inviting every reader to the same wholehearted, God-fearing, evil-shunning life. |
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