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Introduction
Last week, John shared from a parable about servants who worked different amount of hours yet all received the same amount of pay for their work.
This parable illustrates that God doesn’t give us what we deserve, he gives us what he wants to give us.
Like that parable, the book of Job teaches that God doesn’t govern simply with rules or principles but with wisdom.
The journey we are on over the next four months as we study the book of Job is a journey toward increasing in wisdom and also in trusting that God can be trusted because he is infinitely wise.
When things are happening in our lives that we cannot understand, we can trust that God knows what’s happening, he is in control, and he is governing with perfect wisdom.
Two weeks ago, I introduced the book and the series by looking at the genre and context of the book, some of the characters, and its overall message.
A few of these things will come up again as we enter into these first two chapters, which contain the foundation for the entire story of what happened to Job.
In these first two chapters, there are two elements that are indispensable for understanding the rest of the book. First, Job is a righteous man; second, he is suffering undeservedly, seemingly at the hand of God.
So, let’s get started by reading chapter 1 verses 1-5.
Job’s Character and Context
The first verses of Job introduce us to a man of integrity. He’s described as blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.
It is important to understand the nature of how Job is described. Some might be tempted to think that he was sinless and perfect, which is why he was so prosperous.
But, the words that describe him do not imply he was perfect, but that he was devoted to God and lived in right relationship with him and others.
He took God seriously and knew that in order to remain in right relationship with God, he needed to bring sacrifices of atonement to God. He acted as a priest in the same way as other patriarchs such as Noah, Abraham, and Jacob.
In the beginning of the story, he does this for his family, but in the end, we see that he also acted as priest on behalf of his friends.
At this time and place in history, there are no established priestly roles. It was before and outside the instructions God gave Moses and the Israelites about the priestly ministry and rituals. So, it would be the patriarch’s responsibility to lead his family’s sacrificial devotions, just as Noah did after the flood:
Genesis 8:20 “Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.”
That Job offers whole burnt offerings indicates that the purpose was primarily atonement, or restoring reconciliation between God and humans because of sin and impurity.
In this opening scene, we’re given a portrait of a life lived with reverence, humility, and love. He was the least deserving person to experience the sort of suffering that was about to come.
The description of Job, that he was “blameless” and “upright”, he feared God and turned away from evil, is very similar to the description of those who are wise in the book of Proverbs:
Proverbs 2:7 “[The Lord] holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,”
Proverbs 13:6 “Righteousness guards the person of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner.”
Proverbs 20:7 “The righteous lead blameless lives; blessed are their children after them.”
Proverbs 21:8 “The way of the guilty is devious, but the conduct of the innocent is upright.”
In Proverbs these terms refer to people who do what is morally correct. They are the ones who heed the commands of God and gain wisdom. Their lives are largely marked by ethical rightness and legal obedience.
This is how Job is described. Everything about him is ideal. He has ten children: seven sons and three daughters, both are numbers of completion. The numbers of animals he has are also significant. If you add up the pairs of sheep and camels, oxen and donkeys, they add up to multiples of 10, a number of perfection.
This description of him has the purpose of portraying him as the ultimate example of a person who is beyond reproach and who has achieved success by the highest standards. The evidence points to him being deserving of all this prosperity.
And then comes the storm, and the question of “why?”
Let’s continue in the story, reading verses 6-12.
Faith and Motives
Behind the scenes, a conversation is taking place—one that Job never hears. In the heavenly courtroom, God highlights Job’s faithfulness. And Satan offers a chilling question: “Does Job fear God for nothing?”
The question gets at the core of God’s justice system. If God rewards the righteous, then doesn’t this set people up to worship God in order to get his blessings? Satan, or the challenger in a literal translation, is questioning the wisdom of this justice system.
The justice system he is questioning echoes the Old Covenant pattern we see in places like Deuteronomy, that if you obey, you will be blessed. If you disobey, you’ll be cursed.
That pattern makes sense and was the common understanding of justice in those days, and even today. But Job’s story is about to defy it.
Proverbs 3:9–10 says, “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.”
It is true that the Bible uses the possibility of reward as a motivation for godly behaviour. But it also expects godly behaviour no matter what we get out of it. Take Joseph, for instance, who acted rightly and with wisdom when he resisted the advances of Potiphar’s wife.
He was then wrongly accused of attempting to take advantage of her. Yet, he does not protest God’s unfairness when he gets thrown in jail rather than promoted.
And while God uses this event to eventually bring greater blessing to Joseph and his family, it must have been difficult for Joseph to understand why he was being punished for doing what is right.
This is similar to the story of Job, yet in Job’s case, the reason for his suffering is very different.
In response to the challenge from Satan, God allows for a test of his justice system. Satan is allowed to remove all of the blessings God has given Job, and they will find out whether or not Job still worships God.
The focus of the test is whether Job’s godly behaviour is a result of his love for God or whether he has a more self-centred motive.
In other words, does Job obey God because he loves God or because he wants the health and wealth that he presumes flows from his godly behaviour for himself and for his family?
This is not just a question about Job. It’s a question about all of us.
Do we believe and live according to the principle that godliness will automatically result in a good and prosperous life? And if the blessings stop, will our worship stop too?
The opening two chapters of the book set up the situation that will allow an exploration of this question through the remaining 40 chapters. Let’s now look at the test that God allows, and Job’s response.
Worship in the Midst of Suffering
Over the course of chapter 1 verses 13-19, we see all of Job’s blessings taken from him. It seems to happen simultaneously, as each servant showed up while the other was still speaking.
The response to these disasters is described in Job 1:20 “At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground…” and what?
Now, if you were given this story but only up to the first half of verse 20, how would you honestly expect Job to have responded?
My response would probably be very unpastoral, definitely unChristian. I can’t imagine the pain and sorrow he felt in that moment.
But Job’s response was to worship God. In the depths of his sorrow, his response was to proclaim:
“The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. May the name of the Lord be praised.” (1:21)
And in verse 22, it says that Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
This doesn’t mean Job understood what was happening. He didn’t know about the conversation in the heavenly court. But in his grief, he still trusted God’s character, even when he couldn’t understand God’s actions.
He adopted the stance of the patient sufferer who trusts God’s wisdom, and he quietly waits for God’s restoration.
Lamentations describes a similar sufferer. Chapter 3 begins with the man of affliction describing how the wrath of the Lord has come upon him, how God has turned against him.
A difficult question arises when we read passages like this in Lamentations, or the story of Job. Does God actually cause the suffering?
In the second conversation between God and the challenger, in 2:3, God says that Job still maintained his integrity, even though the challenger incited God against Job to ruin him without any reason.
God acknowledges that he was moved to injure Job by the challenger’s accusations and questioning. God does not say that he allows the accuser to injure him (though he did use the accuser as his agent), but God takes responsibility himself.
The phrase, “for no good reason,” means that the reason for his suffering was not grounded in any fault in Job himself. Job presented no motivation for God to hurt him.
This doesn’t mean God enjoys our suffering or wants us to suffer. Job’s suffering is not punishment. But God does allow Job’s faith to be tested—not to destroy it, but to reveal its depth.
And in that mystery, Job chooses trust God.
He professed that the God who had given him all this wealth had the right to take it away. Job assumed no right to his possessions. In sorrow as well as in blessing he praised God’s name.
Suffering Presence
Even after all of that, Job’s suffering deepens. Verse 7-9.
His health deteriorates. His wife urges him to give up on God. His body is covered in sores. He sits among the ashes, scraping himself with broken pottery.
He is completely alone, unaware of why this has happened to him, patiently waiting for an explanation. In verse 10, he acknowledges his enduring trust in God who has every right to take away what he has freely given.
And then, his friends come. In the story, it seems like they came immediately, but in reality it must have taken weeks or even months for the news of Job’s suffering to reach them.
Then, they had to communicate with one another, to meet up, and then to travel to visit Job. And all this time Job is alone in the ashes with his shard of pottery for company. In 7:3 Job refers to “months of emptiness”, and the lament of chapter 30 indicates a long suffering.
After they arrive, for seven days and seven nights, Job’s friends just sit with him. No words. No advice. No explanations. Just presence.
Before they ever speak, they model something deeply biblical: the ministry of suffering presence.
At our church, we’ve talked about this through our Hope Heroes training: that when someone is suffering, you don’t need to fix it. You don’t need to say the perfect thing. You just need to show up.
The Hope Heroes course teaches an acronym called LAPP. Listen with empathy, Acknowledge the loss, Pray informed prayers, Patiently be present.
If you read the Job story and come to the section on Job’s friends showing up, and you think to yourself, “I have no idea what I would do in that situation,” then I encourage you to take the next Hope Heroes course. Let Lynn know if you’re interested.
Although we will discover through the book of Job that his friends became less and less helpful throughout their time together, they started well. In that week of sitting with Job, their silence was sacred.
They entered into Job’s suffering by weeping with him, tearing their robes, and covering their heads with ashes. They sat in the dust and ashes with him. No one said a word, because they saw how great his suffering was.
I love how one author describes the ministry of suffering presence:
Presence is a service of vulnerability. To be present to others is to put oneself in the position of being vulnerable to what they are vulnerable to, and of being vulnerable to them. It means being willing to suffer what the other suffers, and to go with the sufferer in his or her own suffering. This is different from trying to become the sufferer. Presence does not involve taking another’s place. That would be demeaning. It would suggest, ‘I can take your suffering better than you can, so move aside; I will replace you.’ Instead, presence involves exposing oneself to what the sufferer is exposed to, and being with the other in that vulnerability.
(David Atkinson, The Message of Job – quoting Craig Dykstra in Vision and Character)
Our Response
So where does that leave us?
The book of Job doesn’t give us all the answers related to suffering. But it gives us a way to live in the mystery.
First, faith is not a transaction. It’s not “I worship you because you bless me.” Real faith endures even when the blessings are gone. Real faith grieves, questions, laments—but still holds on to God.
Second, trusting God means letting go of the need to know why bad things happen to good people. The truth is, all blessings are undeserved. Whatever God chooses to give us he can also take away. And when he does, we need to trust that he is doing it with perfect wisdom.
And third, like Job’s friends, our calling is not to explain suffering—but to enter into it with others. To sit. To weep. To bring hope with or without words, not by trying to solve their suffering, but by being present.
So when you find yourself—or someone you love—sitting in the ashes, remember Job.
You don’t need to understand everything. You don’t need to feel strong.
Just keep holding on to the God who still holds you. Even in the darkness. Even in the silence.
We are going to close with the song that we sang just before the message, Lord from Sorrows Deep I Call, which is based on Psalm 42.
May this song be our anthem as we go through the challenging story of Job and his suffering.
It is a story that we know ends well, just as our lives are promised to end well through Christ. But, we are not yet there. We are in the dust and ashes with Job, and from this place of suffering, yet we will praise God.
References
C. Dykstra, Vision and Character (Paulist Press, 1981).
David J. A. Clines, Job 1–20, vol. 17, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1989).
John E. Hartley, The Book of Job, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1988)
Tremper Longman III, ed., Baker Commentary on the Old Testament: Job (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2012).
John H. Walton and Kelly Lemon Vizcaino, The NIV Application Commentary: Job, ed. Terry Muck et al. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012).
Christopher Ash, Job: The Wisdom of the Cross, ed. R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014).