Integrity with Wealth

O. T. #1107  "Integrity with Wealth"
Dec. 1, 2017
Introduction to Job


What do you think of when you hear the name of Job? The patience of Job would probably be the way most of us would answer. That is true about his life, but there are many other things we can learn from him. I think the big question that comes to most of our minds involves the reason why Job suffered. We will be finding answers for that, too.

First, let's consider the book as a whole:

Title
The primary character in this book is Job.
In the Hebrew language, Job is spelled Iyow (pronounced ee-yobe') means hated, persecuted; Ijob, the patriarch famous for his patience.

We will discover the character of Job during his testing, and the character of God. Then their examples for our life.

Author and Date
Since the author is not stated in this book, it is mostly thought to have been Solomon, King David's son who built temple. Solomon wrote the books of wisdom in the Bible, except for some of Psalms.
Probably, this book was written during the patriarchal period, since the Chaldeans murdered Job's servants, were Nomads. Job's wealth was measured in livestock and not gold and silver. He performed priestly functions within his family. Not mentioned are the covenant of Abraham, Israel, the Exodus, and the Law of Moses. However, Job seemed to know about Adam (31:33) and he Noahic flood (12:15). So the events appear to have taken place after Babel (Gen. 11:1-9) and before or contemporaneous with Abraham (Gen. 11:27).  ( MacArthur)

Background and Setting
It begins with a scene in heaven, which explains everything to us the reader (1:6-2:10). Job was suffering because God was contesting with Satan. Job never knew that, nor did any of his friends, so they all struggled to explain suffering from the perspective of their ignorance, until Job rested in nothing but faith in God's goodness and the hope of His resurrection. That God vindicated his trust is the cummulating message of the book. (MacArthur)

Job lived in the land of Uz. northern Arabia. It was adjacent to Midian, where Moses lived 40 years tending sheep. Job is a wealthy man of many possessions. He has:

• 7,000 sheep, which provided wool for clothing and food for the family and others;
• 3,000 camels, which could have been a so called trucking business for caravans going east and west, and could have been hired for such;
• 1,000 oxen used to plow the fields for crops and food;
• 500 female donkeys that gave a delicacy of donkey milk. (Swindoll)

He had it made, didn't he? Everything was going smoothly with no problems. God was blessing this faithful man.

Job was a man of perfect integrity, who feared God, and turned away from evil. (verse 1)
He was blameless, but not perfect, nor was he sinless. Job never proclaimed to have been. He was upright, doing what was right in God's eyes. He feared God and shunned evil.
Falwell described Job as having a high and holy concept of God.

Do we have those traits of integrity-upright, perfect, fear of God, avoiding evil?
Do we see that we can be wealthy and still have integrity? Still have faith in God?