Quality God Sees

Job 1:1 "There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil." ESV

 

I have never really studied the book of Job. I know that this may not be a fun study as I read about how a guy was tried and tested and challenged. Yet, as I thought about what I was going to do next, my mind got stuck on this. Here goes.

 

What was this guy Job, like? Who was he? He was from Uz. Uz is thought to have been southeast of Palestine in the Arabian desert. Kind of interesting that the name "Uz" actually means: "wooded"…in the Arabian desert? Right away we see a dichotomy here. The name Job actually means: "hated". Nice name, huh? Yet, this guy who lived in the desert who name meant hated did not let his name or circumstances get him down. He did not believe that he was stuck with a certain destiny because of where he lived or what his heritage might be. Instead he rose above it and was blameless, upright, feared God and turned away from evil. Not bad credentials. This guy was a man of character.

 

He was: Blameless. This can be taken two ways and I believe they probably both applied to Job. He was blameless physically. In other words he had physical strength and was a good looking guy. He was also blameless morally. He was ethically pure. He walked with integrity.

 

Upright. He was correct in his actions. Everything that he did was proper. He walked in righteousness.

 

Feared God. He not only respected God but He had great fear of God. He had a holy dread of the Maker of the universe. This means that he knew God. He knew what God was like and he knew how sacred the Lord was.

 

Turned away from evil. Not only did he avoid evil, he removed it when he saw it.

 

This guy was an amazing man. So much so that God recognized these qualities in his life. (v8)

 

I wonder what qualities God sees in my life? Am I like Job…blameless, upright, fearing God and turning evil away? Or do I succumb to pressure? Do I cut corners? Do I try to cover my butt all the time? Really, how righteous is my life? How am I battling evil? Some probing questions to start this book.