Job 1
1There was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless, a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. 2He had seven sons and three daughters. 3He owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred teams of oxen, and five hundred female donkeys, and he employed many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area.
4Every year when Job’s sons had birthdays, they invited their brothers and sisters to join them for a celebration. On these occasions they would get together to eat and drink. 5When these celebrations ended—and sometimes they lasted several days—Job would purify his children. He would get up early in the morning and offer a burnt offering for each of them. For Job said to himself, “Perhaps my children have sinned and have cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.
6One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan the Accuser came with them. 7“Where have you come from?” the LORD asked Satan.
And Satan answered the LORD, “I have been going back and forth across the earth, watching everything that’s going on.”
8Then the LORD asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and will have nothing to do with evil.”
9Satan replied to the LORD, “Yes, Job fears God, but not without good reason! 10You have always protected him and his home and his property from harm. You have made him prosperous in everything he does. Look how rich he is! 11But take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!”
12“All right, you may test him,” the LORD said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” So Satan left the LORD’s presence.
13One day when Job’s sons and daughters were dining at the oldest brother’s house, 14a messenger arrived at Job’s home with this news: “Your oxen were plowing, with the donkeys feeding beside them, 15when the Sabeans raided us. They stole all the animals and killed all the farmhands. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”
16While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news: “The fire of God has fallen from heaven and burned up your sheep and all the shepherds. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”
17While he was still speaking, a third messenger arrived with this news: “Three bands of Chaldean raiders have stolen your camels and killed your servants. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”
18While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news: “Your sons and daughters were feasting in their oldest brother’s home. 19Suddenly, a powerful wind swept in from the desert and hit the house on all sides. The house collapsed, and all your children are dead. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”
20Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground before God. 21He said,
“I came naked from my mother’s womb,
and I will be stripped of everything when I die.
The LORD gave me everything I had,
and the LORD has taken it away.
Praise the name of the LORD!”
22In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.
(Job 1:1-22, NLT)
The Daily DAVEotional
Recently, my Bible reading program has me reading through the book of Job (along with other selections in the Old and New Testaments).
Job is a fascinating book that seeks to help the reader understand the nature of God’s justice and how we are to comprehend and deal with sickness and personal tragedy.
It’s not surprising that many outside of the church would consider the story of Job as nothing more than a fairy tale or a fictional narrative. However, there are more and more critics inside the church who are making the claim that Job was not a real person.
I recently encountered an ex-vangelical Christian (someone who claims to still be a Christian but has left the “evangelical” Christian movement) on X (formerly Twitter) who made the claim that Job is not a real person and that God is more of a villain in the story.
What are we to make of these claims? Is it true that Job was not a real person? Does it even matter? How would we even go about proving or disproving this thesis?
First of all, short of some archaeological evidence, we have no way to actually substantiate the existence of Job as a real person. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t exist.
The main evidence we have to determine the probable “realness” of Job as a person is to evaluate the text itself.
If you look at the beginning of Job, there is nothing that indicates that this is a fictional story. Think about some of the parables of Jesus. It’s obvious that he’s telling a story to make a moral point as the people and places are often nameless.
Consider this example from Luke 20:
9Now Jesus turned to the people again and told them this story: “A man planted a vineyard, leased it out to tenant farmers, and moved to another country to live for several years.
It’s clear from the text that the story is fictional. The writer not only leads with this fact, but the main characters and places are nameless: a man planted a vineyard, leased it out to tenant farmers, and moved to another country.
Contrast that with the book of Job. Right away, in the first verse, we know the name of the man (Job) and where he lived (Uz). Though we are not exactly certain where Uz is today, we know that it was a real place that was known to those who lived in the Ancient Near East Culture.
In addition, the text mentions that Job’s first tragedy occurred at the hands of “Sabean raiders”. The Sabeans were likely a group of people from South Arabia. In addition to this passage, they are mentioned in Isaiah 45:14 and Joel 3:4-8. They were real people.
If Job is a fictional character, why are all the details of this fictional story real?
There is another, perhaps even more convincing reason to believe that Job was a real person – he is mentioned in other parts of the Bible.
In Ezekiel 14:12, Ezekiel delivers a prophecy from the Lord that emphasizes the certainty of the coming judgment of the Jewish people:
12Then this message came to me from the LORD: 13“Son of man, suppose the people of a country were to sin against me, and I lifted my fist to crush them, cutting off their food supply and sending a famine to destroy both people and animals alike. 14Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were there, their righteousness would save no one but themselves, declares the Sovereign LORD.
15“Or suppose I were to send an invasion of dangerous wild animals to devastate the land and kill the people. 16Even if these three men were there, the Sovereign LORD swears that it would do no good—it wouldn’t save the people from destruction. Those three alone would be saved, but the land would be devastated.
17“Or suppose I were to bring war against the land, and I told enemy armies to come and destroy everything. 18Even if these three men were in the land, the Sovereign LORD swears that they could not save the people. They alone would be saved.
19“Or suppose I were to pour out my fury by sending an epidemic of disease into the land, and the plague killed people and animals alike. 20Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were living there, the Sovereign LORD swears that they could not save the people. They alone would be saved by their righteousness.
This prophecy is making the point that the people have been so steeped in sin that no amount of righteousness from the people can outweigh their wickedness. The prophecy then refers to 3 of the most righteous Old Testament characters to make the point. Even if Noah, Daniel and Job were living there, their combined righteousness would save only themselves. It would not be enough to save the whole because everyone else was utterly corrupt.
Now if the prophecy was trying to contrast the unrighteousness and wickedness of the people with the righteousness of 3 Old Testament characters, why would one of those characters mentioned be a fictitious person? If Job is not a real person, would it not be better to mention a different person instead of him? Why not mention someone like Enoch who walked so closely with God that God took him directly to heaven without having to endure a natural death? (see Genesis 5:22-24)
Clearly, this passage presupposes that Job was a real person and not a fictional character in a fictional story.
In addition to being portrayed in Ezekiel as a historical figure, Job is also mentioned in the book of James in a way that characterizes him as an actual person.
10For examples of patience in suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. Job is an example of a man who endured patiently. From his experience we see how the Lord’s plan finally ended in good, for he is full of tenderness and mercy. (James 5:10-11, NLT)
James uses Job as his example of someone who endured suffering with great patience. It would be very odd to use Job as your primary example if Job was only a character in a fictitious story.
Imagine I’m trying to console a friend who has endured great personal tragedy – the loss of loved ones and the loss of their livelihood.
I say, “I know you’ve gone through a lot, but you know who ELSE has gone through a lot and endured? Rocky Balboa. He lost Mickey, his trainer, the only person who really believed in him? Then he lost Adrian, his wife, the only person who ever really loved him. Then he lost his friend Apollo Creed and his brother-in-law Polly. Finally, he lost his entire fortune to an unscrupulous accountant. But he endured. He kept going. He kept fighting. You can too!”
How ridiculous is that? But if you believe Job is a fictional character, then that is exactly what James is doing. He’s appealing to “Rocky Balboa” as his ultimate example of endurance.
I think it’s clear that the biblical writers thought of Job as a real person and it seems obvious that those who lived at the time of the biblical writings also saw Job as a real person.
I said at the outset that apart from archaeological evidence, it’s hard to prove or disprove the legitimacy of Job as a “real” person. However, there’s nothing in the text that gives any indication that the person and the story of Job are not real.
So why argue that Job is NOT real?
It’s my belief that these kinds of claims are made for the purpose of putting the authenticity of the biblical narrative in question. If the book of Job is a work of fiction, then perhaps there are other parts of the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, that are also fictitious. If there are parts of the Old Testament that are fictitious, then I can dismiss the commands of the Old Testament and the God who delivered those commands.
If you doubt parts of the Old Testament, you can doubt the whole. If you don’t like the God of the Old Testament, then the easiest way to dismiss Him is to say that the primary revelation of that God is a work of fiction.
I won’t belabor this much more but will end with this. It’s apparent in today’s Christian culture that there are a growing number of people who claim to be believers who do not like the God of the Old Testament, who is often seen as genocidal, blood-thirsty, petty and self-absorbed.
It’s much easier to embrace the God of the New Testament, portrayed by the person of Jesus, who, according to the narrative, is a kind, gentle soul who only seeks to spread love and joy to those who would embrace it.
I believe the bible is true in it’s totality and is an accurate conveyance of the full nature of God. The description and depiction of God in the Old Testament is just as accurate as the description and depiction of God in the New Testament. There is no contradiction in his nature. Our job, as believers is to be students of the revelation of God that we have been given (primarily through His word) and reconcile the description of God we see in both the Old and New Testaments.
Reflection
How have you traditionally viewed the book and character of Job?
If you believe that he’s a fictional character, what are your reasons for coming to that conclusion?
What has been your view of the God of the Old Testament?
Do you struggle with the different views of God as portrayed in the Old Testament vs. the New Testament? How have you reconciled the differences in these two characterizations of God?
Photo by Alabaster Co on Unsplash
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