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4each of the birthdays occurred throughout the year—“Job sent and sanctified them [his sonsand perhaps his daughters too]” and “offered burnt offerings.” The inference is that burntofferings were offered up almost as if they were sin offerings. In our recent booklet entitled“Tabernacle Shadows (Church’s Share in Sin Offering),” we historically enumerated the namesof the sacrifices and showed that they were not defined specifically until Moses came on thescene right after Job.Job “offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all.” Whether he offered sevenor ten animals is a moot point, but he offered at least seven animals in sacrifice, thinking thathis sons may have “sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Job’s fear was that in the feastingand drinking, things might get out of hand. Therefore, he tried to compensate for any lack ofmoral restraint that might occur. Job took this action routinely, continually, on each birthday.Job “sent and sanctified them” but in what way? Job was not present during the revelry of hissons and daughters. He was on the sidelines, as it were, making the offerings at his homestead.Job sent a messenger, a servant, to his sons and daughters, but how did he sanctify them? Asprinkling is implied. Later when Moses read the Law, he sprinkled blood on the people.Therefore, Job killed the animal and sprinkled his sons and daughters with the blood. Therewas no codified law at this time, as happened later in the giving of the Law under Moses, butthe offering of animals and the sprinkling of blood occurred in a natural way. Job “rose upearly in the morning” to do the sanctifying before the revelry began. We are reminded of thetime when Abraham got up early in the morning, probably before dawn, to offer Isaac on themount, and Abraham was a predecessor of Job (Gen. 22:3).We can see the unusual character of Job in spite of his wealth, influence, judging, and wisdom.The account will also show that he had administrative responsibilities outside of his family, butthey did not mitigate against his feeling of personal responsibility for the family. Almost allpeople who have outside responsibilities—and in proportion to the importance of their office—give less attention to their wives and families. The consumption of time necessitates thesacrifice. However, Job did not let outside responsibilities infringe on the time for his family.He was a very unusual person.Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before theLORD, and Satan came also among them.Verses 6-12 are an allegory, for Satan has been confined in tartaroo ever since the Flood inNoah’s day. He does not have liberty to go up to the heaven of heavens, the Father’s abode.While chapters 1 and 2 talk about real personalities, they are presented in a story fashion tocreate the proper mood and thrust to the lesson that is to be garnered from the Book of Job.This technique is not unusual. For instance, our Lord used parables to teach potent lessons,many of which were prophetic. In the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, Jesus used highlyfigurative language and included the name “Lazarus” to tie in with the fact that Lazarus wouldbe raised from death. Therefore, the allegory was purposely woven into the account of Job togive us the proper perspective of what we might expect as we go into the details. Althoughcalled “The Book of Job,” we can see from this introduction and other parts of the book thatJob would not have written about himself. Obviously, then, the book was written by anotherparty. The book contains clues as to who the amanuensis, or scribe, was. Elihu put together theintroduction, but he could not have done so without the cooperation of Job in supplying certaindetails about his background. We have a similar example with the Apostle Paul, who, before hestarted his ministry, went to Jerusalem to meet the Lord’s brothers to get firsthand informationabout Jesus and the other apostles. His personal, private study about the earlier years of Jesushelped Paul and Luke to introduce the Gospel of Luke.Verses 6-12 are a mixture of fiction and nonfiction. In the allegory, Satan and the sons of God

5went to the place of God’s residence in heaven.Job 1:7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered theLORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.From the vantage point of tartaroo, Satan certainly knows what is happening in the wholeearth. As the “god of this world” and the “prince of the power of the air,” he has a lot ofinformation about earth and its affairs (2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2). No doubt he was aware that Jobwas outstanding and that Job reverenced God. To a large extent, Satan even knows what weare doing in our personal lives. He is aware of geography, places, people, and events, so agreat deal of truth is woven into this semifictional allegory to give us an introduction to theBook of Job. The book actually starts with Job’s experience with his three friends, for that iswhere Elihu originally came into direct contact with Job and listened to the arguments of thethree. However, we would presume that Elihu did not know too much about Job personallyuntil subsequently, when he got information from Job himself and also from other sources.Satan was aware that Job was the greatest personality in the East from various standpoints:wealth, reverence, religion, etc. Thus Satan had more information about Job than Elihu did atfirst. As an introduction, we are getting necessary background information of who wasprimarily responsible for trying Job—it was Satan. We are being transported back thousands ofyears to learn what happened to Job.In the allegory, when God asked Satan, “Whence comest thou?” Satan answered, “From goingto and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.” We are reminded of severalthings.1. “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest,and findeth none” (Matt. 12:43). Satan, as well as the other fallen angels, know about mankindand have plans as regards the future.2. “And the bay [horses] went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and frothrough the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So theywalked to and fro through the earth” (Zech. 6:7). The activity of the bay horses is related inprinciple to the account here in Job.3. Satan “walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire” (Ezek. 28:14).Satan came from walking to and fro throughout the earth. The functions of Lucifer and theLogos were quite different. As God’s spokesman, the Logos did not have the liberty thatLucifer had. The Logos was like a sentinel standing at attention, awaiting his Father’s wishes.The Diaglott footnote for John 1:1 illustrates the role of the Logos. A man was the mouthpiecefor the king, who was unseen behind a curtain. The spokesman had to be in the king’spresence. Before Satan fell, he had liberty as Lucifer and, therefore, was used to indiscriminatebehavior in roaming the various planes of being.To a certain extent, even though Satan is bound in chains in tartaroo, he has the means ofcommunication and contact. Spirit beings have capabilities of which we are only beginning totap into now, thousands of years later, with developing technology. Therefore, even thoughbound in chains of darkness, Satan has a roaming spirit that enables him to experience,observe, and see things that are unbelievable to our present human comprehension.Job 1:8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there isnone like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and eschewethevil?

6Verse 8 gives the reason for God’s question to Satan in verse 7. Now Jehovah asked, “Hastthou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and anupright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?” Even though this situation washypothetical, Job’s character was as described here. There was no one like Job in the earth atthat time. Moses was not yet on the scene. Job was “a perfect and an upright man, one thatfeareth God, and escheweth evil,” and Satan knew about Job’s character. If Satan knows aboutus and we are, relatively speaking, little nobodies, he certainly knew about Job. While thisaccount is fictional, there is much reality in it. The account is an amalgamation of fiction andnonfiction.Comment: Satan previously had great liberty to roam the heavens and the universeuninhibited, but now he is confined to the atmosphere of a tiny planet called Earth and hasbeen given what he wanted: the subjugation of a dying human race.Reply: Through the Bible, the Lord has furnished us with an unusual amount of information.As an archangel, Satan had considerable liberty.Job 1:9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?Satan asked a reasonable question: “Does Job fear God for naught?” From Satan’s standpoint,Job was doing well with his great prosperity and material wealth. But in examining character,two people can look at another person and have two opposite views. God looked at Job andsaw a blameless man who loved righteousness and shunned evil with abhorrence. Satan alsolooked at Job but attributed his behavior to a selfish motive. When Jesus was here at his FirstAdvent, some viewed him as a young man with no education, and when he spoke withauthority, they thought that he was presumptuous and high-minded. Others looked at Jesusand thought, “Never [a] man spake like this man” (John 7:46). They did not care about his lackof education, for they recognized him as unusual. Thus two individuals can see the same thingbut get different feelings depending on the heart condition. Satan’s wrong heart condition wasmanifested when he attributed Job’s reverence for God to selfishness for being rewarded.Even prior to the Mosaic Law, the thinking was that those who obeyed God would have betterhealth, a longer life, and prosperity. And of course the Law promised temporal rewards forright doing and obedience. Therefore, Satan, with his wrong heart condition, misconstrued Jobentirely, but God, who reads the heart, knew Job.Job 1:10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that hehath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased inthe land.Job 1:11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee tothy face.Job 1:12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only uponhimself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.God permitted Satan to try Job to the uttermost through his possessions. Of course God didnot literally say to Satan, “You can do what you want.” This narrative was merely inserted toshow what happened when Satan beheld Job. Satan wants everyone on planet Earth to be hissubjects, and he could see that Job would be a valuable asset to have in his own kingdom.Therefore, he wanted to wean Job’s affection and reverence for God to himself, and hereasoned that taking away Job’s possessions and temporal prosperity would make Jobvulnerable and that then he could win Job to himself. We can see Satan’s motives.

7The information we have been reading was supplied artificially to bring us to a moment oftime in a situation where we can see that God permitted Satan to try Job to the uttermost—butwithout actually having a conversation with him. Those from the Middle East and the Far Eastwould have understood what portion of the narrative was storytelling and what portion wasassorted facts buried in the narrative. As an illustration, Shakespeare’s plays began with anintroduction before the curtain ever opened. In the introduction, he gave a brief account of thefictional characters so that when the curtain opened, the audience would know what was goingon. The main part of the drama was the play itself, not the introduction, but the introductioneliminated the need for any needless discussion of each character while the play was beingenacted. The point is that the introduction in the Book of Job was not unusual, but it is unusualin Western civilization today.Did Job know that God was permitting Satan to test him to the uttermost? No. Job wascompletely unaware of why the calamities were happening to him.Comment: No doubt Satan had already tried unsuccessfully to get at Job, but he realized Godhad put a “hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side”(verse 10). Until the hedge was lifted, Satan did not have power over Job.Reply: Yes, and we know that is true because the account tells us that Job eschewed (shunned)evil. Because Job had already had experiences where he said no to Satan’s temptations, he wascalled righteous and upright.Consider Jesus before the start of his ministry. God knew that Satan would tempt Jesus. Jesusdid not go into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan but to meditate upon the flood ofinformation about his preexistence that came when he was baptized. He entered the wildernessto fast and pray and to contemplate how to begin his ministry, but God knew that in thatsituation, Satan would tempt Jesus—and God permitted the temptations. Just as God permittedSatan to tempt Job, so He allowed Satan to tempt Jesus.We are given wonderful information. How deep a mine God’s Word is! We are givenconfidential information just by reading this account in Job. How much people lose by beingdiverted from the Word itself!Job 1:13 And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinkingwine in their eldest brother’s house:Earlier, in introductory verses, we were told that on the birthdays of his children, Job prayedand made burnt offerings to morally protect his family from the vices of loose talk and frompromiscuity in eating and drinking. Now comes the account of an actual occasion on the eldestson’s birthday, when Job’s “sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in theireldest brother’s house.” We are getting into the reality, the specifics.Job 1:14 And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and theasses feeding beside them:A messenger arrived and said the oxen were plowing and the asses were feeding beside them.Notice what animals were involved here. Verse 3 said that Job had 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels,500 yoke of oxen, and 500 she asses. There is no direct parallelism between the earlier accountof the enumeration of Job’s goods and this out-of-sequence account, which tells about the 500yoke of oxen and the 500 she asses. The lack of sequence shows that this incident is the firststep of something that is being taught.

8Originally, many years ago, we were inclined to think that the 7,000 sheep and the 3,000 camelswere to be grouped together and that the 500 yoke of oxen and the 500 she asses weretogether. But we start with the second grouping.Consider the setting. The servants were busy on the farmland, actually plowing with the oxen,and the 500 she asses were feeding beside them. The account does not state what time of year itwas or what crop the plowing was for. We feel that the she asses correspondingly tookadvantage of the furrows the oxen were plowing by feeding on the debris. In other words, foreach yoke of oxen, there was one she ass feeding behind the plowing.Job 1:15 And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain theservants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.All of a sudden, the Sabeans arrived on the scene, killing the servants and kidnapping theanimals. Therefore, in this incident, the animals were stolen, and all of the servants were slainexcept one. Job’s sons and daughters were in the elder brother’s house while this evil wastaking place out on the farmland in the distance. And who was primarily affected by thecalamity? Job—for it was his property and experience.Earlier we speculated that Job was not present at the house of his oldest son but was in his ownresidence. Suddenly a servant burst in the door to inform Job and his wife that a great calamityhad occurred. It is interesting that the only surviving servant informed Job about themisfortune, not the sons and daughters, who were feasting and drinking.The Sabeans were the inhabitants of Sheba, but there were two Shebas and two Dedans. OneSheba and Dedan were in present-day Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Yemen. The other Sheba andDedan were in Africa, where the queen of Sheba resided.With regard to the one servant alone escaping and all of the others being slaughtered, Satanmade sure that one would escape to tell Job that the Sabeans had captured his oxen and hisasses. In the allegory that introduces the Book of Job, Satan was given all authority except thatwhich would affect Job’s body. Satan employed the technique that would be most effectiveupon Job; that is, Satan knew the sole surviving servant would take the news to Job, who thenwas evidently in his own house. As we continue to read the account, we will see that in eachincident, all servants were slain except one.Job 1:16 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God isfallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; andI only am escaped alone to tell thee.The first calamity pertained to the Sabeans, a foreign element, who kidnapped the oxen and theasses. As we read the subsequent reports that came to Job each time a calamity occurred(verses 16, 17, and 19), when the escapee arrived and related what had happened, we are told,“While he [the previous sole surviving servant] was yet speaking.” In other words, exquisitetiming was involved on Satan’s part to make the trials as severe as possible to Job. While oneincident was being reported, another servant arrived to tell of the next incident. What anexcruciating experience for Job!The Sabeans were instrumental in the first affliction upon Job. The second affliction was “thefire of God.” How ingenious and devilish on Satan’s part! When Job heard this report, itsounded as if the God of nature was causing the calamity. The implication intended by Satanwas that God could have stopped the affliction. Therefore, it would seem that God wassomehow involved in the affliction, but of course that was not the case, for He had given Satancarte blanche authority to test Job.

9In reading that the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed the sheep and the servants, wesee that Satan, unless prohibited by God, has power over even the wind. One of Satan’s titles is“prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2). While that title can be given a spiritual connotation,it also describes a physical, or material, power that Satan possesses. Insight into this powercasts light on the storm on the Sea of Galilee when the apostles were in the boat with Jesus. TheMaster ha

THE BOOK OF JOB (Study led by Bro. Frank Shallieu from 2001 to 2003) Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. The way the Book of Job opens, "There was a man in the land of Uz," sounds like the beginning of a story.