Job 1:1 - Homilies By W.f. Adeney

Job.

The Book of Job opens with a description of its hero. The portrait is drawn with the few swift, strong strokes of a master-hand. We have first the outer man and then the inner—first Job as he was known to any casual observer, and then Job as he was seen by the more thoughtful and penetrating, i.e. as he was in his true self.

I. THE OUTER MAN .

1 . A man. Job first appears before us as a man.

2 . A Gentile. Job was of "the land of Uz"—a Syrian or an Arab. Yet his story occurs in the Jewish Scriptures, and there he appears as one of God's most choice saints. Even in the Old Testament the Books of Job and Jonah show that all Divine grace is not confined to the narrow line of Israel God has now those whom he owns in heathen lands. To be out of the covenant is not to be renounced by God, if one's heart and life are turned heavenwards.

3 . A marked individual. "Whose name was Job." This man had a name, and his history has made it a great name. Though one of a race, every man has his own personality, character, and career. The significance of a name will depend on the conduct of the man who bears it. Job—Judas: what opposite ideas do these two names suggest? What will be the flavour of our names for those who come after us?

II. THE INNER MAN .

1 . A moral character.

2 . A religious character.