A Man That Lived In The Land Of Uz

Illus: When the great depression hit this country and:

• The stock market crashed.

• The banks closed.

Rich men were rich one day and they were poor as a church mouse the next. It was so unbearable for some, that they leaped from the windows of tall buildings and committed suicide.

If you have never had it, it does not hurt because you do not miss what you never had. When you HAVE IT ALL and you LOSE IT ALL, you know what you lost.

Job had it all and almost over night he lost it all. But this man is INCREDIBLE! For a man to be forced to face what he had to face, and to do so victoriously, is overwhelming!

Let us take a good look at this man called Job, that lived in the land of Uz. Let me show you two things about him.

I. The Mighty Man.

II. The Misunderstood Man.

First, let us look at-

I. THE MIGHTY MAN.

WHAT AN INCREDIBLE MAN JOB WAS!

He was a godly man.

Look at Job 1:1, We read, “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.“

Notice, two things this verse says about Job:

• HE FEARED GOD.

• HE ESCHEWED EVIL.

The reason that many are fleeing to sin today, is because they do not fear the Lord.

As a nation, we have lost our fear of the Lord.

Illus: As a nation, we fear inflation, recession, earthquakes, floods and tornadoes, but WE DO NOT FEAR GOD!

Job was not that kind of man. He FEARED GOD, and because he did, HE KEPT HIS DISTANCE FROM SIN!

Let me show you some things about this godly man. His life was a life of GOOD and BAD.

A. LET’S LOOK AT THE GOOD. He had everything a man could desire to have. For example, look at-

(1) HIS FAMILY. Look at verse 2. We read, “And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.”

Job had a rather large family, he had ten children, seven boys and three girls. He not only had lots of children, but he also had lots of money. Look at-

(2) HIS WEALTH. Look at verse 3, We read, “His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.”

Today’s wealth is measured in cars, clothes, homes, boats, campers, properties, stocks and mutual funds. But during the days of Job, it was measured differently. Notice, he possessed:

• 7,000 sheep.

• 3,000 camels.

• 500 yoke of oxen,

• 500 she asses.

• A very great household.

If you took a fifty-acre field, you would have a hard time getting all the things he owned in that field.

The Bible says he was the richest man of the East.

This fellow had everything going for him, TEN CHILDREN and ALL THE WEALTH he needed to enable him to provide the very best for his family. Look at-

(3) HIS CONCERN. Look at verses 4-5, We read “And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.”

Job lived a luxurious life-style, and so did his children. They frequently threw parties, and when they did, they invited all the brothers and sisters to attend.

Sometimes, the parties would last for several days, and because Job, as a loving father, feared that sin might have occurred during this time, he offered up burnt offerings according to the number of them.

The Bible tells us he did this “continually” each time they would have a feast.

We looked at the GOOD part of his life, but now -

B. LET’S LOOK AT THE BAD.

Everything was going great in his life, until one day, Satan appeared before the throne of God accusing Job, saying that the reason he was serving God was because God had bought him off.

Look at verses 6-7 “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”