Job, A Different Kind Of Dad!

Job 1:1-5 (NIV)

In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. 4 His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.

Job, a Different Kind of Dad!

In today’s sermon, it is my desire to clearly layout why Job can be viewed as a “Different Kind of Dad”. And how we as moms and dads or as parents can be a different kind of parent when the world expects us to get in line with what’s popular. Align with the trends of today. Too often in our attempt to be our children’s best friends, we lose the essence of being a parent.

No less than three times does the scripture use the words “blameless and upright” in reference to Job. Two of which is a direct quote by God Almighty, Himself.

Job 1:1 “In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.”

Job 1:8 “Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”

Job 2:3 “Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”

Perhaps it is through a person’s trails that their true character is revealed.

What a person does, how one responds or perhaps the path one takes during difficult times, says a lot about what lies deep within them.

(Show slide on screen) “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

In other words, if we allow, it is our past that shapes that which lies within us: that drive, that determination, that compassionate spirit, the inner strength that keeps us going when all that we know has failed; or on the contrary, our past can foster bitterness, anger, resentment, selfishness, faintness of heart, feebleness; either way, our past can have a profound impact on how we approach the future.

Throughout the Book of Job, his demonstrated actions conveys to us a lot about his life leading up to the events as recorded in chapters 2-42. One can easily conclude that Job was a man who truly feared God, shunned evil and was a servant of God.

Job was not only a Different Kind of Dad, Job was a unique man, who understood the priorities of life: If you look carefully at the 1st five verses of chapter 1, God reveals why He had put so much confidence in Job:

1. Job’s places God 1st above all else, even his family: The very first thing that is revealed about Job, other than where he is from is that “This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil”

2. Job’s places his family 2nd only to God, but above his possessions: Job 1:2 “He had seven sons and three daughters”; Job 1:5 “Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.”

3. Job possessions (work) were his 3rd priority, behind God and Family. As father, Job understood that the well-being of his family was dependent upon him: Job 1:3 “and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants.”

4. 4th we note Job’s engagement as Community Leader. Job understood through the grace of God, he was expected to “Love thy Neighbor as Thyself” Mark 12:31 “No other commandment is greater than these." Job 1:3b “, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East” (See Chapter 29)

Job lived out his priorities in alignment with God’s will: Mark 12:30 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”