Even the best is not good enough.

In the depravity of the pre-Flood world, where God says of man that “every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5), Noah lived for 500 years blameless before God. But we don’t know much about his life before the Flood, apart from his unquestioning obedience.

Daniel was called upon to live as a witness to God in the midst of a pagan world. The Book of Daniel tells how he did this with dignity and humility. He served several pagan kings faithfully, but never compromised his dependence upon God or God’s message to his masters.

But let’s focus our attention on the third of these “righteous men” in the Old Testament, Job. His is a book that not many people have read. “The patience of Job” is a cliché, and most people think it means to suffer in silence. But if you read the book yourself, you will see that Job is anything but silent! He cries out how unjustly God is treating him. He also curses the day of his birth, and even challenges God to explain His actions. He was not a man to endure in silence! So how did he come to be considered so righteous?

Job is so good that even God boasts about him: “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and shuns evil?” (Job 1:8). Job had the best character reference one could imagine. And it was in writing!

In The Family
What was Job like as a family man? He had seven sons, and every day of the week he got up early to make a burnt offering for one of them (Job 1:5). So once each week, each son would have an offering in his name, “just in case.” In those days, the girls didn’t count. They married and were now their husbands’ responsibility. Job was a dutiful, devout, good, loving dad, who prayed and interceded for his children every morning without presuming upon the authority of his sons-in-law.

What sort of husband was he? It is not so obvious to us moderns, but the original readers would have thought him strange! You see, Job was “the greatest of all the people of the East,” yet only had one wife (Job 1:3; 2:9). He had adult children, so their mother would be well into her forties, probably fifties. He hadn’t updated to a newer model, like a wealthy man in his time would be expected to do. In fact, quite a few men do this in our own time as well. But back in Job’s time the older wives weren’t cast side, like they are today – they had in-house retirement schemes.

Job was a long-term, one-woman man. Part of his defense under oath was, “I have made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I look upon a young woman? ... If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door, then let my wife grind for another, and let another bow down over her” (Job 31:1,9-10). And even though his wife gives up on him during his torment, he apparently accepts her back when he is recovered and has another ten children by her (Job 42:13-17). You have to conclude that Job was a genuine, faithful, forgiving and loving husband, totally committed to only one wife.

At Work
But what sort of boss was he to his workers? Today we see businesses trying to keep costs down. The most common methods are cutting staff, increasing workloads and generally trying to get more out of the staff while paying them less. No doubt a lot of this is inevitable in a world where technology is changing traditional work patterns, but I suspect a lot of genuine grievances and injustices are being ignored in the process.

So how did Job treat his workers? Again, under oath, he testified: “If I despised the cause of my male or female servant when they complained against me, what then shall I do when God rises up? When He punishes, how shall I answer Him? Did not He who made me ... make them?” (Job 31:13-15)? And with reference to his generosity, his servants ask this rhetorical question: “Who is there that has not been satisfied with Job’s meat?” (Job 31:31).

So Job was not one who gave his workers minimum wage and turned his back on their welfare. While other masters would punish a complaining worker, Job would listen and respond compassionately. While other masters might demand their shepherds not lose a single beast, those who watched Job’s flocks were permitted to eat their fill of them. It reminds me of “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain” (Dt. 25:4). Job applied this to his workers long before Paul quoted it (1 Cor. 9:9).

So Job was both generous and just to his workers. He did not treat them as menials or possessions, as every other wealthy man in his society might have. Job accorded them dignity equal to his own, and protected their rights with even more diligence than he protected his own. Some of the highly-placed corporate leaders in our society could learn from this. Those of us who are employers certainly should memorize these verses.

In The Community
But these virtues are only towards people he had to live and work with every day. What sort of citizen was he to the society at large? A man of his wealth would certainly be one of the leading men in his town. He would be called upon to judge at the city gate. Perhaps he played favorites. Perhaps he protected his own at the expense of the powerless.

Job responds: “If I have walked with falsehood, or if my foot has hastened to deceit, let me be weighed on honest scales, that God may know my integrity ... If I had raised my hand against the fatherless when I saw I had help in the gate, then let my arm fall from my shoulder, let it be torn from its socket” (Job 31:5-6,21-22). Here Job says he has never cast his vote in a court to gain favor with the powerful at the expense of the poor. If he ever put his hand up unjustly, then let him lose it! Job not only affirms his integrity; he willingly accepts a curse upon himself if he has ever been otherwise.

He would also be expected to be a prominent almsgiver in a society with no government welfare system. Job answers “If I have eaten my morsel by myself, so that the fatherless could not eat of it ... if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, or if his heart has not blessed me as he was warmed by the fleece of my sheep, then destruction from God is a terror for me ... But no sojourner had to lodge in the street, for I have opened my gates to the traveler ... For if I had made gold my hope, and rejoiced because I was wealthy, that would also be iniquity deserving of judgment” (Job 31:17,19-20,24-28,32).

There are many prominent people who give to various charities. They are good people, and I don’t belittle their generosity. But Job goes further. He doesn’t just give money while living sumptuously. If he sees a pauper in the street, he invites him in, shares his food and drink, provides him with a shower, a bed and clean clothes. Job does not just open his checkbook; he opens his home, table and wardrobe – because he first opened his heart.

Why Was He Righteous?
Why does Job do this? Is it something he does simply because he takes pride in being generous? No. For Job, generosity is not something extra beyond his basic duty. To Job, it is a basic duty. To treat men and women in any other way is to invite “destruction from God.” You can see his reasoning. If he acts without compassion to a stranger, then what prevents God from acting without compassion towards Job? If Job permits this stranger to perish, then what is stopping God from letting Job perish? As Job says, “If I had made gold my hope, and rejoiced because I was wealthy, that would be iniquity deserving of judgment” (Job 31:24-25,28). It’s as though Job sees his wealth as a trap, waiting to swallow him if he lets it get too close to his heart. He keeps it at arm’s length from his soul, by pushing it in the direction of the needy.

But now that we mention it, what about these secret places of the heart? Job did not put his hope in his wealth, but was there anything else that ruled his heart? Did he make room for anything except God? “If I had observed the sun when it shines, or the moon as it moves in brightness, so that my heart has been secretly enticed, and my mouth has kissed my hand, that also would be iniquity deserving of judgment, because I would have denied God who is above these things” (Job 31:26-28).

These don’t mean much to us moderns. Many of us don’t stop to see the beauty of creation; so we are never tempted to worship it. But those who do dwell upon that beauty are often so overpowered that they end up as pagans. Many of the radical environmentalists fall into this trap. They are so overcome by the majesty and beauty of creation that they dedicate their lives to protecting it. It becomes the first thing in their lives, their god. They are so struck by the good that they don’t think to look for the best.

But Job saw the beauty of creation, and still was not tempted. He already knew something much more awe-inspiring; he knew the God who had made it. So Job was able to marvel at the beauty of this creation in the context of the Creator who is above it all.

It seems that Job excels in every category. He is a loving parent, faithful husband, just and generous employer, advocate of justice in his society, generous to the poor, and worshiper of God above all else, without being led astray into lesser good things.

Was Job Good Enough?
Are we as righteous as Job? If we think of ourselves as good persons, all we have to do is compare ourselves to Job. Then we will see how far short we fall, even of this man’s standards. But are even Job’s standards good enough? Did Job think he was good enough?

Towards the end of the book, God reveals himself to Job. Job’s response is, “Behold, I am vile! What shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth” (Job 40:4). But God is not going to let him go with only half the picture. God speaks again, to drive the point home even harder. Job’s words are, “I have uttered things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me ... I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You ... Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:3-6).

I don’t know anyone who measures up to Job’s standards of righteousness. But even Job saw how vile and abhorrent he was when compared to God. Then think again how far short of God’s standards we must be! There has only ever been, and only ever will be, one person who can satisfy God’s standards. Not Noah, not Daniel, and not even Job. Only our Lord Jesus Christ is good enough to stand before the Father.

If we are to have any hope at all of withstanding the great judgment, there is only one way open to us. As Jesus stands at that judgment, we must be part of Him. Our own righteousness is filthy rags; we can only endure examination if we are clothed in Jesus’ righteousness.

But we might say, is God so blind that He can’t tell the difference between his own perfect Son, and us sinners? How can we fool God with a trick like that? Well, it’s not a trick. When we come to Jesus in faith, we become not just His friend; we become part of His body. We are grafted into Him. We are in His righteousness because we are in Him!

But how can this make sense? Doesn’t it mean Jesus becomes contaminated with our sin? Well, it would, except that Jesus has already paid the penalty for that sin. He died for our sin, that we might die from our sin, and live in His righteousness. Jesus is not only worthy by His own merits; He has also done everything to atone for our failures.

But this salvation is only available to those who have been made one with Jesus. If you have not yet asked Him to become your Savior and Lord, do it today! Unless you kneel before the Son, you will not be able to stand before the Father.

By Bob Springett

Next month look for Part 2, entitled “What Did Job Know?”