Job 1:2

The Spirit of God opens the book with a lovely picture of Job's character, family, and position. We see himself, his sons, and his daughters in all the intimacy of private life, and this in him ruled by the fear of God.

Job's prosperity matched his moral character. By Old Testament standards he was a rich man, in his family and in his possessions. He had seven sons, and their number suggests completeness. He had three daughters, and that number is the sign of his character and excellence. The same numbers show up in what he owned — seven thousand sheep and three thousand camels — while the five hundred yoke of oxen and donkeys show complete ability for all work.

In Ruth she had found "the comfort of love" in the loneliness of her triple bereavement... Ruth herself "is more to you than seven sons." Has she not borne to you a grandson, the son of Boaz? To be the mother of seven or more sons was thought a remarkable honour in family life.

The hand of God had put a hedge around him on every side, and covered his path with the richest mercies. He had all that heart could wish — children and wealth in abundance — honour and distinction from everyone around him. In short, we may almost say his cup of earthly happiness was full.

The gifts then become a snare to us, and Satan's charge against us is often partly true. What gives us rest and quietness of spirit before God is His kindness and mercies to us, and not simply the knowledge of His love. This is very clear from the violent grief and despair many of His people fall into when they lose some particular mercy. They had rested in the gift more than in God. The gift was their evidence of His love, but the love itself was not what their heart rested in. Satan knows this tendency in man, so he does not hesitate to accuse Job of it. He says that Job had no link with God, and no reverence for Him, except because of God's abundant mercies to him.

But Job! What shall we say of him? Not one painful bereavement, but ten — all merged into one huge, overwhelming blow! Not one child, but all! Firstborn and youngest, son and daughter, all gone at a single stroke!

Suppose God had given him fourteen sons and six daughters. The conclusion would then be that his first children were lost to him for good, just as his first sheep and camels and oxen and donkeys were. By giving him only seven sons and three daughters again, God was in effect telling him three things. The first family was not lost for good. God had heard his prayers and intercessions. And there is a resurrection world where he and they will meet again.