Job 1:2-3

2 And there were born [yalad] unto him seven [sheba`] sons [ben] and three [shalowsh] daughters [bath].

3 His substance [miqneh] also was seven [sheba`] thousand ['eleph] sheep [tso'n], and three [shalowsh] thousand ['eleph] camels [gamal], and five [chamesh] hundred [me'ah] yoke [tsemed] of oxen [baqar], and five [chamesh] hundred [me'ah] she asses ['athown], and a very [ma`od] great [rab] household [`abuddah]; so that this man ['iysh] was the greatest [gadowl] of all the men [ben] of the east [qedem]. KJV-Interlinear

2 And seven sons and three daughters were born to him. 3 His possessions also were 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and very many servants; and that man was the greatest of all the men of the east. NASB

Job was a nice person. Yet Satan is going to make him into a target for no valid reason.

Job lived in the east. In the Bible, all references in direction are relative to Jerusalem, or Salem as it was known in its earliest days. The lands to the east are Arabia, Syria, Iraq, and Iran. But in the very early days of antiquity, the first major civilization, developed along the Euphrates River valley, which extended from Turkey southward through Iraq.

Job was a normal person. He did not weld a sword and he did not go out conquering territories. He was a farmer and trader, and very successful at what he did.

He had a large family, which back in those days, implied blessing from God. He also has large herds of animals. Of the animals mentioned, horses are excluded. Horses did not enter into civilization with a major role until around 1900 B.C. in Egypt. This further dates the time of Job as being prior to that time. As a side note, Abraham did not have horses either.

Job had seven sons and three daughters. The size of the family implies blessing, and the numbers seven and three likewise imply blessing not from just being successful in the jungle environment of the world, but that the source of Job's blessing comes direct from God.

Also, the numbers of animals, which he had, seven thousand and three thousand, also imply Gods blessings on his life.

Job was wealthy certainly. In today's environment, he would certainly be a multi-hundred-millionaire.

The numbers of sons and daughters combined with the numbers of animals, seven verses seven-thousand and three and three-thousand, also imply that Job would have given his entire family an equal inheritance. Job would not have treated the sons as being better than the daughters.

Herds of sheep imply abundance and resources. Camels imply caravans and trade. Oxen imply farming and agriculture. Donkeys imply transportation for freight, for family and servants. A great household implies many employees carrying on not only the work of the enterprises Job was engaged in, but staff for domestic work as well.

Job had a large organization. Job was organized, and his success implies that everything was well structured.

Additional facts that we know about Job are that he was highly respected, Job 29:7-11, he was a fair and honest judge, 29:7,12-17, he was a wise counselor, 29:21-24, he was an honest employer, 31:13-15,38-39, he was hospitable and generous, 31:16-21,32, and he was a farmer of crops, 31:38-40.

Being a farmer of crops means that he was not nomadic. He was stabilized in his life and not a wandering, confused, or indifferent person. Job was not a hermit either. He was involved in the social, local governing, and justice of his region.

Job was a nice person. He was a student of the scriptures, as they existed in his day, which were probably handed down by word of mouth, which further means that he listened when doctrine was taught by his elders, the most likely teachers, Job 12:20.

The result of his learning and understanding of Gods wisdom? He was blessed by God. His success, prosperity, and wealth was from the source of God, and not of this world. His eyes were on God as attested by the way he lived his life.

Those who emphasize the things of this world, lose them.

Prov. 23:5

5 When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings, Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens. NASB

Job was able to separate in his mind, his worldly possessions, from his spiritual possessions.

Prov. 8:21

21 To endow those who love me with wealth, That I may fill their treasuries. NASB

Riches of this world are called substance, which conforms to the usual way that people speak. But to the soul, the things of this world are mere shadows, or things that are not true substance, Prov 23:5. It is only in spiritual wisdom that we inherit true substance not mere shadows, Prov 8:21.

Job was a good man. Job was a successful man. Job was a wealthy man. Job was a respected man.

But neither piety, nor success, nor wealth, nor reputation can secure us from the problems and dangers of life.

Isa. 47:8

8 'Now, then, hear this, you sensual one, Who dwells securely, Who says in your heart, 'I am, and there is no one besides me. I shall not sit as a widow, Nor shall I know loss of children.' NASB

Whether you are extremely poor, taking an oath of poverty, or an extremely wealthy dude, do not count on your circumstances for security in this world.

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