Blameless and upright
There was a man named Job, living in the land of Uz, who worshipped God and was faithful to him. He was a good man, careful not to do anything evil. (verse 1)
Read Job 1:1-22
Job’s character is very important to note because it pleased God. Other Bible versions call Job ‘blameless’ and ‘righteous’. Noah was another man God called blameless and righteous: ‘He had no faults and was the only good man of his time. He lived in fellowship with God’ (Genesis 6:10). These men loved God and walked with him, talked and heard from him. From that, obedience to God’s ways came. They weren’t afraid of God. They knew his heart and will.
Both Job and Noah had a heart for the things of God rather than for things of the world. Job was wealthy, but that wasn’t his focus. He depended on God. They understood that their righteousness, like ours, does not depend on the good things we do; it is a gift from God.
Christian writer Paul Tournier explains the word ‘blameless’ as ‘being a whole person in a broken world’. We can live a broken life in a broken world, or by the grace of God through Jesus Christ we can live a whole life in a broken world.
Father God, I confess that I do not depend on you alone. I get tempted by the world and begin to rely on that. I’m sorry. Draw me back to you, guard my heart against temptation and give me your heart for the things that are important to you. Amen.
Devotion by Glenda Kowald in “Time Out … with Jesus” (Australian Church Resources, 2014)
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