Job 1:2-5

Job 1:2-5 on this blog post.

There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east.

Job was quite happy. He had a big family and lots of stuff.

What are we to make of the numbers mentioned here?

One of my old pastors used to say, when you see numbers in the Bible ask: symbol or statistic?

In some cases it may well be a statistic and meant to be taken as an accurate reflection of what was happening. In some cases, it might have a symbolic meaning. In this particular circumstances it would be hard to say. However, I'm probably more comfortable with these numbers being symbolic than more literal Bible interpreters.

In the Bible there are some favorite numbers: 40 (as in 40 years in the wilderness for Moses, 40 days of fasting for Jesus, etc), 12 (tribes, disciples, etc), 7 (creation week with the 7th day being the day or rest, Daniel's various mentions of 7 and 70, Peter asking if he should forgive 7 times and Jesus telling him 7 times 70).

Thus, Job having 7 sons would be a "complete set." 7 sons plus 3 daughters gave him 10 children. 10 is also a complete set because numerical systems are base 10. The same would be said of 7000 sheep. Then 7000 sheep plus 3000 camels is a complete set at 10,000. And finally, 500 oxen (male) plus 500 female donkeys gave him 1000 animals.

The point is clear: Job's life is full and complete in terms of family and in terms of material wealth.

His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

We also see that his kids got along so it was not only a full and complete brood but a happy one.

And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, "It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts." Thus Job did continually.

Lastly, we see that Job took spiritual matters quite seriously. He was concerned about his children and their right standing before God.

Lord, help me to be like Job in his consistency of devotion to you. He enjoyed life fully and cared for his children. Help me to approach my life with gratitude and to see the importance of the relationships that I am a part of. Amen.