(Job 1:1–5 | Chapter I of Jessie Penn-Lewis’s *The Story of Job*)
“There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.” —Job 1:1 (KJV)
Before the whirlwind. Before the boils. Before the ash heap. There stood a man named Job—a man of integrity, reverence, and spiritual weight. Jessie Penn-Lewis opens her study of Job not with suffering, but with sanctity. She reminds us that Job’s trials were not corrective but revelatory—not because of sin, but because of his unique walk with God.
Penn-Lewis writes:
“It is of the greatest importance that we should fully recognize Job’s spiritual character at the time when he was placed in the furnace of trial.” (Chapter I)
Job’s Profile According to Heaven
– Perfect and Upright: Not sinless, but wholehearted.
– Feared God and Eschewed Evil: He abhorred sin out of reverence.
– A Priest for His Family: He interceded early and often.
“He understood that remission was needed, through a sacrifice, even for a momentary forgetfulness of the presence of God.” —Jessie Penn-Lewis
A Challenge to Today’s Believer
How do you measure spiritual maturity? For Job, it was tenderness toward God. Job feared God even when no one was watching. He lived as if God’s presence mattered in his children’s celebrations. He did what so few fathers do: he prayed and interceded because of what might dwell unseen in the heart.
Spiritual Insight from Penn-Lewis
“Job’s fear of God and walk of integrity before Him must be clearly recognized if we are to understand the meaning of his trial.”
The fire was not punishment. It was purification. God was preparing to reveal Job—not destroy him. And so it is with us.
Overcomer’s Checkpoints
1. Do I fear God in private as much as I honor Him in public?
2. When I pray for my family, do I cover hidden sins as Job did?
3. Could God trust me with suffering without explanation?
“Wholehearted loyalty to God made him upright in his life before men.” —Jessie Penn-Lewis