One by one, by name
A teaching for fathers · Job 1:1–5
1There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And this man was blameless and upright, fearing God and shunning evil. 2He had seven sons and three daughters, 3and he owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man of all the people of the East. 4Job’s sons would take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5And when the days of feasting were over, Job would send for his children to purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.
Context
The book of Job introduces a wealthy, God-fearing man from the land of Uz, outside Israel, in a setting reminiscent of the time of the patriarchs. Before telling of the terrible losses he would suffer, the author shows a family custom: the grown children, each in his own home, held feasts and invited their sisters. Job didn’t police the parties, but he offered sacrifices for them, a practice older than the temple.
What the Bible teaches
Job’s children were adults. They had their own homes, schedules and parties. Job isn’t shown intruding on their lives. What he does is something else: “rising early in the morning,” he brought each one before God, offering “burnt offerings for all of them.” One by one, by name.
The reason is realistic: “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Job knew he couldn’t see into his children’s hearts. Parents can’t either. We don’t know what goes on behind the closed bedroom door, on the phone screen, in a teenager’s head or in the life of a child who has already left home. That’s no reason for despair or for obsessive surveillance, but for prayer.
The passage closes with a note: “This was Job’s regular practice.” It wasn’t a reaction to a crisis; it was routine. And the rest of the book shows that prayer is no insurance against suffering: Job’s family went through immense pain. Praying for our children doesn’t buy guarantees. It hands over to God what is beyond our reach and keeps our hearts turned toward them. And in Christ we have a Mediator who intercedes for us and for them.
In practice
Make a list with each child’s name and a specific request for each one. Pray through it early, before you pick up your phone, for seven days.
To talk about
What would you like me to bring before God for you this week?
Prayer
Lord, I bring each of my children before you, by name. You see their hearts, which I cannot see. Keep them where I cannot go, and give me Job’s steadiness to pray even when everything seems fine. Amen.
See also: Job.