Job I. Introduction A. Job: a man of suffering 1. Out of history books, into wisdom literature 2. The story of Job B. Why does man suffer? 1. The author of Job does well at showing why normal reasons are not always accurate 2. Is an answer really given? C. Let us consider the book II. Job: The Details A. Authorship 1. Author entirely unknown 2. References to Job in Ezekiel 14:14; 20, James 5:11 B. Dating 1. Also relatively unknown 2. Job himself generally believed to have lived in Patriarchal period (ca. 2000 BCE) 3. Book believed to be written either in days of United Monarchy (Saul-Solomon, ca. 1050-950 BCE), or around the exile or afterward (600-450 BCE) C. Audience 1. Israel 2. We can gain much also D. Purpose 1. To tell the story of Job 2. To explore the various explanations given for human suffering 3. To demonstrate the glory and majesty of God, insignificance of humanity III. Job: The Story A. Main Sections 1. Setting the Scene (Job 1-2) 2. Discussion of Job and his friends (Job 3-37) 3. God's response, conclusion (Job 38-42) B. Job, God, Satan (Job 1-2) 1. Job in Uz; wealthy and very pious; demonstration of piety (Job 1:1-5) 2. Sons of God before God; Satan in midst; God asks Satan if he has considered Job; Satan believes Job serves God because of God's blessings; God allows Satan to cause great loss for Job (Job 1:6-12) 3. The calamitous day: servants in waves come and inform Job of his loss of servants, oxen, sheep, camels, children (Job 1:13-19) 4. Job mourns, does not blame God-- recognizes God has given, God has taken away, God's name as blessed (Job 1:20-21) 5. Sons of God again before God; Satan present; God speaks again of Job; Satan believes he serves God because he has his health; Satan allowed to strike Job but not to kill him (Job 2:1-6) 6. Job afflicted with sores all over his body; wife encourages him to curse God; refuses (Job 2:7-10) 7. Job's friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar come to see him to comfort him; when they see him, do not recognize him; mourning and lamentation; no one speaks for seven days and nights (Job 2:11-13) C. Discussions, Round 1 (Job 3-11) 1. Job's first speech: curses birth, would rather have died at birth, misery of those in suffering (Job 3) 2. Eliphaz's first speech: Job once encouraging, now despondent because of circumstance; the innocent and upright do not suffer; the sinful do; voice, believed of God, came to him, declares man's sinfulness before God; fools and folly; Eliphaz encourages Job to seek God, for God is Almighty and can deliver him (Job 4-5) 3. Job's second speech: Greatness of suffering; wish that God would completely crush him; the "value" of his friends; seeks to learn his sin, declares that he has not sinned; misery of his life; life short, miserable; wants to know why he is unforgiven, wretched (Job 6-7) 4. Bildad's first speech: God consistent and faithful; problems due to sin; if Job, children did not sin, they would not suffer; Job just needs to repent, recognize the wisdom of the ages, remember God (Job 8) 5. Job's third speech: Greatness of God, inability of man to stand before God; Job knows he is in right, but cannot answer God, would be proven perverse; disaster overtakes righteous and wicked; no arbiter between God and Job; seeks to plead to God to understand why he is suffering since he has not sinned; speaks strongly to God, recognizing His great power; wants to know why he was even born (Job 9-10) 6. Zophar's first speech: Job as foolish; if God spoke, true wisdom would come, and Job would see that he deserves worse; inability for man to understand God and His ways; repent of sin to be healed; way of wicked fails (Job 11) D. Discussions, Round 2 (Job 12-21) 1. Job's fourth speech: Recognizes all these things, is wise himself; innocent suffer and the wicked are secure; all creation knows the sovereignty of God; God's great power; Job seeks to speak to God, argue his case; why do friends speak as if they are the voice of God-- will God not expose them?; Job hopes in God, even if he is destroyed; wants to know what he has done to deserve his suffering, wants to know why he has been separated from God; man's life short, death comes to all at appointed time; no hope once dead; endurance of God, decay of creation (Job 12-14) 2. Eliphaz's second speech: Job does not fear God; sinning with mouth; why should Job speak thus since he is no wiser than his friends; the wicked suffer greatly and are paid back for wickedness (Job 15) 3. Job's fifth speech: Miserable comforters; he could speak as they do if he were they and they were he; God has broken and humiliated him; seeks to argue with God; Job's miserable condition in the sight of all; where is his hope since all he seeks is death? (Job 16-17) 4. Bildad's second speech: the wicked suffer greatly and justly (Job 18) 5. Job's sixth speech: Frustrated that "friends" still condemn him; Job torn down, call for justice unheeded; God fights against Job, isolates him; why do friends go after him; God is his Redeemer, will see Him (Job 19) 6. Zophar's second speech: Pleasure of wicked is short; their suffering will be great (Job 20) 7. Job's seventh speech: The wicked, in fact, prosper; death comes to both prosperous and poor; his friends speak falsehood since wicked do prosper (Job 21) E. Discussions, Round 3 (Job 22-28) 1. Eliphaz's third speech: Job's evil abundant, provides generic examples of sinfulness; supposes that Job says that God does not see events on earth; Job like the wicked; Job must reconcile with God, and God will do him well (Job 22) 2. Job's eighth speech: I would argue my case; Job cannot find God; He is Sovereign and will do as He wills; the wicked do not pay for their wickedness, despite what friends are saying (Job 23-24) 3. Bildad's third speech: Man cannot stand before God in all purity (Job 25) 4. Job's ninth speech: Sarcasm toward friends, everything exposed before God, everything trembles before Him; Job maintains his integrity; seeks for his enemies to be as the wicked; terrible things the wicked receive from God; inventiveness of man, his ability to manipulate environment, but wisdom cannot be ascertained in those ways; only God knows the way of wisdom (Job 26-28) F. Job and Elihu (Job 29-37) 1. Job, continued: Desire to be like days of old, when God was with him and he was mighty, pious, and wealthy; today he is derided, mocked, a byword; he himself is miserable, beset by God with all sorts of difficulty; he mourns (Job 29-30) 2. Job, continued: Covenant with eyes; Job wants to know what he has done wrong so as to have better understanding of situation; ends speaking (Job 31) 3. Three men no longer answer since he is righteous in own sight; Elihu present, burns with anger over Job's self-justification, no answer given (Job 32:1-5) 4. Elihu's speech: Being younger, did not speak yet; since none answer, he will answer (Job 32:6-22) 5. Elihu to Job: Listen to me; I have heard your justifications; God is greater than man; He speaks in dreams; man can be miserable and yet renewed; God has all kinds of power; Job has spoken wrongly; God does what is right; respect to whom respect is due; God sees all and can accomplish justice; Job in rebellion against God (Job 33-34) 6. Elihu continues: Wickedness Job's own concern, not God's; why should God answer Job when he speaks this way; God is mighty; God makes known what is right, wrong; wicked will get their due; man must glorify God and His work; what man can understand His ways (Job 35-36) 7. Elihu continues: God's greatness as expressed in the creation, its inner workings; thus God is beyond men, men to fear Him (Job 37) G. The LORD answers (Job 38-41) 1. LORD speaks to Job from whirlwhind; words spoken without knowledge; God to question Job (Job 38:1-3) 2. God asks Job regarding the creation and its inner workings-- was he there, and does he understand it (Job 38:4-39:30) 3. God: can a man find fault with God (Job 40:1-2)? 4. Job: Cannot answer, will not speak (Job 40:3-5) 5. God: Will Job declare Him wrong? Be so great and perform justice for everyone; capture Behemoth and Leviathan, creatures described (Job 40:6-41:34) H. Conclusion (Job 42) 1. Job’s confession: God too wonderful and mighty; Job repents (Job 42:1-6) 2. God's anger against Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar for not speaking rightly; to offer sacrifice, Job will pray for them (Job 42:7-9) 3. Job's fortunes restored twofold; everyone reconciled to him; lived in peace, security, and wealth for many years (Job 42:10-17) IV. Job: Important Passages A. Job 1:20-21 1. Terrible misfortune besets Job! 2. How many would blame God, ask why all these things would happen, etc.? 3. Yet Job keeps everything in perspective: he started with nothing, he will have nothing after death-- God as blessed 4. A pious attitude indeed! B. Job 2:9-10 1. Job's wife encourages him to curse God, yet he does not do so 2. Job recognizes if we receive good, we also will receive evil at times 3. Again, good attitude C. Job 31:1-2 1. "Covenant with my eyes" 2. Need for sexual purity, concern over what is seen 3. cf. Matthew 5:27-29 D. Job 38-41 1. Declarations of God's majesty 2. If we ever think that we are great, just consider what God has done in the creation! E. Job 42:1-6 1. Job repents, recognizes that he has spoken rashly 2. Seems to have sinned with the tongue (James 3:1-12) 3. We must not begin whittling on God’s end of the stick! V. Conclusion A. The Book of Job 1. Creates as many questions as it answers 2. A profound, difficult book! B. Job partially vindicated 1. No previous sin before his speeches 2. Friends (and Near Eastern reasoning) wrong: suffering not always because of sin 3. Sometimes wicked prosper, righteous suffer C. Yet Job went too far 1. No one entirely righteous 2. No one has the right to question, challenge God 3. We all should repent in dust and ashes! D. Why suffering? 1. No hard and fast answer given 2. Trust in God, for God understands all 3. Some things too great, difficult for us 4. Question of suffering likely one such thing E. Let us stand firm in our faith like Job, no matter what may come! F. Invitation/songbook