Job

All sorts of people think that Job is a great book. It is the best type of literature. Read it aloud. It is good just to hear the words. Martin Luther spoke about it. He said that it is excellent and more wonderful than any other book in the Bible.

The book of Job is the work of a very clever man. It records a story about Jewish history. The story is about the earliest period of their history.

It has one main subject. It is about the problem of suffering. There is one particular time when suffering is hard to understand. It is when there is no clear reason for it. The book of Job reminds us that everyone suffers. It is part of being human. But there are two possible reactions when people suffer:

• We can complain and we can be bitter when we suffer. Then we would blame God for it.
• We can trust God when we suffer. Then we would discover new things about God. His resources are there for us to use. And we have his help just when we need it.

Job and his Enemy (Chapters 1-2)

Job was rich. He owned land (29:6; 31:20, 31). And he had many servants. (Compare 19:14, 15.) People respected him (29:8, 16, 21, 24). He was generous to those who were poor (31:17, 19-20, 32). And people listened to Job in discussions. His words were important to them (29:22, 23, 25). But the book did not begin with what people thought about Job. It began with what God thought about him (1:1-5).

Everybody knew that Job was a good man. And it was this good man who suffered. There is an important truth in John 15:2. God must train those who belong to him. Read Hebrews 12:6 too. God corrects those whom he loves.

Satan thought that nobody on earth loved God for himself. They only loved him because of what they gained from their religion. Satan had an idea. Let God take these things away from them. Then, Satan was sure that even a perfect man would leave God. So, God allowed Satan to test this idea. Job lost everything. And the final test was the loss of his health.

H. Wheeler Robinson is a Christian writer. His book is called ‘The Cross in the Old Testament’. He reminds us about something important. It is this. God and Satan talked together (1:6-12). But Job and his friends did not know about this. We must try to imagine what it was like for them. And this would help us to understand what they said and what they thought. They did not know anything about the test. And they did not realize its importance or its meaning.

Even Job's wife lost her trust and her confidence in God. Chapter 2:10 is not implying that Job sinned in his heart. It is showing the contrast between Job and his wife. His wife sinned with her lips (2:9). She told him to turn away from God, but he refused to do that.

When people are in trouble, we can do something for them. There is great value in being silent. Silence can help people (2:13).

Job and his Friends (Chapters 3-37)

First, there were:

The three friends (3-31). Their names were Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. After each one spoke, Job replied. There are three groups of speeches in these chapters. The friends saw things in different ways. So, each friend saw Job's problem in his own way. Their ideas were important, but they were wrong (42:7, 8). They are like people today.

First, there was Eliphaz. He was the type of person who talks about his own experiences. He thinks that this will help you in your trouble. He seems to say, ‘Forget your problems and listen to mine’ (4:12-16)! H. L. Ellison is a Christian writer. He wrote a book called ‘From Tragedy to Triumph’. And he spoke about this type of person. He said that there is a danger. That person might feel that experience is equal to religion. He will then feel that there is not much else to learn. His own experience is the most important thing. So the religion of other people must be like his own. If it is not, they must be wrong. He thinks that he is never wrong.

Bildad came next. He was the type of person who always thinks about the past (8:8-10). Tradition was the most important thing to him. H. L. Ellison speaks about this type too. He says that we need someone like Bildad. He can recognize any false beliefs. He notices even when the error might be very slight. But, when people are upset, tired or sad, they seldom go to a man like Bildad. Bildad seemed to think that Job had sinned (8:3, 6, 13, 20). He had no pity for Job. He thought that he knew everything. He thought that he knew all truth, and that everyone must agree with him. Notice something. He was the only one who mentioned Job's children (8:4).

Zophar wanted to speak immediately. He was impatient. He thought that he had full authority. He seemed to say, ‘I am right, so you must be wrong’. He had no sympathy. Notice how sure he was that God was against Job. In fact, the opposite was true. God approved of Job.

The three visitors thought that they were helping Job. But Job was sad, because they were so unkind (16:1-4). Their words showed no sympathy. Sometimes, their words were even cruel. There was something terrible about these words. They came from Job's friends (19:21, 22).

Job was feeling lonely and he was in despair. But this was the time that he said some vital things. He spoke words of trust and words of hope (19:23-27).

The Song to Wisdom (28:1-28) emphasises something. It is this. People cannot get wisdom without God's help. People can find metals in rocks (28:1, 2). But they cannot discover wisdom so easily.

In chapter 29, Job thought about the past.

In chapter 30, he thought about the present.

In chapter 31, he made his final statement. He declared again that he was innocent.

Then there was:

The young friend (32-37). Then Elihu spoke (32:4, 6). He told them what he believed. It was this: God has all power. Without God's ‘breath’ (32:8), humans cannot understand any problem. Elihu was better than the other friends were. But he was still wrong about Job. He saw him as a sinner whom God was punishing (32:2). But Elihu did show that he understood quite a lot of things. He realized that there were values in suffering. Suffering:

• is a discipline for us (36:8-10)
• teaches us (36:22)
• makes us realize how little we know (37:14-19, 23).

But Elihu did not say much more than Job himself was saying. (Read 9:4-10; 12:13-25; 26:6-14.)

Job and his Creator (Chapters 38-42)

God asked Job many things. It seemed that his questions would never end. God asked him very grand things. They were about God's wonderful creation. But there was one main idea. It was this: God controls creation. It has many difficult and wonderful things in it. And Job could never understand them all. It is the same with life. Many things happen. But Job could never understand the reasons for them all. Events might confuse him. They might worry him. But he should still be able to trust God completely.

God made the great things (40-41). But he also made each tiny bit (flake) of snow (38:29).

Job's reaction was important:

• He stopped talking (40:4, 5).
• He declared his faith again (42:1-3).
• He confessed his sin (42:4-6).
• He forgave those who accused him (42:7-9).

Some Final Thoughts

The book of Job emphasises something. It is a right attitude to suffering and to trouble.

We should:

• Recognise that we do not understand everything.
• Give ourselves to God. He has done everything well (Mark 7:37).
• Believe that God has a plan. Believe that he will complete it. God's plan is much greater than we could ever understand.
• Realise that our present suffering gives us opportunities. We can speak about God. We can live for God.