1. The Book of Job
Where Is My Comfort?

2. Getting to Know the Book
Introduction
Getting to Know the Book

3. Background Date Written: Unknown Author: Unknown Job is a Gentile
Definitely a Hebrew
Date Written: Unknown
Probably written during or after the Exile in Babylon
Job is a Gentile
He lives outside of Israel
Not sure when he lived
Referenced in Ezekiel 14:14

4. Genre The Book of Job is NOT historical literature
The person of Job was a historical figure
The point of the book is not to tell Job’s story
The Book of Job is Wisdom Literature
The story of Job, including its characters, is a vehicle to make a point
The book wants you to meditate on the nature and character of God
The Book of Job is poetic
The vast majority of the book is poetry

5. Theology of Retribution
The Book of Job deals a lot with this concept
Righteousness = Blessing while Sin = Curses
John 9:2 is a good example
Vending Machine Theology
This was a widely held concept in the Ancient Near East
Karma is similar
Israelites were not immune
This is a major backdrop of the Book of Job
Several of the friends argue this position

6. Supernatural vs Natural
We have a clear divide between the supernatural and natural in our culture
The natural world functions on its own
The supernatural only rarely interrupts these processes (miracles)
The ancient Israelites didn’t
Everything was a result of God
There were no random events

7. The Prologue
Chapters 1-2

8. Job 1:1-5 Job is a righteous man Job is a wealthy man
He keeps a close watch on the righteousness of his family
He sacrifices to God just in case his children had a negative thought about God
Job is a wealthy man
He has a lot of livestock
He has a lot of children

9. Who is the “Satan”? The Hebrew word “satan” is not a name
It simply means “the accuser, one who opposes, prosecutor”
It is not a name until the New Testament
This being is first and foremost a LITERARY DEVICE
The primary function is to set up the question of the book
“Does Job serve God for nothing?”
Secondly this is a being who obeys God
He acts on God’s orders
His concern is for God’s wisdom
This being does NOT come back after chapter 2

10. The Question Does Job serve God for nothing?
This is the central question of the book
This question is NOT an accusation against Job
God is on trial here, not Job
Job is the star witness for the defense
The question is do people serve God simply because he blesses them?
It is questioning God’s wisdom
Is God truly worthy of faith and praise?

11. Tragedy Strikes Job first loses his possessions and children
1:13-19
Job, though in grief, does not sin against God
Job then loses his health
2:1-10
Still Job does not sin against God
Job’s three friends arrive and mourn with him

12. The Prologue Chapters 1-2 set up the conflict and characters
Job has lost everything
The main actors are God, Job, and the three friends
Does Job serve God for nothing?
This is the main question posed
The rest of the book is speeches by Job and his friends seeking answers
It shows that Job did nothing wrong

13. The Discourses: Job 3-41
The Meat of the Book

14. Meet the Players Job = The Witness for the Defense
The Three Friends: The Wisdom of the World
Eliphaz = Wisdom of Personal Experiences
Bildad = Wisdom of the Ages
Zophar = Wisdom of a System of Thinking
Elihu = Self-Appointed Prophet

15. Job’s Opening Position
Job is devastated
Job wishes he had never been born
Job has gone from the highest point of the human experience to the deepest depths
Job affirms the justice and sovereignty of God
Although he does not know why this is happening
Job vigorously defends his innocence
Job is certain that he has not sinned

16. The Friend’s Argument
Since God is just, he only punishes the wicked and blesses the good
Good people get stuff, bad people get stuff taken away
Since Job is being punished, he is wicked
Since Job lost all of his stuff, he must have sinned in a big way
If Job repents, he will be blessed
If Job repents, God will naturally give him his stuff back
The friends cannot figure out what Job did wrong

17. Job’s Final Position Job is angry Job demands an answer from God
He believes he has been treated unjustly
He believes God owes him an explanation
Job demands an answer from God
He insists that God explain himself
He also begins to wonder if God is really wise and just
Job swears his innocence, challenging God to answer him

18. Elihu’s Speech Elihu tries to defend God’s honor
He talks a lot about the majesty of God
He attacks Job for making it about himself
Elihu actually accuses Job of a sin
Self-righteousness is the sin God is punishing him for
God punished Job for his current attitude
Elihu is more right than Job and the others, but he is still WRONG

19. God Speaks God does not answer Job’s challenge
God does not address Job’s righteousness
God does not address his own justice
God does not seek to defend himself
God is here to change the way Job thinks

20. The Lessons of Job
What can we learn?

21. Lessons Suffering does not always have a reason
Our comfort must lie entirely in God
God cannot be reduced to a single attribute or trait
We cannot fathom the wisdom of God