2. We live in a world filled with pain & suffering.

3. The Book of Job was likely written during
the time of The Patriarchs, thus making it
the earliest written book in The Bible.
It takes place in the “Land of Uz”,
which is somewhere in Arabia…with many scholars still debating the exact location

4. Purposes of The Book of Job
To demonstrate that God is worthy of love apart from the blessings He provides
To explain that God may allow suffering as a means to purify and strengthen a person
To emphasize that humans are unable to view life from God’s vast perspective
To explore the justice of God, who allows the righteous and innocent to suffer
To address mankind’s wrestling with suffering which defies human explanations

5. Job 1: 1-3
1 “In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.”

6. Job 1: 4-5
4 “His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.
 5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them
to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, ‘Perhaps my children
have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.’ This was Job’s regular custom.”

7. Job experiences his “worst day ever”.
Had all his donkeys & camels stolen
Had a meteor shower kill all his sheep
Had almost all of his servants killed
Had all his children die in a house collapse

8. Job 1: 20-22
20 “At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;     may the name of the Lord be praised.’
22 In all this, Job did not sin
by charging God with wrongdoing.”

9. Behind the scenes of our suffering, there is often an Enemy at work.
* Job 1: & Job 2: 1-7
He is given a degree of freedom
until His final day of judgment comes…
along with all who chose to live and die
in rebellious sin towards God. (Rev. 20: 7-15)

10. Job 2: 7-8
7  “Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown
of his head. 8 Then Job took a piece
of broken pottery and scraped himself
with it as he sat among the ashes.”

11. Imagine if… You lost your job, Your car broke down,
Had all your home appliances & phone break,
Broke out into an incurable rash of hives,
and then hear that
all of your children
(or loved ones)
died in a tornado?

13. in the world…neglecting the existence
A continuing flaw in the theology of individuals in the Book of Job comes from the idea that (because God is sovereign) He is behind EVERYTHING that occurs
in the world…neglecting the existence
of Satan & demons, human free will,
and a sin-stained Creation.

15. 2 Corinthians
11: 23-28
Like Job, the Apostle Paul suffered much while making the hard choices to honor God.
Unlike Job, Paul had
the benefit of viewing
such suffering as being in solidarity with Jesus, who also was an innocent.

16. which perishes even though refined by fire—
1 Peter 1: 6-7
6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold,
which perishes even though refined by fire—
may be proven genuine and result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

17. “Job #1” for Today: Struggles are not always the result
of personal sin, but they are always
an opportunity to show the genuineness of our faith; to God & to those around us.