It is the philosophical riddle that concerns us in such an introduction as this. On the seventh day, job speaks, beginning a conversation in which each of the four men shares his thoughts on job s afflictions in long, poetic statements. The book of job is far too complex and far too profound to do a once over lightly treatment, so i would like to go back this morning and recall to us the great truths that it has brought before us. While some have questioned the use of job descriptions, the authors explain the reasons why having a good understanding of job requirements can be helpful in basic human resource and talent management activities such as hiring and other aspects of the human capital life cycle. What are the hopeful lessons in the depressing book of job. The story begins by describing an encounter between satan and god. The book of job, named after its protagonist apparently not an israelite.
That each would be able to understand how to deal with suffering in ones own life and also in the lives of others. Job lesson 1 the book of job is an interesting story of a man who loves god very much, and yet, is severely tested to see if he will remain loyal. The big picture of job is that there was a man who was, in one sense, blameless in gods sight. For all of his yammering throughout the book, once god starts speaking, job. The book of job opens portraying job as a wealthy and righteous nobleman. The selfrighteousness did not come out until job was well into the trials, and explaining himself to his friends. Mens meaning is not taken aright, and then they are rebuked, as if they were evildoers. His life continues to serve as an example of perseverance for christians james 5. The book of job maintains great fame and popularity for obvious reasons its poetic language, its thoughtprovoking dilemmas, its drama, its outrageous plot. The author, date, and place of the book of job are all uncertain. The book of job has long been praised as a masterpiece of literature.
Up in the heavens, god brags to the divine assembly about job. This book is indeed a practical guide to job analysis. The book of james tells us that tests peirasmos, 1. It is possible that job is the oldest of any book of the bible written approximately 21001800 b. He has a large family, many flocks of animals, many servants, a large home, perhaps an estate. So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none. Bible studies and highlights in the book of job job chapters 4 7. Job analysis is an important tool in the workplace learning and performance professionals toolbox. Patience in suffering 2 lessons by rob harbison introductionintroduction lesson 1 background information author.
Job pronounced jobe, was a rich farmer living in the land of uz, somewhere northeast of palestine. He worships god sincerely and regularly, and most importantly, is a truly righteous person in the sight of god job 1. Or from an arabic word meaning repent, thus bearing the name repentant one. You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant job has job 42. The book of job is rightly understood to be a masterpiece of hebrew poetry and western literature.
You might have heard someone say, they have the patience of job. Sermon on job great lessons from the book of job gewatkins. Tomorrow, if all literature was to be destroyed and it was left to me to retain one work only, i should save job. In this video i share some really important life lessons that i learned from reading the book of job. Lo and behold, satan comes out and challenges god on job s goodness. Many are the reasons why the book of job should be in the bible. For comments on the first 12 verses of this chapter, see our job 7 commentary article.
It is common to view the narrative frame as the original core of the book, enlarged later by the poetic dialogues and discourses, and sections of the book such as the elihu speeches and the wisdom poem of chapter 28 as late insertions, but recent trends have tended to concentrate on the. Trials when finished or completed bring that information to light. Job 8 commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. The book of job is one of the most problematic portions of the bible and has called forth a variety of interpretations. Its crucial for helping individuals develop their careers and organizations develop their employees and maximize their talent. The english word example in verse 21 is from upogrammos meaning a writing copy. This post is adapted from the bible study job by eric ortlund. This lesson will help students understand that life can and probably will be hard, but god is with us and wants to speak to us in the storms. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point continue reading. The research comprises a system survey of all health occupations, the development of a new computerbased job analysis technology for all health occupations, and the specification of health. What did job really care about, if it was not the loss of his wealth. Key personalities of this book include job, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, zophar the naamathite, and elihu the buzite.
Job s outburst in job 3 did not curse god, but it did come close. The contents of the book, together with its artistic structure and elegant style, place it among the literary masterpieces of all time. Perhaps we could reflect upon a few of these matters. There is nothing in the book of job which states or leads one to believe job was out of fellowship or being pained due to sin, or that job had the sin of selfrighteousness to deal with at all. The book of job gives us a glimpse behind the veil that separates earthly life from the heavenly. Sermon on job sermon outline by kevin cauley on the great discoveries job made because of his great trials. But after god intervened, he rebuked the friends for speaking falsely about him and the situation job 42. Some see god as betting with satan, others see him as abandoning job, and others see him as sovereign in it all. Jan 02, 2020 the book implied the earth is round long before the advent of modern science job 22. God asks if hes considered job s righteousness job 1. There are those who believe that job is nothing more than a parable that we might learn from.
But for many readers it is a troubling book because of its unanswered questions, the seeming injustice of much that occurs in it, the longwinded and rather pointless discussions, and. The doubt surrounding the date of the book should not obscure its message, which is certainly applicable to any age. Job curses the day he was born, comparing life and death to light and darkness. The deepest note in the book may be struck when, out of the desolation of his heart and yet with the spirit of god within him urging him on to faith in the midst of his bewilderment and confusion, job says, but he knows the way that i take. Youth group lesson on job here is a free youth group lesson on job, based on job 3839. Hes blameless and upright, and he has kids, a wife, land, and a bunch of sheep. The last of the book is a beautiful picture of what james calls the tender mercies of god toward job james 5. First, we should note that this marvelous narrative has suffered the brunt of the critics barbs for a long while. The wisdom books and the book of job bible gateway. This is probably the very first book of the bible that was ever written.
Job bible story summary with lesson what christians want to know. The gripping and challenging book of job is perhaps one of the most. The book is not about jobs history but about jobs life and the way we relate to god as a result. I wont narrate the complete story, but in summary job had to go through. The book mentions dinosaursnot by that name, but the description of the behemoth is certainly dinosaurlikeliving side by side with man job 40. Book of job there was a man in the land of utz whose name was job. Although most of the book consists of the words of job and his friends, job himself was not the author. On the other hand, there was a notable flowering of wisdom literature during the reign of solomon, and the book of job may well have been part of those achievements, especially if its events may be dated later in a foreign locale.
The book of job belongs to what we call the wisdom literature of the old testament. The book of jonah is filled with valuable information and timeless lessons. Its way older then even the torah by many years and the book of job does happen to speak of dinosaurs. Some of the hebrew prophets attempted to deal with this question insofar as it affected the nation as a whole, but the writer of the book of job deals with it on an individual basis. That is the lesson of the book for anyone who questions god without access to all the.
Introduction to the book of job society of gilbert keith. The prose section of the book of job is a gigantic, sweeping drama that encompasses earth and heaven. The book of job consists of a prose prologue and epilogue narrative framing poetic dialogues and monologues. I love reading the book of job i feel a connection, i lost my son to a. According to biblical scholars, the book of job is the oldest book in the bible. God blesses and restores job to his prosperity, ver. Introduction to the book of job roger hahn this introduction is lesson 1 in the voice bible studies on the book of job the book of job is part of the old testament collection of wisdom literature, along with proverbs, ecclesiastes, and song of solomon. The book of job opens in verse one by telling us that job was a blameless, upright man who feared god and turned away from evil. There is much controversy over exactly when the facts in this book happened, if they ever happened at all. The book of job is among the other old testament books both a philosophical riddle and a historical riddle. So the book of job still has an attraction for the makers of traditions. At its beginning, job seems to be a book about human suffering.
The conclusion of the book of job reveals, now the l ord blessed the latter days of job more than his beginning 42. Jul 22, 2011 book of job is accounted by most christians among the wisdom literature but not under major or minor prophets. J ust about everyone has heard of the suffering of job in the old testament. In this series of blogs i shall revisit the book of job, the personality and some of its meaning for contemporary society. Some lessons from the book in his study on the book the book of job, quality publications, wayne jackson offers the following lessons to be gleaned.
As the first poetic book of the english bible, job introduces the reader to the idea of hebrew poetry, which involves the repetition and combination of ideas more than sounds. The narrative framework of the book tells the story of job as a very rich man who lives in the land of uz. The book of job tells how one man suddenly awakened to the anarchy rampant in the world, yet his attachment to god outlived the ruin of his tidy system. Job is a pious believer who is struck by misfortune so great that it cannot be explained in the usual way as a prompting to repentance, a warning, let alone a punishment the arguments later. He revered god and shunned all evil this man was the greatest of all the men of the east job 1. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of bible. The book of job describes a long and difficult trial he experienced. This summary of the book of job provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of job. In this lesson we will look at several lessons from the book of job on the subject of suffering. The book of job is considered by some to be devastating, others to be comforting, and still others to be confusing.
Victor hugo the greatest poem, whether of ancient or modern literature. Job lesson 1 the book of job is an interesting story of a. Date life lessons from job insight into living in tough times 2. The authorship of this book has been attributed to many different men including moses, elihu, elijah, solomon, hezekiah, jeremiah, baruch, ezra, isaiah, and others. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. The skeptical character of the symposium, with its challenge to timehonored views, most likely would have kept the book of job out of the canon of old testament writings had some additions not been made to the original book. But the lessons that the book teaches are not transparent, and different interpretations of the divine speeches and of the final chapter are possible. A major difficulty in understanding the meaning of the book is, what insight leads job to submit so humbly to god at the end. The book of job does not definitively answer the problem of the suffering of the innocent, but challenges readers to come to their own understanding. Throughout this process, the quality of steadfast character is developed. A comparative and critical analysis of the story of job as. Shouldnt we then teach children these valuable lessons from the book of job to help prepare them for the inevitable tests.
It should be kept in mind that job is not the author. In the long run, there are blessings for obedienceentrance into the kingdom of god is the greatest of all blessingsand curses for disobedience. Job s final speech in his own defense is probably where the book originally ended. Well, heres 7 more wonderful lessons that he can teach us. Enjoy this free digital job 7 summary from in which we seek to explain verses 21 of job, chapter 7. Its author is unknown yet it is possible that job himself wrote it. Consider teaching the six lessons from the book of job. The lesson from the big book of job is 1 that god is sovereign over all our suffering. Jul 28, 2014 to my huge delight, i came across the talk. Copeland this study guide is from the executable outlines series, a collection of sermon outlines and bible study lessons by mark a.
God reproves his friends, for whom job intercedes, and god accepts them, ver. God says to job, now i want you to pray for your friends these three dear men, so stubborn, so sure that they had all the answers, so well meaning, so sincere, so dedicated, but such utter blunderers. Study guide for job 1 by david guzik blue letter bible. And there is a reality called satan who challenges god that his man is not as good as he thinks he is.
Lesson 7we emerge when we learn what god is teaching. Among other things, it deals with the ageold question of why good people suffer. The book defends the absolute glory and perfection of god it sets forth the theme echoed in psa 18. Importance of understanding people reject god because of suffering a god who makes hell deserves to go there christians may doubt the sovereignty of godthat he is than the cause of pain people doubt the love of god due to suffering. Some bible scholars debate whether he was an actual person or legend, but job is mentioned as a historical figure by the prophet ezekial ezekial 14. They are the process by which the genuineness of our faith is determined dokime, v. Jobs suffering did not come because he was bad but rather because of his unwavering faithfulness to god. There is an incredible amount of information written within the book of job. However, faith helps us look beyond the suffering toward divine restoration. Job is referred to as a historical character in the scriptures see ezek. Whether there was a booming echo, we cant be sure, but it sure shuts job up.
The book treats two major themes and many other minor ones, both in the narrative framework of the prologue chapters 1 and 2, and epilogue 42. Carol newsoms magnificent analysis of the book of job from the perspective of modern hermeneutics, and propelled by the theme of the moral imagination, is destined to become a classic. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Job endured loss and suffering none of us could withstand job chapters yet in the midst of it all he said, but as for me, i know t.
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