Addressing the issue of theodoric the vindication of the equity of god in the light of humankinds agony, or all the more essentially, why do the noble suffer. There are no references to the law of moses, the tabernacle, the priesthood, the judges or kings, etc. Book of job overview insight for living ministries. Job pronounced jobe, was a rich farmer living in the land of uz, somewhere northeast of palestine. Although job was unaware of the interaction between satan and god, job comes to the conclusion that god is just and good. The last of the book is a beautiful picture of what james calls the tender mercies of god toward job james 5. In this book, we can see the evidence of satan working to destroy man. Job wants to find a way to justify gods actions, but he cannot understand why there are evil people who harm the childless woman, and do no good to the widow, only to be rewarded with long, successful lives 24. The book of job is one of the most misunderstood books in the bible. Nevertheless these ways of god with mankind have always a good purpose romans 8. Job spends his entire book in a position of sadness and loss. When god shook job, the sediment colored the water, and you find job saying some terrible things about god in this book. Job explores the difficult question of gods relationship to human suffering, and invites us to trust gods wisdom and character.
Job went through one of the most difficult seasons i think recorded in the bible. I attempt to clear that up by offering a different perspective than most people know today. Book of job summary by chapter old testament job story. An explanation of the biblical book of job the book job is composed of three parts. The book of job is an obvious place to turn when a christian suffers, but it is not easy to discern what god means to teach his people through this difficult book. In job, this prologue serves as a literary device to give the reader a perspective that the characters in the story lack. The big picture of job is that there was a man who was, in one sense, blameless in gods sight. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of bible. 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. The book of job is a highly controversial book of mostly confusing information. Its subject matter is the allimportant question, why, in a world over which yahweh has jurisdiction, should innocent persons have to suffer when at the same time the wicked escape suffering and are permitted to have comfort and security.
To understand the full impact of the book of job the book must be read and understood as a whole. Satan can touch flesh and bone but your spirit belongs to god. Jobs saintly friends tried to explain his problems by appealing to the logic of good orthodox theology. Then the wrath of elihu, the son of barachel the buzite, of the family of ram, was aroused against job.
In fact, some scholars believe that job requires and understanding of the book as a whole more than any other book of the old testament. On the contrary, god speaks directly to job, just as he does in the patriarchal age with noah, abraham, isaac, jacob, and other heads of. The books from genesis to esther are all narrative books, and are vitally meaningful to us as living parables, as types worked out in actual history by which we can see what is going on in our own. Introduction to the book of job society of gilbert keith. Addressing the problem of theodicy the vindication of the justice of god in the light of humanitys suffering it is a rich theological work setting out a variety of perspectives. Well be studying the 8 th chapter of the old testament book of job weve been reminded throughout this book that when we dont understand gods ways, we must trust his wisdom. Welcome to our job 9 explained article, where well study job chapter 9, verses 12 through 23. And there is a reality called satan who challenges god that his man is not as good as he thinks he is. The book of job defends the character of a loving and righteous god in spite of earths obvious evils and injustices. God knew that it was there, and he knew that in shaking this godly, blameless man there would arise some imperfection into his life, and that it would need to be purged. Its author is unknown yet it is possible that job himself wrote it.
In the end, jobs almost irreverent appeal to god for an explanation led to his justification and approval by god. Its purpose is to illustrate gods sovereignty and faithfulness during a time of great suffering. His speeches neither explain jobs suffering, nor defend divine justice, nor enter into the courtroom confrontation that. 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.
Man puts an end to darkness, and searches every recess. The author recounts an era in the life of job, in which he was tested and the. God gives satan permission to attack job, and he does so first through. But he has promised the holy spirit to help us understand john 16. It is the philosophical riddle that concerns us in such an introduction as this.
Whole chapters of the book are devoted to speeches by jobs counselors. 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. The name job is the english translation of the hebrew name iyov which means persecuted, hated on the surface job is a long, boring, somewhat confusing book and one might question how it ever came to be grouped with the wisdom books as it is hard to ascertain any wisdom in this tale of woe. Job 1 commentary commentary critical and explanatory on. However, the name does occur in genesis 46 and ezekiel 14. As humans we tend to think we know a little bit of everything. He is an example of faithfulness as he loses everything important to him yet remains faithful to god. Though it is hard and rare, it is not impossible for a rich man to enter into the kingdom. If we were to film this book, the whole movie would take place on a single set, probably in a single day. This reference in james is the only time job is mentioned by name in the n. It should be kept in mind that job is not the author. In job, we see a man who god allows to be directly attacked by satan.
Iyov is a book in the ketuvim writings area of the hebrew bible tanakh, and the main wonderful book in the old testament bible. Job 15 commentary james burton coffman commentaries on. This article interprets jobs teaching on suffering from five broad perspectives. According to the sacred writer, the truly wise man should realize that the fear of the lord, that is wisdom. Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. The book of job is a very tough book of the bible to understand using just the reasoning found within your human mind. Divisions of the book description of jobs trials ch. For seven days jobs friends sat by him in silence, without offering consolidation. The holocaust, or burnt offering, in patriarchal times, was offered literally, caused to ascend, referring to the smoke. At the same time, it also asks the question we rarely. Though we cannot be certain, job may have lived during the time of jacob or shortly thereafter. Although most of the book consists of the words of job and his friends, job himself was not the author. Its very hard to navigate your way through those chapters and determine what is true and what is not. As is customary with epic poems, it begins with a prologue that sets up the story line chs 12.
Sep 07, 2010 the book of job is a highly controversial book of mostly confusing information. This is important, for the point of the whole narrative, we shall see, is to expose the. The book of job is included among the wisdom writings precisely because it teaches man that pain and suffering are a mystery of divine wisdom. The name job is mentioned only 54 times and mostly just in the book of job. But after this experience, job came to embody for me a bible in my pocket answer to suffering, something that could be whipped out to explain. The book of job is often referred to as one of the great classics of world literature.
We will also see that in some of our darkest hours, the battle must be our own. So, whenever you open the sacred word, also open your heart to god in prayer, allowing the words of this commentary to direct your thoughts to the scriptures and to the one they tell us about. The book of job is primarily about the afflictions of job. Nov 12, 2017 the book of job is one of the most misunderstood books in the bible.
The book of job is a book of the christian old testament that tells a story about job, who in jewish tradition is the son of uz, who was the son of nahor, the brother of abraham. The contents of the book, together with its artistic structure and elegant style, place it. The traditional surface understanding doesnt make sense with. The book of job, named after its protagonist apparently not an israelite.
Or from an arabic word meaning repent, thus bearing the name repentant one. The contents of the book, together with its artistic structure and elegant style, place it among the literary masterpieces of all time. Lo and behold, satan comes out and challenges god on job s goodness. One talmudic tradition suggests moses as author since the land of uz 1. The lesson from the big book of job is 1 that god is sovereign over all. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore. Five truths for sufferers from the book of job the. It broke down the book of job and explained things so well. The word of god is precious and far beyond human wisdom isa.
The holocaust, or burnt offering, in patriarchal times. Job was also blameless or perfect, but so was lucifer at one time eze 28. This to me is the overriding teaching of the book of job. Job with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Even though we still dont have a complete understanding of why, the same is true for us.
You can read our explanation of job 8 meaning of verses 11 through 22 of chapter 8 as well open your bible to job, chapter 8. The subject of the book of job is gods dealings with mankind in his governmental ways in a world in which satan, the adversary of god, has introduced sin, suffering and death. Understanding the book of job by tom tompkins escape. 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 is among the other old testament books both a philosophical riddle and a historical riddle. A free bible version and commentary on the old testament book of job in easyenglish. Can you guess the film from the badly explained plot. The book of job is one of the most problematic portions of the bible and has called forth a variety of interpretations. These stories focus on jobs trials at the hands of god and how he deals with them. Key personalities of this book include job, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, zophar the naamathite, and elihu the buzite. However, the initiator of the problems in job s life and the cause of the problems are widely misinterpreted. It is also, a book of almost endless endurance in the face of great stress. It is possible that job is the oldest of any book of the bible written approximately 21001800 b.
How do you trust god even when life isnt fair and you suffer for no good reason. Jobs story invites us to consider what it means that god runs. Set in uz, an obscure land far from israel, during an unknown time period, the book of job focuses on questions about gods justice and why good people suffer. Satan targets job because of his righteousness and favour with god and wishes to turn job against god. A new chinese coronavirus, a cousin of the sars virus, has infected hundreds since the outbreak began in wuhan, china, in december. The book of job has been widely given the theme of patience and we see this mentioned in the new testament book of james. The book of job is considered being part of the poetic books job, psalms, proverbs, ecclesiastes, and song of songs in todays bible editions. Many scholars are convinced that the prologue and epilogue are later additions to the original, the body of the tale. Up in the heavens, god brags to the divine assembly about job. Satan can touch flesh and bone but your spirit belongs to god and only you can defile it and cause god to reject it. But if salvation comes by faith, he surely isnt at least not at the beginning of his book.
Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. The name job is mentioned only 54 times and mostly just in the. Hes blameless and upright, and he has kids, a wife, land, and a bunch of sheep. Job is an unlikely candidate because the books message rests on jobs ignorance of the events that occurred in heaven as they were related to his ordeal. On the contrary, god speaks directly to job, just as he does in the. God is asking us and inviting us to trust him and his wisdom. Job free bible commentary in easy english easyenglish bible.
The implied prophecies were that job would never be rich job 15. The book of job is one of the wisdom books of the bible. The dominant theme of job is the difficulty of understanding why an allpowerful god allows good people to suffer. Too many christians want to put themselves into the role of a job. If youd like to study verses 111 read our job 9 commentary and our job 9 summary for verses 2435.