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Job

Job 1:1 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.

• What kind of person was Job?

• What did God say about Job?

• What was Satan accusing Job of?
• Job was blessed because he was righteous, but Satan believed that he was righteous because he was blessed. Why does it matter?

12 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger." Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

• Why would God allow this? Was it important to demonstrate Job’s integrity to Satan?

In verses 13 through 19, a series of four messengers come, one after the other, to tell Job that his oxen, donkeys, and camels were stolen, his sheep were killed, and that his children and many of his servants were now dead.

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.

• Many people have blamed God, or even cursed God, in times of adversity. Why should you praise God, even in the face of adversity that you don’t understand?

2:1 On another day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it." 3 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason." 4 "Skin for skin!" Satan replied. "A man will give all he has for his own life. 5 But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face." 6 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life."

• Why did Satan want to take another step to disprove Job’s loyalty to God?
• Why did God let him?

7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. 8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. 9 His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!"

• What was Job’s wife’s advice? Why did she say this?

10 He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

• We are given the opportunity to see “behind the scenes” and understand Satan’s role in Job’s trouble. Was Job right or wrong to think that he should accept trouble from God?
• Do you trust and praise God, even when life if harder than you expected?

Most of the book of Job consists of back and forth discussions between Job and some of his friends. His friends originally came to comfort Job, but ended up accusing him of sin. They assumed that he couldn’t possibly have this much trouble without it being his fault. In the end God rebukes Job’s friends, because they were wrong in accusing Job. Job also recognizes that God is much greater than we are and that some of the time Job was trying to talk about things he really didn’t understand. God tells Job to pray for his friends. After He does, God restores Job.

42:12 The LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. 13 And he also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. 15 Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job's daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers. 16 After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. 17 And so he died, old and full of years.

• If you had asked Job, toward the end of his life, how he felt about the trials he went through, how do you think he would answer?

Compare: James 5: 10 Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

Posted by Cute at 11:51 PM