The Book of JobWhy do the righteous suffer?

Job’s Character

• Blameless• Upright• Feared God• Turned away from evil

God’s Evaluation of Job

• My servant• None like him on the earth• Blameless & upright• Fears God• Turns away from evil

Job’s Blessings

• 10 children• 7000 sheep• 3000 camels• 500 yoke of oxen• 500 female donkeys• Very many servants

Satan’s Question

Does Job fear God for no reason?

Job’s Blessings10 children 7000 sheep

3000 camels

500 yoke of oxen

500 female donkeys

Very many servants

“The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of

the LORD.”

Job’s Blessings10 children 7000 sheep

3000 camels

500 yoke of oxen

500 female donkeys

Very many servants

“But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will

curse you to your face.”

Job’s Answer

Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not

receive evil?

Monologues

Job Elihu God

DialoguesFriends’

speeches Job’s responses

WHY IS JOB SUFFERING?The wrong question:

EliphazRemember: who that was innocent ever

perished?Or where were the upright cut off?

As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same.

By the breath of God they perish,and by the blast of his anger they are

consumed. 3:7-9

Bildad

If you will seek Godand plead with the Almighty for mercy,

if you are pure and upright,surely then he will rouse himself for you

and restore your rightful habitation.8:5-6

Zophar

Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves.

11:6

Zophar

For he has crushed and abandoned the poor;

He has seized a house that he did not build.

20:19

EliphazIs not your evil abundant?

There is no end to your iniquities.For you have exacted pledges of your brothers for nothing

and stripped the naked of their clothing.You have given no water to the weary to drink,and you have withheld bread from the hungry.

The man with power possessed the land,and the favored man lived in it.

You have sent widows away empty,and the arms of the fatherless were crushed.

22:5-9

WHERE IS WISDOM FOUND?The right question:

Conventional WisdomFor inquire, please, of bygone ages,and consider what the fathers have

searched out.For we are but of yesterday and know

nothing,for our days on earth are a shadow.Will they not teach you and tell you

and utter words out of their understanding?

8:8-10

Conventional WisdomHave you listened in the council of God?

And do you limit wisdom to yourself?What do you know that we do not know?What do you understand that is not clear

to us?Both the gray-haired and the aged are

among us,Older than your father.

15:8-10

Wisdom from Observation

• As I have seen… 4:8• I have seen… 5:3• Behold, this we have searched out; it is true.

Hear, and know it for your good. 5:27• What I have seen I will declare… 15:17• Do you not know this from of old…? 20:4

Direct Revelation

Now a word was brought to me stealthily;my ear received the whisper of it.

Amid thoughts from visions of the night,when deep sleep falls upon men,

dread came upon me, and trembling,which made all my bones shake.

A spirit glided past my face; the hair of my flesh stood up.

Direct Revelation

It stood still,but I could not discern its appearance.A form went before my eyes; there was

silence, then I heard a voice:“Can a mortal man be in the right before

God?Can a man be pure before his Maker?”

4:12-17

Wisdom of Youth

Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he. And

when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, he

burned with anger.32:4-5

WHO IS THIS WHO DARKENS COUNSEL BY

WORDS WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE?

NOW PREPARE YOURSELF LIKE A MAN; I WILL QUESTION YOU

AND YOU WILL ANSWER ME.

Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,

things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

42:3

I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear,

but now my eye sees you;therefore I despise myself,

and repent in dust and ashes.42:5-6

1. There are no easy answers.

2. It’s wise to reserve judgment.

3. Presence, not counsel, is the best form of comfort.

4. If you’re suffering unjustly, you’re not alone.

5. Fear God.