After what must have seemed to Job like a very long silence, God finally speaks to him, even if what He first said might not have been what Job wanted to hear. What was the first question that God asked Job, and what was implied in that question? Job 38:2. All through the Bible we … Continue reading –>
Read Job 38:1. What happens here that is different from everything else in all the other dialogues? Suddenly and unexpectedly, the Lord now appears in the book of Job, the first time since Job 2:6—“And the LORD said to Satan, ‘Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life’ ” (NKJV). Nothing really prepares … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Job 38-39, John 1:29, Matt. 16:13, 1 Cor. 1:18–27, Job 40:1–4, Job 42:1–6, Luke 5:1–8. Memory Text: “ ‘Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding’ ” (Job 38:4, NKJV). Whatever their differences, the characters in the book of Job had one … Continue reading –>
Further Thought: In a discussion concerning the question of faith and reason, author John Hedley Brooke wrote about the German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) and his attempt to understand the limits of human knowledge, especially when it came to the working of God. For Kant, “the question of justifying the ways of God to man … Continue reading –>
Certainly the primary characters in the book of Job, as mere mortals seeing “through a glass darkly” (1 Cor. 13:12), were working from a very limited perspective, a very limited understanding of the nature of the physical world, much less the spiritual one. Interesting, too, that in all these debates about the evil that befell … Continue reading –>
All four of these men, believers in God, believers in a God of justice, found themselves in a dilemma: how to explain Job’s situation in a rational and logical manner that was consistent with their understanding of the character of God. Unfortunately, they ended up taking a position that turned out basically wrong in their … Continue reading –>
A lot of commentary has been written over the ages about Elihu and his speech, some seeing it a major turning point in the direction of the dialogue. Yet, it’s really not that easy to see where Elihu adds anything so new or so groundbreaking that it changes the dynamic of the dialogue. Instead, he … Continue reading –>
From Job chapters 26 to 31, the tragic hero of this story, Job, gives his final speech to the three men. Though eloquent and passionate, he basically repeats the argument he has been making all along: I do not deserve what has been happening to me. Period. Again, Job represents so much of humanity in … Continue reading –>
Even after Job’s powerful expression of faith (Job 13:15-16), the verbal sparring continued. Over the course of many chapters, the men go back and forth, arguing many deep and important questions about God, sin, death, justice, the wicked, wisdom, and the transient nature of humanity. What truths are being expressed in the following texts? Job … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Job 13:28, Job 28:28, Job 32:1–5, Job 34:10–15, Ezek. 28:12–17, Job 1:1-2:10. Memory Text: “ ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts’ ” (Isaiah 55:9, NKJV). And so it goes, the battle of words … Continue reading –>
