As if getting a lecture from Eliphaz weren’t bad enough, Job then faced one from Bildad, who said something similar to what Eliphaz had said. Unfortunately, Bildad was cruder and harsher toward Job than even Eliphaz was. Imagine going up to someone whose children had died and saying to the person: “ ‘If your sons … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Job 8:1–22, Job 11:1–20, Isa. 40:12–14, Gen. 6:5–8, 2 Pet. 3:5–7. Memory Text: “ ‘Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?’ ” (Job 11:7, NKJV). The problem of human suffering surely continues to daunt humanity. We see “good” people … Continue reading –>
Further Thought: As we have seen, Eliphaz was not without sympathy for Job. It’s just that his sympathy took second place to what he saw as his need to defend the character of God. After all, Job was suffering terribly, and God is just; therefore, Job must have done something to deserve what happened to … Continue reading –>
Much of what Eliphaz said to Job was correct. That is, he made many valid points, points that we found were expressed later in the Bible. And yet, something still was terribly wrong with his response to Job. The problem wasn’t so much with what he said; the problem was more the context in which … Continue reading –>
In chapter 5, Eliphaz continues with his argument. It’s mostly the same as what he said in the previous chapter: evil happens only to evil people. Imagine how this must have felt to Job, who knew that it couldn’t be right and that he didn’t deserve his present situation. However, there is a problem here: … Continue reading –>
Eliphaz wouldn’t exactly win any awards for tact and sympathy with his opening lines. Basically he was saying that it was easy for Job to be a light and comfort to others when things were going well. But now that evil had befallen him, he’s “troubled.” Yet, shouldn’t he be? God is just, and so … Continue reading –>
Read Job 2:11–13. What does it tell us about how Job’s friends viewed his situation? Having heard about what happened to Job, these men made “an appointment” (Job 2:11, NKJV); that is, they planned to come together and see their friend. The verses convey the idea that they were stunned at what they saw, and they … Continue reading –>
Most of the action in the book of Job takes place in the first two chapters. Here the veil between heaven and earth is lifted, and we are given a glimpse into a whole aspect of reality that otherwise would remain hidden from us. However far our telescopes can peer into the cosmos, they haven’t … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Ps. 119:65–72; Job 2:11–13; Job 4:1–21; Rom. 3:19, 20; 1 Cor. 3:19; Heb. 12:5; Matt. 7:1. Memory Text: “ ‘“Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker?”’ ” (Job 4:17, NKJV). Last week we stressed the importance of putting ourselves in … Continue reading –>
“In an era so unprecedentedly illuminated by science and reason, the ‘good news’ of Christianity became less and less convincing a metaphysical structure, less secure a foundation upon which to build one’s life, and less psychologically necessary. The sheer improbability of the whole nexus of events was becoming painfully obvious—that an infinite, eternal God would … Continue reading –>
