Imagine the following conversation. Two people are bemoaning the fate of all humanity: death. That is, no matter how good the lives they live, no matter what they accomplish, it’s going to end in the grave. “Yeah,” gripes Methuselah to a friend. “We live, what, 800, 900 years, and then we are gone. What is … Continue reading –>
Job finished his first lament, as recorded in chapter 3. For the next two chapters one of his friends, Eliphaz, gives Job a lecture (we will come back to that next week). In chapters 6 and 7, Job continues to speak about his suffering. “‘Oh, that my grief were fully weighed, and my calamity laid … Continue reading –>
Read Job 3:11–26. What is Job saying here? How is he continuing his lament? What does he say about death? We can only imagine the terrible sorrow that poor Job was facing. However hard it must have been to have his possessions destroyed and his health taken away from him, Job lost all his children. … Continue reading –>
Imagine that you are Job. Inexplicably your life, all that you have worked for, all that you have accomplished, all that God has blessed you with, comes tumbling down. It just doesn’t make sense. There doesn’t seem to be any reason, good or bad, for it. Years ago, a school bus went off the road, … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Job 3:1–10, John 11:11–14, Job 6:1–3, Job 7:1–11, James 4:14, Job 7:17–21, Ps. 8:4–6. Memory Text: “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created” (Revelation 4:11, NKJV). As we read the story of … Continue reading –>
Further Thought: Christian writer and apologist C. S. Lewis wrote a book talking about the death of his wife and his struggle to come to terms with that death. In it he wrote: “Not that I am (I think) in much danger of ceasing to believe in God. The real danger is of coming to … Continue reading –>
Read Romans 3:1–4. Though the immediate context is the unfaithfulness of some of God’s covenant people, what is the bigger issue that Paul is talking about here? What is Paul saying about God? Quoting Psalm 51:4, Paul talks about how the Lord Himself will “be justified in your words and will prevail when you are … Continue reading –>
Read the following texts in Job. What issue is Job wrestling with? What question does he not ask? Job 6:4–8, Job 9:1–12. As stated in yesterday’s study, the issue of God’s existence never came up in the book of Job. Instead, the question was why was Job going through these trials? And, considering all that … Continue reading –>
You can view an in-depth discussion of “God and Human Suffering” in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris. (Adobe Flash Player version.) A Youtube version of this week’s lesson at Hope Sabbath School is below. You can download the video, the MP3 audio, and the lesson outline from the HopeTV Sabbath … Continue reading –>
Despite the hype of those who don’t believe in God, those who believe in God have many good reasons for their belief. However, there’s been one perennial problem that many have used through the ages to justify their disbelief, and that is the problem of human suffering and evil. How can God be all-good, all-loving, … Continue reading –>
