The book of job is one of the most misunderstood books in the bible. I love reading the book of jobi feel a connection, i lost my son to a pedestrian accident almost 3 years ago at 1. When god finally himself speaks to job he has to confess. God says to job, now i want you to pray for your friends these three dear men, so stubborn, so sure that they had all the answers, so well meaning, so sincere, so dedicated, but such utter blunderers. Sep 07, 2010 the book of job is a highly controversial book of mostly confusing information. If you are caught excessively commenting, insulting, or derailing then your comments. A major difficulty in understanding the meaning of the book is, what insight leads job to submit so. Nov 12, 2017 the book of job is one of the most misunderstood books in the bible.
Like interstellar before it, however, the ending can be a bit tricky to understand. One talmudic tradition suggests moses as author since the land of uz 1. A major difficulty in understanding the meaning of the book is, what insight leads job to submit so humbly to god at the end. Addressing the problem of theodicy the vindication of the justice of god in the light of humanitys suffering it is a rich theological work setting out a variety of perspectives. In other words, trouble and affliction like job is experiencing dont just come from nowhere. Job proves faithful to god in prosperity and in adversity. What is taught about trial in the new testament is founded on the principles found right here in the book of job. And even though that was more than 52 weeks ago, this is only the 47th lesson in this series. The skeptical character of the symposium, with its challenge to timehonored views, most likely would have kept the book of job out of the canon of old testament writings had some additions not been made to. Divisions of the book description of jobs trials ch. The most important of jobs three friends was eliphaz of theman. The book of job is one of the most problematic portions of the bible and has called forth a variety of interpretations.
God says to job, now i want you to pray for your friends these three dear men, so stubborn, so sure that they had all the answers, so well meaning, so sincere, so. It is common to view the narrative frame as the original core of the book, enlarged later by the poetic dialogues and discourses, and sections of the book such as the elihu speeches and the wisdom poem of chapter 28 as late insertions, but recent trends have tended to concentrate on the. Job 31 job proclaims his purity and innocence this whole chapter is occupied with jobs solemn oath of innocence. His speeches neither explain jobs suffering, nor defend divine justice, nor enter into the courtroom confrontation that job has demanded, nor respond to his. We also saw the multiple blessings that god had bestowed upon him. It is not surprising, therefore, that the translators of the septuagint add this verse to the book of job. The book of job does not espouse an explicit belief in resurrection.
The most important of job s three friends was eliphaz of theman. Mens meaning is not taken aright, and then they are rebuked, as if they were evildoers. I believe it was job who actually wrote it and if you were to place the book of job in chronological order, youd have to place it in the first 5th of the book of. Lets open our bibles to the old testament book of job, and chapter 14. Mar 19, 2012 job was also blameless or perfect, but so was lucifer at one time eze 28. For the thing which i greatly feared is come upon me before this flood of misery was poured upon me, i was indeed under great and strong apprehensions, which i could not account for, of something or other that would happen to me. Job went through one of the most difficult seasons i think recorded in the bible. The last of the book is a beautiful picture of what james calls the tender mercies of god toward job james 5. There was once a man in the land of uz whose name was job 1. But the odious judgments made by his friends caution us against making toocertain application of any model to our own lives. Satan had been proven completely wrong in the charges he brought against job and in thinking he could destroy true saving faith. It was his final and explicit answer to the line of argument adopted by his three friends.
Well be studying the last chapter of the book of job today. But the story isnt about what job had and what he lost. The book of job is a highly controversial book of mostly confusing information. Hidden teachings of the bible that explain manifestation. The book of job is a very tough book of the bible to understand using just the reasoning found within your human mind. For personal study, i suggest you start at the beginning of a chapter or book. Job is an unlikely candidate because the books message rests on jobs ignorance of the events that occurred in heaven as they were related to his ordeal. It is possible that job is the oldest of any book of the bible written approximately 21001800 b. Walther eichrodt writes, in the speeches of god in the book of job, this god of mens construction. It is what job learns about god through his suffering. Arrival presents many clues without revealing its hidden truth until the films conclusion. In fact, some scholars believe that job requires and understanding of the book as a whole more than any other book of the old testament.
You can find the best commentary on job for you using the tools on the right side. Wherefore i abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. The book of job is a timeless book in which the ever present problem of human suffering and especially in. Recommended sites bible info questions with answers in major world languages. The holocaust, or burnt offering, in patriarchal times. Thus job felt utterly in the minority, for the earth seemed to be given into the hand of the wicked, with god covering the faces of its judges, since judges were unreliable men. Meaning, origin and history of the name job behind the name.
Key personalities of this book include job, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, zophar the naamathite, and elihu the buzite. Job was a man who endured enormous suffering while refusing to renounce his faith in god. In the book of job in the old testament he is a righteous man who is tested by god, enduring many tragedies and. This reference in james is the only time job is mentioned by name in the n. God indeed could do everything, including bring comfort and assurance to job, even when job still did not understand the origin or meaning of his crisis. But the author knew that his readers would be able to work out the meaning of his. The god who can master behemoth and leviathan job 40 and 41 can also accomplish every purpose in jobs life, including the. If you have not read this series from the beginning, i would highly recommend that you go back and start with part 1. Jun 09, 2014 the book of job is one of the most misunderstood books in the bible. Understanding the book of job by tom tompkins escape. But for many readers it is a troubling book because of its unanswered questions, the seeming injustice of much that occurs in it, the longwinded and rather pointless discussions, and.
Job 8 commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. Rather, the focus is on what job learns from his suffering. I attempt to clear that up by offering a different perspective than most people know today. It should be kept in mind that job is not the author.
While it is true that suffering is a major theme in the book of job, suffering is not the real meaning of job. As humans we tend to think we know a little bit of everything. Read your own bible, the bible as quoted on this site, and my comments. Job 1 commentary commentary critical and explanatory on. In the midst of suffering, we must never lose our hope in god. If we define salvation on the basis of performance, then job is surely saved. And there is a reality called satan who challenges god that his man is not as good as he thinks he is. The success of the movies masterful storytelling is owed to director denis villeneuve and author ted. For a broader view look at the comments in the right column. Our job 2 commentary last time in chapter 1 we saw jobs righteous character. The book of job consists of a prose prologue and epilogue narrative framing poetic dialogues and monologues. Jobs suffering did not come because he was bad but rather because of his unwavering faithfulness to god. The book of job provides us with our basis for understanding the purpose and course of trial in the lives of believers. Ive personally been enjoying going beyond the typical treatment of the first and last few chapters of the book and really digging in to the middle section of.
A free bible version and commentary on the old testament book of job in. We continue our study in the book of job in the second chapter. The book of job is the first document in history to take seriously the question of why really bad things happen to really good people. Job felt that god was practically laughing at job s distress, as though it was no matter for job to complain about at all. There is an evil spirit, the enemy of god, and of all righteousness, who is continually seeking to distress, to lead astray, and, if possible, to destroy those who love god. Eliphaz continues 6 although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground. Most importantly for the message of the book, job was still diseased and without his children and possessions, and god had not changed anything except for the humbling of the heart of his servant. The big picture of job is that there was a man who was, in one sense, blameless in gods sight. But after this experience, job came to embody for me a bible in my pocket answer to suffering, something that could be whipped out to explain. Whole chapters of the book are devoted to speeches by jobs counselors. To understand the full impact of the book of job the book must be read and understood as a whole.
The name job is the english translation of the hebrew name iyov which means persecuted, hated on the surface job is a long, boring, somewhat confusing book and one might question how it ever came to be grouped with the wisdom books as it is hard to ascertain any wisdom in this tale of woe. Book of job overview insight for living ministries. The book of job is considered being part of the poetic books job, psalms, proverbs, ecclesiastes, and song of songs in todays bible editions. Jun 28, 2010 the book of job is the first document in history to take seriously the question of why really bad things happen to really good people. The book of job does not specifically name its author. I wont narrate the complete story, but in summary job had to go through tremendous calamities. And that no purpose of yours can be withheld from you. Themes and meaning the name job is the english translation of the hebrew name iyov which means persecuted, hated on the surface job is a long, boring, somewhat confusing book and one might question how it ever came to be grouped with the wisdom books as it is hard to ascertain any wisdom in this tale of woe. This name might have been derived from the hebrew word for persecution, thus meaning persecuted one. Its author is unknown yet it is possible that job himself wrote it.
In the end, god rewarded him by restoring all he had lost and giving him much, much more. The prologue to the book of job chapters 12 sets up the meditation on suffering that follows it. Though it is hard and rare, it is not impossible for a rich man to enter into the kingdom. Nothing in the book shows that job was ruler of edom. Too many christians want to put themselves into the role of a job. The book of job opens in verse one by telling us that job was a blameless, upright man who feared god and turned away from evil. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear god hath ordained, that as death entered into the world at first by the ear, poisoned by that old man slayer, genesis 3.
Understanding the book of job by tom tompkins escape to. It broke down the book of job and explained things so well. The loss of jobs property, and the death of his children. The name job is mentioned only 54 times and mostly just in the book of job. David guzik commentary on job 1, where satan asks god for permission to. Job 1 commentary commentary critical and explanatory on the. Job s suffering did not come because he was bad but rather because of his unwavering faithfulness to god. This prose prologue to the book reads like a folktale. Suffering christians in every era should follow jobs example of faithfulness to god in their physical and emotional suffering, and every believer in jesus should. The lesson from the big book of job is 1 that god is sovereign over all our suffering.
For i considered the variety of gods providences, the. The book of job is a book in the ketuvim writings section of the hebrew bible tanakh, and. But if salvation comes by faith, he surely isnt at least not at the beginning of his book. Arrival is one of the best science fiction films of the decade. Jobs final speech in his own defense is probably where the book originally ended.
John piper talks about how to discern between good and bad theology in the book of job. Nov 17, 2015 i believe it was job who actually wrote it and if you were to place the book of job in chronological order, youd have to place it in the first 5th of the book of genesis because the book of job. The book of job tells how one man suddenly awakened to the anarchy rampant in the world, yet his attachment to god outlived the ruin of his tidy system. Job free bible commentary in easy english easyenglish bible. The name job is mentioned only 54 times and mostly just in the.
Job is a pious believer who is struck by misfortune so great that it cannot be explained in the usual way as a prompting to repentance, a warning, let alone a punishment the arguments later. The date of the authorship of the book of job would be determined by the author of the book of job. It relates the story of job, his trials at the hands of satan, his discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, his challenge to god, and finally a response from god. The book of job maintains great fame and popularity for obvious reasons its poetic language, its thoughtprovoking dilemmas, its drama, its outrageous plot. Job was also blameless or perfect, but so was lucifer at one time eze 28. The holocaust, or burnt offering, in patriarchal times, was offered literally, caused to ascend, referring to the smoke. Job with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. The book of job has been widely given the theme of patience and we see this mentioned in the new testament book of james. An appendix to the book of job in the septuagint identifies job with king jobab of edom gen. The loss of job s property, and the death of his children.
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