THE BOOK OF JOB

By Dave Wilson

Perspective – Sometimes that is all we need to find peace, comfort and security when hard-times come our way! The Book of Job is an epic tale that takes place in a far-off distant place, and describes the afflictions of a man who endeavored to honor the Lord. Despite his earnest attempts to please God, the fury of heavenly beings was unleashed to bring hell on earth. As he sat in a heap of ashes, where all of his hopes and dreams lay waste, Job wrestles with God. And through his struggle he finds perspective. This heavenly perspective, as told in monumental fashion, gives us a glimpse of our God and all His glory. Job’s encounter with God provides comfort in knowing that suffering is merely a temporary condition of our humanity.  We gain security as we discern that our life-as-we-know-it on earth is merely a common path of finite beings living in an infinite universe. There are things in our world that we fear, (both seen and unseen) like the monstrous Leviathan and Behemoth, but our Almighty God is in control of it all.  We may not get the answers we ask for, but what we gain by our study of Job is far greater…. Perspective!

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JOB: An Introduction

Job 1-3
Job is one of the few books in the Bible that is often read as a timeless work of literature by those in secular academia. I recall my first…

JOB: Eliphaz the Mystic

Job 4-6
After a week of grief, sympathy and mourning, Eliphaz is the first of Job’s three friends to speak. From the very beginning, we must…

JOB: Bildad the Cleric

Job 7-9
Bildad the Shuhite is the only description we are given for the second friend of Job. Shuah could be a place somewhere in the countries…

JOB: Zophar the Sarcastic
Job 10-12
 Can you imagine someone at a funeral who would say to a father, “you deserve much worse,” just days after the loss of his children and…
JOB: Traditional Faith on Trial
Job 13-15
Job is the original courtroom drama. Just like the plaintiff in Perry Mason or Matlock, Job demands an audience with a judge to plead his…
JOB: The Plaintiff
Job 16-18
In the great courtroom drama of the Book of Job, Traditional Faith is on trial, God is the Judge, and Job is the Plaintiff. Job is known as a…
JOB: Satan the Adversary
Job 19-21
The drama continues as Job persists in his request for an audience with the Lord and proclaims that he believes a redeemer will come to…
JOB: Suffering, A Witness to the Crime
Job 22-24
The problem of suffering in the world is not the purpose of the book of Job! In our reading today, we are fully immersed in the cycle of…
JOB: Children – the Innocent Victims
Job 25-27
Chapters 24 – 27 of the book of Job are often referred to as ‘scrambled’ poetic texts due primarily to the disconnected speeches…
JOB: Job’s Wife – A Witness to Pain and Suffering
Job 28-30
Job’s wife has a very brief appearance on the stage of this drama. She has two lines of script that can be interpreted in a variety of ways.
JOB: Elihu the Seminarian
Job 31-33 
Elihu is the fourth friend of Job who appears on stage toward the end of the drama. Many scholars see the speeches of Elihu as added late in the…
JOB: Transcendent Faith – An Emerging Character
Job 34-36
In an earlier blog posting, I introduced a character to this courtroom drama called Traditional Faith. In many ways, faith…
JOB: God – The Judge Enters His Court
Job 37-39
Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? (Job 38:2) As God enters the…
JOB: Conclusion “Blessed be the Name”
Job 40-42
Do you really think about what you are singing in church on Sunday morning? Matt Redman has a song called “Blessed Be the Name of…