Guidelines for reading Job

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Pastor Tom

For this week and next, our Bible reading is directed to the book of Job (pronounced like Joe with a b on the end). The basic story goes like this. Job is a faithful follower of God and has experienced abundant blessing. God points out Job’s faithfulness to Satan. Satan responds that the only reason Job only worships God because of blessings. God allows Satan to afflict Job’s possessions, family and health. Then 3 friends come to “comfort” Job in his misery. The majority of the book focuses on these dialogues along with Job’s complaints to God. In the end, God restores Job with more than he has before.

It is important to keep the following in mind regarding Job.

1) Job’s friends spend most of their time trying to convince Job that he suffers because of his own sin. We know this isn’t true because of the opening chapters. But neither Job nor his friends know about this. The friends shared the prevailing view of the day – If you’re good – God blesses you. If you’re bad – God makes you suffer. The book of Job shatters that simplistic explanation for all suffering.

2) Job resists the invitation to confess something that he didn’t do. He also moves from initial shock and acceptance of what happened to a deep questioning of God. So we must not conclude that Job accepted what happened and just moved on with life. He struggled and the dialogues reveal that struggle.

3) When you get to the end of the book, notice that God does not explain everything that happened. In fact in chapters 38–41, God lists over 60 items that He’s involved in that remain a mystery to man. Yet, we implicitly trust God with these mysteries. The message seems to be “there are many things that are beyond us as humans. We must entrust these to God yet continue to walk with Him through that which confuses us.”

The Bible reading plan places Job here because it looks like Job lived during during the early days of civilization.

I pray God blesses you, speaks to you and comforts you through your investment in the book of Job.

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