This started out as a book I planned to write, but I kept dragging my feet on the project, so I decided to at least be obedient enough to begin to share it on the web, although it will be a book of some sort some day. I'm still working on it so if you get to the end and wonder, "Is that it!?", know that its not. I upload the latest version as I work on it in Word.
Why do bad things happen to good people? Well first you have to ask yourself, what “good people” are you talking about. Sure there may be people who don't do as much dirt as the next guy, but who is really "good". Show me one truly "good" person besides Jesus, the Christ. We can all agree on the fact that bad things happened to that good person, and he truly was good. But why did it happen? Well many people say that God did it to save the world. Well the truth of the matter is, the only thing God did, was to send him down here. It was up to Jesus to stay connected through the Word and live right once he got to earth.
The Book of Job is a picture of what is happening in the spirit realm to each and every one of us saved or unsaved. Of course, for those of us that just happen to be saved, we have Jesus making our defense.
Most every book, article, and commentary written on the book of Job says the same thing. God takes us through suffering to teach us or to draw us back to Him. The fact is that all of those ideas are in direct conflict with the actual Word of God (James 5:1, and others)
It is our lifestyle that predicts how things go in our lives. Do you have two way communication with God every day? Do you listen to him? If you listen to him, do you obey him? What do you confess or say everyday? Do you always say, "The devil has me on the run?" or do you say, "No weapon formed against me shall prosper"? What about saying, "I'm the head and not the tail; above only and not beneath?"
From time to time there may be situations that happen for no other reason, than satan, wants to slow you down or keep you from being a help or an inspiration to someone else who may take God's Word and reek havoc on his plans. You can stop satan in his tracks if you just make a conscious decision and conscious choice to open your mouth and say what God says in His Word about your situation. You can stay in dominion of the things God has given you dominion over.
Remember that God gave Adam dominion, and Adam had to name all of the animals. He didn't just sit quietly in his room and think up names in his head, he actually opened his mouth and said something. Out of all of the creatures there, he was the only one that God gave this ability to open his mouth and speak and tell the other creatures what they would be called, what they could and couldn't do. In Genesis 1:28, it is written, "God blessed 1 them and said 2 to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! 3 Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.” In this context, the word "subdue" generally means to bring under your control and use for your benefit and advantage, while you harness its potential and use its resources.
God has given us the answers on how to handle difficult situations, but He has also given us plenty of tips on how NOT to fall, how NOT to go through the bad things in life. Most people don't realize that it is possible for a human being to come to a place where they won't sin. That won't make you sinless because until you get to that point, you've committed your share of sins, but you can get to the place where you don't sin any more. Sure you'll be tempted, but being tempted is not sinning because Jesus was tempted and yet he was still without sin.
Jesus said, "Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. Whatever you want or desire that is in accordance with the Word of God, God and his angels in heaven will 2nd your motion.
Characters in the Book of Job
| Job
Job's wife - There was no name given, but I'll call her Darinda Eliphaz Bildad Zophar Elihu Satan Bad news servant #1 Bad news servant #2 Bad news servant #3 |
Job's first set of
Children
Job's oldest son - Job, Jr. Ricky Eric Rene' Derrik Tony Tonya Shawn Earnest Sheila |
Job's second set of
children:
Keziah "Kezi" Jemimah "Jem" Keren-Happuch "Karen" Frank Mike John Charles Bennie Lucas Robert |
Things to keep in mind while reading the Book of Job.
By: David Malick
BIBLIOGRAPHY for An Introduction to the Book of Job by David Malick
1 Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 462. He notes that while another possible etymology or the name could be "assailed one" or "one who is the object of enmity", the Arabic etymology matches better since "the whole setting of the story is Arabic rather than Hebrew" (Ibid.).
2 Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 464.
3 Archer writes, "the Septuagint refers to it as the land of the Aistai, a people whom Ptolemy the geographer locates in the Arabian desert adjacent to the Edomites of Mount Seir" (Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 464).
4 Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 464.
5 Archer writes, "But if the scene was laid in North Arabia near Edom, a clan type of society may well have persisted there as late as the time of the Hebrew monarchy. Possibly private sacrifices by the heads of families persisted alongside the official tribal priesthood." The foreign locale would also account for the comparative rarity of the name Yahweh in most chapters of the book. Job shows a distinct preference for the pan-Semitic term, 'Eloah or 'Elohim, for God ..." Interestingly enough, the title Shaddai, the Almighty, occurs no less than thirty-one times in Job as against its sixteen occurrences in the rest of the Old Testament. This evidence from the use of the divine names certainly tends to confirm the theory of a non-Israelite background" (Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 464-65).
6 Archer considers this "dubious" (Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 465), but Taylor writes, "Daniel alone is unknown from the Bible. He can hardly be Ezekiel's contemporary in exile: in any case the word used here is 'Dani'el' and not 'Daniyye'l' as in the book of that name. The likelihood is that this is the 'Dan'el' of the ancient Canaanite epic discovered in 1930 at Ras Shamra, the ancient Ugarit, on the north Syrian coast, and dating form about 1400 B.C. [The Tale of Aqhat: see DOTT, pp. 124-128; ANET, PP. 149-155]. he appears there mainly as the dispenser of fertility, but also as the upright one, judging the cause of the widow and of the fatherless. We must suppose either that this early Semitic literature was known to later Hebrew generations or, more likely, that ancient Hebrew traditions which have not survived incorporated material centered around a character of the same name and similar character to the Ugaritic Dan'el" (John B. Taylor, Ezekiel: An Introduction and Commentary. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries [Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1969], 129).
7 Archer writes, "This is the story of a righteous man who underwent the bitterest agony of body and spirit, even though he was conscious of having lived an upright life, and nevertheless remained steadfast in the midst of his affliction. Ultimately he was granted a happier life than ever, to the glory of Marduk, the god of Babylon. This Babylonian account may go back to 1200 B.C., and may rest upon materials even earlier" (Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 465).
8 LaSor, Hubbard, and Bush, Old Testament Survey, 560.
9 Archer writes, "We may conclude therefore that there is no convincing evidence for either denying or insisting upon a pre-Mosaic date of composition (A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 466) Likewise Hill and Walton write, "There are no real problems with this view, though it must be recognized that the evidence is scant (A Survey of the Old Testament, 264).
10 Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 467.
11 Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 467.
12 See Archer's discussion where he allows for the form of the book to express the sense of what happened without insisting that it be a verbatim account of the words of the characters (Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 467-68). See also Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, who say, "Once it is recognized that Job is part of the corpus of wisdom literature, it is possible to accept, as most scholars do, that the dialogue presented is not offered as a reporter's transcript quoting the precise words of each person involved. A high view of biblical inspiration requires one to take into consideration the literary genre of a book in order to understand how it ought to be interpreted" (A Survey of the Old Testament, 263-64).
13 Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 469.
14 Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 469; Roy Zuck, "Introductory Questions about Job" (unpublished class notes in 303 Old Testament History II. Dallas Theological Seminary, Fall 1981), 6-7).
15 Walton and Hill write, "the book of Job may have become of interest to the Israelites who were experiencing the Babylonian exile and trying to reconcile that event with their view of God. Although the book unquestionably contains discussion and information that would be invaluable to the exiles (especially the idea that God's wisdom is the basis on which his justice may be vindicated), the scenario in Job seems too unlike Israel of the sixth century to invite too close a correlation. Most obviously, the book is insistent on Job's absolute innocence and vindicates him in the end. Such could hardly be said of Israel. Undoubtedly, however, the minority who were righteous in Israel may well have taken solace and found comfort in the teachings of the book of Job" (Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament, 268; see also LaSor, Hubbard, and Bush, Old Testament Survey, 561-62).
16 LaSor, Hubbard, and Bush, Old Testament Survey, 561, n. 2.
17 Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament, 264-67. All of these deny such a thing as a righteous sufferer. See also LaSor, Hubbard, and Bush, Old Testament Survey, 562, 572-82.
18 Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 462.
19 Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 462.
20 Archer writes, "God's thoughts and ways are moved by considerations too vast for the puny mind of man to comprehend, since man is unable to see the issues of life with the breadth and vision of the Almighty; nevertheless God really knows what is best for His own glory and for our ultimate good. This answer is given against the background of the limited concepts of Job's three "comforters," Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. An adequate psychological motive for their persistence in carrying on the controversy with Job over so many chapters is to be found in the dilemma into which his catastrophic disaster had placed them. If a man of such high reputation could suffer so devastating a misfortune, their own security was imperiled by the possibility that the same thing could happen to themselves. Their basic motive in attempting to elicit from Job a confession of sin was to establish their own sense of security. If in point of fact Job had been guilty of some grievous sin of which they public had not knowledge, his overwhelming disaster could be easily understood as the retribution of the righteous god. Failing to secure from him any such confession despite all their diligent efforts to compel from him an admission of guilt, they felt unable to return home relieved and reassured that calamity would be kept from their door if they only "lived a good life" (Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 462-63).
21 Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament, 268.
22 Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament, 268.
23 Childs writes, "The primary effect of the concluded dialogue is to register the failure of human wisdom in its ability to penetrate into the mystery of human suffering" (Brevard S. Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, 536). Later he writes, "Job argues from his personal conviction of his innocence which refused to be coerced by deductions from an application of traditional wisdom. Yet his own experience also fails to penetrate the darkness" (Ibid.).
An Outline of the Book of Job
By: David Malick (Bio)
MESSAGE STATEMENT:1
THE REASONS FOR SUFFERING IN A PERSON'S LIFE ARE NOT NECESSARILY
RELATED TO HUMAN EXPLANATIONS OF PERSONAL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS, BUT
ARE WITHIN THE SCOPE OF GOD'S GOOD AND POWERFUL PROVIDENCE
RESULTING IN THE DEFEAT OF EVIL AND GLORY TO HIMSELF
1 This outline is adapted through my own study from the analyses of Francis I. Anderson, Job: An Introduction and Commentary, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1976, 1980); Marvin Pope, Job, 3rd ed. The Anchor Bible, (New York: Doubleday & Company, 1973); David J. A. Clines, Job 1--20, Word Biblical Commentary. Vol. 17, (Waco: Word Books, Publisher, 1989); N. H. Tur-Sinai, (H. Torezyner), The Book of Job: A New Commentary, Revised edition, (Jerusalem: Kiryath Sepher, 1967); Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament, 267-68; Gleason L. Archer, Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 463); Roy B. Zuck, "The Book of Job," and "Paragraph Summaries of Job 4--31," (unpublished class notes in 303 Old Testament History II. Dallas Theological Seminary, Fall 1981).
2 Concerning the overall structure of the book, Anderson writes, "The Introduction shows Job in his original happiness; the Conclusion paints a similar picture of his final contentment. All of the action in between takes the form of words rather than deeds. The speeches have the same kind of architectonic balance" (Francis I. Anderson, Job: An Introduction and Commentary, 20).
3 Anderson writes, "The similarity in form between the opening scene, in which God talks twice to the Satan, and the closing scene, in which God talks twice to Job, is important as a mark of the artistic integrity of the treatment. It suggests deliberate planning and unity of authorship" (Francis I. Anderson, Job: An Introduction and Commentary, 20-21).
4 Anderson writes that "many scholars assign these episodes to the 'Prologue (identified as 1:1--2:13) and 'Dialogue' (3:1--42:6) respectively, and ascribe them to different authors. We admit that the inner structure of these two double interviews is different. The final confrontation between Yahweh and Job is quite simply recounted. It consists of two cycles in each of which the Lord makes a long speech and Job makes a brief reply. But this part of the story is told in the same epic style as 1:6- -2:13, but using the same stereotyped formula to introduce the speakers in each round. Thus, both speeches of Yahweh are made 'out of the whirlwind', just as each interview with the Satan takes place in the divine assembly with almost identical introductions to each occasion (Francis I. Anderson, Job: An Introduction and Commentary, 21).
5 Each particular round increases in intensity: (1) round one is general affirming that God punishes the wicked and blesses the good, therefore, Job should repent, (2) round two is more specific affirming that the wicked, and thus Job, suffer and will perish, (3) round three is even more intense affirming that God is majestic, but Job is wicked! (Roy B. Zuck, "Emphasis of the Three Rounds of Speeches to Job," (unpublished class notes in 303 Old Testament History II. Dallas Theological Seminary, Fall
1981), 1-4.
6 The questions are designed to demonstrate the limits of Job's knowledge. The subject of the questions does not concern the topic of suffering, or even the cause of suffering, but the world in which Job lives. The questions are framework kinds of questions. If they cannot be answered, than one cannot discuss derived questions. The implied logic in this unit is that the limits of Job's understanding limits his right to judge the purposes of life. Job's grade on this exam is not a 90%, or 50% or even a 5%, but a 0! God never answers Job. Job is expected to have respect for God like a child for his parent even though he, Job, does not understand.
7 This forfeited Job's right to criticize.
8 The first round dealt with Job's limits of understanding. The second round deals with Job's limit of power. The right to judge righteously is expressed in the power to judge righteously.
9 These animals display Job's limits to do what is right because the animals are so powerful. They are symbols of the power of evil which are greater than Job's capacity. Job is thus introduced to a realm of providence of which he is powerless. Note that Christ confronts evil in the power of God.
10 The power of God alone matches His will, therefore, He alone has the right to rule. Job learned that he acted foolishly by challenging God. The presenting problem of the book was "why do the righteous suffer." God's defense did not concern a vindication of His justice in permitting evil to exist. Therefore, the realized problem of the book was: (1) who controls evil and suffering, (2) how can I be right before this God, and (3) how can I fellowship with this God?
The Back Story or Preface
Some time ago, I visited a small newspaper company in Tennessee with a friend of mine. I patiently waited in the lobby while she picked up a package from one of her business associates. As I looked around the office, I noticed a torn Christian magazine with Bishop T.D. Jakes on the cover. Inside this particular issue, there was a focus on ministry. The first article, which was written by the editor of the magazine, caught my eye as she was talking about the correlation between working in ministry and the peoples personal lives. She wrote about how, during the middle part on 1997, it seemed that ministries were being attacked from every direction, whether it was an attack on the ministry, or isolated attacks against ministers on a personal level. Being in ministry myself at the time, I could definitely testify to what she was saying until she started comparing what ministers go through with that of the trials of Job (pronounced ‘Jobe”). I don’t know why it is that out of all of the people mentioned in the Bible that go through trials troubles and tribulations, we as Christians try to relate to Job as if our lives and our troubles somehow bear some resemblance to his story. On top of the comparisons, we use the story of Job to try to figure out an explain why bad things happen to seemingly good people, without fully understanding the whole importance of the Book of Job. The story of Job is indeed a testament of how God is faithful and just and able to bring us out of our troubles. Many will not understand initially, but as you continue to read this book, you’ll realize faith was not one of Job’s strong suits. We know that it takes faith to please God based on Hebrews 11:6
Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
However, if one were to do a study on Faith through the bible and especially in Hebrews Chapter 11, you’ll see that Job doesn’t come up as one we should pattern our faith after. We can definitely learn things like faithfulness, loyalty, integrity, patience and in the end, humility, but faith is one thing that is missing from his resume and we’ll see that fear played a bigger part in Job’s suffering than anything God did.
I like the character of Job personally because I’ve viewed myself as “having the patience” of Job. What I have a problem with is people using the Book fo Job to try to explain why we go through the things we go through. So many Christians are so mislead, because of Job, the trial that he endured, and ministers not accurately depicting what the story of Job is all about. We tend to try to read it as a simple story, however many of don’t make it past the 3rd chapter because of all of the long dialog between Job and his three friends. A lot of people Christians and non-believers alike believe that:
Here are a few questions that we need to ask and have answered in the first three chapters of the Book of Job.
What did Job learn from what he went through?
Who did the destroying of Job’s life? God or Satan?
If it was God, why did he do it?
If it was Satan, why did he do it? And why did God let him do it?
What can we learn from what Job went through?
How does God correct His children?
What kind of allegations can satan bring against you today? Satan could be in God’s face right this minute trying to get God to move his angels out of the way so that he can get at you.
What door do you have open for satan to even have a cause for petition to God?
How much stress is there on a father that is very wealthy, very much respected in the community that has children that can somehow cause disgrace to come upon the family?
Let’s take our time and step through the first three chapters verse by verse and examine what’s going on.
There was a man, not a god or an angel, but a man, that lived in the land of Uz (somewhere near
NEEDS PARAPHRASING
To correctly interpret the Old Testament we must have revelation from the New. For "until this day" 2 Cor 3:14 much of what is contained in it was obscured or completely hidden. Let us begin by asking some basic but important questions. 1. What part of the book of Job does the New Testament tell us to give the greatest consideration (beginning, middle, or end)? James says to consider "the end of the Lord" James 5:11 in Job's life. For God saw Job, as he would be, "perfect and upright", not as he was, fearful and doubting. Job 1:1 Job 3:25 2. Under whose dominion was Job?When Adam sinned he relinquished his birthright to Satan and Satan became the "god (spelled with a small g meaning ruler) of this world" 2 Cor 4:4 Gen 25:34 John 14:30 Eph 2:2. Job was under the dominion of Satan. 3. If Satan became "the god (ruler) of this world," what does the word WORLD mean?The two main words translated world in the New Testament are aion (NT:165 ahee-ohn') meaning an age or particular period 2 Cor 4:4 and kosmos (NT:2889 kos'-mos) meaning order or government Eph 2:2 Therefore when Adam sinned, Satan became the god (ruler) of the age of Adam, exercising authority over the governmental structure of its society for a particular period, but the earth and its contents still belonged to God. Ps 24:1. The world is the societal structure of a particular period or age. The picture being portrayed is that of a landlord (God) and a lease holder (Adam first and then Satan). The landlord does not relinquish ownership of his property by leasing it for a particular period of time, but the landlord and the leaseholder are limited by the terms of the lease. The landlord, because of the lease, has limited access to his property and the leaseholder is limited in what he can do to and with what belongs to the landlord. 4. Do we expect Satan's words to be truth?Jesus told us the devil is a liar and "there is no truth in him." John 8:44 In Gen 3:4-5 we have a written record of his lies. Then why do we expect the words he spoke in the book of Job to be true? 5. Did God give Satan permission to torment Job? Now is when we break the fiery chains of Satan. In particular the lie that God is permitting or allowing evil in our lives for our good, or to test us. In Job chapter one Satan makes a bold statement of his authority and dominion over all that once belonged to Adam. For when God asked: "Whence comest thou?" "Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it." Job 1:7 To Satan's bold statement of authority and dominion, God asks a question. Hast thou considered my servant Job? Job 1:8 (Have you seen my champion in the earth?) Satan's answer to God is first an accusation, then a complaint and finally a lie. The Accusation -- Job 1:9 -- Doth Job fear God for nought? The meaning of the word fear (OT:3372 yare' (yaw-ray') is to revere and of the word nought (OT:2600 chinnam (khin-nawm') is to cost nothing or free. Satan uses a rhetorical question which expects the answer of NO! The accusation was that God had paid Job for his reverence and worship with blessings and protection. The Complaint -- Job 1:10 -- Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. Satan's complaint was that God had placed a hedge of protection around Job and all that he had for the purpose of obtaining Job's reverence, worship, and loyalty. That this protection went beyond what was available to other men. Satan inferred God was a respecter of persons. This special privilege of protection, Satan complains, keeps him from exercising his legal right of dominion (obtained from Adam) over Job. The Lie -- Job 1:11 -- But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. This is the lie the church has accepted. That God would put forth His hand to destroy one that loves Him, directly or indirectly by allowing it . God does not use evil, allow it, or permit it for the purpose of producing good. When Paul was accused of teaching "Let us do evil, that good may come?" Rom 3:8 He said this was a slanderous report and that GOD FORBIDS the use of evil to get good. Rom 3:5-7 Yet this slanderous report continues to resound from our church pulpits. That God is permitting or allowing Death, Sickness, Disease, Destruction, or failure for our good. Now that we understand the accusation, the complaint and the lie we can answer the question that was asked at the beginning of this section. Did God give Satan permission to torment Job? To find our answer we must ask another question. What was Satan's reason for coming into the presence of God? We saw earlier in this study that God's relationship to the one who has dominion is that of a landlord to a lease holder (Adam first and then Satan). The landlord and the leaseholder are limited by the terms of the lease. It is the terms of the lease Satan has come to clarify. Satan did not and does not understand the blessings that come through our love and reverence of God or the protection that comes by shunning evil and living upright before Him. Job 1:8 Because Satan knows no other way to obtain what he desires he tries to manipulate God, through accusation and complaint, and when that fails he lies. These are the same devices he has always used. 2 Cor 2:11 In Job 1:12 God clarifies the lease. This clarification is not permission. It is fact. "Behold, all that he hath is in thy power""Only upon himself put not forth thine hand"And now God Almighty, the Creator of the universe, and the One to whom all thing ultimately belong proclaims the limit of the lease that Adam had and that Satan must now adhere to. You do not have the authority to kill under the terms of the Adams dominion. God again confirms these two facts of dominion and its limit in Job 2:6. So what is the answer to our question did God give Satan permission to torment Job? No! No! No!