INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF JOB
INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF JOB
The author is unknown. It could be Job. Some have suggested Moses, Solomon, or Elihu. The date it was written is unknown. The book records events probably occurred during the time of the Patriarchs, approximately 2000-1800 B.C. The setting of the book is in the land called Uz, which was probably located northeast of Palestine, near the desert land between Damascus and the EuphratesRiver. Some key people in the narrative are: Job, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bihad the Shuhite, Zophar the Naamathite, and Elihu the Buzite.
The purpose of the book is to demonstrate God’s sovereignty and the meaning of true faith. It addresses the question, “Why do the righteous suffer?” “Why does God allow good people to suffer?” Is God good? Is God almighty? Job is the first of the poetic books in the Hebrew Bible. Many people think that this was the first book of the Bible to be written. Ez 14:14; 20; James 5:11, mention Job as an historical character. The book also gives us insight into the work of Satan. (The Life Application Bible)
When Job, a righteous man, suffers the loss of everything, his friends come to comfort him. They offer reasonable answers from their human perspective. They don’t know about the great spiritual conflict that is raging between God and Satan. They do not know God, nor do they know the depth of his love and mercy, so their words only burden Job. In seeking the answer to this question, Job discovers who God is and who he is. He struggles with doubt and comes to a personal relationship with the Sovereign Creator, the Lord of heaven and earth. And he learns that he is a sinner. (from Sarah Barry’s daily bread.)
What does all this do with me today? Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (NIV) According to the Bible, we should be thankful in all circumstances. However, the problem is that it is hard to always be thankful, especially when we suffer. But God has provided a lot of help for us to be thankful in all circumstances. One of them is by putting the book of Job in the Bible, which has become known as one of the most profound books ever written that addresses the problem of human suffering. Often times, when people face suffering, they ask “why me?” and think that God might be punishing them for something they did. But we learn today from the God of Job that he is not at all like that. Through a study of this book, may God dispel all complaints from our hearts and plant a spirit of deep thanksgiving to him in all circumstances. (from Alan Wolff’s message 2009)
The book may be divided into 5 parts:
I. Satan’s challenge; Job’s test–1:1-2:13
2. The three friends explain–3:1-31:40
(There are three cycles of arguments.)
3. Elihu’s answer–32:1-37:24
4. God meets Job; Job repents–38:1-41:34
5. God blesses Job–42:1-17
The key verse is 2:3. “Then the Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.‘” (NIV)
May we meet the Sovereign God morning by morning as we study this book. (Sarah Barry)
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