The story of Job

Part 1: Identify an O.T. story that your life intersects.

Job lived in a land called Uz he had a large family and extensive flocks. He is “blameless” and “upright,” always careful to avoid doing evil. As God brags to Satan about Job’s goodness Satan says that Job is only good because God has blessed him. So, God allows Satan to torment Job to show his claim was not true but he forbids Satan from laying a finger on Job. Job’s three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar heard about all the troubles that had come upon him and they set out to comfort him. Job does not like what they have to say and out of anger calls his friends “worthless physicians” who “whitewash with lies”. Job begins to think about man’s relationship to God and wonders why God judges people by their actions if God can just as easily alter or forgive their behavior. Humans cannot deceive God and Job admits that he does not even understand himself well enough to effectively plead his case to God.

I really love and hate the story of Job. It is so difficult to read a faithful servant being punished when he has done nothing wrong. Yet I think it is incredible how faithful Job could be even when Satan took everything he cared for from him. “Job said, ‘How long will you torment me? God counts me as an enemy. My closest friends abhor me. But I know that my redeemer lives!’” Job although is angry with God he never stops believing in Him. After all his suffering in the end he realizes that he cannot understand how God works.

Part 2: Discuss how this story is Israel’s story.

Scholars have proposed different beliefs of the date of the book of Job ranging from Moses in the 13th century to the 2nd century B.C. The setting in the beginning of the chapter makes scholars...

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...ains a mystery. Job makes a mental change to take the path of trust rather than protest. Trusting in God is a very difficult decision, as being human, it is hard to let ourselves go and put our trust into the unknown. I personally like being in control and the thought of letting it all go and living in complete faith is not easy to accomplish. This is why I feel Job relates to my life for I feel it is a way God is showing me that trusting in him will only result in “double portion”. In the story of Job God restores double of his possessions and wealth he had lost. Through it all Job remained faithful and worshipped more for he trusted his God. God knew Job was capable of withstanding the suffering and knew in the end Job knew God was in control. God wants us to know that he is in control of our lives we just need to put our trust in him to allow him to do the rest.