The Book of Job 1-5

Book of Job Overview

When all forty-two chapters of the book of Job are said and done, the inspired author leaves us with an unshakable and undoubted fact: God governs all things for his good purposes. ~ John Piper

Purpose: The book of Job teaches us how to endure suffering and addresses the question of “why do the righteous suffer?” Suffering will come to all in this world, but we see that Job does not curse God and neither should we. The book of Job also shows the relationship between God and man and how we need to respond with faith and trust in God’s sovereign grace.

Author: Unknown

Date:  Job is the oldest book of the Bible, although the exact dates are unknown. Based on context, it seems to be pre-mosaic, even patriarchal from the second millennium (2000-1000) B.C.

Key verse:  “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” Job 1:21

Why do the righteous suffer? Why do bad things happen to good people? 

The book of Job gives us this insight. We live in a broken world and as a result bad things are going to happen – even to good people. However, some people have believed that these go hand in hand with sin. While this is true at times, it is not always the case.

Major Themes of the Book of Job:

1. Our loyalty to God should not be based on our prosperity. If we are only loyal to God when blessings flow – that is a shallow faith.  (Job 1:9-10)
2. When bad things happen in our lives, it is important to acknowledge that God is sovereign over all, whether it is good or bad. (Job 1:20-21)
3. God is the creator and sustainer of all things. Failure to acknowledge God’s role in our lives, reduces our perspective and sets us up for spiritual struggles. (Job 38:36)
4. Satan will attack. Satan tries to draw a wedge between God and Job. We must recognize that Satan tries to attack us and drive a wedge between God and us. We must not allow this to happen.

Layout of the book of Job:

1. Job’s Distress (1-3)
2. Job’s Defense (4-37)
3. Job’s Deliverance (38-42)

Job shows us that suffering is going to happen. It is how we suffer that will testify of our relationship with the Lord.

Do we blame God in our suffering, or do we see Him as sovereign and know that He is still good?

Do we trust the words of our friends, or lean into the very presence and Word of God?

The book of Job is going to ask us to evaluate the hard times in our lives and see them through eternal eyes. May we let the wisdom of the Lord invade our thoughts, even in the hardest places of our lives.