REMINDER
As you ‘read and think’ through the Bible, think like a 5 ½ year-old boy who phoned his granny after receiving his very first library book and told her, “Grandma, I can really read now and I’m so happy that I am having a party in my brain!”
“These had God married, and no man shall part,
Dust on the Bible, and drought in the heart.”
In our approach to ‘Thinking through the Bible’, we are to fit the books of poetry in their historical place in God’s Story we have read this far:
- Job fits somewhere in Genesis 1-11. This gives further insight into the times of the patriarchs. Job and his friends give insight into worship, faith, life after death, holiness, family living, respect for elders, hospitality, and treatment of the poor and oppressed.
- The Psalms fit into Israel’s history in 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles (David’s monarchy).
- Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon fit into 1 Kings 1-11 and 2 Chronicles 1-9 (Solomon’s monarchy).
The Five Books of Poetry are known as ‘Wisdom Literature’, divided into:
- Books of Wisdom: Job, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, which are didactic in character, and deal with convictions – they teach us.
- Books of Poetry: Psalms and Song of Solomon deal with affections – they let us feel something.
Much of the Books of Poetry are written in Hebrew poetry. The three main varieties of this poetry are:
- ‘Synonymous parallelism’, where the second line essentially repeats the idea of the first. Psalm 3:1:
Lord, how they have increased who trouble me!
Many are they who rise up against me.
- ‘Antithetic parallelism’, where the second line contrasts with the idea of the first. Psalm 1:6:
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.”
- ‘Synthetic parallelism’, where the succeeding line or lines add to or develop the idea of the first. Psalm 42:1:
As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
Turn to Job 9:13 and also 26:12:
Translators handle the word ‘Rahab’ in different ways:
- Job 9:13 (NKJV):
God will not withdraw His anger,
The allies of the proud lie prostrate beneath Him.
The word for ‘proud’ is translated in the NIV as ‘Rahab”.
- The NLT translates it as ‘monsters of the sea’.
- The GNT helps by expanding it as ‘Rahab, the sea monster’. A footnote says that this refers to a ‘legendary sea monster which represented the forces of chaos and evil’.
- Turn to Psalm 87:4 (NKJV):
“I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to those who know Me…”
- The NLT translates it as “Egypt”, with a footnote saying that it is ‘a poetic name for Egypt’.
Wait until the Books of Prophecy and you’ll get another reference. Then you’ll be able to find out that ‘Rahab’ in God’s Story is a reference to an evil power defeated by God.
Sharing:
- Connecting ‘just words’ does not keep the Scriptures in their context. The reference to ‘Rahab’ in Job is not a connection with the woman, ‘Rahab’ at Jericho in Exodus.
- ‘Rahab’ is similar to the use of ‘Abimelech’ in Genesis.
Essential to the correct understanding of the Books of Poetry is that you remember that they are ‘poetry’. They are written this way for some good reasons:
- Aid in memory: Poetry gives a brief, particular expression of truth, phrased in a way it can be memorized.
- Skill for life: Essential to wise living is ‘patience’. The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit (Ecclesiastes 7:8). Patience always wins over pride! Beginnings can go wrong; it takes patience to withhold judgment until the end.
- Hymnbook: 120 of the Psalms made up the hymnbook for Israel. The Psalms are a guide to worship.
- Emotional expressions: Poetry appeals to the emotions, giving an excellent way to express the thoughts of the heart. It helps to relate honestly to God and to reflect on Gods Story. J. I. Packer’s describes the purpose of mediating on God’s Word: Its purpose is to clear one’s mental and spiritual vision of God, and to let his truth make its full and proper impact on one’s mind and heart… Its effect is ever to humble us...
- Praying: There are sixty prayers in the Psalms. People who know their God are before anything else, people who pray. They focus on God’s cause.
- Attributes: Psalms 92:5: O Lord, how great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep. Poetry help describe who God is.
- Fear of God: Job, David, and Solomon remind us that the fear of God is essential to life (Job 28:28; Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 9:10; Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).
Remember that we are reading poems and hymns, and not doctrinal treatises. These are not sermons with an introduction, explanation of truth, and an application. They reflect teachings, but they are not intended to be made into a system of belief. Read Psalm 23 and then convince yourself that you’re supposed to be living on a farm!
The Chronological Bible introduces Job just after Genesis 11:26. Scholars suggest that Job was 40 years old at Noah’s death.
The name “Job” appears in ancient Near Eastern texts, identifying a legendary wise man. There are no genealogies given for Job. He is not a fictional character, for the Bible plainly states: There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job… (Job 1:1). His residence in the land of Uz marks him as belonging to a branch of the Aramean race, which had settled southeast of Palestine on the borders of Edom, nearby the Sabeans and Chaldeans.
The main theme of the Book of Job is captured in the beautiful poem in Job 28, which speaks of the search for wisdom. After describing human ingenuity in extracting precious minerals from the belly of the earth (Job 28:1-11), the writer asks in Job 28:12:
“But where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?”
We scan the earth, the sea and the heavens but cannot find wisdom. Nor can we buy it with all the gems we possess (Job 28:13-19). The question is repeated (Job 28:20) and the absence of wisdom in the created universe emphasized. The end of the human search for wisdom is indicated in the words in Job 28:23:
“God understands its way,
And He knows its place.”
And then God expresses the essence of wisdom in Job 28:28:
“Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
And to depart from evil is understanding.”
This is the message of the Book, as incarnated (made human) in and exemplified by Job.
Job knew that he had done nothing to deserve the wrath of God. In his speeches he declares his innocence and expresses his frustration at the agony he had to endure. He cannot understand why such things have happened to him. His comforters are horrified to hear such talk, taking it to be blasphemy. They persist in trying to persuade him that he doubts God. Each one urges him repeatedly to confess his sin and admit that God is fair and just, and we get what our choices deserve. Just as insistent, Job argues that life is unfair. Elihu, the youngest and final speaker of the comforters, defends God’s superior knowledge and ways. This is the closest it comes to an answer for Job, and it looks as if Job is going to have to settle for Elihu’s partially satisfying answer. Then suddenly God speaks and corrects Job and puts the situation in perspective. He also vindicates Job over against the so-called wisdom of his friends.
Job’s journey of faith is easily separated into the topic of conflict in chapters 1-2, which is written in prose; the debates in chapters 3-37, which are written in poetry; and repentance in chapters 38-42, which is written in prose.
God is incomprehensible, which means that He is beyond human understanding. He knows all things without waiting until the event. This is in the forefront in His dealings with Job. Job is the narrative in God’s Story where the problem of evil is described to its fullest. It brings us to our knees when realizing that God in His infiniteness is beyond human reason and logic.
Job’s solution was to accept both that God is sovereign and that humanity is responsible. He left this antinomy alone so that, instead of arguing these two parallel truths that have no earthly conclusion, he repented before God and worshiped Him. His pain and suffering of evil went way beyond an academic exercise to an acceptance of good and trouble from God. Job worshipped the God who allowed his health, children and wealth to be taken away, responding as only a man who fears God can do:
“The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
(Job 1:21)
Job’s faith is tested and proven genuine through his exclamation:
“Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”
(Job 13:15)
Sharing:
- Job’s first response to disaster proves his depth of faith.
- Even though Job did not understand all that was going on, he did not sin.
- Job’s reaction to loss in his life was to worship God. This is not the typical human response.
- Job knew that God saves, and not man.
- Even though he faltered in his faith, Job could not lose his salvation in God.
- All through the suffering in his life, Job knew that change would come. In his despondent prayer, in Job14:7, 14-15 Job prays:
If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And that its tender shoots will not cease.
If a man dies, shall he live again?
All the days of my hard service I will wait,
Till my change comes.
You shall call, and I will answer You;
You shall desire the work of Your hands.”
The character of Job is described as blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil (Job 1:1). Blameless implies that he was a man of moral integrity; upright implies that he was completely fair and honest in his dealings. Feared God implies that he was committed to obeying the will of God above all else. It stands for a solid trust in God. Shunned evil shows that he was determined to avoid anything which God would disapprove. He was honest inside and out, a man of his word, who was totally devoted to God and hated evil with a passion (The Message).
Contrary to normal Eastern practice, Job is introduced without genealogy and without reference to his tribe or clan. Job is not simply a man from the past. It seems that by leaving out Job’s genealogy, the writer composes a literary account in which Job is representative of all who live by faith, especially in times of severe suffering. We are found in the lineage of Job when we are found among God’s people of faith.
God richly blessed his faithful servant. The writer uses the numbers three, seven, and ten, which many biblical scholars suggest are symbolic of completeness, to demonstrate that Job’s wealth was staggering. He resided in a city, and he owned and cultivated land nearby and employed numerous shepherds who tended his flocks at a great distance from his home. We note that his material wealth had not led him to pride, but seemed to have deepened his sense of humility and his awareness of sin.
The period of the patriarchs cover from Adam to Moses. There are five patriarchal fathers: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Job. These were heads of families or tribes. In its highest sense it is a title of ‘Him whose offspring all men are’. The phrase the patriarchs usually refer to the tribal leaders of Israel who lived before the time of Moses.
Job was a man in the land of Uz (Job 1:1), which is a reference to people of the East, made up of the inhabitants living along the northern Euphrates River (Genesis 29:1). God also displayed His favor on Job by giving him seven sons and three daughters. The ideal of seven children is referred to in Hannah’s prayer in 1 Samuel 2:5. Naomi is reminded of seven sons in Ruth 4:5.
Job regularly offered burnt offerings. As the patriarch of his family, he did this for his entire family. There is no suggestion that he excluded himself from atoning for sins. We are told in Job 1:22: In all this Job did not sin. This does not suggest that Job never sinned. For Job to even offer sacrifices, he would have to perform the purification washings (illustrated in Genesis 35:2) required for him to officiate as priest on behalf of his household. Then only could he present offerings that atone for every possible sin.
Each of Job’s sons periodically held a seven day feast. When all the festivals had gone round, Job offered burnt offerings for all his children, just in case any of them had been unthankful to God in their hearts. Before making the sacrifices Job sent servants to make sure that his children were ritually cleansed for the occasion.
Now when Job's three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place — Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. For they had made an appointment together to come and mourn with him, and to comfort him… they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great (Job 2:11-13). Motivated by their love and commitment, Job’s friends came to console and comfort him.
Overcome by dismay yet adhering to tradition, Job’s three friends offer consolation and comfort in sympathetic silence, waiting for Job to speak. It would be very inappropriate for them to speak before Job is ready to express himself (Job 3). Job’s speech is his cry of anguish in his darkest hour. Here is a man on a trash heap, among the ashes, a monster of pain, not even recognized by his friends, who is scraping his itching skin with broken pottery! Here is a husband whose wife told him to renounce God and die. Give up. At best, his wife is suggesting that he go on blessing God, but all he’ll get for it is death!
Sharing:
- I recently heard a message on the radio that Job’s family was taken away, except for the wife who should have been. We should rather think of Job’s wife as not necessarily bad, but a broken-hearted mother. She was a wife who watched her husband suffer.
- The word for ‘curse’ in Job 1:5 and 2:9 means ‘bless’ in a negative context. It was as though Job’s wife was asking God why Job was suffering.
- Job gets a glimpse of himself, and in chapter 3 he ‘curses’ his life.
Three rounds of poetic debate starts between Job and his friends. It all starts with a word (Job 4:2) that opens a floodgate of words simply because the parties are entrenched in their respective theological positions and do not want to consider each other’s point of view. The question before them: “Why does a just God afflict God-fearing Job?” Their comfort expressed their faulty theology: evil for evil because God is just. Their solution: repent due to cause and effect. They could not handle a world or a God that could not be explained, so they lived by experience, tradition, and presumption.
There are three courses of dialogues between Job and his three friends. The first course begins the debate (chapters 4-14); the second the growth of the debate (chapters 15-21); and the third the height of the debate (chapters 22-27). This is followed by the solution of the debate in the speeches of Elihu (chapters 32-37).
As you read the arguments of Job’s three friends, focus on what each one emphasizes:
- Eliphaz correctly acknowledges that God does great and unfathomable deeds in governing the world. He utilizes his power and wisdom to bring about social justice, whether delivering the lowly or frustrating the plans of crafty criminals. Sometimes He disciplines humans through suffering. Eliphaz incorrectly accuses Job of possessing a distorted view of God in heaven where He cannot see what is happening on earth.
- Bildad emphasizes that God is just because He never rejects an innocent man but punishes the wicked. He proclaims God's sovereign power and awe-inspiring rule over creation.
- Zophar agrees with Eliphaz that God is wise and immeasurable to man, and states that He is omnipotent.
Wrongly assuming that Job's condition indicates some secret sin, all three friends urge him to repent so God can deliver him.
Sharing:
- Job’s true friends did right by remaining silent until Job spoke, which was a correct cultural response.
- It hurt them to see their friend suffering.
- We can’t blame Job’s friends too much because they didn’t understand what was going on.
- Their intentions were good, but they applied their theology incorrectly.
- Just like Job’s friends, we try to figure why things happen and then try to help.
- Do we lose faith when things go wrong, like Job’s friends thought Job did?
- His friends missed the fact that Job loved God for who He is, and not just for what He gives.
- With a limited understanding of God, we try to explain things. It is better to read God’s Story and get to know the God of the Bible.
- It is better to know God than to know the answers.
There are numerous attributes ascribed to God:
- Almighty (Job 5:9; 6:4; 9:5-12).
- Omniscient (Job 11:11; 21:22).
- Wise (Job 12:13; 24:1).
- Incomprehensible – beyond human understanding (Job 11:7-9; 36:26).
- Invisible (Job 9:11).
- Supreme Governor of the world, and He controls everything in the world (Job 5:9-13; 9:5-10).
- Creator of all things (Job 4:17; 10:8-11; 35:10; 38:4-10).
- Perfectly pure and holy (Job 15:15-16; 25:5-6).
- Eternal (Job 10:5).
- Spiritual Being (Job 10:4).
- Gracious and ready to forgive sin to the repentant (Job 5:17-27; 11:13-19; 22:21-23; 33:23-28).
- Hearer of prayer (Job 33:26; 12:4; 22:27).
- Dispenser of life and death (Job 4:9; 10:12; 33:4).
- Communicates His will by revelation to humankind (Job 4:12-17; 33:14-17).
Job exercised a tremendous faith in Sovereign, Almighty God as Ruler of His creation. He knew Him as the Lord, Almighty, Jehovah, and by his personal name Yahweh.Li
Job understood that there were messengers as a mediator who takes up the sufferer’s case. This led him to believe there were also evil messengers – evil spirits – with one known as the accuser, sometimes referred to as the satan (not a proper noun). He accepted that humanity is fallen and seeks to cover his sins like Adam.
Job knew he had a “Judge” (Job 9:15), which created his need for an “umpire” (Job 9:33) and a “witness” in heaven (Job 16:19). He takes it a step further: his “Redeemer” will one day vindicate him, and somehow Job will be there to witness it! When you consider how little God had revealed in Job's day about the future life, these words become a remarkable testimony of faith.
Job and his friends struggled with the implications of the grave, thinking of it as dark and gloomy where there was a land of silence and no productive activity.
It was a common understanding in Job’s day that death was irreversible. It is difficult to determine in Job’s story the teachings of life after death, or if he did live after death, what the conditions would be. It does give us early development and belief of the idea of the future state. There is no distinct and formal statement about eternal life. There is no mention of heaven as a place of rest. There is knowledge of a sovereign God, and there is reference to a future state of being; but there is no distinct notion of heaven as a place where the righteous would dwell together forever.
There is no clear reference to a bodily resurrection (the word is never used in the Old Testament). The closest mention comes in Job’s expression of trust in his Redeemer in Job 19:25-27. Whether his deliverance takes place before or after Job’s death, we can be sure that Job believes that he will see his Redeemer, and that he expects to be physically present at his vindication.
Job himself may not have known the full meaning of all that he said. Imagine this patriarch driven onto an ash heap, mourning the ridicule of his so-called friends, charged by them with all manner of wickedness until he is driven to his breaking point. At the same time his body is shriveling up with excruciating pain and the mental anguish over all that he has lost. At last, he bursts out with something he knows for sure:
“I know that my Redeemer lives…
after my skin is destroyed, this I know…
after my skin is destroyed, this I know…
I shall see God…
I shall see Him for myself!”
(Job 19:25-26)
Sharing:
- Job’s speeches are filled with questions even though he is holding on to what he does know.
- Job’s friends did not fit into what they should have known about God.
- One modern-day preacher suggests that if a missionary is on his way to a village and his car has a flat tire, God would not allow a person who did not hear about God to spend eternity in hell. This is a failure to recognize that eternity is in the hearts of humankind so that there is no escape from getting to know God. God’s Story shows that salvation is made available throughout the Old Testament.
The writer of Job uses the covenant name Yahweh to declare God’s absolute self-existence. He comes onto the scene in a whirlwind. It’s time for Job to hear God say, “You just didn’t understand what I was doing.” He talks to Job like a teacher instructing a student who fails to understand an important matter. “Job, you need to understand something about My created order and My wise care.”
Sharing:
- Why did God challenge Job for the questions he asked? God was telling Job that he did the right things, but he should not limit Him as Creator. God is holy – that is, He is set apart from His creation. God’s encounter with Job was not necessarily a strong rebuke. It could have been a tender moment of teaching.
- As much as Job did not really know God, yet he did know who He was.
- There is no indication that Job was disappointed when his questions were not answered. He did not question God, but repented, learned his lesson, and was restored.
- We learn patience through suffering.
- Many focus on the fact that Job’s wealth was restored. The true restoration was with God, his friends and family relationships.
- We should read the narrative of Job as instructions against depression.
- I was once angry with God because we had adopted children who were into drugs. I asked God why. After reading the narrative of Job, I needed to repent of rebelliousness toward God and be forgiven of my self-righteousness.
- God restored everything to Job. This shows God’s grace. He was saying, “I have you. You are for My purposes.”
- Job’s wife is not mentioned in the end. We can think of this as her being virtuous because in a patriarchal society, when a wife is upright in a household, she is not necessarily mentioned. When the patriarch is righteous, it works through his household.
- We have experienced where I, as the husband and father of our household, am considered upright. If my wife was not upright, I would not be considered a man of integrity.
God begins Job’s story with a prose prologue and concludes with a prose epilogue. Just as we were left with many unanswered questions in the prologue, so we are left with many unanswered questions in the epilogue (Job 42:7-17). Some may be used to hearing that the epilogue ends with Job’s prosperity, and in so doing miss the significance of Yahweh’s lesson about forgiveness and restoration. Job’s friends and acquaintances deserved God’s wrath. Instead, He extends His mercy through Job. Paraphrased, God says: “Job, your friends will bring a burnt offering in recognition of their sin, and you are to pray for them. You will be their mediator, the very kind of messenger you requested!”
Yahweh restored Job’s losses only after Job prays for his friends. The point is that true forgiveness is essential to restoration. The restoration includes his health, his livestock, and his sons and daughters. But all of earthly goods are secondary to Job’s significant restoration – the true restoration for Job lay in forgiveness and restoration of friends and acquaintances. It’s easy to seek material wealth; but what is of true eternal value is relational restoration, for this is what goes into eternity.
The naming and special attention given to Job’s daughters is significant. Besides it being unheard of at that time and in his culture, to name his daughters and give them an inheritance takes Job’s restoration to new levels. God’s grace is showered on Job by including his daughters’ names and their inheritance. This was unheard of in society during that time. Sons received the inheritance, and daughters are included only when there are no sons.
The final paragraph in the story starts with the words: After this, and proceeds to report on the one hundred and forty years for which Job enjoys life after his restoration. The man who faced the bleak prospect of dying without any offspring saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. When he eventually died, he was old and full of days. His simple, dignified ending reminds us of the peaceful deaths of the patriarchs in Genesis.
Come prepared to share from the Psalms in our next session. Select a Psalm that is meaningful to you from the Psalms Chart hand-out. Consider your Psalm in its category and time in history.
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