The Book of Job - WEB

Purpose of The Book of Job:
Encourage the reader to hold to the justice of God in the presence of suffering. To encourage readers to trust in the power, goodness, and wisdom of God even in the midst of terrible suffering and persecution. How can the character of God be defended in the face of suffering?

Major Characters of The Book of Job:
God, Job, Bildad, Elihu, Satan, Eliphaz, and Zophar.

Summary of The Book of Job:
The story of Job has become synonymous with suffering for many centuries. It is difficult to read the narrative without feeling the pain and anguish of the faithful, yet frustrated Job. Caught in the midst of challenge between Satan and God, a challenge of which he is completely ignorant, Job must deal with the harsh realities of losing everything. His wealth, his health, even his friends and family are stripped from his life as he is left with an insufferable pain and a seemingly silent God.

Antagonized by self-assured friends who misunderstand and further his pain, Job must face the questions of suffering alone. As the saga continues, Job loses his confidence in God and demands a hearing before him. God responds not by answering Job's questions, but posing certain questions to Job that restores Job's faith. This restoration is followed by great blessing as God exhibits His love and compassion.

Wisdom is ultimately found in God alone. Human wisdom cannot on its own fathom the ways of God. God is not obligated to fallen humanity to explain all things. However, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of the path to true wisdom. Ultimately, the book of Job calls the people of God to trust God even in the most trying of situations.

Author and Dates of The Book of Job:
The book of Job resists any particular dating. Scholars have suggested dates as early as 1400 B.C. and as late as 300 B.C. However, no evidence exists that allows any confident conclusions. The "timeless" quality of the book has always been recognized and renders the dating questions secondary.

Outline of The Book of Job:

1. Prologue: God-Satan challenge (ch. 1-2).
2. Dialogue: Job’s conversation with three “friends” (ch. 3-28).
• Job laments (ch. 3).
• 3 cycles of dialogues (ch. 4-27).
• Poem on divine wisdom (ch. 28).
3. Monologues (ch. 29-41).
• Job’s monologue (ch. 29-31).
• Elihu’s monologue (ch. 32-37).
• God’s “answers” to Job (ch. 39-41).
4. Epilogue: Job’s closing remarks (ch. 42).

Themes of The Book of Job:
Suffering.
Evil.
Faith.
Doubt.
Wisdom.