Below is a paraphrase I wrote of the book of Job. Following is a short commentary on the themes I noticed and my thoughts on what I learned from this book. If you have already read Job or wish to learn from the book without actually reading it or my paraphrase, skip down to where it says, “Themes." Job was blameless and upright. He feared God and shunned evil. He was very wealthy. The Lord allowed Satan to strike everything Job had to test and see if Job would curse the name of the Lord. Job’s oxen, donkeys, servants, sheep, camels, sons, and daughters were all murdered or taken (except for a few messengers who survived to let Job know this happened). Job still did not curse the name of the Lord, so the Lord allowed Satan to strike Job himself. Job was given painful sores all over his body for a long time, but he still did not sin in what he said. His three friends (Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar) came to console him (1-2). Job: "I wish I was never born. I am miserable (3)." Eliphaz: "If you are innocent, why worry? But who can really be blameless in the sight of the almighty God? You are blessed for being disciplined (4-5)." Job: "I have no hope, God is striking me without reason and testing me every moment. I will complain out of my pain (6-7)." Bildad: "Are you saying God is not just? Just seek Him and He’ll help you, He won’t reject the blameless (8)." Job: "But how can anyone be blameless before God? How can anyone argue with Him? I am blameless, but God finds me guilty because all are guilty before God (9-10)." Zophar: "God’s ways are higher than you can understand. Just devote your heart to Him and leave your sin and He’ll help you (11)." Job: "You are all smearing me with lies. God causes all things good and bad; He makes rulers stagger and nations rise or fall. I just want to argue my case with Him. But could any of us lie to God and say we are blameless? He’ll figure us out. Why does God torment me though I am nothing? I’d rather die and wait for His anger to pass (12-14)." Eliphaz: "Your own mouth is condemning you. Is God’s consolation not enough? How could mortals be pure? Wicked men suffer torment all their lives (15)." Job: "Why are you shaking your heads at me? You’re horrible comforters, at least give me some encouragement! God is attacking me without pity, but I remain pure. My own friends treat me with scorn. All people mock me. My spirit is broken, but I have hope in death (16-17)." Bildad: "Wicked men bring calamity to themselves. Surely suffering comes to those who don’t know God (18)." Job: "If I really am in sin, that is my concern alone. All those I love have turned against me. Have pity on me, friends! Why do you strike me as God does? I have hope in that one day I will see God because my redeemer lives (19)." Zophar: "Horrible fates await the wicked. The joy of the godless is temporary (20)." Job: "The wicked prosper on earth. How often do their eyes see destruction? Everyone faces the same fate of death. The wicked do not suffer on earth, but God’s wrath is stored up for them instead. You’re all wrong (21)." Eliphaz: "What does God gain if you are blameless? You are suffering because you are wicked—you haven’t cared for the poor and widows and orphans. Submit to God and be at peace with Him. Then He will take away your suffering (22)." Job: "I just want to state my case before God. Then He will surely find me innocent. But I cannot find Him anywhere. Luckily, He knows that I have followed His commands without fail. God’s plans will always be carried out. Why do we have to wait so long for the day of judgment while the wicked prosper on earth? They are exalted now, but God knows their ways and they will pay later (23-24)." Bildad: "How can anyone be righteous before God as a mere human (25)?" Job: "How can we even try to understand the great power of God (26)? As long as I am alive I will not admit you are right—for I know I am blameless though you condemn me. What hope do the wicked have in death? God will not help them then. Though they prosper on the earth, they will suffer for eternity, and all that they left behind will go to the righteous (27). Treasures can be found on earth, but where can wisdom be found? Humans mine for gold and know gold’s worth and where to find it, but they cannot find nor comprehend the worth of wisdom. The Lord alone is wise, and He has concealed wisdom from humans except for this: the fear of the Lord is wisdom, and shunning evil is understanding (28). “Before, people respected and loved me because I was wise and did good deeds—I miss those days (29). Now, I have lost my dignity and all people mock me. I suffer immensely because God has turned against me. My suffering never ceases (30). I have not sinned because I feared destruction from God. If I have sinned, let destruction come upon me, I will it. If I have sinned, I should be judged. But I have not sinned. I don’t look at women lustfully, I am honest, I am faithful to my wife, I gave justice to my servants, I helped the poor, widows, and fatherless, I did not put my trust in my wealth but in God alone, I did not rejoice in my enemies’ sufferings nor sin with my mouth in curses, I treated my workers well. This is the case I wish to argue to God, if only He would answer me (31).” Elihu: [Is angry with Job for being righteous in his own eyes and justifying himself rather than God. Is also angry with Job’s 3 friends for condemning Job without being able to refute him] “I waited to speak and patiently listened this whole time because you are all older than me so I assumed you would be wiser. But it is the Spirit within that makes a man wise, not his age. None of you have proved Job wrong. The Spirit within me compels me to speak and I will not flatter any of you (32). "Job, argue your case before me, for I am just like you in God’s sight so you don’t have to fear me. You say that you have done no wrong, but yet God finds fault with you. You’re wrong. You complain God does not respond to you, but He does speak—though no one may perceive it—in dreams, visions, whispers in your ear. God is gracious to those who walk upright and delivers them from suffering (33). “Job says he is innocent and has done nothing wrong, yet God denies him justice. God does not do evil, He repays everyone for what they have done. God cannot pervert justice; can someone who hates justice govern? He does not favor the rich over the poor. He examines the ways of all mortals and punishes the wicked. Even if you repent and turn to Him, He will not reward you on your terms. Job, your sin is that you speak without knowledge, you rebel and multiply your words against God (34). “You say that you are right and God is not, yet you wonder what God gains when you do not sin. If you sin or if you are righteous, does it affect the Lord Almighty? Your wickedness and righteousness only affect other people. God ignores the prayers of the wicked. How much less will He listen to you and your case—you who claim that God never punishes and takes no notice of wickedness? Your talk is empty, all you do is multiply your words (35). “God despises no one. He punishes the wicked and helps the righteous. He correct those who sin and call them to repentance. He delivers people from suffering, but you are being given the judgment due the wicked. Be careful not to turn to evil in your time of affliction. Who can understand God in all His greatness? (36) Fear God in His almighty power. Can you ever understand anything He does? He is exalted in great power. People who fear Him are wise, and He has regard for the wise in His heart (37)." GOD: [to Job] “Why do you obscure my plans with empty words that lack knowledge? You will answer to me when I question you. Can you ever understand my ways? Who created you and everything you can and cannot see? Have you given orders to nature and has nature obeyed you? (38) Can you see all that is happening on the earth and know when and where everything will happen before it does? (39)" Job: "I am unworthy to reply to you. I will say no more (40)." GOD: "You will answer to me when I question you. Would you discredit my justice and condemn me to justify yourself? Are you as powerful as I? Then unleash your wrath on the wicked, humble the proud (40). Who can stand against me? To whom do I owe anything? (41)” Job: "You can do all things, no one can obscure your plans. I spoke of things I did not understand. Now I have heard and seen you, so I despise myself and repent (42).” GOD: [to Job’s friends] “You have not spoken the truth about me like Job has. Repent and Job will pray for you that I may spare you even though you did not speak the truth about me like Job did (42).” After Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his wealth and gave him twice as much as he had before. All people who had known him before came to eat with him and console and comfort him. Job had more possessions, family, and servants than ever before and lived to see 4 generations of his children, dying at 140 years old (42). Themes:
(1) I think the major point this book gets across is that no one can understand why God does what He does. Job’s friends wanted to believe that God does not punish the blameless so they did everything they could to condemn Job without proof, but in Job 1 we are told that Job is blameless and upright. The church today would very much like people to believe that if they walk in the Spirit and pursue righteousness they will not suffer (a great tagline to try to gain more believers). But in reality, everyone suffers—both wicked and righteous. Sometimes the righteous suffer even more because of the persecution that comes with boldly standing up for what we believe in, even when people don’t want to hear it. When we look at our lives and wonder why things are happening that we don’t understand, we have to accept that we may never understand. We are told in Job 1 that Job is punished to test whether he would curse God. Elsewhere in the Bible it is clear that God allows us to go through times of trials and temptations in order to produce in us perseverance which strengthens our faith so that He may use us for His purposes. If we fail in our time of testing, did we ever really believe? Perhaps this seems unfair to you, but in the end, who are we to ever question God and His just ways? (2) This book also makes it clear that true wisdom is in fearing the Lord. Job and his three friends spend chapters and chapters talking and talking—all empty words without knowledge (in the eyes of God). “Wise” men multiply their words so that they sound intellectual, but true wisdom is much simpler than that. Fear God. Have you ever met people who talk a ton about seemingly intellectual subjects but the topic never seems to make sense to you no matter how much they say? Did you get that feeling reading everything Job and his friends were saying—that it didn’t really flow or make sense? That’s a solid sign of a lack of wisdom. I only paraphrased their conversation, but read the whole book of Job and you’ll see what I mean. Those guys sure do talk a lot. (3) Job was self-righteous. What is meant by this is that he—in a last ditch effort to keep what little dignity he had left—spent the majority of the book proclaiming his innocence and complaining about God’s unjust punishment of him. He justified himself rather than justifying God—a sin both Elihu and God Himself called Job out for. In times of trails and temptations, no one can point a finger at God and ask, “Why are you doing this to me?” Are we as powerful as God? Do we understand His ways? Can we obscure His plans? God made sure to put Job in his place for such arrogance. We too should be careful not to repeat Job’s mistake. I recommend you take the time to read this whole book. It spoke a lot to me during a period of time in which my faith was being tested. When I thought I needed comfort and reassurance of God’s love for me, I really just needed to be put in my place and reminded that He is always in control. God is good! All praises to Him who gives us what we need, even when it is not what we want.
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AuthorFighting complacency and advocating change in myself for the world around me. Posts by Date
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