We want to set the stage for understanding Job this

---

We want to set the stage for understanding Job this week. I. 1.

Interpretation Interpretive ―Spiral‖

2. Context, context, context Eg: Matthew 27:5b—‖(Judas) went away and hanged himself...‖ Luke 10:37b: ―Go and do likewise.‖ 3. Just because we don’t understand something, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not true. II. Mystery 1.

God is infinite. Therefore, He has unlimited knowledge, and He is the source of infinite truth.

2. God has chosen to reveal some of His truth to us. Therefore, we have true knowledge. 3. However, we are finite creatures. Therefore, we have limited knowledge. 4. Thus, we have true but limited knowledge. We can know things truly, but we cannot know them fully. Because we do not know all the truth, we do not know all the interconnections between truths. Mystery is simply the result of our ignorance about the interconnections. In many doctrinal areas, we do not know fully how various elements of the revelation of God come together, but we do know that because it comes from God, it must come together. (Eg. Sovereignty/Freedom; God’s Goodness/ Human Suffering) *** A helpful example (hopefully) - Consider the following statements: (1) If it is raining, you will get wet. (2) It is raining. (3) Therefore, you will get wet. The logic is impeccable. In this logical system, (1) and (2) certainly lead to (3). However, there could be other true statements that are not accounted for by the system that change the conclusion. For example, we can add a (1a) that says ―If it is raining you will get wet… unless you carry an umbrella,‖ and then we add a (2a) that says, ―You are carrying an umbrella.‖ The new conclusion, (3a), will be ―Therefore, you will not get wet.‖ The logic of (1), (2), (3) is still true, but it no longer accounts for the whole reality. That’s exactly what happens with our understanding of reality, and especially of God. We have a very limited perspective. We can know a lot of true things, but sometimes there is additional information that is unknown to us, and that changes how our understanding plays itself out. I promise this is relevant for Job! Here’s a quick look at why: In Scripture, the general understanding is that God blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked. Therefore, a general understanding can also be that if you are blessed, you are righteous, and if you suffer, you must be wicked. However, there are lots of other truths that affect this –truths that we can’t always see from our perspective. For example, God also uses suffering to train us, refine our character, accomplish His purposes, and show His glory. God sometimes allows the wicked to prosper—either as an act of grace, or because His timing for reward and punishment is different than ours. His principles are not always applied immediately, or at least not in a way that we can recognize immediately. Job reminds us of this. Job cautions us not to think we have God ―all figured out,‖ or to use our understanding of God as a tool to try to limit Him and say, ―OK, if this is true, then God has to act this way.‖ It may very well be true, but God is so free and so great that He can act in a totally different way without compromising the truth. ―There’s nothing you can’t prove, if your outlook is only sufficiently limited.‖ - Dorothy Sayers

III. Introductory Notes on Job A. Date 1.

The events of the book probably took place around the same time as Genesis 12-50 (the Patriarchal Era). This would be between 2000-1800 BC. This is based on Job’s lifestyle (very similar to Abraham), his longevity of 140 years (42:16), and the references to bands of Sabeans and Chaldeans that attacked Job’s livestock (1:15-17).

2. The writing of the book—Absolutely no idea. B.

Author Absolutely no idea. Some claim Moses, because of the time period, and because it’s Moses, but there is no evidence in the text one way or the other.

C.

Location ‖Uz‖ (1:1) and ―the East‖ (1:3). Edom, NOT ISRAEL! The names of Job and his friends are Edomite, not Hebrew. Job and his friends typically refer to God as El or El Shaddai, not Yahweh. There is no reference to the covenant or any Jewish traditions. Yet Job knows to offer sacrifices to God (1:5) and Yahweh (1:6) is intimately familiar with Job. A great reminder that God is at work outside Israel, revealing Himself to all people.

D.

Themes—Issues 1.

God’s justice, sovereignty, and wisdom… and the relationships between them.

2. Suffering 3. God’s treatment of the righteous. Is God right to bless the righteous (ch 1-2) and is God right to allow the righteous to suffer (ch 3-41)? E.

Really Important Things to Keep in Mind as We Study Job 1.

The Bigger Picture (1:6-12). There is always a bigger picture. This isn’t primarily about Job or his suffering or his friends’ theology. This is about God. When Job remembers that, he does well (1-2). When he forgets, not so well (3-37). When God reminds him, he’s satisfied (38-42).

2. God loves Job and is proud of Job (1:8; 2:3). 3. Job is righteous (1:1, 8, 22; 2:3, 10). 4. The three friends are wrong (42:7). Some of the things they say are going to sound pretty convincing, so we will want to work hard to see what it is that makes them so wrong in God’s eyes. 5. Unlike when we read Job, we aren’t privy to ―The Bigger Picture‖ in our own lives. It’s easy to scorn the 3 friends after we have read chapter 1, but how often do we approach our lives without ever giving thought to the reality of chapter 1? I pray that God will teach us to be more aware of the ―Bigger Picture‖ in our lives. It’s not about our lives. It’s about our lives being a small but significant part of God’s grand plan to reveal His glory to all creation. F.

My Study Sources Hill and Walton’s Survey of the OT, Expositor’s Bible Commentary, New American Commentary, Warren Wiersbe’s Be Patient, and John Piper’s sermons on Job on desiringgod.org.