The Book of Job Christian Formation Series- Introduction to Job


Segment:


Course Outline:


1.    What happens in the story?
a.     Job, a righteous man, lives in wealth (lots of animals and kids).
b.    Ha-satan, lit. “the accuser”, is given permission to test Job.
c.     Job looses everything.
d.    Job becomes greatly ill.
e.     His friends come and “comfort” him.
f.      Job asks God why this is happening.
g.    God responds.
h.    Job gets back more than he had and lives a long life.
2.    Who wrote Job?
a.     Prose and Poetry sections are written by two different groups.
b.    Possibly an Edomite because of where the Prose is set.
c.     Could also be an Israelite living in the outskirts of Palestine.
3.    When was it written?
a.     We’re not sure. No reference to specific events.
b.    The story of Job itself would’ve been pre-Exile.
·    Time before Edomites came into Israel
·    Israelites would’ve liked Edomites then still.
c.     Poetry- during exile or post-exile
·      Second Isaiah has some parallels with Job.
4.    What do people say the book means?
a.     The point is that Job “persisted”.
·      James 5:11 upomonen=holding out, enduring, patience
b.    God sometimes tests our faith.
c.     Theodicy (lit. justification of God)
·      Why do bad things happen if God is all-powerful?
d.    Prose section is making sense of the poetry section.
5.    What is the “bottom line” of Job?
a.     Why do bad things happen to good people? (Theodicy question)
b.    At the end of the day, we don’t know why bad things happen.
c.     We do know, however, that God is with us through these times.
d.    Anderson, Understanding the Old Testament asks this: “What is a person’s relationship with God?”
6.    How is the book divided up?
a.     Prose
·      1:1-2:13 and 42:7-17 (the beginning and end)
·      Intro and Epilogue to book
b.    Poetry
·      Conversation with Job and his friends

Sources:
Anderson, Bernhard W. Understanding the Old Testament, ab. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998.
Davidson, Lisa ed. “The Book of Job”, The New Interpreter’s Bible. Nashville: Abingdon, 2003.
Wright, Rebecca, Old Testament:Foundations II. The School of Theology Sewanee, TN, Easter Semester 2014.