The Story of God: Job

Listen as we continue our series through the Bible. This week Anthony and Jon cover the book of Job.

Notes//Quotes:

Job 42:1-6

Job 1:1-6

“Within this honorable cosmic cabinet, we are introduced to someone who is, or will become, the least honorable character in the Bible—the “Satan.” “Satan” (Hb. satan) could be translated “adversary,” but he seems to function here not as a direct enemy but as an opposing ally.” Douglas O’Donnell

This word is not a proper name, like our modern translations that use the capital letter (“Satan”) might lead us to conclude. The Hebrew word satan is a descriptive noun, describing any person that stands “opposed to” or as “an adversary” to someone else. For example, King Solomon faced multiple invading enemies near the end of his reign, Hadad the Edomite and Rezon, son of Eliada (1 Kings 11:14, 11:23 Both of these men are called in Hebrew “a satan,” that is, an adversary. King David himself is called “a satan” by the Philistines (1 Sam 29:4 The word “satan” can be used to describe an accusing attorney in a courtroom (see Ps 109:6-7) And pay attention to this one, “the angel of the Lord” is described as “a satan,” who opposes the infamous Balaam (see Num 22:22, 32) So even the angelic messenger who represents the will and authority of God himself can take on the function of a satan. One conclusion from this short Hebrew word study is that a variety of people or heavenly beings can be described by the word satan. This means that the satan who appears in Job 1-2 is not necessarily identical with the full-orbed evil being called by that same title in the New Testament (see, for example, Mark 1:13) Tim Mackie

…this Satan in Job as functioning something like a prosecuting attorney or the political party in the British parliament known as the monarch’s “loyal opposition.” Just as the prosecuting attorney is not an opponent of the judge and the loyal opposition is not set against the government, so Satan’s role in “Yahweh’s cabinet” (so to speak) is to serve Yahweh by making sure that his rule and law is properly upheld.” John Goldingay

“As I have taught Job to students over the years, the question frequently arises, “What sort of God is this who uses his faithful ones as pawns in bets with the devil?” I would suggest that this question is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the prologue. The scene in heaven, like the speeches of Job’s friends, is part of the literary design of a thought experiment to generate discussion about how God runs the cosmos. The prologue is not trying to teach us how Job got into such a difficult situation, or what angelic beings do or do not have access to God’s presence. The message of the book is offered at the end, in the speeches of God, not in the opening scenario, which only sets up the thought experiment. The book is focusing on how God works in the world, not teaching us about how things work in heaven.” John Walton

Job 1:13-22

Job 8:4-6

“Job’s untidy realities were threatening their tidy notions, and they transferred their anxieties to Job as their scapegoat.  After all, if God could body-slam Job for no visible reason, what might that imply for them too?  But if they could successfully find fault with Job, then their glib moralism could continue undisturbed, they could go on feeling good about themselves, feeling in control, and they wouldn’t need to trust God with some extremely difficult mysteries in life. These three men needed Job to be in the wrong somehow, in order to justify themselves.” Ray Ortlund

Growing Discernment in Discipleship:
Biblical Theology - Develop It
Perspective - Widen It
Assumptions - Slow It
Relationships - Commit to it

Job 38:4-11 
Job 39:1-4

“All our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance,
All our ignorance brings us nearer to death,
But nearness to death no nearer to GOD.
Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?
The cycles of Heaven in twenty centuries
Bring us farther from GOD and nearer to the Dust.” - T.S. Elliot

“We are disciples. Not disciples of an illusion, but disciples of Christ. Which means our hope is not in an illusion. Our rescue is not in an illusion. Our peace is not in an illusion. And our joy is not in an illusion….To be a disciple of Jesus is to profess that it is the Truth, not an illusion that sets us free, and this conviction is what distinguishes us as the people of God. As Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann once put it, the prophetic task of the church is to tell the truth in a society that lives in illusion.” - Shannon Hodde Miller