(1) An introduction to Job (24th February 2008)
(2) God & Job versus the Accuser (Job 1-2, 2nd March 2008)
(3) Tired Job talks with Eliphaz (Job 3-5, 9th March 2008)
(4) Feeble Job finds no grace with Bildad (Job 6-8, 30th March 2008)
(5) My God is too big! (Job 9-11, 27th April 2008)
(6) Job turns towards God (Job 12-14, 11th May 2008)
(7) Intercession in heaven (Job 15-17, 18th May 2008)
(8) Job wrestles with political correctness (Job 18-20, 1st June 2008)
(9) Job, Jacob and Jesus (Job 21-22, 8th June 2008)
(10) A sense of justice (Job 23-26, 15th June 2008)
(11) Job's riddle (Job 27-28, 29th June 2008)
In this sermon we took a general look at the book of Job, to introduce ourselves to it before considering it in more detail. The first thing to note about this man Job is that he is in a time and place which is outside of the normal history of Israel, as recounted in other Old Testament books. As a result he's a man who is having to have dealings with God where he cannot fall back on the promises made to Abraham or other patriarchs. So in other words, Job is a man whose knowledge of God is very limited and as a result he is an example to us of a man coping in extreme situations. He shows us how to react when we simply cannot make sense of what God is doing. The book of Job is written in both prose and poetry, showing us that this is a story being told not just cold history. Job is a well-written book and it includes many of the features you expect to find in a good story. However, it seems that this is not simply a parable with a made-up character since Job is referred to elsewhere in the Bible as a real person (Ezekiel 14), although we're not sure when the story was written up. So what lessons can we learn from Job? Firstly, we learn to be wary of simplistic explanations for life. Job's friends see some real truths about the world but put them all together in foolish ways. God's ways are not so simple that they fit into our tiny minds and we must humble ourselves before that. This is part of the meaning of the “fear of the Lord” - recognising that God cannot be easily understood and predicted in his actions by us. Of course there are promises from God which we can rest upon and we must do so. But we are not to try and say we know why God is doing this or that, if he hasn't explained himself. And especially this is the case with suffering in life. All people suffer one way or another, and many long for explanations or reasons. What Job teaches us is not the explanation for all suffering but that we must always take it to God. As Christians we see the Lord Jesus as our great example of this. He knew he had to suffer and talked to his father about it. On the cross he felt abandoned, yet still he talked to God about it. We see in the Bible that our biggest battles in life are to be with God – like Jacob wrestling at Peniel. So when God brings us into suffering, then we must go and speak with him. But we also look forward, then, to the future for after God humbles then he exalts – as we see with the Lord Jesus. Maybe in this life, certainly in the next, God will show to his people that their suffering was temporary and that it leads to glory.
(1) Try to read Job through a few times during the course of this Sunday evening series. As you do so, note done particularly memorable moments and saying.
(2) Look back over the times in your life when you have been plunged into suffering. Can you say, at all, that even in this world your times of humbling have then given way to times of blessing?
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The first two chapters of the book of Job introduce us to the characters and circumstances which will then feed into the poetic discussion which fill most of the book. This setting of the scene is all written in prose rather than poetry like the vast majority of the book. Job's life is presented to us as a fine and rich one: the story-teller uses important Bible numbers (3, 7 and 10) to portray a man with a complete life – it is all it should be. That includes his life within society and family, along with his own personal life where Job is blameless and God-fearing: a righteous man. Christians today are also to live God-honouring lives. We believe that we are righteous in God's sight through the death of our Lord Jesus Christ in whom we have put our faith. But we also believe that, therefore, our lives must reflect what has been given to us: like Job we are to be blameless and upright (1 Peter 2:1-12). Now in particular Job was concerned with the use of words: he would sacrifice in case his children had spoken carelessly and cursed God after their feasting. However, the word for “curse” in v5 and elsewhere is actually the word for “bless”, the writer is using a euphemism: saying one thing but meaning something quite different. He does this because “cursing when you think you are blessing” will be one of the themes of the book. Job's friends will say many true things but their overall meanings will actually speak ill of God and by the end they'll be in danger of judgement, unless Job intercedes for them (42:7). Christians need to take notice of this warning. We know many things about God but must be careful how we link them together. Sometimes we go astray with our theological schemes and speak about God in ways which we're never been sanctioned to do (such as the mistake some people make by saying that because God saves his chosen people by giving them faith, we must therefore not tell people to repent and believe). However, Job's use of words is questioned by one person: Satan. His name, or title, means “the accuser”. He claims that Job doesn't really bless God, it's just to keep God on side and so get good things from him. Satan shows his hatred of true relationships and cannot believe Job truly cares about God. So God allows Satan to strip all that's good out of Job's life to see what the truth is. And the truth is this: Job stands firm by God – he will not curse God but instead upholds God's reputation. Which shows us that in his suffering, Job acts as God's champion. This is one role of our sufferings: to bring honour and glory to God.
(1) Are there relationships in your Christians life which Satan has tried to break in some way? What ways has he used to try and get you to "curse God"?
(2) Think about Christians you've met and known. Can you remember any who have taken ideas from the Bible and put together a scheme of thought which went too far: saying things about God which the Bible doesn't?
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In the first two chapters we see that Job is God's champion, chosen to show that Satan is wrong to say that “God has no real friends.” Now from chapter 3 onwards we get up close and hear Job's inner thoughts as he struggles to fight for God's honour. The first thing we hear from Job is his weariness. For 7 days and nights Job has sat in silence. Sleep deprivation can be caused by many things and when it comes we find it very hard. But especially it appears during times of great distress. Unsurprisingly, Job longs for peace and rest, and the only place he can imagine finding it is in the grave. This longing is right since we were designed to be like God who after six days of working at creation, rested on the seventh. So Job's desire was a good one but Christians have a better answer than the grave. We know that with the Lord Jesus we will have a true Sabbath rest in the new heavens and earth (Hebrews 4). However, Job doesn't get his wish and so instead expresses a different one: that he had never been born. This is an irrational idea since it is impossible to go back in time and adjust the day of our birth. Nonetheless, Job is wise to say such things because it helps him to cope with his struggles. Effectively Job has redirected his cursing away from God (as his wife suggested) and towards something which cannot actually be cursed. Such an action helps the suffering believer to express their real pain whilst maintaining honour to God's name. Sadly, however, Job's friend Eliphaz does not see things this way and steps in to “defend God”. He does so by reminding Job that God is just and so doesn't let innocent people suffer. Having said that, however, Eliphaz then has to add an extra statement to cope with Job's situation, so he expounds the idea that no man or woman is ever innocent when compared with God's standard and therefore all must inevitably suffer at some point. (He claims this insight came to him in the night through a mysterious vision). But this brings hope, says Eliphaz, because Job is mostly innocent and therefore can look forward ultimately to God's blessing after this time of discipline. In his words Eliphaz utter some true statements but his overall picture is wrong and we, the readers, especially know this because of chapters 1 and 2. Also Eliphaz's words cause Job extra pain since he implies Job's past sacrifices have been wasted and his children were evil. What he should have understood is that when God disciplines his children (as he does) it will be clear and not just for general "imperfections".
(1) Look at your own personality. What helps you to be kept from “cursing God” at those times when you feel frustrated and under pressure in life?
(2) Job is a very difficult person to help. It can often be so with very troubled people. Given what you've seen so far in the book, what would you have said (or not said) to Job if you were in Eliphaz's position?
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In chapter 6 Job begins his second speech, and receives a response from Bildad. He starts with the thought of how suffering can feel very heavy. This heaviness, in turn, then has the effect of sapping all of our strength from us. Life, says Job, becomes like bad food: it does us no good but rather leaves us weak and complaining. In the midst of difficulties and hurts, we sometimes literally stop eating, making us weak (life becomes inedible). But Job is also pointing to a wider experience of how tragedy can take us onto a spiral of weakness. When miserable, we feel weak. As a result we leave off doing good things and so our misery intensifies. Which means that we feel even weaker. We spiral downwards and everything we do in life – even the smallest of things – can become hard work. Of course, sometimes this happens to a person because they are lazy or dysfunctional. But for people like Job, it comes about because of the disasters they're trying to cope with. So Job feels like a completely broken man and he wishes that God would get it over with and simply crush him completely. Job shows us that sometimes, for a believer, awareness of God and his control of life actually makes things worse when we are passing through difficult times: Job speaks of God's arrows striking into his body. However, even with that thought Job is doing the right thing by moving towards God, not running away from him. So Job confronts the truth of God's sovereignty, and wonders why God acts the way he does. He seems to be like a boss who gives his employees bad shifts, hard labour and is forever watching what they do to catch them out. Believers can feel, at times, that God expects too much of them. Of course, it is true that God's expectations are high. However, that mustn't take us away from God. Rather we must remember Jesus. When he faced the greatest demand upon his life – the cross – he first spoke to his Father in Gethsemane and then submitted himself to God's will. And in the resurrection Jesus was proved right to have done so! So we, therefore, have got huge reasons to press on with God through our days of suffering. This is truly to act as God's friends: trusting him even when things seem to be going wrong. Sadly Job's friends do not treat him that way; rather they just assume the worst – Job's being punished for imperfections. This is because their religion is graceless. Like the Pharisees they speak well of God but put burdens onto men. We look to God's grace. To Jesus who said, “my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Mt 11:30)
(1) Have you ever felt the sapping of strength from troubles in life? Did you remember Gethsemane when it happened? How can you best prepare for when troubles come again?
(2) Are there ways in which Christians can end up preaching a graceless gospel? What should we watch out for in our words to others?
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Job is a righteous man: meaning that he has no particular sin which demands particular punishment. So Job, therefore, struggles to understand why he is currently suffering so badly. We readers, however, know that it is because of God's dispute with Satan and that Job is suffering to uphold the honour of God – which we see Job doing in his discussions. Now thus far we've seen Job both worn out and weighed down by his troubles. To which his friends have replied by discussing a simple principle they hold to: the principle of justice. Which they interpret to mean that if you do right God blesses you and if you do wrong God punishes you, and that since Job is suffering trouble he must be being punished for some wrongdoing. Now by itself this principle sounds fairly reasonable until you see that it just does not match Job's own circumstances. Job is righteous and doesn't “deserve” what he's getting. So the friends advice is neither wise nor encouraging – in fact it upsets Job even further. Indeed as Job ponders it, it creates frustration within him: frustration with God. And what frustrates him in particular is that God is too big! God the mighty and powerful creator is so different from tiny Job that although Job wants to discuss his circumstances with God, he doesn't think he can do so: God will do what God will do. As a result Job wishes that some sort of mediator could be found to act between him and God (9:33), but none is available. So by chapter 10 Job's mind is left spinning and he wishes God would simply leave him alone, so he can pass out his mortal days in peace (10:20). Zophar, however, is not impressed and tells Job that he's in denial about his sins. Job must be a sinner – indeed to such a degree that God has even forgotten some of the things which Job has done (11:6). Well Job's words are the words of a despairing man in pain, but he still understands God better than his friends. Their mistake is consistently to underestimate God. As readers we know why Job is suffering but his friends with their “universal principle” have got God wrong. They've made God and the world too simple in their minds and do not see how much more complicated life actually is. We must not make God too small. He is the awesome and fearful God who made the world without us. So we must be careful not to misread God intentions by looking at our circumstances. Jesus taught us to deal with life's storms not by storm analysis but by following his teachings (Mt 6:24-). We live for our Lord by prayerful, trusting obedience of his word.
(1) What opportunities has God give to you in your life? What skills and situations? Are you using them for his glory?
(2) Is there any part of your life at the moment where you especially feel that God is too big, too inexplicable – his ways too mysterious – and that that makes it hard to cope with? How does Job help you to pray in this situation?
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In these chapters Job makes one of his longest speeches. In the speech Job reacts very strongly to all that his friends have been saying and then he turns to address God. According to Job, the big problem with his friends is that they overestimate human wisdom and understanding: both their own and that which they've learned from their forefathers. Job tells them that only God really understands the world and how it works. Job is showing that his experiences have taught him a real fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom according to the book of Proverbs. He now really believes that God is in control and it intimidates him. Whereas Job's friends think too highly of their own ability to explain things, making their view of God very limited and controllable. So Job brings down their views by pointing to the ways of history. After all, if human wisdom is so impressive then history should be a success story. But it isn't. Empires are constantly rising and falling. Leaders go from great skill and ability, to stupidity and irrational behaviour and bring down the success they helped to create. This happens in many sorts of organisations from countries, to churches. Therefore Job tells his friends to stop talking and start thinking properly about God: they need to fear Him. At which point Job then turns towards God and he shows the fear that he feels. God could easily take his life, if he wished. However, Job is determined that his fear will not prevent him going towards God. He knows that wisdom rests with God which means his vindication – the judgement that Job is blameless – lies with God. Hence Job knows he must have dealings with God. So Job asks God what it is that he's done wrong and even though God doesn't answer, behaving in this way does Job good. It does him good because Job is treating God like a person, which is what Satan said Job would not do. Satan claimed Job thinks of God as a blessing machine; but Job clearly does not. Now, of course, Job is still suffering a great deal of pain and he cries out about how he doesn't understand why God behaves as he does. Given that men live briefly and then are gone for ever into death, why cause them so much trouble? It doesn't make sense. However, then a passing idea comes to him: what if God would put him in a grave and then raise him again after his anger has passed? It's a thought which shows that deep down Job does trust God. Sadly, for Job, the thought passes as reality reappears. But it need not for us because as Christians we know Jesus has turned God's anger away through his death – on the cross. We know that God loves us.
(1) Can you think of people you have known who depend too much on human wisdom? Have you ever done so?
(2) In what ways should Christians develop a proper fear of the Lord? Has anything in your life affected your awareness of God?
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This world is a “Good Friday” world in which the wicked appear to go unpunished and the innocent suffer for no crime. Of course, it's not completely like that: wicked people do suffer and are punished. But that doesn't happen consistently. Job is the living proof of that: a man who is clearly in a “Good Friday” world. Job's friend Eliphaz, however, does not accept this to be the case. So in order to get his point through to Job – who obviously isn't listening properly – Eliphaz repeats what he said earlier, but now with greater emotion. But Job is listening and has reponded to Eliphaz's earlier point. So Eliphaz speech in chapter 15 actually shows that it's Eliphaz who is not listening properly. This comes through when he accuses Job of undermining the fear of God, which is plainly ridiculous when you read again Job's speech in the previous chapters. Eliphaz also seems to think that he can read Job's mind (as well as God's mind!) when he puts Job's attitude down to sinful craftiness. But then the most foolish moment of Eliphaz's speech comes when he provides his analysis of the lives of wicked people. Firstly he becomes overheated and talks up human wisdom again (despite Job's point in the previous chapter) and then he goes on to explain how wicked people are constantly suffering for their crimes. But this is just wishful thinking. Job's own life disproves Eliphaz's point that all suffering comes from a person's personal sin. But for Christians we have an even stronger example when we look at Jesus upon the cross: he was innocent of any personal sin yet suffered greatly. So we must be very careful about how we talk about God's ways in the world, least we say wrong things about God and dishonour him. Justice is coming to this world, but it is waiting for the great and final day of the universe when Jesus will return to judge all people (Acts 17:31). Well Job gives Eliphaz a good telling off and then describes again the darkness of his own situation. He's challenged God but God hasn't answered. Now all Job can do is wait until he descends into the grave. And yet, even as Job says this a glimmer of hope appears in his mind. He still believes that God is just and fair, and will ultimately listen to a witness who speaks on Job's behalf. It seems that this witness is Job's blood, calling out his innocence in heavenly places (16:18-21) Of course, as readers we know that Job does have someone speaking for him in heaven – God himself – so Job's insight is a good one. As Christians we know that Jesus, risen and ascended, speaks for us in heaven. And his blood means that we will be innocent before God for evermore.
(1) Can you think of people you have known who depend too much on human wisdom? Have you ever done so?
(2) In what ways should Christians develop a proper fear of the Lord? Has anything in your life affected your awareness of God?
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In chapter 18 Bildad is feeling frustrated and threatened by Job's view of the world, because it contradicts Bildad's own view. If Bildad were, for a moment, to accept the evidence Job is bringing forward concerning his innocence then Bildad belief's about morality and the way the world works, would fail him – and Bildad cannot bear the thought of that happening. So to rebuff Job, Bildad asserts firmly his view that wicked people always lose out in the end: their lives go wrong. And then, on the other side of Job, hemming him in, Zophar does the same thing in chapter 20. He too asserts the idea that wicked people come to a bad end. But Zophar also goes further by using graphic imagery to say that wicked people lose all their gains in life: they vomit out the stolen delights they've taken from others. But both of these men are making the silly mistake of taking an ultimate truth – God punishes the wicked – and trying to make it fit all situations in the here and now. The result is that they insist that suffering is always linked to sin, which clearly isn't the case (as we see with Job). This is an example of taking a principle and forcing it to apply in every vaguely related situation, even if contrary to the actual evidence – we sometimes refer to this as “political correctness”. This happens, for example, when somebody is accused of “abuse” simply for taking some physical discipline to a child. Such accusations are both silly and dangerous and Christians should always insist – with the Bible – that real evidence is required for condemnation. Job, however, bats away his friends assertions in chapter 19 and tells them they are causing him pain for no reason. He then describes his circumstances and shows how painfully sad they are, with friends and family members refusing to have anything to do with him. Of course Job's experience is not unique to him. Many believers have known the same and, indeed, the Lord himself experienced the rejection of family and friends in the most painful of ways. Job, however, finds some hope: one day a redeemer will rise up for him in his family (v25). He may not know who the redeemer will be, but he's sure it will happen and that he will have his innocence renewed before God and men. Job says this because he believes in the ultimate justice of God, even though he cannot make sense of his current circumstances. Christians, however, know Job's words are true in a greater way. We have one who firmly establishes our eternal innocence through his blood: Jesus, our great and everlasting Redeemer.
(1) What examples of political correctness have you seen? What was the good principle behind it? How was it applied wrongly?
(2) Read through one of the gospels and see the Lord Jesus dealing with false accusations made against him. Does he deal with them differently to Job? Or are there any similarities? How should Christians be different to Job?
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Chapters 21 to 32 cover the final stage of Job's discussions with his three “comforters”. Having failed to convince Job that suffering always comes from sin, the friends are now running out of steam. Job, however, is becoming stronger – not physically, but in his heart. This reminds us of Jacob. He was a man who struggled throughout his life (Genesis 49:7) and who even wrestled with God (Genesis 32). The whole experience left him crippled and hurt, yet he was also a man who matured as a believer and gained great blessing. Job follows a similar path to Jacob. He wrestles with men and with God, but comes out at the end a finer believer with greater blessing than before. The process whereby faith matures through struggles is seen throughout the Bible as true believers wrestle for God and wrestle with God. We wrestle for God when we do battle with Satan, who comes against us through people and circumstances. If we stand against him, as Jesus did in the wilderness temptations (Luke 4), then we shall grow in our faith; the wrestling match will do us good. We wrestle with God when the darkness of our situation drives us to Him, to cry out to Him to bring justice, salvation and blessing. Such wrestling by a true believer leads on to resurrection – as we see with Job, Jacob and Jesus. Christians must press on through troubles by, like Job, grabbing hold of the glimpses of hope and by keeping on talking to God. Job, then, is maturing in his faith and as a result knocks his comforters down in this final stage of their discussions. In chapter 21 he says that they have been mocking him (v3) and so in his speech he turns the tables and mocks them. All three friends have made very exaggerated claims about the wicked, pointing out how their evil ways always end up in a complete disaster. Now Job uses language which is over the top, to make the very opposite point: that the wicked have an easy life. Why does he does this? Because he is mimicking his friends to show the foolishness of their words. Having done that, Job then brings his counterarguments and points out the silliness of some of the things his friends have said. They claim to be drawing on the sum of human wisdom,but have they never questioned those who have seen the world through their travels? The wicked do thrive, all over the place! Well Eliphaz doesn't like Job's clever response and retaliates with slander: he's now realised that Job is very wicked. Not only that but he puts words into Job's mouth which Job never said (22:13). These are the actions of a somebody showing that they have lost the fight. Job is being proved right.
(1) Can you think of situations where you should resort to “answering a fool according to his folly” (Proverbs 26:5) the way that Job does with his friends?
(2) What characteristics (sinful or not) within us lead us to resort to slander and false words when somebody is defeating us in an argument? Is it simply pride or are there other factors? Do you do this?
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After Eliphaz's outrageous slandering of Job in chapter 22, Job allows his friends hardly any further words (just a few sentences in chapter 25). Instead, Job makes a long speech, to chapter 32, in which he quotes both the contents and styles of his friends, whilst refuting their arguments, poking fun at them and making his own case once again. However, although he argues strongly, he doesn't resort simply to taking his revenge upon Eliphaz. Instead Job turns towards God since in his heart he still believes God is just; that if God was around then he would uphold the truth. What frustrates Job, however, is that God isn't around and is seemingly intent on never turning up! Nonetheless, after a lifetime of following God Job feels the need of justice deeply and so he launches into a description of the unfairness of world in chapter 24. He points out the property, employment and sexual crimes, amongst others, which are committed against the weak and vulnerable. In doing so Job reminds us that a sense of justice runs right through the human race. We certainly pick up injustice very quickly when it is targeted against ourselves. But we also hate injustice on a wider scale: the unfairness of the world just seems wrong to many. Why do we feel this way? Because we have been made by God in his image, and therefore the desire for justice is built into us: it is one of the evidences of the reality of God's existence. Job certainly feels strongly about justice for all (despite Eliphaz's accusations implying otherwise) However,after his cry against injustice, it appears that in 24:18 Job returns to his friends' arguments by anticipating their comments and speaking on their behalf. Job talks about how the wicked will come to a nasty end, but he's doing so to point out how nonsensical this view is. Well Bildad sees where things are going and tries to intervene in chapter 25 by uttering some fresh platitudes about God. But his attempt to side-step Job's point completely fails. Job silences him after 6 verses by starting to make fun of him, in chapter 26. He points out how useful Bildad's comments are! They offer so much comfort and help to those who are suffering from injustice! And then Job finishes Bildad's speech for him, agreeing with him that God is awesomely great and wonderful. But so what if God won't intervene to bring justice? Bildad has failed to answer the real question! Once again Job is wrestling with reality of this world and God's role within it. He won't hide from the evidence but is trying to understand it. Deep down he remains a believer who is sure that, come what may, God is just. We must say the same.
(1) Think about the people you talk to each day. How do they discuss the injustice in the world? What points would you make to them in the light of Job?
(2) How can we best restrain ourselves from retaliating against those who do us wrong, in the way that Eliphaz wronged Job in chapter 22?
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In chapter 27 Job uses the greatness of God to make a vow. The vow shows how strongly Job believes in God. Often, troubles in life expose our deep knowledge that God really is there. When life is easy then people can ignore God, but when life is hard, people start blaming God. Well Job has always believed in God but now his troubles have really shown that up in his heart and life. In his oath, Job vows never to adopt his friends' ideas because that would make him a liar. He might be tempted to agree to their statements (if for no other reason then at least to shut them up). But he will not do it because the evidence of his life leads him elsewhere. Job's integrity in this way is just more proof that Satan was wrong in his accusations about Job at the start of the book: Job's words are not shaped by his circumstances but by what is true. After his vow Job's words then change in a rather strange way when he starts to talk about the wicked getting their comeuppance (27:7-). However, it appears that what Job is doing is imitating Zophar so that he can then say “what a lot of nonsense these ideas are!” (27:11) Using this technique, Job continues to silence his friends and makes plain that their views are wrong. And then in chapter 28 Job switches to a different technique in dealing with his friends. He suddenly launches into a description of human mining operations, which seems to have no place in the current speech. But what Job is doing is setting his friends a riddle. For 11 verses he makes them wonder just what he's going on about, before he finally explains that this is all about wisdom and how hard it is to find out what life is about. Riddles are used in various places in the Bible, where people need to be made to think harder and to have their hearts tested. We see Jesus doing this in his parables where the meaning is often obscure (Mark 4:11-). This drives some people away but those who are truly responsive stay around and discover the real meaning from Jesus. Well Job is using a similar technique to get his friends to think properly. His riddle about mining seems to imply that man can discover anything. But like a good riddle, the punchline is quite different. Job is actually saying that there is one thing man constantly fails to discover: the wisdom to live life well. By comparing it with other things, Job reminds his friends just how hard it is to find real wisdom in this world. And then Job brings them back to God: the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. His friends really need to learn that properly. This reminds Christians of our constant need to remember how awesome God is and to live in the fear of the Lord.
(1) What can you do to remind yourself often about the greatness of God and how you must live in the “fear of the Lord”?
(2) Read through some of Jesus' parables and see what effect they have on their listeners. What do we learn from them about preaching the gospel?
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