It broke down the book of job and explained things so well. What does the bible say about the value of a secret place. Depending upon the bible translation used, the term secret place can appear dozens of times in both old and new testaments. The book of job is one of the most celebrated pieces of biblical literature, probing profound questions about faith. The sons of god are the angels of god and this would include all angels, the good and the bad. The contents of the book, together with its artistic structure and elegant style, place it. The theme of the book of job is nothing less than human suffering and the transcendence of it. As humans we tend to think we know a little bit of everything. This wisdom book of hebrew poetry portrays the suffering of job, his. The skeptical character of the symposium, with its challenge to timehonored views, most likely would have kept the book of job out of the canon of old testament writings had some additions not been made to the original book.
The date of the authorship of the book of job would be determined by the author of the book of job. Five truths for sufferers from the book of job the gospel coalition. Themes and meaning the name job is the english translation of the hebrew name iyov which means persecuted, hated on the surface job is a long, boring, somewhat confusing book and one might question how it ever came to be grouped with the wisdom books as it is hard to ascertain any wisdom in this tale of woe. Dwelling in the secret place of the most high means that we constantly seek his love, comfort, and protection. The term secret place appears in the old and new testaments and most often refers to the way our soul is in relationship with god. Alfred smith has contributed prac tical insights for lessons and sermons on the book of job. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared god and turned away from evil. At that time, job may have been the richest man on the face of the earth.
Compare that to those people who dont live a godly life. Book of job there was a man in the land of utz whose name was job. Job wishes for someone who can mediate between himself and god, or for god to send him to sheol, the deep place of the dead. The book of job does not specifically name its author. The author of the book of job incorporated the folk book into his work in a manner still showing traces of the component parts. Watch our overview video on the book of job, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. This would place job, most likely, at least in his fifties. The book of job, in the old testament, opens with words both majestic and onceuponatimeish.
Too many christians want to put themselves into the role of a job. Although the author was an israelite, he mentions nothing of israels history. He revered god and shunned all evil this man was the greatest of all the men of the east job 1. A free bible version and commentary on the old testament book of job in easyenglish. The lesson from the big book of job is 1 that god is sovereign over all our suffering. The book of job is a book in the ketuvim section of the hebrew bible, and the first poetic book in the old testament of the christian bible.
The book of job is a book in the ketuvim writings section of the hebrew bible tanakh, and. Now there was a day a certain time appointed by god. The book is not about jobs history but about jobs life and the way we relate to god as a result. Job lived for 140 years after the events recorded in the book 14. The book of job kindle edition by mitchell, stephen. Guidelines for understanding and proclaiming the book of job. Given how christians are yet inclined to look for a divine reason behind catastrophes and. The book of job is one of the most misunderstood books in the bible.
Job s friends are offended that he scorns their wisdom. The latter could be dated anytime from the reign of solomon to the time of israels exile in babylonia. These cultural and historical features found in the book appear to place the events. His speeches neither explain jobs suffering, nor defend divine justice, nor enter.
So jobs friends could be excused from assuming job guilty of a secret sin, secret and. Satan in job is those who oppose gods opinion of righteous job. The book of job opens portraying job as a wealthy and righteous nobleman. Such lifespan would place job somewhere around the time of abraham. In the new testament, jesus instructs us to go to a quiet place, a secret place, a room with the door shut when we pray matthew 6. The book of job is an obvious place to turn when a christian suffers, but it is. The book of job opens in verse one by telling us that job was a blameless, upright man who feared god and turned away from evil. What does it mean to dwell in the secret place of the most.
This verse says satan came with them like he is not included in the group of sons of god, but i totally disagree with that interpretation and i believe that satan was their leader and the most high angel. Job s final speech in his own defense is probably where the book originally ended. The book of job, book of hebrew scripture that is often counted among the masterpieces of world literature. Addressing the problem of theodicy the vindication of the justice of god in the light of humanitys suffering it is a rich theological work setting out a variety of perspectives. God is pointing out here job is not suffering because satan was right about him in this, but there is deeper thing taking place.
Job went through one of the most difficult seasons i think recorded in the bible. The use of this preexisting material very cleverly placed the problem outside of palestine, thereby excluding the possible objection of orthodox theology that such a casea perfectly righteous man persecuted by yhwh. Habel has contributed a small but helpful study for preaching the whole book of job. The concept in law of restitution is to put the victim in the place they were before the wrongdoing takes place. According to this position, the answer to jobs dilemma is found in religious. There was a man in the land of uz, whose name was job. Job s suffering did not come because he was bad but rather because of his unwavering faithfulness to god. In one place the talmud says that moses wrote his own book, and the passages about balaam and job. This tent of god is, of course, not a piece of camping equipment or ancient desert dwelling. Job had 10 children who appear to be adults at the time his suffering began. The book of job is among the other old testament books both a philosophical riddle and a historical riddle. Job 1 kjv there was a man in the land of uz, bible gateway. Jacques bolduc suggested in his commentary of 1637 that the book of job may have been authored in a secondary way by moses who found it in its original aramaic form and translated it into hebrew 2. The book of job rabbi yitzchak breitowitz duration.
Job free bible commentary in easy english easyenglish bible. The point of the book of job is to teach us that the mystery of evil is a mystery of a wartorn and unfathomably complex creation, not the mystery of gods allcontrolling will. The book of job is one of the most problematic portions of the bible and has called forth a variety of interpretations. Read commentary on this popular bible verse and understand the real. In the old testament, the term secret place comes from the hebrew root word cether. The book of job seems to change dramatic focus from the earth to a place in heaven. The hymn does not place any emphasis on retributive justice, stressing. It is a beautifully written work, combining two literary forms, framing forty chapters of verse between two and a half chapters of prose at the beginning and the end.
It is found in the third section of the biblical canon known as the ketuvim writings. The book of job is the first document in history to take seriously the question of why really bad things happen to really good people. They expose their lives to many dangers and unnecessary pain and suffering. It has been widely praised for its literary qualities, with alfred lord tennyson calling it the greatest poem of ancient and modern times. The prose prologue chapters one and two and the epilogue 42. They think his questions are crafty and lack an appropriate fear of god, and they use many analogies and metaphors to stress their ongoing point that nothing good comes of wickedness. At its beginning, job seems to be a book about human suffering.
There is an incredible amount of information written within the book of job. The book of job is a very tough book of the bible to understand using just the reasoning found within your human mind. The age of job, who lived to be about 200 years old, would place him at the time of abraham, who lived to be 175 years old. It should be kept in mind that job is not the author. Some translations use the word shelter, covering, or dwelling rather than secret place. The book of job is one of the literary masterpieces of all time, and provides a profound discussion on the suffering of a just man. In the books of samuel, david is a young shepherd who gains fame first as a musician and later by killing the enemy champion goliath. The books theme is the eternal problem of unmerited suffering, and it is named after its central character, job, who attempts to understand the sufferings that engulf him. He becomes a favorite of king saul and a close friend of sauls son jonathan. This is the word cether in hebrew and refers to a place to hide or be concealeda secret place. God will protect those who want to know him better and on a deeper level. This would make the total life of job around 200 years old.
The most likely candidates are job, elihu, moses, and solomon. In the midst of suffering, we must never lose our hope in god. If you have not read this series from the beginning, i would highly recommend that you go back and start with part 1. The second explanation of suffering mentioned above is clearly taught in the nt. Introduction to the book of job society of gilbert keith. Misfortune befalls job, and, in three cycles of speeches, his three friends give the explanation. But in the discussion that follows rabbis ascribe the book or job s lifetime to various periods in israels history ranging from the time of the patriarchs to the time of ahasuerus. The point of the book of job is to teach us that the mystery of evil is a mystery of a.
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