 Job 1 - 42 Questions and Answers |
| Q. Is it possible to get rich and stay humble? | A. Job 1:5 = Yes. Job was rich and had big celebrations on each of his seven sons' birthdays. |
| Q. What is a good way to end a celebration? | A. Job 1:5 = Humbling oneself before God in prayer, remembering that Jesus' sacrifice made it possible. In Job's time, they offered sacrifices to thank God and atone for sins. |
| Q. Should we pray on behalf of our kids, even if they won't pray? | A. Job 1:5 = Yes. Claim them for God to the end! |
| Q. Was it required to offer sacrifices on behalf of one's children's sins? |
A. Job 1:5 = No. Job thought of this one himself. Note: Make traditions in your house that will honor God. |
| Q. Why did God consider Job as the finest man in all the earth? |
A. Job 1:8 = 1) Job had complee integrity 2) Job feared God 3) Job would have nothing to do with evil. |
| Q. Who protects us, our homes and property and makes us rich? | A. Job 1:10 = God does. |
| Q. Why does God make people poor? | A. Job 1:12 = To test their faith. |
| Q. Did God tell Satan to test Job? | A. Job 1:12 = Yes. God told Satan to leave Job alive, but to go ahead and take everything else he loved and owned. |
| Q. In what order did Satan take Job's possessions away? |
A. Job 1:15 = 1) All his animals 2) then his farmhands 3) then his sheep 4) then his shepherds 5) then his camels 6) then his servants 7) then all his children |
| Q. All at once? | A. Job 1:15-19 = In immediate sequence. |
| Q. How did Job react? | A. Job 1:20-22 = With mourning, resolutely praising God. |
| Q. Did that satisfy Satan? | A. Job 2:2 = No. Satan said Job would cave in if he was struck with illness and pain. |
| Q. When this happened, how did Job react? | A. Job 2:10 = Job willingly accepted it, as if it were a good thing. |
| Q. How was Job doing after his 3 friends joined him? |
A. Job 3:1 = In terrible pain and anguish, he cursed himself. Note: Don't ever curse yourself! No matter what problems and pain you face, keep your eyes up! And when you are in the presence of someone suffering, remind them of the hope in Jesus you have and how much God loves them. Don't try to figure out why they suffer, just be an encourager! |
| Q. What was Eliphaz's response? |
A. Job 4:3 = 1) He reminded Job of all the good he did, that he was a good and godly man. 2) 4:17 = Then he questioned God: Who can be good enough for God? 3) 5:7 = People are asking for trouble if they are evil 4) 5:8 = He advised Job to go to God with his dilemma because God is merciful and rescues His own 5) Job should confess the sin causing his distress and God will restore his life. |
| Q. Did Job understand the cause of his own rash words? | A. Job 6:4 = Yes. He was wounded in spirit. |
| Q. What did Job think if Eliphaz's advice? |
A. Job 6:14 = As harsh. He chastised Eliphaz for lacking kindness to a fainting friend and accusing him falsely. Note: Show kindness to those in pain. Never accuse! Be content to know that you can't possibly guess the "why" of what is happening. |
| Q. Should we regard a suffering person's cry of desperation? | A. Job 6:26 = Yes! In modern terminology, this is validating one's feelings. |
| Q. Can one be right with God, yet in severe straits? | A. Job 6:28-29 = Yes! Remember, in the beginning, Job was allowed to be tested for the sake of showing Satan that Job truly loved God first. Maybe your suffering is on display before the angels too! Be more concerned for your behavior in suffering than in the suffering itself. By our actions, we constantly teach others how to react to adverse circumstances. |
| Q. What did Bildad have to say? |
A. Job 8:4 = 1). Bildad also assumed sin was involved. Job's children must have been very evil so they died v.5 = Job should pray and God would restore him. |
| Q. Was the universe identified in Job's time? | A. Job 9:9 = Yes. Constellations were named as we know them today. |
| Q. How did Job feel about approaching God with his problem? |
A. Job 9:14-16 = 1) That God was not approachable to reason with 2) v.15 = If he approached God, it would be only to plead for mercy 3) he was sure he did nothing to upset God. |
| Q. Was Job starting to get confused on the character of God? | A. Job 9:22 = Yes. To Job, at this point, he felt God made no distinction between good and evil; that God was set on hurting him, no matter how hard he tried to be good. |
| Q. How are we concieved in the womb? | A. Job 10:10 = With God's guidance. |
| Q. How disollutioned was Job by now? |
A. Job 10:13 = That, for God, all the wonder of making a new life was to watch it till it made a mistake, then crush it. Note: How awful to feel so condemned! The truth is that God loves us. Whatever happens to us has no sway on God's love for us. |
| Q. How did Zophar see Job's wailing in disollutionment? |
A. Job 11:2 = 1) As a torrent of words 2) As mocking God 3) That God's mysteries are His alone 4) Job should pray 5) confess his sins against God in his wailings 6) God will restore him. |
| Q. What terrible truth did Job state? |
A. Job 12:5 = People who are at ease mock those who are in trouble. Note: In missions, we have to learn this lesson well! Don't be tempted to mock! |
| Q. What did Job still understand rightly about God? | A. Job 12:7 = God is all-powerful and in control of everything. |
| Q. What if you can't think of right words to say on behalf of someone suffering? | A. Job 13:5 = Be quiet! Just listen. |
| Q. Does God appreciate our pursuasive arguments when we exaggerate them or misrepresent God for the sake of proving a point? | A. Job 13:10 = No! Speak the simple truth about God only. He doesn't need your embellishments. |
| Q. Did Job finally ask God if and how he had sinned? | A. Job 13:23 = Yes. But Job continued in all the negative aspects of life, criticizing God at random. |
| Q. How? |
A. Job 14:1 = Job declared erroneously that: 1) People are frail 2) Life is too short 3) life is filled with trouble 4) God is too stern 5) God stares angrily at us 6) Nature is treated better than people because a seedling can bring a new life forth, whereas people die 7) God must be angry with him 8) God destroys peopl's hopes 9) God always overpowers people 10) God disfigures people and sends them away. |
| Q. What did Eliphaz have to say about all these words from Job? |
A. Job 15:2 = Eliphaz told Job that: 1) he spoke foolishly, without the fear of God 2) The wicked are punished. |
| Q. Why was Job frustrated with his friends? | A. Job 16:2 = They were very bad at comforting! |
| Q. What did Job want them to do? |
A. Job 16:5 = 1) Speak in a way that would help him 2) Try to take away his grief. |
| Q. Where did Job turn to then? |
A. Job 16:7 = To God. Job asked how it was that they continued to get away with accusing him. (v.12) He recognized that this torment came out of nowhere. He is very sad. |
| Q. Why? | A. Job 17:20 = Job's friends scorned him and his advocate, God, was far away. |
| Q. What did Job request of God now? | A. Job 17:3 = That God would defend his innocence. That God would make it right again. |
| Q. What did Bildad have to say the second time he spoke? |
A. Job 18:5 = Bildad declared that the wicked perish and are not remembered. Job saw Bildad's words as a direct attack on himself (19:2). Notice that Job was seeing clearer now and the enemy attacked him straight on. |
| Q. What mistakes did Job's friends keep making? | A. Job 19:5 = Using Job's humiliation as evidence of his sin. |
| Q. Job is further disollutioned. How? |
A. Job 19:11 = 1) That God's fury burnewd against him. 2) That he was God's enemy. 3) Truth was mixed up with lies. Note: Yes, Job was humiliated, but not for those reasons! |
| Q. What happened to the rest of Job's relatives? |
A. Job 19:13 = They estranged him when this torment happened. Note: How true this can be! |
| Q. And his other friends? | A. Job 19:13 = They moved away. |
| Q. And the surviving members of his household? | A. Job 19:15 = They forgot him. |
| Q. How? |
A. Job 19:15 = 1) His servant girl treated him as a stranger, 2) his manservant ignored his cries, 3) his breath was foul to his wife, 4) his family repulsed him, 5) children disrespected him. |
| Q. Did Job tell his friends to back off at some point? | A. Job 19:21-22 = Yes. Job felt doubly judged, both by God and them. |
| Q. Why is this wrong? |
A. Job 19:22 = Because his pain and suffering was already a judge! Note: This is so common a problem. The devil and his demons fan the flames of human suffering by rusing mistaken people to doubly judge the ones for whom Jesus died. Our role is comforter. Learn it well! |
| Q. What truth did Job declare? | A. Job 19:25 = "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that He will stand upon the earth at last. And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God! I will see Him for myself. Yes, I will see Him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed with the thought!" |
| Q. What was the cause of Job's friends' tendency to judge him? | A. Job 19:29 = Their attitudes. |
| Q. What did Zophar say the second time? | A. Job 20 = God will punish the wicked. |
| Q. What did Job say next? | A. Job 21 = The wicked do prosper and die honorably too. They declare their rebellion to everyone. God lets it all happen. |
| Q. What did Eliphaz have to say to that this third time he spoke? | A. Job 22 = God judged Job because of his great wickedness. He said Job's wickedness was a huge deception to all humanity, that he believed God was far away and unaware. |
| Q. And Job's response? | A. Job 23 = When God decides to show His face, He will justify him. God is testing him. He will stay innocent until then. God has terrified him. |
| Q. Does Job reflect on anything else? | A. Job 24 = Yes. He goes into detail about the poor folks he's known (and helped) and wonders why God lets them struggle. |
| Q. What did Bildad say his third time around? | A. Job 25 = He suggested to Job that he maybe shouldn't consider himself righteous before God, that maybe they didn't really know what it meant to be righteous. |
| Q. What did Job have to say to that? |
A. Job 26 = God's power is immeasurable. Don't try to second-guess Him in anything. 2) Chapter 27 = The wicked are doomed 3) Chapter 28 = Wisdom cannot be found on earth. 4) Destruction and death start rumors of where wisdom can be found, but only God knows where wisdom is. He found it, measured it, established it and examined it. For humanity, wisdom is "The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding." |
| Q. Is lightning random? | A. Job 28:26 = No. God prepares a path for lightning. |
| Q. Does Job reflect on the good life he once had? |
A. Job 29:2 = Yes. He missed God's guidance, his children, his cattle, his place of honor at the city gate, the respect of children and old men and princes and political leaders. He missed his reputation for taking care of the poor. He looked forward to an honorable old age. He missed being valued for his counsel. Note: What a man! What a mentor! These are all the things that make for a happy life. Do you want these things? |
| Q. Now where did dispair take Job? | A. Job 30:16 = Depression, feeling abandoned by God. He felt that God was cruel, persecuting him with great power. |
| Q. What were Job's final words to his friends? | A. Job 31 = He thought of every possible sin or wrong he might have done and denied having indulged in anything. |
| Q. There was a fourth friend who kept silent until Job finished and his other friends were finished as well. Who was he? | A. Job 32:2 = Elihu, a young man. |
| Q. What were his thoughts? |
A. Job 33 = 1) He corrected Job's statements that God was ignoring him 2) He told Job that he spoke rebellion and blasphemy against God. Job sinned with his words during this time and only this time. 3) 35:14 = God's justice would come in God's time. It was vain to protest. 4) 36:21 = Elihu thought Job was backsliding and that was the reason he was suffering. |
| Q. What is the proper attitude Elihu told Job to have? | A. Job 36:23-24 = Stop telling God what to do and just praise Him, glorify His mighty works, singing songs of praise. v26 = God is exalted beyond what we can understand. |
| Q. How did Elihu see God? |
A. Job 37 = Elihu was overwhelmed with God's presence in everything. Note: Read God's word slowly, ponder every passage of scripture and be overwhelmed with Elihu of God's presence in everything! |
| Q. Did Elihu want Job to see God this way too? | A. Job 37:14 = Yes. |
| Q. What truth did Elihu state? | A. Job 37:23 = "We cannot imagine the ower of the Almighty, yet He is so just and merciful that He does not oppress us. No wonder people everywhere fear Him. People who are truly wise show Him reverence." |
| Q. God finally speaks. How? | A. Job 38-41 = In power (from a whirlwind). God goes into detail about His control over nature, beasts, every characteristic of every animal, wild and tameable. |
| Q. Who does God consider as king of the beasts? | A. Job 41:34 = The crocodile. |
| Q. And Job repented? | A. Job 42:5 = Yes. |
| Q. What did God say to the three older friends? | A. Job 42:7 = God told them their words about Himself were way off. |
| Q. How were they humbled? | A. Job 42:8 = They had to offer sacrifices for their sins while Job prayed for them. |
| Q. When did God restore Job? |
A. Job 42:10 = When he prayed for his friends. Note: Maybe Job should have done this in the beginning! But then, Satan and his angels would not have witnessed this human capacity to love God no matter what! |
| Q. What did Job get in the end? | A. Job 42:12 = Twice as much of everything, plus his daughters were the most beautiful in the world. |
| Q. What famous name did one of Job's new daughter's have? |
A. Job 42:14 = Jemimah. Note: Job's Daughters is a women's club today. |
| Q. How long did Job live after this time of trial? | A. Job 42:16 = 140 years. |
| Q. Was Job left in peace after his trial? | A. Job 42:16-17 = Yes. |
| Q. What lessons can we glean from the Book of Job? |
A. 1) God is always for us and if something is happening to you and you know you are innocent, just pray and wait it out. 2) Too many words said when this sad bring more disollutionment and can make your friends exasperated with you. Only God has the answers. 3) Be content to rest on the knowledge of God you learned from His word. Try to surround yourself with patient folks who know God is merciful and who can give you comforting words and make you laugh. When I was in labor with my daughter, I was in terrible pain. The nurse/midwife I chose was just going on vacation so a substitute was called. I chose my nurse/midwife because she was cool and calm and had a terrific sense of humor. This substitute was more like Job's friends. She couldn't take my pain, my screams (I had back labor which makes one feel like their back is about to break every 30 seconds for many hours), and was offended by my labor. My labor did not progress with her scoldings and intolerance. As it turned out, they found my nurse/midwife and she turned the car around and came home for me. When she walked through the labor room doors, I was in great pain and she calmly looked at me and declared, "Yep, that's what I would say, too," and smiled. My labor moved along after that. She was a gem to the end. All the condemnation was gone and I was allowed to be in pain by my supportive nurse/midwife. The back labor continued for 5 more hours, but was so much more tolerable with her there. I thanked her profusely for her presence there. How much better can you support and comfort your friends in need than what you do now? |