Why is there is a tendency to pull away from when inner struggles become too great?  Why is it that one finds themselves alienated from the very people that they need the most?

 

To oversimplify it seems that this struggle comes from one of two sources, shame or guilt.  I don’t want others to see this mess inside me or I can’t let others know that I have wronged.

 

Pulling away.  Now that’s interesting.  To oversimplify once again pulling away can look like introversion or extroversion.  I’m crawling into my own world and not letting you in or I’m going to do things to you where YOU pull away from me – an neat little trick since it makes it YOUR fault for distancing.

 

All too often what we need are other people that can look us in the face and be honest but we won’t let them get close.  We won’t let them speak the truth, we won’t even let them console us and be there in silence.

 

We pull away perpetrating the isolation.

Huh?  Thought you’d say that.  I sure would have.  Honestly I did not even know it had a name.

 

I’m talking about a cold-headache, ice-cream-headache, or brain-freeze.  Now I guess I can also call it the margarita-headache – the one that comes the night before the morning after.

 

My research tells me these are caused by cold substances touching the roof of the mouth and dilating and return of the blood vessels to normal.  This is sensed by the nerves in the face which sends an unhappy signal to the brain causing pain lasting from seconds to minutes.

 

Lesson learned, drink the margarita even faster to prevent any cold from touching the mouth… On second thought that’s likely not a good option either.

A. How did God view Job?

• v1:1 – “pure and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.”
• v1:8 – “no one like him on the earth, a pure and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil.”
• v1:22 – “In all this Job did not sin, nor did he charge God with moral impropriety.”
• v2:3 – “there is no one like him on the earth, a pure and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil. And he still holds firmly to his integrity”
• v2:10 – “In all this Job did not sin by what he said.”

Q: Describe the emotion which best describes what God has to say about Job.

B. What do Job’s actions say about him and his character? (cf. 1:20-21; 2:8)

Q: How would you describe Job’s character when life’s a breeze?
Q: How do you do when life is all peaches and cream?
      How about when it gets hard?
Q: Have you had times when it seems as if the world is falling down around you?
1. Job’s reaction to the 1st test (v1:20)
   • “got up” – why was he down?
   • “tore his robe” – time of mourning: to signify a torn heart (cf, Joel 2:12-13)  Outer garment was commonly what was torn.
     Keriah – A torn garment must be worn throughout the mourning period.  The garment may not be worn again. It may not be mended; this symbolizes that the deceased will always be missed and cannot return to life. It may not be stripped for parts (such as buttons); this is considered disrespectful.
   • “shaved his head” – In mourning one normally put off every adornment that enhanced or embellished a person, including that which nature provided  (cf. Jeremiah 7:29, Micah 1:16)
   • “threw himself to the ground” – lit. “to prostrate oneself, to cause oneself to be low to the ground”  Worship may be more than is indicated, esp. considering Job’s state as seen in his discourse.

2. Job’s reaction to the 2nd test (v2:8) – “..took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.”
   “ashes” = most likely dunghill or town dump outside the city where trash from the city was dumped and periodically burned

The nature of his health:

• Job 7:4 – “When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’ The night drags on, and I toss till dawn.“
• Job 7:5 – “My body is clothed with worms and scabs, my skin is broken and festering.”
  
  *some statements of dialog are metaphorical may or may not be taken literally (e.g. I’ve got butterflies in my stomach; Ants in my pants )
• Job 19:19-20 – “All my intimate friends detest me; those I love have turned against me.  I am nothing but skin and bones; I have escaped with only the skin of my teeth.“
• Job 30:27-30 – “The churning inside me never stops; days of suffering confront me.   I go about blackened, but not by the sun; I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.  I have become a brother of jackals, a companion of owls.  My skin grows black and peels; my body burns with fever.“
• Job 19:17 – “My breath is offensive to my wife; I am loathsome to my own brothers.“

Q: How do you react when things are not going well?

JOB’S FAITH WAS PUT TO THE ULTIMATE TEST. DID HE REALLY BELIEVE WHAT HE THOUGHT HE (AND OTHERS THOUGHT) BELIEVED?

C. Job’s wife’s reaction (cf 2:9-10)

Targum (Aramaic version of Hebrew Bible) calls Job’s wife Dinah

Q: What did Job’s wife think about what had happened?
Q: She was under Job’s umbrella of protection, how did these events affect her?
Job’s wife may be the last attempt of Satan to tempt Job.  Do you think she may have been spared for this purpose, or was she an “oversight” in Satan’s attempt to discredit God?

Septuagint (LXX) (Greek version of Hebrew Bible):

8 And he took a potsherd to scrape away the discharge, and sat upon a dung-heap outside the city.

9 And when much time had passed, his wife said to him, How long wilt thou hold out, saying, Behold, I wait yet a little while, expecting the hope of my deliverance? for, behold, thy memorial is abolished from the earth, even thy sons and daughters, the pangs and pains of my womb which I bore in vain with sorrows; and thou thyself sittest down to spend the nights in the open air among the corruption of worms, and I am a wanderer and a servant from place to place and house to house, waiting for the setting of the sun, that I may rest from my labours and my pangs which now beset me: but say some word against the Lord, and die.

10 But he looked on her, and said to her, Thou hast spoken like one of the foolish women. If we have received good things of the hand of the Lord, shall we not endure evil things?

“Curse God and die, (lit. “Bless God and die”) *Bless is same verb as v1:5
Q: What did she mean?

• writer may have not wanted to put the words “curse God” together so the euphemism “bless God” was written
• in context of v1:5 bless makes sense, but could v2:9 be mis-translated as curse?
  but is this the correct translation here?

Q: Does Job’s wife get a bad rap?  (see Job’s wife by Bill Long)

Did she say:

“Just go ahead and spite God to His face, he’ll strike you down and your misery will be done?”
Or
“God is wanting you to prove your integrity by giving Him glory in the midst of your suffering, so go ahead and praise Him, he’ll acknowledge your devotion and relieve you from the suffering my taking you away?’
 
Q: How does Job view her? Did he accuse her of blasphemy or talking foolishly?
Q: What do you think of Job’s view of good & bad? (is bad punishment from God?)
Jesus acknowledged that sin can cause illness/disease

• John 9:2-3 – “His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.’“
• James 5:14-16a  - “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.“

Q: Why didn’t Job see his suffering as punishment?
Q: Do you think God would punish us and us not know we’re being punished?
Q: Job says “We” receive vs. “I”, what could this mean and why does he respond to his wife this way?

D. Job’s friends arrive and react (cf 2:11-13)

Job was already in mourning when friends arrived.
Q: Would good friends have began travel as soon as the news or wait until final catastrophe?
Use this to help determine amount of time to pass between test # 1 and test # 2 (note “On another day,” in v2:1)
Also, would Satan have put much time between these events for maximum impact?
What are Job’s friends intentions?
 
Friends did not recognize him! (cf 2:12)
Q: What happened in their hearts?
Mourning practices (sitting shiva):
• In ancient Israel tearing a garment (overcoat) & sprinkling dust on the head was considered as a sign of mourning for GREAT loss.  Mourning rites functioned as a means for the living to identify with the dead – burial & decay
• In Judaism, shiva (Hebrew: “seven”) is the week-long period of grief and mourning for the seven first-degree relatives: father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, and spouse. (Grandparents and grandchildren are not included). As most regular activity is interrupted, the process of following the shiva ritual is referred to as “sitting” shiva.
• The mourners do not bathe or shower for pleasure, do not wear leather shoes and/or jewelry, men do not shave, and in many communities mourners keep any household mirrors covered. The prohibition of bathing includes bathing or showering the whole body, or using hot water. It is permitted to wash separately various parts of the body in cool water. Marital relations and Torah study are not permitted. It is customary for the mourners to sit on low stools, or even the floor, symbolic of the emotional reality of being “brought low” by the grief.
• Visiting a shiva home:
  • It is considered a great mitzvah (literally “commandment” but more often meaning “good deed”) of kindness and compassion to pay a home visit to the mourners. Traditionally, no greetings are exchanged and visitors wait for the mourners to initiate conversation. Once engaged in conversation by the mourners, it is appropriate for visitors to talk about the deceased, sharing stories of his or her life.  The purpose of visiting a mourner is to comfort the mourner. Visitors have an obligation to remain silent unless the mourner initiates conversation. The mourner is allowed to remain silent, and if so, this shall be respected by the visitors. Any conversation that does take place shall typically be about the deceased.
  • It is a mitzvah for visitors to bring prepared food to the mourner that the mourner is able to eat. The mourner is not expected or obligated to serve food to the visitors. Visitors may only eat if offered food by the mourner.

How would you react if you were in Job’s shoes?  His wife’s slippers?  Or the sandals of intimate friends?

The book of Job provides us with many insights on a variety of issues including suffering, justice, compassion and the sovereignty of God.  It also gives us a more complete glimpse of heaven and spiritual warfare than seen anywhere else in scripture.

 

I would be remiss if I did not state that the book also opens up many more questions as we dive in.  Be prepared.  Be prepared for many questions that cannot be answered.  Be prepared for a better understanding of things greater than ourselves in this universe.

 

There is much speculation regarding Job, the man and the book.  When did he live?  Did he live?  When was the book written?  By whom?  We will attempt to address these as best we can without being dogmatic about speculation.

 

This is a difficult book for translators as some words and phrases are simply unknown.  As much as possible I will not base this study on the unknowable except to make reasonable assumptions from what we do know.  One of the basic principles of biblical interpretation is to use scripture to interpret scripture.  When there is a question I will search out the scriptures to provide the answer.  This is the only source I can be certain contains truth rather than theories based upon theories based upon theories.

 

As should be the purpose of any Bible study, we will attempt to understand what is happening in the context of the time and place, then draw truths out for our use today.  After all, isn’t that what it’s all about?  Not knowledge for the sake of knowledge but knowledge for the purpose of developing an more intimate relationship with God himself.  It’s all about relationship.  The Bible from cover to cover is about God revealing Himself to mankind.  Our only logical response to this revelation is to adjust our lives to His revelation of who He is.

 

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And that man was pure and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. Seven sons and three daughters were born to him. His possessions included 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys; in addition he had a very great household. Thus he was the greatest of all the people in the east. Now his sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one in turn, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. When the days of their feasting were finished, Job would send for them and sanctify them; he would get up early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s customary practice.
Job 1:1-5 – New English Translation (NET)

 

A. Was Job real or mythical?

 

B. When was Job written? And by whom?

 

C. When did Job live? How long did he live?  How old was he when these events occurred?

Various clues from within book seem to indicate Job lived sometime after the flood, but long before the time of Moses.

 

D. Where did Job live?

Evidence points to northern Arabia

 

E. How wealthy was Job?

He was the greatest man of all the people of the east.  The encompasses more than physical wealth.  It also include influence.

 

F. What were his religious beliefs?

Job was blameless & upright.  (v1:1, 5, 22, 2:10, 42:7-9)

Was he perfect?  No.  Did he seek God and to make all things right?  Yes.

 

G. What do we know of his children?

They appear to be seeking God as well.

 

I just realized this morning that it has been 25 years in which I have worn my seat belt religiously.  I do not remember the day or month but I do remember that it was the occasion of my first brand new car.  The states were beginning to institute seat belt laws and I wore my reluctantly and occasionally in South Carolina where I was stationed.  In 1984 I bought my first brand new car.  A 1984 Nissan 200SX.  The car talked!  It was silver, auto antenna and this young guys dream.  I decided that day that “as a driver AND passenger” I would wear my seat belt.  Up to that point passenger seat belt wearing was a lot of arm twisting.

 

Somewhere along the way I grew accustomed to the old seat belt and what felt like an oppressive, restrictive regulation not fitting for the U.S. Of A. Was now my covering.  Since that time I have driving as far as across a parking lot without remembering my seat belt and felt uncomfortably naked until I realized (to my horror!) that I forgot this safety device that the younger generation will never know the freedom of never knowing.

 

Although I would not go back, I do recall with glee how quickly I used to be able to get in the car and go!  Or so it seemed, without all the “hassle” of buckling in.  It seemed an eternity added to every trip.

 

Those were the days.