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Preface (Chapters 1-3)The Setting (1:1-12)The book opens with a description of Job. We learn that he had 10 children, 7 sons and 3 daughters (1:2). He was a very wealthy man, with thousands of sheep, camels and other animals, as well as servants (1:3). Job was also a very pious man who would continually offer sacrifices for himself and his children just in case they had sinned against God (1:5). Job's upright character has caught the attention of the Lord, for one day when the Adversary [1] wanders into heaven, God boasts in the righteousness of Job. The Adversary suggests that the only reasons Job is so faithful to God is because of the blessings God has poured out on him. If he were cursed rather than blessed, Job would not be found faithful. God therefore, permits the Adversary to take from Job all those blessings. There is both literary and theological significance to this supernatural wager between God and the Adversary. First, from a literary standpoint, it gives the reader the answer to the debate between Job and his “comforters.” His friends will argue his suffering is a result of some hidden sin in his life. Job, however, will maintain his innocence before God. For Job's friends, the answer to the question, “why do bad things happen to good people,” is that they don't. Instead, if something bad has happened, then that person must not be good. But the preface informs the reader that Job is not some hidden sinner who deserves the suffering he receives. Instead, he it is his very innocence before God [2] which has made him a pawn in some heavenly wager. Job's his suffering is allowed or, more controversially, indirectly caused by God. From a theological standpoint, there are two significant observations that can be made from this interaction between God and the Adversary. First, God is clearly in charge. Satan is not God's equal in any way. Job denies any dualistic understanding of the universe. There is no ying and yang, no good and evil, battling for sovereignty or maintaining balance in the universe. Even the Adversary must come to ask permission of God to afflict his servant Job. This leads to the second observation. If the Adversary must come to God for permission, this affirms God's sovereignty. If, therefore, God is sovereign, then we cannot say that suffering is something that God does not cause or will for us. Suffering is part of God's plan and God allows or even causes suffering for his saints. This is a difficult theological teaching, but one which brings us to the ultimate conclusion of the book. Job's Suffering (1:13-3:26)The Adversary then attacks Job. First he takes away his family and his possessions. When this doesn't evoke the proper response in Job, he then obtains permission from God to afflict Job's health. Job has lost absolutely everything he holds dear. Job's response is not stoic. He doesn't just maintain a stiff upper lip and bear through it. Job grieves mightily. If you have ever experienced the loss of a loved one, or have watched someone who has lost a child to death, the grief and the pain is unbearable. Job has not just lost one child, but ten, and his grief is ten-fold. He tore his robe, shaved his head and grieved (1:20). It is not a sin to grieve and express sorrow, even in the most dynamic of ways. Grief is a natural and righteous response to suffering. Chapter 3 presents the depths of Job's lament. He curses the very day on which he was born (3:1). He maintains that he would be better off is he had been aborted from his mother's womb (3:11, 16). He is afraid, full of dread, and is ill at ease (3:25). Job has not accepted his situation, but is grieving deeply (3:26). Job, however, maintains his faith in God. While it may grieve him, he recognizes that God is sovereign and is deserving of praise even when he takes his family and his wealth from him. Job 1:21: Naked I came from my mother's womb Footnotes
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