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1. A Look at the Book

1. Date and Authorship - unknown

1. Because the author is unknown does not nullify Job’s validity as belonging among sacred writ (cf the epistle of Hebrews)

1. Paul quoted Job in 1 Cor 3:19 & Rom 11:35
2. James 5:11 - James spoke of him as a real person

2. ‘A distinction must be made between the era in which Job lived and the date the events were recorded’ - W. Jackson
3. Events took place in the Patriarchal age:

1. Job functions as a priest for his family - 1:5
2. Job’s longevity is typical of the patriarchs - 42:16
3. the book contains no reference to the law of Moses
4. some fragments of Job written in ancient Hebrew script were found among the Dead Sea scrolls

2. For study purposes, the book may be divided into five sections:

1. Job is tested - ch 1-2
2. Job’s controversy with Bildad, Eliphaz, & Zophar - ch 3-31
3. Elihu’s intervention and justification of God - ch 32-37
4. God speaks to Job (God’s self-justification) - ch 38-41
5. God blesses Job - ch 42

2. Thoughts from the Book

1. Satan’s attack on Job was in fact an attack against God:

1. ‘You are not worthy to be served. Men only serve you b/c it is profitable for them to do so.’
2. Satan cannot attack God directly, so he must try to get us.
3. God allowed Job to suffer b/c he was proud of him:

1. Romans 8:16-18
2. 2 Timothy 3:12
3. 1 Peter 4:12-13
4. Job 23:10

2. All suffering is not subject to objective human analysis. If all of God’s ways could be found out, analyzed and understood, then God would be unworthy of worship.

1. Romans 11:33
2. Job 9:10

3. Scientific foreknowledge in Job

1. Job 26:7
2. Job 38:5 - the precise measurements of the earth

1. the earth’s diameter is 7,926 miles at the equator and 7,899 at the poles.
2. a perfect sphere would pull the waters away from the poles and concentrate it at the equator.

3. Job 38:16:

1. the springs of the sea - fresh water springs are known to exist off the coast of Greece, Italy, Israel, the NE coast, and Australia
2. In search of the depth:

1. average sea depth = 2 ½ miles
2. underwater canyons up to 7 miles deep
3. there are underwater mountain ranges

4. Job 38:19 - the way of light and the place of darkness
5. Job 38:24 - parting of light = prisms
6. Job 38:31 - banding of Pleiades and loosing of Orion

1. Pleiades over 200 stars bound together, although only 7 are visible ot the naked eye
2. the stars of Orion appear to be bound but are actually unassociated

7. Job 38:33 - the dominion of the heavens

1. the sun
2. the moon - controls the tides

4. Job’s "behemoth" - Job 40:15-24

1. "Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee" - v 15
2. Strength in his loins, his force in his belly - v 16
3. Tail like a cedar - v 17
4. Chief of the ways of God - v 19
5. The mountains bring him food - v 20
6. He drinketh up a river, can take Jordan into his mouth - v 23

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