Academy of Faith 002: The Book of Job: A Study of Suffering

Presented by: Dr. Bruce Bickel

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• Transcript Lesson 2

The Book of Job

Blessings through Pressure and Pain

Lesson #2

· The Dialogue

· Conversation with Friends – Cycle #1 (3–14)

· Job’s lament (3)

· His cry of grief (3:1-10)

· His cursing turns into questioning (3:11-26)

· Applications and Uses

1). When suffering, people need sympathy not cold diagnosis

2). Asking too many questions of God is not healthy or productive

3). Questions about health and loss of loved ones challenge our faith the most

4). Christianity has always been and will always be the way of the cross

5). Suffering should prompt us to pray

· Eliphaz speaks (4–5) – The Religious Moralist

· Based upon experience

· Based upon private revelation

· Based on orthodox theology

· Job’s response (6–7)

· Anger, bitterness and complaints

· His loss of dignity

· His view of life as futile

· His being unfairly treated

· Bildad speaks (8) – The Religious Legalist

· Based on Tradition

· Based upon appearances

· Based upon cause and effect

· Job’s response (9–10)

· Has lost sense of God’s loving kindness

· Knows it is futile to argue with God because He is sovereign

1). God is incomprehensible

2). God is invisible

3). God is unaccountable

4). God is unrestrainable

6. Zophar speaks (11) – The Religious Dogmatist

· Based on Assumption

· Based on Job’s secret sin

· Based on Job’s serious sin

· Job’s response (12–14)

· God is sovereign

· He wants to talk to God not his friends

· The Three Friends compared and Contrasted

· Eliphaz is the religious moralist

· Bildad is the religious legalist

· Zophar is the religious dogmatist

· Eliphaz is the apologist – the voice of philosophy -

· Bildad is the lecturer – the voice of history

· Zophar is the bigot – the voice of orthodoxy

· Applications and Uses

· They had the view that calamity is always the direct outcome of sin

· They had a far too narrow and rigid view of Providence

· They wanted to prove that goodness and wickedness are always rewarded or punished in this present life

· They did not give a convincing answer to Job

· They all condemn Job