The Book Of Job
“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” Proverbs 19:21
Objective Of The Lesson
God is sovereign. Nothing happens without His permission.
Big Picture Question
Who is in control of everything? God is in control of everything. He is sovereign and all-powerful.
Study the Scripture passages diligently and carefully. Ask God to make them real in your own life and pray for the children in your class.
- Who is in control of everything?
- Does God ever loose control?
- Does God know about everything that happens?
Through the story of Job we learn two important lessons. God’s purposes are not always known to man, but we can trust that He can do no wrong. The story of Job also shows us God’s sovereignty and that nothing happens without His permission.
“Many years ago, a man named Job lived in the land of Uz. He was a truly good person, who respected God and refused to do evil.” Job 1:1
Right away we are presented with the main character of the story.
Scripture takes a different approach than the world when it comes to describing what makes a man important. The world looks to physical or monetary possessions. God looks to the heart. The most important thing about man needs to be his character.
In this verse God describes Job as righteous and blameless. Job feared God and lived a life of obedience. Job is described very similarly as to how the Bible describes Noah.
This does not mean that Job is sinless. No one besides Christ is sinless. Job knew he was sinful, but he didn’t give himself to a life of sin. He hated his sin and would always
seek God’s forgiveness.
“Job had seven sons and three daughters. He owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred pair of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and a large number of servants. He was the richest person in the East.” Job 1:2-3
Job not only had a large family, but he was financially secure.
Again, make an emphasize with your kids on the lack of importance that Scripture gives to being rich. Job’s wealth came second to his character. The most voluble thing that Job had was his character.
Job was a wealthy man. He was the richest man in the East. Ask your kids what comes to their mind when they hear that someone is rich. We measure how wealthy someone is now a days by how many cars they have, their mansions, if they own a jet or by how many millions of dollars they make a year. In Job’s time a man was wealthy if he had a lot of livestock. Livestock was not only used for food, but for labor, clothes and in the case of camels, trade. The more you had the wealthier you were.
Job was well of financially, but again this came second to his character.
“One day, when the angels had gathered around the Lord, and Satan was there with them, the Lord asked, “Satan, where have you been?” Satan replied, “I have been going all over the earth.” Job 1:6-7
The scene now changes. Scripture presents us with God surrounded by His angels and who happens to stop by, but satan.
Satan has access, granted by God, to His presence. But he is not a permanent resident of heaven nor will he ever be. He was kicked out of heaven for disobeying God and one day he will be punished for eternity.
God asks satan a question. Where had he been? God already knew the answer. God is omniscient and omnipresent. He wanted the devil to tell Him himself where he had been.
“Then the Lord asked, “What do you think of my servant Job? No one on earth is like him—he is a truly good person, who respects me and refuses to do evil.” “Why shouldn’t he respect you?” Satan remarked. “You are like a wall protecting not only him, but his entire family and all his property. You make him successful in whatever he does, and his flocks and herds are everywhere. Try taking away everything he owns, and he will curse you to your face.” Job 1:8-11
Who does God bring up in conversation? He brings up His servant Job.
God describes Job as God fearing, blameless and faithful.
Does satan agree with God?
No he does not. Satan tells God that the only reason that Job fears God is because God protects Job and his possessions. That the only reason that Job loves God is because God has made him rich.
Then he tells God that if He were to take everything away from Job, that Job would curse God to His face and turn his back on God.
“The Lord replied, “All right, Satan, do what you want with anything that belongs to him, but don’t harm Job.” Then Satan left.” Job 1:12
God agrees to give the devil control over all of Job’s possessions, he just could not harm Job physically.
This verse shows us God’s sovereignty. Nothing happens without God knowing about it and allowing it to happen. The devil is not equal to God, not even in power or authority. He cannot do a single thing without God’s authority.
So with God’s authority he sets off to prove God wrong.
Before going any further its important to go over two things with your kids:
1. Job was not being punished because of sin. The Bible does tell us that God disciplines His children because of sin and Job is even accused of sin, but this is not the reason he will be tested.
2. Neither money or faith keeps us from going through tribulations. Job had both, but he was still tested. God never promises His children that everything will go perfect
in their lives. But as says Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God…”
“Job’s sons and daughters were having a feast in the home of his oldest son, when someone rushed up to Job and said, “While your servants were plowing with your oxen, and your donkeys were nearby eating grass, a gang of Sabeans attacked and stole the oxen and donkeys! Your other servants were killed, and I was the only one who escaped to tell you.” Job 1:13-15
In the middle of a happy occasion satan decides to act.
Satan causes the Sabean’s to attack Job’s herds of oxen and donkeys. They killed all of his servants except for the one messenger.
Satan is going after Job’s wealth.
“That servant was still speaking, when a second one came running up and saying, “God sent down a fire that killed your sheep and your servants. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.” Job 1:16
That servant was still speaking when a second arrived bearing bad news.
The devil killed off Job’s flock of sheep and the servants guarding the sheep with lightning.
And who got the blame? The servant assumed that God was responsible for the lightning, but it was really the devils doing.
“Before that servant finished speaking, a third one raced up and said, “Three gangs of Chaldeans attacked and stole your camels! All of your other servants were killed, and I am the only one who escaped to tell you.” Job 1:17
A third servant approached with even more bad news.
The Chaldeans had taken all of his camels and killed off his servants.
As we can see the devil is not prolonging his attacks. Job is receiving one bad news after another in a short period.
“That servant was still speaking, when a fourth one dashed up and said, “Your children were having a feast and drinking wine at the home of your oldest son, when suddenly a windstorm from the desert blew the house down, crushing all of your children. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.” Job 1:18-19
Satan has now gone after Job’s children.
A whirlwind or tornado destroyed the house with his children still inside. No one survived except the fourth messenger.
“When Job heard this, he tore his clothes and shaved his head because of his great sorrow. He knelt on the ground, then worshiped God and said: “We bring nothing at birth; we take nothing with us at death. The Lord alone gives and takes. Praise the name of the Lord!” In spite of everything, Job did not sin or accuse God of doing wrong.” Job 1:20-22
When he heard of the death of his children he could not control his emotions. Job physically showed his grief by shaving his head and tearing his clothes up. He could
take the loss of his physical possessions, but he was terribly saddened by the news of the death of his children.
Satan had told God that Job would curse Him to His face if He took away all of his possessions. Is that what happened?
No. Job did not curse God. He knelt on the ground and worshipped God. “In spite of everything, Job did not sin or accuse God of doing wrong.”
Job acknowledged God’s sovereignty and His providing. We come into the world without a thing and we leave the same way. Job knew that everything that he had was
not his. It was given to him by God. God gives and God can take away.
Instead of cursing God he thanked Him for what He had given Job and the time he had spent with his children.
The devil did not get the outcome he was hoping for.
“When the angels gathered around the LORD again, Satan was there with them, and the LORD asked, “Satan, where have you been?” Satan replied, “I have been going all over the earth.” Then the LORD asked, “What do you think of my servant Job? No one
on earth is like him—he is a truly good person, who respects me and refuses to do evil. And he hasn’t changed, even though you persuaded me to destroy him for no reason.” Job 2:1-3
Again the angels and satan gathered around God.
Again God asked satan where he had been. God new that satan had been working against Job and again God bring up Job’s faithfulness.
God tells satan that Job had not cursed Him to His face even though satan took all of Job’s physical possessions, including his family.
“Satan answered, “There’s no pain like your own. People will do anything to stay alive. Try striking Job’s own body with pain, and he will curse you to your face.” “All right!” the LORD replied. “Make Job suffer as much as you want, but just don’t kill him.” Job 2:4-6
Satan, living up to his role as the adversary, does not give up his efforts against God and Job.
Satan tells God that all He has to do is harm Job physically and Job will curse God and turn his back on Him. Satan believed that everyone would give up everything they
owned if it meant they would live or have physical protection.
God gives satan permission to afflict Job physically, but he could not touch Job’s life.
“Satan left and caused painful sores to break out all over Job’s body—from head to toe. Then Job sat on the ash-heap to show his sorrow. And while he was scraping his sores with a broken piece of pottery, his wife asked, “Why do you still trust God? Why don’t you curse him and die?” Job replied, “Don’t talk like a fool! If we accept blessings from God, we must accept trouble as well.” In all that happened, Job never once said anything against God.” Job 2:7-10
Satan did not waist a minute. He immediately left and struck Job, head to toe, with painful sores and boils.
Having nothing left Job sat on the outskirts of the city on a pile of ashes and picked at his sores with a piece of pottery.
Through all this, Job’s faith remained strong in the confusion.
The same could not be said for Job’s wife. His wife could not accuse him of insincerity as satan had. Her argument in effect was “let go of your piety and curse God; then He will end your life for blaspheming”. In her mind death would be preferable to living under Job’s conditions. She added temptation to affliction because she advised him to sin.
Job does not listen to his wife. Instead he rebukes her for her foolish words.
Job never accused God of doing wrong.
“Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuah, and Zophar from Naamah were three of Job’s friends, and they heard about his troubles. So they agreed to visit Job and comfort him. When they came near enough to see Job, they could hardly recognize him. And in their great sorrow, they tore their clothes, then sprinkled dust on their heads and cried bitterly. For seven days and nights, they sat silently on the ground beside him, because they realized what terrible pain he was in.” Job 2:11-13
Job’s friends hearing of his great loss, came to comfort their friend.
They were full of sadness themselves because each day they could see the grief of their friend growing. They stayed silent for a whole week.
This whole section is a dramatic poem of speeches attempting to understand Job’s suffering.
After seven days Job’s friends go from consoling him to accusing him. In their minds
Job had to have sinned against God. That would explain all of Job’s suffering.
Job defends himself against his friends. He tells them that he is not sure why all these bad things are happening to him, but he knows that it is not because he sinned against God.
Job does start to question God’s judgment and he starts whining over his situation. He starts questioning why these things have happened to him. He wanders what he did to make God act the way He did against him.
Although he questions why God would allow these things to happen to Him, he doesn’t accuse God of doing wrong or turn his back on Him.
God appears before Job and rebukes Job for not trusting in His sovereignty. He continually interrogates him, showing him that he is incomparable to God Himself.
That he does not know the thoughts of God and that God is creator and ruler over all things and thus has the authority to do with them as He wishes.
This drives Job to humbly say “No one can oppose you, because you have the power to do what you want. You asked why I talk so much when I know so little. I have talked about things that are far beyond my understanding.” Job repented for not fully trusting in God’s sovereignty.
“The LORD said to Eliphaz: What my servant Job has said about me is true, but I am angry at you and your two friends for not telling the truth. So I want you to go over to Job and offer seven bulls and seven goats on an altar as a sacrifice to please me. After this, Job will pray, and I will agree not to punish you for your foolishness. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar obeyed the Lord, and he answered Job’s prayer.” Job 42:7-9
God directly vindicated Job by saying that Job had spoken right about God in rejecting the error of his friends. They are then rebuked for those misrepresentations of
insensitivity and arrogance. This does not mean that everything they said was incorrect, but they had made wrong statements about the character and works of God,
and also had raised erroneous allegations against Job.
As God had been gracious to Job, so He was to Job’s friends, by means of sacrifice and prayer.
“After Job had prayed for his three friends, the LORD made Job twice as rich as he had been before. Then Job gave a feast for his brothers and sisters and for his old friends. They expressed their sorrow for the suffering the LORD had brought on him, and they each gave Job some silver and a gold ring. The LORD now blessed Job more than ever; he gave him fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand pair of oxen, and a thousand donkeys. In addition to seven sons, Job had three daughters, whose
names were Jemimah, Keziah, and Keren Happuch. They were the most beautiful women in that part of the world, and Job gave them shares of his property, along with their brothers. Job lived for another one hundred forty years—long enough to see his great-grandchildren have children of their own— 17 and when he finally died, he was very old.” Job 42:10-17
God restored Job. God restored Job’s wealth to him, even though Job never asked for it. Job’s agony was always more rooted in the more spiritual aspects of his crisis, much more than the material. Yet once the spiritual was resolved, God restored the material.
God also restored Job’s family. God blessed Job with seven sons and three daughters.
Job’s life ended long and blessed. He was well rewarded as a warrior who won a great battle for God’s glory.
Although Job never understood why he went through his tribulations, he never turned his back on God or cursed Him to His face.
Ask your kids, who is in control of everything? God is in control of everything. He is sovereign and all-powerful.
Ask them the following review questions:
- How did God describe Job?
- What did the devil say would happen if God took away all of Job’s possessions?
- Did that happen? What did Job do instead?
- What did the devil say would happen if God harmed Job physically?
- Did Job curse God to His face?
- What did Job’s wife tell him to do? What was his response?
- Who went to comfort Job?
- What did Job’s friends accuse him of doing?
- Does Job start to question Gods actions? Does he turn his back on God?
- How did God bless Job for staying faithful?
- Who is in control of everything?
- Does God ever loose control?
- Does God know about everything that happens?
Finally take some time to memorize the memory verse.