The Book of Job: Learning to Grow Through Difficult Times

By Rev. Dr. Shirley Ann Browne

The purpose of this writing is to journey through this book verse by verse and to demonstrate God’s sovereignty and to understand by example of a man named Job, the meaning of true faith.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 26, 2023
• ISBN: 9781669873792

Book preview

CONTENTS

Dedication

Foreword

Introduction To The Book Of Job

Afterword

Chapter 1     The First Test of Job

Chapter 2     The Second Test of Job

Chapter 3     Job’s First Speech

Chapter 4     First Response to Job from Eliphaz

Chapter 5     First Response to Job from Eliphaz

Chapter 6     Job Responds to Eliphaz

Chapter 7     Job Responds to Eliphaz

Chapter 8     Bildad’s Response to Job

Chapter 9     Job’s Response to Bildad

Chapter 10   Job Formulates His Plea to God

Chapter 11   First Response to Job from Zophar

Chapter 12   Job Responds to Zophar

Chapter 13   Job Wants to Present His Case to God

Chapter 14   Job Wants to Present His Case to God

Chapter 15   Second Response to Job from Eliphaz

Chapter 16   Job’s Responds to Eliphaz

Chapter 17   Job Defends His Innocence

Chapter 18   Second Response to Job from Bildad

Chapter 19   Job’s Response to Bildad

Chapter 20   Second Response to Job from Zophar

Chapter 21   Job’s Response to Zophar

Chapter 22   Third Response to Job from Eliphaz

Chapter 23   Job’s Responds to Eliphaz

Chapter 24   Job Wants to Know Why Wicked People Are Not Punished

Chapter 25   Bildad’s Response to Job

Chapter 26   Job’s Response to Bildad

Chapter 27   Job Gives His Final Response

Chapter 28   Job’s Wisdom and Understanding Is Shared

Chapter 29   Job Talks About His Former Blessings

Chapter 30   Job Talks About His Former Blessings

Chapter 31   Job’s Final Objection of His Innocence

Chapter 32   Elihu’s Reply to Job’s Friends

Chapter 33   Elihu Gives His Opinion About Job

Chapter 34   Elihu Implies That Job Is Arrogant

Chapter 35   Elihu Speaks of God’s Justice

Chapter 36   Elihu Speaks of God’s Justice

Chapter 37   Elihu Speaks of God’s Justice

Chapter 38   The Lord Confronts Job

Chapter 39   The Lord Confronts Job

Chapter 40   The Lord Confronts Job

Chapter 41   The Lord Confronts Job

Chapter 42   Job’s Response to The Lord

The Author

DEDICATION

I prayed and thanked God for this wonderful assignment. This Book is dedicated to my supportive, brilliant, and loving husband Jon Alton Browne, who has been patient with me and encouraging me during my research and writing time for this assignment from God. I am extremely thankful and grateful for the inspiration I received from my children, family members, extended family members and friends. Words could never describe how much love I give and receive from my Heartbeats: My Son, Rickey Bailey II, Daughter-In-Love, Charlotte Denise Bailey, my Daughter, Andria Nicole Wade, Son-In-Love, Chamar Franklin Wade, and my Son, Jon Alton Browne II, and my Daughter-In-Love, Amaris LaShante Browne. Grand Children, Rickey Bailey III, Kira Simone Bailey, and Cyrah Nicole Wade.

Psalm 37:25 KJV ~ I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. We can trust God today, tomorrow and everyday because He is faithful. I have gone through rough times in my life and it is because of God’s faithfulness that allows me to be at peace and live a happy life.

FOREWORD

I am a Christian, an Ambassador for Christ, Ordained

Minister of the Gospel, wife, mother, grandmother, friend,

and confidant, while ministering to those who have suffered.

I present myself as a loving, genuine, and caring woman of

God. This book is written based on the guidance of the Holy

Spirit and Biblical facts. I thank God for this assignment.

My Scriptural foundation for this writing is, Job 13:15

KJV ~ "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but

I will maintain mine own ways before him."

I believe in Biblical Literacy, which is simply the acquisition and accumulation of facts about and contained in the Bible, and the ability to recall those facts immediately. Also, we should have the ability to read the Bible with sufficient understanding so that we can explain its basic meaning to others, having sufficient knowledge and skills to use resources that enable us to discern the basic meaning of a biblical text. This includes the ability to apply God’s Word to our daily walk with the Lord. In other words, by studying the Bible, we should be able to apply biblical wisdom to contemporary life, because this is how we live an abundant life that was promised by God. The Term "abundant life’ is explained in the Bible in John 10:10, The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. The abundant life that the Lord wants us to enjoy refers to a life in its fullness of joy and strength for spirit, body, and soul. I pray that the readers of this book will from the moment of completion of reading this book will be Bible literate (Book of Job). My motto is, Read Gods Word, Study God’s Word, Live God’s Word and Share God’s Word.

It is my belief that we should all have what I call a Whole Bible Concept. We can all read the Bible, but the more literate we are about the Word of God, the more we understand what we are reading, and by reading the Bible we can extract from what we are reading and apply it to our daily lives in various situations. Context and history are of the utmost importance when reading and studying the Bible.

I want everyone reading these Scriptures and Dr. B. notes to be able to walk daily in Biblical Literacy, understand fully what I have received from the Lord and written in this book because it is my assignment from God to Read His Word, Study His Word, Live His Word, and Share His Word. Out of my obedience to God, I have completed this assignment. At the completion of this reading, my prayer is that this Book of the Bible will be clearly understood by its readers, and you can apply what you have read to your daily walk with the Lord because then, and only then, I have done my job as a Biblical Scholar. Remember to share God’s Word at every opportunity as opportunity presents itself.

1 Peter 4:10-11 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of od; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

It is crucial that we intentionally study the Word of the Lord daily. When we know the Word of God, it cannot be used as a weapon against us, but it can be a weapon for us to use against our enemies. When you become knowledgeable in the Word of God, you become a dangerous threat to the enemy. We must know and live the Word of God because Satan is roaming this earth seeking whom he may devour. 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.

I am very intentional and enthusiastic about Biblical Literacy being our foundation for navigating through this dark and fallen world that we are living in. Bible Literacy is the ability to rightly read and understand the Bible, using the proper tools of study, thereby becoming well acquainted with the Bible’s character (innate qualities) and content.

We need Biblical understanding of Scripture, so we will not be intimidated by non-Believers who have no real knowledge of the Bible’s teachings. For Christians, the main motivation for literacy may be their desire to read God’s word.

Jesus was literate and we can read about that in Luke 4:16-21. My prayer is that I can assist by equipping every person reading this wonderful book of the Bible to go deeper into the Word of God (pray, search out context, define words, use different translations, be patient with yourself, etc.), and I also pray that we live our lives beyond religious titles and denominations. We are all created by God in His image. Genesis 1:27 – So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

My prayer is that we will always read and Trust the Word of God, Study the Word of God, Live the Word of God, and Share the Word of God.

2 Timothy 2:15 – Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

NOTE: Begin and conclude each reading period with prayer. Ask God to give you spiritual eyes to see and a heart to receive His word. Stay focused on God’s word so your faith will increase, and you will have a closer walk with the Lord because of the Holy Spirit that is in you.

INTRODUCTION TO

THE BOOK OF JOB

The purpose of this writing is to journey through this book verse by verse and to demonstrate God’s sovereignty and to understand by example of a man named Job, the meaning of true faith. While teaching a Bible Study on the Book of Job, I was in chapter seven and my students were excited and began to request that I give them notes because they wanted to go home and re-read the information that I was sharing with them in class, because they had never studied the book of Job in its entirety. My students were ages 25-92. I thought about their request and began to seek the Lord’s guidance through prayer about what to do with their request. Personally, I take notes whenever I am in the presence of someone speaking, teaching, or preaching God’s word. God revealed to me that I should write the notes and share them with whomever wanted to read, study, and live by God’s Word. I prepared weekly hand-out with the topic of discussion for each week and the class members were incredibly grateful. Because of my obedience to God, I began to write, and I thank God for this assignment I am sharing with the world.

The Book of Job is one of my most favorite books of the Bible and I am humbled, honored and pleased that you are going to journey with me as we travel together verse by verse through the Book of Job. I am so thankful to God for this assignment and for giving me everything that I need to share the truths of this interesting Book of His Written Word, the Bible. I see that there is a plethora of wisdom in this book, and my prayer is that you will also receive the wisdom that I will share with you as we go through this wonderful book of the Bible.

This book falls under the category of the poetical books of the Bible, although the entire book of Job is not a poetic book. Chapters one and two are not poetry, instead, they are a historical introduction of the poem, and the poem begins in chapter three and ends in verse six of chapter forty-two. One of the central themes in this book is, We can be Blessed as we go through our suffering. We will see that we can be blessed through our suffering as we study these Scriptures together. This book of Job answers the age-old question that has been asked by many people for many years, why do Godly people suffer? My prayer is that by the time you conclude the book of Job in this survey, reading Scripture along with my notes, you will know the answer to this question, even though the answer may not be the answer you were expecting. But, since we trust the Word of God, we will believe the answer because it is the answer that God has given to us. The central theme that I have discovered during my study time in this book is, God will show heaven, earth and all of humankind (this includes us) throughout all of the history of the world, that a man, woman or child, can serve God simply out of their love for Him, and righteousness alone will keep a man, woman or child faithful to God, no matter what happens to them in this life. Please keep this central theme in mind as you journey with me through this wonderful book. It is my belief that if you do not pay close attention and breeze through the first two chapters of the book of Job which is the historical introduction, the meaning and the depth within the first two chapter of the book of Job, it will cause you to miss the message in the entire book of Job. If you must, please read it twice, or as many times as you need to read it to understand what is happening as we go along verse by verse. I pray that you do not miss what these first two chapters are revealing. Please know that the first two chapters are extremely critical to our understanding of the remaining chapters of the book of Job. I want to share with you a brief outline and then we will begin our journey through the book of Job, verse-by-verse. It is my prayer that everyone will surrender themselves totally to the Lord.

First, we have the prologue or the introduction in chapters one and two and then we have the dialogue or the conversation between two or more people in chapters three through verse six of chapter forty-two, then the epilogue or the conclusion which closes out the book of Job and that is in verses seven through seventeen of chapter forty-two.

In chapters one and two we get to see Job in his prosperity, in his adversity, and in his devotion during his trials and situations in his life, and then we see Satan and finally, last but not the least, we will see God Himself. It is of the utmost importance that we see in the first two chapters these three principles. The principles are: 1) The Lord, 2) Satan, 3) Job. We will see all the inner workings, behind the scenes and exactly what is going on within these first two chapters with these three principles which are, The Lord, Satan, and Job, before we can understand what is happening throughout the Book of Job. I cannot emphasize this point enough because not many people will grasp the introduction which is essential to understanding the dialogue and epilogue in the Book of Job.

Now, beginning with the dialogue in chapter three through verse six of chapter forty-two, we see in chapter three, Job is beginning to lament his life or his current situation because he is in excruciating pain. Job is going through trials, like none that he has ever encountered in his lifetime. This is very important to know because there are many today who would criticize Job for his complaining and lamenting, and the truth is, none of us have ever been through anything like what Job went through (I don’t say this to diminish our trials or issues, because our trials and issues are real and sometimes unbearable). My prayer is that we will never go through anything like what Job endured, but when we have trials, we will have gotten wisdom from reading this wonderful book of Job to help us in the process of going through whatever we are encountering.

Let us not miss what is happening in these first two (essential) chapters. I do not want anyone to miss the true meaning of this wonderful book. In the dialogue section we have three triads (groups of three connected people), in chapters four through seven. The first triad is between Eliphaz and Job. Eliphaz is the first of Job’s three friends or comforters that will speak to Job concerning his condition. Bildad is the second friend or comforter, and the dialogue with him and Job is in chapters eight through ten. The third friend or comforter is Zophar and the dialogue with him and Job is in chapters eleven through fourteen.

The second triad begins when Eliphaz dialogue with Job in chapters fifteen through seventeen. After Eliphaz, Bildad speaks with Job in chapters eighteen and nineteen. Zophar once again gives his opinion of Job’s condition in chapters twenty and twenty-one.

After Job responds to these friends (comforters), we have the third triad. Eliphaz again speaks to Job with more dialogue in verses twenty-two through twenty-four, and then Bildad takes another turn speaking with Job in verses twenty-five through thirty-one.

Finally, we have a young man by the name of Elihu, and this young man comes on the scene to share his thoughts on what is happening and why these things are happening to Job. We do not know exactly at what point in the conversation Elihu shows up, but he begins to have his say about Job’s situation, giving the impression that he knows what is going on (which he does not know). One of the truths that we will soon discover is that not one of these men, Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar nor Elihu, knew what was going on with Job to cause him to be in the condition that he was in.

We probably all have friends like these men who have solutions to our issues without having all the facts about our issues or situations.

Throughout this Book of Job, we will see that only God and Satan knew what was really going on with Job. At the conclusion of all conversations among these men, God will speak and that is how this Book of Job ends. After all the speculations, God speaks and sets the record straight just as He does in our life situations. God speaks and shares with us how we should look at this wonderful life that He has given to us. Remember, God does speak to us, but we do not always listen because we sometimes try to solve our own issues in our own strength. God is the one who gives permission for everything to happen in our lives, and things do not happen because we make them happen. I want to give you New Testament Scripture to support this fact in the Word of God. I suggest you look in the Bible in the book of James, verse eleven in chapter five. The Word of God says, Behold we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. We give honor to those who by the grace of God can endure when suffering. Job is an example of a man who endured patiently, and from his experience we see how the Lord’s plan finally ended and Job received God’s mercy. The book of James refers to this book of Job. As a New Testament writer, he gives obvious support for the validity of the Book of Job (not that the inspired word of God needs validity). These are my notes and I have an unwavering love for the Lord because I trust Him. I love studying, teaching, living, and sharing God’s Word (verse by verse). During this writing, I will try to share with you as much Bible Reading as I can without being redundant. I feel that during these dark days we are living in, there is very clearly, apostasy. If we are going to have any kind of recovery or revival in this apostate age in which we are living, it is a necessity to have teachers of God’s Word who are living by the Word of God, teachers who have integrity, and who are willing to teach from Genesis to Revelations (not necessarily in that order). I enjoy teaching in various ways, but it is my belief that we need some form of exposition teaching through the Word of God.

I have lived long enough to see the church transitioning in this fallen world, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic which became public in the year 2020 and getting worse with each passing day. Remember, God must give permission for anything to happen, and everything we are going through is temporary. Many of the people in this world have left the Word of God as a whole and have gone the way of emotionalism and materialism and so many other isms. My prayer is that during the pandemic of 2020, we have all taken the time to reflect and grow because I do believe God is sifting and shifting us right now.

We must return to the Lord (if we have turned away) and understand that God has the answer for everything we are facing each day. Remember, He knew us before we were in our mother’s womb. Jeremiah 1:5 – Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. God knew each of us, as He knew Jeremiah long before we were born, and He appointed us as a spokesperson to the world. He thought about us and had us on His mind even at His crucifixion. Remember at Jesus’ crucifixion, Jesus had us on His mind.

When we are feeling alone, defeated, left out and discouraged, we must always remember that God had us on His mind, and He had a purpose for all of us. Everyone has a purpose and are appointed by God for specific kinds of works. Ephesians 4:11 – And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors, and teachers.

Whatever work God has appointed for us, we must be obedient and diligent with our assignments to the glory of God. When God gives us an assignment, we must manage that assignment with joy. All of us have the assignments to love the Lord our God with all our heart and to love each other, also to be obedient and always serve God. We should know without a doubt that God created each of us and we are fearfully and wonderfully made and valuable to God. Our Heavenly Father loves us.

I have studied many subjects for many years, studied every book of the Bible, and the book of Job has truly been one of the greatest teachings and blessings in my life. It is imperative that we read the entire Bible, Old and New Testaments. I have been obedient to the Holy Spirit and included as much wisdom as the Holy Spirit directed me to share in this writing. Right now, I ask that you pause and pray with me. "Heavenly Father, I thank You for this beautiful day, a day that we have never seen before and a day that we will never see again. I thank you for this assignment. We thank You Lord for loving us enough to forgive us for all our sins, sins of omission and sins of commission. Lord, thank You for blessing each reader of the Holy Bible and my notes, and I am prayerful that something will be learned from reading these notes from this wonderful Book of the Bible. I thank You Lord in advance for allowing each person to read Your Word, as it is written and for believing, living, and sharing Your Word. Now, Father, please open our eyes to read Your Word and I ask that You open our hearts to receive Your Word. Father, we thank You for Your Son, Jesus Christ. We pray this prayer in the name of Your Son, Jesus the Christ. Amen, Amen, Amen.

NOTES:

AFTERWORD

The book of Job contains many lessons for us today:

1.Perseverance

2.God’s faithfulness

3.God’s Goodness

4.Restorative power

5.Why it is important to have facts before speaking on a situation

6.Total Supremacy of God

7.The insufficiency of man’s wisdom

8.Our friends may fail us, but God will never fail us

9.Wisdom comes from fearing God

10.The necessity of Prayer & Scripture

11.Bad things can happen to good people

12.Never lose hope in God during times of adversity

13.Unwavering faith

14.God’s loves for us, knowing He will never leave us nor forsake us if we trust Him

15.Blessings comes after repentance and forgiveness

16.Trust God

17.God is in control

The story of Job tells how God allowed Satan to put Job’s faith to the test of near physical death causing him to suffer. Job’s confession is an expression of his absolute trust and faith in God when he said, Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. Job 13:15 (KJV)

This teaches and reminds us that when we do not understand why things are happening in our lives, we can put all our trust in God.

Job 13:15 reminds us that there is HOPE IN GOD!!!

THE BOOK OF JOB

KING JAMES VERSION ~ KJV

JOB – CHAPTER ONE

Job – Verse One

Together, let us look at Chapter 1:1. There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job: and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

Dr. B. - I want to reiterate that it is essential that we understand the first two chapters of Job, so that we will not fail at understanding the entire book of Job. It is imperative that we grasp what is going on in chapters one and two.

The location of Uz seems to vary from one scholar to the next, but the consensus is that Uz was somewhere in the Arabian Desert. An interesting point is that the name Job comes from a word which means to treat as an enemy. In this book of Job, we will read about God, Satan, Job’s wife, and his friends. There were those who took it upon themselves to question Job’s piety (holiness, devotion, godliness). We will also see that some people even accused Job of having pride or self-righteousness (moral superior). I do not profess to know everything, and there are times that I am wrong about some things, but whenever I see a commentator allude to Job having pride or self-righteousness, I know that person has missed the first two chapters of the book of Job. There are two things we should keep in mind as we read the book of Job, and the first is that we will see what the Scriptures have to say about