Introduction: What does Job teach us about grace and works? A central
part of grace is that God saves us, we are not up to the task of
saving ourselves. Certainly, the story of Job shows us that we are
not competent to deal with Satan. Consider how God made all the
difference in Job’s life. We saw that Job started out great and ends
up great – but all of this depends upon God. We also learned from Job
that God wants us to do well, while Satan is the instigator of harm.
Thus, one purpose of God’s law is to help us to live well. When we
rely on God we ally ourselves with the One who has both the
inclination and the power to bless us. Let’s dig into our Bible study
and learn more about grace!
- Our Redeemer
- Read Job 19:25. Let’s put Job’s statement in context. How
is Job doing at this point in his story? (Read Job 19:20-21. Job is doing terribly.) - Why would Job make his statement about his Redeemer
living in that context? (Job believes that God
exists, and that at some point God will save him.) - Read Job 19:26-27. How can Job see God “in [Job’s] flesh”
after his “skin has been destroyed?” (This must refer to
Job’s belief that after he dies, he will live again, as
flesh and blood. He will do this in the presence of God.) - Job also says that he will see God, and not “another”
person. It is unlikely that Job thinks he is the only
one who will see God in the future, so what do you
think Job means when he denies that “another” will
see God in his place? - Do you ever wonder if it will be the real “you”
who goes to heaven? (I think this is what Job
is speaking about. It will be him, and not some
version of him, who will stand before God after
his death.) - Read Job 19:28-29. What else does Job believe comes after
death? (Judgment. Job says that we should live in the
awareness of judgment.) - Why is that good – to live in the awareness of a
coming judgment? - God With Us
- Read Job 10:2-3. This takes us back to Job’s constant
theme: I don’t deserve this, I want a hearing where God
draws up the charges against me so that I can refute them.
What additional words does Job say that form the basis for
the argument of his four friends? (That God favors the
wicked. They are offended on God’s behalf. This is an
attack on the justice of God.) - Read Job 10:4. What is going through Job’s mind that would
cause him to say this to God? How does this relate to his
theme and the theme of his friends that we just discussed?
(Job suggests another way to explain God’s apparent
injustice – God does not see things the same way humans
see them. It is not God’s justice that it faulty, it is
God’s perception. God has never been a human.) - This is an argument that I hear all the time. My
conclusion about something is faulty because I have
not had the same experience as the person on whom I’m
passing judgment. Do you think this is true? Are you
incapable of making a right judgment if you have not
gone through the experiences of the person you are
judging? - Read John 1:1-5. Is this “Word” God? (Yes! The Word “was
God,” was there in the “beginning,” and “all things” were
made through Him. He is the source of life.) - Read John 1:10-14. Who is this “Word?” (Read John 1:29.
The Word is Jesus!) - Look again at John 1:14. What does this say about Job’s
assertion that God’s perception of our lives is faulty?
That God does not understand the human experience because
God has never been human? (It is certainly not true today.
Jesus “became flesh” and “made His dwelling with us.”) - Of all the terms John could have used to describe
Jesus, why would he choose “the Word?” (Recall that
we decided that the problem for Job and his friends
is that they did not fully understand all of the
facts. They were looking through “a poor reflection,”
or, as the King James says, “through a glass,
darkly.” 1 Corinthians 13:12. Jesus came to help us
“see” God more clearly.) - Would it have helped if Job could have read the
gospels during the time that he was afflicted? (He
would have found his story in Jesus. Jesus, the
sinless, was tortured and murdered as a result of the
controversy between God and Satan. Job suffered
because of that same controversy!) - Read Isaiah 53:4-7. What does this tell us about the
suffering of Jesus? (Job says, “I am unjustly suffering.”
Jesus suffered for the sins of all of us, including those
of Job.) - When we suffer, what should we keep in mind?
- I want to go back to John 1:5. Job says that God does not
understand the human experience. Where is the true lack of
understanding? (In us. We are the “darkness” and we have
trouble fully understanding our great and glorious God.) - God Saves Us
- Read Galatians 2:11-14. The problem seems to be that Peter
used to eat with Gentiles, but because of religious
pressure, he stopped. Focus on verse 14. How is this an
appropriate question for Peter? Isn’t the problem that
Peter is reverting to living like a Jew? (It doesn’t make
sense to me, at least not on the surface. Looking a little
deeper, Paul seems to be saying that if the line between
Jews and Gentiles has been erased, then there is no reason
for Peter to withdraw from eating with Gentiles or for
telling the Gentiles they must live like Jews.) - Read Galatians 2:15-16. Based on this context, to what
“law” is Paul referring? (It certainly seems to be the
ceremonial law dealing with who and how you should eat.) - Read Romans 7:6-7. What law is being referred to here? (It
is the part of the Ten Commandments that prohibits
“coveting” ( Exodus 20:17).) - Read Galatians 2:17-21. What is one reason why Jesus died
for us? (To give us righteousness. We have been “crucified
with Christ” and therefore we “no longer live, but Christ
lives” in us! This promise applies to the entire law, of
whatever type, and however you describe it!) - The Author of Suffering Defeated
- Read John 12:30-31. When we consider the story of Job and
Jesus, who caused all of this suffering? (Satan.) - When Jesus says “now the prince of this world will be
driven out,” what time does He mean? When is “now?” - Jesus also says “now is the time for judgment on this
world?” When is “now?” - Read John 12:47. Notice that Jesus says that He did not
“come to judge the world,” but rather to save it. How does
this help us to understand the John 12:31 statement about
driving out Satan “now” and the time of judgment being
“now?” (Since Jesus says that He did not come to judge the
world, He must be talking about something outside our
world. I think Jesus is talking about a setting just like
we read about in Job 1:6-7. By living a sinless life, by
defeating Satan’s claims, by showing that in the
controversy between good and evil that God (good) is right
and Satan (evil) is wrong, God has driven Satan out of the
heavenly council and the universe has made a judgment on
what is going on in this world.) - How is Job like Jesus? (They are both the champions
for good against evil.) - Job won. Jesus won the total judgment. Why would it
ever be necessary for you or me to go through a “Job”
experience? The victory has already been gained?
(Remember that the first lesson we learn from Job is
that we must trust God. Why? Because we do not see
clearly the total picture. I don’t have an answer for
this question other than to say, “I don’t know why we
might still have a Job experience, trusting God is
the only clear answer.) - Friend, God won the victory! Just as Job was not up to
defeating Satan, so we are helpless without our God. God
became flesh. He knows first-hand how it is to live in a
sin-filled world. He died for our sins and He offers us
eternal life. “I know my Redeemer lives! ( Job 19:25.)
Friend, will you accept God’s offer to be your Redeemer
and give you a way out of this sinful world? - Next week: The Character of Job.
