The Book of Job (Part 1)

There is probably no book in the Bible that is less read, less taught, and less understood than the Book of Job. When is the last time you heard a sermon on Job? This book is one of the oldest books in the Bible, if not the oldest. It’s lengthy and written in such a way that it’s hard to understand at times. We also tend to shy away from all the suffering that Job endured. It just doesn’t make for an exciting or uplifting study or sermon. As a result, we take snippets, or a few particular scriptures out of the book rather than studying it and looking at it in-depth. That practice can become dangerous when we use those same few scriptures to define the character and heart of God and make doctrine out of them.

It has become clear to me over the last few years that there are a lot of great truths in the Book of Job but we have to be willing to throw out some of our past traditional beliefs and take a fresh new look at this book. I firmly believe that many of the ways we Christians wrongly define God are rooted in the Book of Job.  Some of those beliefs have led us down wrong roads and hindered our trust and faith in God. It is vitally important that we know and understand God’s heart. It is also vitally important that we know and understand the heart of our enemy (Satan) and are aware of his tactics.

With those things in mind, this devotional will be Part 1 of a multi-part series on the Book of Job. We ask you to have an open mind because we are going to look at this book in an entirely different light. We encourage you to read the Book of Job for yourself as we go through this series. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you the truth as you read and meditate on this book. We are going to start with a list of thought provoking questions that hopefully will open some eyes to a new way of thinking about the Book of Job.

1. Is the real theme of the Book of Job “suffering” or is it “spiritual warfare”?
2. Is God’s SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) the “hedge” or the “sufferings”?
3. Is Satan God’s sub-contractor who is hired to do all the dirty work?
4. What are the tools and tactics used by Satan?
5. Does the Book of Job and Satan define God, or does Jesus (the Word made flesh) define God?
6. Do you know the difference between God taking the things the enemy means for harm and turning them to the good versus God supposedly orchestrating the suffering himself to teach us a lesson?
7. Was God trying to kill, steal, and destroy, or was Satan trying to kill, steal and destroy?
8. Are the gifts of God without repentance, or are they given and then taken away?
9. What Spirit (Holy or demonic) are Job’s three counselling friends operating in?
10. What did God think and say about all this talk about who Job was and who He was?

All these questions are very important!!! If you answer them (or have already answered them wrongly based on religious traditions), it will affect your belief that you serve a good God that loves you and always has your best interest at heart. It will cause you to be double-minded and that negatively affects your faith. We cannot let Satan (who is a master deceiver) convince us that his tactics are the tactics of God. If he is successful at that deception he has won the war over us because we will always question God’s integrity and motives.

Our next few devotionals will deal specifically with each of these questions. We encourage you to start reading the Book of Job and follow along with us on this exciting journey. It will change your life!!!

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11, NLT)