JOB
(Answers)

Updated 12/2023


CHAPTER 1

  1. Job was considered blameless and upright, one who feared God and shunned evil.
  2. God had blessed Job with seven sons, three daughters, and many animals. He was the greatest man of the land because of all his possessions.
  3. Job feared his sons may have sinned or cursed God. He would sanctify them through burnt offerings on a regular basis.
  4. Satan determined that Job was faithful because of all God had blessed him with and because God protected Job from harm.
  5. God allowed Job to fall into Satan's hands and therefore harm, but would not allow Satan to physically hurt Job. Satan first destroyed Job's flocks and animals through human means and then killed Job's children by natural disaster.
  6. Job accepted all the calamity against him and did not blame or curse God.

CHAPTER 2

  1. Satan wanted to harm Job physically but could not take his life.
  2. Satan struck Job with painful boils all over his body, from the sole of his feet to the crown of his head.

CHAPTER 3

  1. Job cursed the day he was born. He long for death rather than the prolonged agony he was in.

CHAPTER 4

  1. Eliphaz points out that God does not punish the innocent or righteous. The wicked reap what they sow.
  2. Eliphaz said a spirit appeared to him in the night. The spirit explained to him that if God can find error with the angels and His servants how much more would He find fault with mere mortal man?

CHAPTER 5

  1. Eliphaz believes that trouble comes from God upon someone because of his or her sin. He is hinting that Job must have some sin that has brought this calamity upon him.
  2. Job should be seeking God in his affliction for His pardon, favor, and help rather than denying his sin.

CHAPTER 6

  1. If Job's grief could be weighed, it would be heavier than the sand of the sea.
  2. Job felt it was natural and he had reason to defend himself. Does a donkey bray or the ox low when it has plenty of food (no, only when it has no food)? Will one naturally ask for salt for an egg white? (Yes, because the egg white is tasteless).
  3. Job wished that God would put him out of his misery by taking his life away from him.
  4. He felt that Eliphaz should have shown compassion, kindness, and belief in him, not judgment and accusation.

CHAPTER 7

  1. Job says there is a time of hard service for man on earth but he still gets his pay and his rest. He, however, has not been comforted at all.
  2. If he has sinned against man or God what has he done and why hasn't God forgiven him by now?

CHAPTER 8

  1. Bildad states that God will not pervert justice. Judgment comes upon all who sin. Therefore, Job's sons must have trsnsgressed so God cast them away and Job must have some secret sin.
  2. Bildad tells Job to judge from the past. Those who forgot God perished.

CHAPTER 9

  1. Job says it is impossible to justify yourself before God. God is powerful, the designer of all, invisible, and does things we cannot understand.
  2. Judgment comes upon the wicked and the blameless alike.

CHAPTER 10

  1. Job asks God to show him his sin, for why does He despise the work of his hand and smile on the wicked?
  2. Job feels that God has forgotten that man was intricately designed by Him and is made a very fragile being subject to the will of God.
  3. Job wishes that he would not have been born or would have died at birth. Then he would not have to suffer as he is now. He wishes for a few remaining days of comfort.

CHAPTER 11

  1. Zophar urges Job to put his sin far away from him and to repent before God. Then God will hear him and his days would brighten up.

CHAPTER 12

  1. Job answers that he too has understanding not inferior to his friends. He knows the things they say and that they are true.
  2. Job concludes that God is in charge of everything, therefore God has done all this to him even the just and the blameless.

CHAPTER 13

  1. Job felt that his friends were forgers of lies and useless physicians. They were speaking unjustifiably and were not helping him by prescribing their incorrect remedies.
  2. Job believed God regarded him as an enemy though he was like a leaf blown in the wind or dry stubble that should be of no interest to God.

CHAPTER 14

  1. Job determines that man's time is short on the earth and full of troubles. The length of his days is determined by God. (Man is in misery not only when he dies because there is no hope to live again but also while he lives because of his sufferings.)

CHAPTER 15

  1. Eliphaz says that Job's words and knowledge are empty and vain.
  2. Eliphaz states that Job is not the first man born and his wisdom is not greater than his friends or the elders.
  3. Eliphaz says angels were unrighteous in heaven. Therefore, man who is less than the angels and born in an unrighteous world, and seeks iniquity cannot be clean.
  4. The wicked man will writhe in pain all his days. Destruction, darkness, and trouble will fill his days.

CHAPTER 16

  1. Job says his friends are miserable comforters.
  2. Job would comfort his friends with his words and relieve their grief if they were in his place.
  3. Job feels God is against him, hates him, and is working His wrath on him.
  4. Job has covered himself with dust and sackcloth and continued to pray to heaven.

CHAPTER 17

  1. Job feels God has hid understanding from his friends and kept them from speaking supportive words.
  2. Job feels God has made him contemptible before people.
  3. Job feels his grave is soon, then where will his hope be? Can it go to the grave with him?

CHAPTER 18

  1. Bildad feels that the wicked are justly punished and their lives become miserable and sad. Some things that he mentions have happened to Job. Therefore, he relates this descritption of the wicked to Job. Job should confess his wickedness.

CHAPTER 19

  1. Job feels God has come against him in many areas. God has made him repulsive to his family, friends, and others. He is treated as an enemy of God.
  2. Job still has faith that God is his Redeemer, he will see Him in heaven, and the root of righteousness will be found in him.
  3. Job's profession of his faith in God and of his innocence to be found gives him a hope that his friends will speak comfort to him instead of persecuting him with their words.
  4. His friends should be aware of their own sins and of judgment for themselves.

CHAPTER 20

  1. The fate of the wicked man is the ultimate wrath of God and deliberate tribulation from Him. Any success of the wicked is short lived.

CHAPTER 21

  1. Job feels that the wicked keep excelling in all that they do with no punishment for their deeds.
  2. Job wants the punishment of the wicked to be on them in their time and not visited on their children.
  3. If the punishment of the wicked is at the end of time and they live pleasurably in the present then why has he (Job) suffered loss and tribulations in the present? Common experience, says Job, shows that good men are very often in great tribulation, while the vilest of men thrive and prosper in the world. Therefore, how can they accuse him of being wicked seeing that he suffers so in the present time?

CHAPTER 22

  1. Eliphaz accuses Job of claiming to be righteous before God.
  2. Eliphaz accuses Job of a variety of wicked deeds such as taking pledges from his brother, stripping the naked, not feeding the hungry, not helping the widows, and other unrighteous deeds.
  3. God sees all wicked deeds of man even though He is high in the heavens, far away, and there is great darkness between God and us.
  4. God can and will use the riches and good that the wicked possess to bless the righteous. God can bless the righteous people who are under the wicked person now or later.
  5. Job will be at peace with God and exalted, delivered, and blessed by Him once he reacquaints himself with God.

CHAPTER 23

  1. Job feels that God would have to answer him forthwith concerning his condition.
  2. Job feels that God would not contend with him and would recognize his uprightness. He could reason with God and would be delivered favorably by God.
  3. Job feels that God knows that he is upright and has not sinned. He has kept God's commandments and statutes and has been tested. He will be like pure gold.
  4. Job feels that God has appointed his circumstances to him. God has made him weak of heart and fears what God may judge upon him.

CHAPTER 24

  1. The wicked take advantage of the poor, the fatherless, and the widow (any one disadvantaged or in need).
  2. Job feels God does not charge the wicked or punish them immediately for their wrongs. They continue to do as they please.
  3. Job feels that the mighty feel secure in their prosperity. God has not punished them or allowed any devastation, tribulation, or other loss to occur to them so they feel that the eyes of God are not on them. They die and are taken out of the way just like any other person on earth, whether good or bad.

CHAPTER 25

  1. God's light and goodness shines on all people whether good or bad. However, man comes from woman and cannot be righteous because he is born with tendencies to feed on wickedness and other iniquities.

CHAPTER 26

  1. Job questioned Bildad's or even any man's ability, strength, wisdom, and spirit to counsel another.
  2. Job spoke of the wonders of the creation of God and of His powers and Spirit. The majesty of God and His Spirit is far superior to that of any man.

CHAPTER 27

  1. Job continues to hold fast to his innocence, his righteousness, and the integrity of his character.
  2. Though the hypocrite may acquire much, God can take his possessions away and even his life. God is in control.
  3. The children of the wicked are purposed to fight by the sword, to die by the sword, and to fulfill the lust of their eyes.
  4. The possessions of the wicked are at sometime (as God sees fit) to be divided and given to the innocent and the just.

CHAPTER 28

  1. The eyes of man can find neither wisdom nor the hidden treasures of the earth. Man finds the treasures of the earth by digging and sifting through the earth but not so with wisdom. It cannot be grasped physically.
  2. Wisdom is more valuable than any treasure found under the earth.
  3. Man finds wisdom when he fears the Lord. Man will search out the way in which to please God and to walk righteous paths. God will also give wisdom to those who seek Him.

CHAPTER 29

  1. Job long for his past days when God used to watch over him.
  2. Job helped the poor, the needy, those who were perishing, the widow, the blind, and the lame. He would help the victim of the wicked.
  3. Job was well respected by both young and old. People listened to his advice and eagerly sought his words.

CHAPTER 30

  1. The people mocked Job and even taunted him.
  2. Job was now ridiculed by the vilest and most foolish of men, men he and others totally disdained.
  3. Job received the opposite of what he expected. He received darkness instead of light and evil instead of good.

CHAPTER 31

  1. Job would not look upon or lust after another woman.
  2. Destruction and disaster are the inheritance of the evildoers.
  3. Job expected and was accepting of any punishment or loss that God levied against him for any wrongdoing of which he may be guilty.
  4. The book would have a record of his wrongs. However, he would be able to defend himself before God one by one. He could seek forgiveness for the wrong. At the present, he still had no idea of what wrongs brought this entire calamity upon him. Therefore, he could not defend himself nor correct himself so that he would not do the wrong again.

CHAPTER 32

  1. The three men were older than Elihu. Therefore, he waited until the others quit speaking.
  2. Elihu believed that the other men failed to have an answer for Job. They should not feel they have brought wisdom against Job.
  3. Elihu would not speak as the others had, but would answer Job reasonably but not with flattery.

CHAPTER 33

  1. Elihu states that the wrong Job has done now is he is contending with God. Job has forgotten the reverence and sovereignty he should maintain toward God.
  2. God can speak to the fallen through dreams, visions, and messengers.
  3. The fallen are given the chance to repent and to change in the hope of saving them from the grave.

CHAPTER 34

  1. Elihu suggested Job was speaking with the attitude or sentiments of the wicked.
  2. Elihu states that God cannot pervert justice or do wickedly. He is the Almighty. All flesh would perish if God withdrew His breath from the earth.
  3. Job should have accepted God's hand upon him, promised to offend no more, submitted to God’s terms, and not added rebellion and spoke foolishly to his sin.

CHAPTER 35

  1. Our sins cannot physically hurt God but can hurt others and ourselves.
  2. Job should wait on God's justice instead of continuing to speak empty words.

CHAPTER 36

  1. God despises no one, but gives justice to the oppressed. He shows us our transgressions and works and gives us instructions and opportunity to turn from them.
  2. Job was filled with a rebellious and contentious attitude. Therefore, he is receiving the judgment due the wicked.
  3. Job should remember the majesty and greatness of God and reverence Him accordingly.

CHAPTER 37

  1. God uses His works for correction, for mercy, and for the earth.
  2. We should not challenge God lest we be swallowed up.
  3. We fear God because of His awesome majesty, power, judgment, and justice.

CHAPTER 38

  1. God asks why did Job refuse counsel and speak without knowledge.
  2. God expressed His omnipotence to Job. God is the ultimate Creator, knowledgeable about all things, places, and all knowing of all that happens. (How could Job question God or His justice?)

CHAPTER 39

  1. God has created all animals. He has given them their strength, their power, food to live, and the ability to have offspring. The animals are under the command of God also.

CHAPTER 40

  1. Job became conscious of what he had spoken before. He now wishes not to speak further but to reverence God.
  2. Job condemned God's actions while upholding his own righteousness.
  3. If Job was able to adorn himself in majesty and splendor and humble the proud, bring down the wicked, and reserve them for judgment, then Job had the power to save himself

CHAPTER 41

  1. The Leviathan was a fierce, huge, and uncontrollable sea animal.
  2. The Leviathan could not be tamed by man or even captured for man's use. Only God could control the huge sea creature. Therefore, how could anyone, specifically Job, stand against God?
  3. On earth there is nothing like Leviathan. He rules over all people who seek to dominate. Since he is unconquerable, the prideful must be submissive and accept its dominance.

CHAPTER 42

  1. Job is repentant for all that he has said against God. He seeks to humble himself in dust and ashes.
  2. Job's three friends did not speak for God correctly. Some things they said to Job were true as it would apply to wicked people. They did not express any mercy toward Job or help him to be comforted. They should also have admitted, as Job had, that they did not know all the ways of God and therefore did not understand why God would allow this adversity upon Job.
  3. Elihu dealt somewhat more mercifully with Job. He had not condemned Job but rebuked him for his only real fault - his rebellious attitude toward God.
  4. God restored to Job twice as much as he had once possessed.
  5. We must trust and honor God whether we receive blessings or not, even when adversity comes on us. When adversity comes we should look inside ourselves to see what or if we have committed any wrong. Any sin should be confessed and made right before man and God. If we have done no wrong then we should let God be our anchor and know that He is always with the righteous.  He will strengthen and secure us. We must lean on God’s infinite wisdom and look for the reason God let adversity fall on us.  When we see the righteous may suffer we should not assume their guilt. We should comfort them and pray God, who sees and knows all, will heal them. Though a righteous person may suffer now, he should reverently, respectively, and wisely rely and trust in God's wisdom, love, and justice.