Job: A Patient Sufferer

By David Woods

Accountability: How have you served others in Jesus' name recently?

Open: On a scale of 1 to 10, how patient of an individual are you?

Read Job 1:1-3

Discussion: What does Scripture mean when it says Job was "perfect and upright"?
(Should be an interesting discussion - was Job perfect in character? Or was it a purity of heart? Or was it a righteousness relative to everyone else?)

To "eschew" evil means to depart from evil.

Discussion: What does it mean to depart from evil?

Discussion: Why was Job "the greatest of all the men in the east"?

Discussion: Does God's blessing on our lives mean we will be blessed materially?
(The quick answer will be "No." However, this should be explored. While we do not want to preach a "stake it and claim it" gospel, we should note that serving God almost always results in a "social uplift". Living right has tangible consequences.)

Discussion: How does a person stay humble while becoming very rich?

Read Job 1:8-19

Discussion: What does Job's story teach us about Satan's interest in us?
(Not only does he desire our downfall, but he also desires to gain "victories" against God through our failures.)

Discussion: What are Satan's abilities and limitations?

Discussion: Have you ever suffered a sudden, great loss? How did you feel?

Discussion: How could Job's first response to personal tragedy be to worship God?

Discussion: Is an attitude of worship in the midst of tragedy unsympathetic to others who have participated in the tragedy? Why or why not?

Discussion: Does God have the right to send trouble our way?
(The quick answer will be, "God doesn't cause suffering, He allows suffering." While we should be careful not to assign evil to God, does such an answer allow us to avoid the questions of 1) whether we will submit to intense suffering and 2) why God spares some from evil and not others?)

Discussion: What are some of the reasons God allows us to suffer?

Bible Study: Heb 12:11, James 1:2-5

Discussion: Does suffering make us holy? Why or why not?
(Suffering cannot make us holy. If it did, we could gain salvation and/or entire sanctification through suffering. However, suffering is a vehicle through which we are made holy. In other words, suffering and our response to it shows us the condition of our heart and thus can be used by God to convict of sin.)

Discussion: How are we made holy?
(Only by the grace of Christ. Initially, we are made holy in God's sight as Christ forgives us of committed sins. In entire sanctification, we are made holy as Christ purifies our nature of its inherited bent toward sinning.)

Discussion: How does suffering help us spiritually?

Job had not sinned. His suffering was not a divine judgment as his three friends suggested. Job spent much time defending himself and arguing that God should present His case before him instead of just making him suffer.

Discussion: What attitude of the heart do we see in Job? (See Job 40:2, 8)

Read Job 42:1-10

Discussion: How did Job grow spiritually through his suffering?

Discussion: How was Job's restoration to health and wealth related to his prayer for his friends?
(The "Doctrinal Discussion" (p. 54) suggests Job was harboring a sinful resentment toward his three friends for their treatment of him. Therefore, his prayer for them seems to be a result of repentance. The blessing seems to be in response to his repentance.)

Discussion: What does it mean to be patient?

Discussion: How was Job able to suffer patiently, even though he felt God was treating him unfairly?
(Sometimes, our personalities may seem to incline one more towards patience than another. However, God knows how to deal with us so that our response is not just one of personality, but of character. A patience like Job's seems to indicate a great deal of trust in God, even though Job struggled throughout this time to trust God.)

Big Idea: Trust in God is the key element in enduring trials and temptations.

Discussion: What hope can we have in times of patient suffering? (See 2 Tim 2:12)

Discussion: Do you feel like you trust God enough to endure any amount of suffering? Why or why not? Are you willing to suffer anything for Christ?
(Probably most people will tend to react "humbly" to such a question, even if it is a false humility. The real question that needs to be answered is concerning their willingness to suffer. While no one in their right mind wants to suffer, the entirely sanctified heart should say, "Yes, Lord", to whatever condition of life He calls us)

Prayer: