When God allows a testing to come into your life, pray that like Job, you can say, “ Blessed be the name of the Lord.” October 10, 1954
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON HELPS Homer A. Kent, Th.D. • Allison Arrowood (children) Lesson material is based upon outlines of the International Sunday School lessons copyrighted by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
God's Answer To Man's Perplexity Job 38:1-7; 42:1-6, 10a Pointers on the Lesson
It takes a vision of God to make man see himself as he really is. Job sees God in today’s lesson and is overwhelmed by His power and glory. He is infinitely more wonderful than he had imagined. God's Message From the Whirlwind 38:1-7 God addresses Job from His pulpit, the whirlwind. Job has spoken words be yond his knowledge (cp. 34:35 and 42:3). He had gone too far in some of his ex pressions. He needed to be humbled a bit. Thus in this chapter God gives him a magnificent picture of His power. Job cannot comprehend such power. Neither can he understand all His doings in the moral realm. It seems best to consider Job as the one referred to in verse 2, But coming as it does at the close of Elihu’s speech many have thought of it as referring to him. Verses 1, 34:35, and 42:3, however, seem to forbid the latter conclusion. The purpose of God in this section as in the rest of the chapter is to make Job see his own insignificance, and in order to do this He gives him a vision of Himself. Does God charge Job with the sins that his “ comforters” had laid against him? Not so. What God had said concerning him at the beginning of the book would be contradicted if he had. But He did not. The severest charge (v. 2) is of words without knowledge, to which the saintliest man who lives would doubtless at times plead guilty, if God would address him in person. If lack of knowledge can be ex cused in this day, much more in the days of Job. Job's Confession and God's Acceptance 42:1-6, 10a The vision of the Lord humbled Job. Thus the purpose of the vision was ful filled. Job recognized that he had said things he should not have said. He had been too bold. There had been self-right eousness in his heart. But now he is sorry. He abhors himself. He was like Isaiah after he had received a similar vision, and who said, “Woe is me! for I am undone” (Isa. 6:5). His experience reminds one also of Peter who seeing his Lord per form a great miracle said, as he fell at Jesus’ knees, “ Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Lk. 5:8). A vision of God is what all men need in order to bring them to an end of themselves and to the place where God can save them. CONTINUED ►
are passing things. But God is eternal. Let us look away from the temporal and see God’s face! Job's Sublime Faith 23:3-10 In verse 3 Job gives expression to the longing of his soul. The soul is restless until it finds God and reposes in Him its burdens. Though perplexed Job does not deny God. He expresses confidence in His support (w . 6,7 ). He cannot seem to get in close touch with Him (w . 8 ,9 ), but he is sure that God knows all about him and that God has a purpose in the trial He has permitted to come into his life. Do you have this assurance? Helps for the Children How Job Faced Trouble Job 1 Memory Verse: " . . . blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21c). Job lived many, many years ago in the land of Uz. He was a man whose life pleased God — a man who greatly loved God. God had blessed Job with riches and a happy family. One day Satan came into God’s presence and accused Job of being good merely because of his wealth and his blessings. To show Satan that Job’s love for God was real, God gave Sa tan permission to bring trouble into Job’s life. Satan caused enemies to steal Job’s herds and to kill Job’s servants. Later Job’s children were killed and his body became ill. Each time that Satan brought new trouble to Job, Job refused to blame God. Even when his wife and his friends tried to discourage him, Job trusted God and continued to worship Him. Because Job was so patient and faithful, God richly rewarded him by giving him greater riches than those which he first possessed. Sometimes today people who are ill or who have misfortune of some kind blame God for their trouble and refuse to wor ship or serve Him any more. God has not promised that Christians will never have pain nor sorrow nor misfortune. He has promised that He will give strength and peace to His children when they are faced with these problems. He cannot fully show all of His wonderful power until His children are weak in their own strength. One of God’s most precious promises to those who know the Lord Jesus is: “M y grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weak ness.”
October 3, 1954 Man's Struggle To Understand Life Job. 1:1; 19:7-10, 23:3-10 Pointers on the Lesson
The theme for this new quarter’s les sons is Wisdom and Worship in the Old Testament Literature. The lessons are taken from four Old Testament books of wisdom and worship — Job, Proverbs, Psalms and Ecclesiastes. The first two lessons are from Job and deal with Job’s perplexity in the face of unexpected suf fering and loss, his struggle to understand God and the problems of life and his final victory through faith. Job's Character 1:1 One cannot understand the book of Job unless he understands the first chapter. The first verse of this chapter introduces us to its main character. W e learn the place of his abode, “ the land of Uz.” Uz seems to have been east of Palestine and in Lamentations 4:21 it appears to have been identical with Edom. This all harmonizes with what verse 3 tells us, namely that he was a man of the “ east.” We learn also from this verse that Job was of noble character. God was proud of His servant. The perfection that is as cribed to Him here is not to be taken in the absolute sense (cp. 9:20). Perfection here means integrity (see 2:3, same root), sincerity, consistency. The general ten dency of his life was upward. He loved the things of God and hated the things of evil. The word perfect in Hebrew sim ply means complete. Job was an all round man. W e must remember that only “ in Christ Jesus” can any man be perfect in the absolute sense (Col. 1:28). Job's Despondency 19:7-10 Job is here seen in the extremity of his affliction. For the moment he seems al most to suffer an eclipse of his faith. But the reading of the latter part of the chap ter will reveal that his despondent feel ing was not for long. He soon saw the sunshine again and recognized his vital relationship with the Redeemer (cp. w . 25-27). At one time or another all of God’s children have1 experiences when faith burns low. At such times we need to recognize that the circumstances that bring about gloominess and lack of faith
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