Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - "Why?" | The Writings | Job 1

Episode Date: June 7, 2024

No question is as powerful, yet terrifying, as the question posed by the book of Job: "why?" Why does Job love God? Why does Job suffer? Why do we suffer? In today's episode, Jeff shares how Job 1��encourages us to turn our "whys" into worship. Read the Bible with us in 2024! This year, we’re tackling a group of Old Testament books traditionally known as “The Writings”— Psalms, Chronicles, Proverbs, Daniel, Ruth and more! Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Job 1

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Jeff Parrott. There might not be a more difficult question than the three-letter inquiry, W-H-Y. Why? It's probably the most important question to ask, yet the most challenging to answer. If you've ever been in the classic interrogation where a young child drills you with the why question on repeat, you know what I mean? The why question is so important, yet at the same time so elusive, because it brings us to the precipice of our limitations.

It's the final stop in the corridor of our human agency. Our knowledge and our control, they lead us to the why question, yet they can't take us beyond it. Why? Why am I crushed by the weight of anxiety? Why did my loved one get this diagnosis? Why am I still stuck in the dark hole of depression? Why is this relationship causing so much pain? Why am I suffering?

Why isn't God making this better? Why? The Bible addresses the why question in so many important ways and places. Yet one of the most significant areas where this question arises is in the Old Testament book of Job. Job's story is an unsettling one. It makes our minds bend and our hearts ache. It's a story of suffering that confronts us with the why question in order to introduce us to other even bigger questions.

As we prepare to get into the first chapter of Job, let's ask for God's presence to be felt in our time together. Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of life and breath today. Thank you for your word. Jesus, help us abide in you as we engage with your truth. truth. Holy Spirit, we ask you to move in and through this time and Job. As we read these words, let these words read us and restore us. In Jesus' name, amen. Okay, let's meet Job. We get to know him in the very first verse of the book. There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job,

and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. Okay, what do we know about Job so far? Well, it's not geographically or genetically tied to the people of Israel. But that's not really what stands out here. What strikes us is how Job has a beautiful, significant relationship with God. He embodies all the character traits of the wisdom literature as someone who loves God and lives righteously. Reading on, we learn about his great abundance in life, material possessions, and a family for whom he cares deeply. Job is an exemplary human being.

But the scene quickly shifts away from Job to the divine counsel with an interaction between the one creator God and the Satan. Now, a quick note here. The Satan isn't a proper name, but a title that means the accuser or the adversary. He's a created being who rebelled against God and now comes before the sovereign creator in the heavenly court. Now there are two key questions in this moment that drive the entire plot of the

book of Job forward. The first question is posed by God in verse 8. We read this, and the Lord said to Satan to the adversary, have you considered my servant Job that there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil? Now God sees and loves everything about Job, all the things that we learned in verse 1. He not only lives righteously, he lives with a reverent awe in relationship to his creator. This is the way that life should be, and God sees it, and celebrates it. In response to God's question, the adversary offers his own challenging question. We read this in verse 9. Then Satan answered the Lord and said, does Job fear God for no reason? Now, this is a big question. It's a question that gets to the heart of the entire book of Job.

The adversary is essentially asking his own why question. Why does Job love you so much, God? The implied yet incorrect answer is that Job only loves God for what he gets from God. How could he not love the God who's blessed him so much? Now, a quick, important pause here. This question is related to Job in this scene. But throughout the book, it really reflects onto all of us. Do we love God for no reason? Why do you love God? Because of what he gives?

Or because of him? This question is meant to interrogate us as we read the book overall. So let's hold on to it. And back to the scene in the heavenly courts. The Satan follows up his question with a direct challenge. But stretch out your hand and touch all. that he has and he will curse you to your face. Now, Satan's hypothesis is that if you take away the gifts, Job will curse the giver. In response to this, God allows the adversary to afflict Job with

suffering. Now, this exchange between God and the Satan, it brings up one of the biggest why questions in the entire book of Job. Why does Job suffer? A very short yet true answer to that question is provided in this moment in Job 1. Job suffers because God allows him to suffer. God is the Creator King who is never the author of evil, but he does allow it to be carried out by the adversary. Now, for some of us, we read or we hear that and we're comforted about God's sovereignty, his control, his authority. Others hear or read that and we're confused or frustrated. This why question, why does Job suffer? It will be a huge, theme that's explored throughout the entire book, and it's one that we're intentionally forced

to wrestle with. So if you're feeling uneasy about the idea of God's sovereign control and authority here, I want to encourage you to hang in there. Don't cut off the tension. Be curious about it as we keep going, because this why question will be filled out more as the book of Job continues. As the narrative goes on, we see the depths of Job's suffering, and it is heavy. He loses his possessions and tragically has his servants killed in the process. On top of that, the most heartbreaking form of suffering comes when he learns that his children have been killed. The very people and things that marked the fullness of Job's life are now marking the emptiness

of Job's life. His response to the news of this horrific loss is fitting. We read this in verse 20. Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground. He responds by lamenting, by mourning. But that is as important as it is, and it's very important. It's not the entirety of his response. And his full response isn't what we'd probably expect.

Let's read it again, but read the full account. then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head, and fell to the ground, and worshipped. And he said, naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return. The Lord gave, and the Lord is taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. And all of this, Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. Okay. We would expect Job to fall to the ground and cry out,

why? Why did this happen, God? Why did you let this happen? But instead of falling to the ground and asking why, he worships. This is the great reversal of the accuser's challenge, because instead of breaking Job's faith, this strengthens it. Instead of destroying Job's faith, this deepens it. Our tendency is usually to fixate on the why question. Why do we suffer? Now let's be extra clear. That question matters. It matters a lot. So much so that the rest of the book of Job will go to great lengths to explore it. But it's significant that this isn't where Job starts. In Chapter 1, the circumstances creating the why question ultimately create worship. The rest of Job will unpack the why behind seemingly inexplicable suffering. But it won't be a neat,

linear trajectory that feels warm and fuzzy, it will disorient us, frustrate us, and then reorient us. Reading Job should change us as people. That's the challenge and the invitation for reading the rest of this book. Don't fall into the trap of only reading Job to get information. The information is important, no doubt. But the end goal of the book of Job, and really every part of the Bible, is not just the accumulation of data and information, but the cultivation of transformation, of new life. The first chapter of this book, Job, is almost like a microcosm or a preview of what the book overall will do to us. It will lead us into the why of suffering to eventually get us to a place of worship, of trust. It leads us into an even deeper and more meaningful faith than we had before,

faith that clings to God, even when, especially when every scrap of life is stripped away. Job confronts us with the why so that it can comfort us with the who. As we finish up our reflection in Job 1, let's bring the scenarios that create this why question in our lives. Let's bring them before God. Let's do so using the same posture as Job. God, we bring our suffering before you. Our doubt. before you. The areas of pain or uncertainty that don't seem to have a rhyme or reason. We bring all those things before you. God, we acknowledge that every good gift is from you. And we also acknowledge that we don't want to lose those gifts. We don't want them to be taken away. But God, protect us from

loving those gifts more than we love you, the giver. You are our sovereign creator king. We trust you when you give. We trust you when you take away. Blessed be your name. We don't love you for nothing. We love you because you perfectly and fully love us in Jesus. God, would you help us as we wrestle with the why question, knowing that our greatest comfort is in a who? It's in you. Blessed be your name. Amen.