Dear Theophilus, Job E-Book

Peter DeHaan

• Herausgeber: Rock Rooster Books
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Serie: Dear Theophilus
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 116

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

Going through a rough time? Confused by God? Frustrated? Mad? 

Meet Job. As in Job from the Bible. He went through a lot too.  

Join Bible teacher Peter DeHaan in his captivating book Dear Theophilus Job: 40 Insights About Moving from Despair to Deliverance. Through it you will dive deep into the powerful and timeless story of Job.  

This fresh perspective encourages readers to envision Job's story as a screenplay waiting to be brought to life on stage or screen. As a 40-day Bible study, Dear Theophilus Job provides a thoughtful analysis of this foundational part of Scripture.  

This unique perspective reveals Job, his so-called friends, his wife, and even God in a new light. As the dialogue between Job and his friends unfolds, the drama, emotion, and underlying themes of faith and suffering are brought vividly to life.  

As Job grapples with loss, suffering, and ultimately restoration, readers are encouraged to reflect on their own lives and consider how they might respond to their own trials and tribulations.  

Explore the complex relationships and conversations between Job, God, Satan, and Job's friends. Then receive comfort from God’s concluding response.  

Dear Theophilus Job helps readers navigate the often-challenging text with clarity and insight.  

This Bible study is perfect for personal reflection or group study. Bonus sections enhance our understanding of key themes and passages in Job.  

Dear Theophilus Job is a must-read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of this classic biblical tale. Let’s embark on a journey of discovery and transformation to uncover the enduring lessons and truths within the pages of Job.  

Let the adventure begin.  

Get your copy of Dear Theophilus Job today. 

[This book has also been published as I Hope in Him.]

Leseprobe

DEAR THEOPHILUS, JOB

40 INSIGHTS ABOUT MOVING FROM DESPAIR TO DELIVERANCE

40-DAY BIBLE STUDY SERIES

BOOK 5

PETER DEHAAN

DearTheophilus, Job: 40 Insights about Moving from Despair to Deliverance© 2020, 2022 by PeterDeHaan.

40-DayBibleStudySeries, book 5 (formerly IHope in Him)

All rights reserved: No part of this book may be reproduced, disseminated, or transmitted in any form, by any means, or for any purpose without the express written consent of the author or his legal representatives. The only exceptions are short excerpts, and the cover image, for reviews or academic research.

Scriptures taken from the HolyBible, NewInternationalVersion®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “NewInternationalVersion” are trademarks registered in the UnitedStatesPatent and TrademarkOffice by Biblica, Inc.™

Published by RockRoosterBooks

ISBN:

978-1-948082-44-0 (e-book)

978-1-948082-45-7 (paperback)

978-1-948082-46-4 (hardcover)

Credits:

Developmental editor: CathyRueter

Copy editor/proofreader: RobynMulder

Cover design: CassiaFriello

Author photo: CheleReagh, PippinReaghDesign

ToColtonDeHaan

Series by PeterDeHaan

40-DayBibleStudySeriestakes a fresh and practical look into Scripture, book by book.

BibleCharacterSketchesSeriescelebrates people in Scripture, from the well-known to the obscure.

HolidayCelebrationBibleStudySeriesrejoices in the holidays with Jesus.

VisitingChurchesSeries takes an in-person look at church practices and traditions to inform and inspire today’s followers of Jesus.

Be the first to hear about Peter’s new books and receive updates at PeterDeHaan.com/updates.

CONTENTS

The Book of Job

Day 1: About Job

Dig Deeper: Two Questions about Job

Day 2: God and Satan, Part 1

Day 3: Satan’s Attack

Day 4: Job’s Response

Day 5: God and Satan, Part 2

Day 6: Satan’s Second Salvo

Day 7: Job’s Reaction

Day 8: Job’s Friends

Day 9: Job’s Deepest Fears

Dig Deeper: What’s a Leviathan?

Day 10: Eliphaz Speaks

Day 11: Job Responds to Eliphaz

Day 12: Bildad Speaks

Day 13: Job Responds to Bildad

Dig Deeper: The Allure of Mystery

Day 14: Zophar Speaks

Day 15: Job Responds to Zophar

Dig Deeper: Hope

Day 16: Eliphaz Doubles Down

Day 17: Job Maintains His Innocence

Dig Deeper: Sometimes the Best Thing to Say is Nothing

Day 18: Bildad Attacks

Day 19: Job Affirms God

Dig Deeper: Scriptural References to Job

Day 20: Zophar Strikes Again

Day 21: Job Fires Back

Day 22: Eliphaz Tries Again

Day 23: Job Defends Himself

Day 24: Bildad Provides Something to Consider

Day 25: Who Understands God?

Day 26: A Clear Conscience

Day 27: Wisdom

Day 28: Help Others

Day 29: When God is Distant

Day 30: If . . . Then

Day 31: Elihu Speaks at Last

Day 32: Elihu Talks About Justice

Day 33: Elihu Sees God in Nature

Day 34: Smackdown

Day 35: God’s Awe-Inspiring Creation

Dig Deeper: The Movie Secretariat

Day 36: Contending with God and Correcting Him

Day 37: The Behemoth and Leviathan

Day 38: Job’s Confession

Dig Deeper: Three Lessons from Job

Day 39: God Criticizes Job’s Friends

Day 40: Job’s Outcome

For Small Groups, Sunday School, and Classrooms

About Theophilus

If You’re New to the Bible

About Peter DeHaan

Books by Peter DeHaan

THE BOOK OF JOB

Many people struggle reading the book of Job. Given that it’s mostly dialogue, what may help is to consider Job as an early version of a screenplay. I, for one, would love to see Job turned into a stage production or a movie.

As we read Job, let’s pretend we’re reading a play or watching a movie. With the characters’ conversations to guide us, we can imagine the setting, the drama, and the emotion. Here are the key things we need to know.

The story of Job has eight key characters:

Job, the protagonist.God, Job’s protector and overseer.Satan, Job’s antagonist.Job’s unsupportive wife, a bit part, albeit a painful one.Job’s main friends: Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. With friends like these, who needs enemies?Job’s younger friend, Elihu, initially quiet and then opinionated.

The book of Job opens with a prologue (chapters 1 and 2) to establish the setting of the story. What occurs in the next 39 chapters (Job 3 through 41) is 99 percent dialogue, mostly between Job and his four increasingly critical friends.

The book of Job concludes with an epilogue (chapter 42) that supplies a satisfying ending. Aside from a brief conclusion by Job in the epilogue, the last significant words we have in our story come from God. It’s fitting that God has the final word—and wise that Job listens.

In what ways does God speak to us? How open are we to listen to what he says?

[Discover more about listening to God in Psalm 85:8.]

DAY 1: ABOUT JOB

JOB 1:1–5

This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. Job 1:1

We open our story of Job by establishing the setting.

Job lives in the land of Uz (not Oz). But before we make the jump and assume this is a fairytale location, we should note that Jeremiah mentions Uz as a real place.

We learn four key things about Job.

First, Job is a righteous man. This means he’s a good guy. He acts justly in all he does and conducts himself with blame-free confidence. He puts God first and avoids evil of all kinds. He’s an example worth emulating.

Next, Job is a family man. He and his wife have ten kids. Though this may seem like an overwhelming number to most of us today, it’s not to Job. InBible times people saw children as a sure sign of God’s favor. The more the better—a quiver full of them.

Job also carries concern for his kids and their future. After they party, which they do often, Job offers a sacrifice—a burnt offering—for each one of them. This is to purify them of any sin or careless thought. He does this because he wants to help make them right with God.

Last, Job is rich. He owns over 10,000 animals, with a large staff to oversee his herds. He is the wealthiest guy in the area, highly esteemed by all.

In short, Job enjoys an idyllic life of ease and favor from God. Surely, everyone looks up to Job and wants to be like him. This is how our unidentified narrator describes Job.

We might say Job’s life is perfect, and so might he.

This is how our story begins. But like every story worth telling, we know that something will change, or else we won’t have a story.

Before we read on, let’s consider how Job’s life compares to ours. We may be righteous, or we may fall short. We may have a large family, or we may have none. We may be prosperous, or we may have little. We may have the respect of others, or they may ignore us. Or we may fall somewhere in the middle of these extremes.

How do others see us? How does God view us? What needs to change?

[Discover more about another man, Noah, who was blameless and upright in Genesis 6:9.]

DIG DEEPER: TWO QUESTIONS ABOUT JOB

AllScripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16

Today, some people debate the authenticity of Job. They question if he was a real person or if the book about him is a work of fiction.

Here are the indications that Jobwasn’t a real person: He doesn’t appear in any of the historical books of the Bible. And he only receives mention in two other books in Scripture outside of the one that bears his name. Last, the Bible says that righteous Job was without blame, which implies he never sinned. Since only God is sinless, this characterization is false—although it could also be hyperbole, a literary practice to make a point that occurs throughout the Bible.

However, there are also indications that Jobwas a real person: God, as recorded by the prophet Ezekiel, refers to Job along with Daniel and Noah. Surely, if Job were fictional, God would not mention him in the same context as these other two. In that same passage, God testifies that Job was righteous. It seems unlikely that God would so affirm a fictitious person.

So was Job a real person or not? Is his story fact or fiction?

We’ll never resolve the answers to these questions, but it doesn’t matter. Whether he is fact or fiction, Job’s story is part of God’s inspired word. That means we can learn from it, receive inspiration, and strengthen our faith because of it. Arguing if Job was real is only a distraction from the truth that the book holds.

Another question: When was the book of Job written? Some think Job was an early book of the Bible—perhaps even the first. They place him as a contemporary of Abraham. But this is mostly conjecture.

Regarding the timeline, consider these two observations. First, there are significant thematic parallels between the books of Job and Ecclesiastes, specifically about the brevity of life and futility of living. Second, the books of Job and Song of Songs have a similar construction, which doesn’t appear anywhere else in the Bible. Each is heavy in dialogue—almost exclusively so—reading like a screenplay.

KingSolomon wrote both Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes. Because the book of Job shares a similar construction to the Song of Songs and a parallel theme to Ecclesiastes, could Solomon have also written Job? This is mere speculation, but it’s a thought to consider.

But, like our first question regarding whether Job was a real person, knowing when the book of Job took place, or who wrote it, doesn’t really matter. What matters are the lessons we can learn from him.

Do we really expect that we can learn from all of Scripture?

[Discover more about Job in Ezekiel 14:14, 20 and James 5:11.]

DAY 2: GOD AND SATAN, PART 1

JOB 1:6–12

“Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him.” Job 1:8

Imagine the opening scene of our movie based on the book of Job. FatherGod sits on his throne in heaven, a grand station of authority adorned with ornate gold etchings. The light glimmers off it. But that’s nothing compared to the aura of God’s face that beams brightness in all directions. His chair sits elevated at the end of a spacious hall, massive white pillars aligning the passage. Open windows provide a gentle breeze, while supernatural songbirds fill the air with their praise.

Angels make their way to his grand throne, worshiping their creator and awaiting his instructions for the day. They shimmer with anticipation of their assignments and the critical role they will play to advance his kingdom.

But in their midst, one stands out of place. Dressed in black—cinematically conveying his evil heart—a fallen angel dares to approach God. Satan—which means adversary—is his name.

Unfazed, FatherGod simply asks, “What have you been up to?”

“A little of this and a little of that,” Satan says, his eyes gleaming.

“What do you think about Job?” God asks. “He’s the most righteous in all my creation.”

“And why wouldn’t he be?” Satan sneers. “You’ve blessed him without limit, and he enjoys an idyllic life. But take that away and watch him crumble.”

“Very well,” God answers. “I grant you authority to do as you wish. Just don’t hurt him physically.”

Satan nods. He leaves, rubbing his hands together in glee.

Doesn’t this make for great drama? While theatrically pleasing, the scene is also theologically distressing.

DoesSatan enjoy access to God’s inner sanctum? The concept plays well in our movie. But knowing that God is present everywhere—omnipresent—the devil doesn’t need to go to God. God exists wherever Satan happens to be.

AndGod doesn’t need to ask what Satan’s been doing. God knows all things—he’s omniscient. He already knows what his adversary has done, but again, having God ask makes for good drama.

What’s most troubling, however, is that God dangles the life of Job in front of Satan, baiting the devil to afflict Job. This thought doesn’t comfort me. Even so, I must acknowledge God as sovereign, acting with absolute, supreme authority over his creation—of which Satan is a part.

I take solace in the fact that God is all-powerful—omnipotent. Whatever evil our enemy can concoct, God can overcome. He is also loving and compassionate. Don’t forget this.

As we consider what Satan might do to Job, we can hold on to the reality of God’s omnipotence, love, and compassion. This gives us hope that despite the turmoil of Job’s story—and ours—we know that God will prevail and do what’s best for us.

Do we cower in fear over what Satan can do to us or celebrate God’s immense power that holds everything in his hands?

[Discover more about the awe-inspiring, amazing power of God in Nehemiah 9:6, Psalm 33:9, and Luke 1:37.]

DAY 3: SATAN’S ATTACK

JOB 1:13–19

“I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”Job 1:15

With