Unit 3 Bible Study Guide
What will God ultimately do in response to people's chosen lifestyles?
He will bring every deed into judgement
What blessings did Job loose?
His wealth, family, and health
What are the names of Job's three friends?
Zophar, Bildad, and Eliphas
List three of the activities "under Heaven."
a time to be born and a time to die, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to speak and a time for silence, a time to plant and a time to uproot, etc.
Summarize Elihu's two main arguments.
1. Elihu rebuked Job's innocence 2. He believed that God was punishing Job
Name 4 aspects of the prevailing Orthodox theology that Job's friends believed in & based their accusations upon.
1. Finality of death- there is no afterlife 2. Long life- following God brings long life 3. Punishment- God curses those who disobey Him 4. Restoration- only when a person repents will they be returned back to their previous state
List 10 truths about God or that you learned from the books of Job and Ecclesiastes.
1. God has a plan 2. Wisdom is meaningless 3. Life is meaningless without God 4. There is a time for everything 5. God will always be with you 6. God is forgiving 7. God will never give you more than you can handle 8. God always keeps His promises 9. We were created for God's purposes 10.Good things come from trials
Name & describe the 2 poetic devices used in the book of Job and Ecclesiastes
1. Parallelism: where the second line echoes the same thought is similar the the 1st line 2. Reiteration is where 3 stresses to a line and then 3 in the following lines (saying something a number of times typically for clarity or emphasis)
What is the Orthodox theology that Job's friends blamed him by?
1. You would be blessed if you obey God 2. if you sinned against God you will be cursed They thought since Job was wealthy before, he feared God; but now, he had sinned because bad things were happening to him
What two things did Job vow in his final monologue?
1. his words would not be evil 2. to maintain innocence until his death
Of what 3 sins did God pronounce Job's three friends guilty of?
1. not speaking the truth 2. false accusations 3. trying to fit God into their belief system
What is the Apostle's Creed?
A statement that outlines the core belief of Christian faith
At what point did God restore Job back to his previous state?
After Job forgave his friends
What comforting advice did the Teacher (Solomon) give his readers?
Be satisfied and enjoy life; God is gracious
What did Jesus teach in His Sermon on the Mount with regard to "treasures"?
Do not store up treasures because they will be gone soon. We are to serve God with everything in our daily life.
Who was Elihu?
Elihu was a younger man who was previously quiet before his 3 friends had spoken. He was QUITE angry with Job and the friends.
Describe the "greater cosmic battle" that was won through Job's endurance of his sufferings.
Even though Job did not understand it, he did not blame his suffering or pain on God
What is the conclusion of the matter?
FEAR GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS
According to Ecclesiastes, how do we get wisdom?
Fearing God, accepting Him, and following the boundaries He has set up for us
Did God answer Job's questions? What did he do?
God did not answer Job's questions, but followed this by a series of questions of His own...showing Job that He was in control
What was Job restored of?
God gave Job 2x as much as he had before, money, 7 more sons, 3 more daughters, and 140 more years of life
What 2 creatures did God speak of? Why did God speak of these 2 creatures in particular to make His point straight?
God spoke of the Behemoth and the Leviathan. These beasts were uncontrollable and powerful; God was the only one who could control them
In what did form did God approach Job?
In a storm
Explain Job's reference to the refiner's fire.
In simple words...the refiner's fire is when gold is heated and melted, so all of it's impurities float to the top. AFTER JOB'S SACRIFICES, HE WILL BE PURIFIED LIKE GOLD.
How did Job's situation correspond with the orthodox theology of Job's time?
It did not fit into their orthodox thinking. Job suffered even though he had committed no sin
What were the results of Solomon's search for fulfillment?
It is like chasing after the wind
What future biblical figure could identify with Job's degree of suffering? How?
JESUS CHRIST suffered,humbled Himself, and died a painful death without doing anything wrong; He took on the sins of the world
Explain the climax of the book of Job.
Job admitted that he did not completely understand God's ways
What name did Job use for God and what does it mean?
Job called God "Redeemer," which means "rescuer" or "defender"
After 7 days of silence, what did Job do?
Job cursed the day he was born and longed for death
How did Job react to the tragedies?
Job did not blame God or sin against Him
Name some aspects that Job suffered in.
Job lost his oxen, sheep, camels, servants, children, got painful sores, nightmares, and pain
What did God tell Job to do after talking to Job's friends about their need for repentance?
Job to pray for their forgiveness on his friend's behalf
To what did Job attribute to his suffering?
Job was convinced of his innocence, he did not blame anyone, yet did not understand it
What did Job do in response to God?
Job worshiped and repented to God
Compare Job's friend's beliefs with Satan's beliefs about God's blessings.
Job's friends thought this: obedience= blessings, disobedience= punishment. Satan thought that God blessed and protected his children...and that was the only reason they followed God
Who might have been the author of Ecclesiastes? What clues suggest this possible identity?
King Solomon because the whole book focuses on wisdom and Solomon was the wisest man on earth (besides Jesus of course)
What does the Teacher (Solomon) say about God in relationship with the activities "under Heaven"?
Only God has complete control over these activities
What brought about Job's suffering? Explain in 5-6 sentences what happened in order.
Satan challenged God and claimed that God blessed obedience, Satan was allowed to take away Job's blessings, Job still did not curse God, Satan claimed again that God's protection was the only reason Job loved God, Satan took away Job's health and Job was accused of sin but Job still did not curse God
The Teacher (Solomon) was searching for the meaning of existence. Compare the Jewish view to that of the surrounding Near Eastern cultures.
Solomon was wise...Hebrew wisdom taught them to rely on God, but other people looked upon the saiges
How did Job's friends react when they heard about Job's tragedy?
They came to comfort him and sat 7 days in silence
Where did Job's friends "miss the mark"?
They were unable to comprehend that they were wrong; they tried to fit God into their belief system...in which they accused Job of sin
What do the activities "under Heaven" stand for.
This means all of the activity by humans...on Earth
Explain the irony of the Teacher's conclusion.
This was God's intention from the beginning: fear God and keep His commandments
How should we view life's pleasures?
To accept God's gifts and enjoy them
What does the word "remember" mean in context of this lesson?
To constantly be thinking about it; indulging God in your every day life
What did God instruct Job's three friends to do?
To make sacrifices in display of their repentance
What did Job's friends tell Job he needed to do in order for him to be restored?
To repent of his sins
In light of uncertainties and injustice, what did the Teacher (Solomon) say in sight of these purposes?
To trust in God
How should we respond to or preform our tasks?
To work at them with all of our might
What did the Teacher (Solomon) conclude about his understanding of calamity?
Trouble, trials, and difficulty can strike at time. No one but God can comprehend it.
What theme is revealed in the first part of Ecclesiastes?
WISDOM IS MEANINGLESS WITHOUT GOD
What outcomes does wisdom produce?
Wisdom manifests believing and working with God
What 6 avenues did the Teacher (Solomon) test out in his search for fulfillment?
Wisdom, work, wealth, position, pleasure, and possessions
