Job: God Is On the Side of Life
Bible Studies, Messages, Papers
Photograph: Fragment of a manuscript from the 5th century written in the Sahidic dialect of the Coptic language. It depicts Job and his daughters, and the text includes Job 40:8 to Proverbs 3:19. The manuscript is called Biblioteca Vittorio Emanuelle MS 1 B 18. Photo credit: Unknown | Public Domain.
Below are messages, small group leader notes, and exegetical notes on the Book of Job.
Messages on Job
Overview of Job Job's Suffering and God's Response (and slides)
Notes and Essays on Job
Who Can Be Pure and Clean? The Theme of Humanity in the Book of Job
Biblical data where purity vs. impurity and cleanness vs. uncleanness are highlighted. This shows that Job operates with an understanding of human being and human becoming. Sin and faithlessness and disobedience to God doesn’t just earn demerits on a scoresheet in God’s mind. They cause our human nature to become more impure and unclean.
Suffering in Unique Cases: The Unique Roles of Job, Israel, and Jesus
This paper explores why the suffering of Job, Israel, and Jesus were unique.
The Heir of David: A Thematic and Canonical Analysis of the Writings
Essay exploring how the Writings — the third group of the Hebrew Bible according to the Jewish tradition — are arranged. There is a garden-to-exile-to-restoration theme that can be discerned in the orderings of the books in the Writings. The Writings develop the readers’ hope in the Heir of David as the one who will bring about the restoration from exile, and return to the garden land.
Other Resources on the Book of Job
Eleonore Stump, Wandering in Darkness: Narrative and the Problem of Suffering. Oxford University Press | Amazon page, 2010.
Jan P. Fokkelman, The Book of Job in Form: A Literary Translation and Commentary. Brill Academic Publishers | Amazon page, 2012. See also pdf book.
N.T. Wright, Job 42. Wheaton College, Oct 11, 2017. Wright gives a 30 minute message; reflects on Job’s process, and the placement of the book of Job in the biblical story and canon
Dave Huth, Asking Animals: Photographs as Questions about Love. Cobb Institute: A Community for Process and Practice, Apr 16, 2022) Huth is a photographer who does amazing photography of animals, and reflects on their lives and behavior in light of what God says about animals in the book of Job.
Bible Studies and Messages from The Anástasis Center: Writings:
Bible Studies and Messages from The Anástasis Center:
