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Towering Figures of the Old Testament |
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Job
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Introduction |
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The Book of Job, named after its
protagonist, is an exquisite dramatic
poem which treats of the problem of the
suffering of the innocent, and of
retribution.
The contents of the book, together with
its artistic structure and elegant
style, place it among the literary
masterpieces of all time.
Job, an oriental chieftain, pious and
upright, richly endowed in his own
person and in domestic prosperity,
suffers a sudden and complete reversal
of fortune. |
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He loses his property and his children;
a loathsome disease afflicts his body;
and sorrow oppresses his soul.
Nevertheless, Job does not complain
against God. When some friends visit him
to condole with him, Job protests his
innocence and does not understand why he
is afflicted. He curses the day of his
birth and longs for death to bring an
end to his sufferings.
The debate which
ensues consists of three cycles of
speeches. Job's friends insist that his
plight can only be a punishment for
personal wrongdoing and an invitation
from God to repentance. Job rejects
their inadequate explanation and calls
for a response from God himself. At this
point the speeches of a youth named
Elihu (Job 32-37) interrupt the
development. -
USCCB, NAB |
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In the land of Uz lives a blameless
and upright man named Job who fears
God and avoids evil. He has seven
sons and three daughters. His riches
are greater than those of any man in
the East.
His sons take turns giving feasts,
sending invitations to their three
sisters to eat and drink with them.
After each round of these feasts Job
purifies and sanctifies them fearing
for their salvation, so that God may
pardon their sins that they might
have committed.
One day, when the sons of God come
to present themselves before the
LORD, Satan also comes among them.
The LORD asks Satan where he came
from and Satan tells the LORD
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that he came from roaming the earth and
patrolling it. |
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And the LORD asks Satan if he noticed his
servant Job, of whom the LORD tells Satan
that there is no one on earth like him,
blameless and upright, fearing God and
avoiding evil.
But Satan answers the LORD that Job is
God-fearing only because the LORD has
surrounded him and his family and all that
he has with His protection. Satan continues
that the LORD has blessed the work of his
hands, and his livestock are spread over the
land. Satan then says that if the LORD
withdraws all that Job has, he will surely
blaspheme Him. |
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And so the LORD allows Satan to put Job
to the test but the LORD warns Satan not
to lay a hand upon his person. So Satan
goes forth from the presence of the
LORD.
Then a series of messengers arrive to
report to Job a different of calamities.
They report that Job has lost his
riches, his livestock, his house, and
then his children.
In sorrow Job begins to tear his cloak
and cut off his hair. Then he casts
himself prostrate upon the ground, and
declares, "Naked I came forth from my
mother's womb, and naked shall I go back
again. The LORD |
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gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be
the name of the LORD!"
In all this Job does not sin, nor does he
say anything disrespectful of God. |
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Once again the sons of God come to
present themselves before the LORD, and
Satan also comes with them. And the LORD
tells Satan that there is no one on
earth like Job, faultless and upright,
fearing God and avoiding evil. The LORD
tells Satan that Job still holds fast to
his innocence although Satan incited the
LORD to ruin him without cause.
But Satan tells the LORD that if He
brings Job great suffering and pain
surely he will blaspheme the LORD.
And the LORD tells Satan that Job is in
his power but he must spare his life. So
Satan goes forth from the presence of
the LORD and afflicts Job with severe
boils from the soles of his feet to the
crown of his head.
Upon seeing him suffer, his wife tells
Job to curse God and die. But Job
reproaches her and asks, “We accept good
things from God; and should we not
accept evil?” Through all these Job does
not say anything sinful of the LORD. |
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Three of Job's friends hear of all the
misfortune that had come upon him -
Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuh,
and Zophar from Naamath. They leave
their lands to meet and journey together
to give him sympathy and comfort.
But when, at a distance, they lift up
their eyes and do not recognize him,
they begin to weep aloud in sorrow. Then
they sit down upon the ground with him
for seven days and seven nights, without
speaking to him; for they see how great
his suffering is.
After this, Job speaks and complains
about his misery, cursing the day he was
born.
Then in turn each of his friends speaks
telling Job that the LORD will not
strike an innocent man. They believe
that Job is being punished by God for
his sins. |
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After each of his friends speaks Job answers
and proclaims his innocence. However, they
tell Job that God always rewards the good
and punishes evil. However, Job still
professes his innocence and he refuses to
curse God’s name.
In his misery Job then expresses hatred for
his life and demands God to let him know why
He opposes him. |
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Then the three men stop to answer Job,
because he is righteous in his own eyes.
But Elihu, son of Barachel the Buzite,
who had been silent all along, speaks
angrily to Job for considering himself
rather than God to be in the right, and
to the three friends because they had
not found a good answer and had not
condemned Job.
Elihu speaks strongly of God’s power,
redemptive salvation and absolute
rightness in His ways. He rebukes Job
for claiming his innocence, and yet God
is seeking to destroy him like an enemy.
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He continues that the fact that Job claims
that God is against him for no reason is in
itself rebelling against God since he
rejects what God is giving him. He begs Job
to repent and not add rebellion to his sin
by brushing off their arguments and
addressing many words to God. He brings up
Job’s arrogance of claiming being a just man
and demanding to argue his case before God.
Elihu then reminds Job that everything is
because of God. He it is who changes things
according to His plans, in their task upon
the surface of the earth, whether for
punishment or mercy, as he commands.
He then begs Job to listen and consider the
wondrous works of God, and that His great
justice owes no one an accounting.
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Then the LORD addresses Job out of the
storm and says, “Who is this that
obscures divine plans with words of
ignorance?” The LORD then asks Job where
he was when He founded the earth. He
asks Job who measured and determined the
size of the world, and who laid its
foundation. Then the LORD asks if a
critic should argue with the Almighty.
Then Job answers the LORD and says that
he is of little account, and that he
cannot answer Him. He regrets having
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spoken because of his miseries and that he
will not do so again. He then disowns all
that he said and repents in dust and ashes.
And it comes to pass after the LORD had
spoken these words to Job, that the LORD
rebukes Eliphaz the Temanite and his friends
for they did not speak rightly concerning
Him, as has Job.
The LORD then tells them to take seven
bullocks and seven rams, and go to Job, and
offer up a holocaust for themselves. He
tells them to let Job pray for them; for his
prayer He will accept not to punish them
severely. |
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Then Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad
the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite,
do as the LORD had commanded them. And
the LORD accepts the intercession of
Job.
Also, the LORD restores the prosperity
of Job, after he had prayed for his
friends, giving Job twice as much as he
had before.
Then all his brethren and his sisters
come to him, and all his former
acquaintances, and they dine with him in
his house. They condole with him and
comfort him for all the evil which the
LORD had brought upon him. Each one gave
him a piece of money and a gold ring.
And the LORD blesses Job with even more
that what he had before. He also blesses
him seven sons and three daughters, of
whom he calls the first Jemimah, the
second Keziah, |
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and the third Keren-happuch.
In all the land no other women are as
beautiful as the daughters of Job; and their
father gives them an inheritance among their
brethren.
After this, Job lives a hundred and forty
years; and he sees his children, his
grandchildren, and even his
great-grandchildren.
Then Job dies old and full of years. |
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The Chariot of Israel: Exploits of the Prophet of Elijah
THE CHARIOT OF ISRAEL: When Elijah was caught up
to heaven, his disciple Elisha cried out, "the
chariot of Israel, and its horsemen." Elisha was
referring not to the chariot but to the prophet.
This study of Elijah’s life will captivate you
as it walks you through a pivotal period in
Israel’s history, and illustrative maps will
give you a better picture of the physical
geography of this ancient land. |
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The First Book of Kings (Cambridge Bible Commentaries on the Old Testament) This
volume of commentary on the New English Bible text of the First Book of Kings
follows the pattern of the now well-established series on the Old and New
Testaments. The main divisions of the text are those provided by the New English
Bible itself, but these are further subdivided for the purposes of the
commentary, which is printed in short sections following the relevant portion of
the text. |
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Canon Robinson suggests that the editors of I
Kings compiled their history in order to teach
the Hebrews that their existence as Israel, the
covenant people of God, depended upon their
continuing loyalty to their own religious
traditions, and their refusal to exchange them
for the very different traditions of the
Canaanites among whom they lived.
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I & II Samuel: A Commentary (Old Testament Library)
First sentence in
the book:
""THE BOOKS OF SAMUEL contain that
part of the history of Israel which describes
the foundation of the State, running from the
close of the period of the Judges to the
establishment of the united kingdom." |
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Samson and Delilah and Other Old Testament
Stories (Discovering the Bible)
(Hardcover) by Victoria Parker (Author), Retold
by Victoria Parker (Author)
This book provides known Bible stories from
Israel in the Promised land to the Story of
Ruth. It has the stories we grew up with but it
adds historical and religious facts to each
story. It tells the stories gearing them toward
elementary school children. |
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Moses Great Lives Series: Volume 4 ,
by Charles R. Swindoll. This book presents the
Bible's real Moses-the Moses who tried to
decline his assignment from God; the Moses who
dazzled Pharoh; the Moses who received the Ten
Commandments; the Moses who was disobedient and
weak; the Moses who was the greatest leader of
God's people in all of history. Through his
faith and selfless dedication, Moses continually
chose to follow God's will through difficult and
seemingly impossible situations.
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Jacob and Esau
by Harriette Augusta Curtiss and F. Homer
Curtiss (Paperback - Dec 30, 2005) |
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The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction &
Commentary
by J. A. Motyer
Recipient of a Christianity Today 1994 Critics
Choice Award! Among Old Testament prophetic
books no other equals Isaiah's brilliance of
style and metaphor, its arresting vision of the
Holy One of Israel and its kaleidoscopic vision
of God's future restoration of Israel and the
world. Now, after over three decades of studying
and teaching Isaiah, Alec Motyer presents a
wealth of commentary and perspective on this
book. |
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Saint of the Day: Lives, Lessons, and Feasts
(Paperback)
by Leonard Foley (Editor), Pat McCloskey
(Editor) |
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Lives of the
Saints You Should Know by Margaret R. Bunson,
Matthew E. Bunson |
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New Illustrated Book of Saints
Author: Catholic Book Publishing Company |
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One Hundred Saints: Their Lives and Likenesses
Drawn from Butler's
This is a coffee-table collection of 100 popular
saints illustrated with art works taken from
international galleries. The saints are listed
alphabetically in a valuable table of contents,
with a larger list of patron saints following
the text. Inclusion is based on popularity
within the Christian world and the
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availability of
atypical art works. Entries are generally based
on the 1926-38 edition of Butler's Lives of the
Saints, with the length of each entry varying
from one-half page to several pages. Short
entries giving written insight into the lives of
pious individuals are combined with depictions
rendered by artists such as Raphael and El
Greco. An inexpensive tribute to art and faith
more appropriate for gift-giving than for
libraries. |
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Apologetics |
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Mary
and the Saints |
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Mass
and the Eucharist |
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Prayers |
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Novenas |
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The Rosary |
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Traditional Prayers:
Discover the origin of your favorite prayer. We might
even have the original Latin version, too. |
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Novenas:
Learn how
to say a novena in honor of your favorite
Saint.
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Archived Articles |
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