Job
by Christopher AshOverview
In this book we walk through suffering with a true believer. Right at the start, we are told that Job is “blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil” (Job 1:1). Job is not perfect, but he trusts God. He foreshadows Jesus in his blameless suffering. He foreshadows the man or woman who is in Christ in their sufferings. Job’s struggles become, in a way, our struggles in Christ.
This long and seemingly complicated book comes in three unequal parts. Much of it is in poetry, but each section begins in prose, with the introduction of one or more characters.
The Structure of Job
We meet Job
Job 1:1–5
We learn what happened to Job
Job 1:6–2:10
We meet Job’s “comforters”
Job 2:11–13
We listen to Job and his “comforters”
Job 3:1–31:40
A lament by Job
Job 3
First cycle of speeches
Job 4–14
Second cycle of speeches
Job 15–21
Third cycle of speeches
Job 22–26
Job’s summing up
Job 27–28
Job’s final defence
Job 29–31
We meet Elihu
Job 32:1–5
We hear the answers given to Job
Job 32:6–42:6
Elihu’s answers
Job 32–37
The Lord’s answers & Job’s responses
Job 38:1–42:6
Conclusion
Job 42:7–17
Key Verse
I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. -Job 42:7
