Friday 13th March 2020 Devotion
Scripture:- Job 1
Topic:- Who Wrote The Book Of Job
Text:- Job 42:17
A. The name of the book of Job in the Bible comes from its central character. The English name is derived from the Latin Job, from the Greek Iōb, which was the transliteration of the Hebrew Īyōb. The meaning of the name is uncertain.
B. Authorship:
The author is uncertain. The name of the author is not indicated in the book. That Job himself could not have written all of it is shown by the inclusion of the record of his death. See Job 42:17.
Some have suggested that Moses wrote the account. This hypothesis would explain its inclusion in the Canon, but it is mere speculation.
C. Job Existed:
1. Job was a real person as declared in Ezekiel 14:14-20 and James 5:11 indicate.
2. He was a native of the land of Uz, See Job 1, 19, which scholars have located either northeast of Palestine near desert land, probably between the city of Damascus and the Euphrates River, or to the southeast in the area of Edom. Job probably lived before or around the time of Abraham, c. 2167–1992 b.c.
3. Some have suggested that Job was about 70 years old at the time of the events in Job. See Job 42:16.
4. He was very wealthy; he and his sons were homeowners in a large city of the region. See Job 4; 29:7.
5. He was a respected and popular judge and benefactor of his fellow citizens (Job 29:7–25 KJV). He was a righteous man in God’s eyes. See Job 1, 5, 8; 2:3; Ezekiel 14:14-20; James 5:11.
6. The events related in this book were initiated by God. See Job 6-8.
7. For God did not allow Job’s trials because of any sin in his life. See Job 2:3.
8. Job emerged from the severe testing with a fresh appreciation of God’s sovereignty and sufficiency for the believer’s life. See Job 42:1-6.
D. Purpose of the Book:
Many suggestions have been made as to the purpose of the book of Job. However, the overriding intention seems to be to demonstrate to man the inadequacy of human reason to account for the suffering of the innocent.
There is a mystery of divine freedom which does not contradict God’s goodness or sovereignty but remains elusive to man. Therefore, man is resigned to an attitude of trust and dependence on a good God whose workings man cannot fathom.
it’s interesting to note that the book of Job has no confirmed provenance despite the fact that it is being cited by countless Christians. Its dramatic telling effect is so overwhelming that no reads it but weighs their own level of purity or morality. Be it a true story a parable, It sets a clear standard of moral rectitude. Moses wrote the book of Job.
Prayer Point:- Oh Lord God, help me to know the time of Your testing and give me power and grace to be able to make it till eternity henceforth by fire, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Happy Weekend!