1. Job 4:7. How would you answer Eliphaz? “Whoever perished, being innocent?”

Eliphaz’s idea is widespread, even today. If you are a good person, you will live long and prosper. If you are not, you’ll end up like… well, Job! The exceptions to all of this, pointed out masterfully by Job, are many and widespread. Of course, no one is totally innocent. All have sinned. All would have perished in eternal hell, except for the fact that Jesus has saved those who believe in Him from that awful fate. Eternity will be the measure of what is innocent and what is not, in God’s sight.

2. Job, the book of. How did we receive the full content of every speech in the book of Job?

This one is not as easy as you might expect. I have been and am a Biblical literalist. What I read before me, I believe fully. But the question comes to me as to how, in this case, anyone could have kept up with the word-for-word dialogue and copied it all down as it was being spoken.

In regular history, a man sits in his writing place and recalls what happened. He may use other sources. And in the case of writers of Scripture, men are carried along by the Holy Spirit to write the facts of history correctly.

This book has a feel of history at the beginning and the end, but in the middle the book of Job is more of a debate. And absent our modern means of recording, how did the author of this book catch every word that was spoken?

So there, I have asked the question twice, and have not answered it once.

Some Options:

1. Total recall later by the Spirit of God who moved on the author, who is anonymous. Perhaps Moses, Elihu, even Job, they say, though that is a bit of a stretch…
2. Inspired history, but enhanced dialogue. The witness heard the speeches, and summarized them, edited them, etc, so that the “truth” came out; thus it could be said to be of the Spirit, but not literally true, as a parable of Jesus, for example.
3. Fiction from beginning to end, written only to demonstrate important truths. But then we would have trouble with statements from Ezekiel and James that refer to Job as a real person.

What say ye? 1, 2, 3, or some other? The Bible gives us only the clue that “all Scripture (is) inspired of God and is profitable for doctrine etc.” That it was inspired we accept. That Job was a real person and the things that happened to him actually happened. We can say that he had these friends, and they all spoke to him, and he debated with them.

But I am still left to ponder, How did those long speeches get recorded and passed on? Sorry I cannot answer this one.

3. Job 7:7-10, 21. 14:10-12. What seems to be Job’s view of eternal life?

Again, those looking for solid Christian theology in Job will be sorely disappointed. It was to correct a serious flaw in Job’s thinking that the events took place. Job was wrong about a lot of things, including his own righteousness and standing before God, his view of the nature of God and the suffering that God allows, and now we see flaws in his eschatology.

Job seems to think that this present earthly existence is everything. His detractors did not try to correct him. Nevertheless there is a breakthrough moment in chapter 19, as we mentioned above.

4. Job 9: 21.What is his view of himself?

He sees himself as a victim, and a worthless victim. He hates himself. God has brought him low, and there is absolutely nothing he can do about it. He is a worm, a nothing. But he doesn’t deserve all this, at the same time!

Not far from us, when we go through the worst of times, especially if we have not come to Christ. Some believers also think thoughts like these when the fire heats up. God where are you? God what did I do to deserve this? God, I am so vile, so nothing. Just let me die, it’s not worth it to do the right things and then end up like this.

God will slowly answer some of Job’s questions as the debate continues.

5. Job 18. Does the speech of Bildad (or any of Job’s friends) suggest an afterlife? Is the idea that this earth is all of life seemingly pervasive in Job’s day?