Job and Ecclesiastes Lesson 1: THE TESTING OF JOB'S FAITH (13:23)
The life of Job is one of the best-known stories in the Old Testament. The book opens with a description of an upright man of great wealth (1:1-5), who, in God's sovereign providence (1:6-2:7), loses everything. Job's debates with ... more
Job and Ecclesiastes Lesson 2: JOB'S ANGUISHED SEARCH FOR ANSWERS (15:30)
Job refused to curse God forthrightly (2:9-10), but he came close to doing so by cursing the day of his birth (ch. 3). His intense suffering brought about a state of utter despair that welcomed death (3:20- 22). Beginning with chap... more
Job and Ecclesiastes Lesson 3: DO THE WICKED REALLY SUFFER? (12:01)
The second round of speeches by Job and his friends begins in chapter 15. The friends’ perspective on the root cause of Job's suffering does not change, and their remarks to him become less courteous and more direct. Job, how... more
Job and Ecclesiastes Lesson 4: SEEK GOD'S WISDOM IN SUFFERING (11:44)
Job 28, the "wisdom chapter," is distinct from the rest of the book. The chapter serves an important purpose as an interlude between the debate cycle and the major sections that follow and allows the reader an opportunity for refle... more
Job and Ecclesiastes Lesson 5: A BLAMELESS LIFE (13:37)
In the book's Introduction Job is described as a "blameless and upright man who feared God" (1:1). In the debate with his friends Job has maintained all along that his suffering is not related to sin, that he is innocent before God... more
Job and Ecclesiastes Lesson 6: THE SPEECH OF ELIHU (11:25)
Elihu, the last human participant in the debate with Job, appears in chapter 32. His speeches take up the next six chapters and serve as a prelude to the Lord's appearance at the end of the book. Two issues angered Elihu: Job's sel... more
Job and Ecclesiastes Lesson 7: GOD’S APPEARANCE AND JOB’S RESPONSE (11:32)
In the end, God finally spoke, but not in a manner anticipated by Job or his friends. Along the way, Job desired an answer from God (cf. 13:22; 31:35), and each of the friends confidently offered an opinion regarding Job's dilemma.... more
Job and Ecclesiastes Lesson 8: THE EMPTINESS OF LIFE APART FROM GOD (13:41)
In Ecclesiastes we encounter the ponderings of a wisdom teacher (traditionally identified as Solomon) concerning the harsh realities of life, which, from a human point of view, appear to be meaningless. Both intellectually and expe... more
Job and Ecclesiastes Lesson 9: PROBING LIFE QUESTIONS (1455)
Today’s lesson covers selected passages in three different chapters of Ecclesiastes. Each of the passages offers wisdom in relation to different aspects of life in this world. Two of the passages explicitly remind the reader ... more
Job and Ecclesiastes Lesson. 10: WARNINGS CONCERNING WEALTH (11:59)
In 1 Timothy 6, Paul warns of the "love of money" (6:10), yet he also states that God richly supplies us with all things to enjoy (6:17). Similarly, the writer of Ecclesiastes struggled with the tensions presented by wealth as he o... more
Job and Ecclesiastes Lesson 11: WISDOM FOR LIFE (13:34)
Ecclesiastes 7-8 carries the theme of man’s inability to discover the plan of God in the face of life’s complexities (see esp. 7:14, 27-28; 8:17). No one can know for sure what tomorrow will bring. Life is brief. Life i... more
Job and Ecclesiastes Lesson 12: WISDOM IN LIGHT OF LIFE'S UNCERTAINTIES (11:44)
The theme of wisdom for daily living expounded in chapters 7-8 continues in chapters 9-11. How should one live in light of life's unpredictability and the absolute certainty of eventual death? The author contemplates this question ... more
Job and Ecclesiastes Lesson 13: THE CONCLUSION OF THE MATTER (10:16)
Throughout the book of Ecclesiastes the author has examined "life under the sun." Many observations have been made concerning the uncertainties and vanities of life viewed from a human perspective. Now, in chapters 11-12, the autho... more
