The book of Job

Charging Job with selfish insincerity, Satan said God was wrong to declare Job as the best man on earth - "blameless and upright". To prove Satan wrong God abandoned Job to suffer terribly. Making it worse, Job's three 'friends' unwittingly argued Satan's case. Their tedious and simplistic reasoning accused Job of sin and demanded his repentance. The book of Job deliberately provokes many 'why' questions. Why this 'Job event'? Why didn't God just ignore Satan? Better still, why not obliterate him? Why afflict an innocent man in order to defeat the father of lies? Why focus on Satan's twisted thoughts? Who cares what Satan thinks? Only the full light of the gospel answers such questions, since Job is a preview of Christ. These questions finally point to Jesus. Who is the perfectly blameless man? Who ultimately suffers terribly but not for any guilt on his part? Who is it that ultimately feels what Job felt - that God was far away, even abandoning him? Who is it that asks the ultimate 'why?' question - "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" It is Jesus, who suffered to conquer Satan, vindicate the holy law of God, and save us who really deserve to suffer. The Christ experience is the Job experience maximised. The book of Job deserves to be far better known than it is. It is core gospel and loaded with themes pointing to Christ. Readers will appreciate the writer's conversational style. Discussion questions follow each chapter, and an Appendix explains how God can "repent" (Genesis 6:5-7).

The first publication of this explanation of the book of Job was by "Evangelical Press" in 2003, in a series called 'The Guide'. After a good reception across various countries it is now out of print. Since encouraging words from readers are still coming, I am grateful for EP allowing me to resume the Copyright in order to republish. The text is basically unchanged, but an appendix has been added to deal more fully with a difficult issue only briefly noted in the first edition. Arising from Genesis 6:6, was God 'sorry'? Did God 'repent'? Significant implications hang on our interpretation.

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