Les Misery (Waiting in the Dark)
One Year Bible (Aug. 21)
Job 1:1-3:26
“Les Misery” (Waiting in the Dark)
“Even if it was written in Scripture long ago, you can be sure it’s written for us. God wants the combination of his steady constant calling and warm, personal counsel in Scripture to come to characterize us, keeping us alert for whatever he will do next.”
(Romans 15:4 MSG)
Perhaps you have heard the saying, “She has the patience of Job.” As we study this book together, I think we will find that Job doesn’t really have much patience at all. This book isn’t about patience. It is about ENDURANCE in spite of incredible suffering and unspeakable grief!
Who wants to study or teach this book? Not me, I assure you! This man went through a living hell…Thus, our title, “Les Misery”.
Although, none of us would rush to study this book as one of our top 10 books of the Bible, people who are in pain turn to the Psalms, and those with questions about suffering that completely overwhelm their soul turn to the book of Job.
C.S. Lewis was a man who struggled to understand “The Problem of Pain” with the tragedy of losing his wife, Joy, to cancer. Her death tested the faith of the famous Chronicles of Narnia author and apologist. While struggling with the “Silence” of God in “Suffering”, he also realized its deeper purpose.
Listen to his profound words, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pain. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
This is indeed an oxymoron (a figure of speech in which two contradictory terms work together.) How can a God who is often “Silent” during our pain, use this suffering to “Shout” to a doubting world? This, my friends, is the premise behind this entire book. It is filled with mystery, misery, and majesty.
Romans 15:4 reminds us that it is written for us TODAY! We need it now as much as ever! If you are not presently suffering or dealing with someone who is, just wait a bit…Will we receive the true message of God that our life’s calling is to praise and bless God in All situations? This includes the intolerable, unsurmountable, and unexplainable journeys through the valley of the shadow of death.
The book of Job is one of the POETRY BOOKS of the Bible. To understand this book we need to understand what this means. Note that chapters 3-42:6 are mostly based on Hebrew poetry (which means they use three different devices).
The FIRST LITERARY DEVICE is PARALLELISM. This is when the second half of the very repeats the thought of the first half of the verse in different words. This is helpful to know because the second wording helps us to better understand the meaning of the first.
The SECOND LITERARY DEVICE is the METAPHOR or picture language.
The THIRD LITERARY DEVICE is IRONY--saying the opposite.
In case you are wondering about the difference between IRONY and SARCASM, there is a relationship. Both use the opposite to communicate a message but SARCASM is directed at a person with the intent to criticize.
The book of Job does not use the regular meter or rhyme like the poetry in the Psalms. In understanding this book it is helpful to think of it in terms of a “DRAMA” or play on stage.
This book is interesting because the curtain does not actually rise until the fifth verse. In other words, we as the audience are made aware of the verbal transaction that happens in the heavens in the presence of the angels, but Job is totally unaware of ANY of this background. Instead, Job is kept “Waiting In the Dark”.
Before the curtain rises and we are ushered into this great human drama, I want to shed light on one more critical aspect for you. We need to be very careful to not take verses “out of context”. This is like a play and everything that Job’s friends express is not always true or accurate. Job’s thoughts and feelings vacillate as well.
We will need to wait for God to speak to know the TRUTH…
I will be using the Inductive Bible Study strategy as I share with you about this book, and I encourage you to join me in implementing this method of learning. As you read, list the things you learn about Satan, God, Job, and each of his friends.
Then from Job 4-42 observe what the text says about: Man, Satan, and God. What does God expect and or not expect with nature, sin, righteousness, physical death, and pain?
Behind the scenes in verses 1-5, what did you learn about Satan and his involvement in man’s suffering? What thoughts and questions do you have?
Secondly, what have you learned about Job? What did God say about him and see in Job?
I would love to read your comments on these questions…
I told you before that I was never excited to study or teach the book of Job. However, my life has been “Refined through the Crucible of Suffering” in the last few years, and my priorities for “playing it safe” have been rearranged due to this upheaval. I am now hungry to read and dive deep into this book because when all is said and done for me I want to be able to say…
“Blessed Be your name on the land marked with suffering. Though there’s pain in the offering. Blessed be Your name.” (Blessed Be Your Name, Matt Redmon).
Tomorrow, the curtains will rise, and we will face our “Les Misery” up front and personal on center stage… Are you ready to Bless His Name even when you are “Waiting in the Dark”?
