Bible Study on how the Believer is to look at Suffering.

1. JOB 29-42
CBT Week Four: The Lens of
Suffering
JobTheFilm.com

2. slideshare.net/LazarouRichard

3. THANK YOU

4. ~John Piper

5. JOB 29:1-5
(ESV) PAGE
100
1 And Job again took up his discourse, and
said:
2 “Oh, that I were as in the months of old,
as in the days when God watched over me,
3 when his lamp shone upon my head,
and by his light I walked through darkness,
4 as I was in my prime,
when the friendship of God was upon my
tent,
5 when the Almighty was yet with me,
when my children were all around me,

6. JOB 29:6-11 (ESV)
PAGE 100
6 when my steps were washed with butter,
and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!
7 When I went out to the gate of the city,
when I prepared my seat in the square,
8 the young men saw me and withdrew,
and the aged rose and stood;
9 the princes refrained from talking
and laid their hand on their mouth;
10 the voice of the nobles was hushed,
and their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
11 When the ear heard, it called me blessed,
and when the eye saw, it approved,

7. JOB 29:12-15 (ESV) PAGE 100
12 because I delivered the poor who cried for help,
and the fatherless who had none to help him.
13 The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me,
and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
my justice was like a robe and a turban.
15 I was eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.

8. 16 I was a father to the needy,
and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not
know.
17 I broke the fangs of the unrighteous
and made him drop his prey from his teeth.
18 Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my nest,
and I shall multiply my days as the sand,
19 my roots spread out to the waters,
with the dew all night on my branches,
20 my glory fresh with me,
and my bow ever new in my hand.’
JOB 29:16-
20 (ESV)
PAGE 100

9. JOB 29:21-25
(ESV) PAGE 100
21 “Men listened to me and waited
and kept silence for my counsel.
22 After I spoke they did not speak again,
and my word dropped upon them.
23 They waited for me as for the rain,
and they opened their mouths as for the spring rain.
24 I smiled on them when they had no confidence,
and the light of my face they did not cast down.
25 I chose their way and sat as chief,
and I lived like a king among his troops,
like one who comforts mourners.

10. JOB 42:1-3 (ESV) JOB'S CONFESSION
AND REPENTANCE (PAGE 118)
1 Then Job answered the Lord and said:
2 “I know that you can do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3 ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

11. JOB 42:4-6
(ESV)(PAGE 118)
4 ‘Hear, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you
make it known to me.’
5 I had heard of you by the
hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees you;
6 therefore I despise myself,
and repent in dust and
ashes.”

12. THE CHIEF END OF MAN: GLORIFY GOD AND ENJOY HIM
FOREVER.
~WESTMINSTER CATECHISM

13. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV)
I6 All Scripture is breathed out
by God and profitable for
teaching, for reproof, for
correction, and for training in
righteousness, 17 that the man
of God may be complete,
equipped for every good work.

14. CBT 14 ERA BOOKMARK

15. AT THE CONCLUSION OF THIS LESSON REGARDING
JOB’S CONVERSATION WITH GOD, STUDENTS WILL BE
ABLE TO EXPLAIN THAT THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE
OF SUFFERING IN A PERSON’S LIFE DOES NOT
REFLECT HIS STANDING BEFORE GOD.
LESSON OBJECTIVE:

16. KEY TRUTHS
Suffering or lack of suffering is not a reliable gauge to
determine a man’s right standing with God. Outward
appearances of success rarely indicate biblical faith; and
outward appearances of failure rarely indicate a lack of faith.
The answer to the question of suffering does not come by
looking back at one’s past but by looking up to the Creator.
God allows what He hates to accomplish the good He loves-a
child of His expressing simple faith in Him.
Suffering doesn’t create faith-it reveals genuine faith, develops
and matures that faith.

17. DISCLAIMER

18. LESSON
OBJECTIVE:
Understand & refine my
theology of suffering
• Revelation: what does the Bible say?
• Observation & Experience: what do
my experiences say?
• Tradition: what do others say?
• Human Reasoning: what does “logic”
say?
• Listening vs. Speaking

19. Job 1:21 (ESV Strong's)
21 And he said, “Naked I came from my
mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The
Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;
blessed be the name of the Lord.”

20. Job 2:10 (ESV Strong's) 10 But he said
to her, “You speak as one of the foolish
women would speak. Shall we receive
good from God, and shall we not
receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin
with his lips.

22. LESSON
OBJECTIVE:
Understand & refine my
theology of suffering
• Revelation: what does the Bible say?
• Observation & Experience: what do
my experiences say?
• Tradition: what do others say?
• Human Reasoning: what does “logic”
say?
• Listening vs. Speaking

23. JOB 29:1-5 (ESV) PAGE 100
1 And Job again took up his discourse, and said:
2 “Oh, that I were as in the months of old,
as in the days when God watched over me,
3 when his lamp shone upon my head,
and by his light I walked through darkness,
4 as I was in my prime,
when the friendship of God was upon my tent,
5 when the Almighty was yet with me,
when my children were all around me,

24. JOB 29:6-11 (ESV) PAGE 100
6 when my steps were washed with butter,
and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!
7 When I went out to the gate of the city,
when I prepared my seat in the square,
8 the young men saw me and withdrew,
and the aged rose and stood;
9 the princes refrained from talking
and laid their hand on their mouth;
10 the voice of the nobles was hushed,
and their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
11 When the ear heard, it called me blessed,
and when the eye saw, it approved,

25. Where does your relationship with God
lead you when it comes to dealing with
suffering?
Endurance for it? Insurance against
it?

26. JOB 29:12-15 (ESV) PAGE 100
12 because I delivered the poor who cried for help,
and the fatherless who had none to help him.
13 The blessing of him who was about to perish came
upon me,
and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
my justice was like a robe and a turban.
15 I was eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.

27. JOB 29:16-20 (ESV) PAGE 100
16 I was a father to the needy,
and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not know.
17 I broke the fangs of the unrighteous
and made him drop his prey from his teeth.
18 Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my nest,
and I shall multiply my days as the sand,
19 my roots spread out to the waters,
with the dew all night on my branches,
20 my glory fresh with me,
and my bow ever new in my hand.’

28. JOB 29:21-25 (ESV) PAGE 100
21 “Men listened to me and waited
and kept silence for my counsel.
22 After I spoke they did not speak again,
and my word dropped upon them.
23 They waited for me as for the rain,
and they opened their mouths as for the spring rain.
24 I smiled on them when they had no confidence,
and the light of my face they did not cast down.
25 I chose their way and sat as chief,
and I lived like a king among his troops,
like one who comforts mourners.

29. What doe you see as your role in God’s
plan to redeem this world from suffering?
WelfareFanfare

30. Job 38:4 (ESV Strong's) 4 “Where were you
when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.

31. JOB 42:1-3 (ESV) JOB'S CONFESSION AND
REPENTANCE (PAGE 118)
1 Then Job answered the Lord and said:
2 “I know that you can do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3 ‘Who is this that hides counsel without
knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not
understand,

32. JOB 42:4-6 (ESV)(PAGE 118)
4 ‘Hear, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.’
5 I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees you;
6 therefore I despise myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.”

33. APPLICATION: NO PURPOSE CAN BE THWARTED
Heavenly operations are hidden from man, and
suffering forces us to reconcile that truth daily.
Christian counsel during suffering must be
about redemption not conviction.
God never wastes suffering.
Suffering puts us in position to understand our
own limitations which should push us closer to
our Savior.

34. Job 38:4 (ESV Strong's) 4 “Where were you
when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
2 Corinthians 1:4 (ESV Strong's)
4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that
we may be able to comfort those who are in
any affliction, with the comfort with which we
ourselves are comforted by God.
~John Piper

35. IT WON’T BE LONG BEFORE THE ROD BECOMES
THE TENDER KISS OF GOD. ~JOHN PIPER