Job 42 - The Wisdom of Job

Job 42:1-2 - Then Job answered the Lord and said:  “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted (no purpose can be defeated)."

Message: The Wisdom of Job

Time: The Book of Job does not specifically name its author. The most likely candidates are Job, Elihu, Moses and Solomon. The date of the authorship of the Book of Job would be determined by the author of the Book of Job. If Moses was the author, the date would be around 1440 B.C. If Solomon was the author, the date would be around 950 B.C. Because we don’t know the author, we can’t know the date of writing.

What the Lord is Saying: 

This is one of the oldest stories in the Bible as Job probably lived around the time of Moses. It is a book that discusses suffering and the sovereignty of God.

According to my reading in TableTalk:

Historical narrative open and closes this book. Job is introduced as a man whose uprightness is known in his day. He is a righteous man of faith. There is a dialogue between God and Satan that engulfs a section concerning Job. Satan thinks he believes because he is blessed. God permits Satan to test Job's faith. Job proves Satan wrong. He perseveres. But along the way he still questions God. He wonders why a righteous man would have to suffer. His friends tell him suffers because of his sin. They say many true things but they also imply that suffering and sin always have a one-to-one correlation. God's will is inscrutable (difficult to fathom or understand).

Promise: May I always accept what I know, and still trust God for what I do not understand.