Introduction

Dear Reader

These notes look at the book of Job to see what we can learn from what God was teaching His servant. The book contains an ancient and remarkable poem in which there is a lot of interesting detail. You can see it all if you read the book for yourself. But if you want to do that, there are things you ought to remember.

God wants to be known—to you as much as to Job. He is not satisfied if we know about Him; He wants us to find Him in His own presence; and learn there what He really is. This was “the end of the Lord” with Job. God must do things on His own account to bring this about, even when He is dealing with an upright, God-fearing man like Job. Job was wealthy and had a large family and household, and this had led him to think of all this as some kind of reward for his own righteousness. But God would be the same to those who have less—like us; or if, like Job, we lost everything. And He is the same too to the chief of sinners—self-righteousness earns us no favours.

So read the book of Job to get to know God and His presence better; and learn His grace. His mighty power is for you; and He will always have your blessing in mind in any discipline—He chastens those He loves, that we might be partakers of His holiness.

Job did not know the gospel that is preached today, what God offers in the name of Jesus Christ; nor did He know of the Holy Spirit coming. If a full and true gospel is preached, we will learn how God has now revealed Himself; and His end for believers is much more wonderful than anything known in Old Testament times. Job had three friends who hardly knew God—if at all, and they did not speak of God rightly: Job needed the truth, and what they had was error. So for these reasons we need to be careful in reading what these men say about God, and remember what we are taught about Him in the gospel. I have given some reminders in these notes.

Paul tells us that every scripture is divinely inspired and profitable. Let us look at this one to learn more about God, and thus to have a right judgment of ourselves.

ANDREW BURR

2020