INTRODUCTION:  Job may have been the first book of the Bible to have been written down. It is certainly one of the earliest. It deals with a universal theme: the problem of suffering. Is suffering always a punishment for sin? Can we know why we suffer? Will justice triumph in the end? How should we deal with suffering? Consider these questions and others that come to your mind as you study this passage.

1. THE MAN NAMED JOB (Job 1:1-5)
1. His Testimony (Job 1:1)
1. His name - Job
2. His location: from the land of Uz – probably northeast of Palestine (Jeremiah 25:20; Lamentations 4:21); Job is called one of “the men of the east” (Job 1:3).
3. His character
1. Perfect
2. Upright
3. Feared God
4. Eschewed evil (1 Peter 3:11); eschew means to shun, avoid, keep away from
2. His Children (Job 1:2)
1. Seven sons
2. Three daughters
3. His Wealth (Job 1:3)
1. 7,000 sheep
2. 3,000 camels
3. 500 yoke of oxen
4. 500 she asses
5. A very great household
6. The greatest of all the men of the east
4. His Faithfulness (Job 1:4-5)
1. The feasting of his children (Job 1:4)
2. The offerings of Job for his children (Job 1:5)
3. The faithfulness of Job – “continually” (Job 1:5)
2. THE ADVERSARY OF JOB (Job 1:6-11)
1. The Presentation of Satan (Job 1:6-7)
1. The day of presentation (Job 1:6)
1. The coming of the sons of God; certainly angels (Job 38:7)
2. The coming of Satan
2. The presentation of Satan (Job 1:7)
1. The inquiry of the Lord
2. The answer of Satan (Ephesians 2:2)
1. Going to and fro in the earth
2. Walking up and down in the earth
3. Special note: the five abodes of Satan
1. In heaven
1. Creation (Ezekiel 28:11-15; Job 38:4-7)
2. Corruption (Ezekiel 28:15-17; Isaiah 14:12-15)
2. On earth
1. Wandering (Job 1:6-7; Job 2:1-2)
2. Warring (1 Peter 5:8)
3. In the air
1. His position (Ephesians 2:2; John 12:31)
2. His power (Ephesians 6:12)
1. His throne of iniquity (Psalm 94:20)
2. His throng of angels (Revelation 12:9)
4. In the bottomless pit
1. Locked in the pit (Revelation 20:1-3)
2. Loosed for a season (Revelation 20:7-9)
5. In the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10)
1. Cast in
2. Tormented forever
2. The Consideration of Job (Job 1:8)
1. The naming of Job by the Lord
2. The recommendation of Job
1. A perfect man
2. An upright man
3. A man who fears God
4. A man who eschews evil
3. The Accusations of Satan (Job 1:9-11; Revelation 12:10)
1. Job does not fear God for nothing (Job 1:9)
2. Job fears God for he receives from it (Job 1:10)
1. God’s hedge about and all around him
2. God’s blessing on the work of his hands
3. God’s increase of his substance
3. Job would not fear God without these blessings (Job 1:11)
1. If these things were taken away
2. Job would curse God to His face
3. THE FIRST TEST OF JOB (Job 1:12-22)
1. The Permission Given Satan (Job 1:12)
1. Satan given power over Job’s possessions
2. Satan not allowed to touch Job
3. Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord
2. The Day of Disaster (Job 1:13-19)
1. A day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting (Job 1:13)
2. The attack of the Sabeans on the oxen, asses, and servants (Job 1:14-15)
3. The falling of fire on the sheep and servants (Job 1:16)
4. The attack of the Chaldeans on the camels and servants (Job 1:17)
5. The great wind destroying the children of Job (Job 1:18-19)
3. The Reaction of Job (Job 1:20-22)
1. His first actions (Job 1:20)
1. He arose
2. He rent his mantle
3. He shaved his head
4. He fell down on the ground
5. He worshipped
2. His first words (Job 1:21)
1. To return to earth as he came (Ecclesiastes 5:15; 1 Timothy 6:7)
2. The Lord took as He had given
3. Blessed be the name of the Lord
3. His integrity (Job 1:22)
1. He did not sin
2. He did not charge God foolishly
4. THE RETURN OF JOB’S ADVERSARY (Job 2:1-5)
1. The Presentation of Satan (Job 2:1-2)
1. The day of presentation (Job 2:1)
2. The coming of Satan (Job 2:2)
2. The Consideration of Job (Job 2:3)
1. The recommendation of Job
2. The integrity of Job – integrity is the state of being whole, complete, sound; a condition where the actions fit the words and both fit the claims of the person; a state of being the same all the way through and at all times
1. Though God was moved against him
2. Though he was destroyed without cause
3. The Accusations of Satan (Job 2:4-5)
1. Job is holding fast because he is still not physically hurting (Job 2:4)
2. If he is in pain, he will curse God (Job 2:5)
5. THE SECOND TEST OF JOB (Job 2:7-10)
1. The Permission Given Satan (Job 2:6)
1. Permission to attack the person of Job
2. No permission to take his life
2. The Boils on Job’s Body (Job 2:7-8)
1. Smitten with boils from head to toe (Job 2:7)
2. Scraping his boils with a potsherd: a broken piece of pottery (Job 2:8)
3. Sitting down in ashes (Job 2:8)
3. The Words of Job’s Wife (Job 2:9)
1. Why hold on?
2. Curse God and die
4. The Reaction of Job (Job 2:10)
1. The words are as those of a foolish woman
2. Shall we not receive evil as we receive good?
3. Job still did not sin with his lips

CONCLUSION:  God never tells Job why he had to suffer. He simply told him that He was God and Job should not question Him. What can we learn from the suffering of Job? How should we approach the trials that we face in this life?