Job has gone through great trials without turning against God and cursing Him. However, he does complain of being unjustly persecuted and expects God to give him reasons for his suffering. In this chapter, God actually appears to Job.
Most of this chapter gives a list of the ills experienced by Job. After considering the afflictions laid on him in the first two chapters of the book, this does not seem to be any exaggeration. The amazing part of this chapter is found in verses 25-27 where Job bursts out in an outstanding proclamation of faith in the middle of his list of trials and afflictions. He suffered. But he never lost faith. What an example to us!
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.
The servant must understand his relationship to His Lord. The Lord is the master of the house and He rules it without challenge. The servant exists for the needs and service of the Lord. John 13:16 states, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.”
The temple was indeed completed by Zerubbabel. But that was almost sixty years ago and the people have again come to a place of spiritual deadness. They need a revival and God has prepared a special man. Ezra had dedicated his life to learning, doing, and teaching the law of the Lord (Ezra 7:10). God gives him favor with the king of Persia and he organizes a successful return to the land of promise.
