Teaching Job 3

Notes:

Note the names of the three friends. These are all non-Israelite, Eastern names. This suggests that they represent the finest wisdom the world can offer, that is that the world is ordered; good receives good and bad receives bad. They identify with Job in their actions – dust representing a return to the ground, death.

Chapter 3 can be split into 3 parts – a curse, a lament and a question.

V3-10 – A Curse: Here Job curses his birth and not only his birth but that fact that he was ever conceived. This is more than just wishing death on himself, yet it is pointless and ineffective.

V11-19 – A Lament: There are two whys (v11 &16). Here Job longs to be with the rich and powerful in Sheol (the land of the dead) because in that place there is equality and ease.

V20-26 – An Agonised Question: Why can’t I die? Note the use of hedge in v23 and see 1:10. Here the hedge isn’t protecting Job but oppressing him. Then in v26 Job’s speech reaches a climax with 4 words: peace, quietness, rest, turmoil.

Note in all this that God is with Job in the darkness and that Job is seeking God.

3-5s

Theme: God is with us when we feel sad, so talk to Him

Intro:

• Face painting tears or sad face masks [ask ‘What makes you sad?’]

Teaching:

Recap last week [put out a Job character]

After all this had happened Job was very sad. Can you imagine how sad he must have felt?

Three friends came to visit him. Their names were Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. [put out three friends]. When they came to him they didn’t even realise it was him. He looked so terrible, not like the Job they remember. And they cried too and sat on the ground with him. They sat with him for a whole week. And they didn’t say a word to him.

Then Job spoke. And Job was so sad he said that he wished he had never been born! Read 3v3. If he was no longer alive then he wouldn’t have all this bad stuff happening to him. Maybe that would be better, he says. Read 3v13.

He doesn’t understand why God would let this happen to him. Read 3v23 &26.

Job was so sad. He was sad about all that had happened to him. And yet, God was still with him. Even though it felt to Job as though God had disappeared and left him, God was still with him. And Job did the right thing, even when he was really sad he still turned and prayed to God.

What makes you sad? [take some suggestions, if not suggest some things]

Did you know that God is still there even when […] happens?

Do you know that you can still pray to God, even when it feels like He’s not there?          

Do you know that Jesus, too, felt sad? The night before he died he was in a garden in Gethsemane. He took three friends with him and became very sad. He fell to the floor and prayed to His Father, God. Even when Jesus felt sad because he knew something terrible was going to happen, God was still with Him, and so He turned and prayed.

Why don’t we pray now?

Pray

Craft:

• Paper plate with tears
• Colouring pages

Songs:

Find some quieter and more meditative songs for this week

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5-11s

Theme: God is with us in horrible times, so talk to him

Intro:

‘What makes you sad?’ – split them into small groups. They write or draw on big sheets of paper. Keep these for the end of the talk.

Teaching:

Recap from last week

Job has three friends who come to visit him when they hear all that has happened to him. They are Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. [Have three people sitting with Job]. When they saw him they barely recognized him and wept aloud, tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads [act out and give them newspaper clothes]. They said nothing to him for a whole week. Why do you think that was?

Then Job spoke. [Job reads v3-4]

What do you think Job is saying here and why? He’s saying he wishes he was never born. If he’d never been born then he wouldn’t need to go through this horrible suffering.

[Job reads v16-19]. This is quite stark! Job is saying that if he’d died he would be at rest. Whether you’re important or unimportant you’re all equal when you’re dead.

[Job reads v24-26]. Job pours out his soul to God in misery. He begs God to no longer be alive, that’s how terrible he feels.

This is really tricky isn’t it? So what do we learn? Well, we learn that God is still with Job even in this horrible, horrible situation. And do you know what, no matter how sad you feel, no matter how terrible you feel things have gone for you, God is with you. Maybe things are horrible and sad for you at home, parents are arguing or struggling themselves. God is with you. Maybe you worry about things at school, whether friends or school work, God is with you. Maybe there is something else that’s making you really sad, God is always with you even when it feels as though He’s against you, as Job felt.

Jesus once felt as sad as Job. The night before he died he was in a garden with three of his friends and he cried out to his Father God to take away the suffering he was going to go through.

The other thing Job does when life was horrible was to pray to God. He doesn’t ignore God and pretend He’s not there. Job directs his questions towards God. Even though he’s angry and scared and worried, he turns to God and not away from him. Do you do that? When you’re worried, do you cry out to God? When you’re scared, do you ask Him what’s going on? When you’re angry, do you talk to God about it? You can do; He’s a great big God!

Pray

Table time:

Knowledge

• What did Job’s three friends do?
• What did Job say and how did he feel?

Understanding

• Who was with Job through all this?

• Why did Job speak to God in this way?

• What did we learn about God?

Application

• When do you feel sad/angry/worried/afraid?

• What could you say to God at these times?

• How could you remember that God is with you even when life is horrible?

Funsheets

Pray for persecuted church