Teaching Job 8

Notes: Chapter 8 is a sample chapter of the approach of Job's 3 friends; Bildad,

Eliphaz and Zophar. In this chapter Bildad speaks and encourages Job to admit that he has sinned, for this would explain his predicament. In Bildad's mind suffering is a direct result of sin. Note Bildad's logic in v3 - God is just. If Job is suffering, either it must be because of sin or because God is unjust. Material blessing comes with right standing before God. The friends have a 'simplistic and mechanical idea about God.' They have failed to comprehend the sheer wisdom of God and the complex nature of life and the universe.

Application:

Many children have this mechanistic idea of the world, because its simple. Often they will be quite superstitious because of it. We won't be able to give them a full answer in one session but we can begin to break down their misunderstanding of God as a slot-machine: bad things don't happen just because you've been bad; good things don't happen just because you've been good.

3-5s

Theme: Bad things don't always happen because we've done something wrong

Intro:

• Colour in or paint some of the pictures from the story
• Good / bad results – give them various situations, they need to decide by crossing the room

Teaching:

Recap Job 1-3 – have Job cutouts with three friends sitting around him.

            Do you remember what happened to Job?

            Do you remember what his friends did?

Job didn’t know why. Why had such horrible things happened to him? Did God hate him? That’s what it felt like!

Job’s friends thought they knew. And they each take it in turns to say the same thing: Job, you’ve been really naughty. That’s why such horrible things are happening to you! [use thumbs down and thumbs up throughout to indicate]

Listen to Job’s friend, Bildad: read 8:2-7.

Do you see? They are saying:

When you take your friends toy without them wanting you to, you have to sit on the naughty step. [have a picture a naughty child then an arrow to a picture of a child on the naughty step]

When you stamp your feet and refuse to do what mummy and daddy say, you don’t get time on the tablet or you’re not allowed your sweeties. [have picture of naughty child with an arrow to some sweeties]

When you do naughty things then bad things happen to you. So if bad things are happening to Job he must have been naughty.

But Bildad is really wrong! We know Job hasn’t done anything wrong. Job has really loved God. We know God doesn’t hate Job. So what’s going on?

Sometimes bad things do happen because we’ve been naughty. But lots of the time bad things happen because the world isn’t the way God created it to be.

Look at Jesus. He did nothing wrong, he was never naughty and he always loved God. But what happened to him? He died on a cross, something really bad happened to him.

So sometimes sad things will happen to us and its really not our fault, it was nothing we’ve done. But God is still in charge even when that happens.

Pray

Craft:

·         Filter paper world – use green and blue pens and water spray

Songs:

10,9,8 God is Great; God never says Oops!, He died upon the cross (Colin Buchanan)

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5-11s

Theme: Bad things don't always happen because we've done something wrong

Intro:

Good / bad results – give them various situations, they need to decide by crossing the room [could do at end]

Indiana Job training eg rolling under tables, grabbing hats, etc. Those who ‘lose’ have to pay a forfeit (but choose carefully)

Teaching: [This talk was written by Caz Toye]

[Bible reading with pictures in church]

Intro: [Make vending machine out of large box]

- Introduce the vending machine asking does anyone know what this is? What do you have to do?

- Maybe have a few options of what you could get out of the vending machine and get a volunteer to come and choose/press a button (e.g with a picture of haribo on it) and out pops a bag of haribo which they can take and share with their group.

Well this vending machine is going to help us as we learn more about God from the book of Job.

Recap from last week

Job - all his things / everything he owns and his family have been taken away from him.

And then his health has been taken away from him.

So his three friends have come to help and comfort him.

Today we’re going to hear from Bildad, one of Job’s friends - he’s got something to say to Job!

Here he is now.

How Bildad thinks the world/God works:

Bildad: “Job, stop moaning! Just admit that you have sinned! All this bad stuff must have

happened because you have done something wrong.”

Now imagine this vending machine is God.

Bildad thinks this is the way God works:

Bildad: “Look a can of bad has popped out, [hold up can of bad] you must have put some bad in to get it!” [point to the big sin button]

Bildad thinks because Job is suffering (all the bad stuff that has happened to him) - he must have sinned/done something wrong. He must have done something terrible to deserve all the bad things that are happening to him.

But what did we learn about Job yesterday!? Has Job done anything wrong/sinned for all these things to happen to him?

[we’ve seen behind the scenes: Job’s suffering is not because he has sinned, he hasn’t done anything wrong]

So Thumbs up / thumbs down for Bildad…do we think that Bildad is right (thumbs up) or wrong (thumbs down).

Lets find out more from Bildad’s speech to Job…

Bildad’s advice: you’ll get good stuff if you’re right with God.

Bildad, what do you think Job should do?

Bildad: “Job, if you do good things, then good things will happen to you, your life will be better again.”

“Look…put in good [press good button]….and out will pop….a can of good…[wait for can]”

But can we all say: ohh no! [Everyone: Oh No.]

Bildad has got it all wrong!

Bildad has got it all wrong!

God does not work this way, God is not a vending machine… because sometimes a can of bad can pop out….even when we haven’t done something wrong.

[go to vending machine and find a can of bad has popped out, even when Bildad pressed the good button!]

Bildad was wrong to think Job must have done something wrong. Just because he’s seen a can of bad pop out, does not mean that Job put some bad/wrong in (sinned).

Application:

Bad things don’t always happen because we’ve done something wrong. So maybe something really sad happens to you, like having to move school or house and you have to leave your friends, or something happens to your parents, like they get sick. Just because this bad thing happens, doesn’t mean you’ve done something wrong.

And even if you do good things, and you love and follow Jesus, which is the best way to live…this doesn’t mean you’ll only get good things and blessings. Can you fill in the blanks on the screen: Bad things don't happen just because you've been ….. (bad); good things don't happen just because you've been ….. (good).

Reinforce with contrast:

At School: But with God: [put big God label over vending machine]

But bad things do still happen…but we’ve learnt that they don’t happen just because we’ve been bad/sinned…

In fact I know someone, who was perfect…who had some really bad things happen to him.

Can anyone think who this might be?

-> Jesus

Jesus lead the perfect, good life. Jesus never sinned.

[press the perfect life button] -> [perfect things don’t pop out….instead out pops the cross]

But he had a lot of bad things happen to him, even though he was perfect.

In fact he died on the cross, not because he’d sinned or done anything wrong, but because we have sinned.

Wow so Bildad was wrong…God is not simple, we cannot imagine him to be a vending machine that gives out what we put in.

And how great this is! Because even though we do sin…God still gives us good things…especially the best thing of all…he sent Jesus!

Table Time:

Knowledge

• Can you remember the names/number of Job’s friends?

• What did they/Bildad say to Job?

• What did they think about God?

Understanding

• What did Bildad get right/wrong?

• Why don’t good things always happen to good people and bad things always happen to bad people?

Application

• Can you think of a time when something bad happened to you when you didn’t deserve it?

• Can you think of a time when something good happened to you even though you’d been bad?

• Can you think of a time in Jesus’ life when something bad happened even though he didn’t deserve it?

Funsheet

Pray for persecuted church