"Finding Words" January 4 Readings: Job 1-5
Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2026
This year, we will read the Bible chronologically, as it happened, instead of simply reading from Genesis to Revelation. The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.
Bible Readings: Job 1-5
In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.
Background:
For the next eight days, we will be reading the Book of Job, which is likely set in the Patriarchal Era but is considered by many to be the earliest book of the Bible. There is little known about Job or any of the other characters outside of what is written in the Bible.
The first two chapters of Job raise so many questions - the kind that will never be answered until we stand face-to-face with our Savior. Then, frankly, we likely won't care about the answers! If God loved Job, why would he allow him to endure all this suffering? Does Satan really have that kind of access to heaven? Does he really challenge God to contests with us as the battleground? The list goes on.
The sad part about Job is that many never study the heart of the book - the conversation between Job and his three friends, between Job and Elihu, and the finale, an answer from God in chapters 3-41. They just read the first two chapters and the last. There are some important lessons we can learn as we read Job 1 and 2, but these chapters are only the appetizer for the main course that is served in chapters 3-41. Still, these appetizers are tasty morsels!
The sad part about Job is that many never study the heart of the book - the conversation between Job and his three friends, between Job and Elihu, and the finale, an answer from God in chapters 3-41. They just read the first two chapters and the last. There are some important lessons we can learn as we read Job 1 and 2, but these chapters are only the appetizer for the main course that is served in chapters 3-41. Still, these appetizers are tasty morsels!
We learn that no amount of righteous and godly living can shield us from suffering in this world. Actually, the opposite can be true. Job was a target because of his righteous living. Living for Christ can put us on the front lines of battle and make us a target of the enemy. Charlatans promise that godliness shields us from pain.
Our comfort and prosperity are not God's primary goal. God's purposes in the world and in Job's life mattered more than Job's prosperity, happiness, and comfort, and God was willing to permit Job great pain to lead him to a place of new insight and to use him in his divine plan.
We focus on Job's great suffering, but Job only suffered as God permitted to accomplish the purposes of God in his life. God is powerful, and he is good! We must hold on to that even when evil seems to be working its work. Know that evil is ultimately only able to accomplish the purposes of the sovereign God in this world!
Our comfort and prosperity are not God's primary goal. God's purposes in the world and in Job's life mattered more than Job's prosperity, happiness, and comfort, and God was willing to permit Job great pain to lead him to a place of new insight and to use him in his divine plan.
We focus on Job's great suffering, but Job only suffered as God permitted to accomplish the purposes of God in his life. God is powerful, and he is good! We must hold on to that even when evil seems to be working its work. Know that evil is ultimately only able to accomplish the purposes of the sovereign God in this world!
Daily Devotional: Finding Words
I stared at him like he was an alien, with horror and embarrassment. We were looking at old pics of our high school days, during a reunion many years ago, and I saw one with someone I didn't recognize. "Who is that?" I asked. "That's my brother," he responded. His brother, during his college years, had become despondent and committed suicide. What should I say? How should I respond? I didn't know. I panicked. I said nothing as the awkward moment passed. I'd love to go back to those days, with what I know now, and offer my friend a word of encouragement.
You might have had a moment like that when you did not know what to say to minister to someone in a time of grief and pain. There is a lot to learn from Job's friends, both positive and negative, about situations like that.
Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar performed one of the most amazing acts of friendship anyone has ever seen. When they came to comfort their friend Job, after he had lost his wealth, his home, and his children in horrible accidents, they sat with him in silence for seven days. They simply sat there and let him know that they cared and that they were there to help him.
They communicated to Job by their presence and their silence, the two most important messages hurting and grieving people need to hear.
All the troubles that Job went through could not cause him to sin. He faced the loss of his wealth and his family with faith and dependence on God. When his friends tried to force their false and simplistic theology on them, it did what Satan's machinations could not - Job crumbled into anger and bitterness.
In chapter 4, we are introduced to "Educated Eliphaz" who acted like God's professor, explaining everything God did based on his outlook. Next, we will meet Bildad the Blowhard and Zealous Zophar. Each has a different view, but they all say the same thing - it's your fault, Job. Your sin brought this on, and you need to repent.
If only they'd kept their mouths shut!
When someone is suffering, you don't need to try to do the Holy Spirit's job. You cannot explain all of the activity of the sovereign God, but you can communicate two messages to them by your words and your deeds.
You might have had a moment like that when you did not know what to say to minister to someone in a time of grief and pain. There is a lot to learn from Job's friends, both positive and negative, about situations like that.
Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar performed one of the most amazing acts of friendship anyone has ever seen. When they came to comfort their friend Job, after he had lost his wealth, his home, and his children in horrible accidents, they sat with him in silence for seven days. They simply sat there and let him know that they cared and that they were there to help him.
They communicated to Job by their presence and their silence, the two most important messages hurting and grieving people need to hear.
- I care about you.
- I am here for you. I'm going to be here for you.
That's when the trouble started. They lost their chance to go down in history as some of the greatest men who ever lived when they opened their mouths. Instead of supporting their friend, they wheeled out their faulty theology and tried to force Job's situation into its parameters. They tried to explain everything God was doing, fit everything neatly into their cliched theological box, and by doing so, drove Job to anger and even to sin.May the day I was born perish,
and the night that said,
“A boy is conceived.” If only that day had turned to darkness!
May God above not care about it,
or light shine on it. May darkness and gloom reclaim it,
and a cloud settle over it.
May what darkens the day terrify it.
All the troubles that Job went through could not cause him to sin. He faced the loss of his wealth and his family with faith and dependence on God. When his friends tried to force their false and simplistic theology on them, it did what Satan's machinations could not - Job crumbled into anger and bitterness.
In chapter 4, we are introduced to "Educated Eliphaz" who acted like God's professor, explaining everything God did based on his outlook. Next, we will meet Bildad the Blowhard and Zealous Zophar. Each has a different view, but they all say the same thing - it's your fault, Job. Your sin brought this on, and you need to repent.
If only they'd kept their mouths shut!
When someone is suffering, you don't need to try to do the Holy Spirit's job. You cannot explain all of the activity of the sovereign God, but you can communicate two messages to them by your words and your deeds.
- God loves you and is not going to abandon you, no matter how things look. Trust God even when you don't understand him.
- I love you, and I'm not going anywhere!
Father, I trust you even when I can't understand you. Help me to be a friend to those in need, not like Job's friends, but a true friend!
Consider God's Word:
Do you trust God to see you through hard times, or do you live under the worldly deception that walking in Christ protects you from all hurt and pain?
Do you struggle with what to say to hurting people?
Can you remember a time when you didn't know what to say in a crisis moment?
What should you have said?
Do you struggle with what to say to hurting people?
Can you remember a time when you didn't know what to say in a crisis moment?
What should you have said?
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