Vital statistics

A Comparison of Satan’s Theology with That of Job’s Friends
Satan	Friends
IF Job is blessed by God, THEN he will be faithful.	IF Job is faithful, THEN he will be blessed.
OR	OR
IF Job is not blessed by God, THEN he will be unfaithful. (Satan accused God of Bribing His followers.)	IF Job is unfaithful, THEN he will be punished.

New Geneva study Bible. 1997, c1995 (electronic ed.) (Job 41.1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

The sources of suffering

When suffering or troubles happen, do they always come from Satan? In Job's story, his series of tragedies did come from Satan, but this  is not always the case. The chart above demonstrates the four main causes of suffering. Any one of these or a combination of them may create suffering. If knowing why we are suffering will teach us to avoid the cause, then the causes are worth knowing. However, it is most important to know howto respond during suffering.  

Sources	Who is Responsible	Who is Affected	Needed Response
My sin	I am	Myself and others	Repentance and confession to God
Others' sin	Person who sinned and others who allowed the sin	Probably many people, including those who sinned	Active resistance to the sinful behavior, while accepting the sinner.
Avoidable physical (or natural) disaster	Persons who ignore the facts or refuse to take precautions	Most of those exposed to the cause	Prevent them if possible; be prepared if they can[t be prevented
Unavoidable physical (or natural) disaster	God, Satan	Most of those present	Ongoing in God's faithfulness

Advice from Job's friends

Overwhelmed by suffering, Job was not comforted but condemned by his friends. Each of their views represents a well-know way to understand suffering. God proves that each explanation given by Job's friends has less than the whole answer:  

Who they were	Reference	How they Helped	Their Reasoning	Their Advice	Job's Response	God's Response
Eliphaz the Temanite	Job 4-5; 15; 22		Job is suffering because he has sinned.	Go to God and present your case to him. (5:8)	Stop assuming my guilt. (6:29)
Bildad the Shuhite	Job 8; 18; 25	They sat in  silence with job for	Job won't admit he sinned, so he's still suffering.	How long will you go onm like this? (8:2)	I will say to Good... Tell me the charge you are bringing against me. (10:2)	Gob rebukes Job's friends
Zophar the Naamanthite	Job 11; 20	seven days. (2:1-13)	Job's sin deserve even more suffering than he's experienced.	Get rid of your sins. (11:13,14)	I will be proved innocent. (13:18)	(42:7
Elihu the Buzite	Job 32-37		God is using suffering to mold and train Job.	Keep silent and I will teach you wisdom. (33:33)	No response	God does not directly address Elihu.
God	Job 38-41	Confronted Job with the need to be content even though he didn't know why he was suffering	Di not explain the reason for the pain.	Do you still want to argue with the Almighty?  (40:2)	I was taking about things I did not understand (42:3-5)

The Blueprint

A. JOB IS TESTED (1:1-2:13)	Job a wealthy and upright man, lost his possessions, his children, and his health. Job did not understand why he was suffering. Why does God allow his children to suffer? Although there is an explanation, we may not know it white we are here on earth. In the meantime, we must always be ready for testing in our lives.
B. THREE FRIENDS ANSWER JOB (3:1-31:40) First round of discussion  Second round of discussion Third round of discussion	Job's friends wrongly assumed that suffering always came as a result of sin. With this in mind, they tried to persuade Job to repent of his sin. But the three friends were wrong. Suffering is not always a direct result of personal sin. When we experience severe suffering, it may not be our fault, so we don't have to add to our pain by feeling guilty that some hidden sin is causing our trouble.
C. A YOUNG MAN ANSWER JOB (32:1-37:24)	A young man named Elihu, who had been listening to the entire conversation, criticized the three friends for being unable to answer Job. He said that although Job was a good man, he had allowed himself to become proud, and God was punishing him om order to humble him. This answer was partially true because suffering does purify our faith. But God is beyond our comprehension, and we cannot know why he allows each instance of suffering to come into our lives. Our part is simply to remain faithful.
D. GOD ANSWER JOB (38:1-41:34)	God himself finally answered Job. God is in control of the world, and only he understands why the good are allowed to suffer. This only becomes clear to us when we see God for who he is. We must courageously accept what God allows to happen in our lives and remain firmly committed to him.
E. JOB IS RESTORED (42:1-17)	Job finally learned that when nothing else was left, he had God, and that was enough. Through suffering, we learn that God is enough for our lives and our future. We must love God regardless of whether he allows blessing or suffering to come to us. Testing is difficult, but the result is often a deeper relationship with God. Those who endure the testing of their faith will experience God's great rewards in the end.

Job Overview

Biographical Sketch of Job

1. A spiritually mature man (1:1, 8; 2:3)
2. Father of many children (1:2; 42:13)
3. Owner of many herds (1:3; 42:12)
4. A wealthy and influential man (1:3b)
5. A priest to his family (1:5)
6. A loving, wise husband (2:9)
7. A man of prominence in community affairs (29:7-11)
8. A man of benevolence (29:12-17; 31:32)
9. A wise leader (29:21-24)
10. Grower of crops (31:38-40)