Job: Into the Fire, Out of the Ashes

"You have heard of the patience of Job," said one New Testament writer (Jas 5:11). But have you heard of his impatience? Readers will soon learn that Job's patience lasted barely a week. Shortly after suffering unspeakable tragedies, Job spoke surprisingly impassive words of acceptance and trust in God in the face of loss. After seven days of suffering in silence, however, Job filled the air with complaints and accusations toward the God who had repaid his righteousness with ravaging.

All people who live long enough will experience suffering and unexpected sorrows that lead them to join Job in questioning whether God is playing fair. Questions come easily; answers are hard. Studying the story of Job requires us to enter a dark world that is sometimes painfully like our own. Sometimes, like Job, the lesson we learn may be that there are no clear answers or that we have been asking the wrong questions.

The book of Job recounts a dark and dangerous journey toward unseen insights that challenge both human assumptions and traditional theological beliefs. Those who dare to enter Job's world may discover that their own world-or view of the world-has changed in surprising ways. In the end, however, those who stick with the ancient sufferer may discover spiritual depths they had not previously imagined. This Teaching Guide for the Smyth & Helwys Annual Bible Study on Job includes teaching options, suggested worship and sermon outlines, and approaches to leading discussions and group study. This study also includes relevant lesson plans for including youth and children in a congregational study of Job.

Jan Cartledge is pastor of HomeStar Fellowship, an innovative faith community with a special interest in ministry to those who occupy their own ash heaps of suffering in downtown Raleigh. She is frequently called upon to lead seminars on the subjects of grief and loss. Tony W. Cartledge is associate professor of Old Testament at Campbell University Divinity School and contributing editor for Baptists Today. He previously served as editor of the Biblical Recorder and as pastor of churches in Georgia and North Carolina. Jan and Tony are authors of A Whole New World: Life After Bethany and grateful parents of Samuel.