Job 1 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Job 1 Short Summary:

In Job 1, Satan appeared before God and God challenged him to test His servant, Job. Job was a righteous man who loved God, but Satan was convinced he could turn his heart. Satan caused Job to lose all his possessions and his 10 children, but by the end of chapter 1, Job’s heart still belonged to God. Satan’s oppression of Job is the setup for the rest of the book.

Job 1 Bible Study

SHORT OUTLINE OF THE BOOK OF JOB

• Job 1-2 – Job is Persecuted by Satan

• Job 3-37 – Job and His Friends Discuss the Reason He is Experiencing Persecution

• Job 38-41 – God Speaks with Job and Reveals His Greatness to Him.

• Job 42 – God Restores What Job Lost

WHEN:

• The date of the writing of Job is unknown and still debated. Some believe it was written during the time of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) or even earlier, while others suspect it was written during the time of Judah’s Babylonian captivity (607-537 B.C.).

• I take the earlier date. The description of Job as the “greatest of all the people of the east” (1:3) and an absence of references to Israel, Jerusalem, and the Temple suggests to me that this book was written early.

KEY CHARACTERS:

• God – The sovereign Creator of our universe.

• The Sons of God – Angelic or heavenly beings. They are not equals with God but subject to Him.

• Satan – An enemy of God whose desire is to lead men away from God and into sin.

• Job – A blameless and upright man who Satan persecuted in an attempt to turn his heart away from God.

• The Sabeans and Chaldeans – Satan used these nations to plunder Job’s property.

WHERE:

• Most scholars surmise the land of Uz was in northern Saudi Arabia, either immediately south of the Dead Sea, I the land that would become known as Edom, or immediately east of the Dead Sea, which is today the country of Jordan.

OUTLINE:

• INTRODUCTION TO JOB (1:1-5):

  • There was a righteous man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was “upright, one who feared God, and turned away from evil” (1:1).

  • He had 7 sons, 3 daughters, thousands of animals, and hundreds of servants.

  • He was considered the greatest of all the men of the east.

• GOD PRESENTS JOB TO SATAN (1:6-12):

  • One day, the sons of God appeared before God, and Satan came with them.

  • The term “sons of God” in this passage seems to refer to spiritual beings.  

  • God asked Satan where he had come from and where he was going.

  • Satan responded, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it” (1:7).

  • Knowing Satan’s evil business, God put forward Job’s name as a challenge to Satan.

  • Satan scoffed at the idea that Job really loved God. He told God the only reason Job served Him was because He had made him rich.

  • Satan suggested that if Job’s riches were taken away, he would curse God to His face.

  • God gave Satan permission to test his theory.

• JOB LOSES EVERYTHING (6:13-22):

  • On a particular day, when Job’s children were eating together, a messenger came to Job and informed him that the Sabeans had killed his servants and taken all his oxen and donkeys.

  • While that servant was still relaying the bad news, another servant arrived and told Job that fire had fallen from heaven, killed many servants, and burned up all of Job’s sheep.

  • While that servant was still speaking, another servant arrived and told Job the Chaldeans had raided his camels and killed the servants who oversaw them.

  • While that servant was speaking, another servant arrived and told Job a great wind had come, blown over the house in which his children were eating, and killed everyone inside.

  • Job was overwhelmed with grief. He tore his clothes and shaved his head.

  • But then Job did something unexpected, he fell to the ground and worshipped God, saying, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (1:21).

  • In his devastation, Job did not sin or accuse God of any wrongdoing.

APPLICATION

• One of the many lessons we can learn from this chapter is that we are engaged in a spiritual war that involves spiritual forces and spiritual beings.

• It isn’t just us against our own wills. It isn’t just us against other evil people.  

• There is a cosmic battle going on for the souls of men. Beings we can’t even see are interested and invested in the destinies of our souls.

• This is all the more reason for us to rely on God for help to overcome evil, and trust that His instructions and His guidance are our best path forward.

• We are walking around in the dark amongst predators we can’t see. How are we going to survive?

• The good news for us is that there is a light that will illuminate the darkness, expose the threats, and keep us safe.

• “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).

• God offers us light and protection, but those who choose to go it alone are sure to meet the demons in the darkness.