Old Testament Scriptural Summaries and Commentary

Old Testament The Book of Job

Gospel Doctrine Class, Sunday School Lesson #32

"I Know That My Redeemer Liveth " (Job:19:25)

▶Reference cited: Sixth Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium held at Brigham Young University, January 1978, “Job: ‘Yet Will I Trust in Him,” by Keith H. Meservy, associate professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University; quoted in Old Testament Student Manual Kings-Malachi, (1982), 23–30.

To declare that all questions can be answered through diligent study of the scriptures, prayer, and pondering the words, is a bold statement.  Yet I believe it is true.  The book of Job is an example of scripture meant to answer some of life's most difficult questions.  It is possible that we will discover some answers we are seeking and some answers we might not want to hear. The objective of this summary is to attempt to answer some of the questions asked in the Old Testament Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, (2001), 157–61.

Keith H. Meservy (cited above) states, "many superlative statements have been made about it [Job].…Victor Hugo notes, ‘The book of Job is perhaps the greatest masterpiece of the human mind’ (Henry H. Halley, Pocket Bible Handbook, Chicago, 1946, p. 232). Thomas Carlyle says, ‘I call this book apart from all theories about it, one of the grandest things ever written. Our first, oldest statement of the never ending problem—Man’s Destiny, and God’s ways with him in the earth [emphasis added]. There is nothing written, I think of equal literary merit’ (ibid). An Old Testament scholar, H. H. Rowley, reflects, ‘The book of Job is the greatest work of genius in the Old Testament, and one of the world’s artistic masterpieces’ (H. H. Rowley, The Growth of the Old Testament,1966, p. 143). …"

Meservy further confirms: “I’m impressed that the book of Job vividly illustrates a teaching from the [the prophet Joseph Smith's] Lectures on Faith, that if anyone is to endure in faithfulness in his life, he must know three things: (1) that God exists, (2) that he is perfect in his character and in his attributes, and (3) that the course of life which one pursues is pleasing to the Lord. If any one of these elements is missing then the full basis for faith is missing [emphasis added].

Job  1 - "What kind of a man was Job." 

Job was a man who lived in Uz [probably somewhere to the east or south-east of Palestine and north of Edom; biblehub.com].  He is said to be a man who "was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil" (1:1).  He was the father of seven sons and three daughters.  He was also a man of substance with many thousands of sheep and camels; 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 she asses.  He "was the greatest of all the men of the east" (1:2-3).

►Here the scene changes and the scripture states: "Now there was a day when the sons of God [meaning those who have covenanted to serve the Lord and are willing to take his name upon them by baptism and are born again, and are then led by the Spirit of God , OT Student Manual, p. 24] came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came among them."  And the Lord ask Satan where he came from.  And Satan answered, "From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it."  We don't know all the conversation that took place between the Lord and Satan, but the Lord singled out Job and said, "there is none like him in the earth."  And Satan accused the Lord of protecting and blessing Job "on every side."  So Satan said if the Lord put forth his hand and touched all that Job had, "he [Job] will curse thee to thy face."  And the Lord gave Satan power over all that Job had but he was not to put a hand on his person (1:6-12).

"Satan is permitted by the Lord to afflict and torment man until Lucifer’s allotted time on earth is done. Thus, Job’s trials would be consistent with the concept that Satan was allowed by God to bring the afflictions upon Job, not because of a bargain God made with Satan, but because it fit God’s purposes for Job" (OT Student Manual, p. 29).

(Trial number one) - "And there was a day" when a messenger came to Job to tell him that the Sabeans came and took away the oxen, and she asses and killed his servants who were plowing and tending them.  Then a second messenger came and said that his servants and his sheep were burned up by "the fire of God." The next moment a third messenger came and told him that the Chaldeans had taken the camels and slain the servants. Finally, Job was told by a fourth messenger that all his sons and daughters were eating and drinking at their oldest brothers house when a "great wind" came from the wilderness that caused the house to fall on them and they were all dead (1:13-19).   

"[Then] in one day, Job was impoverished—all the bases of his wealth—oxen, asses, servants, sheep, camels, even his posterity, were obliterated.  Job’s submissive response to such a negating blow was as complete as Jesus’,  ‘Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away: Blessed be the name of the Lord’ (1:21). ‘In all this,’ says the record, ‘Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly’ (1:22)" (Meservy, quoted in OT Student Manual, p. 24).

Job 2 - Satan afflicts Job with "sore boils"

And again, Satan comes among the sons of God; and again the Lord speaks to Satan about Job.  He said to Satan, "and still he [Job] holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause."  And Satan answered, "Skin for skin, yea all that a man hath will he give for his life," and Satan told the Lord if he "put forth his hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he [Job] will curse thee to thy face."  So Satan was given permission to afflict Job physically but not to take his life (2:1-6). 

(Trial number two) - And Satan afflicts Job with sore boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.  He was so miserable that his wife said to him, "Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God and die."  Job accuses her of speaking foolishly, and said, "What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" And no evil words passed his lips.  "Thus, Satan’s contention was demonstrably wrong, Job’s faith had not and did not fail and the Lord was vindicated" (Meservy, p. 24).

Job 4 - Job's friend Eliphaz praises then reproves him

(Trial number three) - Eliphaz the Temanite [an Edomite clan or place in Edom] came to comfort Job.  In their conversation, Eliphaz praises Job saying, "Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands.  Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees" (4:1-4).  So Job has been a righteous teacher, help, and example to others; and his words have strengthened the weak and falling; but now adversity has come upon Job and Eliphaz inquires: shouldn't you be thinking about the "uprightness" of your own ways?  And Eliphaz asks Job to remember "who ever perished, being innocent or where were the righteous cut off?  Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same" (4:5-8).  Eliphaz obviously believes Job's sins have caused his suffering.

Job 7 - Job's torment and despair

(Trial number four) - Job laments that his nights are the worst, and he asks, "when I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I am full or tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day."  His flesh is "clothed" with worms and clods of dust; his skin is broken and loathsome.  His days are spent without hope (7:4-6).  "When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint; Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions, So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life" (7:13-15). 

Meservy comments: " Time’s leavening must sharpen his pain, deepen his disappointment and intensify his discouragement, to see if heightened tension would break his spirit and drive him from the Lord. Job had well sustained the initial shock but when successive waves engulfed the total reality of his daily life, would he still endure? This question neither he nor the devil could answer initially. Thus, time was assigned to chew away at Job’s inner strength until he became miserable—miserable in spirit and body, so miserable in fact, that death appeared in his mind as a coveted, comforting, liberating friend."

Job 8; and 11; 10 - Bildad's (8) and Zophar's (11) accusations; Job's confusion (10)

▶(8) (More loss of support from friends) - Job's friend Bildad, the Shulhite, asks him: "Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice" (8:3).  Now comes the accusation, "If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he [God] would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous" (8:6).  Bildad is assuming that Job is at fault and has sinned because of his afflictions.

▶ (11) Job's friend Zophar, the Naamathite, accuses Job of lying and mocking God with his profession of innocence and he said to him, "For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes."  And Zophar said, "oh that God would speak and open his lips against thee; And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth" (11:1-6). 

 ▶(10) (Trial number five - confusion) - Job asks the Lord, "Are thy days as the days of man are thy years as man's days, That thou enquirest after mine iniquity; and searchest after my sin?" And he again tells the Lord, "Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand."  And he tells him he knows "thou hast made me as the clay;" and asks "wilt thou bring me into dust again?" (10:5-8).  "If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head.  I am full of confusion therefore see thou mine affliction" (10:15).  Job asks God, "Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb?" And he desires that he "had not been" (10:18-19).

Job 13; 16 - Job testifies of his faith in the Lord (13); The wicked persecute Job (16)

►Job's faith has not faltered under his afflictions and he testifies: "Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me what will.…Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him; but I will maintain mine own ways before him; [I will keep my faith]; He also shall be my salvation; for an hypocrite shall not come before him" (13:13-16). 

►(Trial number six) - And Job laments against the wicked and his friends who mock and torment him: "They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me.  God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked" (16:10-11). And finally, "My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death:…My friends scorn [mock] me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God" (16:16, 20).

Job 19 - "For I know that my redeemer liveth"

 Bildad, Job's friend, has just finished speaking to him about the wicked who "know not God" (see Job 18).  And Job rebukes him  for his accusations and "that ye make yourselves strange to me." Job tells of his afflictions; then after all his "ills that have befallen him," he affirms his faith, trust, and belief in his Redeemer (19:1-5). 

►(Trial number seven) - Job has cried out to the Lord but has not been heard or received judgment [justice].  His way is "fenced up"  that he cannot pass, and darkness is his path.  He has been stripped of his "glory" and the "crown" has been taken from his head.  He is destroyed "on every side" and his hope is removed "like a tree."  Job feels that the Lord's wrath has been kindled against him "as one of his enemies." And all those around him [the Lord's troops] have come against him at his tent (see footnote 12a).  His friends and acquaintances have become "estranged" from him. 

►(Trial number eight) - Even his "kinsfolk" and "familiar" friends have failed him.  Those maids in his house treat him as an alien in their sight."  His servant does not answer his call.  His breath is "strange" to his wife; and young children despise and speak against him.  His "inward" friends abhor him and all those he loved have turned against him.  His skin sticks to his bones and he is barely still alive [by the skin of his teeth] (19:6-20). And Job pleads, "Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends, for the hand of God hath touched me" (19:21).

And Job wonders why he is being persecuted and why his friends "are not satisfied with my flesh?" (footnote 22a-"the state of my body, or suffering).  And he cries for his words to be written in a book or graven with an iron pen in the rock forever: "For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh [immortality] shall I see God" (19:22-26).  Job continues to testify that he knows he will see God with his own eyes [resurrection] though his reins [the seat of the feelings or affections, Internet] have been consumed within him [in death] (19:27).

Job 21; 23; 27 - The wicked will be judged (21); Job has kept the Lord's way (23); (27)

►(21) Job's friend, Zophar, has been speaking to him of "the state and portion of the wicked" (see heading of Job 20, OT, p. 694).  Now Job admits that the wicked sometimes prosper in this life (see heading Job 21, OT, p. 695).  He speaks of the wicked who become old, and "are mighty in power."  And he knows many wicked who live with their families, their houses "safe from fear," their cattle and flocks prosper, they rejoice with music and "they spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave" (21:7-13).  Now Job teaches his friend about the fate of the wicked: "His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty" (21:20). Job tells Zophar, [do you not know] "That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath" (21:29-30)—all with be judged by the Lord and receive their proper judgment.

►(23) (Trial number nine) - After speaking with Eliphaz who tells Job he must repent of his sins, (see Job 22), he answers:  "Oh that I knew where I might find him [the Lord]! that I might come even to his seat."  There Job would plead his cause, and hear the Lord's answers.  He is confident that the Lord would strengthen him but the Lord has hidden himself from him.  And Job said, "But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold" (23:10).  Job has kept the Lord's commandments and "esteemed his words." And Job knows that the Lord has performed the thing that was appointed for him, but it troubles him (23:12, 14-15).

Meservy comments: One… suspects that in the long run his [Job's] greatest loss and deepest need came when he finally realized that the Lord was not responding to his heart-felt cries (quoted in OT Student manual). 

►(27) Here again, Job asserts his righteousness.  He said, "As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment [justice]; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul; All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.…till I die I will not remove mine integrity [perseverance] from me.  My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go; my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live" (27:2-6).

Job 29; 30; 31 - Job recalls his former life (29); The children deride him (30); Job invites judgment (31)

►(29) Job speaks of his former life "when God preserved me."  I helped the poor and the fatherless who had no one to help them; I blessed the dying and comforted "the widow's heart." I was clothed in righteousness, my judgment "was as a robe and a diadem" [crown].  And I "was eyes to the blind," and feet to the lame; I was a father to the poor, and helped the cause of those I "knew not" (29:12-16).

►(30) (Trial number ten) - Now in his miserable state, the children deride him; whose fathers are fools, and "viler than the earth," not fit to sit with the dogs of his flocks.  And he is their byword [example of something negative] and their "song" [those who speak against him, see Psalms 69:12].  They abhor him and spare not to spit in his face, and flee from him (30:1, 8-10).

►(31) Job asks, If I have "walked with vanity" let me be judged.  If I have turned away and followed my own way, let me reap what I sow.  If my heart has been deceived by a woman; or if I have "laid wait at my neighbour's door," let my wife go unto another and let others serve her.  If I did scorn the cause of my servants, let God judge me.  If I have withheld from the poor or "caused the eyes of the widow to fail;" if I have "seen any perish for want of clothing;" if I have "lifted up my hand against the fatherless," let my destruction come from God. If I have made gold my hope, if I have rejoiced because of my wealth; if I have been "secretly enticed" by the sun or the moon, let me be punished by the judge. "If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him;" but I have not "suffered my mouth to sin by wishing a curse to his soul" [I have forgiven him]. "If I covered my transgressions as Adam [or as some men do, footnote 33b] by hiding my iniquity,…Oh that one [the Lord] would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me…I would declare unto him the number of my steps; as a prince would I go near unto him" (31: 5-37).

Job 42 - The Lord heals Job and gives him twice that he had before

In Job 38, the Lord speaks to Job out of the whirlwind.  And he asks Job: "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.…When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for Joy?" (38:4, 7).  And he tells of all the wonders he created in and on the earth and contrasts it with the weakness of man (see Job 38, OT, p. 709).  

►Now Job answers the Lord: He tells him he knows the Lord "canst do everything," and that no thought can be withheld from him (42:2). And Job has heard the Lord: "but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (42:4-5).  And the Lord turned the "captivity" of Job when he prayed for [forgave] his friends and gave him twice as much as he had before.  Then all his brethren and sisters, and all his previous acquaintances, came bringing gifts and ate bread with him in his house.  They bemoaned and comforted him "over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him." And the Lord blessed Job "the latter end" more than his beginning.  And he had seven more sons and three more daughters [not double the children as those who died are still his in heaven].  Job lived to be 140 years old and died knowing his posterity for four generations (42:10-17).

Meservy comments: “Satan had erred in concluding that goods, wealth and even posterity, were the essence of Job’s life, since the meaning of life for him transcended the loss of all of these things."

“In the fiery furnace, Job had shown not only the Adversary but also himself that the correct knowledge about God and a right relationship with him were of more value than anything he had obtained out of life—including length of days, offspring, friends, and loved ones, even wealth and health." 

►Prayer and prophecies written by Joseph Smith the Prophet in an epistle to the Church while he was a prisoner in the jail at Liberty, Missouri, dated March 20, 1839. 

D&C 121:1-10

"O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place? How long shall thy hand be stayed, and thine eye, yea thy pure eye, behold from the eternal heavens the wrongs of thy people and of thy servants, and thine ear be penetrated with their cries? Yea, O Lord, how long shall they suffer these wrongs and unlawful oppressions, before thine heart shall be softened toward them, and thy bowels be moved with compassion toward them?  O Lord God Almighty, maker of heaven, earth, and seas, and of all things that in them are, and who controllest and subjectest the devil, and the dark and benighted dominion of Sheol—stretch forth thy hand; let thine eye pierce; let thy pavilion be taken up; let thy hiding place no longer be covered; let thine ear be inclined; let thine heart be softened, and thy bowels moved with compassion toward us.  Let thine anger be kindled against our enemies; and, in the fury of thine heart, with thy sword avenge us of our wrongs.  Remember thy suffering saints, O our God; and thy servants will rejoice in thy name forever.  

►"My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.  Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands. Thou art not yet as Job; thy friends do not contend against thee, neither charge thee with transgression, as they did Job."