The book of Job

What are your thoughts on it? I've just completed it. Indeed it is a hard book to fathom. I haven't looked to see what Ellen White says on the book, but I shall hopefully sometime soon.

I know God is fair and just...but, man this book is sometimes hard to swallow. Indeed it was Satan and the evil raiders on Job's borders who brought all this evil upon Job...but ya know...sometimes it's hard to swallow.

Oh, and what is the behemoth and leviathon spoken of by God in Job 40 and 41?

Well, sometimes it can be hard to grasp, but I always liked the book of Job because even though all these horrible things are happening to Him and God seems to be kinda stern with Him, to me it shows the big picture. How much is really happening out there. It shows me just how big God is, which makes me feel safe, knowing that if I chose his gift of Salvation, I have that power and strength as my advocate. Yeah we'll be tested, but just look how big our God is. I looked up what you were curious about. A Behemoth is believed to be either a type of hippopotamus or an elephant. and the Leviathon is believed to be a crocodile/alligator of some sort. Thats what I found anyway... So yeah, I tend to look at Job not at look how much Satan can do to us or take from us, or how far we'll be tested, but I look at it as just how big our God is, and he would take the time to want to get to know little ole me in this whole great big plan. Wowza.....

JOB! it's one of my favorite OT books! actually the whole core of Job - Song of Solomon is my fav section of the OT.

I've heard it said that Job is the book that teaches us how to grieve, and that totally makes sense to me, having read it twice. (although it would take WAY more times than that to really remember everything it throws out there!)

I'll come back with some more thoughts later, when I have time to organize them coherently!

For now, I'll just say that the leviathan sounds an awful lot like a dragon to me! I like to think it's possible dragons actually existed a REALLY long time ago, like dinosaurs or something...but the whole point of the passage I think, is just the icing on the cake of God's defense of himself...he is God, the Master of Creation, and we cannot fathom him. We can have faith in him no matter what the situation looks like to us with our limited understanding. "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him."

I suppose yes it does teach us how to grieve. I can indeed see that, in Job's different stages of speaking.

I suppose Job was also refined in the process.

It's interesting to note where the dialogue of Job and his friend and Elihu ended up at before the Lord decided to speak to Job.

I love that Job gives us a bit of the larger picture in why things on earth are the way they are. When really bad things happen to people, it's helped me see that it's not really God testing our faith, He knows what we can and cannot handle, it's Satan testing our faith and trying to get us to give up.

INdeed, evil is worked against us to have us give up. That's when we get put to the test and see if our "money" is where our mouth is. It happens to everyone in some way as well.

1 Corinthians 10:13(KJV)
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

James 1:12-14 (King James Version)
12Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
13Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
14But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

These verses really bring it home!