God's Sovereign Rights

Unit 13 – Power

Lesson 36 – Job’s Mountain of Problems – Job 1:1-2:10

Preparation for the Teacher

1. Aim: To lead the people to understand that the Lord’s Sovereign power means that He has the right to do whatever He wants to with our lives for His greater purposes.

2. Explanation of the Aim: The Lord allowed Job to go through trials, suffering and pain to help him correct some of his mistaken beliefs. At the end of Job’s life he wrote, “Lord, now I know you can do all things and no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” (Job 42:1,2) When we come to a point where we have totally yielded all of our rights to God, then He can properly use us.

3. The Bible Story: God allowed Satan to afflict Job to build a greater trust, holiness and obedience into the man’s character. Paul wrote, “Tribulation works patience and patience perseverance and perseverance proven character and character hope.” (Rom. 5:1-5) God always knows what is best for every person in every situation and at all times. We may not be able to understand what God is doing at the time, but we need to trust that He has the freedom, power and right to do whatever He deems best for His overall purposes. Do not doubt God’s ability to work all things together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purposes.

4. Prepare to Teach: The INTRODUCTION gives the people an opportunity to answer the question: “Why does hardship come into the life of godly people?” Find out if the people understand what is the Biblical response to trials, suffering and pain? Allow the people to share what their natural human reaction is to adversity for themselves and in the lives of their family members.

The BIBLE STORY helps us see that God allows pain, suffering and adversity to come into our lives for His sovereign purposes. Job had to learn to trust God and be content both in adversity as well as prosperity. We all need to learn how to become more content and confident that we can do everything God asks us to do with the help of Christ who gives us the strength and power. (Phil. 4:12,13)

The MEANING FOR OUR LIVES gives the people an opportunity to make applications from the lesson. Ask the people what our response should be when we go through Job like difficulties? Find out what the people will do if they encounter all kinds of trials, tribulation and hardships? Discover what some of the people will tell their friends who are undergoing severe testing? Ask the people to quote James 1:2-4 which says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials, knowing that the trial of your faith works perseverance. Let perseverance have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Introduction

Give the people an opportunity to answer the question: “Why does hardship come into the life of godly people?” Find out if the people understand what is the Biblical response to trials, suffering and pain? Allow the people to share what their natural human reaction is to adversity for themselves and in the lives of their family members. Ask the people what are the summary lessons that we can learn from the life of Job?

The Bible Story

God’s sovereign power, wisdom and presence are greater than anyone, anything and any problem. Job’s experience teaches us that Satan tries to discredit a person’s belief that God can sovereignly work all things for good. If people begin to doubt God’s power, wisdom or love they are subtly drawn out of fellowship with the Lord. Godly people who experience suffering can take comfort in the truth that God does not allow anything to come into their life without His permission.

The Lord may allow Satan to test us, but He is the Master controller of any temptation that is designed to make us more holy, patient and wise. God’s divine purposes, processes and procedures are best known to Him. Righteous people know that they do not need to understand every reason why they are passing through adversity in order to do God’s will.

Every trial that a godly person experiences has great value, meaning and benefit if we will trust, obey and thank God for everything. Not until Job had passed through every painful heartache, hardship and trials did he realize that God will go to great lengths to correct any of our mistaken beliefs.

In our lesson we learn that Job’s test begins when God says to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” (Job 1:8) God is the one who initiates every good thing that comes into our life, even trials. Satan, the accuser, replied,