Men's Retreat 27-29 March, 2008 Bandon, Co. Cork Ireland

Outline of the Book of Job

42 Chapters, Seven Battles, One Man, and God’s Perfecting of Him

I.           First Battle - Job and his Loss (Job 1:1-2:8)

A.         His Character, and home-life, and wealth (1:1-3)

B.         His Burden (1:4,5) – His Spiritual Concerns for his family

C.         His Trial (1:6-19) – the loss of everything external

D.         His Worship (1:20-22)

II.         Second battle – Job and His Health (Job 2:1-8)

A.         Satan turns up the heat and brings Job to the edge of death

B.         Job is absolutely and totally defeated except for his faith

III.      Third Battle - Job and his wife (Job 2:9-10)

A.         Job’s wife gives up on God and presses Job to do the same

B.         But Job let’s God rule as he sees fit

C.         But it about to get worse - his “friends” arrive (Job 2:11-13)

IV.       Fourth battle - Job and Himself (Job 3:1-26) - Job gets mad at God

A.         Angry that he was born (3:1-10)

B.         Wishes he was dead (3:11-19) He is very low – can’t look up

C.         Frustrated that none of his answers work now (3:20-26)

V.         Fifth Battle - Job and his three friends (Job 2:11-31:40)

A.         Eliphaz accuses Job of secret sins (Job 4:1-5:27)

B.         Job appeals for pity from Eliphaz (Job 6:1-7:21)

C.         Bildad thinks Job is a hypocrite (Job 8:1-22)

D.         Job answers, I don’t understand why God is doing this (Job 9:1-10:22)

E.          Zophar's thinks Job is both a hypocrite and liar now (Job 11:1-20)

F.          Job answers all three: death would be better than this (Job 12:1-14:22)

G.         Eliphaz uses his “superior experience” to judge Job (Job 15:1-35)

H.         Job answers that Eliphaz has only heaped up words (Job 16:1-17:16)

I.           Bildad's attacks Job saying God only judges wicked men (Job 18:1-21)

J.           Job declares his frail faith in God (Job 19:1-29)

K.         Zophar's second discourse: tradition and proverb (Job 20:1-29)

L.          Job reveals that the prosperity of the wicked refutes the view that he is afflicted because of being “a secret sinner” (Job 21:1-34)

M.        Eliphaz blatantly attacks Job calling him a sinner (Job 22:1-30)

N.         Job gives up on seeking help from his “friends” and instead longs for God to speak and defend Himself (Job 23:1-24:25)

O.         Bildad's says absolutely no one is righteous before God (Job 25:1-6)

P.          Job's final answer: the friends have offered him NO HOPE AT ALL. Reviews his faith in God, and his personal righteousness (Job 26:1-31:40)

VI.       Sixth Battle - Job and Elihu (Job 32:1-37:24)

A.         Elihu's defeats Job’s self-righteousness (Job 32:2-37:24)

B.         Job can’t answer Elihu

VII.    Seventh Battle - Jehovah and Job (Job 38:1-41:34) – Now God speaks!

VIII.  Sweet Surrender - Job's self-judgment (Job 42:1-6) – Final surrender!

IX.       Job’s Honour (Job 42:7-17) – Job wins, and God is vindicated!