Job 26: Group Study Handout

How to use: read Job 26 aloud together, then take the questions in order. One page is enough for an evening.

Overview

In Job 26, Job responds to his friends, particularly addressing Bildad's brief speech. Job begins sarcastically, questioning how much help his friends have provided. He then shifts to extolling God's power and majesty in creation.

Key verse

“Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways. How small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?”
Job 26:14 (WEB)

Outline

Job 26:1–2 Job's Sarcastic Response
Job 26:3–4 Critique of False Wisdom
Job 26:5–8 God's Sovereignty Over Creation
Job 26:9–11 God's Majesty Displayed
Job 26:12–14 The Limitations of Human Understanding

Discussion questions

In v2, what does Job mean by asking how his friends have 'helped him who is without power'?
What does Job describe in v12 when he says God 'stirs up the sea with his power'?
In v13, what does Job imply about the nature of God's Spirit in relation to the heavens?
The phrase 'outskirts of his ways' in v14: what does this suggest about human understanding of God?
When have you felt overwhelmed by a situation, as Job describes God's vast power in v14?

Go deeper

Passages that echo Job 26: Genesis 1, Psalm 104, Job 38.

Before next time: read Job 27.