Free group study handout
Job 4: Group Study Handout
How to use: read Job 4 aloud together, then take the questions in order. One page is enough for an evening.
Overview
In Job chapter 4, Eliphaz the Temanite begins his discourse to Job, responding to Job's lamentations. Eliphaz suggests that Job's suffering may be a result of some hidden sin, implying a direct correlation between one's righteousness and the prosperity they experience. He encourages Job to consider how the innocent rarely suffer, urging him to remember the many he has supported with comforting words and actions.
Key verse
“Remember, now, whoever perished, being innocent? Or where were the upright cut off?”
Job 4:7 (WEB)
Outline
- Job 4:1–2 Eliphaz Begins His Response
- Job 4:3–6 Job's Past Support and Integrity
- Job 4:7–9 The Innocent and the Just
- Job 4:10–11 Imagery of the Lion
- Job 4:12–16 A Spiritual Revelation
- Job 4:17–19 Humans Compared to God
- Job 4:20–21 The Fate of Mortals
Discussion questions
- In v2, what does Eliphaz imply about the necessity of speaking to Job?
- What does Eliphaz claim about Job's past actions in v3?
- Eliphaz's assertion in v7 about the innocent perishing: how does this challenge Job's situation?
- In v17, what is the implication of the question about man's purity compared to God?
- When have you felt 'troubled' like Job in v5 after helping others?
Go deeper
Passages that echo Job 4: 1 Samuel 23, Galatians 6, Proverbs 27.
Before next time: read Job 5.