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Sometimes the best comfort is your presence not your words. The initial comfort that the presence of Job’s friends brought quickly vanished. When going through a crisis, people need basic care – safety, sustenance, and compassion. It has been said, “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”

We don’t always understand. Job, in spite of serving God faithfully, suffered intensely. Even though his friends desperately tried to point out a cause to Job they failed. His wife offered nothing but despair and suicide as an answer. Job didn’t know why these calamities came. In the end, Job is restored but God never tells him the provocation for his actions. Until the day when God deems it appropriate for our understanding to be enlightened, we walk by faith and not by sight.

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Job is a remarkable book that is appreciated by believers and non-believers alike. It is listed among the great works of ancient literature due to its treatment of human suffering.

Overview of the Book

Job’s Calamities

Job is clearly a remarkable man. Of this, God leaves no doubt: “there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil” (Job 1:8). Modern TV evangelists would assume that this man should be healthy, wealthy, and happy. In fact, this is precisely how Job is introduced. Quickly the theme of the book is revealed. Job’s story is not about his prosperity, but his suffering. The key question is not “Will God give those who serve Him everything they want?”, but “Is God worthy of worship regardless of what benefits might be obtained from Him?”

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Nehemiah enjoyed security and prestige as the king’s cupbearer, so there was no reason for him to ask about the needs of people hundreds of miles away. But he loved Jerusalem and was concerned about the welfare of his people (Jer. 15:5). How do you respond when you learn that others are hurting?

Nehemiah was a man of prayer; you will find ten of his prayers in this book. He believed in a great God who kept His promises, forgave sin, and helped His people when they called on Him. Like Ezra before him, Nehemiah identified himself with the sins and sorrows of the nation ( Ezra 9:5).

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When things look dark, there is always a ray of hope. Shechaniah encouraged the people to confess their sins and obey the Word. He may have been thinking of God’s promises in Exodus 34:6–7 , Isaiah 55:6–7 , and Jeremiah 3:11–13 . Believers today turn to 1 John 1:9 .

But confession must not be a routine thing that comes only from the lips. We must tremble at God’s Word (Ezra 9:4; 10:3; Isa. 66:2) and truly bring Him a broken heart (Ps. 51:16–17). That explains why Ezra fasted and prayed, for he identified himself with the people in their sins. Note the pronouns in Ezra 9:6–15 .

Not everybody agreed to obey (v. 15), but those who did submit to Ezra confessed their sins publicly, offered a sacrifice, and put away their pagan wives and children. The experience was painful for them, but it was the only way to keep the nation pure (Matt. 18:7–9). There is no easy way to deal with sin.

God’s people have hope because of salvation (Rom. 5:1–2), suffering (Rom. 5:3), the Word of God (Rom. 15:4), and the Spirit of God (Rom. 15:13). Of course, there could be no hope were it not for the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 1:3). He is our Hope (1 Tim. 1:1).

Astonished (1–4). For at least three reasons, the Jewish remnant should have obeyed God’s Word about marriage. To begin with, God had been good to bring them back to the land. He had also chastened them in Babylon, and they knew from their own past the consequences of compromise. No wonder Ezra was astonished.

Ashamed (5–9). Ezra used several images to show their plight. They were like drowning men because of their sins (v. 6 ), and yet they sinned more. They were a little peg on which so much future was hanging (v. 8), a remnant that had to serve as a wall against the awful encroachments of sin (v. 9). If the nation was polluted, how could Messiah be born (v. 2)?

Alarmed (10–15). God had revealed His Word, and they did not obey it. God had shown them grace (v. 8), and they did not appreciate it. God had held back punishment (v. 13; Ps. 103:10), and they took advantage of it. All God could do now was punish them even more.

As he prayed, Ezra trembled (v. 4), knelt (v. 5), and bowed down (v. 6) because nobody could stand before God (v. 15; Ps. 130:3).