Bible Study with Friends

October 21, 2025

This week a group friends at Saint James finished reading the book of Job together. It took us about two months of reading and discussing for about an hour a week. It was fascinating!

In the book of Job, a very good person named Job loses everything and asks, ‘why me?’ This good person has three ‘friends’ who try to help him think about the why question. Mostly they suggest unhelpfully that “Everything happens for a reason,” “God won’t give you more than you can handle,” and “It’s surely your own darn fault.”  This back and forth goes on for almost 40 chapters, before God speaks in the end.

While the book was written several thousand years ago halfway around the world, it felt like it could have been written yesterday and across the street. In times of suffering, we often sound like Job. Sometimes when comforting others, we sound like Job’s friends. And God always gets the last majestic and humbling word!

The book of Job begins and ends like a cartoon of sorts. In the middle, the back and forth arguments are poetry with a sense of anguish, despair, accusation, and frustration. By the end, it felt like it had all been a dream.

If you decide to read Job for yourself, let me offer three pieces of advice.

1.    This resource from the Bible project if very helpful. Our group watched it before and after we read Job. https://bibleproject.com/videos/job/

2.    The Message by Eugene Petersen is a modern American English paraphrase of the Bible that I thought was very helpful. It’s available as text or audio here: https://www.biblegateway.com

3.    The Bible is best read with friends. I’m a smart person and a good reader, but reading with friends makes the Bible come alive! We have several ongoing Bible Studies as Saint James that always welcome new members.

Peace,

Pastor Bill

©️2025 Pastor Bill Bernau. All rights reserved