Relevant Passages: Genesis 6-9, Job 1-42
Noah and Job present an interesting study in contrasts. Though both demonstrated a certain “grace under pressure,” their circumstances and reactions were quite different. God preserved Noah and his family from disaster while the rest of the world was destroyed. Job, by contrast, was handed over to disaster by God; he lost family, friends, and wealth while the rest of the world seemed to be following a quite normal course.
Discussion Questions:
- What was it about Noah and Job that qualified them for the “special” handling which God had determined to give them?
- Why was Noah’s preaching so ineffective? Was there anything in his life that would point to the something less than pentecostal results of his preaching?
- With reference to the experience of Noah:
- Is there anything you find particularly encouraging about his experience?
- Do you see any particular warning from his experience that should be applied to us today?
- What is the likelihood that we should face a Noah-like experience?
- Did he “deserve” what he got? Should God’s handling of him be seen as punishment? reward? business as usual?
- With reference to the experience of Job:
- Is there anything about his experience which you find encouraging?
- Is there a “warning” from his experience which should or could be applied today?
- What is the likelihood of our facing a Joban experience?
- Did Job “deserve” what he got? Was it punishment? reward? business as usual?
- Was Job’s experience really “grace under pressure”? Is it appropriate to “curse the day of our birth” or it is more honorable to keep the stiff upper lip (the Job of chapters 1 and 2 instead of the Job of chapters 3-31)?
