To be clear, I’m not referring to job (JAWB) insecurity. My position as keeper of the checkbook, CEO of all laundry-related business, and boss of menus and grocery shopping is fairly secure.

No, I’m talking about Job (JOBE) insecurity.

According to my 2024 Bible Reading Plan, I am spending February and March in the book of Job. I thought this weighty and rather somber book would be appropriate during the serious season of Lent. As we approach Passion week and the suffering of Christ, it seems like the right time to sit with Job.

Over the past few years, I’ve managed to read through most of the Bible. Except Job. I left him for last. His book makes me feel a little insecure. Why? Because there are a whole lot of tough questions and not very many answers. It’s not for the faint of heart.

There are 270 questions in the book of Job, to be exact.
Job asks 122 questions.
Job’s friends ask 83 questions.
God asks 65 questions.

It’s a hard book to read.
It’s a hard book to understand.
It’s a hard book to love.

If you are reading along with me and feel the same way, let’s get some help.

The first place I go when starting to read a book of the Bible is straight to The Bible Project guys. They produce short, engaging summaries of each book that are very helpful. For those of us scratching our heads and saying, “What the heck is going on with Job?” check out this 11 minute video.

If you geek out on books about the Bible, like I do, I highly recommend Trusting God in the Darkness: A Guide to Understanding the Book of Job by Christopher Ash. In the Preface, he writes, “If you have never done so (read Job), my prayer is that this short study will help you find a way in. If you have ventured in but got bogged down and confused, I hope this introduction will signpost the main roads.” Ash delivers in this easy-to-read, thoughtful book.

More from Christopher Ash:

Job is a fireball book. It is a staggeringly honest book. It is a book that knows what people actually say and think—and not just what they say publicly in church. It knows what people say behind closed doors and in whispers, and it knows what we say in our tears. It is not merely an academic book. If we listen to it with any care, it will touch, trouble, and unsettle us at a deep level.

I’m not ashamed to say I need help with a fireball book like Job. I’m willing be touched, troubled and unsettled, as long as I’m holding someone’s hand. So I offer you mine as we read, come to understand a little more, and maybe even grow to love this unique part of God’s Word.

Here’s one take-away for me in the first 14 chapters: Job’s friends were better companions when they sat with Job in silence. Things went south when they started talking. Trite answers and shaded accusations were not helpful to Job.

Sometimes people need presence more than words.

If you are reading Job along with me, what are your take-aways?