During the early years of Israel’s kingdom, God inspired a few writers to compose for Scripture some poems, songs, and dialogues re ecting the meditations and questions of their hearts and minds These are the ve books which comprise the third section of our English Old Testament, called the “Poetical Books.” The books are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.1 Psalms is the example par excellence of Hebrew poetry Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes are usually classi ed contentwise as “Wisdom Literature,” because their message represents the wise observations and interpretations of everyday life Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Solomon There, are poetical passages in other parts of the Old Testament as well (E.g., Exod 15; Deut 32; Judg 5; Sam 22; Hab See The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, p 671, for a list of shorter poems.) 15 Job: Knowing God Better Through Adversity The book of Job answers questions asked by people who believe in God but who are stunned or mysti ed by the complex problem of pain Here are some of those questions: Does justice triumph? Is God intimately concerned about the lives of His children? Why are some godly people crushed with tragedy? What are the enduring values of life? Is Satan real? Is there a life beyond the grave? The very fact that God inspired a book like Job to be written and included in the canon of the Holy Bible is strong evidence of His love for His children This book records His perfect answers to the many agonizing questions about life Through those answers, severe trials and testings in life take on a new quality and Peter’s words, bringing Christ into the picture, shine forth in all their splendor: “That the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by re, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet 1:7) I PREPARATION FOR STUDY Job is the rst of the ve poetical books.2 Therefore, it is helpful to become acquainted with the various aspects of poetic literature, so the language and style of these five books will be more intelligible ...Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Solomon There, are poetical passages in other parts of the Old Testament as well (E.g., Exod 15; Deut 32; Judg 5; Sam 22; Hab See The Zondervan Pictorial Bible... Is Satan real? Is there a life beyond the grave? The very fact that God inspired a book like Job to be written and included in the canon of the Holy Bible is strong evidence of His love for His... the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet 1:7) I PREPARATION FOR STUDY Job is the rst of the ve poetical books.2 Therefore, it is helpful to become acquainted with the various aspects of poetic literature,