Job and suffering
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe the story of Job and explain how Christians understand suffering through this story.
Key learning points
- The book of Job in the Old Testament contains important teachings about evil and suffering for Christians.
- Job is a righteous man and his suffering is not a result of personal sin.
- The devil plays a role in Job's suffering, however, his suffering is ultimately a test from God.
- Many Christians interpret the story of Job as suggesting that evil and suffering can be a test of faith.
- Some Christians focus on God's power and control, and how God brings hope and restoration, shown in the story of Job.
Keywords
Faith - believing in something strongly; complete trust or confidence in something
Job - a key figure in the Old Testament who is central in the Book of Job, which explores suffering, faith, and God’s justice
Suffering - the experience of pain or distress
Common misconception
The story of Job shows that God causes suffering.
For many Christians, the story of Job shows that Satan (the devil) is one cause of suffering, but that God may allow suffering to test humans, or for a greater purpose which may be a mystery to humans.
Teacher tip
You may wish to extend students' learning by referring to specific quotes/passages from the book of Job to support learning cycle one.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Christians believe that God is , meaning he is all good and kind.
Q2.Many Christians believe evil entered the world through the first ...
Q3.What does the word omniscient mean?
Q4.The devil is just a symbol and not part of Christianity.
Q5.What is the inconsistent triad?
Q6.Why do many Christians believe evil exists today?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the keyword to its correct definition.
believing strongly in someone or something
Old Testament person whose story explores pain and trust in God
the experience of pain or distress
Q2.What did Satan say about Job at the beginning of the story?
Q3.What is one message many Christians take from the story of Job?
Q4.What happened to Job at the end of his story?
Q5.Christians believe God is in control. What shows this in Job’s story?
Q6.The story of Job shows that suffering is always caused by God.
To help you plan your 8 religious education lesson on: Job and suffering, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 8 religious education lesson on: Job and suffering, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 religious education lessons from the Suffering: Can Christian theology overcome the problem of evil? unit, dive into the full secondary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.