Question Star
A stump in the ring
Nuri's star-ring made a tiny sound. Far away, someone was asking, "Why…?" In the middle of the ring, a cut-down tree stump showed. No leaves. No sprout. Just a stump. "Komo, whose voice is that?" Komo, on her shoulder, listened closely. "I don't know. This ring is a window into old stories." Komo raised one finger. "We only watch from far away."
Job of Uz
Long ago in the land of Uz lived a man named Job. "That man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God, and turned away from evil." Job had seven sons and three daughters. Whenever his children finished a feast, Job got up early and offered sacrifices to God for them. God called Job "my servant" and was glad. But Satan, who accuses people, said, "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Retold "Job only trusts you because he has so much. Take it away and he'll leave you." God allowed Satan to bring Job trouble. But he set a limit: "Only on himself don't stretch out your hand."
The LORD gave, the LORD has taken
Soon Satan made terrible things happen. One man ran up: Retold "Your oxen and donkeys were stolen!" Before he finished, another came, and another: Retold "The sheep and the camels are gone!" The last man spoke slowly. A fierce whirlwind had knocked down the house, and all of Job's sons and daughters had died. Job tore his robe, shaved his head, and wept. Then he bowed to the ground and worshiped: "Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away. Blessed be Yahweh's name." Tears filled Nuri's eyes. For a long time Komo said nothing. Sad things are truly sad. At last, Komo held Nuri's hand and whispered,
Even when we can't understand it all, God is near.
Seven quiet days
Again God set a limit: "Only spare his life." Then Satan covered Job's whole body with painful sores. Job sat in the ashes and scraped his aching skin. Still Job said, "Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" Retold "We received good things from God. Shall we not accept hard things too?" Three friends heard and came from far away. When they saw Job, they cried out loud. Then "they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him." Komo quietly sat beside Nuri too.
Who is right?
After seven days Job spoke. Retold "It hurts so much I wish I had never been born. God, why?" The friends answered one by one. "Remember, now, whoever perished, being innocent?" Retold "Job, God is fair. If you did something wrong, turn back to God, and things will be good again." Job shook his head. Retold "I have no hidden wrong. I want to meet God and ask him myself." "Oh that I knew where I might find him!" The talk grew longer and longer.
The stump's question
Job's pain was not a punishment for some hidden wrong. But no one knew that then. Because it hurt so much, Job even argued with God: Retold "God, why do you aim at me like a target?" Job sadly compared himself to a tree: "For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again." Retold "A tree can sprout again, but what about a person who dies?" Still Job did not leave God. "I know that my Redeemer lives." Long talks went on after that. At last Job cried, Retold "God, answer me!" Then everyone fell silent.
Where were you?
Then God answered, out of the storm. A great storm rose in the sky, but in its center was a warm light. God did not ignore Job's tears and questions. His voice was big and deep: "Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?" Retold "Job, you spoke about things you did not fully know." And instead of answering "why," God asked questions: "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?" God was not far away. He was speaking to Job himself. Komo sang softly,
Even when we can't understand it all, God is near.
Grass in the empty land
God's questions went to the land, the sea, and the sky. Retold "Who told the sea, 'This far and no farther'?" God spoke of the first day of the world, "when the morning stars sang together." "Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loosen the cords of Orion?" Retold "Who sends rain on empty land so tender grass springs up? Who sets the wild donkey free and makes the eagle nest up high?" Just then, in Nuri's ring, a tiny blade of grass showed in the bare ground beside the stump. Job could not answer even one question.
Now my eye sees you
God knew and cared for all of it, even the little grass where no one looks. Job put his hand over his mouth: "Behold, I am of small account. What shall I answer you?" God asked again, Retold "Would you call me wrong to prove yourself right?" Job never heard the answer to "why." But he received something greater. He met God. "I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you." Job took back what he had said without understanding, and turned to God. Nuri softly sang along,
Even when we can't understand it all, God is near.
God turned it around
God spoke to the friends: "You have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job has." Retold "You were wrong to say that pain is always a punishment." As God told them, the friends went to Job and offered sacrifices to God. Job prayed for the friends who had hurt him. God did not pay them back for their folly. Retold When Job prayed for his friends, the LORD turned his trouble around. Brothers and sisters came, ate with Job and comforted him. No one could ever take the place of the children who died. Years later, new babies were born in Job's home.
Finding the Pleiades and Orion
On the way home, Komo pointed to the eastern sky. "That little cluster is the Pleiades. You can see six or seven stars, but there are hundreds." Nuri looked among the stars rising after it. "Three stars in a row! Orion's belt." "Yes. The faint smudge below is the Orion Nebula." Nuri said, "Constellations don't tell our future. God, who knows every star by name, is with us."
- Light from the Pleiades takes about 440 years to reach our eyes
- Light from the Orion Nebula takes about 1,300 years. To our eyes it looks faint and grey, and new stars are being born inside it
The ring on the desk
Back home, Nuri set her star-ring down on her desk. "Job looked at a cut tree and sadly asked, 'What about people?' God listened to that question all the way to the end." Looking out the window, Nuri said to herself, "God, who showed Job the whole world instead of an answer, was near him." Komo said, "Job longed for a Redeemer to stand up for him. The New Testament says Jesus always lives to pray for us." Nuri folded her hands. "God, help me tell you honestly when I'm sad. Help me sit quietly with friends who hurt. In Jesus' name, amen."
Eight Question Star cards
Tap a card to flip it. Lay all eight in order and retell Job's story from beginning to end.
Four thinking games
- 1[After reading] Inference · Heart scale: put the six word cards (see For teachers ①) on two sides of a paper scale and add a sticker where your heart leans. Say which page gave you the clue. Then check together what God said on p.10.
- 2[After reading] Analysis · Sort the question cards: put the eight picture cards into 'the world he made (land, sea, sky)' and 'animals he cares for.' Then stick a paper blade of grass beside the stump picture (p.8).
- 3[Home] Find the Pleiades and Orion: in late autumn look in the east at night; in midwinter look high in the south in the evening. The Pleiades rise first, and Orion follows. Thank God, who knows every star by name.
- 4[Class] Prediction · Look at the back cover. In "Song Star," what will the person singing under the stars sing about?
[Home] Being there: when someone in your family or a friend is sick or sad, sit quietly with them before trying to fix it. Always tell a grown-up about worries.
When I can't understand, what will I ask God?
A 20-minute lesson and what to look for
- Before class · Prepare
- Check ahead for children who lost a family member or pet or have someone very sick, and tell parents. A child who cries gets a quiet spot and a trusted adult. Six word cards. Friends: ① "whoever perished, being innocent?" (4:7) ② "Turn back to God and it will be good again" (summary of 8:5–6) ③ "Make peace with God and good will come" (summary of 22:21). Job: ④ "God, why?" (summary of ch. 3) ⑤ "I have no hidden wrong" (summary of 27:5–6) ⑥ "God, answer me!" (summary of 31:35). Eight question cards: foundations of the earth, sea, morning stars, Pleiades, Orion, grass in the wilderness, wild donkey, eagle. Paper scale, paper grass, star stickers.
- 0–6 min pp.1–4
- p.1 softly → p.2 prediction, talk only, 1 minute → p.3 read the first news quickly, then slow way down from the children's death; pause about 5 seconds and whisper (don't sing) the refrain → p.4 everyone silent 5 seconds after "no one spoke a word."
- 6–12 min pp.5–7
- p.5 inference: hear reasons from one or two children and move on. To an anxious child: "At the end, God answers himself. Let's wait." → p.6 read the first sentence clearly → p.7 read the storm big and deep, not scary.
- 12–20 min pp.8–12
- p.8 sort only two or three aloud → p.9 hand-over-mouth gesture → p.10 three boxes → p.11 sky 30 seconds → p.12 prayer. Heart scale, card sorting and grass come after 20 minutes. If short on time, skip the verse box but keep all four pauses.
- Words
- Satan = an angel God made who turned evil; not God's rival, he can do nothing without God's permission (1:12; 2:6) · Redeemer = a close relative who pays to rescue (Ruth's "kinsman-redeemer") · Orion's belt = the three stars in a row
- Look for
- p.2 — sprout: one guess · stem: one clue · fruit: clue and reason. p.5 — sprout: picks a side · stem: a page or phrase as a clue · fruit: explains with clues like 1:1, 1:22, 2:10. p.8 — sprout: sorts two or three · stem: sorts by the rule · fruit: links to "people don't know everything." p.10 — sprout: one scene · stem: three boxes · fruit: includes the change with the friends.
Good-answer guide and hard questions ①
- Good-answer guide
- p.2: Job wept but worshiped God and did not blame him (1:20–22; 2:10). p.5: open answers; any side with clues is fruit. God's judgment (42:7) is checked on p.10. The friends' words summarize chs. 4, 8, 22. p.8: world — foundations, sea, morning stars, Pleiades, Orion, grass / animals — wild donkey, eagle. p.10: beginning — sad news and seven quiet days / middle — long talks, God's questions from the storm / end — Job turns to God, prays for friends, God turns it around. Refrain: pp.3, 7, 9.
- Ages 9–10: "What was right and wrong in the friends' words?"
- Right: God is fair, and wrong is truly bad. Wrong: deciding that all pain comes from the person's own sin, and trying to fix their friend instead of staying close.
- "Did God make a bet with Satan?"
- The Bible does not call it a bet. God first called Job "my servant" (1:8), and Satan accused Job's faith of being fake. Satan is not God's rival, so he could not cross the limits God set (1:12 his body; 2:6 his life).
- "Why did Job's children die? Did God do it? There was a limit—why not the children?"
- The Bible honestly says Satan caused these things and God allowed it (1:12). The first limit protected Job's body but not the children. Why, neither Job nor we fully know. Yet "he does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men" (Lam 3:33). Job tore his robe and wept. It is okay to be sad, and okay to ask God "why?"
- "If I get sick or something bad happens, is it my fault?"
- No. God said the friends' idea that pain means sin was not right (42:7). Jesus said no to the same question too (John 9:2–3). It is not the child's fault.
Hard questions ②
- "Will my family die too? I prayed—why aren't they better?"
- Don't promise the future. Say, "I won't leave you alone with this scary feeling. Let's pray together and talk with your grown-ups." Prayer is not a magic spell, and God is near even when someone does not get better.
- "Did Satan make my mom sick too?"
- Only in Job's story does the Bible show us this special scene in heaven. It does not say every sickness is a direct attack from Satan. God is near sick family members, and we can pray for healing.
- "Does Satan accuse me now?"
- "Who could bring a charge against God's chosen ones? It is God who justifies" (Rom 8:33). Jesus prays for us (Rom 8:34).
- "If we get a new baby or puppy, will it be okay?"
- A new one never takes the place of the one who died. Missing them is still precious. Job's new babies did not replace the children who died either.
- "If I'm patient like Job, will I get rich?"
- The Bible says God gave Job twice as much (42:10). It was God's gift, not a prize Job earned. "The Lord is full of compassion and mercy" (Jas 5:11). The greatest gift was seeing God (42:5).
- "Can I ask God even when I'm angry?"
- Yes. Job said harsh words (7:20), but he said them to God, and God said Job spoke more rightly than the friends (42:7). Job also took back words spoken without understanding (38:2; 42:3, 6). Questions are a way to God.
Faith wording check
- Objects are not magic
- The star-ring, the stump and the grass are story devices, not charms. The ring rests on a desk, not hung in a window, and Nuri prays with her back to it. The gold rings in 42:11 were gifts of comfort. The stump on p.6 (14:7–10) is Job's lament, not a hint of restoration; the grass on p.8 (38:26–27) shows God caring for places where no one is.
- God's rule and evil · stars and fortune
- The Bible says both: Satan struck Job with an evil heart (2:7), and nothing happens outside God's rule (1:21; 2:3; 42:11). When Job said "Yahweh has taken away," the Bible says he did not sin (1:22). God tempts no one to evil (Jas 1:13). The God who told the sea "this far" (38:11) also set limits for Satan. 38:31 is a poetic question about human limits, and constellations do not decide fate (Deut 4:19; Isa 47:13–14). "The morning stars sang together" (38:7) is poetry about the joy of creation.
- Holiness, justice, love · grace and Jesus
- God corrected Job too (38:2; 40:8) and also said Job spoke more rightly than the friends (42:7). The friends received grace: "that I not deal with you according to your folly" (42:8). Job longed for someone to stand between God and him (9:33; 16:19; 19:25). Don't claim 19:25 is directly a prophecy of Jesus; humbly say this hope shines brighter in Jesus, who "always lives to make intercession" (Heb 7:25).
- Not covered · notes
- The servants' deaths (1:15–17; if asked, answer briefly and honestly), Job's wife's words (2:9), most of the long debate (chs. 4–31), Elihu (chs. 32–37), Behemoth and Leviathan in God's second speech (chs. 40–41), the daughters' names (42:14). Unmarked quotes are from the World English Bible (some partial). "Retold" lines are simple paraphrase; the friends' words summarize several chapters. Review and a timed read-aloud are recommended before publishing.
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