“Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll. For faith to grow, it often has to be tested by fire. Suffering exists because we live in a post-Genesis three world, where the Creation is cursed, and people are sinners by nature (Psalm 51), and choice (Romans 3:23; 6:23), and in need of the Lord who alone can save (Ephesians 2:8). Please enter your email address associated with your Salem All-Pass account, then click Continue. Job is the richest man in the East. He has made me his target; his archers surround me. One of the most overwhelming things about a severe trial can be the sense of isolation. The Book of Job calls Christians to trust in the Lord humbly. As God begins to question Job, He reveals Job’s ignorance and limitations of understanding: “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” (Job 38:4). There was a man whose name is called Job in Uz. Bible Gateway interviewed Rev. While there may be many Theodicies (from the Greek word Theos (“God”) and the root dik (“just”) found within its pages, Job has more to say about how the problem of evil and suffering are dealt with than the problem itself. Job’s sons always have parties at home. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”. The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. Could you deceive him as you might deceive a mortal? If indeed you would exalt yourselves above me and use my humiliation against me. Some have identified it as a copy of Egyptian first Intermediate period to Hyksos era (2200B.C. What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you. Satan dares God that, if given the approval to inflict suffering, Job will change and curse God. Show me my offense and my sin. Whenever the words “fear God” are mentioned, most people will think of the story of Job in the Bible. His troops advance in force; they build a siege ramp against me and encamp around my tent. All rights reserved. But that document was written at least 1,000 years after Moses wrote the book of Job and locating Uz that far east does not match with the information the Bible gives us. Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high. Furthermore, they hide behind their arguments as a means of avoiding the actual responsibility of a friend: Comforting the one who suffers. Job’s nameless wife turns up after the final blow, after Job has been struck with boils. All his brothers, sisters, and former acquaintances came to his house and dined with him in his house. 1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. The tendency here is to reduce evil and suffering to a purely rational problem, especially a problem to which one claims to possess the solution. gen 25:6 is a new one to me, I missed that somehow. Like Moses and Isaiah, it was God’s visible glory that humbled Job (Job 42:5-6). Eliphaz replies that Job, who has comforted other people, now reveals that he never actually knew their pain. Salem Media Group. If only you would be altogether silent! And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. For this reason, despite the counsel of his three “friends,” Job cries out to God himself for a suitable explanation (Job 31:35). The Bible tells us that “the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning… After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations” (42:12-16). The Story of Job Children's Bible. Article Images Copyright © 2021 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. then know that God has wronged me and drawn his net around me. Throughout the book, Job, his wife, and his friends speculate on why he, an upright man, suffers. Job rips his clothes and shaves his head in sorrow, yet he still praises God in his prayers. You, however, smear me with lies; you are worthless physicians, all of you! Facing evil and suffering are never pleasant, but every Christian can take heart because Jesus and the Apostles taught that we would face suffering (John 15:21; 16:33; 1 Peter 4:12-19; 2 Timothy 3:12). In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. If it is true that I have gone astray, my error remains my concern alone. Would not his splendor terrify you? He received his MAR and M.Div. He deplores the injustice that God lets evil people thrive while he and many other honest people suffer. While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. but Yes if Ishmael kept in touch and he and Isaac burried Abraham, then the other sons and grandsons May have also, thus giving the story of Job to Moses. Lewis in The Problem of Pain so eloquently put it, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”. Though unpleasant at the time, discipline is crucial to a child’s growth as a responsible person. It is found in the third section of the biblical canon known as the Ketuvim (“Writings”). Job is not finally given an answer to the problem of evil, nor is his question of why everything is happening to him ultimately answered. Job Was Righteous and a Gentile. What is answered is God has His purposes for His children who are experiencing suffering. He would surely call you to account if you secretly showed partiality. Job believes that there is a “witness” or a “Redeemer” in heaven who will testify for his integrity (Job 16:19, Job 19:25). In Job I we are given a behind-the-scenes look at events of which Job was completely unaware.God, however, was very much aware of Job and of the wholehearted obedience he sought to render. I also could speak like you, if you were in my place; I could make fine speeches against you and shake my head at you. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. The Lord’s answer to Job out of the whirlwind was. Job decides to talk directly to God. He assumes that wisdom is concealed from humans, but he decides to persevere in seeking wisdom by fearing God and evading evil. “If you say, ‘How we will hound him, since the root of the trouble lies in him, ’, you should fear the sword yourselves; for wrath will bring punishment by the sword, and then you will know that there is judgment. California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. For you write down bitter things against me and make me reap the sins of my youth. My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; on behalf of a man he pleads with God as one pleads for a friend. The anonymous author was almost certainly an Israelite, although he h… THE BOOK OF JOB. Dave Jenkins is the Executive Director of Servants of Grace Ministries, the Executive Editor of Theology for Life Magazine, and the Host of the Equipping You in Grace Podcast and Warriors of Grace Podcast. God assails me and tears me in his anger and gnashes his teeth at me; my opponent fastens on me his piercing eyes. My relatives have gone away; my closest friends have forgotten me. You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. Three of Job’s companions, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, arrive to comfort him, sitting with Job in silence for seven days out of reverence for his grieving. Job damns the day he was born, relating life and death to light and darkness. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. He questions why God judges people by their deeds if God can just as easily change or forgive their behavior. 1:6–7) as “the accuser of the brethren,” and challenged God to test Job saying “Does Job fear God for nothing? Even the well-reasoned explanation of his suffering would have been wholly insufficient to Job amid his agony as the concrete problem of evil demands more than an abstract, philosophical answer. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. Job wants to face God and protest, but cannot physically find God. In His service, BibleAsk Team Satan accused Job of honoring God only because God had blessed him. Job was in terrible pain. In this way, problems may be used by God’s grace to bring a person to saving faith in Christ. I summon my servant, but he does not answer, though I beg him with my own mouth. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”, While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”, While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. The book of Job states that Job lived near the desert (Job 1:19) but that the territory was fertile for farming and raising livestock (Job 1:3, 14; 42:12). In the well-known biblical story dealing with the problem of undeserved suffering, Job loses his children, his possessions, and his health. His wife urges him to denounce God and to give up and die, but Job protests, trying to endure his inflictions. Categories: Job, Old Testament. The LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”, Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? to 1700B.C.) God has turned me over to the ungodly and thrown me into the clutches of the wicked. Job (/ dʒ oʊ b / JOHB; Hebrew: אִיּוֹב ‎ – ' Iyyōḇ; Greek: Ἰώβ – Iṓb) is the central figure of the Book of Job in the Bible.In rabbinical literature, Job is called one of the prophets of the Gentiles. 1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. But I desire to speak to the Almighty and to argue my case with God. Job received a reply, not to his question, “What is happening to me,” but an answer to the Who: God! This story helps us understand why suffering exists. Job feared God and shunned evil, he stood witness for God during his trials, he earned God’s praise and blessings, and he lived out a worthy and meaningful life which is … Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar defended God’s justice, often with very logical arguments and rational reasoning, and yet, God said of them in the end, “you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has” (Job 42:7). Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Bible: The Old Testament and what it means. Job Bible Story. In fact, God Himself called Satan’s attention to Job. It is possible that Job is the oldest of any book of the Bible written approximately 2100-1800 B.C. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. The entirety of God’s answer to Job is designed to emphasize man’s utter weakness and inability to comprehend the things of God. “Only a few years will pass before I take the path of no return. The story of “Job” in the Bible is usually taken by scholars to be an entirely mythical rendition and intended for an allegorical moral interpretation. Additionally, the Lord’s infinite knowledge is contrasted with Job’s limited human perspective. His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. Job’s affliction served as a discipline and worked to transform him into an even more righteous man. “Only grant me these two things, God, and then I will not hide from you: Withdraw your hand far from me, and stop frightening me with your terrors. Then he fell to the ground in worship, and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”. Bible Verses about Mothers: The Biblical Importance of Motherhood. God rewards Job for his faithfulness and his endurance through such suffering. How many wrongs and sins have I committed? Bildad supposes that Job’s children brought their deaths upon themselves. He tears me down on every side till I am gone; he uproots my hope like a tree. Ultimately, the Book of Job and the Old Testament Wisdom Books simply call readers to submit to the Lord humbly. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. 2 And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. The Lord’s speech to Job could be used to construct a theodicy based on the sovereignty of God; the clay has no right to question its potter (Romans 9:20-21). Would it turn out well if he examined you? Even worse, Zophar suggests that whatever wrongdoing Job has done he likely deserves more suffering than what he has experienced. “So man wastes away like something rotten, like a garment eaten by moths. Can anyone bring charges against me? Again and again he bursts upon me; he rushes at me like a warrior. Answer These verses also tell us that Job was the greatest of all “the people of the East” who lived in the land of Uz. The assuring guarantee for the Christian is that God does not allow evil and suffering to come into their lives without producing a greater good. Job reconciles on their behalf, and God forgives them. The Book of Job, book of Hebrew scripture that is often counted among the masterpieces of world literature. Job desires for someone who can mediate between himself and God, or be sent to Sheol, the dark space of the dead. Hear now my argument; listen to the pleas of my lips. through Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. Then summon me and I will answer, or let me speak, and you reply to me. People open their mouths to jeer at me; they strike my cheek in scorn and unite together against me. She is reading the bible through again this year, and in going through the genealogy, she has not located the info she wanted. “Yet if I speak, my pain is not relieved; and if I refrain, it does not go away. All my intimate friends detest me; those I love have turned against me. What Does it Mean That the Word of God Is Alive? God then restores Job’s health, granting him twice as much property as before, new children, and remarkably long life. He had seven sons and three daughters. This time, Job is distressed with terrible skin sores. Therefore, God uses evil and suffering to facilitate the believer’s moral and spiritual maturity. God brags to Satan about Job’s virtue, but Satan contends that Job is only righteous because God has favored him generously. Christianity.com is a member of the Salem Web Network of sites including: Copyright © 2021, Christianity.com. Job was "blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil" (Job 1:1). All rights reserved. 1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. Key personalities of this book include Job, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, Zophar the Naamathite, and Elihu the Buzite. a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them. Take heart, dear Christian, the Lord is with you (Hebrews 13:5; 9) and His promises are yes and amen in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). The story of Job reveals what goes on behind the scenes in a believer’s life. The book of Job is Narrative History. God permits Satan to abuse Job to experiment with this brazen claim, but he forbids Satan to take Job’s life in the manner. (Read the story in the book of Job, before Psalms.) The book of Job takes place in an area called in the Bible "the land of Uz" (Job 1:1), which is believed to have been the area southeast of Israel on the Arabian border. He eagerly sought to please Jehovah, much as his distant relatives Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph had done. His anger burns against me; he counts me among his enemies. “He has alienated my family from me; my acquaintances are completely estranged from me. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom. You fasten my feet in shackles; you keep close watch on all my paths by putting marks on the soles of my feet. The Book of Job serves more as a critique of theodicy than a source of theodicy. When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Ten times now you have reproached me; shamelessly you attack me. When Dave isn’t busy with ministry, he loves spending time with his wife, Sarah, reading the latest from Christian publishers, the Reformers, and the Puritans, playing golf, watching movies, sports, and spending time with his family. Rabbinic tradition ascribes it to Moses, but scholars generally agree that it was written between the 7th and 4th centuries BCE, with the 6th century BCE as the most likely period for various reasons. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. A loving earthly father disciplines his children. God similarly allows evil and suffering to bring about discipline in the lives of His children. Job’s story tells us he lost virtually everything he had: his possessions, his children and his health. Even in the darkest times, through death and turmoil, questions of faith and God, Job … lamentation literature. In other words, pain (in this situation) led to the greater good. Job 42:10-17 “After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his prosperity and doubled his [previous] possessions. A summary of Part X (Section11) in 's Bible: The Old Testament. For you, that would be wisdom. Why Do We Sing Auld Lang Syne at the New Year? The Book of Job is considered to be one of the three books of wisdom literature found within the Bible. My breath is offensive to my wife; I am loathsome to my own family. I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. Will your long-winded speeches never end? The first clues have to do with the raiders who destroy or steal Job’s herds and livestock. While Christians should be cautious about claiming to identify God’s purposes behind specific incidents of injustice and suffering, the Bible does reveal insight into how God uses evil and suffering. Indeed, this will turn out for my deliverance, for no godless person would dare come before him! He has blocked my way so I cannot pass; he has shrouded my paths in darkness. God may use evil and suffering to get an unbeliever’s attention and ultimately to draw the person to Himself (Zechariah 13:7-9; Luke 13:1-15; John 9). The central figure in the book of Job, Job's intense suffering supplies the framework for the primary theme of the book, which deals with the role of suffering in the life of a believer. “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. Whether during pain, suffering, or agony, the Lord will sustain His people through it all for His purposes and glory. Job was heartbroken, but he did not stop worshipping Jehovah. The book tells how Satan , appeared in heaven (ch. By Mary Jane Chaignot. The date of the book is unknown. The Old Testament book of Job can be mysterious, exhausting, and frustrating. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? He did not know why all these things were happening to him. Over the time of one day, Job is given four reports, each informing him that his sheep, servants, and ten children have all died due to thieving intruders or natural disasters. Watch on all my paths by putting marks on the earth up and testifies me! 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