The book of job is the first document in history to take. The book of job is an obvious place to turn when a christian suffers, but it is not easy to discern what god means to teach his people through this difficult book. We know this because the next verse says, satan afflicted job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head job 2. God declared there was no one like him in all the earth and that he remained faithful even though he had. They stop reading at verse six and conclude that god robbed job and. Job 1 niv prologue in the land of uz there bible gateway. Satan says to god that if he removes the blessings he has so richly bestowed on job, he will curse you to your face job 1. His speeches neither explain jobs suffering, nor defend divine justice, nor enter into the courtroom. The strange conversation between god and the satan figure in job 12. Five truths for sufferers from the book of job the. But after job showed that he did in fact love god more than all else in the world, there was another purpose that god sought to achieve by letting his. The prologue introduces us to the characters and summarizes the theme of the book. The important thing to understand in job is that satan has to request permission from god to test. At the end of the book, god gives job twice as much wealth as he had before, along with seven sons and three daughters.
God calls the man job a complete man, in other words a righteous man. God wanted to prove the character of believers to satan and to all demons, angels and people. This is kiddylevel theology, yet many grownups dont get it. But then god gathered a group of angels together and satan was there as well.
The book of job is one of the literary masterpieces of all time, and provides a profound discussion on the suffering of a just man. Thomas explores the difficulty of jobs suffering, satans involvement, and gods sovereignty. Job prays for gods forgiveness of them and god accepts his prayer. Addressing the problem of theodicy the vindication of the justice of god in the light of humanitys suffering it is a rich theological work setting out a variety of perspectives. After all, desperate times call for desperate measures. So satan went forth from the presence of the lord and smote job etc. Michael the archangel prayer to be prayed right after the holy mass celebration. Satan could not snap a thread of jobs garment without gods explicit permission job 1. And seven sons and three daughters were born to him.
This article interprets jobs teaching on suffering from five broad perspectives. Second, a third party operates between god and man, with gods permission. Now there was a day a certain time appointed by god. God talking to satan in the book of job,how did they know.
God says to job, now i want you to pray for your friends these three dear men, so stubborn, so sure that they had all the answers, so well meaning, so sincere, so dedicated, but such utter blunderers. Satan, the adversary, claims to gd that job is only righteous. The dominant theme of job is the difficulty of understanding why an allpowerful god allows good people to suffer. Job 1 kjv there was a man in the land of uz, bible gateway. The book of job is a book in the ketuvim writings section of the hebrew bible tanakh, and. In this series of blogs i shall revisit the book of job, the personality and some of its meaning. The book of job begins by introducing us to its three most significant characters. The accuser satan hopes to set just such a trap for job.
Behemoth and leviathan represent these things in jobs life. But instead of cursing god, as satan predicted, job remained faithful to him job 1. Job wants to find a way to justify gods actions, but he cannot understand why there are evil people who harm the childless woman, and do no good to the widow, only to be rewarded with long, successful lives 24. In this bible story from the book of job, there is a wealthy man named job residing in an area called uz with his extended family and vast flocks. God gives satan permission to take jobs wealth and kill his children and servants, but job nonetheless praises god. The story of job is a story of gods blessings and satans curses. He is blameless and upright, always careful to avoid doing evil 1. Was it unfair for god to allow job to suffer over what was. God pointed out job to satan and satan retorted that job worships god only for the stuff that god gives him. God boasts to satan about jobs goodness, but satan argues that job is only good because god has. Unlike job, god can, in fact, bring suffering and evil to an end.
In job, we see satans primary method of spiritual warfare. So, we saw god grant authority to satan to take everything job had. Where does the communication between god and satan take place. This is the type of man that god can stand behind as we will find out shortly.
Identifying behemoth and leviathan in the book of job. Job is a book not so much about gods justice as about the transformation of a. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all. Satan met god, destroyed jobs property, killed his children. Job lost his sheep, oxen, donkeys, and camels all in one day. Job is a wealthy man living in a land called uz with his large family and extensive flocks. The book of job tells how one man suddenly awakened to the anarchy rampant in the world, yet his attachment to god outlived the ruin of his tidy system.
Since god validates elihus points 3841, the adversarial tone in gods answer to job makes even more sense. The last of the book is a beautiful picture of what james calls the tender mercies of god toward job james 5. David guzik commentary on job 1, where satan asks god for permission to attack job, who endures catastrophic loss, but does not blame god for it. And satan cannot resist the snapping of his own neck if god wills it. Job had a godfearing heart and he did nothing in his life that displeased god. The book is often understood as an exploration of the question of theodicy that is, how god can be declared just in the light of innocent suffering.
To most it would seem an absurd notionbut not to job. And there is a reality called satan who challenges god that his man is not as good as he thinks he is. Job was said to be an upright righteous man blessed of god with tremendous wealth. Job loses all of his worldly goods, his children and servants, as well as his. And the lord said unto satan, behold he is in thine hand. God originally allowed jobs sufferings to commence in order to show satan and the armies of heaven that job cherished the worth of god more than his possessions and his family and his health. If you recall, we have already looked at the first 12 verses of the book of job. One day, satan the adversary appears before god in heaven. A key to understanding the first theme of the book is to notice the debate between god and satan in heaven and how it connects with the 3 cycles of earthly debates between job and his friends. The book of job is ancient israelite wisdom literature, and its purpose isnt to teach us about how satan and god make bets and leave innocent peoples fates hanging in the balance. Job is a pious believer who is struck by misfortune so great that it cannot be explained in the usual way as a prompting to repentance, a warning, let alone a punishment the arguments later. There was a man in the land of uz, whose name was job. Rather, it begins with a typical day in the divine oval office, and the topic of gods just operation of the cosmos is put on the table. The adversary satan insinuates himself among the angels of gods court and argues that jobs virtue is not genuine.
Commentators like john macarthur note the hebrew is the same expression for what satan uses in job 1. The angel known as the satan hebrew for the adversary, as told in the book of job, challenges god to test the devotion and piety of the righteous man job. The prose prologue chapters one and two and the epilogue 42. I love reading the book of jobi feel a connection, i lost my son to a pedestrian accident almost 3 years ago at 1. Satan challenges god that, if given permission to punish the man, job will turn and curse god. Again there was a day whether the next day, or the next sabbath day, or the next first, day of the year which is gods day of general audit, as the rabbis will have it, we. God boasts about job, whom god considers to be an outstanding example of what a religious person should be. The big picture of job is that there was a man who was, in one sense, blameless in gods sight.
Learn how to properly read the introduction in the book of job. The first verse informs us where job lived and what his nature and character was in the eyes of god. God has allowed satan to testedafflict us for the past 2 days 2000 years and religious folk jobs friends keep telling us just confess you are unjustified sinners and repent etc. God allows satan to torment job to test this bold claim, but he. God brags to satan about jobs virtue, but satan contends that job is only righteous because god has favored him generously. God rebukes jobs three friends and orders them to make a sacrifice. There is another good book to read called the conflict of adam and eve with satan. Finally, god appears to job to heal him and take him to heaven in a divine chariot. Job, a pious and blameless man, is perfectly happy and contented. Satans first attack 6 one day the sons of god came to present themselves before the lord, and satan also came with them. In the book of job, satan is sent by god to torment.
If you confuse the two roles you are just going to be deceived. Satan, a second time, accompanied by the sons of god, came to give an account of themselves and god repeated his question to satan regarding job. Welcome to our job 9 explained article, where well study job chapter 9, verses 12 through 23. From roaming through the earth, he replied, and from walking back and forth in it.
But to do so,satan ask for more power and more time 75 to 100 years. In that vision satan was daring god that he can destroy the catholic church. This book shows the confusion surrounding the role of satan in the first centuries. Basically god has turned satans own words against him.
He is blameless and upright, constantly mindful to live in a righteous manner. If youd like to study verses 111 read our job 9 commentary and our job 9 summary for verses 2435. If satan can get job to believe he is being punished by god, job may be caught in. This is an obvious reference to the angels, and we know that satan is an angel even though a fallen one.
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