Throughout the book, job, his wife, and his friends speculate on why he, an upright man, suffers. It should be kept in mind that job is not the author, but the principal character. List of books and articles about book of job online. In my opinion, the book of job is a greatly underused resource for endurance in discipleship in the midst of deep pain. We are not to assume god has rejected all those that suffer. The book of job defends the character of a loving and righteous god in spite of earths obvious evils and injustices. With its story of one mans life and suffering, the book of job raises universal questions.
Job did not deserve to suffer, but life is not fair. Its author is unknown yet it is possible that job himself wrote it. I would like to explore five ways the book addresses suffering in the following pages. The story itself, read from the bible, is quite easy to understand and makes for a few hours of light, entertaining reading. It should be kept in mind that job is not the author.
Since the problem of evil is the greatest theological challenge christians face today, we will explore the meaning of theodicy in the book of job, christian theology, and also aim to help readers to form a christian response to the problem of evil. I shall revisit the book of job, the personality and some of its meaning for. In the 1960s, when i was a rabbinical student at hebrew union college, i had the privilege of studying the book of job with. Ultimately, suffering does have meaning and even, through gods. But to say this is not to limit the relevance of the book, for joblike suffering is.
He must receive authorization from god to do whatever he does, meaning it is gods own decree that causes jobs sufferings. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of bible. Job recognizes his mistake of falling into distress because of his suffering. The book is of unknown authorship and date, although many scholars assign it to a time between 600 bc and 400 bc a lament in narrative form, the subject is the problem of good and evil in the world. And there is a reality called satan who challenges god that his man is not as good as he thinks he is. Macleish finds that the meaning of suffering lies in the idea that god needs the love of. J ust about everyone has heard of the suffering of job in the old testament. The book of job does not specifically name its author. The big picture of job is that there was a man who was, in one sense, blameless in gods sight.
But no one has yet seen in this argument more than a straw man. The hebrew book of job is part of ketuvim writings of the jewish bible. Its subject matter is the allimportant question, why, in a world over which yahweh has jurisdiction, should innocent persons have to suffer when at the same time the wicked escape suffering and are permitted to have comfort and security. But do you know the hidden meaning behind the story of job. In every generation protests arise saying that if god is good, then there should be no pain, no suffering or death in this world. The book of job is classified as a work of hebrew literature, but some scholars have pointed to evidence of arabic influences within the hebrew text. The book is focusing on how god works in the world, not teaching us about how things work in heaven. This foursermon series by pastor andy cook provides a highlevel, practical view of this rich and complex old testament book. Job showed us a great model of what we should all look like in the face of the storms and tragedies of this life. He therein discovers love, because an essential aspect of love is obedience.
Further, its a reminder that for those who believe in the greatness and goodness of god there is no suffering over which god is not in control. You might have heard someone say, they have the patience of job. Job is a character who demonstrates the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and is provided with a variety of psychic outlets which function to alleviate the stress of the trauma. Set in uz, an obscure land far from israel, during an unknown time period, the book of job focuses on questions about gods justice and why good people suffer. The book of job opens in verse one by telling us that job was a blameless, upright man who feared god and turned away from evil. The message of the book is offered at the end, in the speeches of god, not in the opening scenario, which only sets up the thought experiment.
In this story the main character, job, was subjected to extreme suffering, loss of material possessions and, psychological anguish. Job speaks of foundational themes every human being contends with, especially in times of suffering. Matitiahu tsevat, the meaning of the book of job, hebrew union college annual 37. Im going to provide you an answer that will likely not be like the others you receive. Waters ritten by an unknown author, possibly the most ancient literary account in the bible,1 the book of job is a mixture of divine and human wisdom that addresses a major life issue. Suffering was considered as a punishment for the crime committed.
It is important to clarify at the outset, however, that the book of job. Suffering and the book of job essay 1690 words bartleby. A twofold purpose of suffering in jobs life what we have seen so far, then, is that jobs suffering has a twofold explanation. The characters in the book of job consist of job, his wife, his three friends bildad, eliphaz, and zophar, a man named elihu, god, and angels one of whom is. Job pronounced jobe, was a rich farmer living in the land of uz, somewhere northeast of palestine. Key personalities of this book include job, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, zophar the naamathite, and elihu the buzite. In the midst of suffering, we must never lose our hope in god. At its beginning, job seems to be a book about human suffering. The book of job is one of the most problematic portions of the bible and has called forth a variety of interpretations. Though writ guidelines for understanding and proclaiming the book of job 395 resource is available that summarizes specific guidelines for.
Jobs suffering did not come because he was bad but rather because of his unwavering faithfulness to god. Themes in the book of job while suffering is the chief theme of the book, a reason for suffering is not given. It is possible that job is the oldest of any book of the bible written approximately 21001800 b. The basic concept of wisdom has always been connected with skill and knowhow,15 for wisdom was the art of achieving, and the emphasis was on. Its a reminder that suffering isnt necessarily tied to sin thus suffering need not be compounded by guilt.
The book of job is written primarily for the people of god who are suffering. Rohr says of the book of job that it is the perennial ungodly story that. The one account in the bible, which deals almost exclusively with suffering, is the book of job. You will be rightly told that job is about the suffering of one of gods treasured servantshow he endured great suffering, despite being a good man, as god us.
No, the parable of job is an attempt to answer the question. Job s three friends had taken the position that the severity of job s suffering must be the sign of some grievous sin in his life. Read this article and you will have a new understanding of job s fear of god. I attempt to clear that up by offering a different perspective than most people know today. It is generally understood by modern scholars that the central poetic section of the book, in which job is forced by his changed circumstances to reject his simplistically pious views, was ironically and intentionally set between the beginning and end of a conventionally pious story of a man called job who remained faithful to god in his suffering. Instead, we are told that god is the highest law in the universe and that often his reasons are known only to him. The book of job is one of the most misunderstood books in the bible. They reasoned that suffering is the result of sin and so it is. Job s sufferings get new meaning in this book of the old testament. Reflections on suffering from the book of job 439 job is truly a wisdom book. How the book of job confronts the problem of suffering. The entire book opens up a new perspective, that of the reward which awaits, in heaven, those who do gods will on earth. Job then questions gd regarding his suffering, finds him to be unjust and. Harrison, the problem of suffering and the book of job, the evangelical quarterly 25.
I was almost immediately captivated by father richard rohrs energy and fascinating insight into the real meaning of the book of job for people today. Doubts of job s friends reflect an attitude to suffering which had existed before. In this series of blogs i shall revisit the book of job, the personality and some of its meaning for contemporary society. For anyone unfamiliar with the account, i would suggest at least a cursory reading of the same.
Suffering and the book of job the concepts of suffering. In the following video, the book of job is examined and the theme is presented that even though we dont understand why some suffering and hardship exist, god is still wise and just. Rabbi breitowitz responds to these fundamental issues based on the book of job. A major difficulty in understanding the meaning of the book is, what insight leads job to submit so humbly to god at the end. Was the suffering of job in the bible justified answers.
What job suffered during trials was painful, and his testimony of overcoming satan is worthy of our praise, and the blessings he gained from god are admirable. Job explores the difficult question of gods relationship to human suffering, and invites us to trust gods wisdom and character. Five truths for sufferers from the book of job the. God originally allowed jobs sufferings to commence in order to show satan and the. You can use these sermons as part of a lengthier series on job, or as a standalone topical series on the subjects of grief, suffering, the meaning of life, or the sovereignty of god. Gods purpose in suffering an introduction to the book of job. The book of job, one of the wisdom books of the bible, deals with two issues crucial to every person. In the end, the book of job is also a book of hope. The chief purpose of the book of job through careful analysis and thought poses the main purpose of the book of job. This doesnt mean that all suffering is the result of ones own sin, nor does it mean that the person who suffers isnt leading the right kind of life. The book of job and the problem of suffering bitesized exegesis.
Job accuses god of being unjust and not operating the world according to principles of justice, and his friends believe that job s sin caused his suffering. I taught a class on the book of job for my church years ago. Five truths for sufferers from the book of job the gospel coalition. The book of job is often referred to as one of the great classics of world literature. Job s suffering, the suffering of a just man who bears it patiently and continues to seek mercy and forgiveness, acquires its fullest meaning in the new testament. Not as a reward, not because job did well and passed an exam, but because god straightens everything out. Not much is known about job based on the masoretic text of the jewish bible.
The date of the authorship of the book of job would be determined by the author of the book of job. We also learn that an invisible war is raging between the forces of good and evil. The book of job is the first document in history to. The point of the book of job is to teach us that the mystery of evil is a mystery of a wartorn and unfathomably complex creation, not the mystery of gods allcontrolling will. What the book of job teaches us about unexplainable suffering. Given how christians are yet inclined to look for a divine reason behind catastrophes and personal tragedies. Of course, he is human and he did realize his faults at the end of the book, but his reactions to the death and suffering around him just amaze me. Five questions about suffering and its meaning trachtenberg, peter on. When job was shaken by suffering long enough, the sediment of pride was stirred. Christ told his apostles that, if they loved him, they would keep his. Guidelines for understanding and proclaiming the book of job. The makers of the bible project have made an animated video that explains the theme behind one of the most complex books of the bible.
Lessons from job sermon series hope, suffering, meaning. In the story of job suffering and misfortune become a test to check up job s obedience. I read everything i could get my hands on on the book including this one. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. By its conclusion, the true subject of the book emerges. According to biblical scholars, the book of job is the oldest book in the bible. But job silences these three by showing that is no correlation in this world between righteousness and prosperity or between wickedness and suffering.