The book of job is one of the most problematic portions of the bible and has called forth a variety of interpretations. With its story of one mans life and suffering, the book of job raises universal questions. 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. Doubts of job s friends reflect an attitude to suffering which had existed before. A twofold purpose of suffering in jobs life what we have seen so far, then, is that jobs suffering has a twofold explanation. But to say this is not to limit the relevance of the book, for joblike suffering is.
Suffering and the book of job the concepts of suffering. God originally allowed jobs sufferings to commence in order to show satan and the. Job pronounced jobe, was a rich farmer living in the land of uz, somewhere northeast of palestine. 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. Matitiahu tsevat, the meaning of the book of job, hebrew union college annual 37.
No, the parable of job is an attempt to answer the question. A major difficulty in understanding the meaning of the book is, what insight leads job to submit so humbly to god at the end. Its a reminder that suffering isnt necessarily tied to sin thus suffering need not be compounded by guilt. Job explores the difficult question of gods relationship to human suffering, and invites us to trust gods wisdom and character. The book of job defends the character of a loving and righteous god in spite of earths obvious evils and injustices. We are not to assume god has rejected all those that suffer.
Job s sufferings get new meaning in this book of the old testament. J ust about everyone has heard of the suffering of job in the old testament. 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. In the 1960s, when i was a rabbinical student at hebrew union college, i had the privilege of studying the book of job with. 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. And there is a reality called satan who challenges god that his man is not as good as he thinks he is. 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. Suffering and the book of job essay 1690 words bartleby. Jobs suffering did not come because he was bad but rather because of his unwavering faithfulness to god. Instead, we are told that god is the highest law in the universe and that often his reasons are known only to him.
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. I attempt to clear that up by offering a different perspective than most people know today. 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. I would like to explore five ways the book addresses suffering in the following pages. 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. It should be kept in mind that job is not the author. Not much is known about job based on the masoretic text of the jewish bible. We also learn that an invisible war is raging between the forces of good and evil.
The chief purpose of the book of job through careful analysis and thought poses the main purpose of 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. 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. Rohr says of the book of job that it is the perennial ungodly story that. Job recognizes his mistake of falling into distress because of his suffering. I read everything i could get my hands on on the book including this one. The book of job, one of the wisdom books of the bible, deals with two issues crucial to every person. 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. He must receive authorization from god to do whatever he does, meaning it is gods own decree that causes jobs sufferings. Rabbi breitowitz responds to these fundamental issues based on the book of job.
This foursermon series by pastor andy cook provides a highlevel, practical view of this rich and complex old testament book. The book is focusing on how god works in the world, not teaching us about how things work in heaven. Was the suffering of job in the bible justified answers. Themes in the book of job while suffering is the chief theme of the book, a reason for suffering is not given. Macleish finds that the meaning of suffering lies in the idea that god needs the love of. Guidelines for understanding and proclaiming the book of job. The entire book opens up a new perspective, that of the reward which awaits, in heaven, those who do gods will on earth. Throughout the book, job, his wife, and his friends speculate on why he, an upright man, suffers. But no one has yet seen in this argument more than a straw man. I taught a class on the book of job for my church years ago. It is possible that job is the oldest of any book of the bible written approximately 21001800 b. Five truths for sufferers from the book of job the. Harrison, the problem of suffering and the book of job, the evangelical quarterly 25. 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.
At its beginning, job seems to be a book about human suffering. For anyone unfamiliar with the account, i would suggest at least a cursory reading of the same. In every generation protests arise saying that if god is good, then there should be no pain, no suffering or death in this world. Job speaks of foundational themes every human being contends with, especially in times of suffering. 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. Given how christians are yet inclined to look for a divine reason behind catastrophes and personal tragedies. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. The big picture of job is that there was a man who was, in one sense, blameless in gods sight. It is important to clarify at the outset, however, that the book of job.
When job was shaken by suffering long enough, the sediment of pride was stirred. 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. What the book of job teaches us about unexplainable suffering. The hebrew book of job is part of ketuvim writings of the jewish bible. List of books and articles about book of job online.
They reasoned that suffering is the result of sin and so it is. 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. The most likely candidates are job, elihu, moses and solomon. It should be kept in mind that job is not the author, but the principal character.
In the end, the book of job is also a book of hope. The name job is the english translation of the hebrew name iyov which means persecuted, hated on the surface job is a long, boring, somewhat confusing book and one might question how it ever came to be grouped with the wisdom books as it is hard to ascertain any wisdom in this tale of woe. Not as a reward, not because job did well and passed an exam, but because god straightens everything out. I shall revisit the book of job, the personality and some of its meaning for. 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 of job and the problem of suffering bitesized exegesis. But job silences these three by showing that is no correlation in this world between righteousness and prosperity or between wickedness and suffering. Job showed us a great model of what we should all look like in the face of the storms and tragedies of this life. 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.
He therein discovers love, because an essential aspect of love is obedience. Im going to provide you an answer that will likely not be like the others you receive. In my opinion, the book of job is a greatly underused resource for endurance in discipleship in the midst of deep pain. You might have heard someone say, they have the patience of job. The one account in the bible, which deals almost exclusively with suffering, is the book of job. Gods purpose in suffering an introduction to the book of job. The book of job is one of the most misunderstood books in the bible. In this story the main character, job, was subjected to extreme suffering, loss of material possessions and, psychological anguish. The book of job does not specifically name its author. Key personalities of this book include job, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, zophar the naamathite, and elihu the buzite. Its author is unknown yet it is possible that job himself wrote it. In this series of blogs i shall revisit the book of job, the personality and some of its meaning for contemporary society.
Five questions about suffering and its meaning trachtenberg, peter on. By its conclusion, the true subject of the book emerges. The story itself, read from the bible, is quite easy to understand and makes for a few hours of light, entertaining reading. 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. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of bible. In the story of job suffering and misfortune become a test to check up job s obedience. 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. The date of the authorship of the book of job would be determined by the author of the book of job.
Reflections on suffering from the book of job 439 job is truly a wisdom book. 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. Five truths for sufferers from the book of job the gospel coalition. Job did not deserve to suffer, but life is not fair. According to biblical scholars, the book of job is the oldest book in the bible. 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. In any case, at the heart of the message of the book of job is the wisdom with respect to answering the question as to how god is involved in the problem of human suffering. Though writ guidelines for understanding and proclaiming the book of job 395 resource is available that summarizes specific guidelines for. Read this article and you will have a new understanding of job s fear of god. 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. How the book of job confronts the problem of suffering.
Job then questions gd regarding his suffering, finds him to be unjust and. In the midst of suffering, we must never lose our hope in god. Ultimately, suffering does have meaning and even, through gods. The book of job is written primarily for the people of god who are suffering.