Job

JOB

Scripture references:
The Book of Job;
Ezekiel 14:14–20; James 5:11

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JOB’S ROLE IN SCRIPTURE

Job’s story and his struggle challenge us to contemplate the mystery of human suffering. Job was an innocent man, a man whom God loved. Yet, all that Job himself loved was taken from him, and Job was forced to endure intense physical and psychic pain. The Book of Job traces his tormented thoughts as Job tries to puzzle out what God could possibly intend by permitting him to endure such anguish.

Job is mentioned in the Old Testament, along with Noah and Daniel, as one of three righteous men whose presence in a city might normally avert God’s judgment. Ezekiel refers to the three to underline the certainty of the judgment about to befall Jerusalem in his day. Not even the presence of all three would cause God to withhold His punishing hand (Ezek. 14:14–20).

Job is also referred to in the Book of James as an encouragement for believers who also were suffering despite living righteous lives. James called on his readers to be patient and reminded them, “You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful” (James 5:11).

JOB’S LIFE AND TIMES

Job’s date.The Book of Job may be the oldest book in the Bible. Many commentators place Job in the patriarchal era as a contemporary of Abraham. The following are some of the reasons cited for this. The Hebrew in which the book is written is archaic, with many words that do not appear in other Old Testament writings. The book makes no reference to God’s covenant with Abraham or to Mosaic Law. Instead, reference is made to revelations received in dreams and to long-held traditional beliefs about God. It seems clear from these elements that Job predates the giving of the written revelation and quite possibly preceded God’s special revelation of Himself to Abraham.

Job’s character(1:1; 31:1–24). The first verse of the book introduces Job as a man who was “blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.” The Lord Himself confirmed this in His dialogs with Satan (1:8; 2:3).

Perhaps even more significant is Job’s own characterization in chapter 31 of his moral commitments. Throughout the book Job argued with three of his friends who were convinced that Job’s suffering must be punishment for some secret sin. Job, sure that he had lived a godly life, rejected their arguments. While Job did not know God’s reasons for apparently causing his suffering, Job was sure that God couldn’t be punishing him.

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Job showed his despair by tearing his clothing and sitting in ashes.

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Job 31is significant in that it reminds us that God has created human beings with a moral nature and an innate knowledge of right and wrong. Long before the Ten Commandments, nomadic peoples in the legendary land of Uz were fully aware of God’s moral expectations, and knew how they should live. Job’s problem is that while he has lived by commonly accepted moral precepts, he is still suffering. The puzzle is, Why should such bad things happen to a truly good person?

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Job’s problem(Job 3–31). On the surface it would seem that Job’s problem lay in the disasters that had befallen him. On a single day, Job had suffered the loss of his wealth and the deaths of his children. Shortly after this, excruciatingly painful boils tormented him. Yet, it was neither the disasters nor the pain that unnerved Job. What deeply troubled Job was that he could not explain why he was suffering. Job’s understanding of God reflected the view of others of his time. God was a moral judge who expected human beings to live up to commonly accepted moral standards. And God rewarded those who did so and punished those who did not.

Job, however, had lived an exemplary life. So the question of why God was letting him suffer tormented Job. In a lengthy dialog with three friends Job over and over asserted his innocence, and implied that God was being unfair. Yet, Job could not bring himself to believe that God is unfair. The conflict of his beliefs about God over against what he was experiencing frustrated and tormented righteous Job.

Job’s end (Job 42).In the end, God restored Job’s wealth two times over and gave him another family. God commended Job for facing the problem of suffering with honesty and integrity. God rebuked the three friends who, in their efforts to be on what they thought was God’s side, tried to coerce Job into confessing sins he did not commit.

EXPLORING JOB’S RELATIONSHIPS

Job’s relationship with Satan (Job 1, 2).The first chapters of Job take us behind the curtain that hangs between material and spiritual realms. We are shown a dialog between God and Satan, in which God pointed Job out to Satan as a blameless and upright man.

Satan immediately complained that God had erected a hedge around Job that Satan cannot penetrate. If only God would permit Satan to attack Job, Job would deny God to His face. God permitted Satan to attack Job, and Satan stripped Job of his wealth and family and inflicted Job with intensely painful boils. But Satan’s efforts to move Job to deny God failed utterly (Job 2:10).

Job himself was unaware of Satan’s involvement in his experience, and saw God as the direct cause of his pain. However, with the insight provided in chapters one and two, we note several things about the relationship between this believer and the devil.

Satan was innately hostile to God’s own. Satan’s desire is to harm God’s people, never to do them good. The means Satan chose to attack Job shows how wicked this fallen angel truly is.

Satan is limited in his ability to harm believers. Satan’s complaint that God had placed a hedge around Job should comfort us. Only with God’s permission can our great enemy aim his attacks against us. We are not to take Satan lightly. But neither are we to fear him as though his powers were unlimited. [For a thorough study of Satan, see the companion volume in this series, Every Good and Evil Angel in the Bible.]

Satan can be defeated when resisted in faith. Even Job’s wife urged him to give up, to curse God, and to die. She seemed convinced that death was preferable to continued suffering. Job however remained faithful in his commitment to the Lord. And, after the notation of Satan’s defeat in Job 2:10, this fallen angel is not mentioned again in the book. Despite his pretensions, Satan is but a bit player on sacred history’s stage, destined to be set aside in eternity.

Job’s relationship with God.We have noted that Job was a godly person who lived a moral life out of respect for the Lord. When tragedy struck, Job did not blame God, even though he assumed that God was responsible for his sufferings. Job’s problem was that he could notunderstand what God was doing in his life.

Job’s inadequate knowledge of God. While rejecting the idea that God was punishing Job for sin, Job agreed with his three friends that this was what God did. The wicked were supposed to suffer, for God simply must be fair! As Job’s dialog with his friends developed, Job questioned this assumption. Finally Job argued, correctly, that all four of them knew of wicked people who seem to prosper, and apparently godly individuals who struggle. It is dangerous for any of us to “put God in a box,” and to assume from what we know of Him that God must act in this way or that.

Job’s confrontation by God (Job 38–40).God spoke to Job and his friends following an insight shared by a younger man named Elihu. Elihu had listened as Job and his friends argued endlessly. Now Elihu pointed out that suffering isn’t always punishment. Suffering may serve a corrective purpose; God may be seeking to turn a sinner from his ways rather than punishing him. While this did not apply to Job, it did break the impasse. God need not punish Job! So Job can preserve his integrity, and his friends need not “defend God” by accusing Job.

When God appeared to the little company, He did not explain the reason for Job’s suffering. Instead the Lord urged Job to consider how far above His creation God is. Job cannot even explain the wonders of nature; how can he expect to explain God’s purposes?

Job acknowledged the rightness of what God had said, and humbled himself. Job had heard about God, but now that he had confronted God, Job realized how little right he had to question God’s acts. Whatever God’s purposes might be in permitting Job to suffer, Job’s role was simply to continue to trust and honor the Lord.

Job’s restoration by God (Job 42).God commended Job for facing the mystery of God’s actions honestly without retreat to theological hair splitting. God restored all of Job’s goods twice over. And, God gave Job another seven sons and three daughters. Why not fourteen sons and six daughters? Because unlike the material wealth which had been taken from Job, his children were not really lost to him. In the resurrection Job will be reunited with them. The seven new sons and three new daughters do, in fact, give Job twice as much as he had lost.

JOB: AN EXAMPLE FOR TODAY

Job never learned why God permitted him to suffer. Job did come to know God better, and perhaps this is an underlying purpose in all suffering. Through suffering, we are forced to face the mystery of God, and challenged to trust Him deeper. The Job who emerged from the crucible of pain had a deeper trust in God than the Job who entered it. May it be the same for us, when we, too, face the hurts that are a part of every human life. In the meanwhile, there are other lessons we can learn from Job as well.

•     Job’s story reminds us of God’s watchcare. God does put a hedge around His own, and only what He permits is allowed to pass through. In this we can take comfort. Knowing God’s love, we can be certain any pain He permits is for our good.

•     Job’s story reminds us that experiences we cannot understand provide the greatest opportunities to exercise faith. Faith is proven to be genuine only when it is tested. As Peter reminded us, a faith that passes the test is more precious than gold (1 Pet. 1:7).

•     Job’s story reminds us that God has multiplied blessings in store for us. We may not find these blessings in this life, as Job did, but they are there for us. They are reserved in heaven, awaiting only the coming of our Lord (James 5:7–11).

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