The prose prologue chapters one and two and the epilogue 42. Satan in job is those who oppose gods opinion of righteous job. Even though god is not the author of evil, much good comes from evil, so its not surprising that god allowed satan to test job, and so the lord said to satan, behold, all that he has is in your hand. Good and evil in the book of job the christian science. Job gave obedience only because he got good stuff from god. Now comes the first terrifying part of the bookespecially for. There is no denying that there is evil in this world but the light will always conquer the darkness. In the book of job, satan is sent by god to torment job. How does the book of job help disciples of jesus christ remain faithful to god as they sufferor walk alongside others who sufferin ways that are extreme and inexplicable. God boasts to satan about jobs goodness, but satan argues that job is only good because god has. Job was humbled by the lord when he revealed himself to job in chapter 42. Nemo cites heidegger 18891976 who argued that the basic question of life was being and nothinness.
One day, satan the adversary appears before god in heaven. Two interviews of yahweh with satanthe presenting problem. Job was blameless, meaning no sin was found in him. Five truths for sufferers from the book of job the. Book of job simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Instead of using human nature and free will or a greater good to justify evil, the answer given to and by job is that god, being good, has a reason, even if that reason is inscrutable for us. 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. This is the typical approach of interpretation to many accounts in the old testament, and the same rings true with the book of job. Greg boyd the point of the book of job problem of evil duration. When the story of job is preached from the pulpit of modern day churches, popular themes and lessons to be learned always seem to fall under the category of having faith in god in good times and bad. If anyone other than job was involved, it was satan, not.
Job is a wealthy man living in a land called uz with his large family and extensive flocks. The book of job good and evil park cities baptist church. Rather, it begins with a typical day in the divine oval. Up until that moment in jobs life, its practically implied that hes lived the blessed life of a devoted man. In light of the evil that the world has seen surface in the last year911, the suicide bombings, all the other causes for unrelenting fear, jobs story may offer insights to a. Its only with the introduction of the bet that tragedy descends on job. This lecture begins with the book of lamentations, a short book of dirges that laments the destruction of jerusalem and moves on to introduce the third and final section of the hebrew bible the ketuvim, or writings. What does this tell us about the place of evil in the world.
When jobs friends heard about the things that happened to him they went to comfort him. Book of job quotes 6 quotes meet your next favorite book. Rlst 145 lecture 20 responses to suffering and evil. But even so, secondly, the greater good argument leaves us with. Job is an obvious place to turn to when one is overwhelmed with pain, but it is easy for a casual reader to leave the book more mystified than encouraged. Then in three series of poetic dialogues the author shows how jobs friends and job himself react to these calamities. And there is a reality called satan who challenges god that his man is not as good as he thinks he is. Thats the wrong story, but one that is commonly imported into the book. 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. Job 1 niv prologue in the land of uz there bible gateway. So the job answer fits in a unique place among various defenses and theodicies for the problem of evil. In making sense of the undeniable presence of sin, along with. Towards the end of the book, jobs friends start to think that job is not good because a lot of bad things are happening to him.
The notion that evil is nonrational is a more significant claim for eagleton than at first appears, because he is in this book on evil as in others of his recent late period prolific burst anxious to rewrite theology. Everything we take to be evil actually happens for the best, and if we knew all that god knows we would understand that too. The book of job has inspired much commentary about its presentation of the problem of evil, which is the question of how a god that is allegedly 1 allpowerful, 2 allgood, and 3 allknowing. God whom he elsewhere tells us is nonexistent, but this is no barrier to his being lots of other things for eagleton too, among them important is not to be regarded. The word job from famous scholars by analysis, means. Job pronounced jobe, was a rich farmer living in the land of uz, somewhere northeast of palestine. And the book of job certainly makes suffering seem as though it is a result of, if not by evil, then an adversary of god. Then they looked up the references found in good and evil and were amazed when they read what the bible actually says. The book of job does not give an answer concerning the question of the problem of evil, but it does call christians to humbly trust in the lord. In the end, god himself, whose dealings with humanity have been a prominent part of the discussion, appears to job.
You and i have heard it as the persecuted one, but the central point of the narrative is that job was completely innocent not guilty of any offense, but simply the victim of the most cruel experiment by god. He allows him some freedom, but satans freedom is designed to bring about much good, as god uses evil for god genesis 50. The book of job is the first document in history to take seriously the question of why really bad things happen to really. Job 1 kjv there was a man in the land of uz, bible gateway. 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. How gods justice can be satisfied yet sinners shown mercy. For although he subsequently studies in answer to job the evolution of the godimage grounded in daniel, isaiah, ecclesiastes and the apocryphal ecclesiasticus, and revelation, the core of jung s discussion is the plight of job himself and god s response to it. Whether in the midst of pain, suffering or agony, the lord will sustain his people through it all for his purposes and glory. Although job was unaware of the interaction between satan and god, job comes to the conclusion that god is just and good.
This is the jealousies of men that contradict the truth of god that job was an upright man, job 1. Job at least reminds us that we do not know everything, that god is. Because we dont know all the reasons behind each particular evil, we cant make facile connections between guilt and disaster, between a persons sin and the evil that befalls him. That is the lesson of the book for anyone who questions god without access to all the facts 38. For further study on the book of job hartley, john e. He is blameless and upright, always careful to avoid doing evil 1. Some bible scholars debate whether he was an actual person or legend, but job is mentioned as a historical figure by the prophet ezekial ezekial 14. 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. The problem of evil in the book of job servants of grace. Most of the book tells about job and his friends talking.
How gods justice will be completely realized with regard to satan and other evil beings. The bibles book of job, with its themes of suffering, divine justice, and the influence of evil, has long been referred to as a study guide for the human condition. Texts including the book of job and john 9 keep us from universally declaring that pain is a specific punishment for specific sin. The big picture of job is that there was a man who was, in one sense, blameless in gods sight. The book of job is the story of a good man who suffers total disaster he loses all his children and property and is afflicted with a repulsive disease. The names of his friends are eliphaz, bildad, and zophar. The first two chapters are written in prose and serve as a prologue to the poetic saga that follows. Evil exists and creatures bear moral responsibility for it. Job introduction, good news bible gnb the bible app. 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. The book of job is ancient israelite wisdom literature, and its purpose isnt to teach us about how satan and god make. There are persons who gloss over evil deeds and evil habits by fairsounding names, who call cowardice caution, and rashness courage, stinginess thrift, and wasteful profusion generosity.
Dilemma and resolution in bhagavadgita and job, hazel s. 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. Living a life of success at the edge of your ability. God boasts to satan about job s goodness, but satan argues that job is only good because god has. 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. What job meant was that we are bound to expect evil as well as good from gods hands by a sort of compensation and evenhanded justice, but what his words may mean is a far. The reasons for suffering in a persons life are not necessarily related to human explanations of personal unrighteousness, but are within the scope of gods good and powerful providence resulting in the defeat of evil and glory to himself. Job is confronted with being and unbearable suffering, and job argued that he would have been better if he had not been born or had died in infancy.
Shall we receive good at the hand of god, and shall we not receive evil. Nemo wrote a good case that the book of job is about existence and the problem of evil. The sacrifices mentioned offer a hint, but that is all. For the nonreligious, the book of job can be read as not only about the just and. Job is an easy candidate for the old testaments most. Given how christians are yet inclined to look for a divine reason behind catastrophes and.
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