Jobs righteousness made him proud, a sin in gods eyes. In doing so, job falls under satans spell and his suffering progresses into the horrible vision of a clovenhoofed demon in the eleventh plate, jobs evil dreams. They said all of job s oxen and servants had been killed. Satan is constantly trying to widen the gap between man and god. Satan makes the wager that if job were to suffer, he would not be so loyal, pious and faithful. Job is described as an upright man who follows god s commands, and is blameless in god s eyes. Satan responds saying that he just has been wondering the earth and observing things. There is no one on earth as faithful and good as he is. But god s second speech must blow job s mind even further, and to do so it focuses on the supernatural creation. Ten aspects of gods sovereignty over suffering and satans. So it can also be assumed that satan and the christian god conspired together in the book of genesis. In it, god brags to satan about the devotion of job, an upright and virtuous man. Where does the communication between god and satan take place. The following verses show how job blamed god while satan was attacking him.
God does not answer their questions about jobs guilt or innocence, but rather speaks about the created order and contrasts what god can do with what humans are able to do. It also is to show us that satan is not confined to hell or to the earth, as many believe, but also has access to heaventhat is, until the battle in heaven takes place, just prior to the beginning of the great tribulation. The book of job is a very interesting book in the bible. He certainly isnt raining down sunshine, rainbows, and love. Misfortune befalls job, and, in three cycles of speeches, his three friends give the explanation that this must be punishment from god for his sins, and they urge him to repent. In it, satan is a member of gods divine court who walks the earth looking for sin and reports back to god. He had stated that he had lived righteously before god and was undeserving of the treatment that god was bringing into his life, as if god was unjust in his treatment of him. In the book of job god asks satan where he has been. The human author of book of job i believe received a vision and overheard a conversation and through god s grace gave him the wisdom to write the inspiration for purpose of stating that all the action of satan are subject to divine providence. When god asks satan where he came from, it is to give the readers an idea of what satan does, not because god doesnt know. The following is what we get when we meld the first two chapters of job into genesis 2 and 3 providing a back story to the fall of man. The bible says in the land of uz there lived a man whose name was job.
Human beings are unable to understand why the righteous suffer job 28. Satan had openly challenged god before all the hosts of heaven. With god s permission, satan killed job s children using the wind and now god speaks to job from the wind. Satan, the thief, has come to kill, steal, and destroy john 10. Feb 14, 2016 the book of job is one of the longest books in the bible, at 42 chapters. The lord speaks then the lord spoke to job out of the storm. In the midst of his suffering, god speaks to job from the cover of a whirlwind. Job is the central figure of the book of job in the bible. The book of job god did not give satan power biblebro. In rabbinical literature, job is called one of the prophets of the gentiles. Was it unfair for god to allow job to suffer over what was basically an argument between god and satan. God and job are treated as literary characters and the job poet as a consummate artist.
In the book of job, it becomes clear that the first three of job s friends eliphaz, blidad, and zophar speak wrongly. Turn to the book of job and youll see that here in i believe chapter 2. But satan the accuser comes before the lord, and god allows him to test job. The dialogue between god and satan about job was, by no means, a friendly conversation. All right, then you go to the next section, its called skin for skin. The book of job deals with a question which has troubled men in all ages. Well, god says, lets see, and he gives satan permission to ruin jobs life. The book of ecclesiastes is traditionally attributed to. Job is presented as a good and prosperous family man who is beset by satan with gods permission with horrendous disasters that take away all that he holds dear, including his offspring, his health, and his property. Job feared god and shunned evil, he stood witness for god during his trials, he earned god s praise and blessings, and he lived out a worthy and meaningful life which is much admired by us today. Thomas explores the difficulty of job s suffering, satan s involvement, and god s sovereignty.
Job contains the longest place for lengthy chapters in the bible where god himself speaks job 3841. The book begins with the description of job as a just and upright man. A reader wrote in asking what use was it to job to have his first 10 children killed with god s permission and then have them replaced with 10 more children. That is, job, unaware at the time of the behind the scenes activity between god and satan, assumed all his problems were a result of god s discipline. The word blameless doesnt mean sinless, but rather. Job 38 the lord speaks then the lord spoke bible gateway. How could satan access heaven in the books of job and the. Book of job simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. It would be hard to believe god dedicated so much of the. He had stated that he had lived righteously before god and was undeserving of god s punishment, as if god was unjust in his treatment of him. The prologue on earth introduces job as a righteous man, blessed with wealth, sons, and daughters, who lives in the land of uz. What does the book of job teach us about the coronavirus.
Interpretations of elihu in job biblical hermeneutics. Job is truly a distinctive piece of inspired literature. The prose prologue chapters one and two and the epilogue 42. Satan was there and a conversation ensued about job s goodness. After much debating between job and his friends about jobs righteousness and sin, god appears from the whirlwind to. Job contains the longest place in the bible were satan speaks job 12. God allowed it to happen when and how it did for the purpose of testing job, but the why is upon themselves.
As the story goes, the sons of god, angels, presented themselves before god. God talking to satan in the book of job,how did they know. There are a variety of views on chance to be found in the hebrew bible, or old testament. Satan s point was that god s law was unfair and unjust.
At last, god fulfills job s desire for a facetoface encounter. Seeing his minuscule role in the natural creation, job properly humbles himself and shuts up job 40. Naked i came from my mothers womb and naked i shall go back again. Job, unaware at the time of the behind the scenes dialogue between god and satan, thought all his problems were a result of god s discipline. The book of job begins by introducing us to its three most significant characters. Then satan would see that job would still be righteous. When satan rebelled it was by calling into question god s integrity and fairness as well as his love. In the book s first cycle, job s friends speeches were halted by the revelation of god s wisdom.
What follows is a celebration of ten aspects of gods sovereignty over suffering and satans hand in it. Aug 02, 2010 in the book of job, satan is sent by god to torment job. Because, ultimately, this fight is between job and god. Oct 30, 2014 satan is one of the most wellknown figures in history but how much do we really know about him. Job the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. In the book of job, satan and the christian god conspire. Rambam writes in moreh nevuchim guide to the perplexed, 2. Some bible commentators have professed great difficulty in understanding and explaining how satan could have access to heaven in job chapters 1 and 2, as well as in revelation chapter 12. The lord said to eliphaz the temanite, my wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends. He struggles to understand his situation and begins a search for the answers to his difficulties. Jobs sons and daughters overwhelmed by satan, william blake.
Things in job, like in the whole of the book are pictures of things, just as jesus, who was the lamb of god that takes away the sin of the world, or that his face was marred more than any many, not because it was beaten to a pulp, but because it was the face of god which is personified by jesus soul which is the life that he gave. The scene shifts to heaven, where god asks satan hebrew. The new element in the second cycle is that elihus speech is interrupted by the dramatic appearance of god himself job 38. Man and his god in the book of job, the satan probably means something like. Satan to god does he love god for god or god for favors. Whenever the words fear god are mentioned, most people will think of the story of job in the bible. It seems like an insignificant fact until we remember in job 2. The purpose of the book of job is to show the relationship between god, man, and satan. Some theologians claim god gives no answers within this book. 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. In the end, gods wager with satan actually achieved an incredible coup. Mar 18, 2009 the book of job tells the story of a canaanite man, a lebanese man that is job, it is a story inspired from the phoenician mythology that deals with god in a much more casual way, a human way, phoenicians had already the vision that jesus will come as a son of man, so a discussion between god and satan, created by god, is very succeptible to be found in phoenician mythology.
Jobs sons and daughters overwhelmed by satan jobs sons and. Why does god allow us to suffer if he really loves us and we are faithful to him. Bible verses related to incest from the king james version kjv by relevance sort by book order genesis 19. 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 bible pulls back the veil to glimpse heavenly affairs. Remember, god doesnt inflict anything nasty on job with his own divine power. In this chapter we will discuss the book of job and. The interesting thing to note here, howeverand what gives some people the most pauseis that though satan administers the suffering, god must grant permission for it to occur. How about god not permitting his first 10 children to be killed by satan in the first place.
Does this imply that satan can withstand in the presence of god and can freely talk to him at any time. Thomas explores the difficulty of job s suffering, satan s involvement, and god. Satan challenges god by stating that job will denounce god if afflicted. The bet the bibles book of job is one of the most difficult for religious apologists to explain. The book of job speaks to this in some detail as job is victimized by the devil through attacks on his family, possessions, and, finally, himself. Purchased with the assistance of a special grant from the national gallery and donations from the national artcollections fund, lord duveen and others, and. If job is to begin justifying god, he must clearly see that hell. Having satan do the dirty work is a very greekmythology thing to doyou know, let a demigod do the dirty work, then assert your dominance anyway. In it, satan is a member of god s divine court who walks the earth looking for sin and reports back to god.
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. God heard job s confession in silence, and, without further speech to him, addressed eliphaz and his friends. The entire chronicle of job did not happen because god had a grudge against job or wanted to take vengeance on him. This is an obvious reference to the angels, and we know that satan is an angel even though a fallen one. May 18, 20 the issue is not job s faith or loyalty, and is not about god proving to satan job s loyalty. The adversary satan insinuates himself among the angels of god s court and argues that job s virtue is not genuine. Oct 07, 2005 my conviction is that letting god speak his word will awaken worship like jobs and worship will shape our hearts to understand whatever measure of gods mystery he wills for us to know. But it also makes us think of satan as the bad guy. God speaks draws from the book of job, a book in which are hidden amazing truthsincluding scientific truths that were not discovered in this world until more than 3,000 years laterthat prove the trustworthiness of scripture. In the book of job satan and god talk to each other. With god s permission, the adversary possibly satan kills job s children, destroys all of the mans possessions, and strikes job with hideous diseases. Job defends his integrity available at, i was both frustrated and encouraged by my studies. Question about the book of job how was satan in heaven.
That all people are deserving of death is a topic in the book. He worships me and is careful not to do anything evil. Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge. A surface reading of the book of job usually evokes a reaction such as why is god making a bet with the devil. Because we suffer does not necessarily mean god is angry with us. In the book of job, it is stated many times that satan questioned in his presence the righteousness of gods servant job and challenged him to put job to the test. God sometimes answers his prayers requests, as in the case of job. There are chapters dedicated to god, satan, job, job s human advisors, job s before digging into the text of job is is helpful to understand the roles played by the major characters in the book. Is he observing to learn human behavior and more ways to deceive and manipulate us humans. It was orchestrated by god to show billions of people, who would read and hear about this account throughout the ages, that satan can do nothing without god s authorization and consent. God protects us even though were not as faithful as job because god is good, amen.
An introduction to the book of job faithlife sermons. This is pretty complex, actually, because the word translated satan as is used in the old testament does not refer to satan as the demonic adversary in the sense of miltons paradise lost. This is the book of job chapter 3842 found in gods word the holy bible. If job was blameless, why did god allow satan to afflict. He is blameless and upright, constantly mindful to live in a righteous manner. When satan accuses us before god, as he did with joshua the high priest, it is perhaps the one time all he needs to do is tell the truth. A person feels as if something came upon him, and as if he had received a new power that encourages him to speak. God brags to satan about job s virtue, but satan contends that job is only righteous because god has favored him generously. Job 1 gnt satan tests job there was a man named bible.
Job and the great controversy over the character of god. Why did god allow satan to harm job s health and wealth. In fact, god added to these descriptions of job that there was none like him in all the earth. Was it unfair for god to allow job to suffer over what was. The prologue introduces us to the characters and summarizes the theme of the book.
Through a series of interactions with satan, god allowed jobs faith to be tested by satan. In the book of job, how was it possible for god and satan to. The book of job is one of the wisdom books of the bible. You must understand who god is and who satan is, what they know, and what their motivation is. 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. It reveals that satan as a rival god appeared before the true god jehovah in heaven, challenging jehovah in the assembly of all the angels before god. Analysis this is a key passage for setting the stage for all that follows.
Because so much of job is poetry, a deep immersion in the book will help you develop your emotional and affectional pallet to use a painting metaphor, so that you will learn to feel, to desire, and to grow more sensitive to all manner of experiences in life. Satan is seen as the adversary or prosecutor, an agent of gd, very. Satan s a catalyst, sure, but the moral of the story lies in mans relationship with god. Finally, as his wife speaks to him bitterly, job curses the day he was born in a full chapterlength poem of woe. A littleknown legend adds to the story of job a story about his first wife, her sufferings and her dealings with satan. When satan asked to torment him, god had to agree in spite of the fact that job was one of the most righteous men on earth, because he hadnt confessed his sin.
Why did god allow satan to take lives just to prove that job. The meaning of the book of job is found in gods and satans conversation in heaven. In conclusion, god identifies job as a faultfinder and dares him to justify himself any further job 40. In the book of job, how was it possible for god and satan. Retired new york university liberal studies program in preparing to write my book, wrestling with god. The book of job is an example of the difference between union and fellowship. And this brings us back to the devils other accusation. The devil talks to the lord and the lord answers him. The book of job in the hebrew bible was crafted to address human suffering and why bad things happen to good people. For you deceived people today who dont believe anyone is perfect, god said that job was perfect and upright, one that feared god, and hated evil job 1. A critical reading of the book of job must confront the issue of innocent suffering in a world allegedly created by a benevolent god. Not only do they incur the indignation of job and his other friend elihu, but god himself rebukes them, saying to eliphaz, i am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant job has.
T he mainstream jewish view of satan emanates from the book of job. Job, a pious and blameless man, is perfectly happy and contented. Job teaches us that human suffering may be caused by many things. There is an evil spirit, the enemy of god, and of all righteousness, who is continually seeking to distress, to lead astray, and, if possible, to destroy those who love god. God originally allowed job s 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. Now there was a day when the sons of god came to present themselves before the lord, and satan came also among them.
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