The big picture of job is that there was a man who was, in one sense, blameless in gods sight. The story itself, read from the bible, is quite easy to understand and makes for a few hours of light, entertaining reading. You will find bible commentary, doctrinal discussion, teaching aids, and more. A major difficulty in understanding the meaning of the book is, what insight leads job to submit so humbly to god at the end.
The book of job discusses why god allows pain and suffering. The book of job 3 the book of job introduction to the book the book of job has long been praised as a masterpiece of literature. The issue of suffering is used to demonstrate the authority of god. The book of job is a book in the ketuvim writings section of the hebrew bible tanakh, and. In a word, the book of job tells us that we have to live with mystery. For anyone unfamiliar with the account, i would suggest at least a cursory reading of the same.
But this story is about more than just mass destruction. Two, neither job nor his friends ever saw the conflict going on between. The structure and message of the book of job jstor. One of these is to examine some of the penetrating questions that are posed in the book. Analysis of the book job as a work on human suffering and divine sovereignty 1678 words 7 pages over the past centuries, scholars have regarded the book of job as the seminal and quintessential work on human suffering and divine sovereignty. Tomorrow, if all literature was to be destroyed and it was left to me to retain one work only, i should save job. Jul 22, 2011 in the bible, the bestknown wrestling with the problem of suffering comes to us in the book of job.
The book of job consists of a prose prologue and epilogue narrative framing poetic dialogues and monologues. We recently wrapped up a study on the book of job at community bible church. Job had a very large family with seven sons and three. The book of job is best known as one of the poetic book of the old testament of the bible. According to the sacred writer, the truly wise man should realize that the fear of the lord, that is wisdom.
Little wonder, then, that renowned novelist victor hugo once suggested that if all the worlds literary efforts were to be destroyed, and he could save but a solitary sample, it would be. In fact, for buddhists, the cause of suffering was discovered some 2,500 years ago by a prince from india named sidhartha gautama. Christ told his apostles that, if they loved him, they would keep his. It was my junior year of college and i was sitting in my western civilization class at the university of kansas.
Now, he turns his analysis to what is perhaps the most famous tale of suffering in the world in the book of job. The god who caused job to suffer, who caused the book to be written, surely. An examination of all of the stories, fables, proverbs, and histories of the bible, the book of job is one of the most compelling due to its unique literary style and the complex treatment of the issue of suffering. What we have seen so far, then, is that job s suffering has a twofold explanation. The book of job is included among the wisdom writings precisely because it teaches man that pain and suffering are a mystery of divine wisdom. Satan, the adversary, claims to gd that job is only righteous because he is basically wealthy and comfortable. You may want to use it in your life group or city group. Penetrating questions from the book of job by wayne jackson the book of job is one of the most profound pieces of literature ever to grace human existence. Do we have the capacity, framework and resources to suffer well. Taken from nelsons new illustrated bibkle dictionary. Parsons it is common knowledge that the book of job is universally admired as a literary masterpiece in world literature.
The book defends the absolute glory and perfection of god it sets. In this paper well look for a response from the christian and muslim scriptures to the question of human suffering through the story of job, and examine it for validity and coherence. May 12, 2020 a twofold purpose of suffering in job s life. But for the first 37 chapters of the book of job, his cries for gods help and relief were met only by gods deafening silence. We concluded the series with a time of question and answer. The book of job is one of the most magnificent documents of literary history. If we were to film this book, the whole movie would take place on a single set, probably in a single day. This treatise may be studied from several vantage points. Suffering and the book of job 1688 words 123 help me.
He was a faithful servant of god, he owned thousands of animals, and had many servants and friends. A reflection on the book of job and suffering catholicism. Job does not believe he has sinned and doesnt understand why he is suffering. Alternatively, students could break into groups, attempt to outline jobs poem into stanzas. The book of job is one of the most problematic portions of the bible and has called forth a variety of interpretations. The gripping and challenging book of job is perhaps one of the most fascinating books of the old testament, and it begins a new division in the scriptures. Jobs life prior to the suffering was spent doing what was righteous before god. When good people suffer, what does god want from them. Job had 10 children who appear to be adults at the time his suffering began. 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. What is the reward for the wicked and the workers of iniquity.
In the bible, the bestknown wrestling with the problem of suffering comes to us in the book of job. Does the book of job offer an explanation for why people suffer. Key personalities of this book include job, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, zophar the naamathite, and elihu the buzite. Literary features of the book of job 215 his polyphonic workwisdom types, a genre from psalms, and a genre from the legal sphere. This time, job is arguing that by the rules of that logic, god shouldnt be punishing him. Nabors english 4206 11 november 2010 the book of job. A comparative and critical analysis of the story of job as.
Suffering well lessons from the book of job christ city church. Jobs burden, reconciling unimaginable suffering with the idea of a just god, is a task one that few preachers or academics are bold enough to tackle. Suffering and the book of job baker publishing group. Walking with god through pain and suffering is the definitive christian book on why bad things happen and how we should respond to them. He is blameless and upright, always careful to avoid. Job then confesses his lack of wisdom, meaning his lack of understanding of the workings of the cosmos and of the.
The book of job is written in the form of a dramatic poem, that deals with several age old questions, among them the question of why the righteous suffer. A comparative textual analysis of the book of job and. Much of the book is devoted to the attempt of job and his friends to understand why job, an apparently upright man, has suffered the calamities that he has. Contractors must conduct an analysis of each of the job groups and determine availability for each 41 cfr 602. What we have seen so far, then, is that jobs suffering has a twofold explanation. Most books of the bible take place on larger stages, but the book of job goes down at a very specific and narrow point in the human life cycle.
Alternate views are given in edouard dhorme, a commentary on the book of job nashville. The debate is about god, his attributes and how he interacts with humankind. A twofold purpose of suffering in jobs life what we have seen so far, then, is that jobs suffering has a twofold explanation. 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 provides no easy answers to these and other tough questions about suffering. God does not cause us to suffer to punish us for our sins. As far as the symposium is concerned, the authors purpose seems to be none other than to challenge the view presented by both prophets and historians to the effect that suffering is in itself evidence of wrongdoing. The lesson from the big book of job is 1 that god is sovereign over all our suffering. Mar 04, 2014 the book of job is not answering a theoretical question about why good people suffer. Its author is unknown yet it is possible that job himself wrote it.
In this paper well look for a response from the christian and muslim scriptures to the question of human suffering through the story of. Job is a wealthy man living in a land called uz with his large family and extensive flocks. Job was upright, pure, holy and he gets stricken with immense levels of suffering. Jobs friends assumed wrongly that suffering was always and only the sign of gods retribution. And there is a reality called satan who challenges god that his man is not as good as he thinks he is. Job lived one hundred and forty years, seeing four generations of children and grandchildren. A critical analysis of suffering from the book of job the v. Although most of the superlatives have been exhausted to describe its literary excellence, it seems to defy more than a superficial analysis. Godtalk and the suffering of the innocent by gustavo gutierrez and wow, was this one a doozy.
The book of job dramatically sets forth a colossal war between god and satan, and we are. It is common to view the narrative frame as the original core of the book, enlarged later by the poetic dialogues and discourses, and sections of the book such as the elihu speeches and the wisdom poem of chapter 28 as late insertions, but recent trends have tended to concentrate on the. Godtalk and the suffering of the innocent by gustavo. Patience in suffering 3 lessons by rob harbison and so then in this marvelous book we are privileged to gather the facts for a more complete cosmology. Then let us analyze the work as a human court scene, perhaps it will explain. Gods purpose in suffering an introduction to the book of job. Job lived southeast of israel, perhaps east of edom and north of arabia see lamentations 4.
Five truths for sufferers from the book of job the gospel coalition. Suffering and the book of job essay 1690 words bartleby. This is why the book of job is considered the most theological book of the old testament. The book takes its name from the main character in the poem, the patriarch job. It should be kept in mind that job is not the author. What did job receive when expecting light and goodness from god. Jobs suffering did not come because he was bad but rather because of his unwavering faithfulness to god. May 15, 2014 while it is true that job does not offer an explanation of why suffering takes place, the book of job does help us understand suffering more. The teller of the job story then imagines a scene in which god and satan in hebrew hasatan, meaning literally the accuser express differing opinions about how job, described by the author as blameless and upright, one who feared god and turned away from evil, would respond in the face of suffering and loss. The issue of suffering is used to demonstrate the authority. Literary features of the book of job gordon college. In fact, there is an entire book of the bible that is devoted to this problemthe book of job.
His friends deal with his suffering by trying to rationalise it, to explain it away, to find a reason for it, to blame it on him. Mar 03, 2014 giving the gift of self this involves suffering because one cannot love another except at ones own expense. The book of job shows us how god wants us to respond to the difficult things in our life. Gods answer to the problem of undeserved suffering grand rapids. Following up on my promise in the may 2012 newsletter, i present here the first installment in a series of reflections on the grief experienced by a man named job in the book in the hebrew bible that bears his name. But to say this is not to limit the relevance of the book, for joblike suffering is. Walking with god through pain and suffering kindle. Job recognizes his mistake of falling into distress because of his suffering. Walking with god through pain and suffering kindle edition. The books from genesis to esther are all narrative books, and are vitally meaningful to us as living parables, as types worked out in actual history by which we can see what is going on in. Consequently it can be concluded that the book of job is a mixed genre in which its author expertly blended a variety of literary types in order to serve the function of the book.
Oct 12, 2015 the conversations between job and his friends were over the cause of and cure for suffering. The book of job does seem to interact with several other biblical texts. We are given a unique behindthescenes look at the battle that goes on for our loyalty and souls. 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. 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 explores the difficult question of gods relationship to human suffering, and invites us to trust gods wisdom and character. In his study on the book the book of job, quality pub. This passage highlights one of the book of jobs best style choices. One of the first questions that comes up when studying job is whether or not the book of job offers an explanation of.
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. In verses 17 18, what does eliphaz imply about the nature of suffering. The conversations between job and his friends were over the cause of and cure for suffering. Please note that the chart includes fictionalized numbers designed for illustrative purposes.
The book of job does not present concrete solutions about why innocent people suffer. It has influenced the perspectives of both authors and philosophers for millennia. The book of job is a fulllength argument about whether the misfortunes that befall ostensibly good people come to them from the hand of. These characters are all about asking questions to get their listeners thinkingthey dont really want an answer. Here are 5 lessons the book of job teaches us about pain and suffering. In this months feature, wayne jackson explores some of these queries. Total understanding is never a requirement for total obedience. Theodicy and the book of job the cambridge orthodox forum. Does the book of job offer an explanation for why people. The poetic section of the book of job, which makes up the majority of the text job 342, is much more theologically ambiguous. While the book makes it perfectly clear that jobs suffering did not result from his sin, he never gets an answer about why he suffered. Job spends his entire book in a position of sadness and loss.
I am preparing to preach this coming fall on the book of job. Both groups will defend their positions with impeccable logic and extensive quotes. 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. What the book of job teaches us about unexplainable suffering. Christine mangala frost has lectured widely on comparative religion and is a published novelist with two books to her name exploring the consequences of religious belief for human action. The one account in the bible, which deals almost exclusively with suffering, is the book of job. As christians, we are not always going to hear gods voice, but from job we can learn a few practical things to do when god seems silent. It is possible that job is the oldest of any book of the bible written approximately 21001800 b. As a christian teacher, theologian, and student of scripture, this blog is an extension of my passion for sharing gods word and the knowledge of christ.
These were the questions asked and a summary of the answers given. That does not mean that the book of job makes no contribution to our understanding of suffering, but it does so predominantly in a negative sense. Rabbi breitowitz responds to these fundamental issues based on the book of job. The book of job and the paradox of suffering my jewish learning. Is god to be held to a strict set of regulations based on human interpretations of his relationship with mankind. Students will be challenged to analyze the formal structure of a story separate from. 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. Reflections on suffering from the book of job 3 undeserved suffering, therefore, serves as a dependable, useful model12 for the believer of any generation in dealing with the problem of theodicy.
A critical analysis of suffering from the book of job. Condensed shorten notes prologue chapters 1 2 setting of the council drama with god and satan in heaven challenged to test job limits of satans power chapters 1 2 satans reasoning and challenges attacks jobs character basic argument. This overview and outline of job is intended to assist you as you seek god by studying his word. Archer and others see the book of job as the oldest book in the bible gleason l. Thus the book shows us how the righteous should bear up under suffering you have heard of the perseverance of job jm 5. A multiperspectival approach to the problem of evil. The question of why there is pain and suffering in the world has confounded every generation. Suffering and the book of job the concepts of suffering addressed in the book of job have no relevance to the ideas of suffering expressed in eastern religions such as buddhism and jainism. Job and three of his friends debate the cause of jobs tremendous loss and illnesses.
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