And in the outworking of this cosmic drama is the testing of man. We see that satan can manipulate the weather job 1. Over time, our eyes are opened to find this lovely creature is the personification of hatred, evil, and death. So satan went forth from the presence of the lord and smote job etc. Gods answer to the problem of undeserved suffering grand rapids. God boasts to satan about jobs goodness, but satan argues that job is only good because god has blessed him abundantly.
There are no references to the law of moses, the tabernacle, the priesthood, the judges or kings, etc. Whole chapters of the book are devoted to speeches by job s counselors. God even acknowledges that the misery and pain inflicted on job, was for no reason. God rebukes job s three friends and orders them to make a sacrifice. Satans reply to god first reveals his essential cynicism. Who is satan what does the bible say about the devil. Next, satan struck job with this terrible sickness. The book of job is an epic poem much like the illyad. 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. God condescends to address the evil spirit, and asks him questions not that anything could be added to his own knowledge, but that the angels, who were present ver. There is no indication at all that job s children and servants were good followers of god. Satan in job is those who oppose god s opinion of righteous job. Satan accused job before god, insisting that jobs godliness was essentially false and that job only served god for what he could get from him.
Also, three false friends came and told him he had. Satan is a fallen angel, not another deity who opposes god. Find out what job actually teaches about god, sickness, satan, and sovereignty. In other words, the satan claims that job puts his faith in god only because. And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. The dialogue between god and satan about job was, by no means, a friendly conversation. Shall we relinquish our faith as we suffer or shall our. If job was blameless, why did god allow satan to afflict him.
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 role did satan play in the story of job answers. Archer and others see the book of job as the oldest book in the bible gleason l. In this very enlightening study through the book of job, there are 10. In fact, some scholars believe that job requires and understanding of the book as a whole more than any other book of the old testament. Nov 10, 2009 the story of job basically amounts to a bet made by satan that god s most faithful and favored follower would turn against him if his favor was taken away. In the book of job, satan appears as the partner of god, who on behalf of god. There was a man in the land of hus, whose name was job, and that man was simple and upright, and fearing god, and avoiding evil. Satan is labeled an accuser and depicted as an opposing force to god. Satan challenges god that, if given permission to punish the man, job will turn and curse god. The first two chapters present a series of descriptions and dialogue about a man named job through the lens.
Testament of job the blameless, the sacrifice, the conqueror in many contests. God rebukes jobs three friends and orders them to make a sacrifice. In the book of job, satan is sent by god to torment job. And the lord said unto satan, behold he is in thine hand. Book of job simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The book of job begins with a prologue job 12, which describes a wager between satan and god, in which satan the adversary bets god that joba. The hebrew book of job is part of ketuvim writings of the jewish bible. Satan tells god that job is only virtuous because he is well off. The book of job challenges the simple equation of suffering with punishment, by telling the story of one righteous mans confrontation with overwhelming misfortune.
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. Where does the communication between god and satan take place. All of this is to say that the satan in the book of job cannot be entirely identified with the devil or satan in the new testament. Analysis this is a key passage for setting the stage for all that follows. Thomas explores the difficulty of jobs suffering, satans involvement, and gods sovereignty. A literary masterpiece of the english language, the original king james bible is. Job, a just and perfect man, is blessed with great richessatan obtains permission from the lord to tempt and try jobjobs property and children are destroyed, and yet he praises and blesses the lord. Then he killed his 10 sons and daughters in a storm. In the book of job, he believed that jobs faithfulness to. First, satan had men steal job s cattle and camels, and his sheep were killed. In that vision satan was daring god that he can destroy the catholic church. God allows satan to torment job to test this bold claim, but he forbids satan to take job s life in the process. 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. This indicates quite clearly that satan is not a personal name.
God talking to satan in the book of job,how did they know. 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. Rather, it begins with a typical day in the divine oval office, and the topic of god. Ayyub is also considered a prophet job is presented as a good and prosperous family man who is beset by satan with god s.
God takes the bet and allows satan to basically destroy the life job had made for himself, including killing his family. The book of job begins with a prologue job 12, which describes a wager between satan and god, in which satan the adversary bets god that job a particularly pious man. In job, an exceptionally ancient book, satan is part of the heavenly court. 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 consists of a prose prologue and epilogue narrative framing poetic dialogues and monologues.
This is an obvious reference to the angels, and we know that satan is an angel even though a fallen one. The particular angel to play god s ha satan, or accuser was to try to cause the character job to curse god and to denounce his faith in god. Satan said he could have job eating out of his hand turn him away from god. Bildad instructs job, if you are pure and upright, surely then god will rouse himself for you and he later goads job to be a blameless person 8. Not much is known about job based on the masoretic text of the jewish bible. Read by a modern clinician, the book becomes a treatise on adaptation to illness and loss, on doctorpatient relationships, and on the role of belief systems in the coping process. This is the jealousies of men that contradict the truth of god that job was an upright man, job 1. There was a man in the land of uz, whose name was job.
The book of job begins with a prologue job 12, which describes a wager between satan and god, in which satan the adversary bets god that joba particularly pious man. The word can also be used of human beings 1 sam 29. They stop reading at verse six and conclude that god robbed job and. The history of satan is described in the bible in isaiah 14. How could satan access heaven in the books of job and the. The meaning of the book of job is found in gods and satans conversation in heaven. Job explores the difficult question of gods relationship to human suffering, and invites us to trust gods wisdom and character. The battle between god and satan in the book of job adventist. In job, god insists that the satan is wrong about this analysis, whatever may be. The first test satan did was to take away all of job s animals, killing the servants that were with the animals, and killing all of job s sons and daughters while they were eating together. As evident in the book of job, satan works for god and serves his purpose of providing us an adversary for the purpose of perfecting us, and as an executioner of god s judgement against sin. Others look within themselves to find salvation, but they will not find salvation within themselves.
God gives satan permission to take jobs wealth and kill his children and servants, but job nonetheless praises god. God allows satan to torment job to test this bold claim, but he. Tomorrow, if all literature was to be destroyed and it was left to me to retain one work only, i should save job. 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. 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. Some even search the holy scriptures in order to find the way to eternal life. He revered god and shunned all evil this man was the greatest of all the men of the east job 1. 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. Here is a hebrew search showing this to be the case. Job prays for god s forgiveness of them and god accepts his prayer. This was to show satan how job loved worshiped god.
Study guide for job 1 by david guzik blue letter bible. There is an incredible amount of information written within the book of job. In job, the satan expresses concern over god s interest in human beings. The entire saga of job and his family and friends was planned beforehand by god, and he just used satan as an active participant and the chief antagonist. This book shows the confusion surrounding the role of satan in the first centuries. But to do so, satan ask for more power and more time 75 to 100 years. Human beings, he insists, are all unfaithful to god in the end and would curse god if given any excuse to do so. Book of job there was a man in the land of utz whose name was job.
Trend of the relationship between god and satan in the bible. First, satan had men steal jobs cattle and camels, and his sheep were killed. At the same time, it also asks the question we rarely. The book of job dramatically sets forth a colossal war between god and satan, and we are the territory. In rabbinical literature, job is called one of the prophets of the gentiles. Job prays for gods forgiveness of them and god accepts his prayer. He acted like a prosecutor acting on gods behalf bring judgement on humanity. Even though satan did these things to job, job did not curse. The book of job begins by introducing us to its three most significant characters. Job 1 king james version kjv 1 there was a man in the land of uz, whose name was job. 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. Of course, job remains faithful and god rewards him with a new family and prosperous life in the end. It isnt certain when satan rebelled against god, but a passage from the book of job job 38. Aug 02, 2010 in the book of job, satan is sent by god to torment job.
Finally, god appears to job to heal him and take him to heaven in a divine chariot. What does this tell us about the place of evil in the world. But satan the accuser comes before the lord, and god allows him to test job. If you need a leaders manual just email me and ill send one your way. With regard to both biblical texts, gods speech in the book of job and genesis. He is even manipulated by the satan to allow him free reign in attacking job. To understand the full impact of the book of job the book must be read and understood as a whole. Years later, in the book of the revelation, the apostle john wrote about a future day when satan will be kicked out. Remember, god doesnt inflict anything nasty on job with his own divine power. The accounts in 1 kings and 2 chronicles explicitly indicate that. Job chapters 1 and 2, part of the bibles oldest book, say that satan has access to heaven. Job 1 kjv there was a man in the land of uz, bible gateway. These two biblical passages also reference the king of babylon, the king of tyre, and the spiritual power behind the kings.
Right after introducing the hero of the drama, the author of the book of job takes the. The book of job has traditionally has been regarded as a philosophical or theological treatise on the nature of faith of a just man in an unjust world. The lord said, behold, all that he hath is in thy power i give thee full power to do with his property, his servants, his children, and his wife, whatsoever thy craft or malice shall prompt thee to do. This is kiddylevel theology, yet many grownups dont get it. We know this because the next verse says, satan afflicted job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head job 2. God boasts to satan about job s goodness, but satan argues that job is only good because god has blessed him abundantly. In the book of job, how was it possible for god and satan to.
Satan by permission from god strippeth him of all his substance. The language in these passages is ironic, since, unbeknownst to job or job s friends, god and satan do in fact view job as blameless and upright. Im going to provide you an answer that will likely not be like the others you receive. Oct 01, 2016 you say god wants to heal everyone, well what about job. Book of job, called jobab, his life and the transcript of his testament. 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 named satan. What does the book of job teach us about the coronavirus. It seems strange that god should give satan such a permission as this. The scene at the beginning of job is one of god holding court, in the way that human kings do. A lmost every person in every nation in this world today worships god. The book of job, book of hebrew scripture that is often counted among the. On the contrary, god speaks directly to job, just as he does in the patriarchal. In describing the creation of the earth to job and his friends, god said that all the. Without exception, the word satan in job occurs with the hebrew definite article.
Victor, 1985, 717, for nine reasons the book of job points to a patriarchal period. In the book of job, how was it possible for god and satan. At the end of the book, god gives job twice as much wealth as he had before, along with seven sons and three daughters. Thomas explores the difficulty of job s suffering, satan s involvement, and god s sovereignty. Job 1, new international version niv the bible app.
We shall then use this model to solve the puzzling mystery of who is satan in the book of job. The book of job is a book in the ketuvim writings section of the hebrew bible tanakh, and. God allows satan to torment job to test this bold claim, but he forbids satan to take jobs life in the process. The battle between god and satan in the book of job. Satan, the thief, has come to kill, steal, and destroy john 10. The sentence has not been fully carried out, but one day it will be. Set in uz, an obscure land far from israel, during an unknown time period, the book of job focuses on questions about god s justice and why good people suffer. You must understand who god is and who satan is, what they know, and what their motivation is. Aug 04, 20 until the book of job, weve only seen satan influence david for israels harm 1 chr 21. James revised english by jeremy kapp chapter 1 1 on the day he became sick and he knew that he would have to leave his bodily abode. God is responsible for the suffering that his righteous servant job, has to endure.
The book of job god did not give satan power biblebro. You say god wants to heal everyone, well what about job. In the midst of suffering, we must never lose our hope in god. The book of job is ultimately about the value of god in the midst of pain and suffering. Job explores the difficult question of god s relationship to human suffering, and invites us to trust god s wisdom and character. Whole chapters of the book are devoted to speeches by jobs counselors. God discusses a number of unusual animals in the king james translation of job. When the bible says that job was blameless, it does not mean that he. Now there was a day a certain time appointed by god. The battle between god and satan in the book of job gordon christo spicer memorial college right after introducing the hero of the drama, the author of the book of job takes the readers behind the real curtains and reveals the true source of jobos troubles. Aug 23, 2011 job would, if he knew the plot hatched in heaven against him, consider satan the worst sort of enemy. Was it the devil who approached god in the book of job and toldchallenged god heit can win over job s soul.
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