book of job short essay

A Summary and Analysis of the Book of Job

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

The Book of Job is one of the famous and yet one of the least understood books of the Old Testament. ‘The patience of Job’ and ‘Job’s comforters’ have become proverbial idioms which emerged from the book’s popularity and ubiquity; and yet how patient was Job, and who were his comforters?

The Book of Job is an important part of the Bible because it asks one of the most commonly asked questions: if God is good, how come he allows evil and suffering to exist in the world?

Let’s take a closer look at the Book of Job, one of the most misunderstood episodes in the whole of the Bible.

Book of Job: summary

The Book of Job is generally analysed as being divided into five sections. The first of these, the Prologue, which forms the first two chapters of the book, tell us of Job’s prosperity and success.

We are then told of the misfortunes visited upon him, following God’s conversation with Satan (who, in this book, is not synonymous with the Devil but is merely one of God’s minions). Satan suggests that, if Job lost all of his worldly possessions, he would cease to be a pious and godly man. God rises to the challenge and sets about afflicting job with a series of calamities.

Job lost his property, including all of his livestock; his ten children all perished; and his wife lost her sympathy for him. He was also afflicted with a terrible disease involving boils on the skin.

This first section of the book concludes with three of Job’s friends – the so-called ‘comforters of Job’ – arriving at Job’s house to console him for his losses.

The second section, the Dialogue, forms chapters 3-31 of the book: by far the most substantial part. In this dialogue, Job and his friends discuss his condition and his attitude towards God. Eliphaz leads the discussion, rebuking Job for some unconfessed sins, while Bildad emphasises God’s justice and Zophar points out that God acts in mysterious ways.

The third section, chapters 32-37, is partly given over to a new character, a man named Elihu. Elihu chastises Job for his outlook. Job also offers a concluding monologue, and there is a poem in praise of wisdom.

The fourth section focuses on God’s addresses to Job. In these speeches, God reminds Job that He, as the Lord God Yahweh, is more powerful than Job, a mere man. Job responds to God’s speeches.

The fifth and final section is known as the Epilogue; this informs us that Job went on to become prosperous and happy once again, and to live a long and fruitful life.

Book of Job: analysis

Job is a well-known figure in the Old Testament, and yet the Bible tells us little about him. We don’t know who his ancestors or parents were, and the (precious) few references made to him elsewhere in the Bible tend to refer to his legendary patience (see, for instance, James 5:11 in the New Testament).

We do know that Job lived in ‘Uz’, as the beginning of the Book of Job tells us as much. But precisely where Uz was, nobody can quite agree. It has been suggested that it’s in Aram (in modern-day Syria and Israel) or Edom (in modern-day Jordan and Israel), but nobody knows for sure.

So, we know little of Job besides what we learn of him in the Book of Job itself. But even there, the story is far less well-understood than it perhaps should be.

For a start, Job wasn’t anywhere near as patient as he is commonly assumed to have been. During the length dialogues and speeches which form the majority part of the book, Job is seen as impatient with his suffering, and far less pious and trusting in God than the general perception of him usually allows.

He is, after all, only human, and he has undergone a great number of afflictions and losses. It’s understandable that he should start to doubt the goodness of God in such circumstances. He recovers his faith at the end of the book, following God’s reminder of his all-powerfulness, but before this point he doesn’t exactly have the patience of a saint.

Another common misapprehension is highlighted by the Dictionary of the Bible . As the authors point out, the common interpretation of the meaning of the Book of Job is too narrow: rather than being a story about the suffering of the righteous, specifically, the book is about suffering in general: the setbacks and afflictions every human being must face at some point.

Job’s righteousness is relevant here, of course, but the dialogues are more wide-ranging than his individual situation. The book is about the universality, the unavoidableness , of human suffering.

As the authors of Dictionary of the Bible point out, Job’s ‘comforters’ or friends are there to represent the orthodox theological views of the time. And we cannot say that the book’s author (or rather, authors: the book was probably the work of several hands) entirely disagrees with this orthodoxy: there is much wisdom in their comments, and they are trying to help Job to understand why he might find himself in such a predicament.

There are some noteworthy details mentioned in the Book of Job: details we don’t find in any other book from the Bible. For instance, Job 9:9 makes reference to several constellations and stars in the night sky: Arcturus, Orion, and the Pleiades. And later, in chapter 38, God refers to Arcturus again, when reminding Job of His might when compared with Job’s mere mortal powers.

And it’s also in this connection that the Book of Job makes reference to what are probably the two most famous monsters referred to in the Bible: Behemoth and Leviathan. Job 40:14 sees God mention ‘behemoth’, which is simply the plural of the Hebrew word for ‘beast’.

Which beast or animal this verse specifically refers to has been the subject of some debate, with perhaps the most likely candidate being the hippopotamus (Job 40:21-22 makes it clear that this large animal lives by water).

Conversely, ‘leviathan’, which is referred to in Job 41:1, is clearly a water-dwelling creature, since God asks Job (rhetorically) whether Job, a mere man, could draw leviathan with a hook (that is, out of the water). Although ‘leviathan’ is usually interpreted as being a whale, Isaac Asimov points out in his Asimov’s Guide to the Bible: The Old Testament  that the author of the Book of Job may well have been Egyptian, and that he may have had a Nile-dwelling animal, such as the crocodile, in mind.

We cannot say for sure when the Book of Job was composed, although the Dictionary of the Bible proffers a tentative date of 400 BC.

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The Book of Job in the Bible Essay

Introduction, dialogue between god and satan, the debate in covered in the book of job, significance of god’s speech.

Job is one of the Old Testament books in the Bible. It utilizes a combination of poetry and prose to explore themes of individual suffering and God’ justice. The main character in the book is Job, a staunch believer who loses wealth, friends, and succumbs to severe pain and suffering. He undergoes a dramatic transformation from wealth to poverty. Despite the loss, he does not lose his faith and continues to believe in God. Throughout the book, Job reiterates his innocence and rejects the argument that suffering is caused by sin. He is humble and faithful to God. However, his humility and faithfulness are tested when he loses his wealth and succumbs to suffering. The dialogue between Job and his three friends constitutes the greater portion of the book and covers 28 chapters (from chapter 3 to chapter 31). In the argument, Job’s self-defense, lamentation, and questions are responded to by a speech from God in a whirlwind.

The book of Job begins with a dialogue between God and Satan. Satan is asking permission from God to test Job’s faith. God validates Job’s righteousness by describing him as a righteous servant who is faithful and avoids evil. God challenges Satan by asking whether he has tested the faith of Job in the past. Satan responds by presenting a counterchallenge. He claims that Job will curse and stop believing in him if his wealth is taken away. God responds by telling him that Job’s wealth is under his power and he can do whatever he wants. As such, Satan is granted permission to test Job’s faith. However, God warns him not to touch his soul. He wants to prove to God that Job’s faith is weak and will vanish if he experiences suffering and pain. After being granted permission, Satan walks away from God’s presence.

The debate covered in the book focuses mainly on personal suffering and God’s justice in relation to Job’s life. These themes emerge in the debate that ensues between Job and his three friends (Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar) who visit to comfort him. The debate starts when Job attributes his suffering to God’s injustice and unfairness. The friends are surprised because of his attitude. Traditionally, people suffer because of their sins.

However, Job does not agree with the proposition. His friends advise him to search his conscience to uncover sins he committed to warrant God’s punishment. However, Job declines their advice because he opposes the claim that suffering emanates from sin. He maintains that he is innocent. He accuses God of injustice and argues that he does not deserve to suffer because he is humble, patient, and faithful. Job argues that his suffering is more than he can handle because his friends have abandoned him and God is taking pleasure in his pain and suffering. He prefers death other than a life of misery, pain, and suffering. Job curses life and wishes that he had died the moment he was born.

Eliphaz tells Job that God does not punish righteous people. He argues that Job is wicked and deserves to suffer as a form of punishment. He accuses him of impatience because he accuses God without finding reasons for his suffering. He maintains that Job’s suffering is characteristic of what befalls wicked people who offend God. Eliphaz tries to console him by telling him that nobody is just before God and he thus deserves to suffer. He advises Job to turn to God for help because no one else is available to help him. Job responds and claims that his friends have betrayed him by abandoning him because of his suffering. He accuses God of injustice and wishes that his life would go back to normal. He tells Eliphaz that he is justified to complain because he does not deserve to suffer.

Zophar accuses Job of wickedness and advises him to repent in order to mitigate his suffering. He tells Job that people portray either submissiveness or arrogance before God. He says that Job is arrogant and thus deserves punishment. He tells the job that God’s wisdom cannot be quantified or measured. He says that to show Job that his suffering is proof enough that he has committed sin. He maintains that sinners are rewarded by suffering.

He advises Job to repent in order to reestablish his relationship with God. Job responds by claiming that many other people are suffering and he is not the only one. He pleads with God to come to his aid and have mercy on him. In addition, he rejects the idea of life after death even though he is aware that God controls everything that exists. He rejects Zophar’s arguments and tries to reach out directly to God.

Bildad reiterates Zophar’s accusations by stating that Job is guilty of injustice against God and that is why he is suffering. He reprimands Job for lamenting because he believes that God is just and fair and does not punish good people. He tells Job that God does not make exceptions when punishing wicked people. Therefore, he should not expect God to have mercy on him because suffering is a reward for sin.

He tells Job that God punishes people who argue against him. Zophar states that God’s fairness was the reason why he is suffering because he cannot be exempted from punishment. Job responds by blaming God for his suffering. He is convinced that God has refused to give him reasons for his suffering because it is without reason. He states that he needs a mediator in order to reach God. However, after failing to get one, he begs for mercy and forgiveness from God.

The three friends maintain that God is just and does not punish the righteous, and uses suffering as a way of reminding people to repent. However, Job does not agree with their arguments. He maintains that he is innocent and God is unjust. In his misery and desperation, Job demands an explanation from God for his great suffering. In response, God answers him in a speech through a whirlwind.

In the debate, God’s speech is significant for the position takes by Job because of several reasons. First, it teaches that people should avoid accusing God of injustice and unfairness. God works in his own ways and people should not question them. Job’s suffering was a test of faith and patience. However, he chose to blame and accuse God of injustice. God’s speech proves that he cares for everyone despite the presence of pain and suffering in life. Third, God’s speech is relevant for Job’s position because it reveals God’s mysterious ways, which humans cannot understand. Instead of accepting God’s mysterious ways, Job decides to accuse God.

God’s speech contradicts the stand taken by Job’s friends. They argue that Job is suffering because he has committed sin. However, Job’s suffering is not because of wickedness but God’s will. According to the speech, he is suffering because God is exercising his power and has good reasons for allowing it. Moreover, God does not bring suffering upon Job as a sign of the d for repentance as the three friends claim. With regard to the stand taken by Job’s friends, God’s speech shows that human beings do not understand why God allows some things to happen to people. In addition, they ignore God’s power and control over creation.

The debate presented in the book of Job between Job and his friends focuses on suffering and God’s justice. The debate ensues after job accuses God of bringing suffering and pain upon him despite his innocence. Job argues that God is unjust because he lets him suffer without a proper reason. He accuses God of injustice and unfairness. On their part, Job’s friends maintain that God is just and does not punish righteous people. As such, they maintain that job’s suffering is as a result of his wickedness hence need for repentance.

In his speech that is a response to Job’s complaints, God reveals that he is ruler over all creation and his power surpasses that of all creatures. On the other hand, the speech is relevant to the stand taken by Job’s friends because it shows a lack of understanding of God’s power. They think that Job’s suffering is God’s wrath for his wickedness. The speech reiterates God’s power over creation, and his mysterious ways of doing things.

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Bibliography

IvyPanda . "The Book of Job in the Bible." July 6, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-book-of-job-in-the-bible/.

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BibleProject Guides

Guide to the Book of Job

Key Information and Helpful Resources

The book of Job opens with a curious courtroom scene where the satan, or the accuser, challenges God’s way of rewarding righteous people like Job. The satan says that Job is only acting righteous because of God’s generous provision. But if God were to let him truly suffer, then Job’s true character would emerge. God rejects that idea, saying Job will continue to live faithfully even in the face of intense suffering.

Using dense Hebrew poetry, the author lays out Job’s brutal experiences and his wife’s and friends’ speculations about why Job is suffering. Is he not a righteous man? Why would God allow this? Job accuses God of failing to operate the world with justice, and he asks God to explain himself. What unfolds after this exchange helps us see that God’s wisdom is more complex than we often imagine.

7:15 • Wisdom Series

Who Wrote the Book of Job?

We are not sure because the author is anonymous.

Job is set in a land far from Israel called Uz. The author does not set the story in any clear period of ancient history (though sometime between the 7th and 4th century B.C.E. is likely).

Literary Styles

Hebrew poetry and narrative

• Trusting God’s wisdom amid human suffering
• The goodness of God’s world
• The relationship (or lack thereof) between suffering and punishment
• The mystery of God’s justice

The book opens with a short narrative (the prologue in chapters 1-2) and closes with another short narrative (the epilogue in chapter 42). The central body of the book contains many conversations in dense Hebrew poetry.

The Story of Job

The author introduces Job as an upstanding man from the land of Uz who honors God. We read about his large family and prosperous estate, and it becomes clear that Job is wealthy—a man with everything to lose.

The author then transports readers to a heavenly courtroom where God is meeting with spiritual beings. Among them is a figure called the satan, which in Hebrew means “the one opposed.” God presents Job as an admirable and righteous man. But the satan dismisses this, saying that Job only serves God because of his blessings and protection over Job. The opposer is sure that if God stopped treating Job so generously, Job would curse God. God knows that Job’s faithfulness is not based on circumstance, so he allows the satan to inflict suffering on Job’s life, affecting his family, riches, and health.

At this point, many of us are wondering why God would allow a good person to suffer this injustice. It’s an important question, and the prologue helps us get to the root: Does God’s justice mean he rewards and punishes people based on their behavior? And if good people suffer, does that mean God isn’t just? The book of Job explores this question and offers a surprising answer in the conclusion. But before we get to that, we’ll see how Job’s friends try to make sense of his suffering and God’s role in it.

Related Content

Podcast Episode

• Job E1: Suffering Well

Job E2: Where on Earth Is Uz?

The Satan and Demons

Dialogue of Job and His Friends

Chapters 3-37 are full of dense Hebrew poetry that helps readers visualize a heated debate between Job and his friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. The friends assume that God orders the world by a principle of retributive justice—if you’re wise and honor God, he will reward you with good outcomes, but if you are foolish and dishonor God, he will punish you with harsh circumstances. As the friends witness Job’s suffering, they conclude he must be guilty of wrongdoing. Job defends his integrity. While he agrees that bad deeds deserve punishment, he knows he’s innocent. So he speculates that God must be punishing him without cause. The friends passionately disagree, insisting that Job must have done something wrong.

Job and his friends argue back and forth in three cycles found in chapters 13-14, 15-21, and 22-28. Their debating continues until Job tires of responding to them and takes his complaints directly to God. His prayers show us the depth of his agony, confusion, and despair. He accuses God of being against him and guilty of coordinating all the injustices in the world. But then he realizes that can’t be right—God must be fair and all-powerful. But he still can’t reconcile why all these terrible things have happened to him, and he demands that God explain himself.

This section ends with the reply of a new friend, Elihu. He draws a more complex conclusion about why people might suffer. Elihu says that God may not be punishing them. Maybe God uses suffering for warning or building character. Unlike Job’s other friends, Elihu doesn’t claim to know why Job is suffering. But he is sure of one thing: Job is not qualified to judge God.

• Job E3: Job vs. Elihu

God’s Response to Job

In a surprising turn, God visits Job in a powerful storm and responds to his prayers. A whirlwind of rhetorical questions exposes Job’s lack of understanding. God asks whether or not Job helped him create the cosmos or set the constellations in place. Has he ever awakened the sun or managed the Earth’s weather? Would he like to oversee the world for a day, according to his narrow principle of justice? God’s questions dismantle many of Job’s assumptions about justice, proving that the world is far more complicated than he ever imagined.

God then goes on to describe two terrifying creatures, the Behemoth and Leviathan. These creatures symbolize the dangers that exist in God’s world, illustrating that while the world is good, it’s not always safe and does not operate as humans assume. God’s world is beautiful, but it is also wild and dangerous. Both are true, but God doesn’t explain why. By the end of God’s powerful speech, Job is convinced he would not even understand God’s answer. And this leads us to the final scene in the book.

God’s Response to Job’s Questions About Suffering

Job was from Uz, an obscure land far from Israel. While Job followed the God of Israel, he was not himself an Israelite.

The Big Idea

God’s wisdom, goodness, and justice transcend our assumptions about fairness and push beyond the limitations of human reasoning.

Job humbly admits his narrow thinking that led him to accuse God of injustice. Job does not have sufficient knowledge to comprehend or pass judgment on God’s reasoning. But even without full knowledge of how God orders the universe, he can still choose to trust God’s wisdom and good character.

The book concludes with a short epilogue, showing how God restores Job’s losses and defends his character to his friends. God says their explanations of justice were inaccurate and clarifies that Job spoke truthfully about him. While Job was wrong to accuse God of injustice, he was right to eventually turn away from his friends’ accusations and trust God. Admitting his struggle and continuing to bring his questions to God in prayer was a faithful act from Job, and God is pleased with Job’s humility, honesty, and commitment to receive answers from him.

Reading Plan

Trusting God Through Suffering

The book of Job dismantles this idea. The whole story suggests that God's justice is more holistic, complex, and wise than any single human perspective can measure.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some of the most common questions people ask online about this book.

Job is the central character in the book of Job in the Hebrew Bible. The book\'s anonymous author portrays Job as a morally good non-Israelite from the land of Uz who experiences tremendous suffering.

Learn more about Job’s story by watching these videos.

• Job Wisdom Series Video
• Job Overview video

The author does not specify when the story takes place. However, historians and biblical scholars estimate that the author wrote it between the 7th and 4th centuries B.C.E.

The story takes place in the land of Uz, far from Israel. The author’s choice to spare many details about the setting (time and place) helps readers focus on the characters and plot development. However, the limited details reveal something meaningful. Dig into this deeper meaning by listening to the podcast episode below.

• Job E2: Where on Earth is Uz?

Many of us have experienced or witnessed misery and wondered how God can be just when there is so much pain in the world he created. How can God’s justice and human suffering coexist?

Job and his friends wrestle with this question too.

We see Job as a despairing man in agony, longing for answers. We also see Job’s friends struggling to help. At times, they are well-intentioned and seem to care for Job. But in other moments, they are angry, defensive, ignorant, and judgmental. Job’s friends assume that suffering is always the result of God’s judgment—that it is always a form of punishment. Since God is just and Job is suffering, Job’s friends argue, then Job must be guilty of some kind of evil. But Job knows he’s not to blame for anything that could warrant his intense suffering, so he concludes that God must be unjust.

Readers experience a cosmic, behind-the-scenes view of Job processing his circumstances—we get to listen in on God’s responses to Job and his friends. As the story unfolds, the author continues to dismantle the idea that suffering must be a form of divine punishment.

Learn more:

The book of Job points to a God who is always acting with goodness and justice, including the times when people are experiencing or causing pain. A person’s suffering does not automatically mean he or she is receiving divine punishment. Suffering in our world is more complex, and Job shows us what it looks like to trust God’s justice and wisdom in the face of harmful or misguided assumptions about pain and where it comes from.

• Reading Plan: Trusting God Through Suffering
• Blog: The Story of Job: Discover How the Introduction Sets the Stage

Job realizes that he does not have sufficient knowledge to understand or pass judgment on God’s reasoning. Even without full knowledge of how God orders the universe, he chooses to trust God’s wisdom and good character. Job represents his grief by shaving his head and sitting in ashes, a common way of mourning in his world. In some ancient (and current) cultures, ashes symbolize death and mourning. Baldness symbolizes deprivation and a loss of strength.

Job loses everything—his property, his children, and his health—and he believes God is the one causing his suffering. Seeing nothing in his past that could justify such brutal treatment, Job questions God’s justice.

But through all of his questioning, Job still refuses to curse God. Instead, Job curses the day of his own birth. His blinding agony and confusion cause him to wish he had never been born.

The anonymous author does not overtly explain why Job praises God during his suffering, but a few details in the story offer clues.

When everything starts to fall apart, Job goes to his knees in worship and grief saying, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). The word “Lord” in our English translations often stands in for the personal name of God, “Yahweh.” This shows us Job’s personal relationship with God, which is likely part of the reason he praises God.

When Job’s wife tells him to curse God, Job responds, “Shall we actually accept good from God but not accept adversity?” (Job 2:10). We also learn from Job’s prayer in Job 28 that, even though he cannot comprehend the complexities of divine wisdom, he still chooses to trust that God is truly good.

At the end of the book, God shows up in a whirlwind to respond to Job’s accusations. He guides Job on a virtual tour of the universe and asks him several rhetorical questions. Each question dismantles Job’s assumptions about justice, revealing that the world is more complex than Job had assumed.

• Blog: God’s Response to Job’s Questions About Suffering

Recommended Reading

How to Read Job

The Wisdom Books: Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes

Job (Three Volumes in the World Biblical Commentary Series)

Old Testament Wisdom: An Introduction

The Book of Job

Downloads and Resources

Job Overview Poster

Scripture Reference Guide

Job Script References

How to go to Heaven

How to get right with god.

Summary of the Book of Job

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• Old Testament of the Bible
• Literature Notes
• About the Old Testament of the Bible
• Summary and Analysis
• The Prophetic Books: Amos
• Zephaniah, Nahum, and Habakkuk
• Deutero-Isaiah
• The Post-Exilic Prophets
• The Historical Writings: Overview
• The Pentateuch
• Joshua, Judges, and 1 and 2 Samuel
• 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah
• The Wisdom Literature: Overview
• Ecclesiastes
• Miscellaneous Writings: Overview
• Jonah, Ruth, and Esther
• Lamentations and Song of Songs
• The Apocrypha and the Pseudepigrapha: Overview
• The Apocrypha
• The Pseudepigrapha
• Cite this Literature Note

Summary and Analysis Job

The Book of Job is often referred to as one of the great classics of world literature. Its subject matter is the all-important question, "Why, in a world over which Yahweh has jurisdiction, should innocent persons have to suffer when at the same time the wicked escape suffering and are permitted to have comfort and security?" All people — not just Jews — sooner or later confront this universal problem. Some of the Hebrew prophets attempted to deal with this question insofar as it affected the nation as a whole, but the writer of the Book of Job deals with it on an individual basis. The book, in its present form, loosely divides into five parts: the prologue, the symposium, the speeches of Elihu, the nature poems, and the epilogue. As a whole, the book appears to have been written as a direct challenge to the time-honored doctrine that people are rewarded or punished according to their merits.

The prologue, which consists of the book's first two chapters, is believed to have been based on an older folktale in which a wager is made between Yahweh and Satan. Satan contends that no one serves Yahweh except for selfish reasons, but Yahweh disagrees and presents Job, a righteous man who "fears God and shuns evil," as an example to counter Satan's claim. In order to prove to Satan that Job's loyalty is not based on material reward, Yahweh permits Satan to take from Job all of the material benefits Job has received and to afflict him with the most severe and excruciating pain. Through all of this suffering, Job never complains. His only response is "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." However, Job's wife urges him to "curse God and die" in order to gain relief from his suffering. Three friends — Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite — come from afar and express their sympathy by remaining silent and by clothing themselves in sackcloth and sitting in ashes.

The symposium, consisting of speeches by Job and by each of his three friends, tells a very different story. In the first speech, Job curses the day that he was born, insisting that life under the conditions that he must bear is not worthwhile. Because he is conscious of no wrongdoing, he sees no justice in the way he must suffer. To this speech, Eliphaz replies that righteous people do not suffer; only the wicked are tormented in this fashion. For Job to declare himself innocent is to charge Yahweh with injustice; that a man should be more just than God is unreasonable. Eliphaz argues that in God's sight, no human being is righteous. All humans have sinned, and any suffering they must endure is a just punishment for their transgressions. Bildad adds his support to what Eliphaz says by insisting that God does not pervert justice; neither does he ever act unrighteously. Zophar goes even further in his accusations against Job: Job is not being punished as much as he deserves, for Yahweh is both a just and a merciful God, and mercy always means treating a person better than that person deserves.

To each of these speeches, Job makes an effective reply. He challenges his accusers to point out any evil deed that he has committed. If he has failed simply because he is mortal, it is not his fault, for he was created that way. His conduct has been as good as that of his accusers. After the first round of speeches, the cycle is repeated, with Job again making a reply after each friend speaks. In the third cycle of speeches, only Eliphaz and Bildad speak. In Job's final reply, he makes a masterful defense of his own position, at the conclusion of which we are told, "The words of Job are ended."

The speeches of Elihu represent a further attempt to find justification for Job's affliction. Elihu admits that the arguments of the three friends have been adequately refuted by Job, but he believes he can present other ones that will show how Job has been in the wrong. He suggests that Job's suffering may be a warning so that he won't sin, and then he repeats the same arguments that the three friends made.

The nature poems are presented as speeches by Yahweh that are addressed to Job. They picture in the most exquisite language the wonders and the grandeur of the created universe. However, as beautiful as the poems are, they do not deal with Job's problem. True, they contrast the power and wisdom of the deity with the inferior lot of human beings, but they still leave unanswered the question of why innocent people have to suffer in the manner that Job experiences. In the epilogue, which is found in the last chapter of the book, Job acknowledges the justice of Yahweh and repents for all that he said in his own defense. After this admission, Yahweh recompenses Job by returning to him all the material wealth that was taken away from him and even doubling the amount of property Job originally possessed.

The Book of Job does not present concrete solutions about why innocent people suffer. As far as the symposium is concerned, the author's 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. For centuries, it was accepted as true that because Yahweh is a just ruler of the universe, the distribution of rewards and punishments must be in strict accordance with what people actually deserve. The author of the symposium is convinced that this line of reasoning is not true. In order to make his position clear, he constructs the story of a righteous man named Job. As an introduction to his theme, the author makes use of a popular folktale in which a good man suffers in order to prove to Satan that he does not serve Yahweh for selfish reasons. That the author of the symposium did not accept this solution to the problem is shown very clearly in the arguments between Job and the three friends. Job's final speech in his own defense is probably where the book originally ended.

The skeptical character of the symposium, with its challenge to time-honored views, most likely would have kept the Book of Job out of the canon of Old Testament writings had some additions not been made to the original book. The speeches of Elihu appear to be added for the purpose of giving to the book an interpretation more in accord with the older views of the prophets. Quite possibly the same is true of the nature poems, which are presented as words spoken by Yahweh. Although neither the speeches of Elihu nor the nature poems gives any direct answer to the question of why innocent persons suffer, their presence in the book as a whole suggests that there may be a reason for such suffering that human beings are unable to grasp. The epilogue is, of course, a kind of anticlimax in that it tends to support the charges made by Satan in the prologue. However, it also presents an ending to the book quite in keeping with the older and more orthodox position concerning suffering.

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Analysis of The Book of Job

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Published: May 19, 2020

Words: 1496 | Pages: 3 | 8 min read

Works Cited

• Alter, R. (2018). The Hebrew Bible: A translation with commentary. W. W. Norton & Company.
• Bertrand, L. D. (2018). A reflection on the book of Job. Journal of Religious Thought, 74(1), 31-47.
• Hamilton, V. P. (1999). Handbook on the historical books: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah, Esther. Baker Academic.
• Johnson, J. J. (2011). Suffering and the Book of Job. In The Absence of God: Exploring the Christian Tradition in a Situation of Mourning (pp. 87-95). Routledge.
• Levine, E. (2010). The book of Job. Yale University Press.
• Newsom, C. A. (2005). The book of Job: A contest of moral imaginations. Oxford University Press.
• Ogbonnaya, U. I. (2016). A philosophical and theological critique of the book of Job: The struggle between order and freedom. Wipf and Stock Publishers.
• Schreiber, M. (2013). The Book of Job: A Biography. Princeton University Press.
• Smith, J. E. (2012). The wisdom literature of the Bible. Abingdon Press.
• Stott, J. R. W. (2006). The cross of Christ. InterVarsity Press.

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Book of Job

Everything you need for every book you read..

Suffering and Divine Justice

The Bible’s Book of Job explores the question of why good people sometimes endure senseless suffering—particularly, why God seems to allow such suffering. The story centers on Job , a thriving patriarch whose prosperity seems to be the reward for his upstanding behavior. So when God permits Satan to inflict disease and devastating losses on Job, it seems, from a human perspective, that divine justice has somehow gone awry. As he laments his circumstances, Job…

The Mystery of God

During his suffering, Job feels that God is both too distant to reach and much too close for comfort. His sufferings make him feel like God is relentlessly oppressing him—looming so close that Job begs God to look away from him long enough to let Job breathe. And yet, at the same time, God seems to “hide his face” from Job (to feel totally absent) and to elude Job’s searching, preventing Job from pleading his…

Human Wisdom vs. Divine Wisdom

When three of Job ’s friends ( Eliphaz , Bildad , and Zophar ) hear of Job’s suffering, they come to comfort him. But when Job complains that God has punished him for no reason, Job’s friends take turns arguing with this point. They argue that God causes people to suffer because of their sins and that he rewards the righteous; to assert otherwise, they contend, is to accuse God of being unjust and so…

Faith in Suffering

When Job hears the news that he’s lost his children and all his possessions, he immediately responds by tearing his robe and shaving his head (traditional signs of mourning in the ancient Near East). He then falls to the ground and worships God , saying, “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” Even after Job himself is afflicted with terrible sores, he continues to “maintain his…

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Job 1 – Job Endures His Loss

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The Believer’s Hedge of Protection — Job 1:10 & 3:20-23

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Job 1:1-19 – Behind the Curtain

Job 1:20-2:13 – Passing the Test

A. Two stages for a great drama: earth and heaven.

1. (1-5) the earthly stage..

There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. And seven sons and three daughters were born to him. Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East. And his sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day, and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did regularly.

a. There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job : The Book of Job begins by introducing its central character and the man who perhaps wrote the book by recording his own experiences.

i. The Book of Job is rightly understood to be a masterpiece of Hebrew poetry and Western literature. As the first poetic book of the English Bible, Job introduces the reader to the idea of Hebrew poetry, which involves the repetition and combination of ideas more than sounds .

ii. The author, date, and place of the Book of Job are all uncertain. It may be that Job himself recorded his experiences in the book, or there may well have been another anonymous author. Judging by the style of the Hebrew it uses, some scholars judge Job to be the oldest book of the Old Testament. “Ancient it is beyond all dispute. It probably belongs to the period covered by the book of Genesis; and possibly, to the time of Abraham. Its lesson, therefore, is the oldest lesson we could have; and it takes us back to the first lesson taught in the Bible itself.” (Bullinger)

iii. The text of Job is so ancient that in some places we don’t really know the exact meaning of some of the words; yet the general meaning is clear. “The disgust expressed in Job’s remark that ‘ryr hlmwt is tasteless (Job 6:6) can be appreciated, even though we still do not know what that substance is.” (Andersen)

iv. “It is fascinating to think that as we open this text we may be faced with the earliest of all written accounts of a human being’s relationship with Yahweh, the one true God.” (Mason)

v. The Book of Job is not primarily about one man’s suffering and pain; Job’s problem is not so much financial or social or medical; his central problem is theological . Job must deal with the fact that in his life, God does not act the way he always thought God would and should act. In this drama, the Book of Job is not so much a record of solutions and explanations to this problem; it is more a revelation of Job’s experience and the answers carried within his experience.

vi. “It is then, a true and real history that we here have of him, and not a fiction or a moral parable, as some have believed. See a double testimony, for this, the one prophetical, Ezekiel 14:14, the other apostolical, James 5:11, and such a well-twined cord is not easily broken.” (Trapp)

b. That man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil : The first look at Job shows him to be an exceedingly righteous man. The author gives an impressive description of a man who is not perfect, but certainly complete in his devotion, respect, and obedience to God.

i. Job’s connection with God seems to be independent of any other Old Testament character. He definitely seems to have lived before the time of Moses and the people of Israel; perhaps even before Abraham. Some believe that the Jobab mentioned in Genesis 10:29 is Job, which would put him in the era between Noah and Abraham.

ii. If that was the era of Job, then we can say that Job’s deep and true relationship with God was no doubt passed on to him from his ancestors dating back to the time of Noah and his son. In this respect, he was somewhat like Melchizedek (as in Genesis 14:18-24) who simply appeared on the scene as someone who was a worshipper and a follower of the true God.

iii. Others point to several reasons for dating Job later, perhaps in the generations after Jacob and Esau.

·  Huz ( Uz ?) was Abraham’s nephew, the son of his brother (Genesis 22:21). The land of Uz may be named after him.

·  Eliphaz (Job 2:11) was the son of Esau (Genesis 34:10-11); this son of Esau had a son named Teman (Genesis 36:10-11), and the descendants of Teman were known for their wisdom (Jeremiah 49:7).

·  Bildad is called a Shuhite (Job 2:11), and Shuah was a son of Abraham through Keturah (Genesis 35:2).

iv. This strong statement of the godliness of Job is important to understanding the rest of the story. Recognizing this righteousness of Job “will save us from the mistake of thinking at any point of those experiences as having their explanation in the man himself. Nor for himself did he suffer. His pains were not penalties for wrongdoing: they were not even chastisements for correction.” (Morgan)

v. “Job was ‘blameless.’ This does not mean Job was sinless, but blameless. There is a huge difference. Sin is vertical, blameless is horizontal… as Job lived before the watchful eye of his peers, no one could justly charge Job with moral failure. His reputation was impeccable.” (Lawson)

vi. “The insistence on Job’s uprightness should not be weakened in the interests of a dogma of universal human depravity. Job is not considered to be perfect or sinless. All the speakers in the book, including Job himself, are convinced that men are sinful. Job’s first recorded act is to offer sacrifices for sin. This is not the point. It is possible for sinful men to be genuinely good.” (Andersen)

c. Seven sons and three daughters were born to him : In a culture where status and wealth might be measured by the size of one’s family, Job was a man of impressive wealth and status.

d. His possessions were seven thousand sheep : By any measure, Job was a prominent and affluent man. His godliness, wealth, and status made it true that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East .

i. “Much later in the book we will catch a glimpse of what Job actually did with his money, and with his time and energy: he rescued the needy; he cared personally for the handicapped and the dying; he brought orphans into his home; he even took the power barons of his day to court and argued the case for the underprivileged (see 29:12-17; 31:16-21).” (Mason)

e. His sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day : The idea of this description seems to be that Job’s family had a happy and close relationship. This reinforces the idea that Job and his family were greatly blessed and does not seem to indicate that they were unduly given over to festivity and pleasure-seeking. They happily celebrated special days ( each on his appointed day ), probably their birthdays.

i. “No disapproval of this pleasant life is expressed. We need not suppose that they spent all their time in roistering and did no work. There is no hint of drunkenness or licence or laziness.” (Andersen)

ii. “If he had condemned it he would never have offered sacrifice to God, lest they should have sinned, but he would have told them at once it was a sinful thing, and that he could give no countenance to it.” (Spurgeon) Spurgeon saw in Job 1:4-5 a permission for feasting and celebration among believers; he preached a Christmas sermon upon this very text and used it as proof that God allows and enjoys such celebrations among His people.

f. Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings : Again, the idea seems to be much more that Job was a scrupulously godly man who served as a priest to his family, more than that his children were wicked people who needed constant atonement.

i. “What a beautiful example is furnished by Job to Christian parents! When your girls are going among strangers, and your boys into the great ways of the world, and you are unable to impose your will upon them, as in the days of childhood, you can yet pray for them, casting over them the shield of intercession, with strong cryings and tears. They are beyond your reach; but by faith you can move the arm of God on their behalf.” (Meyer)

ii. Bullinger on Job 1:5, cursed God in their hearts : “The word chalal , to curse , stood originally in the primitive text; but out of a dislike to utter with the lips such an expression as “curse God,” they put in its stead barach , to bless , relegating the original word chalal , to curse , to the Massoretic notes; and placed on record the fact of their alteration, thus protecting the original primitive text.”

iii. One would not know it from the first few verses, but the Book of Job is about an epic war . Yet no city is attacked or besieged or conquered; no battles are won or lost; no oceans are sailed, or nations founded, or adventures recorded. The whole conflict happens on an ash heap – virtually a garbage dump – outside a village. It is an epic war, but one of the inner life; a struggle to make sense of some of the deepest questions of life.

2. (6-12) The stage in heaven.

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” So Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

a. Now there was a day : This reveals the scene in heaven; unseen to Job and others on earth, but absolutely real nonetheless. The story of Job can really only be properly understood by taking into account what happened in heaven, and by having more than an earthly perspective.

i. “Without this prologue the Job of the dialogues and monologues might justly be considered a man with an insufferable self-righteousness, and the reader would be left without a heavenly perspective.” (Smick)

b. When the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD : The phrase sons of God is used in the Old Testament to describe angelic beings (Genesis 6:1-4 and Job 38:7). Among this group of angelic beings, Satan also came among them .

i. The fact that Satan… came among them shows that Satan is himself an angelic being, and in no way equal to God. We often – to his great delight – inflate Satan’s status and importance, thinking of him as the opposite of God, as if God were light and Satan were darkness; as if God were hot and Satan were cold. Satan wishes he was the opposite of God, but God wants us to know that Satan is a mere creature and is in no way the opposite of God. If Satan has an opposite, it is not God the Father or God the Son; it would be a high-ranking angelic being such as Michael.

ii. The fact that they came to present themselves before the LORD shows that angelic beings – indeed, fallen angelic beings – have access to the presence of God (1 Kings 22:21, Zechariah 3:1), but one day they will be restricted to the earth (Revelation 12:9).

c. From where do you come : God allowed (and continues to allow) Satan and fallen angelic beings into His presence, but only for His own purposes. Therefore, He demanded to know what Satan’s business was.

d. From going to and fro on the earth : Though Satan has access to heaven, he also has free access to the earth, and roams about the earth as a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8). It can be said that Satan has an active interest in what happens on the earth.

e. Have you considered My servant Job : It was God who brought up Job as a subject for discussion, and God brought up Job in the sense of bragging about Job’s godliness and character. God was so impressed with Job that He affirmed the description of Job first recorded in Job 1:1.

i. Of course Satan does consider the saints of God; yet what does the devil see when he considers the saints?

· He sees them and is amazed at the difference between himself and God’s people; he sees us and knows that though he has fallen, these earthen creatures stand.

· He sees them and is amazed at their happiness; he knows too well the misery of his own soul, but he admires and hates the peace in the soul of the believer.

· He sees them and looks for some fault, so that he may find some small comfort to his own black soul and hypocrisy.

· He sees them – especially great hearts among the saints – and sees those who block and hinder his foul work.

· He sees them and looks for opportunity to do them harm.

f. There is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil : This was God’s pronouncement of Job’s character. After these first two chapters of Job, almost everything we know of the man is colored by the perspective of the speaker. Later, when Job talks about himself and his situation, we must take into account that it is Job who speaks; when his friends speak likewise, they speak according to their own knowledge, ignorance, and bias. Only in the first two chapters do we have a truly objective viewpoint about Job. He really was a blameless and upright man , no matter what his friends would later say.

i. We know (and God knew) that Job was not sinlessly perfect; yet God called him blameless . “It means that no matter how horrible his offenses may have been, all the charges against him have been dropped. Absolutely no blame attaches to him, because the very one he offended has exonerated him.” (Mason)

ii. We know that Job was not sinlessly perfect; yet God unashamedly seemed to see him that way. The modern believer stands in the same place, completely justified in Jesus Christ.

iii. “If at any point in the ensuing struggle we are tempted to question the integrity of Job’s faith (as his friends do, relentlessly), it will not really be Job we are questioning, but the Lord.” (Mason)

g. Does Job fear God for nothing : Here Satan fulfilled the role described in Revelation 12:10 – the accuser of the brethren . Satan accused Job before God, insisting that Job’s godliness was essentially false, and that Job only served God for what he could get from Him.

i. Satan’s reply to God first reveals his essential cynicism ; he doubts every supposed good as being dishonest and hollow. “Cynicism is the essence of the satanic. The Satan believes nothing to be genuinely good – neither Job in his disinterested piety nor God in His disinterested generosity.” (Andersen)

ii. “If thou wilt be gracious, he will be pious. The exact maxim of a great statesman, Sir Robert Walpole: Every man has his price … No doubt Sir Robert met with many such and the Devil many more. But still God has multitudes that will neither sell their souls, their consciences, nor their country, for any price; who, though God should slay them, will nevertheless trust in him, and be honest men howsoever tempted by the Devil and his vicegerents. So did Job; so have done thousands; so will all do, in whose hearts Christ dwells by faith.” (Clarke)

iii. The accusation against Job was also an accusation against God, for it implied that God had bribed Job into obedience. “‘I myself,’ he seems to say, ‘could be as pious as Job, were I as prosperous as he.’” (Bradley)

iv. Satan’s accusation gave testimony to the fact that God had protected Job ( Have You not made a hedge around him ) and had also blessed him ( You have blessed ). Jesus indicated that Satan wanted to do much worse against Peter than God allowed him to do (Luke 22:31-32) because of a similar hedge of protection.

v. But now, stretch out Your hand : “His language is abrupt; he commands God with imperative verbs: literally, ‘But now, you just extend your hand and damage all his property.’” (Andersen)

vi. Confident in his accusation against Job, Satan insisted to God that Job would surely curse You to Your face if this protection and blessing was withdrawn. Satan believed that adversity could make Job move from his standing in faith; that Job would be unable to stand against the wiles and the deceptions of the devil, as is given to the believer in Ephesians 6:13.

h. Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person : In response to Satan’s accusation, God gave him great – though limited – permission to attack Job. God would let down the hedge without completely removing it.

i. Satan had the power and the desire to afflict Job all along; what he lacked was the allowance from God. When God allowed it, Satan was more than happy to attack Job up to the limit of the allowance.

ii. Though Satan was now able to attack Job in a much greater way than before, his power was not unlimited. God only allowed Satan to do what he wanted to do to ultimately serve His purpose.

iii. “But we must know, that God’s end in this large grant was not to gratify the devil, but to glorify himself, by making Satan an instrument of his own shame and infamy.” (Trapp)

i. Satan went out from the presence of the LORD : As he did, he continued a sequence of events in the spiritual realm that (as in Ephesians 6:12) were real but not immediately apparent to Job as having their origin in a spiritual battle.

i. The revelation of the heavenly scene behind the earthly scene helps us to understand the later comment of James on Job: Indeed we count them blessed who endure. 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). The two great themes of the Book of Job, as explained by James, are the perseverance of Job and the end intended by the Lord, and it is important that we learn both themes. The end intended by the Lord (James 5:11) connects with God’s eternal purpose as revealed in Ephesians 3:10-11 – that God intends that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose . God used Job to teach angelic beings, especially to teach them about His own spectacular wisdom.

ii. Therefore, the Book of Job teaches us that there is an aspect of human misery that is not the penalty for sin, not correction in righteousness, not redemptive in itself, and not the noble bearing of persecution for righteousness’ sake. Job’s suffering was of this aspect; we might say that the reason for his suffering was as a tool to teach angelic beings. Job made known the manifold wisdom of God to the principalities and powers in heavenly places (Ephesians 3:10-11).

iii. We might say that all the other reasons for suffering can also be used of God to reveal His wisdom to angelic beings. The man who suffers as the penalty of sin can, by the way he receives the suffering, be an important lesson of God’s wisdom. Yet Job’s case was unique; his suffering seems to be mainly or only concerned with this purpose of instructing angelic beings.

iv. In that process God used Satan himself, even as he went out from the presence of the LORD in all his evil design. “Satan may intend one thing, but God uses him for another. In all these things he is a minister – used for the ultimate blessing, comfort, and help of the people of God, and for their present spiritual profit… He was allowed to be the author of Job’s trials and losses: but all his labour was wasted; for it ended in Job’s receiving a double blessing for time, and for earth, and ‘the righteousness of God’ for ever and ever.” (Bullinger)

v. “Others have held it is immoral by any human standards that there should be a game between the Almighty and Satan using as their pawn the soul of Job. Such a view overlooks the possibility we have already mentioned, that God does not meaninglessly allow Job to be tormented. On the contrary, he is honoring Job by putting his full confidence in the genuineness of Job’s faith, which Satan has questioned.” (Smick)

vi. As good as Job was at the beginning of the book, he will be a better man at the end of it. He was better in character, more humble, and more blessed than before. “Foolish devil! He is piling up a pedestal on which God will set his servant Job, that he may be looked upon with wonder by all ages… Oh! how many saints have been comforted in their distress by this history of patience! How many have been saved out of the jaw of the lion, and from the paw of the bear by the dark experiences of the patriarch of Uz. O arch fiend, how art thou taken in thine own net! Thou hast thrown a stone which has fallen on thine own head. Thou madest a pit for Job, and hast fallen into it thyself; thou art taken in thine own craftiness.” (Spurgeon)

B. Job’s catastrophic loss and his reaction to it.

1. (13-19) job’s tragic and sudden losses..

Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house; and a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, when the Sabeans raided them and took them away; indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!” While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you!” While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!” While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

a. Now there was a day : Given greater allowance to afflict Job, Satan maximized his work against the man of God by bringing the catastrophe to Job in the span of a few hours. In that limited time Job lost his oxen , his servants , his sheep , his camels , and his sons and daughters .

i. This shows us that Satan was focused on maximizing his advantage . If he were allowed to attack Job, he would do it in the most effective way possible, all the way up to what God would allow. Therefore, any foothold we give to Satan is dangerous . We should expect that he will maximize any advantage given to him.

ii. When his sons and daughters were eating and drinking shows us the great cruelty of Satan. “Satan is here revealed in startling light. His malice is seen in the choice of time. He strikes in the midst of festivity.” (Morgan)

iii. The catastrophe came upon Job’s sons and daughters as they were feasting in their oldest brother’s house . We know from Job 1:4-5 that Job would specifically sacrifice for his sons and daughters on these days; yet these prayers-in-action of Job on behalf of his children did not prevent the catastrophe. This made the crisis all the more mysterious and problematic for Job.

b. The Sabeans… the fire of God fell from heaven … the Chaldeans… a great wind : The tragedies came to Job from many different causes; yet we know that the prior cause was the instigation of Satan.

i. In this we learn something of how Satan works. He did not force godly Sabeans and Chaldeans to do things against Job that they did not want to do. He accomplished his evil purpose by working through the evil character of fallen men.

ii. We also learn that in some way, Satan had some influence over the weather ( a great wind ) and could imitate a phenomenon usually associated with God ( the fire of God from heaven ). The servants of Job thought that God sent this fire, but that was only true in a very indirect sense, in the sense that God had allowed it by removing a prior restriction. This shows that at least at some times, Satan wants to work in such a way that what he does will be blamed on God.

iii. “We can only conclude that Satan swings great power over the weather. Not all power over all weather. But some power over some weather. To the extent that God allows, the Devil has supernatural power at his disposal to direct the elements to accomplish his evil purposes.” (Lawson)

iv. We also see that this attack was clearly focused against Job; yet others suffered because Satan attacked Job and God allowed him to be attacked. Job’s animals, servants, and children all perished because Job was the target. This can only be justified if we understand that:

· In allowing their lives to be ended, God did not allow these people to pass from an immortal state to a mortal state. Each of these unfortunates was born mortal and subject to death; the only surprise in their death was that they died sooner than expected, not that they died at all.

· The rightness or wrongness of what God either allows or actively does can only be finally judged by the measure of eternity , not the measure of this life. We can only say that God either did right or wrong by these unfortunates by the eternal picture. Until then we trust what Abraham knew of God: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? (Genesis 18:25).

2. (20-22) Job reacts to his losses.

Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.

a. Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head : Quite appropriately, Job mourned his tremendous losses. He had lost his sons and daughters and servants and a great amount of material wealth. It was a time for mourning.

i. Job mourned, but he did not mourn as the heathens or the pagans mourned. He did not cut or gash or tattoo himself for the dead as was the common practice among those ancient peoples (Leviticus 19:28).

b. He fell to the ground and worshiped : In the midst of his mourning, Job also decided to worship God despite his circumstances and feelings. We might say that this was indeed pure worship and greatly glorifying to God.

i. “Surely it has not come to this among God’s people, that he must do as we like, or else we will not praise him. If he does not please us every day, and give way to our whims, and gratify our tastes, then we will not praise him.” (Spurgeon)

ii. “But how blank (think we) was the devil, when, hoping to hear Job blaspheme God, he heareth him blessing God’s name in this sort.” (Trapp)

iii. Later in the book, as spiritual battle is fought in and all around Job, he will seem to move very far from these words of worship. Yet it is important to remember that a man’s first reaction is often very telling, and reveals what really dominates his heart. Worship was Job’s first reaction to his crisis.

c. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away : Job analyzed his situation in a godly and wise way. Job understood that:

· He came into this world with nothing, so everything he had was indeed a blessing from the bounty of God. If he now had less, it was still more than he came into this world with and more than he would take with him to the world beyond.

· His prior prosperity was not due to luck or mere human ingenuity; it was because of the great and powerful blessing of God upon his life. “I am so pleased to think that Job recognized the hand of God everywhere giving . He said, ‘The Lord gave.’ He did not say, ‘I earned it all.’ He did not say, ‘There are all my hard-earned savings gone.’” (Spurgeon)

· God was in control of his life, and no matter what the immediate source of adversity or tragedy was, it had to pass through the loving and wise hands of God before it could touch him.

· God was worthy to be blessed and praised in any and all circumstances of life.

i. “His words were of the profoundest philosophy. He recognized that man is more than the things he gathers about him.” (Morgan)

ii. “Job sees only the hand of God in these events. It never occurs to him to curse the desert brigands, to curse the frontier guards, to curse his own stupid servants, now lying dead for their watchlessness. All secondary causes vanish. It was the Lord who gave; it was the Lord who removed; and in the Lord alone must the explanation of these strange happenings be sought.” (Andersen)

iii. We can meditate on the implications of the words, the LORD gave :

· We should never think the good things of this world come to us from the earth; they come from heaven.

· They come to us as gifts ; that is, they are undeserved.

· God gives His gifts with kindness and thoughtfulness.

· Knowing this sweetens the value of everything we have; things are more precious because they are gifts from a loving God.

· This prevents us from dishonesty; we want nothing in our hand except what God gives us, and do not want to mix what He gives with what the devil gives.

· It is foolishness to take pride in having more than what another has.

· It is easy to give back to God when we really understand that all we have comes from Him.

· We must always worship the Giver and not the gifts. The Giver is greater than the gifts He gives.

d. Blessed be the name of the LORD : This was the expression of worship mentioned in the previous verse. Job was able to bless the name of God even when he was specifically and severely tempted to curse the name of God.

i. “Remember the story of a man who was going to give a pound to some charitable institution. The devil said, ‘No, you cannot afford it.’ ‘Then,’ said the man, ‘I will give two pounds; I will not be dictated to in this way.’ Satan exclaimed, ‘You are a fanatic.’ The man replied, ‘I will give four pounds.’ ‘Ah!’ said Satan, ‘what will your wife say when you go home, and tell her that you have given away four pounds?’ ‘Well,’ said the man, ‘I will give eight pounds now; and if you do not mind what you are at, you will tempt me to give sixteen.’ So the devil was obliged to stop, because the more he tempted him, the more he went the other way. So let it be with us. If the devil would drive us to curse God, let us bless him all the more, and Satan will be wise enough to leave off tempting when he finds that, the more he attempts to drive us, the more we go in the opposite direction.” (Spurgeon)

e. In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong : This demonstrates that Job did not sin or wrongly blame God when he said, “ the LORD has taken away .” He was right to understand that God was ultimately behind all things, even if the immediate responsibility for an event was not God’s.

i. We are impressed with Job’s perspective on material things. He truly understood what Jesus said: One’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses (Luke 12:15). There are few in the world today who would endure the loss of such a fortune with such godliness and patient endurance.

ii. We are impressed with Job’s unshaken commitment to God, and his enduring love for God. Satan’s accusation – that if blessings were taken from Job, he would curse God – was proved to be a lie, and we might say that God was justifiably proud of His servant Job.

iii. In this first round of spiritual warfare, Satan was singularly unsuccessful in shaking Job from his standing in faith. Job successfully battled against spiritual attack and fulfilled the exhortation that would come many hundreds of years later from the Apostle Paul: that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand (Ephesians 6:13).

· Job made his stand against fear and did not give in to panic.

· Job made his stand against make-believe pretending and appropriately mourned.

· Job made his stand against pride and humbled himself before God.

· Job made his stand against self and decided to worship God.

· Job made his stand against a time-bound mindset and chose to think in terms of eternity.

· Job made his stand against unbelief and did not give in to vain questionings of God.

· Job made his stand against despair and saw the hand of God, even in catastrophe.

· Job made his stand against anger and did not blame God.

iv. This wonderful triumph of faith did not come from Job acting alone, but only as Job reacted to these disasters filled with and connected to God. We are not told that the Spirit of God filled Job to react this way and say these things, but we know it to be true. Satan was acting; but so was God in heaven. “He saith to himself, ‘If Satan shall do much, I will do more; if he takes away much, I will give more; if he tempts the man to curse, I will fill him so full of love to me that he shall bless me. I will help him; I will strengthen him; yea, I will uphold him with the right hand of my righteousness.’” (Spurgeon)

v. Though we can say that God strengthened Job, there was no evident comfort from God; nor would there be for a long time. “Thirty-six chapters of agonizing soul-searching will elapse before the Lord so much as lifts a finger to begin comforting Job in these devastating losses.” (Mason)

vi. “In this Satan was utterly disappointed; he found a man who loved his God more than his earthly portion… He had been so often successful in this kind of temptation, that he made no doubt that he should succeed again.” (Clarke)

©2019 David Guzik – No distribution beyond personal use without permission

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The Book of Job Background

By the bible.

These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own.

Written by Abhishek Kumar and other people who wish to remain anonymous

The Book of Job in the Bible addresses the sufferings and eventual contentment of a man named Job . The story’s structure is set in form of a prose prologue and prose epilogue. The story revolves around Job, a blessed and wealthy man. Satan is not happy with Job and wants to test whether his devotion to God is embedded in his earthly possessions. Therefore, Satan comes before God and claims that Job is only dedicated to Him due to its material wealth. According to Satan, if Job can be stripped of his wealth, he can no longer keep his faith in God. Satan requests God to test Job’s faith.

God grants Satan permission to test Job. Satan takes everything from Job, but he remains faithful to God. In some way, the book addresses the challenges that people go through. After Job’s wealth was taken away from him, his wife and friends advised him to curse God. Although Job was suffering bitterly, he did not attempt to mock God. The poetic dialogue in the book is portrayed in this part where he is conversing with his three friends. At some point, Job thinks that God is not doing justice to him.

Job speaks to God directly but he is not told the reason for his suffering. The story portrays God as a powerful being, who cannot disclose to humans the basis of their sufferings. Job’s wealth is restored and he cannot hide his happiness. However, the readers cannot understand why righteous people are punished by God. People are supposed to be punished due to their iniquities but the story teaches the readers otherwise.

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The Book of Job Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Book of Job is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Study Guide for The Book of Job

The Book of Job study guide contains a biography of The Bible, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Book of Job
• The Book of Job Summary
• Character List