In this chapter we will discuss the book of job and. Although most of the book consists of the words of job and his friends, job himself was not the author. His image and story have evolved over the years, but. Jan 02, 2020 in job 1, satan stood before god to give an account of himself. The book of job consists of a prose prologue and epilogue narrative framing poetic dialogues and monologues. God praises job before satan, and satan is unimpressed, claiming that he is only righteous because his life is so comfortable. How could satan access heaven in the books of job and the. Job 1 niv prologue in the land of uz there bible gateway.
Aug 23, 2011 job would, if he knew the plot hatched in heaven against him, consider satan the worst sort of enemy. When jobs friends heard about the things that happened to him they went to comfort him. Nevertheless we do glean two things from the passages where satan is mentioned. Thomas explores the difficulty of jobs suffering, satans involvement, and gods sovereignty. Satan visits heaven a second time superbook youtube. Can a favored, righteous person hold on to their faith in god when things go wrong. The book of job begins by introducing us to its three most significant characters. Satan takes the bait and raises a question about job s sincerity and motivation for serving god.
God boasts to satan about jobs goodness, but satan argues that job is only good because god has. 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. Job chapters 1 and 2, part of the bibles oldest book, say that satan has access to heaven. Thomas explores the difficulty of job s suffering, satan s involvement, and gods sovereignty.
The book allows hard issues to emerge because they do in human experience. God has put a hedge around him and has blessed him beyond all mortals, and as a result the devil accuses job of serving god only because. Some people struggle with the book of job because, when they look at the life of jesus, they cant find anything in the ministry of jesus that corresponds to jobs story. There are a variety of views on chance to be found in the hebrew bible, or old testament.
Satan is like a roving ambassador who comes to god to give a report on what he has seen and heard. Job is a wealthy man living in a land called uz with his large family and extensive flocks. Towards the end of the book, job s friends start to think that. Job 1 esv jobs character and wealth there bible gateway. The book of job is a book in the ketuvim writings section of the hebrew bible tanakh, and the first poetic book in the old testament of the christian bible. It is found in the third section of the biblical canon known as the ketuvim writings. The majority of the debate section in the book of job is in prose form. Job 1 kjv there was a man in the land of uz, bible gateway. But satan the accuser comes before the lord, and god allows him to test job.
Jun 24, 2014 satan visits heaven and asks for permission to torment job. The book of job, book of hebrew scripture that is often counted among the masterpieces of world literature. God boasts about job, whom god considers to be an outstanding example of what a religious person should be. Job would, if he knew the plot hatched in heaven against him, consider satan the worst sort of enemy. Job 1, new international version niv the bible app. I recently began studying the book of job and several things strike me as strange right from the start. Aug 02, 2010 in the book of job, satan is sent by god to torment job. They decide, therefore, that they cant find jesus in the book of job.
God, who doesnt respond that hes omniscient and will always win a bet, gives hasatan permission to test job by whacking his wealth, killing a lot of his family and ruining his health. Years later, in the book of the revelation, the apostle john wrote about a future day when satan will be kicked out. The book of job in the hebrew bible was crafted to address human suffering and why bad things happen to good people. The book of job and satans power i recently began studying the book of job and several things strike me as strange right from the start. And elisha said unto him, whence comest thou, gehazi. Yahweh asks one of them, the satan, where he has been, to which he replies that. He is blameless and upright, always careful to avoid doing evil 1. The result was that satans power was limited verse 12 and god was glorified.
The word satan has the article prefixed to it here and elsewhere in job, as in zechariah 3. A classic old testament skit, pungent as a piece of absurdist theater or a story by kafka. Job is going to be immiserated, sealed into sorrowfor a. His image and story have evolved over the years, but this malevolent beingand his legion of demons. In it, satan is a member of gods divine court who walks the earth looking for sin and reports back to god. One day, satan the adversary appears before god in heaven. No red skin, no horns, no pointy teeth and tail, and no devilish grin. 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. Most of the book tells about job and his friends talking. The story previously said that job was the only hebrew book with a devillike creature, but there is also one in the book of daniel. The devil, also referred to as satan, is best known as the nemesis of good people everywhere. Job, a pious and blameless man, is perfectly happy and contented. 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.
When job s friends heard about the things that happened to him they went to comfort him. The facts the book of job does not tell us many facts concerning the identity of satan, which is doubtless why it forms such a mystery. Select the possessions of job removed from him by the first tragedy. Up in the heavens, god brags to the divine assembly about job. Was it unfair for god to allow job to suffer over what was basically an argument between god and satan. In the book of job, as soon as satan appeared in heaven, the lord mentioned to him the name of a faithful person.
The book of job god did not give satan power biblebro. When the bible says that job was blameless, it does not mean that he. Watch full episodes for free in the superbook app or on the superbook kids. Satan smiting job with sore boils, william blake, c. Dec 30, 2016 22 ways to find jesus in the book of job december 30, 2016 by admin some people struggle with the book of job because, when they look at the life of jesus, they cant find anything in the ministry of jesus that corresponds to jobs story. Remember, god doesnt inflict anything nasty on job with his own divine power. A genuine interest in gods creation is revealed in the content of job. Misfortune befalls job, and, in three cycles of speeches, his three friends give the explanation that this must be punishment from god for his sins, and they urge him to repent. The satan appears in the book of job, a poetic dialogue set within a prose framework, which may have been written around the time of the babylonian captivity. Since god is holy and absolutely without sin isaiah 6. We are first introduced to job as a blameless and upright man job 1. William henry green, in his great book, the argument.
The book of job challenges the simple equation of suffering with punishment, by telling the story of one righteous mans confrontation with overwhelming misfortune. 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. God initiated the meeting, led the proceedings, and remained in absolute control verse 7. Satan presented himself before god now there was a day when the sons of god came to present themselves. The books theme is the eternal problem of unmerited suffering, and it is named after its central.
A key to understanding the first theme of the book is to notice the debate between god and satan in heaven and how it connects with the 3 cycles of earthly debates between job and his friends. Misfortune befalls job, and, in three cycles of speeches, his three friends give the explanation that this must be. 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. You must understand who god is and who satan is, what they know, and what their motivation is. Job 1 english standard version esv job s character and wealth.
The names of his friends are eliphaz, bildad, and zophar. Rather, it begins with a typical day in the divine oval office, and the topic of. Well, god says, lets see, and he gives satan permission to ruin jobs life. Watch full episodes for free in the superbook app or on the superbook kids website. Satan is seen as the adversary or prosecutor, an agent of gd, very much part of the divine council, that searches out the individuals. The book of job begins with a description of its titular character, blameless and upright, one who feared god and turned away from evil 1. Then satan answered the lord, and said, from going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. The biblical book of job addresses the existence of evil and suffering in a world where a loving, allpowerful god exists. May 20, 2017 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. They should have gone a bit further and looked at his cross. In the book of job, satan is sent by god to torment job. Thus accompanied, it is less a proper name than an appellative the adversary comp. Satan, the accuser of gods faithful overcoming satan in. That is the lesson of the book for anyone who questions god without access to all the facts 38.
Satan has put god in a tough place by his question. The adversary satan insinuates himself among the angels of gods court and argues that jobs virtue is not genuine. The book that gives us the most information about the devil in the old testament, however, is the book of job. Job 14 flesh out a basic doctrinal understanding of satan. In hebrew, satan actually means the accuser or the prosecutor, and he is referred to as the satan, not just satan. The book begins with the description of job as a just and upright man. Allowing the questions is necessary in order to be able to address them. Job was blameless, meaning no sin was found in him.
This is the final time satan is mentioned in the book of job. And satan answered the lord, and said, from going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. Rather, it begins with a typical day in the divine oval office, and the topic of gods just operation of the cosmos is put on the table. Satan, the thief, has come to kill, steal, and destroy john 10. Book of job simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Whereas gods purpose today is to see that no more souls are condemned to hell, satans aim is to tarnish the names of gods faithful, so that he is permitted by god to tempt them. In the text, job is a righteous man favored by yahweh. If god does not permit satan to test his theory about the motivation of pious folks like job, then satan can say, you are afraid i might be right. Hes blameless and upright, and he has kids, a wife, land, and a bunch of sheep. And god reins him in or gives him slack according to gods own sovereign purposes. A surface reading of the book of job usually evokes a reaction such as why is god making a bet with the devil. In the book of job, how was it possible for god and satan. 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. Satan cannot make a move without the permission of god almighty.
In the book of job, the character is described as a righteous man, indeed the most righteous man to be found on the earth, but one whom satan claims is righteous only to receive blessings from the hand of god. Although job was unaware of the interaction between satan and god, job comes to the conclusion that god is just and good. If job was blameless, why did god allow satan to afflict. The prologue introduces us to the characters and summarizes the theme of the book. There is no indication at all that job s children and servants were good followers of god.
Was it unfair for god to allow job to suffer over what was. Job, in the bible knowledge commentary, old testament, ed. God wanted to prove the character of believers to satan and to all demons, angels and people. Towards the end of the book, jobs friends start to think that. The meaning of the book of job is found in gods and satans conversation in heaven.
Satan visits heaven and asks for permission to torment job. This summary of the book of job provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of job. Job gives us insights into his character, his purposes, his tactics, and his goals. What does this tell us about the place of evil in the world. God then allows satan to visit terrible trials upon job to test him. 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. In a conversation with satan, god argues that such a person can indeed persevere, and points out his servant job as an example.
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