In the book of Job, the faith of God's most devout follower is challenged repeatedly at the hand of the adversary. These tests of loyalty to God begin with the loss of many of Job’s possessions and family members and end with an affliction of skin sores. Despite these occurrences and the urging of his wife and friends, Job remains entirely in reverence to the glory of God. From this text, it is apparent that one’s faith and knowledge has more capability to provide happiness and ability than do material possessions.
In the beginning of the book, the adversary challenges God’s assertion that Job will continue to both worship and fear God unconditionally, telling God to “...Lay Your hand upon all that he has, and he will surely blaspheme You to Your face” (Job 1:11). The adversary believes that Job’s devotion to God stems from all of the things with which God has endowed him, but God insists that his loyalty is independent of what he has. God allows the adversary to take away much of the
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He exclaims, “They [the wicked] spend their days in prosperity...” (Job 21:13). Job questions why sinful people are able to live successful, materialistic lives when he, a man who “was blameless and upright” (Job 1:1), was unable to maintain his happiness in life due to what he believes to be acts of God. Job comprehends the severity of what it is that he has lost but neglects to consider the faith that he has not. People often focus more intently on that which they lose or that which they think that they deserve but have not been given rather than on with what they have been blessed. By emphasizing the negative aspects of their lives, people often overlook their true blessings and make themselves unhappy. It is not the removal of his material possessions that made Job unhappy, it is the shift in his focus from what he had in his life to what he did
The view of fate the book of Job expresses, though similar in that it originates from God, differs in a few important ways. In Job, situations are predetermined to occur, but the personal choices of the people involved determine the outcome of the situation. The story of Job opens with Job's fate of suffering being planned. Satan presents himself in an audience before God. God makes example of Job, and Satan rebuffs, stating that Job's constancy is only because of God's preferential treatment. Satan tells God, "But put forth thy hand now and touch all he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face."(40). In response, power is given to Satan to torment Job as a test. Job's life and finally health are viciously mangled and destroyed by Satan. Though Job does not know the reasons behind his great suffering, we are told that "In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly."(41), and "In all this did not Job sin with his lips."(41). Self-pity creeps into Job's thoughts and words, but there is no disenchanted turn from God. Instead in Job the reader sees a turn to God for relief and
Who I chose to write my character study paper over was Job and his life influenced by god’s grace, mercy, and evilness. The dominant theme of Job is the difficulty of understanding why God the creator of everything can allow good people and followers of his to suffer. In Job he is trying a way to justify God’s actions. The poetry in Job is a true dialogue, for the characters develop ideas and unique personalities throughout the course of their responses. The Book of Job is one of the most celebrated pieces of biblical literature, not only because it explores some of the most profound questions humans ask about their lives, also because it is extremely well written.
The theme of the Book of Job is the perseverance of the human spirit. Job loses everything but he does not lose his faith in God. “Job refuses to curse God” (Book). Job has not done anything to deserve this, but it is a test from God and Satan to see if Job is actually as
The Book of Job is of wisdom genre. Job was a righteous, rich man. God and Satan have a confrontation regarding Job’s faith in God. God allows Satan to test Job by taking away his family, sheep, camels, and servants. Job was passed the test. Job was tested again. This time it was his health that was taken away. Job speaks to his three friends and curses the day he was born. The four of them have a lengthy conversation as to why Job is being punished. Elihu enters the conversation and becomes somewhat angry with Job’s lack of faith in God. God speaks to Job in question form. Job repents. God speaks the three friends and advises them to sacrifice a burnt offering. Job was them made prosperous and was “given twice as much as he had before” by God.
Job is a man very limited by God. As illustrated, he has only a negligible amount of agency to begin with. By the time God and Satan finish with him, he has virtually no control over his own life. The fragment of agency he does cling to is his ability to choose whether or not to curse God. No one, except himself, could prevent Job from cursing God. Yet, he refuses to curse God, even though He is responsible for his suffering.
Throughout the bible there have been countless individuals and masses that have suffered by the hands of God. One that immediately comes to mind is Job. Job had lied in misery for several painful months. He carried the grief and loss of sons, daughters, friends, relationships, and even his own wife. The book of Job deals with the issue of suffering and God’s position in the matter. Being a rich farmer, as Job was, would allow us to assume that he was a hard working man that was provided for and was in need of nothing. Job’s story is a testament to faith in God when things are no longer in one’s own favor. The argument of this paper is that the exact testament of faith Job goes through is a violent one, that may produce a sense of underlying
Each character in The Book of Job was given a specific role. The main hero is Job with his rich but complex nature. As one can deduce from the name of the book, he plays the most important part. His wife, even though appearing rarely, also has an essential role of showing the readers the opposite of her husband. The authors structured her in a way that readers can compare two spouses’ personalities and ponder which one had a better reaction on the book events. After all the tragedies, happened to the family, Job’s wife chose to abuse God and commit suicide. Her behavior proves readers that her faith in God largely depended on the gifts, He was providing. She showed us an example of a person, who Satan was speaking about on the heaven council. Job with his behavior, which is the opposite to his wife, only verifies his faith in God. He refuses to listen to his wife and insists that he have done nothing to deserve the sufferings.
“Work is basic to all we do. God’s first direction to Adam in the Garden of Eden as recorded in scriptures was to dress the garden and take care of it. After the fall of Adam, God cursed the earth for Adams sake saying, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground.” (Gen. 3:19.) Today, many individuals have forgotten the value of work. Some falsely accept that the highest goal in life is to achieve a condition in which one no longer needs to work.” The Law of Harvest states our unprecedented capacity to” feed the need” as one prominent advertisement encourages to instantly gratifying, through this Inverse Law of the Harvest, is perhaps Satan’s most insidiously vaporous
Although God appears to be insulted by Job’s rage, he recognizes the love, loyalty, and appreciation Job has for Him. In return, after all the troubles, God gives Job a long life filled with joy, happiness, and peace.
The Book of Job is a profound story about a man who was "perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil" (Job 1:1). Job was a man who had a loving family, prospered and was very wealthy. For whatever reason, Satan challenged God regarding Job. Satan told God that if everything were taken away from Job, he would surely curse God. It was a “bet” of sorts. So God gave Satan the power to destroy everything Job had with the exception of Job’s life. Satan took away Job’s possessions,
In stark contrast to God’s presence in Genesis, the character of God in Job strays from the ideal perfection of the divine. The concept of the ideal manifested in Genesis is embodied in God’s moral, reasonable, and rational behavior. In Job, on the other hand, rather than being reasonable, methodical, and creating life, God displays more human characteristics and plays the role of both creator and destroyer. The book of Job begins with God’s boastful bargain with Satan, which subsequently leads God to allow the total destruction of Job’s family and livelihood. Job is even attacked physically with “loathsome sores… from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head” (Job 2:7). In an uncharacteristically immoral decision, God gives Satan the power do
Why does God allow Satan to cause such tragedy in Job’s life, a man whom God has already acknowledged as “my servant Job, that there is none like on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?”(1.8) From the beginning, it is known that Job is in no way deserving of his injustices, so a reason must be given. God gives Job an opportunity to prove that under any circumstances Job will still have faith. This simply a test for Job. The whole Book is a “double” journey for Job -- he shows God his faith and realizes the faith God has that Job will not stray from his path. Job knows deep down that God has not forsaken him.
The prologue of the book, set in prose style, is made up of chapters one and two with the introduction of Job and his family and how successful he is and that he is blessed by God wonderfully. It goes into Job's first test which Satan presents himself before the lord. God said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil" (Job 1:8). This is when Satan puts up the challenge for God saying, "Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not put a hedge around him and his
The Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible is characterized by the misery of a faithful servant of God, and how it relates to this character's ability to praise God. Job is an unwaveringly loyal and righteous subject of God, blessed with immense wealth and a beautiful family. One day God boasts to Satan of the innate goodness of Job, to which Satan questions “does Job fear God for nothing? … you have blessed the work of his hands … but stretch out your hand, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face” (The Bible, Book of Job, 1:6-12). If Job has faced no trials and tribulations, and only experienced the bounty that
Job argues with each man, never wavering in his insistence that he is guiltless. This great debate continues until Job becomes tired of his friends' ill advice and expresses his desire to argue his case with God himself. His friends fall silent, knowing that they cannot sway Job from his self-righteousness. God then appears to Job as a powerful whirlwind and questions Job, unmercifully, as to whether he could perform the works of God. It is through this barrage that Job comes to accept, without question, his lot, and the awesome power of God.