The young man who comes to talk to job in order to provide a different point of view than jobs friends was. Was it unfair for god to allow job to suffer over what was basically an argument between god and satan. The lord challenges satan to test the faith of job. And prior to satans creation by the unknown author of job which is simply a moral tale, not actual history, god was often described as being a satan. Reiteration the two verses act as partners, reinforcing each other. Oct 19, 2015 in this weeks sermon, the historical dating and literary criticism is commented on in the beginning. Since god validates elihus points 3841, the adversarial tone in gods answer to job makes even more sense. Finally, god appears to job to heal him and take him to heaven in a divine chariot. Then satan answered and said satan and his imps will ever have somewhat to say against the clear truth. Gustavo gutierrez, a leading liberation theologian, in on job. Job 4 gnt the first dialogue job, will you be bible gateway. T he mainstream jewish view of satan emanates from the book of job. Since we know that nothing unclean enters heaven rev. So as far as the book of job is concerned, there was indeed a designated angel whos job it was to accuse or oppose.
Aug 23, 2011 job would, if he knew the plot hatched in heaven against him, consider satan the worst sort of enemy. So jehovah god called satan s attention to a man down there on earth, job in the land of uz, as being different from all others, a man blameless and upright, fearing god and turning aside from bad. How could satan reenter heaven to talk to god about job. Satan does not deny any part of jobs character, nor directly charge him with anyone sin. Job chapters 1 and 2, part of the bibles oldest book, say that satan has access to heaven. He operates in his own children, and he operates on the children of god. What is the difference between hasatan, luficer and the. Before he set the world into motion, he knew the events of the last days of the earth. Job would, if he knew the plot hatched in heaven against him, consider satan the worst sort of enemy.
The book of job study guide book of job 1 what deal does god strike with satan why that satan can do anything he wants to job except kill him and this. The book that gives us the most information about the devil in the old testament, however, is the book of job. We learn that satan has access to the throneroom of god. The argument he has with his friends over his righteousness is paralleled by a similar argument taking place in a heavenly court. But that ignores the obvious hebrew wording for the sake of christian tradition again, the phrasing is actually the satan. Some bible commentators have professed great difficulty in understanding and explaining how satan could have access to heaven in job chapters 1 and 2, as well as in revelation chapter 12. God allowed satan to tempt job to the limits of his endurance, but the passage becomes more interesting and compelling when cast as a debate between god and satan over the fate of gods faithful servant, job. Aug 02, 2010 t he mainstream jewish view of satan emanates from the book of job. The book of job begins with a prologue job 12, which describes a wager between satan and god, in which satan the adversary bets god that joba particularly pious manwill abandon his piety and curse god if all his wealth and wellbeing are taken away. Michael heiser a walk through the old testament concerning the trinity duration. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The book of job is a canonical work in both christian and jewish liturgy. A surface reading of the book of job usually evokes a reaction such as why is god making a bet with the devil. A reddit user summarised the book of job from the bible.
Interpretations of this profoundly odd book are as many as the centuries of commentary it has undergone, but it is arguably one of the most beautifullywritten books of the bible even the most secular of literary scholars still. Above all, though, what happened to job lets us know that god, our creator and sustainer, is in charge of everything and has a. That means that satan standing in the presence of god may only be introduced as a figure to move the story along to show that the lord, in completing jobs perfection had to provide him with opposition. How could satan access heaven in the books of job and the. The book of job god did not give satan power biblebro. Years later, in the book of the revelation, the apostle john wrote about a future day when satan will be kicked out. Job is a blameless upright man who fears god and turns away from evil. How could satan reenter heaven to talk to god about job in. Now, lets look, first of all, at category number one and see how satan works in his own children. What does this tell us about the place of evil in the world. The book of job in the hebrew bible was crafted to address human suffering and why bad things happen to good people. Was the book of job a mindgame satan played on god. What happened to satan in the book of job after jobs.
Satan, the thief, has come to kill, steal, and destroy john 10. Job 14 flesh out a basic doctrinal understanding of satan. The book of ecclesiastes can be summarized as a collection of the authors ideas concerning. The book of job study guide book of job 1 what deal does. Interpretations of this profoundly odd book are as many as the centuries of commentary it has undergone, but it is arguably one of the most beautifullywritten books of the bible. Who the lordgod that was being referred to, the real identity of the satan being spoken of, and a lot. When used as a proper name, the hebrew word so rendered has the article the adversary job 1. Job 2 hcsb satans second test of job one day bible.
From roaming through the earth, satan answered him, and walking around on it. However, heres the definition of satan as given in eastons bible dictionary. In essence, job is an essay on the problem of evil. The book of job tells how one man suddenly awakened to the anarchy rampant in the world, yet his attachment to god outlived the ruin of his tidy system.
People learn more about themselves when they go through difficult times. The meaning of the book of job is found in gods and satan s conversation in heaven. Now, in the operation of satan, we simply need to understand that he operates in two categories. The first dialogue job, will you be annoyed if i speak. Job 4 gnt the first dialogue job, will you be bible. Satan presented himself before god now there was a day when the sons of god came to present themselves.
The book of job how divine council theology provides a. The book of job is where satan, the literary device, makes his first appearance. When job was willing to humbly forgive his three friends and pray for them, god restored and blessed job for his obedience. 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 are true of the satan in the book of job except. The book of job is a drama some scholars even dismiss job as a fictional character where he suffers physically from the power of satan and emotionally from callous friends. Above all, though, what happened to job lets us know that god, our creator and sustainer, is in charge of everything and has a right to do whatever he wishes to do. And those are the two spheres in which satan functions. In the book of job, how was it possible for god and satan.
How could satan reenter heaven to talk to god about job in job 1. The entire story appears to make it look as though god allows satan to torment job with every manner of hardship just to prove to satan that he was wrong in saying that the only reason job worships god is because god blessed him with a happy life. The purpose of the book of job is not to explain why bad things happen to good people, but rather merely to prove that they do. In it, satan is a member of gods divine court who walks the earth looking for sin and reports back to god. The meaning of the book of job is found in gods and satans conversation in heaven. Then satan answered the lord, and said, doth job fear god for nought. First is that youngs point is that the book of job is ehb not lhb.
Job 2 hcsb satans second test of job one day bible gateway. In hebrew, satan actually means the accuser or the prosecutor, and he is referred to as the satan, not just satan. The book is often understood as an exploration of the question of theodicy that is, how god can be declared just in the light of innocent suffering. Here in the book of job the answer to that question is no. Gustavo sees job s authors as emphasizing job s faith which is disinterested, for nothing. What is the difference between hasatan, luficer and the serpent. In the book of job, the satan probably means something like. Their teaching consisted of rules of dos and donts. In the story, job, a man of faith, is tested by god through various horrible afflictions. Furthermore, there are many creative attributes about god in the book of job especially in chapters 38 and 39 for us to learn about.
Readers both ancient and modern cannot help being moved to ask the eternal question, is god fair. This question implies a misunderstanding of the attributes of the god of the bible. We find out that god uses satan to accomplish things in our lives that we could not otherwise experience on our own. People and livestock who werent even involved died job. You must understand who god is and who satan is, what they know, and what their motivation is. View homework help the book of job from phil 2050 at utah valley university. The book of job consists of a prose prologue and epilogue narrative framing poetic dialogues and monologues. Jesus emphasized loving god and ones neighbor from the heart. However, satan argues that it is easy to do good when you have been given nothing but blessings i. In the book of ecclesiastes, the author is given the name. Job gives us insights into his character, his purposes, his tactics, and his goals. Addressing the problem of theodicy the vindication of the justice of god in the light of humanitys suffering it is a rich theological work setting out a variety of perspectives.
It 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. 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. Book of job 1 the book of job shows an encounter between. The book of job is quite possibly the strangest book in the hebrew bible, and is notoriously difficult to date. The contemporary view of satan is that he is a powerful being who hates mankind and will do whatever he can to destroy us. The book of job is an important book for all of us to study and appreciate. The book of job shows an encounter between the lord and satan. Jan 18, 2014 but although the job of the story was from the land of uz, and its main character was a kind of jordanian abraham, we cannot help but think of him as the hebrew everyman, grappling with the question of gods fairness. Godtalk and the suffering of the innocent sheds light upon some of the various meanings of the book of job.
In the book of job, many english translations say that satan was in heaven. Job 2 holman christian standard bible hcsb satans second test of job. The doctrine of satan in job chronological bible teaching. No red skin, no horns, no pointy teeth and tail, and no devilish grin. Job is a book, probably the first one written and oldest in the o. May 18, 20 things in job, like in the whole of the book are pictures of things, just as jesus, who was the lamb of god that takes away the sin of the world, or that his face was marred more than any many, not because it was beaten to a pulp, but because it was the face of god which is personified by jesus soul which is the life that he gave. The book of job has long puzzled many bible readers. Hshtn or hashatan in hebrew simply means the adversary. Adversary, in this context, is a courtroom metaphor and refers to the advocate on the other side of the argument i. The book of job is perhaps the bibles most bizarre masterpiece. What happened to satan in the book of job after jobs agony. Discussion in biblical debates started by neoseeker. You have taught many people and given strength to feeble hands.
They believed the law was broken when a wrong act was committed, but jesus said god was concerned with the motives of the heart. Oxford university press usa publishes scholarly works in all academic disciplines, bibles, music, childrens books, business books, dictionaries, reference books, journals, text books and more. Satan is seen as the adversary or prosecutor, an agent of gd, very much part of the divine council, that searches out the. The story of job gods bet with the devil religious forums. 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. Why are we so preoccupied with the book of job in a book about satan. Gustavo says that this disinterested religion alone is true religion. Question about the book of job how was satan in heaven.
Was it unfair for god to allow job to suffer over what was. This book shows the confusion surrounding the role of satan in the first centuries. It is an unusual book and most difficult, to say the least. Rather, job is a man who is clothed in the righteousness of christ and has confidence that he has a righteousness that is not his own, and yet by gods sovereign hand is thrusted into suffering. As evident in the book of job, satan works for god and serves his purpose of providing us an adversary for the purpose of perfecting us, and as an executioner of gods judgement against sin. Oct 22, 2010 the book of job is an important book for all of us to study and appreciate. Remember, god doesnt inflict anything nasty on job with his own divine power. Nevertheless we do glean two things from the passages where satan is mentioned. Nowhere in the book of job is satan explicitly stated to be a fallen angel. When someone stumbled, weak and tired, your words encouraged him to stand.
In the book of job, as best as i can see, god ruined jobs life over a bet job 1. A reddit user summarised the book of job from the bible and. For the rest of the lesson, the role of satan in the book of job is covered. Analysis this is a key passage for setting the stage for all that follows. May 30, 2007 the book of job is where satan, the literary device, makes his first appearance.
The book of job is not about a man who sinned against god, and god punished him. Where did the biblical story of creation come from. 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. Ways that the lord used satans evil works to bring about good in jobs situation include. Dec 25, 2011 you asked for some insights and things to consider. The nkjv says, the workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created, although the exact meaning of this difficult hebrew text is uncertain. Even the snake in the genesis account is an anthropomorphism of eves intellect as in ancient egyptian mythology the snake sym. The only significant mention of him is in the book of job, wherein we see the first example of a most curious, if often overlooked, aspect of satanthat he asks for, and receives permission from god, to test the faith of anyone who claims to have it. Job, a faithful and pious man, is tested beyond human endurance. So jehovah god called satans attention to a man down there on earth, job in the land of uz, as being different from all others, a man blameless and upright, fearing god and turning aside from bad. Gustavo sees jobs authors as emphasizing jobs faith which is disinterested, for nothing.
In other words, it looks as though gods only reason for letting satan afflict job was to win a. In the book of job, satan is sent by god to torment job. 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. Todays post will provide an esoteric interpretation of job. And prior to satan s creation by the unknown author of job which is simply a moral tale, not actual history, god was often described as being a satan. This should be a good study for anyone who may be struggling to progress to the next stage of their spiritual evolution because you have one foot still planted in religion. It shows us the sctructural plan for all existence. Sep 17, 2017 ironically they are not unlike job himself with all their concerns but at the end of the book when god brought job to the comfort and peace of unquestioning love and trust, god solves all jobs problems, even before he removed jobs afflictions. Job is a pious believer who is struck by misfortune so great that it cannot be explained in the usual way as a prompting to repentance, a warning, let alone a punishment the arguments later. This is due to the fact that while the book itself is an inspired message, the philosophical conclusions of the four men involved with job are not inspired andor revealed conclusions.
1297 741 1082 1056 710 620 412 732 1577 356 162 231 292 1358 86 1614 279 108 1453 1108 1098 1246 556 626 573 617 390 948 13 283 1517 160 1292 533 1600 505 703 1211 790 565 13 320 263 858 229