Even so, the Lord never told him about why he was suffering. In other words, pain in this situation led to the greater good. Even the well-reasoned explanation of his suffering would have been wholly insufficient to Job amid his agony as the concrete problem of evil demands more than an abstract, philosophical answer. The Book of Job serves more as a critique of theodicy than a source of theodicy.
If we use this lens to examine the speeches of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, it becomes evident why the Lord accuses them of speaking falsely. Furthermore, they hide behind their arguments as a means of avoiding the actual responsibility of a friend: Comforting the one who suffers.
The tendency here is to reduce evil and suffering to a purely rational problem, especially a problem to which one claims to possess the solution. The main problem with that view is the book of Job criticizes this position precisely.
Eliphaz replies that Job, who has comforted other people, now reveals that he never actually knew their pain. Even worse, Zophar suggests that whatever wrongdoing Job has done he likely deserves more suffering than what he has experienced. He questions why God judges people by their deeds if God can just as easily change or forgive their behavior. Furthermore, humans cannot possibly convince God with their words. God cannot be fooled, and Job confesses that he does not even know himself well enough to adequately defend his case to God.
Job desires for someone who can mediate between himself and God, or be sent to Sheol, the dark space of the dead. The suffering shows too much for Job, and he turns bitter, anxious, and scared. He deplores the injustice that God lets evil people thrive while he and many other honest people suffer.
Job wants to face God and protest, but cannot physically find God. He assumes that wisdom is concealed from humans, but he decides to persevere in seeking wisdom by fearing God and evading evil. God eventually intervenes, commanding Job to be brave and explains various detailed features of his creation.
This response pleases God, but he is upset with Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar for emitting lousy advice. Job reconciles on their behalf, and God forgives them. In the end, Job never completely gave up hope or faith in God as an inspiration to everyone enduring suffering of their own. Read scripture text about the Bible story of Job and find related articles, podcasts, and sermons below! Plus Toggle navigation. Password Assistance. Email address. Bible Story of Job. He had 10 children, many servants, and his livestock numbered in the thousands.
We can surmise that every need Job had was met and every desire was fulfilled. Job served as the family priest. He feared God so much that he made sure his children were purified following the feasts in case, in their revelry, they sinned against God.
You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face. But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face. Innocent suffering was common in other ancient Near Eastern stories. In The Babylonian Theodicy c. There were protective deities to whom one could turn when the main deities could no longer be relied upon.
For Job, the situation is more complicated: If there is only one God, what do you do if he has become your enemy? It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Job laments the day of his birth; he would like to die, but even that is denied to him. His three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, accuse Job of committing sin and tell him that his suffering was deserved as a result. In the next 7 verses Job loses it all — his children, his servants, his animals, his crops.
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Ben Davis May 25, What is the moral of the story of Job in the Bible?
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