So, god allowed satan to take away jobs wealth and his children. He addresses the difficult question of the relationship between gods sovereignty and the existence of evil, sin, and suffering. This to me is the overriding teaching of the book of job. There we are given a window into the normally invisible reasons for our trials and suffering. Satan can touch flesh and bone but your spirit belongs to god. They itched and oozed so badly that he took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself, then went and sat on a trash heap, among the ashes. Im the only one to get out alive and tell you what happened. And god reins him in or gives him slack according to gods own sovereign purposes. The book of job contains the most complex and lengthy treatment of the subject in the bible. Before we discuss some of the devices of satan, we first need to know who he is. Theres no one quite like himhonest and true to his word, totally devoted to god and hating evil. The prose prologue chapters one and two and the epilogue 42. The characters in the book of job consist of job, his wife, his three friends bildad, eliphaz, and zophar, a man named elihu, god, and angels one of whom is named satan.
Aug 02, 2010 in the book of job, satan is sent by god to torment job. If he is right, if the godliness of the righteous in whom god delights can be shown to be evil, then a chasm of alienation stands between god and human. Job is an unlikely candidate because the books message rests on jobs ignorance of the events that occurred in heaven as they were related to his ordeal. From the prologue of the book of job, it may seem that satan was behind all the troubles of job. The story recounted in chapters 1 and 2 makes us privy to actual conversations between god and satan. 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. The bible story of job, from the book of job, is a powerful tale of testing the devotion and fortitude of the human will. In job, this prologue serves as a literary device to give the reader a perspective that the characters in the story lack. The book of job god did not give satan power biblebro. In this epic wager between god and the devil, discover how job reacts to the shocking curses inflicted upon him and what we can learn from his incredible example of remaining faithful through suffering. By asserting that job the most blameless and godfearing man then on earth served jehovah god for selfish reasons only, satan implied that the same was true of all intelligent creatures. 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 accused job of honoring god only because god had blessed him. Satan s accusation of job is that this is the deep truth concerning his apparently godly and upright conduct that this is, in fact, the deep truth about the godliness of all righteous people. In job, we see a man who god allows to be directly attacked by satan. Some bible scholars debate whether he was an actual person or legend, but job is mentioned as a historical figure by the prophet ezekial ezekial 14.
This summary of the book of job provides information about the title, authors. The date of the authorship of the book of job would be determined by the author of the book of job. As is customary with epic poems, it begins with a prologue that sets up the story line chs 12. How could satan access heaven in the books of job and the. And there is a reality called satan who challenges god that his man is not as good as he thinks he is. The contemporary view of satan is that he is a powerful being who hates mankind and will do whatever he can to destroy us. It is a dramatic poem and is probably the oldest book of the bible, and was certainly written before the giving of the law. At this early stage of revelation many scholars believe that job is the oldest book in the bible this figure had not yet acquired satan as a personal name. One talmudic tradition suggests moses as author since the land of uz 1. Not much is known about job based on the masoretic text of the jewish bible. We are first introduced to job as a blameless and upright man job 1. But, says satan, if you take his good fortune away from him, he will turn against god. Satan doesnt even come close to his monstrosity thoughbthe bible is a lie and hoax. He was honest inside and out, a man of his word, who was totally devoted to god and hated evil with a passion.
In this weeks sermon, the historical dating and literary criticism is commented on in the beginning. In hebrew, satan actually means the accuser or the prosecutor, and he is referred to as the satan, not just satan. The bible tells us that one day satan presented himself before god and god asked satan what he thought of job. Job 1 the message msg 1 job was a man who lived in uz. William henry green, in his great book, the argument of the book of job unfolded, says of satan. Satan cannot make a move without the permission of god almighty. 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. Job is a wealthy man living in a land called uz with his large family and extensive flocks. Satan said he could have job eating out of his hand turn him away from god. It is interesting to note that satan cannot go ahead without gods permission. He was the greatest man among all the people of the east. 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. However, a deeper look reveals a more redemptive dynamic in this trial. Though he is not yet seen as the altogether sinister cosmic force we find him to be in later biblical revelation, he is nevertheless depicted as somewhat outside of, and in.
Theres no one quite like himhonest and true to his word, totally. God himself tells satan, you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason 2. In gods word, we discover that satan is gods enemy and is. Satan can touch flesh and bone but your spirit belongs to god and only you can defile it and cause god to reject it. In the book of job, satan is sent by god to torment job. Apr, 2015 the old testament of the king james bible was translated directly from the masoretic text, which is the authoritative hebrew text of the jewish bible regarded almost universally as the official version of the tanakh, the sacred book of judaism, consisting of the torah law of moses, the prophets the neviim and the writings the chetuvim. The ultimate authority belongs to god, even though evil is allowed to occur. Satan claimed that if job were stripped of everything he had, he would curse god. God boasts to satan about jobs goodness, but satan argues that job is only good because god has. For the rest of the lesson, the role of satan in the book of job is covered. Thomas walks us through the book of job and considers what the bible says about our darkest moments. 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.
Thomas explores the difficulty of job s suffering, satan s involvement, and gods sovereignty. We err when we read the first two chapters and conclude that the only message in the book is that job suffered to disprove satan s accusation that the only reason he served god was for what he could get from god ease and prosperity. If moses was the author, the date would be around 1440 b. Job pronounced jobe, was a rich farmer living in the land of uz, somewhere northeast of palestine. In it, satan is a member of gods divine court who walks the earth looking for sin and reports back to god. This god is clearly very evil as written in the scriptures. Satan believes that the only reason anyone, including job, worships god and follows gods commands is for the rewards.
When used as a proper name, the hebrew word so rendered has the article the adversary job 1. God permitted satan to deprive job first of his wealth and children and then of his health. Years later, in the book of the revelation, the apostle john wrote about a future day when satan will be kicked out. From the start we know there are limits to jobs trial, and we know what those limits are. This is part of the overall issue that satan raised in eden, namely, the rightfulness and righteousness of jehovahs sovereignty. This was to show satan how job loved worshiped god. The book of job is one of the literary masterpieces of all time, and provides a profound discussion on the suffering of a just man. The message of the book of job is that our suffering is not always due to sin. God allows satan to take away jobs possessions, children and health.
The book of job begins by introducing us to its three most significant characters. Job made a habit of this sacrificial atonement, just in case theyd sinned. Michael heiser a walk through the old testament concerning the trinity duration. It creates the impression that if satan had not raised the question about job, job would not have suffered. Satan thus raised the question of mans integrity to jehovah. Key personalities of this book include job, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, zophar the naamathite, and elihu the buzite.
The meaning of the book of job is found in gods and satans conversation in heaven. They decide, therefore, that they cant find jesus in the book of job. Jan 02, 2020 however, a deeper look reveals a more redemptive dynamic in this trial. The remainder of the book is the dialogue of job and his friends attempting to determine why this is. The book of job explores the nature of true piety and the problem of innocent suffering. The book of job by derek thomas ligonier ministries. Addressing the problem of theodicy the vindication of the justice of god in the light of humanitys suffering it is a. Because we dont know the author, we cant know the date of writing. Was it unfair for god to allow job to suffer over what was. What does this tell us about the place of evil in the world. Job 1 kjv there was a man in the land of uz, bible gateway. Its more of a title than anything elselike your honor or the monsieur. Although the hebrew bible is not monotheistic according to the common definition of the term, comparative study shows that the essence of monotheism is gods uniqueness rather than gods oneness.
However, heres the definition of satan as given in eastons bible dictionary. Job is an unlikely candidate because the books message rests on jobs. The book of job in the hebrew bible was crafted to address human suffering and why bad things happen to good people. Later, god allowed satan to afflict job physically. The book of job shows that gods creatures can contribute to the vindication of jehovahs sovereignty by maintaining their integrity to him. Over time, our eyes are opened to find this lovely creature is the personification of hatred, evil, and death. What is the message of the book of job from the bible. It has been widely praised for its literary qualities, with alfred lord tennyson calling it the greatest poem of ancient and modern times. Unaware of satans role in all of this, job could not understand why god allowed him to experience these trials. When we begin reading the book of job we learn that, while god allowed satan to afflict job, he set limits beyond which the devil could not pass.
Job chapters 1 and 2, part of the bibles oldest book, say that satan has access to heaven. The big picture of job is that there was a man who was, in one sense, blameless in gods sight. What is the message of the book of job from the bible answers. Job was blameless, meaning no sin was found in him. Even though job is described as, upright and blameless, satan accuses job of serving god only because job is prosperous. We err when we read the first two chapters and conclude that the only message in the book is that job suffered to disprove satans accusation that the only reason he served god was for what he could get from god ease and prosperity. The old testament of the king james bible was translated directly from the masoretic text, which is the authoritative hebrew text of the jewish bible regarded almost universally as the official version of the tanakh, the sacred book of judaism, consisting of the torah law of moses, the prophets the neviim and the writings the chetuvim. Satan targets job because of his righteousness and favour with god and wishes to turn job against god. No one knows for sure who wrote the book of job, although ultimately, all scripture is breathed out by god and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in. In job we also listen in on a discussion in the heavenly courtroom between god and satan 1. In job, an exceptionally ancient book, satan is part of the heavenly court. 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. The name satan comes from a hebrew word signifying an adversary, an enemy, and an accuser.
It is possible that job is the oldest of any book of the bible written approximately 21001800 b. The book of job is a book in the ketuvim section of the hebrew bible, and the first poetic book in the old testament of the christian bible. Since job has been gifted with such abundance and a wonderful life, it is no wonder that he serves god. God allows satan to torment job to test this bold claim, but he. It begins with an introduction to jobs characterhe is described as. Family and fortune 67 one day when the angels came to report to god, satan, who was the designated accuser, came along with them. He was also very wealthyseven thousand head of sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred teams of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and a huge staff of servantsthe most influential man in all the east.
Satan, the thief, has come to kill, steal, and destroy john 10. In the end, satan loses the bet that job will deny gods goodness and fidelity. God praises job before satan, and satan is unimpressed, claiming that he is only righteous because his life is so comfortable. One day, satan the adversary appears before god in heaven. If solomon was the author, the date would be around 950 b. They should have gone a bit further and looked at his cross. You must understand who god is and who satan is, what they know, and what their motivation is. He is blameless and upright, always careful to avoid doing evil 1. 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 manwill abandon his piety and curse god if all his wealth and wellbeing are taken away. God used the accusation as an opportunity to prove satan wrong, and all the hurtful. Thomas explores the difficulty of jobs suffering, satans involvement, and gods sovereignty. Satan only pops up in chapters 1 and 2when things get poetic, hes out of there for good.
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