Job - Introduction

INTRODUCTION

The book of Job deals with the general problem of human suffering, especially the suffering of those who are upright and godly. The central figure in the book is a RIGHTEOUS man named Job, a non-Israelite, who lived somewhere east of Canaan during the second millennium B.C. (2000–1000 B.C.). The author of Job, however, was an ISRAELITE who lived between the time of Solomon and the time of the Exile. He undoubtedly based his book on existing oral or written sources that had been passed down from earlier generations. The name of the author is not known.

The book of Job is a profound theological study of one of the most perplexing questions facing mankind: Why do we suffer? We know that Go dis all-powerful and all-good; why, then, does such a God allow the “innocent” to suffer?

The standard explanation is that, from the time of Adam and Eve,¹ no human being has ever been completely innocent or sinless (Psalm14:3; Romans3:1012); therefore, it is said, suffering must always be the result of SIN. If a person sins, he will be punished; if he doesn't sin, he will be blessed. And indeed, to a considerable extent that explanation holds true, and the rest of the Bible backs it up.

However,that simple and logical explanation does not cover all circumstances; there is some suffering we cannot explain. And the book of Job deals with that unexplainable suffering.

The writer illustrates this by citing the case of Job. Job was not sinless, but he was indeed a righteous man in God's eyes;like DAVID, he was a man after [God's] own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). The key to understanding the book of Job comes in the first two chapters—the prologue—where we,the readers,learn why Job has to suffer. The reason has to do with God's higher purposes: He wants to test Job in order to prove to SATAN² that Job is a truly righteous man. In order to do that, God must withdraw His blessing from Job—and without Job's knowing why. We the readers know why, but Job does not. If Job knew, then it would no longer have been a test.

Job's test was this: he had to endure his unexplained suffering without cursing God. And indeed, he started out well (Job 1:20–22). He resigned himself to God's will; his faith in God's goodness and justice remained strong. In this, Job has set an example for all of us to follow. It's not so important to know why we suffer; what's important is how we suffer. Do we persevere? (James 5:11). Do we continue to praise God in our suffering? Are we able to give thanks in all circumstances? (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

So what, then, happens to Job after the second chapter, after his good beginning? Four “friends“ come to counsel him. They believe in the traditional explanation of suffering: Job suffers because he has sinned. These four friends wear Job down. He protests his innocence, but they tell him that his very denial of sin is proof of his pride and sinfulness.

So Job takes his case to God. During the course of the book, Job “wrestles” with God. His distress mounts. He feels God is no longer his friend, that God is treating him unjustly. He comes close to cursing God—though he never does it. In short, we see a human being—perplexed, angry, forsaken—speaking to God with total honesty and openness. And God does not condemn him for doing so. In the end, God vindicates Job, and restores to him all that he has lost and more. Job has “passed the test”—even though he never learns the cause of his suffering!

The book of Job contains a prologue and an epilogue, both written in prose. These reveal God's perspective on Job's suffering: the HOLY SPIRIT revealed to the writer what was going on in heaven between God and Satan, and the writer reveals it to us. Then the entire central section of the book—thirty-nine chapters of poetry³—is written from the human perspective, a perspective necessarily limited in knowledge and understanding. In total, the book of Job gives us a deep look into human suffering. The writer doesn't attempt to answer all our questions; but he does assure us that God knows all the answers—and that should be good enough for us.

One of the book's most important teachings is that we cannot make fixed judgments about why a particular individual suffers. In most cases suffering is indeed caused by sin, at least in part. But in particular cases we cannot know the cause, and therefore we must not judge (Matthew 7:1–2).

Sometimes God causes⁴ us to suffer temporarily for higher purposes of His own, as in Job's case (see John 9:1–3). At other times, God causes us to suffer in order to test us, discipline us, refine us (see 2 Corinthians 12:7; Hebrews 12:7–11; 1 Peter 1:6–7). In every case He is working for our eternal good (Romans 8:18,28; 2 Corinthians 4:16–18). This is the central message of the book of Job.