As the story goes, the sons of god, angels, presented themselves before god. For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is. Now there was a day when the sons of god came to present themselves before the lord, and satan also came among them. God allows satan to torment job to test this bold claim, but he forbids satan to take jobs life in the process. The prologue introduces us to the characters and summarizes the theme of the book. Satan challenges god that, if given permission to punish the man, job will turn and curse god. God boasts to satan about job s goodness, but satan argues that job is only good because god has blessed him abundantly.
Jobs fear of god has endeared god to job in a very deep way. The word satan is the english transliteration of a hebrew word for adversary in the bible. A literary masterpiece of the english language, the original king james bible is. Learn how to properly read the introduction in the book of job. Satan tells god that job is only virtuous because he is well off. I said the book of job isnt about god foiling satans plan. The books theme is the eternal problem of unmerited suffering, and it is named after its central.
The earliest clear reference to this divine council is in the book of job. And the lord said unto satan, hast thou considered my servant job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth god, and escheweth evil. Satan was not in heaven before the throne of god as can be seen later in the book of job, but god engaging satan on earth. T he mainstream jewish view of satan emanates from the book of job. If job was blameless, why did god allow satan to afflict. Like adam they also came before god on a regular basis, just as we do, and on one of those occasions satan was found amongst them, probably there to cause trouble, and god chose to speak to satan regarding job. The first test satan did was to take away all of jobs animals, killing the servants that were with the animals, and killing all of jobs sons and daughters while they were eating together. Satans first attack 6 one day the sons of god came to present themselves before the lord, and satan also came with them. The book of job god did not give satan power biblebro. The book of job in the hebrew bible was crafted to address human suffering and why bad things happen to good people. Perhaps more accurately we should say with martin luther, lucifer is gods. Job 1 king james version kjv 1 there was a man in the land of uz, whose name was job.
God tells a character called satan literally, the accuser that job is a blameless and upright man, but the satan points out that god has already blessed job abundantly. The strange conversation between god and the satan figure in job 12. But satan the accuser comes before the lord, and god allows him to test job. Satan challenges god by stating that job will denounce god if afflicted. The book of job, book of hebrew scripture that is often counted among the masterpieces of world literature. With the definite article, the hebrew word denotes the adversary par excellence, mainly in the book of job, where the adversary comes to the heavenly court with the sons of god. God gives satan permission to take jobs wealth and kill his children and servants, but job nonetheless praises god. Waters ritten by an unknown author, possibly the most ancient literary account in the bible,1 the book of job is a mixture of divine and human wisdom that addresses a major life issue. What does the book of job teach us about the coronavirus. Thomas explores the difficulty of jobs suffering, satans involvement, and gods sovereignty. In gods sovereign purpose, satan has been permitted to exercise a great measure of authority and power through the duration of this age. To answer your first question, i never said that job foiled satans plan. The book of job begins by introducing us to its three most significant characters.
Was it unfair for god to allow job to suffer over what was basically an argument between god and satan. Where does the communication between god and satan take place. The dialogue between god and satan about job was, by no means, a friendly conversation. In the book of job, how was it possible for god and satan. It is plain, from this history, that the lord watched over his servant job with the affection of a wise and loving father.
Not much is known about job based on the masoretic text of the jewish bible. Another great doctrine of the faith, particularly set forth in the book of job, is that of providence. That is, satan in these passages should not be understood as a proper personal name. Why then did the lord permit satan to afflict his righteous servant. King james bible now there was a day when the sons of god came to present themselves before the lord, and satan came also among them. How could satan access heaven in the books of job and the. Some theologians claim god gives no answers within this book.
This was to show satan how job loved worshiped god. For the rest of the lesson, the role of satan in the book of job is covered. Job, a pious and blameless man, is perfectly happy and contented. It is also, a book of almost endless endurance in the face of great stress. Even though satan did these things to job, job did not curse. But, says satan, if you take his good fortune away from him, he will turn against god. Book of job simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The bible pulls back the veil to glimpse heavenly affairs. This is an obvious reference to the angels, and we know that satan is an angel even though a fallen one. He says that the only reason job fears god is to get rich. 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.
The adversary satan insinuates himself among the angels of gods court and argues that jobs virtue is not genuine. We will also see that in some of our darkest hours, the battle must be our own. A surface reading of the book of job usually evokes a reaction such as why is god making a bet with the devil. In the king james version, this verse affirms jobs faith in a physical resurrection. But in kings, the spirit is an extension of gods own personality and perversely invokes qualities which could not with propriety be attributed directly to god. Although english bibles continue to capitalize the word satan in passages like job 1 and 2, those passage do not have a specific individual in mind.
There is an evil spirit, the enemy of god, and of all righteousness, who is continually seeking to distress, to lead astray, and, if possible, to destroy those who love god. For job said, it may be that my sons have sinned and cursed god in. From this setting god rules the heavens and the earth. However, the book of job shows that god always has a good purpose behind it and that he uses suffering and pain to bless and build up his servants. Right after introducing the hero of the drama, the author of the book of job takes the. Satan continually goes into gods presence in heaven even today. It is found in the third section of the biblical canon known as the ketuvim writings. Rowley, reflects, the book of job is the greatest work of. Analysis this is a key passage for setting the stage for all that follows.
The satan argues that job is just returning the favor, and asserts that job would turn on god if his blessings were taken away. 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. Satan was there and a conversation ensued about jobs goodness. It would be hard to believe god dedicated so much of the. The scene at the beginning of job is one of god holding court, in the way that human kings do.
Satan goes into gods presence in heaven overcoming. The battle between god and satan in the book of job adventist. Since job has been gifted with such abundance and a wonderful life, it is no wonder that he serves god. 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. Now there was a day when the sons of god came to present themselves before the lord, and satan came also among them. In this book, we can see the evidence of satan working to destroy man. Job chapter 1 vers 6 12 talks about god and satan having a conversation. In this weeks sermon, the historical dating and literary criticism is commented on in the beginning. Job fears god because it will mean health wealth and prosperity, thats all. In the same way here, god wasnt trying to teach daniel a lesson by a delay in communication there was a spiritual conflict of two groups opposing each other that delayed things. Rather, it begins with a typical day in the divine oval office, and the topic of.
Above you posted only a part of a statement i made and omitted the part where i said that after chapter two, the book is about job attempting to reconcile the events that happened. 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. In the book of job, satan is sent by god to torment job. Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me. In the absence of answers, job has been held up as a model of quiet faithfulness.
It reveals that satan as a rival god appeared before the true god jehovah in heaven, challenging jehovah in the assembly of all the angels before god. The hebrew book of job is part of ketuvim writings of the jewish bible. Rather, it begins with a typical day in the divine oval office, and the topic of god s just operation of the cosmos is put on the table. That is why we must see satan as martin luther saw himthe devil is gods devil. Then satan answered the lord, and said, from going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. Job 1 kjv there was a man in the land of uz, bible gateway. According to this scripture, satan not only goes into gods presence in heaven once, twice or three times. God boasts to satan about jobs goodness, but satan argues that job is only good because god has blessed him abundantly. Satan believes that the only reason anyone, including job, worships god and follows gods commands is for the rewards.
Satan is labeled an accuser and depicted as an opposing force to god. The book of job is one of the longest books in the bible, at 42 chapters. In verse 9, he insinuates that job is not such a great specimen of reverence for god. He was the greatest man among all the people of the east. Satan is given the authority by god to cause calamity to job the lord said to satan, very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger. His task is to roam the earth like a contemporaneous persian official seeking out acts or persons to be. God allows satan to torment job to test this bold claim, but he forbids satan to take job s life in the process. Was it the devil who approached god in the book of job and toldchallenged god heit can win over jobs soul. 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. It was orchestrated by god to show billions of people, who would read and hear about this account throughout the ages, that satan can do nothing without gods authorization and consent. From roaming through the earth, he replied, and from walking back and forth in it. The book of job is a book in the ketuvim writings section of the hebrew bible tanakh, and. The book of job clearly brings out the limitations of satans power. Was it unfair for god to allow job to suffer over what was.