Book of Job

A detailed Summary of Book of Job

Pain and suffering are problems in life that everyone wonders about. Why should a righteous person suffer? Why does God allow his own children to suffer? The questions quickly rise to mind and on the surface seem reasonable, but a closer look at them reveals that they convey a certain meaning. These questions imply that human suffering is inconsistent with the love of God. As a God of love He either doesn't have the power to prevent suffering, or He has the power he just doesn't have the will. He might prefer us to live our own lives without intruding on us. Maybe we are to assume that the prevention of suffering should not be expected from a God of love who is also almighty. What if it is only the mind that causes people to suffer?

The answers may be found in the case of Job. Here is a man who looses everything he has, and is stricken with a tormenting disease, which separates him from man. Yet he says, "What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?"(2:10). Job believed that it was not his place to claim good as a

Right. In other words it was not legitimate for him to decide what God could and could not do.

But how can God be love, have all

In the third chapter Job says, "What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me"(25). Was Job's suffering a result of his deepest fear? It is possible to believe that there are two feelings people act on, fear and love. No one would choose pain and suffering. But when there is no choice, there remains some compassion. Natural disasters and times of crisis have a way of bringing people together. Hurricanes, deaths, fires,

for the things he had. Job believed he was without original sin. Yes, he was righteous as far as men are concerned, but he was not righteous as far as God was concerned. If we look at suffering through a man's eyes, then we will never understand why it is sanctioned. Since Job believed he was without sin he could not figure out his reason for suffering, and this bothered him. Elihu brings to our attention that Job was a sinner like everyone else and is exposed to the curse of sin, which would include sickness and poverty. Elihu knows that there truly are no "good" people in God's sight. So, why doesn't everyone suffer? Do people who sin have the right to get angry when they suffer?

The time may come, however, when one's suffering is so horrible that death seems preferable. What is the point in someone

living if it is only to suffer? Job's friends argue that there is a connection between a man's sin and his suffering. They tell Job that his suffering must mean he has greatly sinned against God. Job knows deep inside him that he is not guilty of what his friends try to put upon him, yet he feels that his suffering is

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Approximate Word count = 1068
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous