Years later, in the book of the revelation, the apostle john wrote about a future day when satan will be kicked out. In essence, job is an essay on the problem of evil. The contemporary view of satan is that he is a powerful being who hates mankind and will do whatever he can to destroy us. Job would, if he knew the plot hatched in heaven against him, consider satan the worst sort of enemy. In it, satan is a member of gods divine court who walks the earth looking for sin and reports back to god. Gustavo gutierrez, a leading liberation theologian, in on job. The book of job is a canonical work in both christian and jewish liturgy. Now, in the operation of satan, we simply need to understand that he operates in two categories. The book of job is a drama some scholars even dismiss job as a fictional character where he suffers physically from the power of satan and emotionally from callous friends. In the book of job, many english translations say that satan was in heaven. So as far as the book of job is concerned, there was indeed a designated angel whos job it was to accuse or oppose. Oxford university press usa publishes scholarly works in all academic disciplines, bibles, music, childrens books, business books, dictionaries, reference books, journals, text books and more. The book of job consists of a prose prologue and epilogue narrative framing poetic dialogues and monologues. This is due to the fact that while the book itself is an inspired message, the philosophical conclusions of the four men involved with job are not inspired andor revealed conclusions.
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. The book of ecclesiastes can be summarized as a collection of the authors ideas concerning. So jehovah god called satans attention to a man down there on earth, job in the land of uz, as being different from all others, a man blameless and upright, fearing god and turning aside from bad. 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 joba particularly pious manwill abandon his piety and curse god if all his wealth and wellbeing are taken away. The first dialogue job, will you be annoyed if i speak. In the book of job, how was it possible for god and satan to. A reddit user summarised the book of job from the bible and. And those are the two spheres in which satan functions. What is the difference between hasatan, luficer and the serpent.
Who the lordgod that was being referred to, the real identity of the satan being spoken of, and a lot. In the book of job, satan is sent by god to torment job. What does this tell us about the place of evil in the world. The nkjv says, the workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created, although the exact meaning of this difficult hebrew text is uncertain.
He operates in his own children, and he operates on the children of god. That means that satan standing in the presence of god may only be introduced as a figure to move the story along to show that the lord, in completing jobs perfection had to provide him with opposition. Todays post will provide an esoteric interpretation of job. Job gives us insights into his character, his purposes, his tactics, and his goals. The book of job study guide book of job 1 what deal does. Job 4 gnt the first dialogue job, will you be bible. The book of job god did not give satan power biblebro.
Satan presented himself before god now there was a day when the sons of god came to present themselves. The only significant mention of him is in the book of job, wherein we see the first example of a most curious, if often overlooked, aspect of satanthat he asks for, and receives permission from god, to test the faith of anyone who claims to have it. Gustavo sees job s authors as emphasizing job s faith which is disinterested, for nothing. In the book of job, as best as i can see, god ruined jobs life over a bet job 1. How could satan access heaven in the books of job and the. And prior to satan s creation by the unknown author of job which is simply a moral tale, not actual history, god was often described as being a satan. As evident in the book of job, satan works for god and serves his purpose of providing us an adversary for the purpose of perfecting us, and as an executioner of gods judgement against sin. People learn more about themselves when they go through difficult times. Remember, god doesnt inflict anything nasty on job with his own divine power. Oct 22, 2010 the book of job is an important book for all of us to study and appreciate.
Oct 19, 2015 in this weeks sermon, the historical dating and literary criticism is commented on in the beginning. How could satan reenter heaven to talk to god about job in. Job is a pious believer who is struck by misfortune so great that it cannot be explained in the usual way as a prompting to repentance, a warning, let alone a punishment the arguments later. The book of job in the hebrew bible was crafted to address human suffering and why bad things happen to good people. The book of job shows an encounter between the lord and satan. Interpretations of this profoundly odd book are as many as the centuries of commentary it has undergone, but it is arguably one of the most beautifullywritten books of the bible. Reiteration the two verses act as partners, reinforcing each other. We learn that satan has access to the throneroom of god. Godtalk and the suffering of the innocent sheds light upon some of the various meanings of the book of job. However, satan argues that it is easy to do good when you have been given nothing but blessings i.
Then satan answered the lord, and said, doth job fear god for nought. Interpretations of this profoundly odd book are as many as the centuries of commentary it has undergone, but it is arguably one of the most beautifullywritten books of the bible even the most secular of literary scholars still. All are true of the satan in the book of job except. Job 4 gnt the first dialogue job, will you be bible gateway. Satan does not deny any part of jobs character, nor directly charge him with anyone sin. But that ignores the obvious hebrew wording for the sake of christian tradition again, the phrasing is actually the satan. May 30, 2007 the book of job is where satan, the literary device, makes his first appearance. Sep 17, 2017 ironically they are not unlike job himself with all their concerns but at the end of the book when god brought job to the comfort and peace of unquestioning love and trust, god solves all jobs problems, even before he removed jobs afflictions. In the story, job, a man of faith, is tested by god through various horrible afflictions.
Why are we so preoccupied with the book of job in a book about satan. The lord challenges satan to test the faith of job. Bringing to light the true events in the story of job, and what was actually happening. Gustavo sees jobs authors as emphasizing jobs faith which is disinterested, for nothing. God allowed satan to tempt job to the limits of his endurance, but the passage becomes more interesting and compelling when cast as a debate between god and satan over the fate of gods faithful servant, job. Job 2 holman christian standard bible hcsb satans second test of job. We find out that god uses satan to accomplish things in our lives that we could not otherwise experience on our own. Aug 02, 2010 t he mainstream jewish view of satan emanates from the book of job.
View homework help the book of job from phil 2050 at utah valley university. Before he set the world into motion, he knew the events of the last days of the earth. Was the book of job a mindgame satan played on god. No red skin, no horns, no pointy teeth and tail, and no devilish grin. What is the difference between hasatan, luficer and the. Having satan do the dirty work is a very greekmythology thing to doyou know, let a demigod do the dirty work, then assert your dominance anyway. Dec 25, 2011 you asked for some insights and things to consider. It is an unusual book and most difficult, to say the least. In the book of job, how was it possible for god and satan. Now, lets look, first of all, at category number one and see how satan works in his own children. Was it unfair for god to allow job to suffer over what was basically an argument between god and satan. Their teaching consisted of rules of dos and donts. And prior to satans creation by the unknown author of job which is simply a moral tale, not actual history, god was often described as being a satan.
The book of job is an important book for all of us to study and appreciate. Aug 23, 2011 job would, if he knew the plot hatched in heaven against him, consider satan the worst sort of enemy. The meaning of the book of job is found in gods and satans conversation in heaven. The story of job gods bet with the devil religious forums. Since god validates elihus points 3841, the adversarial tone in gods answer to job makes even more sense. Job is a book, probably the first one written and oldest in the o. 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. The book of job is quite possibly the strangest book in the hebrew bible, and is notoriously difficult to date. Was it unfair for god to allow job to suffer over what was. Then satan answered and said satan and his imps will ever have somewhat to say against the clear truth.
They believed the law was broken when a wrong act was committed, but jesus said god was concerned with the motives of the heart. The young man who comes to talk to job in order to provide a different point of view than jobs friends was. T he mainstream jewish view of satan emanates from the book of job. Job, a faithful and pious man, is tested beyond human endurance. You have taught many people and given strength to feeble hands. Jesus emphasized loving god and ones neighbor from the heart. The purpose of the book of job is not to explain why bad things happen to good people, but rather merely to prove that they do. People and livestock who werent even involved died job. The book of job is not about a man who sinned against god, and god punished him. Nowhere in the book of job is satan explicitly stated to be a fallen angel. Above all, though, what happened to job lets us know that god, our creator and sustainer, is in charge of everything and has a. How could satan reenter heaven to talk to god about job in job 1.
Gustavo says that this disinterested religion alone is true religion. The book of job challenges the simple equation of suffering with punishment, by telling the story of one righteous mans confrontation with overwhelming misfortune. Job chapters 1 and 2, part of the bibles oldest book, say that satan has access to heaven. Analysis this is a key passage for setting the stage for all that follows. For the rest of the lesson, the role of satan in the book of job is covered. Question about the book of job how was satan in heaven. When job was willing to humbly forgive his three friends and pray for them, god restored and blessed job for his obedience. In the book of job, the satan probably means something like. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
May 18, 20 things in job, like in the whole of the book are pictures of things, just as jesus, who was the lamb of god that takes away the sin of the world, or that his face was marred more than any many, not because it was beaten to a pulp, but because it was the face of god which is personified by jesus soul which is the life that he gave. Above all, though, what happened to job lets us know that god, our creator and sustainer, is in charge of everything and has a right to do whatever he wishes to do. Book of job 1 the book of job shows an encounter between. When someone stumbled, weak and tired, your words encouraged him to stand. What happened to satan in the book of job after jobs. It is common to view the narrative frame as the original core of the book, enlarged later by the poetic dialogues and discourses, and sections of the book such as the elihu speeches and the wisdom poem of chapter 28 as late insertions, but recent trends have tended to concentrate on the. Nevertheless we do glean two things from the passages where satan is mentioned. First is that youngs point is that the book of job is ehb not lhb. The book of job is perhaps the bibles most bizarre masterpiece. This should be a good study for anyone who may be struggling to progress to the next stage of their spiritual evolution because you have one foot still planted in religion. The entire story appears to make it look as though god allows satan to torment job with every manner of hardship just to prove to satan that he was wrong in saying that the only reason job worships god is because god blessed him with a happy life. Job 2 hcsb satans second test of job one day bible.
Adversary, in this context, is a courtroom metaphor and refers to the advocate on the other side of the argument i. The argument he has with his friends over his righteousness is paralleled by a similar argument taking place in a heavenly court. Jan 18, 2014 but although the job of the story was from the land of uz, and its main character was a kind of jordanian abraham, we cannot help but think of him as the hebrew everyman, grappling with the question of gods fairness. In other words, it looks as though gods only reason for letting satan afflict job was to win a. In hebrew, satan actually means the accuser or the prosecutor, and he is referred to as the satan, not just satan. Hshtn or hashatan in hebrew simply means the adversary. From roaming through the earth, satan answered him, and walking around on it.
Even the snake in the genesis account is an anthropomorphism of eves intellect as in ancient egyptian mythology the snake sym. Satan is seen as the adversary or prosecutor, an agent of gd, very much part of the divine council, that searches out the. Readers both ancient and modern cannot help being moved to ask the eternal question, is god fair. It shows us the sctructural plan for all existence. A surface reading of the book of job usually evokes a reaction such as why is god making a bet with the devil. The book of job how divine council theology provides a. How could satan reenter heaven to talk to god about job. The doctrine of satan in job chronological bible teaching. Rather, job is a man who is clothed in the righteousness of christ and has confidence that he has a righteousness that is not his own, and yet by gods sovereign hand is thrusted into suffering. In the book of ecclesiastes, the author is given the name. So jehovah god called satan s attention to a man down there on earth, job in the land of uz, as being different from all others, a man blameless and upright, fearing god and turning aside from bad.
The book of job has long puzzled many bible readers. Discussion in biblical debates started by neoseeker. Job 2 hcsb satans second test of job one day bible gateway. You must understand who god is and who satan is, what they know, and what their motivation is. Since we know that nothing unclean enters heaven rev. The book of job study guide book of job 1 what deal does god strike with satan why that satan can do anything he wants to job except kill him and this.
Furthermore, there are many creative attributes about god in the book of job especially in chapters 38 and 39 for us to learn about. All of this is to say that the satan in the book of job cannot be entirely identified with the devil or satan in the new testament. Satan, the thief, has come to kill, steal, and destroy john 10. Michael heiser a walk through the old testament concerning the trinity duration. However, heres the definition of satan as given in eastons bible dictionary. Here in the book of job the answer to that question is no. When used as a proper name, the hebrew word so rendered has the article the adversary job 1.
Ways that the lord used satans evil works to bring about good in jobs situation include. This question implies a misunderstanding of the attributes of the god of the bible. Finally, god appears to job to heal him and take him to heaven in a divine chariot. Where did the biblical story of creation come from. A reddit user summarised the book of job from the bible. Job is a blameless upright man who fears god and turns away from evil. The facts the book of job does not tell us many facts concerning the identity of satan, which is doubtless why it forms such a mystery. The book of job is where satan, the literary device, makes his first appearance. What happened to satan in the book of job after jobs agony. 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.
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