God and satan in the book of job

The biblical book of job addresses the existence of evil and suffering in a world where a loving, allpowerful god exists. 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. 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. Job, a pious and blameless man, is perfectly happy and contented. 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. Satan in job is those who oppose god s opinion of righteous job. 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. The book of job opens with a scene in the heavenly throne room where satan meets with the lord. In job 1, satan stood before god to give an account of himself. Michael the archangel prayer to be prayed right after the holy mass celebration. In the book of job, how was it possible for god and satan to.

From the start we know there are limits to jobs trial, and we know what those limits are. A surface reading of the book of job usually evokes a reaction such as why is god making a bet with the devil. We are first introduced to job as a blameless and upright man job 1. 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. Job prays for god s forgiveness of them and god accepts his prayer. God rebukes jobs three friends and orders them to make a sacrifice. With such power, satan strikes job with painful boils cf. 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.

There are a variety of views on chance to be found in the hebrew bible, or old testament. My thoughts are that god allows satan to torment us in order to trip us in hope to win our souls. In rabbinical literature, job is called one of the prophets of the gentiles. May 18, 20 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 god s judgement against sin. But satan the accuser comes before the lord, and god allows him to test job. Well, god says, lets see, and he gives satan permission to ruin jobs life. In this chapter we will discuss the book of job and. The book begins with the description of job as a just and upright man. The angel known as the satan hebrew for the adversary, as told in the book of job, challenges god to test the devotion and piety of the righteous man job. Remember, god doesnt inflict anything nasty on job with his own divine power. God boasts to satan about jobs goodness, but satan argues that job is only good because god has.

Why did god allow satan to harm jobs health and wealth. One day, satan the adversary appears before god in heaven. The story recounted in chapters 1 and 2 makes us privy to actual conversations between god and satan. At the end of the book, god gives job twice as much wealth as he had before, along with seven sons and three daughters. God initiated the meeting, led the proceedings, and remained in absolute control verse 7. Another way of putting it is that job walked with god. 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. For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is. God s hedge must be lifted which job clearly does not discernjob 3. This is kiddylevel theology, yet many grownups dont get it. Years later, in the book of the revelation, the apostle john wrote about a future day when satan will be kicked out. When your calamity comes, may the lord give you the grace to affirm the sovereignty of god, let your tears flow freely, and let god himself be your treasure and your joy. First, when god asks job whether he can draw out leviathan with a fish hook or put a rope in his nose job 41. Job, possibly the strangest book in the bible, is based on legends going back thousands of years, and is written in a very unusual form of.

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. The steadfast love of the lord is better than life. The meaning of the phrase is probably different in genesis 6. Satan is seen as the adversary or prosecutor, an agent of gd, very much part of the divine council, that searches out the individuals.

The prologue introduces us to the characters and summarizes the theme of the book. Satan is a spiritual being whose limits appear clearly in the story. When god says prove it not really, satan destroys jobs property, possessions, and family. If job was blameless, why did god allow satan to afflict him. 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 man. Thomas walks us through the book of job and considers what the bible says about our darkest moments.

Even though god is not the author of evil, much good comes from evil, so its not surprising that god allowed satan to test job, and so the lord said to satan, behold, all that he has is in your hand. Job is a wealthy man living in a land called uz with his large family and extensive flocks. The result was that satans power was limited verse 12 and god was glorified. There is no one on earth as faithful and good as he is. Was it unfair for god to allow job to suffer over what was. The book of job god did not give satan power biblebro. The book of job begins by introducing us to its three most significant characters. God then allowed satan power over job, but only up to the point of actually taking his life. He cannot go beyond what god permits, and when his time period is ended. Thomas explores the difficulty of jobs suffering, satans involvement, and gods sovereignty.

In that vision satan was daring god that he can destroy the catholic church. Where does the communication between god and satan take place. In the absence of answers, job has been held up as a model of quiet faithfulness. In the book of job, how was it possible for god and satan. Now there was a day when the sons of god came to present themselves before the lord.

We know this because the next verse says, satan afflicted job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head job 2. God rebukes job s three friends and orders them to make a sacrifice. The big picture of job is that there was a man who was, in one sense, blameless in god s sight. 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. God praises job before satan, and satan is unimpressed, claiming that he is only righteous because his life is so comfortable. The book of job challenges the simple equation of suffering with punishment, by telling the story of one righteous mans confrontation with overwhelming misfortune.

This is an obvious reference to the angels, and we know that satan is an angel even though a fallen one. You must understand who god is and who satan is, what they know, and what their motivation is. But it also makes us think of satan as the bad guy. The book of job is a very interesting book in the bible. How could satan access heaven in the books of job and the. If all the good things he enjoys were to be taken from him, satan is convinced job would turn his back on god in an instant. Aug 02, 2010 in the book of job, satan is sent by god to torment job. The portrayal of god as one who wagers with the satan, wipes out jobs family, and refuses to answer jobs questions causes a great deal of consternation for many readers. Jan 02, 2020 in job 1, satan stood before god to give an account of himself. Jobs wife lost what faith she might have had, and told him. In the end, gods wager with satan actually achieved an incredible coup. But to do so, satan ask for more power and more time 75 to 100 years. Job 1 gnt satan tests job there was a man named bible. The doctrine of satan in job chronological bible teaching.

The entire saga of job and his family and friends was planned beforehand by god, and he just used satan as an active participant and the chief antagonist. To most it would seem an absurd notionbut not to job. Jan 02, 2020 since god validates elihus points 3841, the adversarial tone in gods answer to job makes even more sense. Ayyub is also considered a prophet job is presented as a good and prosperous family man who is beset by satan with gods. The prose prologue chapters one and two and the epilogue 42. God talking to satan in the book of job,how did they know. Christianity satan and the origin of evil britannica.

He cannot go beyond what god permits, and when his time period is ended, god turns the captivity of job job 42. Now there was a day when the sons of god came to present themselves before the lord, and satan came also among them. Job chapters 1 and 2, part of the bibles oldest book, say that satan has access to heaven. By the sons of god it is generally admitted that, in this place, the angels are meant so again in job 38. So satan went out from the presence of the lord job 1. The book of job by derek thomas ligonier ministries. Job prays for gods forgiveness of them and god accepts his prayer. And the lord said unto satan, behold he is in thine hand. 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. Satan and the testament of job the book of job in the hebrew bible was crafted to address human suffering and why bad things happen to good people.

Was it the devil who approached god in the book of job and told. Thomas explores the difficulty of job s suffering, satan s involvement, and god s sovereignty. In it, satan is a member of god s divine court who walks the earth looking for sin and reports back to god. The word blameless doesnt mean sinless, but rather, that he had a good standing in the eyes of god and was repentant. Misfortune befalls job, and, in three cycles of speeches, his three friends give the explanation that this must be punishment from god for his sins, and they urge him to repent.

They stop reading at verse six and conclude that god robbed job and. Job loses all of his worldly goods, his children and servants, as well as his health. 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. And there is a reality called satan who challenges god that his man is not as good as he thinks he is. His task is to roam the earth like a contemporaneous persian official seeking out acts or persons to be. After all, desperate times call for desperate measures. The book of job is a book in the ketuvim writings section of the hebrew bible tanakh, and the first poetic book in the old testament of the christian bible. Angels and men are alike sons of god, as created by him, in his image, to obey and serve him. In the book of job, satan is sent by god to torment job. It is precisely in this figure, however, that some aspects of the ways god deals with evil are especially evident. 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. This is the jealousies of men that contradict the truth of god that job was an upright man, job 1. Job 1 niv prologue in the land of uz there bible gateway.

Dec 17, 2019 even though god is not the author of evil, much good comes from evil, so its not surprising that god allowed satan to test job, and so the lord said to satan, behold, all that he has is in your hand. The devil believes job is only faithful to the lord because its profitable for him. Even though satan is the god of this world 2 cor 4. When god says prove it not really, satan destroys job s property, possessions, and family. He cannot go beyond what god permits, and when his time period is ended, god turns the captivity of job. And this, in fact, is our takehome lesson from job. He is blameless and upright, always careful to avoid doing evil 1. 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. Job is described as an upright man who follows gods commands, and is blameless in gods eyes. Our god is not frustrated by the power and subtlety of satan. If job was blameless, why did god allow satan to afflict. Gods hedge must be lifted which job clearly does not discernjob 3. The lesson from the big book of job is 1 that god is sovereign over all our suffering. And it is the reason the book of job is in the bible.

There is no indication at all that jobs children and servants were good followers of god. The bible pulls back the veil to glimpse heavenly affairs. 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. Job is described as an upright man who follows gods commands and is blameless in gods eyes. Analysis this is a key passage for setting the stage for all that follows. Satan smiting job with sore boils, william blake, c. The portrayal of god as one who wagers with the satan, wipes out jobs family, and refuses to answer jobs questions causes a. When the bible says that job was blameless, it does not mean that he. There is no indication at all that job s children and servants were good followers of god. Was it unfair for god to allow job to suffer over what was basically an argument between god and satan. The adversary satan insinuates himself among the angels of gods court and argues that jobs virtue is not genuine. Aug 23, 2011 job would, if he knew the plot hatched in heaven against him, consider satan the worst sort of enemy. From roaming through the earth, he replied, and from walking back and forth in it. The book of job in the hebrew bible was crafted to address human suffering and why bad things happen to good people.

But to do so,satan ask for more power and more time 75 to 100 years. God condescends to address the evil spirit, and asks him questions not that anything could be added to his own knowledge, but that the angels, who were present ver. In it, satan is a member of gods divine court who walks the earth looking for sin and reports back to god. In the book of job satan accuses god of putting a hedge job 1. Even if god had let satan take jobs life, we know what job would have said. So satan went forth from the presence of the lord and smote job etc. Satans first attack 6 one day the sons of god came to present themselves before the lord, and satan also came with them. The word satan is the english transliteration of a hebrew word for adversary in the bible. The meaning of the book of job is found in gods and satans conversation in heaven. He worships me and is careful not to do anything evil. He counters that job is only chill because hes in such good shape.

Satan in job is those who oppose gods opinion of righteous job. After all if we are to enter into heaven god must know that we are worthy. Satan then made another challenge, saying that job would curse god if he himself were harmed. What does this tell us about the place of evil in the world. Job was blameless, meaning no sin was found in him. Thats right, god gives satan permission to mess with job. Job would, if he knew the plot hatched in heaven against him, consider satan the worst sort of enemy. He addresses the difficult question of the relationship between gods sovereignty and the existence of evil, sin, and suffering.