God boasts to satan about jobs goodness, but satan argues that job is only. Satan tells god that job is only virtuous because he is well off. Jan 02, 2020 since god validates elihus points 3841, the adversarial tone in gods answer to job makes even more sense. Every book on your english syllabus summed up in a quote from the office. Nov 10, 2009 the story of job basically amounts to a bet made by satan that god s most faithful and favored follower would turn against him if his favor was taken away. In hebrew, satan actually means the accuser or the prosecutor, and he is referred to as the satan, not just satan. This barcode number lets you verify that youre getting exactly the right version or edition of a book. At the same time, the book of job radically debunks anthropomorphism as an acceptable alternative to personally. So it can also be assumed that satan and the christian god conspired together in the book of genesis. God knows what will happen, but job still could have acted differently. If we were to film this book, the whole movie would take place on a single set, probably in a single day.
The book of job is quite possibly the strangest book in the hebrew bible, and is. That implies that satan still had access to heaven even in jesus day. The battle between god and satan in the book of job. In it, satan is a member of gods divine court who walks the earth looking for sin and reports back to god. To him, the devil a rebel against yahweh and ruler of the evil inclination in humans was the greater satan, whereas hasatan of the book of job the heavenly prosecuting attorney and secret police agent was the lesser satan. Of course, job remains faithful and god rewards him with a new family and prosperous life in the end. For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears god and shuns evil. Victor hugo the greatest poem, whether of ancient or modern literature. Aug 23, 2011 job would, if he knew the plot hatched in heaven against him, consider satan the worst sort of enemy.
Allowing the questions is necessary in order to be able to address them. Is there a difference between the devil and satan in the. Satan is labeled an accuser and depicted as an opposing force to god. Job spends his entire book in a position of sadness and loss.
Satan insinuates that job s motive is purely selfish. Though the book of job is a work of poetry, it was also written as a record. 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 job a particularly pious manwill abandon his piety and curse god if all his wealth and wellbeing are taken away. Job is visited by three kings who have heard of his affliction chapters 2838. For job said, it may be that my children have sinned, and j cursed 1 god in their hearts. Satan has put god in a tough place by his question.
The book starts with god and satan discussing job, a perfect and upright man. When we see the words ha satan in the book of job, we are actually looking at a title, not a name in the strict sense. God takes the bet and allows satan to basically destroy the life job had made for himself, including killing his family. The author, date, and place of the book of job are all uncertain. To test jobs resolve, god purposely removes the hedge job 1. Oct 19, 2015 for the rest of the lesson, the role of satan in the book of job is covered. The book of job in the hebrew bible was crafted to address human suffering and why bad things happen to good people. Even though satan admits defeat, job continues to remain in poor shape. The accuser satan hopes to set just such a trap for job. Satan, the thief, has come to kill, steal, and destroy john 10. Thus, god allowed satan to take everything away from job. 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.
God boasts about job, whom god considers to be an outstanding example of what a religious person should be. Satan was arguing that the only reason job was so righteous was because of the way god had blessed him. Job 2 gw satan challenges the lord again one bible gateway. Satans purpose is to disprove the lords claim that job is a true servant of the lord. The human author of book of job i believe received a vision and overheard a conversation and through god s grace gave him the wisdom to write the inspiration for purpose of stating that all the action of satan are subject to divine providence. Job and the devil benchmark series by edwin thiele author isbn. He is the one ultimately responsible for all the deception that exists in this world. The book of job has long been praised as a masterpiece of literature. 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. Study guide for job 1 by david guzik blue letter bible. The book of job is a true story set in poetry, which delves into the feelings and emotions of the human mind when faced with trauma and suffering since poetry is the language of the heart, job reveals the innermost thoughts of men more so than outward deeds irving jensen, jensens survey of the old testament, p. Oct 19, 2015 in the book of job satan accuses god of putting a hedge job 1. Satan says to god that if he removes the blessings he has so richly bestowed on job, he will curse you to your face job 1. Thomas explores the difficulty of job s suffering, satan s involvement, and god s sovereignty.
It is plain, from this history, that the lord watched over his servant job with the affection of a wise and loving father. 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. God accepts the challenge and gives satan permission to destroy jobs life. The strange conversation between god and the satan figure in job 12. This summary of the book of job provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of job. 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. What does this tell us about the place of evil in the world. The attack, really, is an attack against god himself. The book of job is a book in the ketuvim writings section of the hebrew bible tanakh, and. The book of job begins by introducing us to its three most significant characters. Satan said he could have job eating out of his hand turn him away from god. Satan is like a roving ambassador who comes to god to give a report on what he has seen and heard.
There is neither adversary hasatan nor evil occurrent 1 kings 5. Satan takes the bait and raises a question about job s sincerity and motivation for serving god. Its more of a title than anything elselike your honor or the monsieur. 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. If god does not permit satan to test his theory about the motivation of pious folks like job, then satan can say, you are afraid i might be right. Once we see this and accept it, the structure of the book becomes clear. 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. Is there a difference between the devil and satan in. Thomas explores the difficulty of jobs suffering, satans involvement, and gods sovereignty. In the book of job, job proves satans charges wrong. An analysis of the advocate passages in the book of job indicates that satan may be proposed. The first question is asked by the accuser the satan.
The role of satan in the prologue provides further evidence that job should. A person feels as if something came upon him, and as if he had received a new power that encourages him to speak. The contemporary view of satan is that he is a powerful being who hates mankind and will do whatever he can to destroy us. If job was blameless, why did god allow satan to afflict. The book of job god did not give satan power biblebro. Jm 165j refers to the kings passage surely we shall overpower them. He serves god, not for love of god, or for love of goodness, but for what he gets by it.
While satan is the prime mover behind sin, evil, and suffering, it is also correct to point out that one cannot ignore the connection between satans desires and. Another great doctrine of the faith, particularly set forth in the book of job, is that of providence. The book starts with god and satan discussing job, a perfect and upright man who feared god and eschewed evil 1. This was to show satan how job loved worshiped god. However, heres the definition of satan as given in eastons bible dictionary. Once the re fusal to answer the second question is recognized, the integrity of the book can be preserved. Satan answers that job is pious only because god has blessed him. Satan in job is those who oppose gods opinion of righteous job.
You must understand who god is and who satan is, what they know, and what their motivation is. Job 2 gw satan challenges the lord again one bible. Tomorrow, if all literature was to be destroyed and it was left to me to retain one work only, i should save job. Job 2 gods word translation gw satan challenges the lord again. The accounts in 1 kings and 2 chronicles explicitly indicate that. The book of job is a canonical work in both christian and jewish liturgy.
This is further supported by jesus statement that satan had demanded permission to sift peter as wheat in luke 22. In the story, job, a man of faith, is tested by god through various horrible afflictions. Most books of the bible take place on larger stages, but the book of job goes down at a very specific and narrow point in the human life cycle. Satan answered the lord, from wandering all over the earth. 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 god s authorization and consent. Satan only pops up in chapters 1 and 2when things get poetic, hes out of there for good. This is the jealousies of men that contradict the truth of god that job was an upright man, job 1.
Satan was so ashamed that he leaves job alone for three years chapter 27. Satan still has access today according to 1 john 2. In the book of job satan and god talk to each other. So you also, job, were the one below and in a plague, but you conquered my wrestling tactics which i brought on you. As the first poetic book of the english bible, job introduces the reader to the idea of hebrew poetry, which involves the repetition and combination of ideas more than sounds. The book of job asks two questions, but it only answers one. 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. According to orthodox christianity, satan had been cast out of the heavens before the creation of genesis chapter one, but here in job many centuries after the fall, we find satan coming into the presence of god. God often does this to all of us, to see what is in our hearts. If satan can get job to believe he is being punished by god, job may be caught in either of two snares. God talking to satan in the book of job,how did they know. Whole chapters of the book are devoted to speeches by jobs counselors.
The book of job consists of a prose prologue and epilogue narrative framing poetic dialogues and monologues. Book of job, called jobab, his life and the transcript of his testament. The soul of job was about to become ground zero, and satan was preparing to launch his first major assault. The battle between god and satan in the book of job adventist. The satan of the book of job could not have been the fallen angel of orthodox christianity for the following reasons. Learn how to properly read the introduction in the book of job.
If job was blameless, why did god allow satan to afflict him. Like the canonical book, they are astonished at job s suffering and attempt to explain the reasons why he has had to endure such things. Satan is too shrewd to endeavour, as job s friends do later, to pick holes in job s conduct. The book allows hard issues to emerge because they do in human experience. Some scholars think moses may have written it, while others. In the book of job, how was it possible for god and satan to. 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. In fact, some scholars believe that job requires and understanding of the book as a whole more than any other book of the old testament. The prologue and epilogue may have served as program notes that were read to the audience at the beginning and end of the dramatic presentation. Satans first attack 8 then the lord said to satan, have you considered my servant job. Rambam writes in moreh nevuchim guide to the perplexed, 2.
Whole chapters of the book are devoted to speeches by job s counselors. Job 2 again there was a day when the sons of god came to. In the book of job, satan and the christian god conspire. The book of job is rightly understood to be a masterpiece of hebrew poetry and western literature. To understand the full impact of the book of job the book must be read and understood as a whole. Although most of the book consists of the words of job and his friends, job himself was not the author. Right after introducing the hero of the drama, the author of the book of job takes the readers. In the book of job, how was it possible for god and satan. The battle between god and satan in the book of job gordon christo spicer memorial college right after introducing the hero of the drama, the author of the book of job takes the readers behind the real curtains and reveals the true source of jobos troubles. Was it unfair for god to allow job to suffer over what was. The book of job is a testament of our being able to see or directly and immediately experience god, gods essence and the things of god. The dialogue between god and satan about job was, by no means, a friendly conversation. The book of job chapter 2 the dwelling place of satan.
The human author of book of job i believe received a vision and overheard a conversation and through gods grace gave him the wisdom to write the inspiration for purpose of stating that all the action of satan are subject to divine providence. Remember, evil is bad, but it is good to have evil. Although the book of enoch is not in the bible, it. 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. How could satan access heaven in the books of job and the.