In these verses, we have, first, gods rebuke of jobs friends in verse 7. The book of job is included among the wisdom writings precisely because it teaches man that pain and suffering are a mystery of divine wisdom. Regrettably, jobs friends are not able to endure the mystery of his suffering, so they jump to conclusions about its. His nonisraelite status explains the absence of many key theological elements in the book, including law, covenant, temple and reference to yahweh, according to the niv cultural backgrounds study bible. Jobs story invites us to consider what it means that god runs the world. Eliphaz represents the biblical or rabbinic traditionjob is being punished for his sins. How the book of job makes us better friends and better. The man job is a biblical patriarch who is wellknown for his integrity and his devotion to god, he had great wealth and much happiness in life. The time came to prove jobs loyalty to god and he was deprived of all of his blessings. Jobs wife is the most controversial character in the book. The most hurtful comments of jobs friends,barry york study from the bible and be encouraged to grow your faith. Key personalities of this book include job, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, zophar the naamathite, and elihu the buzite.
Job is one of the most famous people in scripture, yet he is rarely listed as a favorite bible character. It is found in the third section of the biblical canon known as the ketuvim writings. The old testament quizzes about important details and events in every. Summary of the books of job the story of the bible. 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.
Jobs final speech in his own defense is probably where the book originally ended. The book of job is one of the most perplexing books in the bible. Three of jobs friends, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar, come to visit him, sitting with. Name the four aspects of the theology of jobs day which his friends believe and upon which they based their arguments 1. The book of job opens in verse one by telling us that job was a blameless, upright man who feared god and turned away from evil. What did jobs three friends have wrong, and what did they have. We too presumably know right from wrong, and have some sense of gods ways. God certainly did not approve the thoughts and ideas of jobs friends job 42. A chronological daily bible study of the old testament 7day sections with a summarycommentary, discussion. In this bible story from the book of job, there is a wealthy man named job residing in an area called uz with his extended family and vast flocks. Home content index books of the bible job jobs friends. Job loses all of his worldly goods, his children and servants, as well as his health. In those days, people believed that if you got sick, god caused it because you did something wrong. The book of job demands that we see ourselves in the faces of jobs friends.
What did jobs three friends have wrong, and what did they have right. 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. Throughout the book, job, his wife, and his friends speculate on why he, an upright man, suffers. At first jobs friends try to help job but they quickly turn to accusing him of some sort of hidden or known sin. Eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, and zophar the naamathite, for they had arranged to go together and show their sympathy for him and comfort him. But we do not know all of gods ways as they apply in all times and places. This time, job is afflicted with horrible skin sores. According to the sacred writer, the truly wise man should realize that the fear of the lord, that is wisdom. The 3 main manifestations of jobs fear of god 20190323 07. After that, we have gods stormy questions in job 3841, gods rebuke of jobs three friends, and the sacrifice of seven bulls and seven rams in job 42. If you were to fit it chronologically, it should be place in the early chapters of genesis.
The book of job challenges the simple equation of suffering with punishment, by telling the story of one righteous mans confrontation with overwhelming misfortune. Jobs friends simply didnt know enough to offer intelligent comfort. Its author is unknown yet it is possible that job himself wrote it. The book of job was written like a historical poem, but was treated as an actual event in the bible.
Job was the wealthiest, most blessed man, maybe in the whole world. The book of job is one of the most celebrated pieces of biblical literature, not only because it explores some of the most profound questions humans ask about their lives, but also because it is extremely well. At some point, satan actually approaches god himself and basically asks god to put job to the test. The book of job is not only the finest expression of the hebrew poetic genius.
Always, the bible says, he gets up early and makes burnt offerings to god. I will keep loving and honoring god as long as i live. Jobs three friends, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar, have historically. The book of job, book of hebrew scripture that is often counted among the masterpieces of world literature. Bildad expresses the view of the mutazillitesjob is being tested to receive a greater reward. This not only seems to involve god in the performance of evil, but also raises questions a.
Three of jobs friendseliphaz, bildad, and zopharcome to visit him, and what they say is, basically, what. The story of job is very personal for me, i lost my son 2 years ago due to a pedestrian accident, my sons time of death was right around 1. In the land of uz modern day saudi arabia, there lived a man whose name was job. Job accuses god of being unjust and not operating the world according to principles of justice, and his friends believe that job s sin caused his suffering. God brags to satan about jobs virtue, but satan contends that job is only. The book of job is a book in the ketuvim writings section of the hebrew bible tanakh, and. The book of job is probably the oldest book in the bible. Job 1 esv jobs character and wealth there bible gateway. 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 same god is both the punisher and the healer in life. No other personal, corporate or theological issues.
They saw job going through his calamities, how miserable he was, and in their care for him, they did their best to find his fault and help him solve his dilemma. It is not to be supposed that job had no more than three friends indeed, elihu the buzzite appears later on as one of his friends but he had three contemporaries with whom he was especially intimate, old men, with whom he was probably accustomed to confer from time to time, and who were in the habit. Now when jobs three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own placeeliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, and zophar the naamathite. The complete book of job is composed of the dialogue of job, his friends and god regarding the issues of gods goodness, his power, and evil in the world. Ezekiel mentions job, which means that the book of ezekiel must have been written, or at least edited, after the job story had reached mainstream jewish writers. The books theme is the eternal problem of unmerited suffering, and it is named after its central.
How can we make sure that we are not like jobs friends. As you can imagine, this is a popular aspect of the book of job in christian theology. The less you know, the more dangerous you are to people in pain. He loves god very much and was faithful to follow his commands. God returns jobs health, providing him with twice as much property as before, new children, and an extremely long life. According to maimonides, a superscholarly medieval, guy, each of jobs friends represents a different position on divine providence. Background and outline job bible commentary theology. The central figure in the book of job, jobs intense suffering supplies the framework for the primary theme of the book, which deals with the role of suffering in the life of a believer. It tells of god sending satan to do harm to job, to test just how righteous job really is. Each time i read through the drama of the book of job, some new theme seems to. He is blameless and upright, constantly mindful to live in a righteous manner. It is possible that job is the oldest of any book of the bible written approximately 21001800 b.
In the midst of suffering, we must never lose our hope in god. My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant job has. Jobs friends accuse him of doing evil job 423 bible. Jobs three friends, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar, have historically been known for offering lengthy speeches that resulted in their being condemned by god job 42. This sharefaith kids sunday school lesson video brings to life the amazing biblical account of the book of job. Three of jobs friends, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar, come to visit him, sitting with job in silence for seven days out of respect for his mourning. The book of job a widely misunderstood book jeffrey. The book of ezekiel itself is somewhat problematic since it talks about events that occurred in the midsixth century b.
So now three of jobs friends are coming to see him. Prov, eccl, and, in a sense, s of sol applied foundational mosaic revelation to the problems of human existence and conduct as they were being formulated in the philosophical circles of the world of that day. Yet his friends seemed so sure that they were right. The book of job reminds us that theologically illiterate communities are unsafe places for people to process brokenness and suffering. To most it would seem an absurd notionbut not to job. The book of job, in my view, is widely misunderstood it is the classic book of the hebrew bible that seemingly is orthodox correct belief and theological in nature in dealing with the. In the absence of answers, job has been held up as a model of quiet faithfulness. Augustine called her the devils helper, but other early christian writers called her his true comforter and the only blessing that remained to him. After all, desperate times call for desperate measures. We get good days and we have some bad days, but it isnt gods fault. When jobs three friends heard of all this trouble that had befallen him, they came each from his own home.
The skeptical character of the symposium, with its challenge to timehonored views, most likely would have kept the book of job out of the canon of old testament writings had some additions not been made to. Story of job bible story and sunday school lesson for. God brags to satan about jobs virtue, but satan contends that job is only righteous because god has favored him generously. According to biblical scholars, the book of job is the oldest book in the bible. In the end, god simply dismissed these three friends and all their longwinded speeches because they failed to recognize the very thing god gave. The most hurtful comments of jobs friends bible study. At one point job, weary of their unhelpful rhetoric, told them, you are miserable comforters, all of you. Jobs friends tried to console him but they soon started. Every book on your english syllabus summed up in a quote from the office. 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. What did jobs three friends have wrong, and what did they.
Jobs suffering did not come because he was bad but rather because of his unwavering faithfulness to god. The work is grouped with proverbs and ecclesiastes as a product of the wisdom movement, even though it contains what might be called an antiwisdom strain in that the hero protests. The friends do not waver in their belief that jobs suffering is a punishment for sin, for god causes no one to suffer innocently, and they advise. Job is the last of the three books that explore these themes of biblical.