The Book Of Job Essay Research Paper

The Book Of Job Essay, Research Paper The Book of Job Job was a righteous man who lived in Uz. He had seven sons and three daughters. He owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yokes of oxen, five hundred donkeys and many slaves. Each year, he held a banquet where Job would have each of his children purified. He did this for fear that they might have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. On the day that the angels came to attest before God, God pointed out to the accusing angel (Satan) Job’s character. He pointed out how righteous and respectful he was toward Him. Satan claims that Job’s character originates with evil and self-serving motives. He claims that Job is so righteous and respectful because he has no reason to act otherwise, but if God

were to give him hardship, he would curse Him to his face. Satan then challenges God to test Job. Reluctantly, God accepts the challenge. On Earth, Job is stricken with misfortune. All of his animals are either stolen or struck by lightning. All his children died of one tragedy or another. Yet, Job did not curse God. He figured that the same way God gave to him, He took away. Again, God took pride in Job. He bragged to Satan about how faithful and righteous his servant, Job was. Still, Satan doubted him. He claimed that Job was still faithful and righteous because he had not been affected directly by God’s test. He persuades God to test Job once more. This time, Job’s health is destroyed in a most horrifying form. Job is covered in boils from head to toe so badly, that he

uses a piece of broken pottery to scratch himself with. At this point, Job’s integrity is tested by his wife. She wonders why he is still so faithful to God. She thinks that it is about time that he begins cursing God for what He has done to him. Still, Job rebukes his wife and refuses to sin. Job had three friends: Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Namathite. These three friends heard of what happened to Job and came to offer their sympathy and grief. After about a week of prayers, Job finally broke down. He curses the day he was born. He figures that if he had died at birth, he would now be at rest. He wonders why life should be given to a person who desires only death, who has ceased to find any value in life, who has lost all hope of escape from

continuous terror and torment. His friends answer him in a series of three rounds, the first being the most significant of the three. Eliphaz answers first by saying that in the past, Job helped others with encouraging words but now that things are not going his way, he impatiently gives up. The righteous living that he had in the past should sustain him through his trials now. Still, it is not the innocent who suffer, but rather those who deserve it. No man is capable of a totally righteous relationship with God. Job’s resentment of discipline is very unwise. God will not change your circumstances and a stubborn refusal to learn from them will result in death. A person living foolishly is prosperous for a while, then he is suddenly destroyed. The source of the problem is not

man’s circumstances, but his heart. Eliphaz says that Job should look to God for deliverance. He does astonishing things. He helps those who are hurt and oppressed but destroys the corrupt. He tells Job to accept God’s discipline. He should learn from it and then God will bless him in many ways. Job replied by saying that his complaint is justified. If only Eliphaz would comprehend his anguish, then he would understand. If he would only see what God had done to him. That was the reason that he complained. Job does not accept Eliphaz’s view that he must have sinned and feels that his speech was inappropriate for the circumstances. Job wishes God would give him death. That way, he could die with the consolation that he had remained faithful to God all the way to the end. What