Actually, the theology of the book should not be used as a datum for dating be. Most familiar to bible readers as the righteous man who suffered unjustly, job exemplifies the person who questions why good people suffer. The big picture of job is that there was a man who was, in one sense, blameless in gods sight. In every generation protests arise saying that if god is good, then there should be no pain, no suffering or death in this world. We live in a world longing for comfort and hope, and such hope is found in the sovereign god who sees, who is good, and who is faithful. Elihu was one of jobs friendsnot one of the three who had come to comfort job at the beginning of the book, but one who arrives later and offers the last and longest single speech to job. With its story of one mans life and suffering, the book of job raises universal questions. He possesses a large family, good health, many servants, flocks of multiple species of livestock, and is considered the greatest of all men in the east job 1. His father, gale vinton zuck, worked as an installer for the phoenix tent. John piper talks about how to discern between good and bad theology in the book of job.
In the beginning of the book, jobs blessings are apparent. Hartley identifies six themes that are part of the message of job pp. Kemper fullerton 18651941, double entendre in the first speech of eliphaz, journal of biblical literature 49 1930. It is a fulfillment of promises previously announced. Job intro to job biblica the international bible society. However, the book of job is also called the most theological book of the entire old testament theology study and commentary on the existence and attributes of a god. The book of job provides a vivid illustration of the theology of suffering. His moments of peace and mercy are more like punctuation marks, coming at the end of long torrents of wrath. The book of job and its doctrine of god gordon college faculty.
Also he or she must interpret each part in light of its whole. Zuck was born on january 20, 1932, in phoenix, arizona, the older of two children. The book of job, book of hebrew scripture that is often counted among the masterpieces of world literature. It illumines our understanding of god and creation and motivates us to make sensitive moral judgments.
Job, who is sure in his innocence, does everything in order to serve god as good as possible. Why do bad things happen to some people but not others. Elihu is identified only as the son of barakel the buzite, of the family of ram job 32. Despite its focus on challenges and sufferings, the book of job speaks a message of great hope to the world. Chapter 28 of the book of job is a beautiful poem on wisdom, in which job is ostensibly saying some of the. Some bible scholars debate whether he was an actual person or legend, but job is mentioned as a historical figure by the prophet ezekial ezekial 14. Ecclesiastes, also known by the hebrew term qoheleth referring to the convener of the assembly is one of the most challenging theological books in the whole bible old and new testaments taken together. The doubt surrounding the date of the book should not obscure its message, which is certainly applicable to any age. Perhaps the themecountertheme relation between the remnant of first isaiah and the universalism of second isaiah is one of the best illustrations of the theological unity of the book of isaiah. While it may be that the author intended his book to be a contribution to an ongoing highlevel discussion of major theological issues in an exclusive company of learned men, it seems more likely that he intended his story to be told to godly sufferers who like job were struggling with the crisis of faith brought on by prolonged bitter suffering.
He was honest inside and out, a man of his word, who was totally devoted to god and hated evil. The correlation of gods response, attributes, and the overall message of suffering. Jobs faith in god is put to the extreme test, and the story intimates that jobs commitment to god wanes. On the other hand, there was a notable flowering of wisdom literature during the reign of solomon, and the book of job may well have been part of those achievements, especially if its events may be dated later in a foreign locale. Job deals with the question of why do good men suffer. Suffering is a means which god uses to perfect us to change us, suffering allows him to manifest himself in our lives in greater degrees, suffering softens our heart, humbles us and pushes us to cry out to him, to ask him for help for him to come closer to us in a. Although most of the book consists of the words of job and his friends, job himself was not the author. Job in my opinion is a picture of gods dealings with righteous people, especially the jewish people. The book implied the earth is round long before the advent of modern science job 22. The book of job is written in the form of a dramatic poem, that deals with several age old questions, among them the question of why the righteous suffer. One verse toward the end of this book has caused many to miss the point that this work intends to refute job s theology as well as that of his friends. Job wants to find a way to justify gods actions, but he cannot understand why there are evil people who harm the childless woman, and do no good to the widow, only to be rewarded with long, successful lives 24.
The book of job reveals the messiah as my redeemer. Some believe the book of job gives a resounding yes. Virtually all readers of the bible love the book of job and somehow derive from it a significant theological message. The book of job is a complex, sophisticated treatment of the problem of undeserved suffering. Against his friends, job insists that he is not more blameworthy than. Religious, cultural, and educational uses of the bible presented by ph. Creation theology in the book of job harvard theological studies kathryn schifferdecker on. The affinity of creation theology to the wisdom tradition of israel has long. Job, theology of dictionary definition, verses and bible references on the topic of. Waters ritten by an unknown author, possibly the most ancient literary account in the bible,1 the book of job is a mixture of divine and human wisdom that addresses a major life issue. This part of the bible touches fundamental question of guilt, punishment, justice, good and evil.
Although profoundly personal, christian experience is also corporate. The correlation of gods response and the theodicy problem. Perhaps you would ascribe to job the same theme the. The books theme is the eternal problem of unmerited suffering, and it is named after its central. When yahweh appears at the end of this book, he no more agrees with job s theology than he agrees with the theology of his friends job 3842. Selected bibliography of the book of job related media. The reader who desires to unlock the rich theological treasures contained in the book of job should assume its literary unity. Here, the lens through which material from the book of job will be. He saw that it led to a dead end, that it had no way to cope with the suffering of godly people. Part of the greatness of the book of job is its ability to raise several questions about life and relationship with god at the same time. Major purposes of the book of job preaching source. Jim newheiser director of the christian counseling program, reformed theological seminary.
The author of the book of job broke out of the tight, logical mold of the traditional orthodox theology of his day. Theology and themes job bible commentary theology of work. In any case, at the heart of the message of the book of job is the wisdom with respect to answering the question as to how god is involved in the problem of human suffering. The book mentions dinosaursnot by that name, but the description of the behemoth is certainly dinosaurlikeliving side by side with man job 40. As we will see, jobs woes begin at work, and the book gives us valuable insights into how a follower of god may faithfully function within the ups and downs of work life. Intro to job biblica the international bible society. It deals with some of the deepest problems of man and directs us to the existence of a sovereign god for their solution. Waters is professor of bible, international school of theologyasia, quezon. You will also find options for commentaries on job that help pastors, teachers, and readers with application of the bible, commentaries that approach the scripture versebyverse, classic christian commentaries, and much more.
While portions of this book may be challenging to a biblestudent beginner, the theological messages of the old testament books is a valuable resource. This article will seek to deline ate the literary structure of the book of job in order to determine the major purpose of the book. The ot daily bible study series, job looks at personal learning and the theology of. 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. In 2003, he earned his juris doctorate, magna cum laude, from capital university law school, where he received. The jobian god is an amoral, cosmic deity, beyond good and evil, totally unconcerned with the human condition and principles of ethics, morality and justice. The theology behind the suffering of job essay 45 words.
This book tells a story of job who is loyal and obedient to god but has to go through much suffering. Job, theology of bakers evangelical dictionary of biblical. As we will see, jobs woes begin at work, and the book. The book of job proves that bad things do happen to good people, and th. This allows the reader to both learn the theological message of each book and see the connections between scriptural data and theological conclusions. Throughout the commentary, he shows how the message of the book of job points to christ the righteous sufferer. And there is a reality called satan who challenges god that his man is not as good as he thinks he is. Job pronounced jobe, was a rich farmer living in the land of uz, somewhere northeast of palestine. Perhaps you would ascribe to job the same theme the majority of. It is found in the third section of the biblical canon known as the ketuvim writings. Zeitlin, in contrast, repudiates the message for the following reasons. Shmoop bible guide analysis of how book of job is used in practice.
Theological themes and the book of job miryea gist medium. The name job is the english translation of the hebrew name iyov which means persecuted, hated on the surface job is a long, boring, somewhat confusing book and one might question how it ever came to be grouped with the wisdom books as it is hard to ascertain any wisdom in this tale of woe. The book of job gives us a glimpse behind the veil that separates earthly life from the heavenly. Taken from nelsons new illustrated bibkle dictionary. To that end, the books outlook on a number of theological and literary issues will be canvassed, for example, the contribution made by wisdom, providence and figuration for assessing jobs message, as well as the literary and theological significance of conflict and reversal. Terms in this set 14 what questions about suffering does job struggle with in the book of job. If someone were to ask you what the theme of the book of job was, what would you say. What are the meanings and themes of the book of job. Theology and themes job bible commentary produced by tow project. Given how christians are yet inclined to look for a divine reason behind catastrophes and personal tragedies. Although the book of job is a complex work composed of many different speeches, its almost architectonic symmetry argues for a literary unity. The dominant theme of job is the difficulty of understanding why an allpowerful god allows good people to suffer. Job s faith in god is put to the extreme test, and the story intimates that job s commitment to god wanes. Book of isaiah theological point of view in practice.
The only message job has from god is his calamity and suffering. Though it is often missed, this book also is intent on refuting jobs theology. The point of the book of job is to teach us that the mystery of evil is a mystery of a wartorn and unfathomably complex creation, not the mystery of gods allcontrolling will. 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. It has several allegorical elements, and in many ways could be said to be a story about all of humanity. Steinmann bay village, ohio no theological student, on being asked, what is the book of job.
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