Essay Mysterious sufferings of Job

Submitted By gmkonga2
Words: 1666
Pages: 7

Mysterious Suffering

The Bible explains a lot of different types of suffering in hand as believers or unbelievers should understand the sufferings. However, there is one type of suffering which the Bible leaves as a mystery and this is suffering that takes place in the book of Job. This paper serves to you explore their mysterious suffering that Job experiences and try to answer the question of why righteous people suffer undeservedly?
The book of Job opens with God, in chapter 1, boasting about his servant Job that there is none like him on earth . God calls Job a blameless and upright man who fears God intends away from evil. This gives Satan the opportunity to answer to God , in question God online Job fears Him. Satan assumes that Joe has only feared God, because God has blessed him greatly. Thus God allows Satan to stretch out his hand against Job. Here we see Satan’s accusation was direct it toward both the God’s justice and chose righteousness , Satan is basically asking the question, is it love or is it self-serving greed that motivates Job to fear God, and to be separate from seeing (Waters, 441). Thus, from this point on, Satan is allowed to make Job suffer.
This opening chapter raises the question, why would God sent suffering to Job? Does this act of God, make one question his character? The answer to this question nrequires a lot of thinking through Scripture and analyzing Job speeches in the book and God’s response.
Waters explains that the Book of Job shows that the sufferer can question and doubt, face the hard questions of life with faith, maintain an unbroken relationship with a loving God, and still come to a satisfactory resolution for personal and collective injustice and undeserved suffering (Waters, 437). I agree with this as these are some of the things we see in the book of Job.

Fretheim writes that is for God’s sake, not jobs and is so that God can show the Satan that he is wrong. Alas God places his confidence in Job (Fretheim, 87). I strongly disagree with this, as I believe that God never tries to prove anything to Satan because he rules and reigns over Satan. I believe that God’s purpose in allowing Job’s suffering is greater than this.
The first test Satan did was to take away all of Job's animals, killing the servants that were with the animals, and killing all of Job's sons and daughters while they were eating together. Even though Satan did these things to Job, Job did not curse God like Satan wanted Job to do. Satan afflicted sores all over Job's body. The book we see how Job reacts to suffering in chapter 1, he blesses the name of God (verse 21). In chapter 2, Job rebukes his wife who tried to encourage him to curse God (verse 10). And this stage Job has not started wrestling with what is going on in his life.
Let’s look at how Job’s friends or counselors: Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar try to explain why Job is suffering undeservedly. All three counselors continued in the one satanic false doctrine of retribution. All three counselors told Job the same thing, which was to repent of his sins so that God could restore his prosperity, so they pressed on him to admit that he sinned and he did wrong.
In chapter 2 verse 11 . The three friend’s intent was originally to comfort Job and to sympathize with him. However, they failed miserably at doing this. First, we see Eliphaz explain his theology on suffering by writing that “whoever perished, being innocent or where were the upright destroyed” (4:7). In 24:1-12 Job response, and says that many innocent people have suffered. But Eliphaz calls Job response as foolish and tries to force him to repent his since before God (5:8, 15:20-35. 22:5-12) Eliphaz’s message to Job was that he was suffering as a result of some sin he must have committed (4:12, 5:16). Eliphaz believe that God initiated Job suffering and can relieve Job from his suffering if Job would admit his sin.
Job tells his friends to show him his sin (6:24). As a response