Suffering of Job

Questions for Thought

1. What do you do when you have hardships?
2. Who do you blame when you have hardships?
3. How can you teach others the need to depend upon God when hardships come?

Job lived in Uz. He, like Noah, was found by God to be blameless and upright and one who feared God and shunned evil (Job 1:1). He had a lot of this world’s goods and he had 10 children. Job was always concerned that his children would sin and he made it a point to offer burnt offerings to God just in case they had sinned.

According to the account, that old serpent, Satan, was seeking to cause Job to forsake God. Satan and God had a conversation concerning Job. Satan told God the only reason Job was so faithful to Him was because God had put a hedge about Job and was protecting him from evil and causing him to have increase in his substance. God knew Job and knew this was not the case, but for some reason He allowed Satan to take all Job had as long as he did not hurt Job. Satan took all of Job’s children and all of his possessions through a series of calamities recorded in Job chapter 1. First, in verse 14, a messenger went to Job and told him the oxen were plowing and the asses were feeding beside them and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them. While he was talking to Job, another messenger came in verse 16. He told Job fire had fallen from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and he only had escaped to tell Job. While he was speaking in verse 17 another messenger came to say the Chaldeans had fallen upon the camels and carried them away, killing the servants with only this one escaping to tell Job. And then the final blow. In verse 18, a servant came to say Job’s sons and daughters had been killed when the wind struck the house of the eldest brother and it fell upon them. He alone had escaped to tell Job. To have so much tragedy all at one time come upon a person would be enough to destroy his faith in God. But, instead of blaming God, we see in verse 20 Job fell down and worshiped God. He said in verse 21 he came into the world naked and he would leave naked. He said the Lord gave and the Lord takes away, but he still blessed the name of the Lord. How would we react in a similar situation?

After being unsuccessful in getting Job to curse God, Satan went back to God in Chapter 2 of Job. God again asked Satan in verse 3 if he had considered Job who still feared God and shunned evil. Satan told God if Job’s flesh and bone was touched, he would curse God to His face. God gave Satan permission to do to Job whatever he wanted to as long as he did not kill him. Satan then struck Job with sore boils from head to toe. Job hurt so bad he scraped himself and sat among the ashes. His wife even told him to curse God and die. Job told her she spoke as a foolish woman. He still held his faith in God. In verse 10, he said we receive good from God and we also receive evil. He did not sin with his lips. What faith Job showed!

Job had three friends who heard about his calamities and they came together to mourn with him and to comfort him. Friends who will be there with you when you are in distress are so important. It seemed in the beginning of their visit these friends understood how great Job’s grief was and for seven days, they sat with him not opening their mouths. But after this, according to Chapter 3, Job began to talk to them. He cursed the day he was born as he expressed his sorrow to them. He asked why he had not died from his mother’s womb. I cannot imagine the sorrow that was upon Job at this time.

While his friends had been quiet in the beginning, starting in Chapter 4 and going on through Chapter 31, we have many exchanges between them and Job. The friends actually accused Job of having committed some great sin against God and indicated he was getting a just punishment. Job knew he had not sinned against God and he answered each of their accusations. If you have never read the book of Job, you really should read those chapters and try to feel Job’s pain and suffering as even his friends accused him. He must have felt terrible knowing even his friends thought he was guilty of some great sin.

According to Job 31:40, Job and his friends ended their discourse but beginning in Chapter 32, another person starts his accusations. This person, Elihu, is not identified as one of Job’s friends. He began his part of the debate by telling the others he was young and they were very old and he thought he should wait until after they had finished before he gave his opinion. In the rest of Chapter 32 through Chapter 37, Elihu attempted to answer Job’s complaints. He accused Job of claiming his righteousness was more than God’s righteousness. He said in 35:16 Job had opened his mouth in vain and multiplied words without knowledge.

Beginning in Chapter 38, God answered Job out of the whirlwind. He asked Job many questions about creation and the animals. Job could not answer God’s questions because he did not know the answers then and we do not know the answers today. In Chapter 42, Job confessed to God his lack of understanding and he said he had uttered things he did not understand and in verse 6 Job said he despised himself and he repented in dust and ashes. God was angry with Job’s three friends for not speaking what was right as Job had done. God told the friends they needed to offer a burnt offering and Job would pray for them.

God restored to Job twice as much in material possessions and the same number of children as he had before the calamities. His brothers and sisters and acquaintances came to his house and comforted him. They gave him money and earrings of gold.

The patience or perseverance of Job was mentioned in the New Testament by James in James 5:11. How much Job had to endure! What would happen to our faith in God if we were in the same circumstances? Would we cave in as the devil wanted Job to do or would we have enough faith to keep on believing God knows what is best and His will must be done?