Job 2 gods word translation gw satan challenges the lord again. Since god validates elihus points 3841, the adversarial tone in gods answer to job makes even more sense. God talks quite a bit to job in response to his questions. God allowed satan to remove many of jobs blessings to test his faithfulness in difficult times. As the story goes, the sons of god, angels, presented themselves before god. How could satan reenter heaven to talk to god about job. Pastor points out conversations between satan and god. Its important to remember the context of the book of job. The book starts with god and satan discussing job, a perfect and upright man who feared god and eschewed evil 1. Who are we to question the maker of heaven and earth. They are so called, as beings in the likeness of god, which came forth from god in the earliest beginning of creation, before this material world and man came into existence job 28. God does not answer their questions about jobs guilt or innocence, but rather speaks about the created order and contrasts what god can do with what humans are able to do. New religious book an actual conversation between god and.
Rather, it begins with a typical day in the divine oval office, and the topic of god s just operation of the cosmos is put on the table. The meaning of the book of job is found in gods and satans conversation in heaven. The dialogue between god and satan about job was, by no means, a friendly conversation. The events of jobs suffering are quickly narrated in order to get to the core of the book. The seemingly arbitrariness of gods actions toward job appears incompatible with a. Job was not in heaven but the conversation between god and satan was. In fact one of them claims he heard what appears to be a demonic voice job 4. The book of lucifer holds most of the philosophy in the satanic bible, with twelve. Rather, job is a man who is clothed in the righteousness of christ and has confidence that he has a righteousness that is not his own, and yet by gods sovereign hand is thrusted into suffering. What does this tell us about the place of evil in the world. Gods answer to the problem of undeserved suffering grand rapids.
Conversations between god and satan kindle edition by janovy jr, john. The conversation between god and satan is discussed by the talmud at length in bava basra 15b16a. Having satan do the dirty work is a very greekmythology thing to doyou know, let a demigod do the dirty work, then assert your dominance anyway. Was the book of job a mindgame satan played on god.
As a southern baptist i believe that the bible is the true and inerrant word of god and should be taken literally. Sure, job and god might have a strange relationship, but the thing to note here is that god is everywhere, all the time. Satan answered the lord, from wandering all over the earth. A conversation between satan and god aging capriciously. So it can also be assumed that satan and the christian god conspired together in the book of genesis. Satan was there and a conversation ensued about jobs goodness. Elihus claim is an exact but inverted parallel to the dialogue between. Satan tells god that job is only virtuous because he is well off. Some are more in love with prosperity and good health than with god, for. Outward obedience produced pride in the hearts of the scribes and their hearers, while jesus taught and practiced meekness and humility. There was a moment when i asked myself, am i really having a conversation with satan. May 15, 2012 bringing to light the true events in the story of job, and what was actually happening. According to the sacred writer, the truly wise man should realize that the fear of the lord, that is wisdom.
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. As we cannot find fault with gods work, so we need not fear concerning it. He says that the only reason job fears god is to get rich. In the book of job, how was it possible for god and satan. I think the relation is like god and job as father and son. Oct 01, 2016 you say god wants to heal everyone, well what about job. The writer of job doesnt dwell on this part of the story, however. Laird harris professor of old testament covenant theological seminary a few years ago, there was a man of the eastthe eastern united states, that isnamed archibald macleish. Conversations between god and satan kindle edition by. Remember, god doesnt inflict anything nasty on job with his own divine power. The book of job consists of a prose prologue and epilogue narrative framing poetic dialogues and monologues. If so then this direct conversation with god could lead to learning about the inner workings of the job story. It took a young man with the spirit to explain everything to job and his 3 friends.
In the end, god s wager with satan actually achieved an incredible coup. The devil talks to the lord and the lord answers him. The human author of book of job i believe received a vision and overheard a conversation and through gods grace gave him the wisdom to write the inspiration for purpose of stating that all the action of satan are subject to divine providence. Jobs three counselors perpetuated the same satanic false doctrine of. Satan said job wouldnt be so faithful if god werent blessing him so much.
The book of job god did not give satan power biblebro. Satan was there and a conversation ensued about job s goodness. Job who lost everything, was distraught, he thought and talked with his emotions and not with facts. Was it unfair for god to allow job to suffer over what was. Job fears god because it will mean health wealth and prosperity, thats all. Summary after being silent throughout the dialogues between job and his friends, god finally speaks to job out of the whirlwind. God has taken the form of a young national merit scholar male premed from rapid city, south dakota. It describes that the concept of satan, used synonymously with god. Nowhere in the book of job is satan explicitly stated to be a fallen angel. They hadnt been there long before satan had been able to drive a wedge between them and god. Job is a righteous man who suffers greatly and displays amazing piety.
It was orchestrated by god to show billions of people, who would read and hear about this account throughout the ages, that satan can do nothing without god s authorization and consent. God and job are treated as literary characters and the job poet as a consummate artist. Oct 17, 2008 jobs fear of god has endeared god to job in a very deep way. Years later, in the book of the revelation, the apostle john wrote about a future day when satan will be kicked out. Interpretations of this profoundly odd book are as many as the centuries of commentary it has undergone, but it is arguably one of the most beautifullywritten books of the bible even the most secular of literary scholars still. As we cannot find fault with god s work, so we need not fear concerning it. God talking to satan in the book of job,how did they know. In the book of job in the bible, can it be said that satan tricked god. Jan 02, 2020 since god validates elihus points 3841, the adversarial tone in gods answer to job makes even more sense. The following is what we get when we meld the first two chapters of job into genesis 2 and 3 providing a back story to the fall of man.
Thus, god allowed satan to take everything away from job. In the story, job, a man of faith, is tested by god through various horrible afflictions. Like everyone with a pulse, i knew the basic outlines. Its a comedy, based on a true story that builds knowledge, wisdom and understanding, but will also bring you to tears and make you laugh. In verse 9 he insinuates that job is not such a great specimen of reverence for god. This book begins with god bragging to satan about his faithful servant, job. Satan, the thief, has come to kill, steal, and destroy john 10. The devils accusation that jobs faith lacked integrity, focusing on the blessings god gave rather than god himself. The book of job challenges the simple equation of suffering with punishment, by telling the story of one righteous mans confrontation with overwhelming misfortune. Sep 17, 2012 by holly garcia my writing based on jobs conversation with god you really need to read the book of job, to understand the magnitude of gods answer in the face of suffering. This book will answer these questions and much more. Job was also blameless or perfect, but so was lucifer at one time eze 28.
Satan and god were sitting on a rock one day having a discussion about the human race. Not long before, god had made these miserable creatures called man. The book of job is a canonical work in both christian and jewish liturgy. Great tragedy struck, and job was struggling to understand how this could happen to him, a faithful follower of god. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading conversations between god and satan. This is a loosely based poemsong i wrote on a part of god and jobs conversation from chapter 38 on. Moses wrote the book of job,all biblical books i believe are inspired by god, god is the truth gatablanca 37 great answer 1 flag as the bible is a work of fiction not to be taken literally under any circumstances. Also, there are several other biblical names for god including in the book of job none of them are as ubiquitous as god so for every argument you want to put forward about changing the ubiquitous god with the lessfrequently used yahweh, i can make a similar argument for any of the other names of god in judaism. Have you ever wondered exactly how the conversation between god and adam went down in the garden of eden. They believed the law was broken when a wrong act was committed, but jesus said god was concerned with the motives of the heart. Does he ever actually answer the question of why job is suffering. The book of job is not about a man who sinned against god, and god punished him.
In fact, it was god who initiated the conversation with satan about job. It seems strange that god should give satan such a permission as this. It was orchestrated by god to show billions of people, who would read and hear about this account throughout the ages, that satan can do nothing without gods authorization and consent. Clines suggests that the character of god as depicted in the book of job is seriously flawed. Thomas explores the difficulty of jobs suffering, satans involvement, and gods sovereignty. Now there was a day when the sons of god came to present themselves before the lord, and satan came also among them. The book of job in the hebrew bible was crafted to address human suffering and why bad things happen to good people.
Job is a fundamental text of western civilization, the bible book that even people who dont read the bible have read. The sacred author could have said, god allowed satan to tempt job to the limits of his endurance, but the passage becomes more interesting and compelling when cast as a debate between god and satan over the fate of gods faithful servant, job. How could satan access heaven in the books of job and the. In verse 7 god asks satan in other words where are you comming from give an account satan said from going to and fro or back and forth all over ther earth. Job chapters 1 and 2, part of the bibles oldest book, say that satan has access to heaven.
A critical reading of the book of job must confront the issue of innocent suffering in a world allegedly created by a benevolent god. Who the lordgod that was being referred to, the real identity of the satan being spoken of, and a lot. Understanding the book of job by tom tompkins escape. It is common to view the narrative frame as the original core of the book, enlarged later by the poetic dialogues and discourses, and sections of the book such as the elihu speeches and the wisdom poem of chapter 28 as late insertions, but recent trends have tended to concentrate on the. Then satan answered the lord, and said, from going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. A conversation between satan and god which might have taken place thousands of years ago satan was feeling quite pleased with himself. We must now understand the conversation between god and satan. In the book of job, satan and the christian god conspire. 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.
Find out what job actually teaches about god, sickness, satan, and sovereignty. You must understand who god is and who satan is, what they know, and what their motivation is. The story of job gods bet with the devil religious forums. Suddenly, god speaks to job out of the whirlwind and grants him his desire. So jehovah god called satans attention to a man down there on earth, job in the land of uz, as being different from all others, a man blameless and upright, fearing god and turning aside from bad. 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. What the satanic temple is and why its opening a debate about. In the absence of answers, job has been held up as a model of quiet faithfulness. Conversations between god and satan by john janovy, jr. Before he set the world into motion, he knew the events of the last days of the earth. Satan challenges god by stating that job will denounce god if afflicted.
God sometimes answers his prayers requests, as in the case of job. Other than the first chapters of genesis when god rebuked the serpent that was possessed by satan, the book of job is another place where satan is said to talk with god. Since that time, the satanic temple has become a regular voice in national conversations about religious freedom, disestablishment, and. In the book of job satan was obliged to present himself before god. I got a job in south london after college, working with dyslexic kids. In the book of job, satan is sent by god to torment job. In the book of job, how was it possible for god and satan to.
I think we have played this game with humanity for long enough. All through this book job has been crying out of his pain, his bewilderment, and his tortured heart for an interview with god, asking god to explain what is happening to him, hoping that he could come before him and ask him some questions about what is going on. In the book of job satan and god talk to each other. If job was blameless, why did god allow satan to afflict him. Does job ever learn the reason for his familys death i. Instead of dealing with the ageold, and quite frankly rather hackneyed, subject of god and satan discussing job, conversations is a highly modern version that addresses a wide range of subjects. The strange and wonderful book of job treats of the same subject as we are discussing. Analysis this is a key passage for setting the stage for all that follows. The satanic bible is a collection of essays, observations, and rituals published by anton lavey. I drew the pentagram on everything, from my school books to my body. For you deceived people today who dont believe anyone is perfect, god said that job was perfect and upright, one that feared god, and hated evil. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
The book of job is ancient israelite wisdom literature, and its purpose isnt to teach us about how satan and god make bets and leave innocent peoples fates hanging in the balance. The book of job begins by introducing us to its three most significant characters. Remember that the book of job quotes jobs friends who bear a false testimony, so in those sections what they say is not divinely inspired. If job was blameless, why did god allow satan to afflict. Discussion in biblical debates started by neoseeker. The testament of job, written sometime between 100 bc100 ad, shows how satans role and character evolved from a servant of god to the spirit of idolatry and vengeance.
For you deceived people today who dont believe anyone is perfect, god said that job was perfect and upright, one that feared god, and hated evil job 1. For the humbling of job, god here shows him his ignorance, even concerning the earth and the sea. The book of job aesthetics, ethics, hermeneutics oapen. God accepts the challenge and gives satan permission to destroy jobs life. As evident in the book of job, satan works for god and serves his purpose of providing us an adversary for the purpose of perfecting us, and as an executioner of gods judgement against sin. Leviathan is a creature with the form of a sea serpent from jewish belief, referenced in the hebrew bible in the book of job, psalms, the book of isaiah, and the. We ought to take a look at our own life and ask ourselves the same question ii corinthians. Aug 02, 2010 in the book of job, satan is sent by god to torment job.
The lord said, behold, all that he hath is in thy power i give thee full power to do with his property, his servants, his children, and his wife, whatsoever thy craft or malice shall prompt thee to do. Confessions of satanic riches in christian ghana jstor. The works of his providence, as well as the work of creation, never can be broken. Members of the satanic temple do not believe in god or the devil. But, at the time, i felt like the christian god that i grew up with, who was. Jesus emphasized loving god and ones neighbor from the heart. 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 the bible, what is the relationship between god, job. Remember that the book of job quotes job s friends who bear a false testimony, so in those sections what they say is not divinely inspired.
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