Satan, the thief, has come to kill, steal, and destroy john 10. Satan only pops up in chapters 1 and 2when things get poetic, hes out of there for good. Satan, the adversary, claims to gd that job is only righteous because he is basically wealthy and comfortable. What happened with the devil, and is satan a title or a. Why did god ask satan if he had considered his servant. Since god validates elihus points 3841, the adversarial tone in gods answer to job makes even more sense. 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. He was the greatest man among all the people of the east. Even the snake in the genesis account is an anthropomorphism of eves intellect as in ancient egyptian mythology the snake sym. On page 201 of the long day of joshua and six other catastrophes, by donald w. In job 2 god, taking ultimate responsibility for jobs calamities, again fixes satans attention on jobs blameless and godhonoring character. He was right and good, he feared god, and turned away from sin. Satan said he could have job eating out of his hand turn him away from god. If god does not permit satan to test his theory about the motivation of pious folks like job, then satan can say, you are afraid i might be right.
Job, chapter 1 united states conference of catholic bishops. In the book of job, satan appears as the partner of god, who on behalf of god. Satan contends that no one serves yahweh except for selfish reasons, but yahweh disagrees and presents job, a righteous man who fears god and shuns evil, as an example to counter. The book of job chapter 2 the dwelling place of satan. Question about the book of job how was satan in heaven. The book allows hard issues to emerge because they do in human experience.
As usual, satan was proven to be wrong by god, because god knew jobs steadfast, resolute character better than satan did. So as far as the book of job is concerned, there was indeed a designated angel whos job it was to accuse or oppose. Although the book of enoch is not in the bible, it. Patten and associates hatch and steinhauer, we read the most interesting account of the story of job. People learn more about themselves when they go through difficult times. In the book of job, how was it possible for god and satan.
So what should we say in response to the question, why did god allow satan to harm job. These things, however, satan begrudged job, so he destroyed his sheep and camels and herds by fire, or had them taken by marauders. Was it unfair for god to allow job to suffer over what was. To him, the devil a rebel against yahweh and ruler of the evil inclination in humans was the greater satan, whereas hasatan of the book of job the heavenly prosecuting attorney and secret police agent was the lesser satan. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of bible. Satan is given more prominence in the book of job than in any other old testament book. 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. And the conversation with god and satan was not real. Though job mistakenly thought god was the one to steal, kill, and destroy as john 10. For we read in the history of job, that satan appears in the presence of god to receive his commands, and dares not proceed to execute any enterprise. Satan, after having first attempted, in the guise of a beggar, to get job into his power, but without success, secured from god permission comp. The book of job does not specifically name its author. Yahweh asks one of them, the satan, where he has been, to which.
In this weeks sermon, the historical dating and literary criticism is commented on in the beginning. Job 1 nlv satan tests job there was a man in bible. Here in the book of job the answer to that question is no. In it, satan is a member of gods divine court who walks the earth looking for sin and reports back to god. Adversary, in this context, is a courtroom metaphor and refers to the advocate on the other side of the argument i. The prologue, which consists of the book s first two chapters, is believed to have been based on an older folktale in which a wager is made between yahweh and satan. The meaning of the book of job is found in gods and satans conversation in heaven.
While almost every english translation of the book of job will refer to satan in the first couple chapters of the book, there is scholarly consensus that this is. Job would, if he knew the plot hatched in heaven against him, consider satan the worst sort of enemy. Job chapters 1 and 2, part of the bibles oldest book, say that satan has access to heaven. Job bible book with full chapters new international. A poem to wisdom chapter 28, previously read as part of the speech of job, now regarded by most scholars as a. No less than fourteen times he is mentioned in the first two chapters. And satan answered the lord, and said, from going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it 3 and the lord said unto satan. God gives satan permission to take jobs wealth and kill his children and servants, but job nonetheless.
Even satan, gods archenemy, knows that he is limited by god in everything he does. The satan of the book of job could not have been the fallen angel of orthodox christianity for the following reasons. This was to show satan how job loved worshiped god. In the text, job is a righteous man favored by yahweh.
The book of job is a book in the ketuvim writings section of the hebrew bible tanakh, and. 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. Then the lord said to satan, have you considered my servant job. The book of job is a canonical work in both christian and jewish liturgy. God boasts to satan about jobs goodness, but satan argues that job is only. How could satan access heaven in the books of job and the. However, heres the definition of satan as given in eastons bible dictionary. Reginald sends him a separate letter, telling him that if he stops smoking cigarettes and doesnt eat pork, hell help malcolm get out of prison.
But a good way to tell the story in the point of view. Job suffers, loses money and children and then health but has done nothing wrong to deserve punishment satan as adversary satan asks if job is really faithful to god or if he is only just because god gives him nice things. The appearance of satan in virtually all english translations of the book of job befuddles me since it is very clear that satan was never in the book of job to begin with. Satan more literally, the adversary in job is a minor character. In the bible, what is the role of satan in job 1 and 2. Trying to say that one of the characters in the book wrote one of the chapters is as ridiculous as saying that princess leia wrote attack of. Above all, though, what happened to job lets us know that god, our creator and sustainer, is in charge of everything and has a. But that ignores the obvious hebrew wording for the sake of christian tradition again, the phrasing is actually the satan.
Its a word thats taken a strange journey over the centuries. The rest of the book includes over thirty chapters of anguished conversation in which jobs three friends. In hebrew, satan actually means the accuser or the prosecutor, and he is referred to as the satan, not just satan. Job 1, new american standard bible nasb the bible app. The contemporary view of satan is that he is a powerful being who hates mankind and will do whatever he can to destroy us. In the book of job, satan is sent by god to torment job. The satan appears in the book of job, a poetic dialogue set within a prose framework, which may have been written around the time of the babylonian captivity. The accuser satan hopes to set just such a trap for job. While malcolm curses philbert, he listens to reginald, who he assumes is.
He appears in the first two chapters and is not heard from again. When used as a proper name, the hebrew word so rendered has the article the adversary job 1. The book of job in the hebrew bible was crafted to address human suffering and why bad things happen to good people. If job was blameless, why did god allow satan to afflict. Clicking on a chapter will show you the text of that chapter of job in the bible new international version.
Hes blameless and upright, and he has kids, a wife, land, and a bunch of sheep. Satan says to god that if he removes the blessings he has so richly bestowed on job, he will curse you to your face job 1. You must understand who god is and who satan is, what they know, and what their motivation is. Again, modernism has attempted to explain away these historical incidents. For the rest of the lesson, the role of satan in the book of job is covered. Learn how to properly read the introduction in the book of job. Job 1 niv prologue in the land of uz there bible gateway. We find out that god uses satan to accomplish things in our lives that we could not otherwise experience on our own. Job 1 kjv there was a man in the land of uz, bible gateway. What happened to satan in the book of job after jobs. The book of job is an important book for all of us to study and appreciate. There is no one on earth like him, blameless and upright, fearing god and avoiding evil. The objective of the book of job is not to teach a comprehensive view of the workings of satan.
Allowing the questions is necessary in order to be able to address them. This is the reason for satan talking to god in chapter 2. In all this job did not sin with his lips, although the wording of the final phrase with his lips leaves this doorway into the re mainder of the book of job ajar. Satan smiting job with sore boils, william blake, c. In the book of job, many english translations say that satan was in heaven. From the holy bible king james version, book of job, chapter ii, 310 3. Furthermore, there are many creative attributes about god in the book of job especially in chapters 38 and 39 for us to learn about. In contrast to what satan suggests will happen, job cries out from a posture of grief and worship, blessed be the name of the lord. In 1948, malcolm has been transferred to concord prison, when philbert writes to him about a new religion hes found, the natural religion for the black man. Job 1, new international version niv the bible app.
What does this tell us about the place of evil in the world. The strange conversation between god and the satan figure in job 12. Why do you think god did not tell about the arrangement with satan. The book of job god did not give satan power biblebro. Third of all, if we analyze the language job contains the most difficult hebrew of the tanakh, with more hapax legomena than any other book we find that the frame story of god and the satan was almost certainly added to the text of. God created satan, and satan has to submit to gods authority and will. Why did god allow satan to harm job and his family. When the bible says that job was blameless, it does not mean that he. Up in the heavens, god brags to the divine assembly about job.
In the book of job satan accuses god of putting a hedge job 1. Lo and behold, satan comes out and challenges god on jobs goodness. According to judaic beliefs, at least, the satans referenced in the old testament have nothing to do with the devil in the new testament. Satan has put god in a tough place by his question.
To test jobs resolve, god purposely removes the hedge job 1. Job, chapter 2 king james version christian answers. Years later, in the book of the revelation, the apostle john wrote about a future day when satan will be kicked out. The story of job gods bet with the devil religious forums. Its more of a title than anything elselike your honor or the monsieur. In the story, job, a man of faith, is tested by god through various horrible afflictions. According to orthodox christianity, satan had been cast out of the heavens before the creation of genesis chapter one, but here in job many centuries after the fall, we find satan coming into the presence of god. Therefore, its highly unlikely that the original authors of the book of job meant satan as the fallen angel. If satan can get job to believe he is being punished by god, job may be caught in. Andrew zenos of the presbyterian theological seminary in chicago alleged that. I do appreciate you reading the posts but i question your level of discernment at this stage in the discussion. All of this is to say that the satan in the book of job cannot be entirely identified with the devil or satan in the new testament.
1399 1275 845 1349 609 427 826 1083 753 225 167 1160 845 748 530 775 1374 49 419 773 545 574 1185 1125 167 1549 880 1260 961 1266 228 1187 208 961 177 329