The Book Of Job By Ecclesiaste

Who I chose to write my character study paper over was Job and his life influenced by god’s grace, mercy, and evilness. The dominant theme of Job is the difficulty of understanding why God the creator of everything can allow good people and followers of his to suffer. In Job he is trying a way to justify God’s actions. The poetry in Job is a true dialogue, for the characters develop ideas and unique personalities throughout the course of their responses. The Book of Job is one of the most celebrated pieces of biblical literature, not only because it explores some of the most profound questions humans ask about their lives, also because it is extremely well written.

The theme of the Book of Job is the perseverance of the human spirit. Job loses everything but he does not lose his faith in God. “Job refuses to curse God” (Book). Job has not done anything to deserve this, but it is a test from God and Satan to see if Job is actually as

As the book opens, “And that man was greater than all of the dwellers of the East.”(Job 1) This opening line is telling the audience that Job is viewed as unique compared to other servants. “And the man was blameless and upright and feared God and shunned evil.” (Job 1) Job is presented to the audience as God’s favorite servant, for Job is a man who is free of sin. He not only fears God but is also and because he is both, “blameless and upright”. “Skin for skin! A man will give all he has for his own life. Yet reach out and pray, your hand and strike his bone and his flesh. Will he not curse you to your face?”(Job 2).When Satan questions Job’s loyalty to the Almighty king, God takes this challenge with pride for he knows how faithful of a servant Job is to him. Satan believes Job is only obedient to him because he has no other reason not to be, but if God were to strike him with hardship, Job would turn against him and curse his name. “Here he is in your hands. Only preserve his life” (Job 2).Though God puts Job into Satan’s hands, he tells him not to kill him to prove his point. Satan strikes Job with a burning rash that spreads from head to toe, takes away all of his animals, kills all his children and yet, Job still does not curse God. Job refuses to let such words past his lips because he still believes in the good of God and says he shall not accept evil. God then sees Job true loyalty of him and restores

The Book of Job is of wisdom genre. Job was a righteous, rich man. God and Satan have a confrontation regarding Job’s faith in God. God allows Satan to test Job by taking away his family, sheep, camels, and servants. Job was passed the test. Job was tested again. This time it was his health that was taken away. Job speaks to his three friends and curses the day he was born. The four of them have a lengthy conversation as to why Job is being punished. Elihu enters the conversation and becomes somewhat angry with Job’s lack of faith in God. God speaks to Job in question form. Job repents. God speaks the three friends and advises them to sacrifice a burnt offering. Job was them made prosperous and was “given twice as much as he had before” by God.

In the book of Job, the relationship between Job and God is

Job exists as the sole counselor in this event because he encourage his wife even though he goes through more than she goes through and he receives multiple negative monologues from his friends. The rest of the book of Job discusses the miseries of Job’s trials and does not mention Job’s wife again until the last five verses of the book; however this counseling session will parallel the events of Job and focus on the reconciliation of Job’s wife. This counseling session begins after Job’s wife tells him to curse God because at this point she existed at the deepest point of her grief and anger.

   Life is difficult. "Suffering...is not an exception to the human condition, it is the human condition" (Gomes 405). The question of why life can be unjustly cruel is asked today and has been asked since the beginning of time.

The men conclude, Job must have committed an act(s) worthy of punishment. Zophar the Naamathite, implies Job is deserving of a punishment greater than what he has received, (11:1-12). Once God spoke to Job, he asked that Job pray for his friends (p.217), Job obliged. Rather than condemn his friends, as they did to him, Job prayed for them, hinting that he cares about them, as well as validating his selflessness. Even though Job lost everything, including his home, family, and health, he continues to love and worship God.

The book of Job is the eighteenth book in the Bible and is a book about Faith, Pride and Loyalty. Job was a God-Fearing man who was faithful and loyal to God and His word, and God’s pride for Job caused him to boast about Job while having a conversation with Satan, then giving Satan permission to test just how faithful Job would be if he were to lose everything he had. Job was a wealthy man but Satan was going see how faithful Job really was to God. Satan caused Job to lose all of his material possessions, caused him to become sick and endured tremendous suffering all while his family and friends turned their backs on him, telling him that he brought on all of his suffering on himself

In stark contrast to God’s presence in Genesis, the character of God in Job strays from the ideal perfection of the divine. The concept of the ideal manifested in Genesis is embodied in God’s moral, reasonable, and rational behavior. In Job, on the other hand, rather than being reasonable, methodical, and creating life, God displays more human characteristics and plays the role of both creator and destroyer. The book of Job begins with God’s boastful bargain with Satan, which subsequently leads God to allow the total destruction of Job’s family and livelihood. Job is even attacked physically with “loathsome sores… from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head” (Job 2:7). In an uncharacteristically immoral decision, God gives Satan the power do

But he continues to be loyal to God, in spite of his own wife suggesting to curse God for his suffering. Hearing of his illness, his friends visit Job and they convey their advice. It is at this point where Job curses God, as he cannot handle his pain or his friends and their beliefs that his sin is the cause of his suffering and that he must repent in order to be saved. The following upbraiding proves too much for Job, and he grows sarcastic, impatient, and afraid. He laments the injustice that God lets wicked people prosper while he and countless other innocent people suffer. Job wants to confront God and complain, but he cannot physically find God to do it. He feels such wisdom is hidden from human minds, but he still remains God-fearing. God finally interrupts, calling from a whirlwind and demanding Job to be brave and respond to his questions. Overwhelmed by the encounter, Job acknowledges God’s unlimited power and admits the limitations of his human knowledge. God returns Job’s health, providing him with twice as much property as before, new children, and an extremely long life.

In The Book of Job, the perfectly moral Job has everything taken away from him by God. He is the servant to God, a man of perfect integrity, and he did everything right even to the point of slight paranoia. For instance, he baptized his children every year just in case they sinned. Therefore, he strongly questions God when everything is taken away from him and even expresses his despair and curiosity to his friends. His friends believe he deserved everything because God is never unjust.

The prologue or back story narrates how, with the permission of God, a holy man Job is tried by Satan with severe afflictions, in order to test his virtue. In succession Job bears six great temptations with heroic patience, and without the slightest comment against God or wavering in loyalty to him. Then Job's three friends, Eliphaz, Baldad, and Sophar, come to console him. Their visit is to become the seventh and greatest

They then say that God is just and that his sons and daughters had died because of their own sins. Then God appears before Job and curses him asking why he was not there when he created the world or why he isn't omnipotent. God goes on about how Job dares question God's power, wisdom and decisions. God continues to pound him with questions and Job apologizes for questioning God and finally repents to God. God then addresses Job's three friends and tells them that they have angered God and they have to offer seven bulls and seven rams to clear their wrongdoings against God. After all the repenting and prayers, God then gives back all of Job's losses, blessing him with twice the number of livestock he had before and blessing Job with seven sons and three daughters. Job goes on to live joyously for another 140 years before dying.

The end of the story has Job restored to his former state, living a long and prosperous life. As for his friends, they are not so lucky. God punishes them for misrepresenting Him, and asks that they give burnt offerings to Him, while Job prays for them.