Why did god ask satan if he had considered his servant, job. So it can also be assumed that satan and the christian god conspired together in the book of genesis. Job 14 flesh out a basic doctrinal understanding of satan. So the information we have to work with to understand who satan is, is minimal. Key personalities of this book include job, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, zophar the naamathite, and elihu the buzite. How could satan access heaven in the books of job and the. Id never this interpretation of satan in the book of job before. There is some dispute as to whether it should be taken as a proper name or a title. A genuine interest in gods creation is revealed in the content of job. The book of job is a highly controversial book of mostly confusing information. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area. The ultimate intention by fromke does focus mostly on the 1 god initially brought job on trail 2 satan accuses god of getting followers by material enticement matt 6. Select the possessions of job removed from him by the first tragedy.
What is the difference between hasatan, luficer and the serpent. Analysis this is a key passage for setting the stage for all that follows. Satan answered, i have been walking here and there, roaming around the earth. From roaming through the earth, he replied, and from walking back and forth in it.
Was it unfair for god to allow job to suffer over what was basically an argument between god and satan. To test jobs resolve, god purposely removes the hedge job 1. And god reins him in or gives him slack according to gods own sovereign purposes. Job told her that if he said that, that would be foolish. Book of job simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Oct 22, 2010 the book of job is an important book for all of us to study and appreciate. 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. God then gives permission to satan to put job to the test. Satan, the thief, has come to kill, steal, and destroy john 10. Thomas explores the difficulty of job s suffering, satan s involvement, and gods sovereignty.
Where does the communication between god and satan take place. Job s livestock are stolen by raiders, his herds and field hands are incinerated in a brushfire. Why are we so preoccupied with the book of job in a book about satan. 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. Satan cannot make a move without the permission of god almighty. You missed to mention that job was chosen by god to prove satan that. Nov 02, 2017 he makes an illogical leap from the presence of the definite article to a nonidentification.
Well, god says, lets see, and he gives satan permission to ruin jobs life. Here in the book of job the answer to that question is no. He appears in the first book of the bible genesis 3, but we only know that it is he from the last book of the bible. Most books of the bible take place on larger stages, but the book of job goes down at a very specific and narrow point in the human life cycle. Satan then afflicts job with unbearable suffering to see if it would destroy his piety. As job was already as perfect as he could be without seeing god as he really is. The majority of the debate section in the book of job is in prose form. Also, god told satan that he could bring various disasters upon job but could not kill him. The book of job god did not give satan power biblebro. Moses, israel, satan and job it also has an accompanying pdf of related material. The prologue of the book, telling of satans wager and the subsequent disaster that befell job, has been a scandal to many readers.
In the book of job, satan and the christian god conspire. Was it unfair for god to allow job to suffer over what was. 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. There is very little mention of satan in the bible, other than. But that ignores the obvious hebrew wording for the sake of christian tradition again, the phrasing is actually the satan. 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. It is possible that job is the oldest of any book of the bible written approximately 21001800 b. If job was blameless, why did god allow satan to afflict him. Satan and the testament of job the book of job in the hebrew bible was crafted to address human suffering and why bad things happen to good people. William henry green, in his great book, the argument of the book of job unfolded, says of satan.
Debateachristian submitted 5 years ago by basilides ignostic. How could satan reenter heaven to talk to god about job. Aug 02, 2010 t he mainstream jewish view of satan emanates from the book of job. The sovereign lord jehovah god does not bet, especially on the lives of his servants or satan. 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. Job explores the difficult question of gods relationship to human suffering, and invites us to trust gods wisdom and character. Satan, however, wants to thwart gods plan in any way he can. People learn more about themselves when they go through difficult times. Job chapters 1 and 2, part of the bibles oldest book, say that satan has access to heaven. Job gives us insights into his character, his purposes, his tactics, and his goals. As we noted earlier, satan is a powerful, intelligent being who will stop at nothing to carry out his ends. He certainly isnt raining down sunshine, rainbows, and love.
Is he the devil, the source of all temptation and evil who shows up later in the judeochristian tradition. Should the topic of satan happen to come up in your discussions with christians, here are some references that may come in handy. How could satan reenter heaven to talk to god about job in job 1. The book of job is a canonical work in both christian and jewish liturgy. A person feels as if something came upon him, and as if he had received a new power that encourages him to speak.
The story of job serves as an example of great faith for true christians today. The book that gives us the most information about the devil in the old testament, however, is the book of job. Job would, if he knew the plot hatched in heaven against him, consider satan the worst sort of enemy. The only significant mention of him is in the book of job, wherein we see the first example of a most curious, if often overlooked, aspect of satanthat he asks for, and receives permission from god, to test the faith of anyone who claims to have it. First is that youngs point is that the book of job is ehb not lhb. In the book of job, how was it possible for god and satan to. Set in uz, an obscure land far from israel, during an unknown time period, the book of job focuses on questions about gods justice and why good people suffer. Satan was there and a conversation ensued about job s goodness. The meaning of the book of job is found in god s and satan s conversation in heaven. What is the difference between hasatan, luficer and the. So as far as the book of job is concerned, there was indeed a designated angel whos job it was to accuse or oppose. In the book of job, it is stated many times that satan questioned in his presence the righteousness of gods servant job and challenged him to put job to the test. In the book of job, the ha satan of the torah becomes a literary figure in christianity and takes on the role of the accuser. These two dialogues, in job 1 and 2 respectively, are the only appearances of the word satan in the book of job.
He tells god that the only reason job is so religious is because god has given him a life filled with blessings. No, the snake in the garden of eden was not satan the snake was lilith, adams first wife, who had returned to take revenge on adam and eve read more here. Satan is first mentioned in the bible in the book of job. But it also makes us think of satan as the bad guy. Job 2 holman christian standard bible hcsb satan s second test of job. God often does this to all of us, to see what is in our hearts. It is translated as satan eighteen times in the old testament, fourteen of those occurrences being in job 12, the others in 1 chronicles 21. In hebrew, satan actually means the accuser or the prosecutor, and he is referred to as the satan, not just satan. He wants to prevent us from developing a close relationship with god. Now, in the operation of satan, we simply need to understand that he operates in two categories. Just because the accuser is the most accurate translation of the term as used in job and it is doesnt mean that this accuser isnt satan, the devil, as the host seems to think. You must understand who god is and who satan is, what they know, and what their motivation is. Because, ultimately, this fight is between job and god. Satan is seen as the adversary or prosecutor, an agent of gd, very much part of the divine council, that searches out the individuals wrongdoings and appears as their accuser.
Nowhere in the book of job is satan explicitly stated to be a fallen angel. The book of job, in the old testament, opens with words both majestic and onceuponatimeish. There was a man in the land of uz, whose name was job. The book of job begins with a description of its titular character, blameless and. Satan tells god that job is only virtuous because he is well off. The common belief that god gives power to satan by permission to test our faith or teach us some lesson is one reason that many believers in christ have departed from the faith or resent god.
If we were to film this book, the whole movie would take place on a single set, probably in a single day. Job explores the difficult question of gods relationship to. A casual reading of the verse seems to indicate that they are spiritual in nature, for satan himself is listed among them. Whoever they were, they had an appointment to present themselves before god. Job spends his entire book in a position of sadness and loss. In it, satan is a member of gods divine court who walks the earth looking for sin and reports back to god. Oct 19, 2015 in the book of job satan accuses god of putting a hedge job 1. The nkjv says, the workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created, although the exact meaning of this difficult hebrew text is uncertain. According to tyler over at codex, the satan in job is not the same satan in the nt 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 is seen as the adversary or prosecutor, an agent of gd, very much part of the divine council, that searches out the. Oxford university press usa publishes scholarly works in all academic disciplines, bibles, music, childrens books, business books, dictionaries, reference books, journals, text books and more. This is the final time satan is mentioned in the book of job. Question about the book of job how was satan in heaven. The meaning of the book of job is found in gods and satans conversation in heaven.
Rather, it begins with a typical day in the divine oval office, and the topic of. Now, lets look, first of all, at category number one and see how satan works in his own children. 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. Satan s first attack 6 one day the sons of god came to present themselves before the lord, and satan also came with them. Years later, in the book of the revelation, the apostle john wrote about a future day when satan will be kicked out. The purpose of the book of job is not to explain why bad things happen to good people, but rather merely to prove that they do. How could satan reenter heaven to talk to god about job in. Ever unfolding never read the splendor of his ways but should be an excellent book on job. Ill be quoting the source using the accuser rather than satan which the notes to my copy of the bible state is a perfectly viable gloss to reflect this understanding and to curtail conflation with the modern understanding of satan. Satan challenges god by stating that job will denounce god if afflicted. In the book of job, satan and the christian god conspire together to tempt job into cursing the christian god. Job 2 good news translation gnt satan tests job again. No red skin, no horns, no pointy teeth and tail, and no devilish grin. In job, we see a man who god allows to be directly attacked by satan.
We find out that god uses satan to accomplish things in our lives that we could not otherwise experience on our own. Nevertheless we do glean two things from the passages where satan is mentioned. Aug 26, 2012 this is a transcription of a lecture that you can download for free. I recently began studying the book of job and several things strike me as strange right from the start. Jan 18, 2014 but although the job of the story was from the land of uz, and its main character was a kind of jordanian abraham, we cannot help but think of him as the hebrew everyman, grappling with the question of gods fairness. Job 1, new international version niv the bible app. Watch our overview video on the book of job, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. He wants to keep us from attaining our destiny as the very sons of god. This summary of the book of job provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of job. The book of job in the hebrew bible was crafted to address human suffering and why bad things happen to good people.
Oct 19, 2015 in this weeks sermon, the historical dating and literary criticism is commented on in the beginning. The dialogue between god and satan about job was, by no means, a friendly conversation. He operates in his own children, and he operates on the children of god. 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. Hassatan is not permitted to harm job him self job 1. God praises job before satan, and satan is unimpressed, claiming that he is only righteous because his life is so comfortable. Satan said he could have job eating out of his hand turn him away from god. Satan being spoken of, and a lot of other details that clear up a lot of misleading christianity based information regarding the book of. The book of job does not tell us many facts concerning the identity of satan, which is doubtless why it forms such a mystery. The mainstream jewish view of satan emanates from the book of job.
Jun, 2014 this is not going to be a popular answer. So, lets clarify a few things that will set you up to read this book with more understanding. Remember, evil is bad, but it is good to have evil. The doctrine of satan in job the bible doesnt give us a great deal of information about the devil. The book of job begins by introducing us to its three most significant characters. From roaming through the earth, satan answered him, and walking around on it. In the book of job, satan is sent by god to torment job. He was right and good, he feared god, and turned away from sin. 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. God and satan had an interesting interaction, as recorded in the book of job. May 15, 2012 who is the satan in the book of job referring to. In this weeks sermon, the historical dating and literary criticism is commented on in the beginning. In the story, job, a man of faith, is tested by god through various horrible afflictions. Remember, god doesnt inflict anything nasty on job with his own divine power.
And those are the two spheres in which satan functions. A surface reading of the book of job usually evokes a reaction such as why is god making a bet with the devil. What does this tell us about the place of evil in the world. In hebrew, satan actually means the accuser or the. 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 job a particularly pious manwill abandon his piety and curse god if all his wealth and wellbeing are taken away. What happened to satan in the book of job after jobs agony. The book of job has been widely given the theme of patience and we see this mentioned in the new testament book of james. What is the role played by satan in the bible answers. Job 2 gnt satan tests job again when the day bible gateway. At the same time, it also asks the question we rarely.
Satan bakers evangelical dictionary of biblical theology. This satan personified the enemy of god, in the christian translation of this verse, whereas in the torah verse it simply refers to the enemies of the god of jerusalem. So jehovah god called satan s 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. Even though job lost everything he had and suffered from painful sores all over his body, he did not sin against god by cursing him.
As the story goes, the sons of god, angels, presented themselves before god. 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. 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. Job, knowing he is innocent, concludes that god must be unjust. Although most of the book consists of the words of job and his friends, job himself was not the author. Job is the last of the three books that explore these themes of biblical. For the rest of the lesson, the role of satan in the book of job is covered.
For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is. Rambam writes in moreh nevuchim guide to the perplexed, 2. God talking to satan in the book of job,how did they know. In the book of job, satan is depicted as an adversary who mocks the piety of a righteous man named job. Job 2 hcsb satans second test of job one day bible. Job 1 nlv satan tests job there was a man in bible gateway. Jehovah god allowed satan to test job his servant, having full confidence in jobs integrity. Study these 16 quotes from the book of job famous bible scriptures to learn more about the nature of god and how he wants us to live. The hebrew word satan means an adversary, one who resists. Michael heiser a walk through the old testament concerning the trinity duration. For one thing, god asked satan, have you considered my servant, job. He retains his piety throughout the story belying satans suspicion that his righteousness is due. But hassatan is prohibited, in the first round at least, from one move.
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