The Truth About Job's Troubles
The book of Job is probably one of the most misunderstood books of the Bible. And a wrong interpretation of the story of Job can paint a poor picture of God in the minds of believers. For example, Job 1:21 which says, "The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" is a very misinterpreted passage of Scripture. This verse has often been used to explain a person's premature death. It seems easy to say, like Job, "The Lord gave this one his life, the Lord has the right to take his life away." However, we know that God's will for His people is long life (Genesis 6:3; Psalms 91:16; Proverbs 3:1-2). The devil is the one that takes life. Jesus said in John 10:10-11, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."
Why does it seem that some statements in the book of Job contradict other passages of Scripture? Well, we must understand that the Bible, although it is the inspired Word of God, contains a lot of history. And while it is historical fact that Job spoke the words recorded in Job 1:21, this does not mean his words were true then--or now. To rightly divide truth, we must study Scripture in its context.
Job was most definitely devout and he sincerely loved God, yet he had misconceptions about God. He often spoke out of his limited revelation of God and his statements were not accurate. He could not turn to John 10:10 and find out who the real thief is. This verse had not been written yet, so Job did not know that the Lord is the giver of life and Satan is the thief. The good news is that Job discovered his wrong thinking and corrected it. Job 42:3 says, "...I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not."
Another important factor to consider when studying the book of Job is that Job allowed fear to come into his life before he was ever attacked by the enemy. Job continually sacrificed burnt offerings for each of his children, thinking, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts" (Job 1:5, "New International Version"). Instead of making the sacrifice in faith, Job feared that his children would betray God. His actions were motivated by fear and unbelief. In Job 3:25, Job tells us the result of his fear: "For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me." Fear caused him to lose his children and fortune. In other words, the Lord did not rob Job of his children and blessings; his fear opened the door for Satan to steal them. The only protection from Satan Job had (or any other person has) is the shield of faith (Ephesians 6:16). When that shield is down, Satan will take advantage of the spiritual handicap and absolutely plunder a person's life, family and goods (1 Peter 5:8).
Another important key to understanding the story of Job is to realize that when God asked Satan, "Have you considered My servant, Job?" God was not baiting Satan to attack Job. Many have wrongly interpreted this verse to mean that God allows Satan enough rein in our lives to chastise and correct us. This is not the way God operates. God corrects us with His Word by His Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16; John 14:26). Therefore, Satan was not God's tool to whip Job into line. The destruction of Job was Satan's idea, not God's suggestion. It would be impossible for God to suggest such a horrible idea. James 1:13 says, "Let no man say when he is tempted (this word also means tested or tried), I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man." God cannot be good one moment and evil the next. It is impossible. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17).
Later, when Satan tried to get God to turn against Job, the Lord said, "Behold, he is in thine hand..." (Job 2:6). Again, many Christians commonly misunderstand God's attitude here. God was not giving Satan His permission to destroy Job. He was merely stating a fact. As prince of the power of the air, Job was in Satan's domain and furthermore, Job had placed himself in Satan's hands through fear and unbelief. God could do nothing about it. He honors faith, not unbelief or fear. God showed His goodness in the end. When Job finally made a sacrifice, in faith, for his three friends the Lord turned Job's captivity and blessed him with twice as much as he had before (Job 42:10). Job was partially right in Job 1:21, THE LORD GIVES! BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD!
Satan’s a minor player in this drama.
The real story is about Job, and about how God and He relate to each
other. After the first couple of chapters, Satan is gone; and he figures
no more in what happens. But in spite of being only a minor character,
Satan's not entirely irrelevant, because he becomes the occasion of the
situation that develops. And it happens because Satan asks a provocative
question that human beings often also ask about God. They wonder if the
reason people want to be Christians is merely to get rich, get happy, get
prosperous and get blessed…or at least, in order to have a calming drug or
a security blanket to keep the scares of life away. Christians are
probably cowards, they think, and are too afraid to face life alone. So
they have to imagine a big “Daddy in the Sky” to save them from trouble.
In a sense, the Book of Job is a total rebuke to this lie.
Now, here’s the idea that Satan has about God: that the
kind of relationship that He establishes with people goes this way...He
“pays off” His “friends” by making their lives easy. So God’s relationship
with people is an economic one…God is not actually teaching people to love
Him, but how to act in their own best interests by* pretending* to love
Him. But that’s as far as it goes. Really, the whole thing is just a giant bribe. People don’t *love *God; they *love* the benefits of faking
Why does it seem that some statements in the book of Job contradict other passages of Scripture? Well, we must understand that the Bible, although it is the inspired Word of God, contains a lot of history. And while it is historical fact that Job spoke the words recorded in Job 1:21, this does not mean his words were true then--or now. To rightly divide truth, we must study Scripture in its context.
Job was most definitely devout and he sincerely loved God, yet he had misconceptions about God. He often spoke out of his limited revelation of God and his statements were not accurate. He could not turn to John 10:10 and find out who the real thief is. This verse had not been written yet, so Job did not know that the Lord is the giver of life and Satan is the thief. The good news is that Job discovered his wrong thinking and corrected it. Job 42:3 says, "...I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not."
Another important factor to consider when studying the book of Job is that Job allowed fear to come into his life before he was ever attacked by the enemy. Job continually sacrificed burnt offerings for each of his children, thinking, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts" (Job 1:5, "New International Version"). Instead of making the sacrifice in faith, Job feared that his children would betray God. His actions were motivated by fear and unbelief. In Job 3:25, Job tells us the result of his fear: "For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me." Fear caused him to lose his children and fortune. In other words, the Lord did not rob Job of his children and blessings; his fear opened the door for Satan to steal them. The only protection from Satan Job had (or any other person has) is the shield of faith (Ephesians 6:16). When that shield is down, Satan will take advantage of the spiritual handicap and absolutely plunder a person's life, family and goods (1 Peter 5:8).
Another important key to understanding the story of Job is to realize that when God asked Satan, "Have you considered My servant, Job?" God was not baiting Satan to attack Job. Many have wrongly interpreted this verse to mean that God allows Satan enough rein in our lives to chastise and correct us. This is not the way God operates. God corrects us with His Word by His Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16; John 14:26). Therefore, Satan was not God's tool to whip Job into line. The destruction of Job was Satan's idea, not God's suggestion. It would be impossible for God to suggest such a horrible idea. James 1:13 says, "Let no man say when he is tempted (this word also means tested or tried), I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man." God cannot be good one moment and evil the next. It is impossible. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17).
Later, when Satan tried to get God to turn against Job, the Lord said, "Behold, he is in thine hand..." (Job 2:6). Again, many Christians commonly misunderstand God's attitude here. God was not giving Satan His permission to destroy Job. He was merely stating a fact. As prince of the power of the air, Job was in Satan's domain and furthermore, Job had placed himself in Satan's hands through fear and unbelief. God could do nothing about it. He honors faith, not unbelief or fear. God showed His goodness in the end. When Job finally made a sacrifice, in faith, for his three friends the Lord turned Job's captivity and blessed him with twice as much as he had before (Job 42:10). Job was partially right in Job 1:21, THE LORD GIVES! BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD!
Satan’s a minor player in this drama.
The real story is about Job, and about how God and He relate to each
other. After the first couple of chapters, Satan is gone; and he figures
no more in what happens. But in spite of being only a minor character,
Satan's not entirely irrelevant, because he becomes the occasion of the
situation that develops. And it happens because Satan asks a provocative
question that human beings often also ask about God. They wonder if the
reason people want to be Christians is merely to get rich, get happy, get
prosperous and get blessed…or at least, in order to have a calming drug or
a security blanket to keep the scares of life away. Christians are
probably cowards, they think, and are too afraid to face life alone. So
they have to imagine a big “Daddy in the Sky” to save them from trouble.
In a sense, the Book of Job is a total rebuke to this lie.
Now, here’s the idea that Satan has about God: that the
kind of relationship that He establishes with people goes this way...He
“pays off” His “friends” by making their lives easy. So God’s relationship
with people is an economic one…God is not actually teaching people to love
Him. But that’s as far as it goes. Really, the whole thing is just a giant bribe. People don’t *love *God; they *love* the benefits of faking
loving God.
God says, “Have you considered my servant Job.” Implication: “He’s the
real deal. He loves me, and I love Him.”
Satan says, "No, it’s not like that." Or to put it another way, in the
Biblical wording:
“Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge about him and his
house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his
hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.”
Satan’s saying, “It’s a deal; it’s always been a deal. Job doesn’t love
you, and you’re nothing special to Him. You’ve bought him off, and he’s
really nothing special at all.”
Then Satan states the test: "But put forth Your hand now and touch all
that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.” Essentially, he’s
saying, “Break the deal, and your ‘friend’ will curse you. He’s no more
committed to you than anybody.”
So essentially, God says, “How greatly you underestimate both me and my servant…you have not the slightest idea what kind of friendship I have
established with him.” And He gives Satan permission to run the test — not
because God doesn’t know Job will pass it, but because He’s certain that
Job will demonstrate that He can pass it. And also, that others who love
God can do the same.
Ironically, Job’s own friends have essentially the same view as Satan.
They also can’t figure out how God could love someone and not make his life
good for him. And, if life is bad, it must mean that God hates that guy.
Job must have sinned — how, they have no idea, but it must be so — because
obviously God’s whipping him for it. That’s their figuring.
So they tell Job:
“How long will you say these things,
And the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?
Does God pervert justice?
Or does the Almighty pervert what is right?
If your sons sinned against Him,
Then He delivered them into the power of their transgression.
If you would seek God
And implore the compassion of the Almighty, If you are pure and upright,
Surely now He would rouse Himself for you
And restore your righteous estate."
You see, they’re saying the same thing, essentially. God would never allow
you to suffer if you were not a bad man. That’s how the deal works: you be
a good person, and God is obligated to give you good things. So it’s time
for you to repent, God will forgive you, and of course He will be bound to
give you back all the good stuff you lost. It’s a deal. It’s always been
a deal.
But the main message of Job — or at least, one of them — is that it is NOT
a deal. It’s not a scam, or a play, or a bargain. It is not the case that
in exchange for our feigned love, God will give us cherries and ice cream
every day. Rather, the way the relationship works is that God does what is
right, and we trust Him to do it — even when we don’t understand what He is
doing in our lives, and especially when things go wrong. And Job
understands this, though no one around him — not even his wife — gets it.
He says:
"Though He slay me,
I will hope in Him."
Job’s saying, “I have learned to love God unconditionally, because of who
He is, not because He pays me off in predictable ways, or lets me
manipulate Him through my good behaviour. We really are friends, and I
trust Him — no matter what happens to me.”
Then Job adds,
"Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him.
This also will be my salvation,
For a godless man may not come before His presence."
This means, “Because we are friends, He gets to decide what happens; but
because we are friends, I also get the privilege to ask Him why unfair
things seem to be happening to me. It’s a conversation, not a bargain.
And if I have that right, it’s not because God doesn’t love me; it’s because I know He does. I’m not a godless man. I’m God’s man."
So there’s a lot of important revelation in this. Here we learn not to try
to “read” our circumstances, as if God gives benefits to those He “loves,”
and punishes those He “hates.” Sometimes, good people suffer, and bad
people seem to thrive. That’s how it goes, in this wicked world. Because
ultimately, the point is not that we should have riches and blessing merely
on Earth, but that we should be made into true companions fit for God.
Compared to that great goal, the present blessings are not much, and the
present pains are not much (See Romans 8:15-25).
For now, on Earth, we experience both good and bad. None of it is
reflective of some sort of “bargain” we run with God. It’s all preparatory
to our entry into a full, open-hearted and unconditional love relationship
with God, one that shall last forever.
In many ways, that’s exactly what the Book of Job is all about. It’s about
learning that we can’t tell much about our spiritual state from our present
circumstances, and that those despised by the world may be yet highly
esteemed with God.
For that matter, a person who loves God could actually be in jail (i.e.
Nelson Mandela). But it wouldn’t mean that God didn’t love him/her. It
might mean that he/she had come from tough circumstances — the world is
full of those — and was on his/her way to a brighter, eternal destiny. It
might mean that for now, he/she needed to be going through some specific
tests and trials in order to refine his/her character. That can happen
too. It might even be, like Job, a demonstration of the grace of God to
others who were watching, showing them that God really does love
people, and people can really love God; that they are true friends. (And
look at what an example Nelson Mandela has been to the world!)
But whatever happened to such a person, it would never be because God
didn’t love him/her — it would be because He did (See Hebrews 12:4-14).
God says, “Have you considered my servant Job.” Implication: “He’s the
real deal. He loves me, and I love Him.”
Satan says, "No, it’s not like that." Or to put it another way, in the
Biblical wording:
“Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge about him and his
house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his
hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.”
Satan’s saying, “It’s a deal; it’s always been a deal. Job doesn’t love
you, and you’re nothing special to Him. You’ve bought him off, and he’s
really nothing special at all.”
Then Satan states the test: "But put forth Your hand now and touch all
that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.” Essentially, he’s
saying, “Break the deal, and your ‘friend’ will curse you. He’s no more
committed to you than anybody.”
So essentially, God says, “How greatly you underestimate both me and my servant…you have not the slightest idea what kind of friendship I have
established with him.” And He gives Satan permission to run the test — not
because God doesn’t know Job will pass it, but because He’s certain that
Job will demonstrate that He can pass it. And also, that others who love
God can do the same.
Ironically, Job’s own friends have essentially the same view as Satan.
They also can’t figure out how God could love someone and not make his life
good for him. And, if life is bad, it must mean that God hates that guy.
Job must have sinned — how, they have no idea, but it must be so — because
obviously God’s whipping him for it. That’s their figuring.
So they tell Job:
“How long will you say these things,
And the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?
Does God pervert justice?
Or does the Almighty pervert what is right?
If your sons sinned against Him,
Then He delivered them into the power of their transgression.
If you would seek God
And implore the compassion of the Almighty, If you are pure and upright,
Surely now He would rouse Himself for you
And restore your righteous estate."
You see, they’re saying the same thing, essentially. God would never allow
you to suffer if you were not a bad man. That’s how the deal works: you be
a good person, and God is obligated to give you good things. So it’s time
for you to repent, God will forgive you, and of course He will be bound to
give you back all the good stuff you lost. It’s a deal. It’s always been
a deal.
But the main message of Job — or at least, one of them — is that it is NOT
a deal. It’s not a scam, or a play, or a bargain. It is not the case that
in exchange for our feigned love, God will give us cherries and ice cream
every day. Rather, the way the relationship works is that God does what is
right, and we trust Him to do it — even when we don’t understand what He is
doing in our lives, and especially when things go wrong. And Job
understands this, though no one around him — not even his wife — gets it.
He says:
"Though He slay me,
I will hope in Him."
Job’s saying, “I have learned to love God unconditionally, because of who
He is, not because He pays me off in predictable ways, or lets me
manipulate Him through my good behaviour. We really are friends, and I
trust Him — no matter what happens to me.”
Then Job adds,
"Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him.
This also will be my salvation,
For a godless man may not come before His presence."
This means, “Because we are friends, He gets to decide what happens; but
because we are friends, I also get the privilege to ask Him why unfair
things seem to be happening to me. It’s a conversation, not a bargain.
And if I have that right, it’s not because God doesn’t love me; it’s because I know He does. I’m not a godless man. I’m God’s man."
So there’s a lot of important revelation in this. Here we learn not to try
to “read” our circumstances, as if God gives benefits to those He “loves,”
and punishes those He “hates.” Sometimes, good people suffer, and bad
people seem to thrive. That’s how it goes, in this wicked world. Because
ultimately, the point is not that we should have riches and blessing merely
on Earth, but that we should be made into true companions fit for God.
Compared to that great goal, the present blessings are not much, and the
present pains are not much (See Romans 8:15-25).
For now, on Earth, we experience both good and bad. None of it is
reflective of some sort of “bargain” we run with God. It’s all preparatory
to our entry into a full, open-hearted and unconditional love relationship
with God, one that shall last forever.
In many ways, that’s exactly what the Book of Job is all about. It’s about
learning that we can’t tell much about our spiritual state from our present
circumstances, and that those despised by the world may be yet highly
esteemed with God.
For that matter, a person who loves God could actually be in jail (i.e.
Nelson Mandela). But it wouldn’t mean that God didn’t love him/her. It
might mean that he/she had come from tough circumstances — the world is
full of those — and was on his/her way to a brighter, eternal destiny. It
might mean that for now, he/she needed to be going through some specific
tests and trials in order to refine his/her character. That can happen
too. It might even be, like Job, a demonstration of the grace of God to
others who were watching, showing them that God really does love
people, and people can really love God; that they are true friends. (And
look at what an example Nelson Mandela has been to the world!)
But whatever happened to such a person, it would never be because God
didn’t love him/her — it would be because He did (See Hebrews 12:4-14).
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