God's Justice and the Suffering of Job

Introduction

In the ancient times, there lives a man named Job whose purpose of life was to please God throughout his life. Since he was a good man, he was rewarded by God for his piety and wealth that he had. Job had thousands of cattle and lived with a large family of seven sons and three daughters. However, the devil was jealous of Job and therefore, he began to belittle Jobs in front of God. This can be explained by the quote, “Doth Job fear God for nothing? ... But put forth Thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse Thee to Thy face” (Mitchell, pp. 10). Therefore, in order to reveal the faithfulness of Jo b towards Him, and also to teach the people to be patient in their sufferings, God allowed the devil to take all the possessions which were owned by Job. Robbers came to his place one day and drove all his cattle, slew the servants and a very terrible tornado came which ruined the house where he lived with his family, and also killed his family. However, job did not complain to God for all the mishap but his patience can be seen in the quote, “God gave, and God hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord” (Mitchell, pp. 10).

The devil was not satisfied with this; therefore he began to slander Job again and God allowed him to deprive Job of his health after which he started suffering from a terrible disease, leprosy. At this point, his wife began to convince him to complain to God and his friends also grieved him, however Job was firm and he remained hopeful in the mercy of God. Job predicted about the Redeemer and of the future resurrection which is evident in the quote, “I know that my Redeemer liveth and on the last day He shall raise from the dust this my corrupted skin, and in my flesh I shall see God. I shall see Him myself; mine eyes, and not the eyes of another, shall behold Him” (Job 19:25-27, Septuagint).

It was because of his sincerity that God was pleased and he was shown as an example of devotion despite of the suffering he had to face. After this, Job was rewarded and he regained his health, he also got seven more sons and three daughters, and the number of cattle he got was twice as much as he had initially. Moreover, he also lived for one hundred and forty years, in honor and with happiness.

Importance of the Topic

The topic which has been focused upon by the author is important for him because it teaches us about the misfortunes that are sent by God. Job was suffering not because he was sinner, but God was testing his piousness. Therefore, it can be said that God does not only punish the sinners but he also send misfortunes to the people who are righteous and ...