Category: <span>Job</span>

The book of Job reads like a transcript of a forensic trial. Job and his friends carried on in a courtroom where Job was the defendant, claiming righteousness even though he was suffering like one who had committed a heinous crime. Job longed for God to arrive at court so he could call the Almighty to the witness stand and prosecute Him for allowing such difficulty to come upon one who was righteous. But Job’s wish was not granted. Instead, Job had to endure cross-examination and accusation from his friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and Elihu. Job 38-42 is the conclusion of the drama. God entered the legal proceedings as Job had hoped, but Job was yet in the chair of the defendant.

The Lord spoke to Job from the whirlwind (Job 38:1), demonstrating at the outset His holiness. The Lord first addressed Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and Elihu, confronting them for their ignorant words to Job during his trial (Job 38:2). The Lord then turned straightaway toward Job, beckoning him to answer like a man. The Lord challenged Job’s thinking by asking him to consider the organization of the natural world (Job 38:4-24). In each of his speeches, Job had longed for understanding from God. Here, Job is shown that God lacked no understanding and had revealed much of His wisdom in the created order. God boasted of His rule over creation so that the ever-constant cycle of supply and demand is kept in check. Job was to understand that neither animate nor inanimate life function apart from the Lord’s Providence (Job 38:25-39:30).

Having revealed Himself to Job, the Lord asked him, “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? Let him who argues with God give an answer” (Job 40:2). Job confessed to the Lord, “I am so insignificant. How can I answer You? I place my hand over my mouth. I have spoken once, and I will not reply; twice, but now I can add nothing” (Job 40:4-5).

In Job 40:6-41:34, the Lord continued to speak from the whirlwind. He cross-examined Job, asking, “Would you really challenge My justice? Would you declare Me guilty to justify yourself?” (Job 40:8). The Lord demonstrated His power to Job, claiming dominance over the most foreboding creatures (Job 40:15-41:34). Job was left with few words. He could only confess, “Surely I spoke about things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know…I had heard rumors about You, but now my eyes have seen You. Therefore I take back my words, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:3b, 5-6).

But the Lord was not done. He turned toward the prosecutors’ table and condemned Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, who had yet to repent and speak the truth about God—as Job had done (Job 42:7-8). Only after a burnt offering and Job’s intercession on their behalf would these men be spared God’s wrath. The epilogue of the book notes that the Lord prospered the latter part of Job’s life more than his earlier days. Job’s fortunes were restored two-fold, he was reacquainted with friends and family, he had 10 children, and he saw his children and grandchildren for four generations (Job 42:10-17).

In the storyline of Scripture, Job’s life became an example of endurance and the faithfulness of God. James employed Job’s longsuffering and God’s restoration of Job’s fortunes to encourage his audience that they should take the long view when evaluating their trials of faith. James told his audience to consider the trials they were enduring as joy, knowing that God was growing their faith (Jas 1:2-4). During times of testing, believers should count on God’s supply of wisdom and turn to God in prayer, James said (Jas 1:5-8). James’ audience, like Job, was being tested by a loss of financial resources. James countered the natural human perspective about wealth, writing that those who are impoverished enjoy the exalted status of being rich in faith (Jas 1:9). When the church gathered, they were thus to avoid favoring a wealthy benefactor who might come and assist them in their day of need (Jas 2:1-7). James charged his audience to consider God’s will and generosity before they try to meet the needs of the day by scheming (Jas 4:13-17) or taking advantage of those who might be dependent upon them (Jas 5:1-6). In James’s view, the Day of the Lord was at hand and his readers needed to hold on and wait patiently. James saw in the prophets and Job exemplars that endured and experienced the Lord’s faithfulness. “The Lord is very compassionate and merciful,” James reminded his readers (Jas 5:11). Reflecting upon Job 42:10-17, James reminded his audience that the Lord restored Job’s fortunes. James employed God’s kindness to Job to stimulate his readers to wait upon God and pray (Jas 5:13-18).

In Job’s concluding monologue of self-defense, the sufferer maintained that he was righteous before God. Job argued that his suffering was not the Almighty’s retribution for some secret sin he had committed. A new character, Elihu, entered the drama of Job in ch. 32. Elihu’s eloquence and truthfulness excelled that of the former interlocutors, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. In the end though, Elihu likewise fell short of recognizing that one may be righteous and yet suffer.

Job’s final statement was another claim of innocence (chs. 29-31). In ch. 29, Job mused on the glory of his former life. He had not only received the blessing of God but blessed all those around him, especially the needy (Job 29:1-17). Job viewed his integrity as the strength of the community (Job 29:21-25). Thoughts of how good he once had it prompted Job to lament his present situation (ch. 30). In vain, Job had cried out for God to remove the suffering. Should not the God of justice vindicate the righteous (Job 30:16-23)? Job mused.

In chs. 32-37, Elihu angrily replied to Job. But Elihu was also angry at Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, because they condemned Job but could not refute Job’s argument that he, a righteous man, was suffering like a criminal (Job 32:3). Elihu condemned Job for demanding vindication from God. God governs the world in justice, Elihu argued in Job 34, and there are no exceptions. Elihu proposed that God’s perfect justice and holiness were unaffected by Job’s complaint; indeed, when Job requested to put God in the dock, he opened his mouth in vain (Job 35:16). Job should thus focus on God and quit complaining that God owed him a hearing, Elihu stated.

Job’s suffering was exacerbated by his sense of loneliness, in spite of the presence of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. Elihu’s entrance into the dialogue only further isolated Job. He had no comforters. His suffering establishes a frame for appreciating the fellowship of the local church in the storyline of Scripture.

(1) Jesus and the authors of the New Testament encouraged believers to love one another, providing support during periods of suffering. Jesus warned His disciples that it would be better to drown than cause the downfall of brother (Matt 18:6-9//Mark 9:42-50//Luke 17:1-2). “Salt is good, but if the salt should lose its flavor, how can you make it salty? Have salt among yourselves and be at peace with one another” (Mark 9:50). In Jesus’ Farewell Sermon, He exhorted the eleven to love one another as He had loved them (John 13:34; 15:12) and prayed that His followers would be one as the Father and the Son are one (John 17:20-23). The author of Hebrews encouraged his audience to continue gathering for encouragement despite opposition they might face for identifying with Christ (Heb 3:12-14; 10:23-25, 32-39).

(2) During times of suffering, believers united in prayer. The church’s response to suffering differed from how Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and Elihu responded to Job’s trials. After Peter and John were released from prison, they gathered with the fellowship of believers in Jerusalem and prayed (Acts 4:23-31). When Peter was arrested by Herod, the church earnestly prayed for him (Acts 12:5). Paul urged the Romans to continue in prayer for him as he took the famine relief gift to hostile Jews in Jerusalem (Rom 15:28-32). He urged the Corinthians (2 Cor 1:11), Philippians (Phil 1:18-20), Colossians (Col 4:2-4), and Thessalonians (2 Thess 3:1-2) to pray for him as he suffered for the gospel.

Job’s friends were unrelenting in their understanding of spiritual retribution and Job was fortified in his position as a righteous sufferer—a category undefined amongst his contemporaries. Job questioned how the One who punishes the guilty and blesses the upright would allow so much calamity to come upon a righteous person like himself. Job concluded his defense by uttering an ode to the wisdom he longed for, verses that resemble the proverbs of Solomon and represent Job’s petition to God.

When Eliphaz arose to prosecute Job for the third time, he accused Job of thievery and lack of mercy to orphans and widows (Job 22:6-9). The punishment Job was enduring had to be the result of heinous crimes, Eliphaz thought. Job needed to come back to God and let God be his gold (Job 22:21-30), then God would restore him. Job’s response to Eliphaz in chs. 23-24 is a profound theological confession. Job had lamented over the absence of a friend (ch. 19) but his greater problem was that he could not get a hearing with God (Job 23:3). Job was sure that if he could only interrogate the Almighty, his uprightness would win the day (Job 23:6-7). Job questioned the injustices of his day (Job 24:1-12). Job did not understand why those who oppressed the weak were not punished more quickly. While Job questioned his own situation as a righteous sufferer, he understood that God would deal with the treacherous in His time (Job 24:13-25).

Job’s continued claims of righteousness compelled Bildad to confront Job again (ch. 25). In Bildad’s mind, no one was as innocent as Job claimed to be, especially one who was suffering like Job. Job’s final reply to Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar is recorded in chs. 26-27. Even in light of God’s majestic greatness and power, Job confessed to his friends that he was innocent before the Almighty: “I will maintain my integrity until I die. I will cling to my righteousness and never let it go. My conscience will not accuse me as long as I live!” (Job 27:5b-6). The third cycle of questioning in the book of Job concluded with Job’s description of wisdom (ch. 28). Job began with a description of the work of a miner who works diligently to bring from the earth that which is unseen (Job 28:11). Job said that the precious metals gleaned by a miner cannot compare with the value of wisdom, which “cannot be found in the land of the living” (Job 28:13) and whose location is known only to God (Job 28:23). Job concluded, “Look! The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to turn from evil is understanding” (Job 28:28).

Job’s reflection on wisdom in Job 28 provides a window for understanding suffering in the storyline of Scripture. While Job extolled the wisdom of God, he longed for some clarification of how God’s wisdom applied to his specific situation as the righteous sufferer. One distinct feature of Christian suffering in the New Testament is the supply of the Spirit to empower and counsel believers enduring trial.

(1) Jesus taught that the Spirit instructs and encourages those suffering for their Christian testimony. Jesus encouraged the disciples that in their hour of trial before public authorities, they should not worry because words would be given them (Matt 10:19-20//Mark 13:11//Luke 21:14-15) by the Spirit (Luke 12:11-12). In Jesus’ Farewell Sermon, He told the eleven that the Spirit would come and provide counsel, understanding, so that they could have clear minds and conviction regarding God’s revelation in the Son (John 15:26-16:15). Christians are thus equipped to suffer better than Job, fortified with mental clarity by the enabling Spirit of God.

(2) Paul described the Spirit’s ability to help Christians in prayer during times of suffering for Christ. Paul’s logic in Rom 8:18-30 rests on the assumption that Christians will suffer for righteousness and their testimony of Christ. For Paul, Christian suffering confirms one’s identity as a follower of Christ. In addition, as followers of Christ, believers enjoy the indwelling presence of the Spirit. The Spirit, Paul wrote, invigorates the Christian to endure the present age of bodily suffering as they groan and long for the day when their bodies are redeemed (Rom 8:23-25). Job wanted an advocate that would plead his case before God. The Spirit enables the suffering Christian to pray and prays for them. “The Spirit also joins to help in our weakness,” Paul wrote, “because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings” (Rom 8:26). Believers can be assured that God hears the intercession of the Spirit because He intercedes for believers in accord with God’s will (Rom 8:27).

In Job 15-21, Job’s three friends each approached with a second attempt at cross-examination. After Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar finished their interrogations, Job replied in kind, stating his innocence and questioning their well-accepted doctrine of retribution. When Job finished listening to the first round of cross-examinations from his friends, he replied that their knowledge of the matter had not risen very far off the ground (chs. 12-14). But Job 15 records that Eliphaz would have none of it. On the whole, he viewed Job as one who was wicked, one who had shaken his fist against God and opposed the Almighty (Job 15:20a, 25).

Job responded by calling his friends “miserable comforters” (Job 16:2) and maintaining his innocence. Job claimed his righteousness before God (Job 16:18-22) and longed for a human companion to come alongside and testify to God that Job was righteous. “I wish that someone might arbitrate between a man and God just as a man pleads for his friend” (Job 16:21), Job said. Bildad thought Job was being led astray by his unfounded claims to innocence. Attempting to further humiliate Job, Bildad catalogued a list of difficulties the unrighteous might encounter. The list remarkably resembled Job’s life situation. But Bildad grew even more bold and said, “Indeed, such is the dwelling of the wicked, and this is the place of the one who does not know God” (Job 18:21).

In Job 19, Job complained against his friends and warned them concerning their foolish counsel. Job trusted the One who had struck him more than the ones speaking with him (Job 19:25-27). Job warned that those who oppose a righteous sufferer would receive God’s wrath (Job 19:28-29), telling his friends, “Be afraid of the sword, because wrath brings punishment by the sword, so that you may know there is a judgment” (Job 19:29).

Zophar countered that if people suffer, it is because they have turned away from God. Thus, since Job was suffering without end in sight, he must have grossly offended God somewhere along the way. Perhaps most frustrating for Zophar was Job’s continued claims of innocence; Job must be concealing his sin, he thought. Job was warned that if one attempted to hide, “The heavens will expose his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him” (Job 20:27).

After enduring the pejorative words of the three, in ch. 21 Job longed for a sympathetic ear. As Job surveyed the landscape of humanity, he could identify several exceptions to the tit-for-tat spirituality proposed by Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. Job called them to consider that the wicked are often blessed with health, family, and prosperity (Job 21:7-21). Job accused his friends, saying, “Your answers are deceptive” (Job 21:34).

Job agreed with Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar when they described God’s discipline of the wicked. Job, however, maintained that he had done no wrong and yet suffered as though he had sinned. In the storyline of Scripture, God’s justice toward humanity is ultimately understood in light of faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul’s letter to the Romans encapsulates the way that he understood God’s justice toward those who had sinned against God and those who thought themselves generally okay before Him. Paul accused the judgmental among the Roman congregation (those whose thinking paralleled that of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar) of condemning the sin of others while excusing themselves. Paul acknowledged that God is just to repay each person according to their works, “eternal life to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but wrath and indignation to those who are self-seeking and disobey the truth, but are obeying unrighteousness” (Rom 2:7-8). Paul assured the Romans that God has no favorites and that He judges based upon works (Rom 2:11). Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar understood the same. But unlike Job and his friends, Paul understood that no one performs the works worthy of eternal life. In Rom 3:9-20, Paul described that all humans deserve God’s wrath because of their sin. In the storyline of Scripture, God’s grace is displayed uniquely in the person and work of Christ—through him alone one can enjoy God’s favor. God is just, Paul wrote. God places on Jesus the sins of those who believe in Christ and looks upon Jesus’ blood as the covering for human sin. God therefore credits to those who believe in Jesus the very standing of Jesus (Rom 3:25-26).

When Job was cross-examined by Bildad and Zophar, he replied in kind. Bildad’s first cross-examination (Job 8) reveals less patience and restraint than that recently demonstrated by Eliphaz (Job 4-5). Bildad held out the same proposition Eliphaz presented, arguing that if Job would seek God and ask for mercy (Job 8:5), then God would move and restore Job’s fortune and family. With rhetorical skill, Bildad mildly accused Job of forgetting his God (Job 8:13) and pointed to an open door where Job could enter and make peace with the Almighty (Job 8:20-21).

Job replied to Bildad by defending himself and lamenting his life (Job 9-10). In light of God’s greatness, Job retorted, who could muster a sufficient defense before Him (Job 9:1-20)? “Though I am blameless, I no longer care about myself; I renounce my life,” (Job 9:21), Job said. In frustration, Job inquired of the Lord, saying, “Please remember that You formed me like clay. Will You now return me to dust?” (Job 10:9); and, “Why did You bring me out of the womb? I should have died and never been seen” (Job 10:18).

Bildad’s zeal excelled that of Eliphaz before him, and Zophar’s first cross-examination of Job (Job 11) was an even more forthright emotional appeal for Job to change his ways. In the thinking of the day, Job’s words of self-defense were blasphemous. If a man was suffering to the degree that Job was, it was the result of heinous sin. Zophar followed the script established by Eliphaz and Bildad, saying: “If there is iniquity in your hand, remove it, and do not allow injustice to dwell in your tents—then you will hold your head high, free from fault” (Job 11:14-15).

Job’s reply in ch. 12-14 was no less emotional. Job spitefully answered them, “No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you!” (Job 12:2). Job lamented for an opportunity to cross-examine God (Job 13:18-14:22). He wished for God to operate on the accepted standard expressed by Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. If only God would reveal Job’s transgression, then he could forsake it and find favor with God again.

Job’s responses to Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar underscore Job’s place in the storyline of Scripture. He endured suffering without the clear hope of resurrection in Christ. Job replied to Bildad, “Leave me alone, so that I can smile a little before I go to a land of darkness and gloom, never to return. It is a land of blackness like the deepest darkness, gloomy and chaotic, where even the light is like the darkness” (Job 10:20b-22). And Job told Zophar, “As water disappears from the sea and a wadi becomes parched and dry, so man lies down never to rise again. They will not wake up until the heavens are no more; they will not stir from their sleep” (Job 14:11-12).

In Job 19:25-27, Job stated that he expected to see God after the destruction of his flesh, but his statement lacks the optimism that characterizes resurrection hope in the New Testament. Christ’s suffering and victory over death have earned eternal hope for all who believe in Him. Jesus’ emphasis on the resurrection can be seen by surveying this theme in the Gospel of John. Jesus told Nicodemus that all who believe upon the Son of God will have eternal life (John 3:16). Jesus promised the Samaritan woman that all who drink of Him would have eternal life (John 4:10, 14). When the Jews persecuted Jesus for healing a lame man on the Sabbath, Jesus told them that He had the power to give resurrection life to anyone as He desired (John 5:21). After Jesus performed a feeding miracle, He told the crowds that all who believed upon Him would be resurrected to eternal life (John 6:40, 47, 51, 54, 57-58). Walking in the temple complex, Jesus told the Jews that His sheep hear His voice and will enjoy eternal life (John 10:26-28). Just before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, He told Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die—ever!” (John 11:25-26). When Jesus foretold His crucifixion, He said that all those who hate their lives in this world would enjoy eternal life with Him and the Father (John 12:25-26). In Jesus’ Farewell Sermon, He told the eleven that He was going away to prepare eternal dwellings for them (John 14:1-6, 19-24). Jesus prayed that His followers would be with Him in eternal glory (John 17:24, 26), a pathway inaugurated by His resurrection (John 20:17).

The book of Job presents Job’s cyclical judicial dialogue with his friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. The first go-around is recorded in Job 4-7. Job’s three friends acted as prosecuting attorneys against Job, who continually maintained that his suffering was not the result of some unrighteous act. All the while, Job longed to stand as the prosecuting attorney, cross-examining God Almighty for allowing such devastation to continue in his life. In the end, Job received his court date with God. But Job ended up once again in the role of the defendant, and God the prosecution (Job 38:1-42:6). In that position of utter helplessness, Job confessed that God’s goodness and his suffering as a righteous man were not at odds. This is the lesson of Job.

In the meantime, Eliphaz and company pressed their tit-for-tat moral theology against Job, nearly squeezing the life out of the righteous suffer. Eliphaz’s first speech is recorded in Job 4-5 and characterizes what he and his friends posited to Job throughout the book. In Eliphaz’s paradigm of spiritual reality, the suffering one was simply reaping the consequences of their sin. In Eliphaz’s mind, it was entirely likely that the wind that destroyed Job’s family (Job 1:18-19) was the consequence God administered upon Job. Since God blesses the righteous with protection and prosperity, Eliphaz argued (Job 5:8-26), Job should repent before Him and receive His favor again.

What could Job say to such encouragement? He first replied to Eliphaz (Job 6) and then cried out to God (Job 7). As far as Job was concerned, the words of his friend had been of little help in such a moment of need. Job turned straightway against Eliphaz, saying, “A despairing man should receive loyalty from his friends, even if he abandons the fear of the Almighty” (Job 6:14). In Job’s mind, the issue of the day was that he had done no wrong and was suffering as one who had committed great transgression. Job longed for God to take his life and end his suffering (Job 7:15-16).

Job’s concern was with the justice of God. How could the Righteous One allow a righteous one to suffer so greatly? God’s justice and the suffering of the righteous frame the book of Job and are clarified as the storyline of Scripture progresses. The New Testament records that Christians should expect to suffer because of their commitment to Jesus.

(1) Jesus taught His followers that they would suffer for righteousness and identifying with Him. Jesus taught the disciples that they should think of suffering for Him and righteousness as an honor, and an affirmation that they stand in line with the prophets of Israel (Matt 5:10-12//Luke 6:22-23). Physical and spiritual sufferings authenticate disciples as true followers of Jesus (John 15:18-25; 17:11-15). While Job lost all of his possessions because of the calamity that came upon him, Jesus taught His disciples that they should be willing to suffer financial loss on His behalf (Matt 19:23-30//Mark 10:23-31//Luke 18:24-30).

(2) Paul suffered for his testimony concerning Jesus and wrote that believers should follow his example of suffering for righteousness. When the Lord told Ananias to visit Paul in Damascus, the Lord told him that Paul would suffer for Christ (Acts 9:16). While traveling to spread the gospel, Paul repeatedly suffered because of his testimony concerning Jesus (9:23-25; 13:50-51; 14:4-6,19-20; 16:19-40; 17:5-9, 13-15; 18:12-17; 19:21-41; 20:2-3, 22-24; 21:10-14). Paul’s imprisonments in Jerusalem, Caesarea, and Rome (Acts 21:15-28:31) resulted from his testimony and righteous acts for his fellow Jews. Paul wrote about his sufferings in his letters, often asking the recipients to join him in suffering for righteousness and the testimony of Christ (Rom 5:3-5; 8:18-39; 15:30-32; 1 Cor 4:9-12; 15:30-32; 2 Cor 1:3-11; 2:14-16; 4:7-5:4; 11:16-33; Gal 6:12, 17; Phil 1:12-21, 29-30; Col 1:24; 4:18; 1 Thess 1:5-8; 2:1-16; 3:7; 2 Thess 1:3-6; 3:1-3; 2 Tim 1:8, 12; 2:3; 4:1-8, 14-18).

(3) Peter exhorted his readers to view suffering for Christ as a common feature of their faith. Peter pictured general sufferings as beneficial for Christian growth (1 Pet 1:6-7). Peter’s logic counters that of Job and his friends. Peter noted that believers will suffer for righteousness in their relations with the state and in the household—and that their endurance of such authenticates the Christian message (1 Pet 2:11-25). Peter wrote, “Who will harm you if you are passionate for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed” (1 Pet 3:13-14). Better, Peter said, to suffer for Christ than for evil (1 Pet 3:17). Since Christ suffered (1 Pet 3:18), followers of Christ will demonstrate their faith as they endure suffering for Christ (1 Pet 4:1-2, 12-19).

The book of Job is often considered to be independent among the books of the Old Testament. Nowhere does the author mention the Abrahamic covenant, Moses, the Promised Land or the nation of Israel. Further, the central theme of Job is that of the righteous sufferer. On the surface, the idea of a righteous sufferer does not square with the idea found in Deuteronomy and Proverbs that God gives people what they deserve, blessing for righteousness and suffering for unrighteousness. Yet, like the book of Job, the Psalms and the later portion of Isaiah describe the suffering of the righteous. Job’s unique contribution to the Old Testament is the extended length of Job’s suffering, anticipating the Lord’s answer in Job 42. Perhaps the best track for understanding the book is to look at it as a poetic judicial drama where the interactions climactically conclude in a courtroom. While the book of Job is lengthy, it is nonetheless best to view it holistically, woven around the central theme of God’s vindication of His glory and justice through the righteous sufferer.

The first several scenes of the drama, Job 1-3, unfold quickly. The author first established Job’s righteous character (Job 1:1-5). Job’s status made him an exemplar for Satan’s schemes to defame God (Job 1:6-19). Satan argued that Job feared God only as God blessed Job with good things and a happy existence. When the Lord allowed Satan to take Job’s family and property, Job maintained his steadfastness, saying to his wife, “Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?” (Job 2:10). Job would not charge God with wrongdoing. When Job’s three friends (Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar) came to comfort him, they were silent and mourned with Job for all he had lost (Job 2:11-13). Job could not understand why God had allowed such hardship to come upon him and cursed the day he was born (Job 3).

The rest of the poetic narrative of Job is God’s slow-but-glorious refutation. In the end, Job worshiped God because his eyes saw Him, and Him alone (Job 42:5). Thus, when Satan organized a succession of calamities upon Job, Satan hoped that Job’s affection for God would cease. Satan’s motive was to prove God unworthy of worship. The book of Job is couched in a cosmic war. The enemy of God and goodness sought to defame God by bringing calamity on one who had experienced His goodness. God granted Satan the opportunity, in the end displaying that He is worthy to be feared, even if the blessings of family, wealth, and health would be taken away. The presentation of Satan in the book of Job should be considered in light of Satan’s role in the broader storyline of Scripture.

(1) Satan tempts people to disobey God and divide from one another. Satan tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3; 1 Tim 2:8-15), leading to the fall and the spread of sin to all humanity (Rom 5:12-14). Paul wrote that Satan works in those who disobey God (Eph 2:2) and John noted that the whole world lies under Satan’s power (1 John 5:19). Jesus told the Jewish leadership, who refused His claims to be God in the flesh, that they were of their father, the Devil (John 8:43-44). Satan attacks the church by seeking to divide believers from one another (Eph 4:27) or pull them away from the fellowship of the church (1 Pet 5:8-9).

(2) Satan has been and will be defeated. God’s triumph over Satan did not occur in the book of Job but in the person of His Son, Jesus. Jesus was victorious over Satan’s slanderous temptations in the desert (Matt 4:1-11//Mark 1:12-13//Luke 4:1-13) and presented His ministry of exorcism and healing as attacks on Satan’s kingdom (Matt 12:22-30//Mark 3:22-27//Luke 11:14-23). How could Satan’s accusations against God’s people finally be mitigated (Zech 3:1-5)? Through forgiveness of their sin. As Jesus turned toward the cross He said, “Now the ruler of this world will be cast out” (John 12:31). Paul wrote that through Christ’s death on the cross, God rendered powerless the forces of Satan that would seek to accuse God’s people (Col 2:15). The author of Hebrews wrote that through Christ’s death, He destroyed the Devil and freed those held captive by fear of death (Heb 2:14-15). Since Jesus destroyed the Devil’s works, believers are freed from sin’s dominion and practice righteousness (1 John 3:7-10). John wrote that Satan will finally be destroyed at the judgement when God throws him into the lake of fire forever (Rev 20:10).