what is Job about? I don't understand?

Question

for my English class, I am reading this piece called "The Book of Job." An agnostic with little background in theology, I don't really understand what it is talking about. I don't understand Old English very well. I don't really understand what his conversation with God is about. Can someone give me some detailed answers? thanx

Answer 1

Job was a normal guy who had was faithful to God and had a family and a nice life. (Summarizing) one day satan was saying to God that the Job is only so faithful because hey he doesn't really have that bad of a life. you have always doen good for him. So God was like no, he would be faithful if everything was taken away. so satan, killed Job's family and basically made his life miserable and the moral of the story is Job did not deny God because of his misfortunes.

Answer 2

Essentially the book of Job is about a man's faith being tested. Satan told God that Job would curse Him if God was not protecting him. God said that Satan could test his theory and gave Satan permission to make Job's life miserable. Through the whole thing Job refused to curse God and never sinned against God with his lips. Thus proving Satan wrong and in the end God restored to Job that which he had lost.

There are three groups of conversations in the book. First is the one where Satan speaks to God wanting to test Job.

Second Job has three friends come and talk to him trying to comfort him. In that day it was believed that when you went through a trgedy that it was your fault. So the three friends spend most of their time trying to convince Job that it was his sin that led to the problems. Throughout that conversation Job maintained his innocence.

The third is between God and Job. While Job had done nothing wrong to deserve this tragedy he was not perfect. He was still a sinner before God and God confronts him on this and Job admits that before God he is a sinner. Like I said before in the end God restores everything to Job.

It's a very interesting book because we see that Satan cannot do anything to us without God's permission. We see that although sin has consequences not everything that happens in a person's life is the direct result of a sinful act. We see God's faithtulness to take care of someone who is going through such hurt and God's willingness to heal and restore a broken life. (This is a picture of why Jesus came to die for our sins. Jesus died to heal us, restore us and free us from our sins all we have to do is accept Him. Job when he came to God and admited that He was a sinner was healed and resotred.) We see a man who by God's grace follows God no matter how bad things get. It also shows that being a Christian is not easy. A lot of the time it's a lot harder to be a Christian than it is not to be.

It's a fantastic book. Try reading it in a newer translation like a New King James Version or a New International Version so you can go through it without the old english.

I hope that helps.

Answer 3

The conversation with God comes after the "trial" that Job has endured and overcome.

He is asking God "why me?". Job knew that he was a faithful servent of God and was wondering why he was the one picked to go through this horrible trial.

God answered him with "why not you?" God was telling him that it didnt matter that he was so faithful, it didnt matter because no matter how faithful Job was, he wasnt there at the creation of the heavens and earth, not at the creation of man and woman.

He is telling Job that he will never understand the "why me" part of this trial because he doesn't fully know and understand God any better than the rest of us.

What we do learn from this book, is that no matter who we are, we do not understand all the ways of God. We need to accept that we do not understand all things, and no matter what happens to us that may seem bad, God is in control and it will all work out in the end, we just do not know when the "end" is.

Answer 4

Your English class is making you read the Book of Job? I hope this is a theology school. If you are an agnostic, why would you go there? Just curious.

Answer 5

Well in Short there was a good man that feared God (JOB)

and Satan keep on questioning God (Does Job have a real reason to Fear you? You gave him all this, but if you do this or let me do that to him he will curse you to your face,

Fianlly God told Satan he could do this things to Job but couldn't kill him, So Satan killed his stock and even his children,and made Job very sick

and in the long run Job got 7 more sons and 3 more daughters and found a spiritual peace with God

Satan was Wrong again

Answer 6

Well, without reiterating the story or giving a book report, this is what I believe it was about:

I doubt your English teacher will be able to come up with a decent reason to study it. It has a lot to do with "fearing" God, rather than appreciating him for being a nice guy. In fact, God doesn't play the part of a nice guy in this story at all.

The part where his friends are talking to him is really foggy and I do believe my teacher got it wrong as well, so I won't even repreat what he said. My take on his 3 buddies is that they weren't as submissive toward God, and therefore have to pay the price.

If you ask me, it was used as a way of explaining to people of lower castes what is expected of them when dealing with people who are in the greater favor of God. A tool for confirming that a submissive attitude toward people of a higher caste was indeed expected and enforced.

Answer 7

I would suggest that you buy a New Living Translation Bible. It is written in Modern English.
Job is a very powerful book about God, satan, and Job. Job was a good servant of God, and he loved God, and God loved him. God blessed Job abundantly in every way. satan asked God why he blessed Job so much, that he should withdraw His blessings and see how much Job really loved Him. God allowed satan to attack Job and do whatever he wanted to Job except take his life. So satan went about stripping Job of every single blessing God gave him, he took away his prosperity, daughters and sons, cattle house, health everything that was good and valuable, the only one satan left him was his wife, but Job's wife and a couple of his friends were very discouraging to Job. Job trusted God all through the whole thing, even when he was given leprosy. then Job's wife and friends told him to curse God, because God had abandoned him. they taunted him so much that finally totally discouraged he began to question God. God alowed Job to complain for a couple of chapters until God responded him with real hard questions about Job's lack of knowledge of God's creation. Job asked to be forgiven, God forgave him, and restored everything he had lost tenfold.

The moral of the story is trusting God no matter what, and to keep in mind that satan goes about seeking whom he may destroy, but everything satan does is under God's control, and God only allows him to go so far. Hope it helps, God Bless!

Answer 8

God was testing Job to see if he was a fake. Job got punched in the nuts over and over, and Job still thought it was all for the best.

Answer 9

The stupid gullible and vengeful god of the old testament is exposed by Jobs unflinching faith . As gods first son Satan
trashes Jobs character with his lies that God Believes .thus setting the stage for the merciful forgiving and loving God of the
Christian version the new testament ... Contrived by the scholars of the day if u ask me ..... Two different Gods one the punishing vengeful gullible God and two the loving forgiving God .
obvious man made relevance!

Answer 10

God and satan have a bet that they each know job better than the other. God lets' satan destroy everything dear to job and job keeps his faith in god.