The Book of Job?

Question

I cannot believe after all that happened to that man. that he still have faith in god.

but did god give satan "permission" to kill all of job's livestock and family?.. i am lost on that

IM NOT A SCHOLAR OF THE BIBEL.. BUT I DO BELIEVE JONAH WAS EATEN BY A WHALE...

Answer 1

Free will = 101. The 'yes' means nothing; unless the 'no' is a possibility.

Omniscience - 101. God lives by faith too. Perhaps ONLY in certain situations, with ONLY His chosen men and women or maybe prior to Jesus' 'yes' to the Cross. But, the main point is: God's wager with the wicked one was not real; unless, He (God) did NOT know the outcome of that trial. Moreover, I believe that God got 'tricked' (did you know that satan was known as the 'trickster' long before it had its other names?).

No one knows that Job had 10 children. But even one daughter or son murdered, would be hard to live with. Tradition has it that a strong wind from ALL four directions blew the house down on them. But, no one knows.

What scholars do know is: the last 10 chapters were 'tacked on' by someone who could not tolerate the 'ending' of Job -the part where it is written: ..."the words of Job are ended".

What I know is: the speeches of elihu are worthless !! Not only are they nonsense, but they are illogical; and, I know that 'the voice' from the whirlwind' never identified itself as God.

But, Job's affirmation ..."even though God slay me (and that means actually kills him as he sits with the worlds worst case of the shingles and has lost all, including his former esteem as an honored man of his city) - "I will trust in Him" is -- Job's redemption.

Maranantha

Answer 2

Hi,
Jonah was swallowed by a fish.... most likely a very large Great white Shark. Whales have baleen and Jonah wouldn't have made it past those big combs. As far as Job is concerned.... Satan was jealous that God gave Job just about anything he asked for, so Satan made a wager that Job would curse God if God took away the "hedge" he placed around Job. Hedge meant the riches that God allows Job to acquire. God knew that Job wouldn't curse Him, and allowed Satan to do his dirty work to prove to Satan that he was blowing smoke again. Satan was allowed to harm Job, but not kill him, so Satan did he worse and killed just about everything Job acquired or loved including his family. Job never cursed God, but did question why all the bad stuff happened. In the end God restored Job's riches two fold, and gave him a new family. Satan was proved the fool he is, and Job lived happily ever after for his troubles.

Answer 3

The story helps a Judeo-Christian understand the nature of faith beyond the limits of human logic and reason.

As for permission - God gave Satan permission to test Job in anyway he saw fit within the limitations he set out (if memory serves, he was not to kill Job -perhaps one or two other things, but it has been a while).

Of all the writing styles of the various hands involved in the books of the bible, the book of Job is regarded as one of the most moving and valuable pieces from a literary stand point. I tend to agree.

Answer 4

Yes, He gave Satan permission to whale upon Job as much as he could short of taking his life. He did so in order to prove a point about being rooted and grounded in faith. Had Job been a lesser man in the spiritual sense, he might've done exactly as his wife suggested in cursing God and dying! Since Job hung in there, God gave him back DOUBLE of everything He allowed Satan to take.

Answer 5

Since Satan can't do anything w/o God's permission, yes, God allowed him to do that. If I am remembering correctly, God gave Satan permission to "test" Job, so Satan, as part of the test, killed Job'slivestock and family. But, as you said, Job still had faith in God.

Answer 6

I have a really hard time, too, believing that God would stoop so low as to consort with the devil making wagers like that. Doesn't seem like a very "godly" thing to do, in my opinion. God has nothing to prove, right? And to completely destroy everything this righteous man (Job) held dear and completely devestate him in order to "prove" something to Satan? I just can't fathom it. And if I were Job, I don't think that being given "all new wives and children" could EVER "make up for" his original family. This story definitely makes me question it's validity. I don't want to think that God would be capable of such a horrible thing. "Man" must have wrote this story and is passing it off as "God's story". If it is true, then I don't want to be a believer.

Answer 7

God allowed Satan to do what he did to Job because He knew Job. In the end God gave everything back to Job plus more.

Answer 8

Job was a perfect example of a man who put his complete faith in God.

God allowed Satan to tempt Job and try to make Job turn his back on God. Basically God told Satan that he could do anything he wanted to anything that Job possessed or loved but could not touch Job personally. Satan did not believe that Job was a faithful person but believed that Job loved God because of the wealth and power that he enjoyed. Ironically, after all was said and done, Job did not turn his back on God, and was "rewarded" richly once Satan realized that Job truly had full faith in God.

Many of us, when we go through "hard times" and think that things could not get worse, should read and reflect on this story and trust in God to take care of his people.

Answer 9

The Book of Job is one of the most horrific stories in the bible. Not only did god allow satan to murder 10 innocent children just to win a bet - but god actually gave Job some replacement children to make up for it afterwards.

How anybody could read this story and not get physically sick is beyond me.

Answer 10

God and Satan made a bet. Job was the object of that bet
God won. Afterward God blessed Job with more than he had.

Guess what you're an object under the same bet. You going to let God win you or the Devil or Satan