People are fond of calling the first two chapters of the book a wager between god and. When we read the book of job, we find it to be one of the most remarkable books of the bible. Because, ultimately, this fight is between job and god. The book of job and satans power i recently began studying the book of job and several things strike me as strange right from the start. The book of job begins with a prologue job 12, which describes a wager between satan and god, in which satan the adversary bets god that joba particularly pious man. Like the oldtestament accounting of job, it is up to michael steele. The only bet i can think of off the top of my head is in the book of job. He is decent, he fears god, and he stays away from evil. In the first two chapters we are introduced to job and to yahwehs wager with. When job and god have their conversation at the end of the book, gods answer to his and the readers implicit question of why the righteous have suffered is that i dont owe you an answer, job. Jan 12, 2016 im an atheist, so i dont believe in god or the devil, but i think its worth pointing out something with this story. The book of job begins with a prologue job 12, which describes a wager between satan and god, in which satan the adversary bets god that joba particularly pious manwill abandon his piety and curse god if all his wealth and wellbeing are taken away.
Job bitterly complains of how god is tormenting him for no reason, while his selfrighteous friends are assuring him he must have committed some sin, since god does. Job 12 forms a prologue in prose to the debates, giving a picture of jobs prosperity, the wager between god and satan, and the resultant affliction which was jobs. Im not the only person who loved the wifely tribute in proverbs 31. Who really won the bet between god and the devil on jobs. It reveals that satan as a rival god appeared before the true god jehovah in heaven, challenging jehovah in the assembly of all the angels before god. God and satan have a difference of opinion about job. God doesnt explain to job what happened in the heavenly scenes between him and satan. Analysis this is a key passage for setting the stage for all that follows. Is the biblical story of job just about suffering and patience. In the end, god s wager with satan actually achieved an incredible coup.
God s wager did god make a bet with satan over job. The point of the contest, the wager between god and satan was let these bad, horrible things happen to job and keep job in the dark. A surface reading of the book of job usually evokes a reaction such as why is god making a bet with the devil. In the book of job, how was it possible for god and satan. The book of job is a lengthy poem set in the framework of a prose narrative. What the devil and job got wrong about god stephen moore on. The first, in prose, relates a wager between god and one of the sons of god, satan i. Cook, 2010, the story of job is entitled gods wager. Now, the wager between god and the satan is difficult to square with what we know of god in the rest of.
Wells, of all people, also had a very brief story dealing with the book of job. Cook, 2010, the story of job is entitled god s wager. Summary of the books of job the story of the bible. The book of job challenges the simple equation of suffering with punishment, by telling the story of one righteous mans confrontation with overwhelming misfortune.
Many readers wrote to tell me its one of their favorite bible passages, and. This scene in heaven is an alternate telling of the story from the hebrew bibles book of job. What role did satan play in the story of job answers. There is nothing in the poetic drama about a wager between god and satan. It was orchestrated by god to show billions of people, who would read and hear about this account throughout the ages, that satan can do nothing without gods authorization and consent. In this chapter we will discuss the book of job and. Im an atheist, so i dont believe in god or the devil, but i think its worth pointing out something with this story. Job chapters 1 and 2, part of the bibles oldest book, say that satan has access to heaven. Country music star randy travis stars in the thrillingadaptation of bill myers bestseller nominated for anacademy award, michael t. Oct 07, 2012 take it all away, and job will curse god, or so the accuser claims. This is part of the implied agreement of the wager. You have this omnipotent, omniscient god who is being challenged by a mere angel, a being he created. The book of job is an epic poem much like the illyad. The book of job is the closest thing in hebrew to a greek tragedy.
As a wager between god and satan on the issue of disinterested religion, they test to see if his faith. Job is described as an upright man who follows gods commands, and is blameless in gods eyes. Satan goes into gods presence in heaven overcoming. There are a variety of views on chance to be found in the hebrew bible, or old testament. As the first believer nominated for best actor, michael is soon caught in the wager between god and satan. The bible pulls back the veil to glimpse heavenly affairs. A puzzle about the book of job is the nature of the wager between the satan and god. Job, a prosperous but god fearing man, is stricken with a series of misfortunes, losing his goods, his sons, and his health all as a result of a wager between god and satan about whether or not a perfect and upright man will remain thus under relentless misfortune 1. It is common to view the narrative frame as the original core of the book, enlarged later by the poetic dialogues and discourses, and sections of the book such as the elihu speeches and the wisdom poem of chapter 28 as late insertions, but recent trends have tended to concentrate on the. Satan is sure that he can make job curse god, but god has faith that job will remain loyal to him. He certainly isnt raining down sunshine, rainbows, and love.
In the biblical account satan strikes a wager with god over job the perfect, god fearing man claiming that his piety and obedience are due merely to his. Second, because i believe cliches, i thought that job would be patient see. Job is described as an upright man who follows god s commands, and is blameless in god s eyes. God, by the terms of the wager, cannot whisper in jobs ear and tell him, hang on we are almost through. And a hard rain begins to fall on job as he ends up losing everything. The word blameless doesnt mean sinless, but rather, that he had a good standing in the eyes of god and was repentant. According to gutierrez the wager sets up the basic question behind the book of job, what the book is all about. The book of job is a very interesting book in the bible. What was the bet about between god and satan answers. The satan in the book of job is a title rather than a name. In the biblical account satan strikes a wager with god over job the perfect, godfearing man claiming that his piety and obedience are due merely to his.
The satans job to queston people before the heavenly court when necessary, to make those of us who need to do so defend our lives and choices before gods judgment, on very rare occasions to test the faith of the righteous at gods command, and also to be the angel with jurisdiction to rule over the yetzer hara, the urge to do wrong. God does not let the accusers challenge go unanswered. But it also makes us think of satan as the bad guy. Another way of putting it is that job walked with god. The book of job is a canonical work in both christian and jewish liturgy. Today some christians try to deny the facts presented in the book of job by justifying unto themselves that this book is a record of very ancient stories of little importance today. Goethes faust prologue in heaven summary and analysis. Satan s position was that job only honored god because he was prosperous, that his allegiance was basically hypocritical.
In fact, god and satan wipe out job by the middle of chapter 2. We are introduced to this righteous man and to the wager between god and the satan. Interpretations of this profoundly odd book are as many as the centuries of commentary it has undergone, but it is arguably one of the most beautifullywritten books of the bible even the most secular of literary scholars still. Satan s a catalyst, sure, but the moral of the story lies in mans relationship with god. The book of job is an extremely interesting and curious theodicy in the bible. Throughout chapters one to thirtyseven in the book of job, job experiences misfortune. The particular angel to play gods hasatan, or accuser was to try to cause the character job to curse god and to denounce his faith in god. The testament of job, written sometime between 100 bc100 ad, shows how satans role and character evolved from a servant of god to the spirit of idolatry and vengeance.
Due to a wager between god and satan, in which satan explained that job righteousness and obedience was because he was blessed with wealth. Satan goes into gods presence in heaven overcoming satan. God proceeds to boast to satan that there is nobody in the. I was chaplain to a diverse spectrum of psychiatric patients. Was it unfair for god to allow job to suffer over what was basically an argument between god and satan. Addressing the problem of theodicy the vindication of the justice of god in the light of humanitys suffering it is a rich theological work setting out a variety of perspectives.
The story of job gods bet with the devil religious forums. The satan s job is to investigate human beings and report on their activities. In the book of job, as best as i can see, god ruined jobs life over a bet job 1. This historical recollection begins with a wager between god and satan. The wager between satan and god was to give job an opportunity to honor god to whom he had just pledged his loyalty. In fact, there is no clear evidence that he ever learned about that, other than what is found in the first two chapters of the book. No, it is perhaps the most underrated book of the bible for acquiring the mindset required for. Job knows nothing of the heavenly conferences between satan and god. A moral and honorable man lives a prosperous, happy and fruitful life. Job 2 gw satan challenges the lord again one bible gateway. In the prologue of the book of job, chance is referred to as the result of a wager between god and the satan, who is described as one of the sons of god. God and his board members were in the midst of a meeting and the angels were giving their reports when lo and.
A perfectly innocent manone who feared god and turned away from evilis visited by a series of calamities. God and satan basically make a bet that job will remain faithful to god regardless of what happens to him. Job had always been a pious man and had lived a life of material comfort. The book of job in the hebrew bible was crafted to address human suffering and why bad things happen to good people. How could satan access heaven in the books of job and the. In a childrens bible story book called the action bible david c. This is an obvious reference to the angels, and we know that satan is an angel even though a fallen one. In the biblical story, satan makes a wager with god over gods servant job. Satan upped the wager, wanting to attack jobs body. Film star michael steel is 10 days away from a probable academy award.
In dialogues between god and satan, the reader finds that michael is about to become the object of a job like wager. What is the basic question the book of job is trying to ask and answer. In the book of job, satan is sent by god to torment job. The satan s job to queston people before the heavenly court when necessary, to make those of us who need to do so defend our lives and choices before god s judgment, on very rare occasions to test the faith of the righteous at god s command, and also to be the angel with jurisdiction to rule over the yetzer hara, the urge to do wrong. Job 331 contain three series of speeches between job and his companions, in which he defends himself against their assertion that he is being punished for some secret sin which is known only to god. Was it unfair for god to allow job to suffer over what was. In the story, job, a man of faith, is tested by god through various horrible afflictions. And this, in fact, is our takehome lesson from job. Oct 20, 2003 film star michael steel is 10 days away from a probable academy award. In the dialogue between job and his friends, bad luck is viewed as a consequence of bad behaviour. The book of job is a book in the ketuvim writings section of the hebrew bible tanakh, and the first poetic book in the old testament of the christian bible. Mar 28, 2007 in fact, god and satan wipe out job by the middle of chapter 2.
The tone of the work abruptly changes, however, in chapter 3, as job begins his poetic speeches by cursing the day on which he was born. But elements of fable do not prove that the entire text is fictional, any more than the existence of an actual king named macbeth is disproved by the fabulous features of shakespeares play. It was orchestrated by god to show billions of people, who would read and hear about this account throughout the ages, that satan can do nothing without god s authorization and consent. Jul 27, 2008 in contrast, job never does learn about the generic cause of his suffering. He was given permission to strike his flesh and bones but had to spare his life. The book of job consists of a prose prologue and epilogue narrative framing poetic dialogues and monologues. In dialogues between god and satan, the reader finds that michael is about to become the object of a joblike wager. Job, a prosperous but godfearing man, is stricken with a series of misfortunes, losing his goods, his sons, and his health all as a result of a wager between god and satan about whether or not a perfect and upright man will remain thus under relentless misfortune 1. Where does the communication between god and satan take place. In it, a very accountantlike satan has a conversation with god. The book of job begins with a prologue job 12, which describes a wager between satan and god, in which satan the adversary bets god that job a particularly pious manwill abandon his piety and curse god if all his wealth and wellbeing are taken away. One day, the sons of god came to present themselves before the lord, and satan also came among them. But for now, job goes back to thinking about this change that he anticipates happening sometime.
And this is what life was like for job before the heavenly wager between god and satan. Job was afflicted with painful sores from his head to his toes. In the dialogue between job and his friends, bad luck is viewed as a consequence of bad behaviour while good luck is the result of good behaviour. God disagrees and gives satan permission to put job to the test by taking away some good things or inflicting some bad things. Satan is basically betting that all the faithful in the world are believers based on what is in it for them.
Steele randy travis has reacheda pinnacle that no other christian has. God contends that michael will be able to live out the principles of the sermon on the mount in the face of any disaster satan sends. This is the question the book of job raises for us. Satan claims that the only reason that job remains faithful to god is because god has blessed him with so many good things. The dialogue between god and satan about job was, by no means, a friendly conversation. How do human beings talk about god in the face of poverty and suffering. Aug 24, 2000 god did these things to job and inspired the book of job so that he could be freed from having to ever offer an explanation to mankind for any of his deeds. Unaware, he has nowbeen cast as the lead in a supernatural drama, as the centerfocus of a wager between god and satan. In the book of job, how was it possible for god and satan to.
With their reputations, families, and careers on the line, what will they do. In contrast, job never does learn about the generic cause of his suffering. The book of job gives the readers a sense about suffering as well as the goodness in god and his power, why the innocents must suffer, and how we can cope with it. They believe in a benevolent god because they have experienced the good fortune of health, family, reputation and prosperity. People and livestock who werent even involved died job 1. I will let you in on an inside secret god never loses and he never guesses wrong because he has all knowledge. Job, jehovah accepts a wager with satan as to the fidelity of his worshipper job under trial and torture. What does this tell us about the place of evil in the world.