The Suffering of Job

On the surface the story of Job may seem a cruel game. Job is a godly, obedient, kind, generous man, well respected and faithful. Unknown to him, God and satan have a conversation and God makes a “bet” with satan about Job’s faithfulness. The devil believes that if Job is faced with terrible suffering, he’ll renounce his faith. So, the Almighty allows the devil to impose immense suffering on Job and his family. His livestock die. His children are killed. His household is destroyed. How will Job react in these circumstances?

Job is a very early man in the Bible. Most theologians believe he lived during the time of Genesis, in the age of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob). We don’t know who wrote the book of Job. It may have been Job himself, or one of those who overheard Job’s conversations and lament.[1] Job was a real person. His story is not fiction. We know this because of the literary style of the book, and specific details such as names and places, which would have been written differently if it was a fictional account. Parts of the book from God’s perspective had to have been dictated to the author—we know this was the case with Moses’ writing of the Pentateuch. Through the book of Job, we learn about suffering and faithfulness. We also learn about God’s nature and plans. And for everyone who has ever wondered “Why do bad things to happen?” we are given a vivid and candid answer by the Almighty.

Allowed to suffer. Satan is responsible for Job’s suffering. Satan asks God’s permission to test Job, and God allows it. God is teaching us through Job that the earth is a place of suffering because of sin. There would be no suffering on earth if man had not brought sin into creation. God may choose to remove His hand of blessing and protection from anyone at any time for any reason. This is different than God directly causing suffering. Job, just like leaders today, begins with the premise that he's a good guy and has done nothing wrong. He can’t understand why God—Who Job can talk to directly—is causing these terrible things to happen to him. The book of Job is, in part, a lesson in the nature of sin and its consequences.

The short answer of why God allows bad things to happen, is that the question is backwards. The world contains evil because of man’s disobedience. That evil has an eternal penalty. We read this in Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death…” So a more accurate inquiry Job should bring us today is,“Why does God allow good things happen to bad people?” Job teaches us that suffering is not unjust. Suffering is, in fact, the baseline. We see Job, who God calls a faithful man, suffering. Indeed all men suffer, even those who are trusting and faithful to God. One great lesson for the leader is to question how we might respond to suffering that we ourselves endure.

The 30,000-foot view. The book of Job takes place on three “stages”. There is Job’s life and the world that he lives in, including his suffering, and the conversations between he and his peers. Then there’s the conversations between Job and God. And finally, there is the realm in which God and satan exist as they talk about Job’s faithfulness. As we read Job, we must understand that Job never sees or knows about the conversation between God and satan. Additionally, we know that satan does not foresee Job’s reaction or future faithfulness in advance—he does not have God’s knowledge or power. Only God has the full picture, and the book opens up a window to us on this magnificent reality.

One key nugget we learn from Job is the nature of God as being on a different plane of existence, knowing much more than we know, and having plans and designs that we can scarcely comprehend. Job helps us learn that we cannot walk through life trying to put God on our level, fitting His actions within our own bounds of what is good or bad, right or wrong, best or worst. If we look at Job as good we might think God cruel for letting Job suffer. But, if we look at God as good, then we have to dig deeper to understand what God is trying to each us through Job’s story.

What the book of Job’s three platforms of activity reveal is that we will never, as people, have a clear understanding of all that is going on naturally or supernaturally in creation. There are godly matters that are literally “above our heads”. When reading the account now at a 30,000-foot view, being able to see all levels of activity around Job’s life, it’s a bit scary to know that this plane still exists today. God is here, there and everywhere, doing as He wills and working His creation to His purposes. 

A test of character. Job is being blessed by God, but why? Job 1:1 tells us, “This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.” Before the Ten Commandments, and the covenant with Abraham, before the kings and the prophets all of God’s written teachings were passed down for generations, God is teaching us something through Job. God is teaching that obedience and faithfulness to Him results in blessing. This is a fundamental truth of Scripture. When God says, “Have you considered my servant Job…” (Job 1:8), He already knows what will happen, how Job will respond, and the ending of the story. God does not enter into this narrative wondering what Job will do when faced with adversity. Satan, however, is not all-knowing, and doesn’t know what will happen.

What, then, is God wanting to accomplish by allowing Job to suffer? This test of Job’s character is meant to remind us that we do not see the world as God does, and that what He demands of us in trust, in all circumstances. As a leader today, have you endured hardship or difficulty? Have you trusted God through this? Do you believe that despite the negatives in your life—hurt, pain, betrayal, tragedy—that God is still at work and has the very best for you in mind? The bookend to Job in the Bible is Romans 8:28, which reminds us, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”

God’s answer to suffering. In his suffering, Job laments. He questions his own actions, wondering what he has done wrong to deserve all that has happened to him. He asks God why, most pointedly in Job 7:20: “If I have sinned, what have I done to you, you who see everything we do? Why have you made me your target? Have I become a burden to you?” It’s important to note that God accepts these questions. He never says, “How dare you question Me?” It’s okay to ask God questions, even today. The Bible teaches a reverence and respect for God, but also a personal relationship with Him through Christ. We are free to express our worries, frustrations and burdens to Him.

In His response, though, God never directly answers Job’s question. God never tells Job why. There’s a sense in today’s culture at times that God is “asleep at the wheel”. He’s not actively running the universe. We may think that because of “divine neglect”, we have to endure suffering that is unjust. But God’s answer to Job reminds us that God is always attentive at every moment. There is not one facet of creation that He does not directly control at all times.

God asks Job 77 rhetorical questions (Job 38-42). They are questions of God’s power, the origin of the universe, of creation, of divine knowledge, of actions beyond time and space, happenings that the human mind cannot comprehend. Together these form God’s essential response—“Job, you are a very small part of a universe in which I am crafting a much bigger story.” The fact is we know very little about how God operates, what He is thinking, what His plans are, or how He even holds our world together. In fact, we know nothing of God that He does not choose to reveal to us. All we know of God is what He has told us through His Word, and what we can observe in His creation. And that’s it.

The response of Job. When faced with suffering, and after His conversation with God, what is Job’s response? It is to trust God and to worship Him. Job responds to God’s questions by saying, “I know that You can do all things; no purpose of ¥ours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures My plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. 

 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’ My ears had heard of You but now my eyes have seen You. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” (John 42:2-6). God has revealed a little bit more of Himself to Job (and to us, the readers) and for that Job is profoundly humbled. Ultimately Job will die and will be with God in heaven. He has no greater and more important relationship over God, in life or after life. God has given Job a glimpse of this reality and he knows God a little bit better as a result of all that has happened to him. Job’s response to God through suffering, then, isgratitude.  

Job 42:12, 16 says, “The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part… Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.” The end of his life was more blessed than the beginning. Job is really not so much a story of suffering as it is of what it is like to know and to trust God. That trust must come despite personal circumstances, and will grow when we are tried and tested in difficult conditions. As a leader, when you are tried and tested, does it make you more determined to know God and trust Him? Can you maintain Christlike character? Looking back over difficulties in your life, did going through them teach you anything, spiritually? Perhaps we can lead like Job, not knowing all the details of what God is doing, but to be willing to trust Him, ask questions, and ultimately know that He is working for His glory and for our good.

[1] https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-wisdom-books/job

Cover photo: Shutterstock AI