Book of Job Term Paper

Total Length: 1072 words ( 4 double-spaced pages)

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Book of Job provides some useful insights about the nature of man and God to people who find themselves asking one of the most ancient and common of human questions: "why do bad things happen to good people?" Both believers and nonbelievers often find themselves wondering at what seems to be the incredible randomness of horrific acts that occur to people who seem to be good, or innocent (like children, infants, and people who have devoted their lives to others). Many Christians find themselves wondering why God would inflict such terrible suffering on the world, if he is truly a kind and benevolent being who watches over the human race as his own children. They wonder if God is simply punishing the afflicted for their sins, tying to teach a lesson through the affliction of suffering, and even sometimes question whether God is truly a benevolent and kind entity. Suffering that occurs in the lives of those who are true believers in God, who live their lives by the word of God and the principles that are clearly set out within the Holy Bible, is especially difficult to begin understand if we accept unquestioningly that the same God who causes such terrible suffering is a kind, just, and giving God.

The Story of the Book of Job

Job was a wealth, prominent man in his community, who performed a large number of good works for both his family and the larger community surrounding him, and who was largely loved and admired by everyone around him, including his family, friends and neighbors. As the book of Job begins, Satan receives permission from God to trouble and afflict Job in order to test Job's adherence to God's rules.
Satan ultimately manipulates events in Job's life until he has lost everything, from his wealth to his children, to the respect and love of his neighbors and his health.

Job is a righteous and honorable man, and he naturally beings to wonder why he is being afflicted with such terrible trials and tribulations, and he questions why God would do this to him. God reveals himself to Job, and chastises him, whereupon Job regrets his words spoken with such little understanding of the power and nature of God, and God give Job back twice what he had taken.

Lessons from the Book of Job

Ultimately, one of the most important lessons from the book of Job is that no human is good or righteous enough to be considered to be truly righteous within God's eyes. In other words, there is no man, or woman, or even child, who has ever lived or will ever live on the surface of this earth who can honestly claim that he or she is absolutely pure and without sin. If humans were absolutely pure of sin, the human race would have no need for a Savior, and Satan would never be given occasion to have grounds for tormenting humans, causing human suffering, or leading humans into temptation and sinful thoughts and acts. Job's belief that he is good, righteous, giving to his community, and upholding of all of God's laws is the ultimate basis of the sin that Job ultimately commits against the word….....

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