Job (Person) (2024)

FAQs

What is Job's story in the Bible? ›

This legend concerns Job, a prosperous man of outstanding piety. Satan acts as an agent provocateur to test whether or not Job's piety is rooted merely in his prosperity. But faced with the appalling loss of his possessions, his children, and finally his own health, Job still refuses to curse God.

A clear majority of rabbis saw Job as having in fact existed as a historically factual figure. According to a minority view, Job never existed. In this view, Job was a literary creation by a prophet who used this form of writing to convey a divine message.

Job was upright.

All his business dealings were on the up and up. He was an honest man who could be trusted. He was dependable, ethical, and could never be rightly accused of cheating anyone. His life was characterized by sincerity and a quest for perfection.

The Talmud mentions him as one of the three Prophets consulted by Pharaoh prior to his decision to drown the Hebrew baby boys (Exodus). Balaam tells him to kill the Jews, Yithro to spare them and Job who does not agree with the plan says nothing. The Talmud concludes that it was for this reason that Job was punished.

The life of Job, a man whose story is told in the book of the Bible by that name, contains many lessons for us today. In it, we see the value of patience, perseverance, and the importance of holding our tongue, not to mention God's faithfulness, restorative power, and goodness.

The story of Job exemplifies our struggle to understand the problem of suffering. Job was upright and unwavering in his commitment to God, yet he loses everything—his children, his wealth, and eventually his health. For some of us, his experience of suffering resonates profoundly.

Job, a righteous, God-fearing man, experienced severe trials and afflictions. Job lost all of his property, his children died, and he suffered great physical agony. In the midst of his suffering, Job was visited by three friends. Though Job's friends intended to comfort him, they accused him of transgression.

“Clothe yourself with honor and majesty. Pour out your anger to overflowing, And look on everyone who is proud, and make him low. Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him, and tread down the wicked where they stand.” Job will find the task impossible.

God allows Satan to torment Job to test this bold claim, but he forbids Satan to take Job's life in the process. In the course of one day, Job receives four messages, each bearing separate news that his livestock, servants, and ten children have all died due to marauding invaders or natural catastrophes.

God is responsible for the suffering that his righteous servant Job, has to endure. He is even manipulated by the satan to allow him free reign in attacking Job. God even acknowledges that the misery and pain inflicted on Job, was for no reason.

Is Job the richest man in the Bible? ›

He had seven sons and three daughters, and owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, one thousand head of cattle, and five hundred donkeys. He also had a large number of servants and was the richest man in the East.

The five core characteristics of job design are skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and job feedback. Including these characteristics in your jobs affects the following work-related outcomes — motivation, satisfaction, performance, absenteeism, and turnover.

In the end, God restored all that Job had lost, and gave Job twice as much as he had before. The Lord blessed him with a long life, and with seven more sons, and three more daughters who were the most beautiful women in all the land!

As recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, Jesus Christ comforted the Prophet Joseph Smith by comparing his afflictions to those of Job: “Thou art not yet as Job; thy friends do not contend against thee, neither charge thee with transgression, as they did Job” (D&C 121:10).

Job had everything — a good family, a good name and plenty of wealth. But then Satan went to God and asked for permission to alter Job's good fortune. Then tragedy strikes and Job loses everything: his children, his wealth, his livestock, his crops, his health and even the relationship of his wife and friends.

Job regards his success to be the result of God's blessing. We are told that God has “blessed the work of Job's hands, and his possessions have increased in the land” (Job 1:10). Job's recognition that he owes everything to God's blessing is highlighted by an unusual detail.

The Bible tells the story of a man called Job who is described as a good man who loves God. Satan challenges God, saying that Job is only good because he has a happy life. God allows Satan to put Job's faith to the test by causing him to suffer. First, Job loses his livestock, his servants and all his children.

idiom. the ability to remain patient and to do what you think you should do despite having many problems. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases.

Don't worry about what got them where they are, just make yourself available to them. There is no need to analyze and/or criticize every circ*mstance in life. Job's friends did not know what was going on between God and Satan, they did not need to know, they just needed to be there to offer support for their friend.

The purpose of [the book of Job] is to explore God's policies with regard to suffering in the world, especially by the righteous or the innocent. In the process it seeks to revolutionize our thinking about God and the way that he runs the world.

How did Job persevere in the Bible? ›

How did Job persevere? He persevered the same way everyone perseveres through trials—by maintaining faith in God. Twice Satan predicted Job would curse God, and at one point Job's wife even told him to do so.

They do not say a word. They support him, let him have his sadness and be there with him in his time of trial. But finally, they speak. They say it is his fault he has lost so much, because he has sinned.

Strengths. Job was singled out by God as someone who "is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." He performed sacrifices on behalf of his family in the event anyone inadvertently sinned.

The decision was made to call the disorder Job's syndrome, recalling the boils afflicted upon the biblical character Job as a test that emerged from an exchange between G-d and Satan. (2:7 So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot even unto his crown.)

The Scripture passage demonstrates that God was after Job's innermost healing and restoration because He involved Job in the process of forgiving the errant counselors. Job had been badly injured by several of his best friends. Without God's intervention Job would long remember their hurtful words and misplaced blame.

Abstract: The significance of God's speaking through the voice from the whirlwind and Job's subsequent repentance has often been interpreted as a scolding by God for questioning divine providence and/or as the assertion of inscrutable mystery.

First, God's Mercy Was Shown When He Blessed Job

God blessed Job with twice as much as he had before, and vindicated him before his family and friends (Job 42:10–11; see chapters 6 and 7). The Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.

Job says that God “destroys the blameless and the guilty. When suddenly a scourge brings death, He mocks as the innocent fail.” It is indeed difficult to see why God would ultimately agree with such statements.

When Job's friends came to check on him, they initially did exactly as they should have. They wept with him, refrained from voicing useless platitudes, and sat with him in his misery, in silence for seven days.

Genesis 2:15 – “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” God PUT Adam in the MOST beautiful / pleasurable place on earth! God did not only put Adam in the Garden to rest and enjoy creation, but also to work.

What is the faith of Job in the Bible? ›

In all of this, the Bible says, Job did not sin with his lips. Job was reduced to sitting amidst the rubble of his once-prosperous life. After the loss of everything he held worthwhile, he still proclaimed: “Though He [God] slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15). He was declaring his complete trust in his God.

Job 33. View May 21 at 6:00 p.m. MDT. Elihu says, God is greater than man, He speaks to man in dreams and visions, He ransoms those cast into the pit, and He delivers their souls and gives them life. 1 Wherefore, Job, I pray thee, hear my speeches, and hearken to all my words.

Job was a righteous man. As the author says on more than one occasion, he was “blameless and upright, a man who feared God and turned away from evil.” He was also a wealthy man. He had 7,000 sheep and 3,000 camels; he had 500 donkeys, 500 yoke of oxen; he had 7 sons, and 3 daughters.

Solomon was the biblical king most famous for his wisdom. In 1 Kings he sacrificed to God, and God later appeared to him in a dream, asking what Solomon wanted from God.

Matthew 27 describes him simply as a rich man and disciple of Jesus, but according to Mark 15, Joseph of Arimathea was "a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God".

Previous research found that four job characteristics (autonomy, variety, identity, and feedback) could increase workers' performance, satisfaction, and attendance. Task significance was derived from Greg Oldham's own work experience as an assembly line worker.

The five core job dimensions identified are autonomy, feedback, skill variety, task identity, and task significance. It is important to recognize the job characteristics and how they affect the employees' job satisfaction in an organization.

Meaningfulness is characterised by three of the job characteristics discussed above: Skill variation, task identity and task importance.

“Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him,” Job 13:15. And the Lord not only restored Job's fortunes, he restored them in abundance. This promise of abundance is found throughout the Bible.

1) Pray what's really on your mind and heart.

He said things like, “I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul” (Job 1:2, NIV). He prayed, “Stop frightening me with your terrors” (Job 13:21, NIV). He complained, “Surely, O God, you have worn me out” (Job 16:7, NIV).

Why did Job shave his head and tear his robe? ›

When all his children died and he also lost all his possessions, Job expressed his mental agony by tearing his garments (Job 1:20). Similarly, his three friends – Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar – did the same (Job 2:12) when they came to condole with him and observed that his body was full of sores.

When a newspaper accused him of being a false prophet and practicing plural marriage, Smith and the Nauvoo government destroyed the newspaper and its presses. Critics said he had violated the First Amendment and also charged him with treason.

Trying to go out the window to deflect attention from the two survivors inside, Joseph Smith was hit in the chest and collarbone with two shots from the open doorway and two more from outside the window. His final words as he fell to the ground outside the jail were, "O Lord, my God!" (HC 6:618).

When Joseph Smith was 14 years old, he wanted to know which church he should join, so he asked God in sincere prayer. In response to this prayer, God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph and told him the true Church of Jesus Christ was not on the earth and They had chosen Joseph to restore it.

The story ends with Job receiving his wealth back several fold, having another 10 children and living for another 140 years. Job's wife appears briefly in the Book but she is an interesting character which we shall return to later in the series.

The book's theme is the eternal problem of unmerited suffering, and it is named after its central character, Job, who attempts to understand the sufferings that engulf him.

While the Wife of Job has a limited role in the biblical narrative, the apocryphal Divrei Lyov transforms her into a central character of the plot. Unique to the apocryphal account, Job is cited as having two wives, Uzit and Dinah, whereas the midrashic account has Job marrying only one woman.

He lost his health, wealth, and children. His friends accused him and called into question his faith in God. Job's wife tried to persuade him to turn from the Lord when she said, “Curse God and die!” Job replied: “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity” (Job 2:10).

In the end, God restored all that Job had lost, and gave Job twice as much as he had before. The Lord blessed him with a long life, and with seven more sons, and three more daughters who were the most beautiful women in all the land!

Job, a righteous, God-fearing man, experienced severe trials and afflictions. Job lost all of his property, his children died, and he suffered great physical agony. In the midst of his suffering, Job was visited by three friends. Though Job's friends intended to comfort him, they accused him of transgression.

What is the theology of the Book of Job? ›

Job establishes his firm faith in God; since God is a righteous Judge, He will in the end pronounce the right judgement. At the last God vindicates Job of his innocence and justifies him by his faith. The wisdom poem shows that wisdom belongs to God.

Job represents the truth that innocent people suffer, but by the end of his story also shows that God is in control the entire time. God allowed Satan to attack Job spiritually, emotionally, and physically, but never to the point of death (Job 2:6). God remained in control.

Job understood that God was the source of his blessing. God has the sovereign right to bestow blessing on whomever he chooses. He also has the rightful authority to withhold blessing and bring calamity on whomever he chooses. However God ordains, he remains sovereign and worthy of worship.

Job repeatedly asked God to speak, praying things like, “Tell me what charges you have against me” (Job 1:2, NIV) and “Show me my offense” (Job 13:23, NIV). Those are dangerous prayers, of course, but too often in prayer we do all the talking.

There is a reason, an important reason, that the Book of Job is in the Bible: because the authentic community of faith, in this case the Hebrew community of faith, acknowledges that innocent suffering does exist. Job represents innocent suffering.

He had acted and moved based upon a paradigm of his own creation, but now desires to move based upon God's own revelation. His repentance is for the assumption that he had fully understood how God must act and respond in the case of his suffering.

Job says that he is innocent, that he doesn't deserve God's punishment, and that God screwed up. God doesn't address any of these points.

So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!"

After being silent throughout the dialogues between Job and his friends, God finally speaks to Job out of the whirlwind. God does not answer their questions about Job's guilt or innocence, but rather speaks about the created order and contrasts what God can do with what humans are able to do.

In addition to Psalms and Proverbs, Job is also reckoned among the books that make up the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament. This work provides critical insight into the nature of suffering and the sovereignty of God, and its instruction is vital for viewing our pain in a Lord-honoring manner.