Articles
Person Of The Week: Job
By all appearances, Job lived in the patriarchal period of Bible history. What Job experienced and its outcome have both puzzled and comforted the grieving for centuries. While we cannot do a thorough review here, a couple of observations might help.
First, while the particular circumstances of Job’s tragedy are unique (i.e., the underlying challenge between God and Satan), what actually befalls him is not. People around the world lose loved ones, property, freedom, etc., in a moment due to natural events (tsunamis, earthquakes, etc.) and human treachery such as that inflicted by terrorists and dictators. The human experience can be incredibly brutal and unstable, and we are blessed every moment that such do not intrude into our lives.
Secondly, Job experienced the worst of life as a man of great faith in God. This, in fact, is what creates the depth of his grief: He cannot understand why God has allowed this to happen to him, and his theologically limited friends use it as a stick to assault him with false accusations.
When all is said and done, Job’s consternation is dispelled when God speaks. Job is both rebuked and comforted in the graphic reminders that God is always in control. Like Job, we may never fully understand why things happen, but we should find peace in knowing that God manages our lives properly and gives us the resources to negotiate the hard and painful times.
