Scripture: Job Vs. Job

In life, we often experience trials and tribulations that seem wholly unfair and uncalled for. They seem to have no end, and during these times, even the most devout Christian may question his faith in God’s justice. In Scripture, God decides to put these devout Christians to the test twice - once with Job, and once with Abraham. There are many similarities between these two tests, but each man’s trial has eccentricities that make it unique to him. Trials in life may often seem unfair and unwarranted, and almost seems to punish the righteous. That was the case for Job, in which God even acknowledges him as a “blameless and upright man who fears God” (Job 1:8). However, once prodded by Satan to test Job’s faith, rather than deciding that He

Job wants God to vindicate him in the eyes of his three friends, who are certain that he deserves the punishment because he had sinned. Job is so certain of his innocence and of the injustice of the afflictions that for a long time, he is unable to see beyond that. He tries to defend himself from the false accusations of his friends, and in doing so, is blinded to the areas that needed growth in his life. For example, he “burnt offerings” whenever his children partied and drank (1:5). Although he knew that his children had sinned and cursed God in their hearts, he did not stop this from happening; rather, he tried to lessen God’s wrath against them by sacrificing offerings to appease God. Also, this seemed more of a habitual thing than something that he had put his thoughts into. His offerings were empty - there was no substance nor faith in them. Moreover, Job believed himself to be “blameless and upright,” never entertaining the thought that he was not (1:2). Because of his immense wealth and fortune, he had forgotten that all he had was given by God and had forgotten to stay grounded. However, once God does appear, Job is immediately humbled and acknowledges that as a mere human, he can not possibly comprehend everything under God’s dominion. Therefore, God tests humans so that growth can be achieved. God wants humans to grow, and trials such as the one Job goes

Primarily, the idea that God is just is never lost. In the beginning of Job, even though God actually allows Satan to afflict Job, He set limits beyond which Satan could not pass. Initially, Satan was not supposed to touch Job’s health, but when he does not curse God, God allows Satan to go further, but not touch his life. From the very beginning, there are set limits to Job’s trial. Likewise, God sets limits on Abraham’s trials. He stops Abraham right before he actually sacrifices Isaac because He saw that Abraham’s faith to Him was true. Even though God punished Job, He still remains just. At the end of Job’s trials, God “restored the fortunes of Job,” giving him twice what he had started with (42:1). He had effectively taught Job where he had gone wrong, but did not allow his suffering to continue until death. Similarly, after God had tested Abraham’s faith, He fulfills the promise He made with Abraham by making his descendants kings of great nations. As illustrated by both Job and Abraham, faith in the justice of God is rewarded