The Book of Job describes the life of a man named Job, who loses all his belongings and children for no apparent reason, but still manages to keep his faith and trust in God. Because of Job’s relentless faith in God, he was ultimately rewarded with twice as many privileges and children. The theme of suffering throughout the story contributed to the development of the main conflict, whether or not Job would keep his faith in God despite his troubles. Suffering for Job began when God and Satan made a deal, with God entrusting Job will keep his faith despite losing his possessions and family. The role suffering plays in the development of Job as a character is a vital one because it presents a contemporary perspective on whether suffering should always be linked to sin, or if it is a necessary part of human existence, regardless of sin, as a whole. In general, suffering is a necessary part of human existence and helps Job evolve as a character.
In the Book of Job, many types of suffering occur, but the most apparent one is unjustified suffering. Unjustified, or innocent suffering, is the idea that one goes through hardships that are deemed unfair or grossly unfit in comparison to the circumstances. It is a common belief that suffering should be deemed fit to the action(s) that caused it. This ideology began with ancient literature, such as in Mesopotamian texts. “In Mesopotamian literature this set of ideas characteristically occurs in prayers for deliverance from suffering, as well as in reflections upon the nature of suffering and its remedies” (Newsom 141). In these ancient texts, retribution is only carried out by the gods because of sin that was committed. However, this traditional perspective is challenged by the Book of Job. This is so because Job suffers at the hands of God for no apparent reason, other than to prove Job’s unconditional faith in God to Satan. Suffering is inevitable in the scope of life; “The question of human suffering forms part of human existence and constantly begs for a response. It is a common reality of our existence from which no one can escape” (Kunonga 49). No one can escape suffering because it is a part of human nature.
A common reading of the Book of Job suggests that it brings up the question, “why do bad things happen to good people?” According to a professor of Bible Exposition and the Editor-in-chief of Bibliotheca Sacra, Larry J. Waters, “’Undeserved suffering’” does not imply that God unjustly placed mankind under the curse as a result of the Fall. Rather it refers to suffering that is not directly traceable to an act of personal sin or disobedience. This phrase does not imply that Job was sinless, nor that he was without sin during the cycles of debate” (1). This introduces the idea of innocent, or unjustified suffering, which means that suffering should truly only occur when something has been done to justify it. Why should suffering only occur when a sin is committed? It occurs because of the reality that suffering is universal and applies to every human in existence. The reason for this is because obstacles are simply impossible to completely avoid. Obstacles bring meaning into human life which approaches the idea that the Book of Job is truly discussing what life’s purpose is. If Job had a perfect life for his entire existence, he would never have known all the dark parts of living, which in turn, builds character. This is an example of the main type of suffering that Job was subjected to.
To further expand the last point, suffering is universal and affects everyone differently in the Book of Job. The protagonist, Job, is the most directly affected out of all characters because he is the one who is being ultimately tested by God and Satan. He loses his wealth, his family, and his overall health. Arguably, the antagonists in this story are his friends because they are the ones feeding negative information to Job to convince him to give up his faith in God. Another antagonist based off of this could be his wife; his wife blatantly told Job that he should curse God because his health was deteriorating. These characters are also victims of suffering because, as a result of their lack of faith in God, they were eventually punished by him.
An important thing to note is that God is the one allowing suffering to happen, rather than the one bringing about punishment and obstacles to humanity. Despite this, Job’s faith is unwavering because he respects God as the Creator of human existence and life. However, this contradicts the idea that Job’s blind faith was based on the fact that God is the creator of all human existence, rather than the idea that if one keeps faith in God, one will eventually be rewarded in life or in afterlife (heaven) (Gutierrez 2). This refers to the idea that human suffering is unavoidable, regardless of whether or not one commits an action that is deemed justifiable of retribution. If Job had listened to his friends and wife and repented himself, he would have proved Satan right. By trying to prove that Job would lose his faith in God, it is indirectly supporting the idea that God’s followers only follow him for the rewards associated with good, sinless behavior. However, because of Job’s unwavering faith in God, he proved that his faith is beyond living in a state of fear of retribution, but instead is because he respects the Creator of mankind.
Another character that is often neglected in analyses of the Book of Job is God himself. Suffering is a part of human existence, indicating that God does not suffer; however, when God revealed himself to Job, he appeared despondent. It seemed that way because he only appeared once Job began to become slightly hostile, demanding answers, on the brink of losing faith, and once he appeared, he did not answer Job’s questions. Job did not challenge the divinity’s statements but later revealed that he knows that human knowledge has a limit. Job could never understand what God would have to say and that humbled him. God does not suffer at the hands of Job, but he does allow human suffering to occur and continue. In this book, God is portrayed as a prominent sovereign figure over mankind. Because of this, his judgment is not questioned or challenged; simply, Job never challenged God’s authority over him despite him seeming to be suffering innocently.
The theme of suffering appears throughout the story and is a vital aspect of the deal made between God and Satan. Satan proposed that once suffering was brought unto Job, he would despise God for all that he had done. However, God responds and states that Job will surpass these hardships, still faithful to God. In the end, God was right in assuming that Job would keep his faith. The suffering that Job was subjected to caused him to become despondent, not losing his faith, but wondering why this was his life and why he was even alive, “Why then did you bring me out from the womb? I should have died and no eye would have seen me! I should have been as thought I had never existed; I should have been carried right from the womb to the grave!” (Job 10:18-19) These statements show that Job did not back down and fought with himself until God appeared. Job’s friends and wife are the antagonists attempting to prevent Job from reaching his goal of getting through his predicament without losing his faith. In this story, the protagonist prevails; even when Job had lost everything, he blamed no one other than himself.
Job is also afflicted with loneliness when everyone he knows turns against him and his beliefs, therein isolating him. According to Wolff, Job is afflicted with loneliness because, “They do not understand the nature of his condition, and though they may try to comfort him, they are far from his inner spirit. He is lonely because he is misunderstood” (22). This suggests that not only is Job suffering in the most obvious way, losing his family, possessions, and health, but he is also suffering through emotional punishment. What Wolff means by “misunderstood” is that Job feels that no one can relate to his philosophies about God and his faith in God. Although everyone tries to make him lose his faith, this ties in with “undeserved suffering” because Job was considered to be someone who did not do anything negative enough for him to be afflicted with physical, emotional and mental pain. “He has put my relatives far from me; my acquaintances only turn away from me. My kinsmen have failed me; my friends have forgotten me. My guests and my servant girls consider me a stranger; I am a foreigner in their eyes” (19:13-15). This is Job describing how lonely he is and how every single person in his life has neglected him. However, despite the presence of loneliness, it does not change Job. Instead, it contributes to his increasing hostility and despondence with God because not only is he suffering outwardly, he is suffering inside. This led to Job questioning what life is if one receives no answers from God Almighty himself.
Some will say that undeserved suffering and punishment left Job unchanged. It is difficult to prove that Job changes as a person from start to finish, however, there is a change in mood throughout. After the first of his hardships, Job worshipped God, exclaiming, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord” (1:21). Shortly after, when his hardships continued and worsened, he began to accuse God of being an unfair ruler, mentioning that the wicked or evil people often go their whole lives with plenty of privileges and little punishment while good people often suffer the most (Job 21:7-21:22). His perspectives most definitely changed as his life worsened. Now, this simply proves that suffering did affect Job’s religious views, but it is difficult to say that he was changed as a person. Despite this, Job was a man who had never gone through any tumultuous events prior to this deal God made with Satan. After experiencing this ordeal, Job likely became a changed man, along with his changed religious perspectives.
If Job had never gone through his suffering, he would not have evolved as a character. He did not make the realization that faith in God is more than just believing in him until after these events occurred. His three friends, the main antagonists, trying to convince him to lose his faith in God were unsuccessful in fully convincing him, however, he did begin to question whether he had sinned to incur such punishments. After Bildad speaks to Job, he responds with, “But even if it were true that I have erred, my error remains solely my concern!” (19:4) This is a change in Job’s beliefs because he did not consider that he sinned until his friends constantly introduced the idea to him. This is another instance in where Job evolves personally and mentally. Another friend that tries to veer him off the right path is Elihu who, “suggest[s] that the purpose of suffering was to bring the sufferer to the posture of a servant or slave … to add insult to injury and defy Job’s interpretation of his plight. Elihu refuses to hear Job; he quotes him but throws his testimony out of court” (Habel 507). Throughout the story, he becomes more agitated and annoyed with God, something no one could have expected. Part of the reason for this could be his fear of death. Job believed that he was about to die because of his worsening health. Perhaps the thought of impending death scared Job or simply made him think that he had to keep his faith in God up until death. Although he does become more hostile towards God, he does not lose faith that everything will be worth the sacrifices in the end.
Towards the end of his tumultuous journey with his relationship with God, Job has a realization that his knowledge is just too limited to ask God for answers. Job will never be able to fully understand any answer that God provides, so he just decides to continue with his faith in God, no matter what happens to him. When God appears, Job realizes that his human knowledge is too limited to understand any answer God would give him. Because of this realization, his humility prevails amongst all the suffering which results in him being rewarded with double what he had before the suffering began. This self-realization eventually leads to the overall moral of the story which is suffering is unavoidable, so keeping your faith in God will pay off in the end.
As mentioned in the beginning of this paper, the idea that suffering and sin go hand in hand is a traditional one, often cited in ancient world literature. However, the Book of Job presents a different, more contemporary perspective. Job is a man who had not struggled and devoted his life towards respecting God as the Creator of human existence and practicing his faith in him. Once tragedy hits, he views his ordeal as unfair, but the reader (and Job) eventually learn that suffering is inevitable despite being as good a person as one can be. Because of this new idea that suffering is inevitable, it is important to note that keeping faith is what allowed Job to survive. Although his treatment is often viewed as unfair, it was necessary in order for Job to learn to appreciate his possessions, health and family. Unjustified suffering is not a cruel punishment by God, instead, it is just a part of the price humans pay for existence.