The Mystery of Suffering
Job 1:1-12
When asked what is the oldest book in the Bible, most people would answer Genesis. However, most Bible scholars agree that the earliest written book is the Book of Job. In antiquity, nearly all of the ancient Semitic peoples knew Job’s story and its ever-relevant subject of suffering. It speaks to the constant questions of mankind “Why all this suffering?” and “Why do the righteous suffer?”
Suffering Has The Propensity To Test One’s Righteousneness.
How can one be declared righteous if their righteousness has not been tested? Is it intact under unfavorable conditions as well as favorable? In the opening scene in heaven, the dialog between God and Satan resembles a court room. At the heart of the case, on trial is God’s righteousness, with Job’s righteousness as a secondary matter. Satan insinuates that God ‘bought and bribed’ Job to practice righteousness.
God Never Withdraws His Love From Us But He Can Conceal His Love From Us.
Job suffered greatly from Satan and felt abandoned by all. God never withdrew His love for Job, and Job expressed his faith in God and His love for us.
God Sometimes May Conceal His Righteousness In Order To Showcase Your Righteousness.
Satan questioned God’s righteousness, and we must be careful not to enter the false claim when suffering enters our lives. Sometimes God conceals His righteousness to reveal our righteousness, but His righteousness will always prevail. The refrain “in all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God” reveals Job’s righteousness, and God’s love and righteousness was ultimately shown to Job.