I believe the primary application of the Book of Job is that we do not need to know why God does what He does if we know Him. Job is a book that deals with persevering faith (cf. 2 Cor. 5:7).203
"To sufferers in all ages the book of Job declares that less important than fathoming the intellectual problem of the mystery of suffering is the appropriation of its spiritual enrichment through the fellowship of God."204
In this book the writer clarified the basis of human relationship with God. It is not retribution. Retribution is the theory that before death God always pays someone in kind according to what that person gives Him, blessing for righteousness or suffering for unrighteousness. We should not return to God what God sends us either, worship for blessing or cursing for pain. Rather the basis of our relationship is grace. God owes people nothing. Because people are sinful creatures God can justly curse us. However because God is a loving Father He chooses to bless us in many cases. People's response to God's grace should be trust and obedience.
Why do the godly suffer?
The different characters in the book based their understanding and their convictions on different sources of knowledge.
Job's three friends each had a different basis of authority.
Some of the practical lessons the Book of Job teaches include the following. God is in control even when He appears not to be. The good will of God includes suffering, in spite of what faith healers say. Bad things happen to good people because God allows Satan to test them, not because God seduces them to do evil (cf. James 1:13). God is just in spite of appearances. Whatever God does is right because He does it. We can and should worship God even when we are suffering. We can trust God even when we have no explanation for what is happening to us. It is futile and foolish to criticize God or to challenge Him. We create problems for ourselves when we put God in a box. When we feel anxious we should seek to get to know God better by consulting His special revelation, the Bible.205
"The book of Job makes an outstanding contribution to the theology of God and man. God is seen as sovereign, omniscient, omnipotent, and caring. By contrast, man is seen as finite, ignorant, and sinful. And yet, even in the face of suffering, man can worship God, confident that His ways are perfect and that pride has no place before Him."206
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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable
