The Book of Job: Reflections on Suffering

As we begin our Lenten journey, we look to the Book of Job as a model of suffering and repentance. In reading Job, we must be prepared to challenge ourselves with some hard questions, and to sit quietly with some even more difficult answers.  The lessons of Job remind us that reward and punishment, as we imagine to be fair and just, do not always correspond to that of the Lord.  Job further reminds us that suffering is real, purposeful, and important to not only our humanity, but to our redemption and salvation.

Below, an excerpt from a thoughful article on the Book of Job, written by Larry J. Walters:

Written by an unknown author, possibly the most ancient literary account in the Bible, the Book of Job is a mixture of divine and human wisdom that addresses a major life issue: Why do righteous people suffer undeservedly? The Book of Job is also a prime example of Hebrew wisdom literature3 that labors with the concept of theodicy, which is a defense of the integrity of the justice and righteousness of God in light of the evil, injustice, and undeserved suffering in the world. Some writers have suggested that theodicy is the theme of the Book of Job. If this is so,then the emphasis of the book is not totally on the man Job and his suffering, though he and his suffering are certainly central, but also on God Himself and His relationship to His supreme creation.


Job therefore is a book dealing with human suffering, even though the suffering of the innocent does not encompass the author's entire purpose. It is also more than an ancient play written to portray the absurdities of life, the weaknesses of man, and the prominence of the sovereignty of God. The Book of Job shows that the sufferer can question and doubt, face the hard questions of life with faith, maintain an unbroken relationship with a loving God, and still come to a satisfactory resolution for personal and collective injustice and undeserved suffering. These observations need to be addressed not only within the context of the suffering by the righteous man Job, but also because many believers today suffer and can identify with Job. As Andersen points out, "the problem of suffering, human misery, or the larger sum of evil in all its forms is a problem only for the person who believes in one God who is all-powerful and all-loving." Suffering, then, is the prominent issue that forces a consideration of the deeper questions posed by this concept, especially as it affects the lives of those who have a loving, intimate relationship with the true and living God. All the questions that relate to God, man, and Satan-justice and injustice, sovereignty and freedom, innocence and guilt, good and evil, blessing and cursing-are interwoven within the context of undeserved suffering.

The Book of Job, and its presentation of undeserved suffering, therefore, serves as a dependable, useful model for the believer of any generation in dealing with the problem of theodicy. Is God to be held to a strict set of regulations based on human interpretations of His relationship with mankind? How does the Book of Job handle this question and its connection with undeserved suffering, while still demanding faith in an omnipotent, sovereign, and loving God? …


Job is truly a wisdom book. The basic concept of wisdom has always been connected with skill and "know-how," for "wisdom was the art of achieving," and the "emphasis was on competence." Wisdom challenges readers to discover the "know-how" presented in the book so that they might achieve competence in dealing with the questions of suffering. From the Book of Job readers can learn how to challenge the false concepts related to suffering and how to maintain a loving and meaningful relationship, in the midst of suffering, with the sovereign God. Only God "understands the way to [wisdom] and he alone knows where it dwells" (Job 28:23, NIV).

Walters, L.J. "Reflections on Suffering from the Book of Job," BIBLIOTHECA SACRA 154 (October-December 1997): 436-51.