Themes

// 1. //// The notion of suffering // It was the Jewish understanding that human suffering was a result of something we had done wrong in our lives – God punishes the sinner and rewards the just. This is the position which Job’s three friends (Bil’dad, Zo’pher and Eli’phaz) maintain. Job’s continual responses challenge the understanding of the day, since he maintains that he has not sinned and therefore asks, “//Why do good people (or innocent people) suffer?”//

// 2. //// The wonders of Creation (and their mystery) // There are numerous references in the Book of Job with the Book of Genesis, namely the Creation story. Compare passages such as “You fashioned me like clay and will you turn me to dust again?” (Job 10:9) And “As long as my breath is in me and the spirit of God is in my nostrils.” (Job 27:3) With “The Lord God formed man (//Heb adam//) from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” (Gen 2:7) Passages such as these from The Book of Job reinforce what was already known about the creation of humankind and the world (as recorded in Genesis). But how much does Job //understand// about the Creation? When reading the last few chapters of the Book of Job, one might argue ‘not enough.’

// 3. //// Why and how do we serve God? // Not through our selfish desires but through the love of God, His creation and our love for our fellow man (as highlighted by Job’s prayers for his three friends folly). Such an understanding is reinforced by the two Christian Commandments. Job questions God’s paln since he cannot understand why he – a righteous and upright man – is experiencing such severe suffering. Is Job questioning God himself or humanity’s inability to understand the world and life itself? Do we serve God in order to be rewarded or is one’s servitude governed by love (love for the Lord/fear of the Lord)? Job’s faith has been challenged and at the conclusion of the Book of Job his faith has been strengthened, not because his hardships have been reversed but significantly because he is overawed by the beauty and mystery of creation and of God himself. There are numerous similarities with Job and the book itself with the 19th century Russian writer Dostoevsky, most notably his masterpiece novel //The Brothers Karamazov.//