Purpose of the Sufferings of Job

Question: Why did Job have to suffer, though he was righteous?

Answer:

We should look at Job’s story in the light of two verses from the New Testament: Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose”; and James 5:11 “Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord--that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.”  James 5:11 is a validation of Romans 8:28 for Job – all the troubles that Satan brought upon Job, were eventually turned by God into a blessing, not only for Job but also for his friends, who had the opportunity of learning about God and His righteousness, firsthand, through an unforgettable experience and lesson.

As we read the first chapter of the Book of Job, we are made aware of two very important things about Job. One is that Job’s righteousness (Job 1:1), though vouched for by God (Job 1:8; 2:3), was actually a righteousness of “works” (Job 1:5), which was also affirmed by his friend Eliphaz (Job 4:6); and second, Job’s fear of God was motivated more from a sense of averting personal harm to him and his family members, than from a sense of actually worshiping God for who God is (Job 3:25). Job himself confesses this while he recounts the good works that he did towards other people, “For destruction from God is a terror to me, And because of His magnificence I cannot endure” (Job 31:23). By virtue of his works, Job was righteous in his own eyes (Job 32:1; 34:5) – a potentially fatal flaw which could have destroyed him through pride. God intended to correct this state of Job’s fallible “righteousness of works”, and bring Job around to the ever-enduring state of “righteousness of faith” that would never falter, never diminish, and against which Satan could never ever have any hold or strength.

God did this by using Satan’s desire to test Job for his reverence and integrity. Through Satan, and the accusations of his friends, God allowed Job to be emptied of all his physical resources, wisdom, capabilities, and temporal status, in which he could have gloried or boasted. Once that had been done, instead of answering any of the questions that Job had asked about his woes, or said for justifying Himself God before, or raised about God's allowing Satan to trouble Job, God confronted Job with His magnificence and creative power, with God’s unfathomable wisdom, and abilities, whereby He governs, regulates, and takes care of everything in the whole of universe. Thereby God brought Job to the realization that despite Job’s insignificance in the universe he was still personally and intimately known by and cared for by God. God also brought Job to the realization of the worthlessness of the righteousness which Job gloried in and tried to maintain and protect through his attempts to appease God – in a sense, Job had been trying to manipulate and use God to serve his selfish ends.

Now, having come to realize God’s stature, irreproachable wisdom and abilities, Job immediately realizes how foolish he was to claim any righteousness of his own through his works and his trying to use God for the same. Job therefore immediately confesses his being vile (Job 40:4-5). And as God continues to further confront him, Job confesses his foolishness and repents (Job 42:1-6) – the very thing that God had intended (James 5:11) and had been driving him to. As Job acknowledges his actual status before God and repents for it, God forgives him (1 John 1:9), and not only restores Job’s losses, but gives him twice as much (Job 42:10) – Romans 8:28 realized for Job; and through Job gives a lesson in righteousness to Job’s friends as well (Job 42:7-8).

So, in fact, Job’s woes were not actually woes, but the Master Craftsman – the Lord God, through the ploys of Satan, was chiseling away the redundant bits, rubbing off the sharp and abrasive parts, and polishing to a glorious shine one of His masterpieces, to give Job a form, stature, and beauty that would ever remain secure and would never be tarnished by anything that Satan may have planned against Job, and would also serve to teach rich spiritual lessons to God’s children down the ages.