is right, as my servant Job has" (42:7). The Old Testament includes other examples of people who suffered through no fault of their own, such as Abel (Genesis 4) and Uriah (2 Samuel 11). And Jesus spoke out against the notion that suffering implies sin (see John 9:1-5 and Luke 13:1-5).
4. God will reward and punish fairly in a final judgment after death. Job's friends, along with most Old Testament folk, did not have a clearly formed belief in an afterlife. Therefore, they expected that God's fairness - his approval or disapproval of people - had to be shown in this life. Other parts of the Bible teach that God will reward and punish fairly after death.
5. God does not condemn doubt and despair. God did not condemn Job's anguished responses, only his ignorance. Job did not take his pain meekly; he cried out in anguish to God. His strong remarks scandalized his friends (see, for example, 15:1-16), but not God. Ironically, despite is bitter speeches, Job earned God's praise, while his pious friends were soundly rebuked.
6. No one person has all the facts about suffering. Neither Job nor his friends had enough facts. Job concluded God was unfair, treating him like an enemy. His friends maintained that God opposed Job because of his sin. All of them later learned they had been viewing the situation from a very limited perspective, blind to the real struggle being waged in heaven.
7. God is never totally silent. Elihu made that point convincingly, reminding Job of dreams, visions, past blessings, even the daily works of God in nature (chapter 33). God also appealed to nature as giving evidence of his wisdom and power. Although he may seem silent, some |
