Discussion Board Essay Example

be with sin it is beneficial to examine the Hebrew definition of these words.

The Hebrew word for righteous is Seder or seeded which is a noun denoting "conformity with a norm or standard, community loyalty, or proper order. " However, "when these words are attributed to person or things, the nature or acts of these errors or things accord with what may be expected from them.... " Therefore, when Job declares his righteousness in 27:5-6 what he is saying that as a godly person he has acted and conducted himself in a godly way, he has done what God expects him to do which is to keep His commandments.

Job informs the reader of his love for God and His commandments in 23:12 when he states, "l have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread. " The Hebrew word for blameless is Hayes typically used to define obey or the act of obedience. Job was an obedient servant to God. The Hebrew word Hasher meaning, "straight, upright, correct, right straight, level right, pleasing, correct straightforward, Just, fitting, proper, and uprightness" is used to define Job as a godly man who was correct and proper which was pleasing to God.

When one explores the description of Job using the Hebrew definition of words such as, righteous, upright, and blameless the character of Job can be formed. Job was a godly man who kept God's commandments as an obedient and faithful servant should. Job's obedience and commitment to His commandments was pleasing to God. In conclusion these four individuals, particularly Job since

he is the individual in question, are godly people who were loyal and faithful servants to God even during their sacrifices, trials and tribulations, who kept His commandments as best as they could.

However, all of them including Job were sinners in need of Jesus since salvation can only come through Christ and not through works (Gal. 2:21). That is to say that being righteous, upright and blameless does not imply that Job was without sin. In fact if Job was without sin then he would have had to kept God's commandments perfectly which is impossible since an imperfect man can keep thing perfectly. Since it is impossible to carry out God's commandments perfectly all people including Job need God's grace which came in the form of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in order to be saved (Pep. 2:3).

If Job or any of the other patriarchs or matriarchs in the Bible were able to keep the Laws perfectly then Jesus' sacrifice was not necessary (Gal. 2:21). 2. The Adversary (Satan) claimed Job would renounce his faith in God when his possessions were taken and his physical health destroyed. In what two ways did Job respond according to Card and what does Job's dual response reveal about God's boast concerning his servant? The Patriarch Job surely had reason to blame and curse God for the atrocities that had befallen upon him, a righteous and upright man, a loyal and faithful servant of the Almighty God.

However, instead of raising his fists in anger at God who allowed the atrocities to happen to Job he instead "arose and tore his robe and shaved his head,

and fell to the ground and worshipped. He said, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD. ' Through all did not sin nor did he blame God" bib 1:20). Perhaps singer / songwriter Michael Card says it best in his song His Story when he sates, "yet through it all, through the tears and pain he worshipped. His God found no reason to blame. Job's obedience and unwavering love for God pleased God and as Card states in the final stanza of this song, "His God found no reason to blame. " God, as He always is, was right about Job. It was not the material possessions of Job that made him love God, nor was it his fame, fortune or prestige. It was the love and faithfulness of a servant to a Master, a creation to the Creator, a child to his Father and kept Job loyal to God. 3. In the section of the song titled His Lament (notice the change in music to reflect the somber mood of lamentation), Card highlights several responses Job makes to his unexplained suffering.

What are they and how do these responses play out in the resolution of the book? Although Job does not curse God directly as Satan thought he would or as his wife recommend that he does Job nonetheless curses his own existence as evident in Card's song His Lament, "May the day of my birth be remembered no more. May the darkness and shadow come and claim it once more. Why

did I not perish on that dreadful day and sleep where kings and counselors lay. What I dreaded most has now come upon me. Why is light given those in misery.

I loathe my own life, so my tears fall like rain. As I find that there is no peace in my pain. " Job, who knows that he has not disobeyed God and has kept His commandments the best that he could, is perplexed trying to explain to his friends exactly why God is doing this to him. Job argues that it is not as his friends suggest that he has sinned and therefore God is punishing him for his sins. Job does however become angry with God and challenges God, even to the point of questioning God's character and nature.

Job cannot see how a Just God could allow one of His servants to suffer unjustly as evident in Card's stanza, "If Vive been untrue, if Vive robbed the poor, if I'm without guilt, what am I suffering for.... " Job accuses God of misusing His power by treating him so harshly and having Judged him wrongly (9:15-24; 12:13-25). Job was clearly being tried by God to prove that he was faithful to God not because he had prosperity, but in spite of his prosperity. What Job did not realize, but perhaps his friend Lieu did, was that Job's pride and arrogance toward God during his suffering was sinful in nature and why God responded to Job the way He did.

God does not provide an explanation as to why He allowed this to happen only that He is God, the Creator of

all things, and the true Sovereign over the heavens and the earth, and is not accountable to man. God reminds Job that He is in control and that He owes no man for being righteous. The reader sees in the Epilogue that Job recognizes the error of his way in taking that approach with God and repents for his transgressions. [ 1 ]. Tramper Lineman Ill and Peter Eons, des. , Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings: A Compendium of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship (Downers Grove, IL: Academic, 2008), 663. [21. Ibid, 663.