The Problem of Pain - more gleanings from the book of Job

Source: http://www.beloit.edu/~nurember/book/images/Old%20Testament/big/job_with_non-defaced_devil.jpg

The Problem of Pain – more gleanings from the book of Job
Scripture references: Job 14:1,2,11-17; 32:6,8;37:14, 22

Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.
(Job 14:1-2)

Fair weather cometh out of the north: with God is terrible majesty.
(Job 37:22)


In this series of scripture, we find once again Job tormented by Satan himself. Having no offense to his charge other than the witness of Job 1:1 that he was an upright man that avoided evil, Job is inundated with unspeakable affliction. God testifies of Job to Satan and in so doing allows Satan to consume all his wealth, his ten children, and finally a loathsome case of boils all over his body. Job’s affliction is severe to the point of friends being unable to recognize him. The three friends of Job, Bildad, Zophar, and Elihu are so astonished at the physical manifestation of Job’s torment, they can only sit with him and weep for seven days and nights. After this grieving, each friend has their say as to why Job is suffering.
As if Job was not in enough pain physically, emotionally, and psychologically, here enters the friends of Job to diagnose the problem and render a solution. Immediately, the three men speak of the need for repentance, unresolved issues, and the justice of God. It further worsens the condition of Job to the point that he tells them that they are only contributing to his affliction as opposed to lessening its impact. This begs the question, who can really speak for God but God when such life woes occur?
Believers should have some basic, foundational understanding on the nature of who God is in relation to us. He is eternal, He is holy, He is just, He is righteousness, He is omnipotent (Possessor of all power), Omniscient (Possessor of all knowledge, wisdom), omnipresent (Everywhere in all instances of time, simultaneously), and most important of all God is sovereign. Sovereign is defined in Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary as supreme; supreme in power; possessing supreme dominion; as a sovereign ruler of the universe; superior to all others; chief; supremely efficacious; superior to all others; predominant; effectual; as a sovereign remedy; pertaining to the first magistrate of a nation; as sovereign authority.
Most Christians, though we love God and revere our precious Christ as Savior and Lord, fail to understand this concept of sovereignty. In defense of Job, he did not have the Law, the Prophets, or the New Testament that we have today. Job relied on his experiential day in and day out reliance on God in times past and his newly strengthened faith in the midst of his current adversity. As a matter of fact, in reading the whole of the book of Job, it does not appear that God speaks to Job offering him assurance that everything was okay. It would have been nice for Job to know that Satan was speaking allegations against Job and that he was on trial for his integrity. But Job, as with us all, are not privy to the information that God is keeping to himself about our situation. Not to be spiteful, but as a proving medium against the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:9) and ourselves. God has so made man that the true content of his character is not exhibited unless exposed to certain elements. For example adversity, circumstance, and fame oftentimes exposes what we inwardly believe. Therefore, God uses or allows such things to occur in order to reveal and draw us closer to what we have professed as a bedrock of our faith.