Job
He lost everything, argued with heaven, and met God in a whirlwind.
Old Testament · Date unknown (patriarchal setting) · Job, Ezekiel, James · Also known as Job of Uz
About Job
Job lived in the land of Uz, "perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil." In a scene in heaven that Job never sees, Satan claims Job serves God only because God has blessed him. Job loses his flocks, his servants and his ten children, then his health. He worships, then laments, and argues with three friends who insist he must have sinned. At last God answers him out of the whirlwind, not with reasons but with questions about creation. Job is humbled, God says his friends were wrong, and Job’s fortunes are restored twice over.
The book of Job is mostly poetry and is one of the Bible’s wisdom books. Its date and setting are uncertain: Uz was probably east of Israel, and Job is not presented as an Israelite. The book wrestles with why the innocent suffer, and never gives Job the explanation the reader sees in chapters 1–2.
The story
Perfect and upright
"There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil." He had seven sons, three daughters and great flocks, and prayed regularly for his children.
Job 1:1-5
Doth Job fear God for nought?
Before the LORD, Satan claimed Job was faithful only because God protected him: "Doth Job fear God for nought?… put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face." In one day Job lost his animals, his servants and all ten children. Job fell to the ground and worshipped: "The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."
Job 1:6-22
Seven days of silence
Job was struck with sores from head to foot. His wife said, "Curse God, and die." He answered, "Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" Three friends came and sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, "and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great."
Job 2:7-13
I know that my redeemer liveth
Job’s friends insisted he must have sinned. Job protested his innocence and poured out his grief: "Let the day perish wherein I was born." Yet in the depths he also said, "I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth."
Job 3:1-3; 19:25-27
Out of the whirlwind
"Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind… Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?" Job answered, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee." God told the friends they had not spoken rightly "as my servant Job hath," and "the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before."
Job 38:1-4; 42:1-17
Key moments
- Blameless and upright: A man of Uz. (Job 1:1)
- Loses everything: "Blessed be the name of the LORD." (Job 1:21)
- Friends sit in silence: Seven days and nights. (Job 2:13)
- "My redeemer liveth": Hope in the depths. (Job 19:25)
- God answers from the whirlwind: "Where wast thou?" (Job 38:4)
- Restored: Twice as much as before. (Job 42:10)
Questions about Job
In meetBible these answers are given in Job’s voice. They are written by hand and checked against Scripture.
Why did God let you suffer?
The book never gives me the answer. The reader is shown a scene in heaven where Satan asks, "Doth Job fear God for nought?" but I never see it. When God finally answered me out of the whirlwind, he didn’t explain; he asked, "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?" and showed me his wisdom in creation. What changed was that I met him: "now mine eye seeth thee." God also said my friends were wrong to say I suffered for my sins.
Were your friends right?
At first they did well: they sat with me seven days without a word. But then they argued that I must be suffering for some sin. At the end God said to Eliphaz, "My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath." I prayed for them, and God accepted my prayer.
Were you patient?
James writes, "Ye have heard of the patience of Job." The word can also mean endurance or perseverance. I didn’t suffer quietly: I cursed the day I was born and demanded that God answer me. But I never turned away from him. James adds that the end of my story shows "that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy."
Connected people
Read it yourself
Start with Job 1–2; 38; 42.