Out of Job’s namesake book in the Old Testament comes a familiar story that is known for the grueling trials of one of God’s most devout servants. Job appears to be spared from no form of suffering; his children are slaughtered, his fortune dissipates, and his community ostracizes him. The man who earned his fame from pious actions and abiding by God’s word seems to have been paradoxically abandoned by his maker, initializing a deep agitation in Job’s previously secure philosophy. Although these forms of suffering are diverse, they are easily unified by an underlying theme integral to the human condition. These hardships each produce some form of isolation for Job, a rift between him and the rest of the world, which leads to his desolate condition.
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Job mentions in multiple speeches his seclusion from God and the lack of reciprocity in communication between deity and mortal. Additionally, he explicitly states that God looks upon him and offers no words of guidance (Job 30.20). These situations are most devastating, for Job has shown devotion to God throughout his life and is now seemingly denounced for an unknown error. Although he portrays his case flippantly at times, he ultimately wants to find God and elucidate his wrongdoings, thus ending his quarantine (Job 23.13-17). As indicated in the frame story, Job was a very upright man in the eyes of God, the very characteristic that elicited the start of his persecution. A spiritual hole in his life would cause grief because of his constitutional disposition towards God. His words of defiance directed at God may indicate otherwise, but Job’s suffering is exponentially increased when the subject of his worship remains …show more content…
His God returns to rectify the situation, restoring to Job his sense of spiritual belonging and recalibrating Job’s mentality. He is corporally accepted by his people again and given more children, and he is a revered dignitary in the community once more. The restoration of these things give perspective to Job’s life and focal points on which to base his existence (Job 42.10-11). It is no coincidence that these defeat the suffering; if Job had his material possessions returned without ending the forms of isolation, he would continue to suffer amidst his great wealth. Because he can now rely on other humans, his ideas, and God, he is at peace once
Job mentions in multiple speeches his seclusion from God and the lack of reciprocity in communication between deity and mortal. Additionally, he explicitly states that God looks upon him and offers no words of guidance (Job 30.20). These situations are most devastating, for Job has shown devotion to God throughout his life and is now seemingly denounced for an unknown error. Although he portrays his case flippantly at times, he ultimately wants to find God and elucidate his wrongdoings, thus ending his quarantine (Job 23.13-17). As indicated in the frame story, Job was a very upright man in the eyes of God, the very characteristic that elicited the start of his persecution. A spiritual hole in his life would cause grief because of his constitutional disposition towards God. His words of defiance directed at God may indicate otherwise, but Job’s suffering is exponentially increased when the subject of his worship remains …show more content…
His God returns to rectify the situation, restoring to Job his sense of spiritual belonging and recalibrating Job’s mentality. He is corporally accepted by his people again and given more children, and he is a revered dignitary in the community once more. The restoration of these things give perspective to Job’s life and focal points on which to base his existence (Job 42.10-11). It is no coincidence that these defeat the suffering; if Job had his material possessions returned without ending the forms of isolation, he would continue to suffer amidst his great wealth. Because he can now rely on other humans, his ideas, and God, he is at peace once