Resumo de Job - The Bible

Reading the book of Job is like walking through a minefield of despair. Job the book, is about evil happenstance wreaking havoc on the life of a supposedly blameless man. The painful tale of life?s vicissitudes that roil through the days of a man of faith; it is about helplessness, a story of being mercilessly clubbed by circumstances beyond human control. However, it doesn?t end on the sad note of utter destruction that runs riot through the book; it isn?t about tragedy, it is not a moral tale of the usual type. Therein lies the beauty of the book, it is towards the end, also about unswerving faith, humbleness and redemption.
The book starts off unusually enough with Satan or the Devil appearing before God, and complaining about his inability in finding a truly just and blameless man on the face of the earth, God points out Job as just the sort of man: righteous, blameless and faithful. Satan than ends up complaining that God himself had instilled, that strength of character in the man, by putting a hedge around all the activities of job; in effect protecting and blessing his works . Satan then challenges God that if only those protective barriers were removed Job would prove to be just as weak in faith and as venal as all men on earth. God then allows Satan to intrude painfully in Job?s affairs while sparing his life, the test then becomes one of Job?s faith in troubled times.
Troubles enter the life of Job suddenly and harshly, this rich man in the land of Uz is suddenly bereft and bereaved, as his prosperity, and his health, his very existence is pulled out from under him a brick at a time. His herds of sheep, camels and his sons and daughters are raided by Sabeans and Chaldeans, despair sticks intrusively into his very soul as he loses everything in the blink of an eye. All this events unfold in the early part of the book; however his faith is just isn?t skin deep and he views the losses in his life as probable events. God now truly trusts Job as a man of faith, Satan is not easily convinced however and he complains that since job is not physically stricken, he can easily appear to be faithful, let me afflict him bodily, god then allows Satan to inflict hideous punishments on job?s body, without killing him. Wait and watch says Satan to God, now that his very body is a festering mess of disease he will lose faith in you.
From this point on the book is about Job lamenting his fate, his friends try to console and comfort him. Three characters are introduced into the book at around this time, Bildad, Eliphaz and Zaphor, these friends of job sit with him in silence and mourning for seven days and seven nights, bringing out their philosophies on life, on the questions of mans fate, the hand of god, they try to convince Job on the futility of hope, in fact they speak to him to give up. Even his wife chimes in to ask him to curse god and die. Job is painted as a pitiful character, which is why this book is so rich philosophically, in sackcloth, with feral dogs licking his boils, he hold on to his faith in God, he curses his life, the day of his birth and the helplessness of man. Most of the book is a dialogue between Job and his friends, the voice of God is also heard, asking and inquiring, this is however not a literal conversation, it is more the voice of Job?s conscience and his unshakable faith.
Philosophies are expounded and discarded, Perhaps Job has a secret hidden sin, his friends suggest. The contention is that such punishment is meted out by god only to unjust; the paradox is that though job is a just and upright man, the afflictions of the unjust had fallen on him. Why Indeed? One would ask, this interesting book, a very ancient one at that seems to have asked exactly such difficult questions a very long time ago. Job?s faith is proven to be real, he cringes at his misfortune, quails and quivers, laments and wallows in self pity and despairs, but he never loses sight of god, he believes there must be a reason thaat he is undergoing such trails. At the End of the Book Job finds redemption and is blessed by God so that he recovers not only his health but also his prosperity many times over. This book deals with such apparent conundrums in our lives; it is a book for our time. You are reminded again and again of the reality of evil, that misfortune and plight may affect us even if we consider ourselves Good. It is in fact, in a subjective sense, a testament to the human condition, pain is real it says, Evil is real and sometimes it can only be countered by faith.
The book of Job has often been a pivotal source of inspiration to many Christians and Jews; it is a lesson in patience and suffering. It is not a simplistic book, nor is its philosophy arcane; it is very realistic in its approach. We may never know if a real job ever lived, but we can and should learn lessons from him.

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