Category Archives: Book of Job

Why do we suffer? Who or what causes it? These age-old questions of suffering are addressed in the Book of Job and in a recent article from the New York Times “Las Vegas Faces Its Deepest Slide Since the 1940s” written by Adam Nagourney.

The main character of the Book of Job is a remarkable man: “blameless and upright” (Damrosch, p.126). Job is blessed with a large family and many possessions: “there [are] born to him seven sons and three daughters”, and “he [has] seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred she-asses, and very many servants” (Damrosch, p.126). All this wealth makes Job the “greatest of all the people of the east” (Damrosch, p.126). On the other hand, in the New York Times article Las Vegas is described as the entertainment center of the world, famous for the number of casinos, shopping malls, and fine restaurants.

In the Book of Job Satan offers God to test Job’s faith and devotion. In response, God puts Job in Satan’s power, with the exception of Job himself. In one day Job loses his kids and all material possessions through various calamities. Distressed and grieving, Jobs still continues to worship God; he does not “charge God with wrong” (Damrosch, p.127). However, Satan does not consider this suffering sufficient; so, he strikes Job with painful boils hoping that it will make Job curse the God’s name. Despite the pain and his wife’s advise to “curse God, and die” (Damrosch, p.127) Job stays strong. Similarly, “the nation’s gambling capital is staggering under a confluence of economic forces that has sent Las Vegas into what officials describe as its deepest economic rut since casinos first began rising in the desert […] in the 1940s” (Nagourney, 2010). The two most important economic pillars of the city, gambling revenues and the construction industry, are shaken by the recession. In addition, “officials […] are watching another potentially disruptive storm on the horizon: legislation in Congress that would legalize Internet gambling” (Nagourney, 2010) that can draw people away from Las Vegas.  And as the Job’s wife suggests dying, many big hotels announce laying off workers and closing casinos for renovation.

At one point, three Job’s friends (Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar) conclude that the innocent don’t suffer; therefore they challenge Job to show them where he has sinned. In the same way, many politicians and public figures try to find reasons for the decay of Las Vegas. David G. Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas says: “It’s been in bad shape before, but not this bad” (Nagourney, 2010).  Many claim that “Nevada is paying a price for an exuberant and often speculative run of commercial and residential construction that has left the market glutted. As a result, the confidence that the return of tourists alone would spur the city to rebound automatically after this recession — the way it did after, say, the recessions of 1982 and 1992 — is absent” (Nagourney, 2010).

Even though no one is able to analyze painful experiences of human existence and find a direst answer about the reasons for sufferings, there is still a hope for a positive outcome in both works. Job’s latter days are blessed more than his beginning: seven sons and three beautiful daughters are born to him, and all his possessions are doubled. However, in the case of Las Vegas the outcome is not that obvious and promising. Even though the mayor believes that “as soon as [people] feel secure in their financial position, […] Las Vegas will come back stronger than ever” (Nagourney, 2010), others feel that “there needs to be some real, thoughtful, deliberate effort to rebuild an economy [in Las Vegas]. It isn’t going to happen by itself.” (Nagourney, 2010).

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/03/us/03vegas.html?scp=1&sq=las%20vegas%20faces&st=cse

In the Book of Job and In the New York Times article, “As Maliki Clings to Power, Iraq’s Fissures Deepen” there is an similarity between how the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki and God had control over people. In the case of Prime Minister Maliki, his power to appoint individuals to posts and positions and in the case of God,  his power over Job’s life by allowing Satan to use him as a sort of test.

As cited In Chapter 2 of the Book of Job, “Skin for Skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. But put forth thy hand now, touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.” And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your power; only spare his life.’”

In the Times article it was cited, “The past four years have been full of injustice and oppression,” Atheel al-Nujaifi, a Sunni who is governor of Nineveh Province in northern Iraq, said Sunday in Mosul. “ He accused Mr. Maliki of having abused his authority by arresting opponents, pressuring the courts, and hiring and firing security forces based on sectarian identity — practices, Mr. Nujaifi said, that Mr. Maliki continued even now as a caretaker leader with no mandate or parliamentary oversight. “Mr. Maliki’s continuation as prime minister will create a dictatorship,” he warned.”

Sources:

Damrosch, David and Pike, David L.  2009. Longman Anthology of World Literature The Ancient World, Vol. A 2nd Edition. P.125-140

Myers, Steven Lee 2010 “As Maliki Clings to Power, Iraq’s Fissures Deepen” nytimes.com, October 3 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/04/world/middleeast/04iraq.html?pagewanted=1&ref=middleeast

The Book of Job tells a story about a man who is “blameless and upright, one who feared God, and turned away from evil.” He, Job, seems to have a prosperous life and is seen as one of the greatest people of the east. Job has ten children, an abundant amount of livestock, as well as numerous servants. In order to test his loyalty to God Satan takes away everything he has to see if he will blame God. Satan takes away his livestock, his servants, and his children, also Job develops blisters all over his body. Satan believes that Job only fears God and turns away from evil because he is blessed.

After all the good in Job’s life is taken away, Satan assumes that Job will curse God. However The Book of Job states, “Then his wife said to him, ‘Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God, and die.’ But he said to her, ‘You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” (Job, 127) Which shows his beliefs are much stronger than assumed. This part of the story is similar to an article in the New York Times, For Female Marines, Tea Comes With Bullets. The article describes the women who are in the marines and their lives. The Book of Job and this article have many similarities based on with the way in which they deal with tragedy and coming to terms with the horrible casualties that happen.  One female marine states in the article, “It’s not the living conditions, it’s not the mission, it’s this,” she said, gesturing toward a memorial display of boots, rifles and dog tags belonging to the dead Marines. She was, she said quietly, “too much of a girl to deal with these guys getting killed.” This female, in particular, quit the marines after seeing one of her male friends shot and killed. This shows how death, and dealing with death, can alter a persons beliefs and faith. These woman are surrounded by death and need to be able to not let it affect them.

This article and The Book of Job are also comparable on another aspect.  In The Book, Job’s friends come to visit him after hearing about the evil that was brought upon him. One of his friends, Eliphaz, says in Job, “Think now, who that was innocent ever perished? Or where the upright cut off? As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of this anger they are consumed.” (Job, 129) This excerpt shows Eliphaz thinks that people that are evil are punished and those that are virtuous are exempt from punishment by God. Eliphaz says this to Job because he does not think that God would have allowed the horrible events that happen to him if he had not done wrong. This would mean bad things do not happen to good people, which is not always the case. Many people chose to have this belief because it makes life easier to deal with. This is seen in the New York Times article as well, one female marine talks about her belief in God and her hopes that he will protect her. The article elaborates, “But she readily says that she has relied on daily prayers — she is the daughter of a Minnesota stockbroker and a flight attendant who went to church every Sunday — and faith in God to get her through. Out on foot patrols, she said, ‘my life’s in his hands.’” This belief is common among religious people, they believe that God has full control over everything that happens. Which is why when horrible events take place, like death, people believe there is a reason for it.

Although The Book of Job and For Female Marines, Tea Comes With Bullets article are alike, there is one major difference. In The Book, Job does not choose to deal with loss and pain, it is brought upon him to test his beliefs. Where as in the New York Times article, the woman marines chose to go into the military and knew what they would have to deal with. However, dealing with pain and death is not easy either way and in both situations keeping your faith is important. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/03/world/asia/03marines.html?pagewanted=1&ref=world&src=me

In the book of Job, Job is a wealthy and powerful man from a city named Uz. He has an extended family and livestock. He is “blameless and upright” carefully avoiding wrong doing so that he will not upset God (A 126). One day the “sons of God “, were having a meeting and Satan is also present.  God tells Satan about Job’s personality, but Satan says to God that Job is a good person because God gives him a lot.  God tells Satan to torment Job to show that Job will always be loyal to God.

The book of Job is about loyalty and friendship. After the news that Job receives about his livestock, servants and children, Job reacts only by tearing his clothes and shaving his head, but he blesses God in his prayers. Any human being would blame God for this kind of losses but Job did not, instead he maintains his loyalty to God. However, his friends are not showing any kind of pain for his losses even his wife tells him to “Curse God, and die”, (A 126) but he never wants to turn against God. Now his friends after learning what has happened to Job “, they made an appointment together to come to condole with him and comfort him” (A 126). They stay with him for seven days and seven nights and nobody said a word because they saw Job was suffering from his loss. However, as the days went by one of his friends Eliphaz believes that Job’s suffering must be the result of some sin Job committed, and then Bildad and Zophar agree with Eliphaz. To make things worse Zophar states that for whatever sins Job has done he deserves the punishments he has received.

A New York Times article on Wednesday, September 22, 2010 states, “Obama’s Chief for Economics Is Set to Leave” (Stoldber A1).This will be in addition to the many top level advisers that already left. This should not be happening at this time when the president’s popularity is decreasing. As Job’s friends turned against him, these executives are turning their backs on President Obama.  These executives, by leaving their positions, are in a sense punishing President Obama. Similarly to Job, what has President Obama done to deserve such actions?

The New York Times