Why Do Innocent People Suffer? (The Spiritual Argument as Presented in Job)

It is a fact of life that innocent people suffer. We need to look no further than our own lives. We see it all over the world, but why? Why do people suffer so gruesomely? Well, there is an entire book of the Bible that makes an attempt to deal with this question. In the book of Job, the answer to the question “Why do people suffer?” is twofold and I will explain that here.

Firstly, we should note something that the reader is told. This is the spiritual origins of Job's suffering in the first two chapters of the text. In the first chapter — after Job's righteousness is established (Job 1:1), we move to a heavenly scene and it is written: “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them,” (Job 1:6 ESV). The Hebrew here for the term "sons of god" is "bene ‘Elohim" which literally means "sons of gods" (Heiser 2001, Kee 2007). Ancient cultures also had a similar concept where a council of gods would meet headed by a high God like El for example.

John Walton observes: “In Old Testament monotheism this concept is revised but not eliminated. It is true that in biblical theology Yahweh needs no advice or consultants (Isa 40:13-14), but it is prerogative to discuss his plans with others as he wills and to delegate responsibility at his discretion” (2015).

There are other passages where this concept is the most clear, but perhaps none clearer than 1 Kings 22:19-23, where it is written: “I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him … and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab … And one said one thing, and another said another''. Here we see God is seated before a group of spiritual beings to ask a question regarding the false prophets. This is further evidence of the divine council theory. So with that being said, this is where Satan comes in.

The Satan figure appears and talks to God. Perhaps the fact that Satan can just walk in and address the Most High could indicate to us that he was, or is, a member of such a class of beings. This is the event that lays the groundwork for the rest of the story to occur. We are told that Satan was going to and fro and up and down on the earth. This is reminiscent of 1 Peter 5:8 where Peter says: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour". Peter even connects the idea of Satan roaming about the earth with the suffering believers go through in verse 9 when he says: “Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world”. There are evident parallels between these two passages and because of those (as well as how God responds to Satan in verse 8), we can say that this adversary in Job was going around the world looking for someone to accuse or attack. Then God brings Job up and the devil accuses him and is then allowed to attack (Job 1-2). So the explanation for the suffering of Job is clear to the reader in that it was Satan under the sovereignty of God.

However, one thing that we must see is that while we as the readers know these things, none of the characters in the story do, neither are they ever told. So that leaves the characters to sit and debate what is going on exactly and the main theme that Jobs' friends come up with is this simple reputative justice. As noted by Dell: “The book of Job has themes of disinterested righteousness, the prosperity of the righteous and the corresponding punishment of the wicked, the relationship between God and humanity, and the justice of God,” (2016). Kuglar elaborates on this point by saying: “all of them assert that God is just in meting out rewards and punishments according to a person’s good and bad deeds,” (2016). We know that Job’s friends are wrong because they are rebuked later by God in the book (Job 42:7). They accuse Job of doing wrong, but they themselves are wrong in that assertion. So the only other reason given in the book for Job's suffering is also false. Despite their debate, they ultimately do not know why this fate has befallen their friend.

Ultimately the way the book of Job answers the question in a sort of two-fold way. Although we do not know why or need to know, one potential cause of suffering may be spiritual forces. God is truly trustworthy in Job, yet also unpredictable and mysterious, which is what a lot of us experience today. Despite all of that we can still trust that God, who withholds the monstrosities Leviathan and Behemoth (Job 40-41), who created all things by himself (Job 38:4-7), always has been and always will be good. We should have faith in him, (Romans 5:1-2), even through our suffering and even when we hear nothing from him, knowing that our sufferings have a reason; even if we don’t know that reason, and there is meaning in the pain.

Works Cited:

Heiser, M. (2001). Deuteronomy 32:8 and the Sons of God. Bibliotheca Sacra. https://drmsh.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Heiser-Deuteronomy-32-8-and-the-sons-of-God.pdf

Dell, J. Katherine (2016). Job, book of. In John D. Barry et al. (Ed.), the Lexham Bible Dictionary. Lexham Press.

Kee, M. S. (2007). "The Heavenly Council and its Type-scene." Journal for The Study of The Old Testament, 31, (259-273)

Kuglar, Rob. (2016) “Job, Book Of, Critical Issues" In John D. Barry et al. (Ed.), the Lexham Bible Dictionary. Lexham Press.

Walton, John H. (2015). Job NIVAC; Zondervan.

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