Job

The book of Job is the only book in the Hebrew Scriptures where the main character is not a patriarch or an Israelite. Briefly summarize the book of Job, noting the main ideas it contains. Then state why you believe it is included in the Scriptures, despite Job not seemingly being a part of Israel. What value does it add to the Hebrew canon? Would there be a “hole” without it?

Job was a man who was described as "perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil." He was perfectly faithful to God and had everything that would define wealth at that time, a wife, children, animals, land and friends. Satan wants to make a wager with the Lord that Job is only so faithful because of all the goodness he has in his life. God agrees to test Job and let him become subject to the Adversary. Job loses everything but his wife. His children and animals die, his body becomes covered in boils and his friends forsake him. But in all that happens to him, he never loses his faith in God. He never blames God and turns away from Him.

I believe the story of Job is included in the scriptures because of the hope and reassurance it gives to its readers. Even though Job does not seem to be a part of Israel, he still shows his faith in God. In the case of Job, God really had become silent but we know that in our darkest hours we are not alone. We always have God there, waiting for us to talk to Him and ask for His help.

I believe there would be a "hole" without the story of Job. In no other story in the Bible does a person lose everything, through no fault of his own, and not curse God. Job's losses were not the result of bad choices that he had made. He was tested because of his goodness and love for the Lord. What other story teaches us of the faith that we are capable of even when we have been afflicted physically, spiritually, psychologically and temporally?

The value that the story of Job adds to the Hebrew canon is equal to the value of the story of Adam and Eve. The book of Job not mentioning Abraham or Moses does not reduce the value of its message. The lessons we can learn from Job's trials are just as essential as those we learn from the prophets, if not more so. The story of Job shows us a man who does not have any prestige in the government or as a leader of the people. He is a common person who is living the way he was taught, most likely by his parents and other family members.