The world we live in is full of many Gods; From the Gods of Hinduism to the God Allah. These Gods are well known and worshiped around the world. However, when people have so much respect and devotion for a singular God, such as the God worshiped in Christianity, what is to say that their God is the only true God? Stories and scholarly texts are used to give followers and other readers a better understanding and closer relationship with their God. However, in the texts Genesis and The Book of Job, two different Gods are described in each of these religious texts, that when incorporated together, creates a singular God that is paradoxical to his followers. When God created man in Genesis, he "created humankind in his image"(Genesis 1.27, New …show more content…
I sat before them in majesty, like a king at the head of his troops....All ears were filled with my praise; every eye was my witness. For I rescued the poor, the desperate, those who had nowhere to turn"(Mitchell70). This description could easily be mistaken for a description of God and instead further shows the similarities between man and God. Although Job is punished by God, it is not because of Job 's personification of God because God says that Job is, "a man of perfect integrity"(Mitchell5), who, "fears god and avoids evil"(Mitchell6). God doesn 't punish Job for his description of himself, but praises him for living a good …show more content…
In Genesis, God interacts with Adam by speaking to him face to face. Whether God was giving out instructions or punishment to Adam and Eve, he was always doing it to their faces. This close relationship is shown even when humans do something wrong. The only rule that God gives to Adam is that he must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve go on to break this singular rule and be punished. God even discovers Adam and Eves betrayal when he is in human form. "They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze"( Genesis 3.8, New Oxford Annotated Bible). This relationship between God and Adam and Eve feels like a teacher who is disappointing and punishing students who disobeyed him, rather than a God punishing his servants. God is more relatable to readers because of his humanlike qualities and the closeness of the relationship between man and God. This humanlike form makes God 's infinite power seem more relatable to the reader and to subjects who are curious about
Alistair Deacon from As Time Goes By once said that, “The people in the book need to be people.” The main character in a story or in a play always has to be somewhat likeable or relatable. Who doesn’t like to feel like they can relate to their favorite character in a story? In many cases the authors of stories or books always try to make the reader feel like they are not the only ones with problems or going through a crazy situation. Wanting the reader to become engaged in the characters' conflicts is what they aim for. In Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, many people were gripped by Willy Loman’s, the main character, problems because they too struggle with many of the conflicts that Willy faces. Willy could not keep his life together, failing to see reality and pursuing the wrong dream, with a wrong viewpoint, ended up causing others around him and himself to hurt.
The Chosen by Chaim Potok is a phenomenal novel about two Jewish boys who live in two very discrepant worlds because of the impressions of their fathers.The Hasidic Rabbi, Reb Saunders wants his son, Danny Saunders, to perdure the family legacy and become a Rabbi. Mr. Malter, Reuven’s father, is an Orthodox Jew who is easy going about what he wants his son to do. Throughout the book, both Reuven and Danny face problems and sufferings that helped them both to become stronger and get through the hard times they faced.
The first commentator under consideration is Martin Buber in an excerpt from his Darko shel miqra'4. Buber draws an apt parallel between the Book of Job and the proceedings in a court of law, casting God as judge and Job as prosecution. In Buber's legal parallel, Job demands what in an earthly court of law would amount to due process, or a fair trial. And yet, even as Buber confers the legitimacy of a court of law on Job's complaints, Buber suggests that Job knew his appeal was "suppressed from the start."5 Buber cites Job: "Though I am right, my mouth will condemn me!"6 By highlighting the justness of Job's claims and the non-existent chance of a divine finding in Job's favour, Buber stresses how human justice and divine justice diverge. This difference is highlighted further by discussion of how Job is made to suffer hinnam, or gratuitously, from both God and Job's perspective.7
In an evil world sprinkled with undeserved blessings, humans seem to strive to make sense of why it happens. As a result, it could seem logical that our “real God,” who is powerful and loves us unconditionally, shows grace to those who are obedient to Him. When reading the Old Testament in this context, there are several stories that could help reaffirm the idea of a god who shows his grace to those who seek Him.
The God of Genesis is portrayed very differently. God is a forgiving God. One sees this when God states, "of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die" (Genesis 2:17). However, when Adam and Eve do eat the apple-though he does make them mortal-God allows them to live. God also does not strike down Cain. The God of Genesis is also a personable God. God talks directly to the h...
In conclusion, the theme of power is an important and telling one throughout the bible. The struggle for understanding between God and man creates a dialogue which can explain some of the questions presented in theological thought. In the book, Job began as one who lacked righteousness, questioning God’s decisions and authority. By talking with God and hearing God’s responses, Job began to respect him, was filled with knowledge, and led toward a path of understanding, a path of righteousness. He was enlightened through the idea of divine justice, and was filled with the capacity to help others, and realized that all humans have had this ability since the time of creation.
Throughout the Bible God can be represented in a number of different ways. In some chapters of the Bible God can be found to be a compassionate, loving God, who would do anything for his people. To contradict this, in other chapters of the Bible God can be found trying to instill fear into people so that they believe in him, or do what he wants of them. In both instances it shows how different God can be seen and why believers can have doubts about how God really is.
Some talked of God, of his mysterious ways, ...and of their future deliverance. But I had ceased to pray. How I sympathized with Job! I did not deny God’s existence, but I doubted His absolute justice. (42)
The Book of Job shows a change in God's attitude from the beginning to the end. At the beginning of the book, He is presented as Job's protector and defender. At the end He appears as the supreme being lecturing and preaching to Job with hostility, despite the fact that Job never cursed his name, and never did anything wrong. Job's only question was why God had beseeched this terrible disease on him. I intend to analyze and discuss the different roles God played in the Book of Job.
Job was a man of the purest faith. When the world shunned God, Job's faith never declined. Job was a wealthy, handsome man with a beautiful wife and a vast amount of property. At some point in time, Satan made a bet with God that if Job situation was changed, his faith would quickly falter. On this note, God took Job's wealth, his property, his family, and his wife. When times were at their worst, God gave Job pus welts on Job's face, taking his looks. Job's faith, however, did not falter, instead it becamestronger. Job passed the test. God then healed Job, gave him more land, greater wealth , and a better wife. Job was baffled, he wondered the purpose behind his fall and rise. When he asked God this, God replied: "...Because I'm God." That was answer enough.
Why does God allow Satan to cause such tragedy in Job’s life, a man whom God has already acknowledged as “my servant Job, that there is none like on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?”(1.8) From the beginning, it is known that Job is in no way deserving of his injustices, so a reason must be given. God gives Job an opportunity to prove that under any circumstances Job will still have faith. This simply a test for Job. The whole Book is a “double” journey for Job -- he shows God his faith and realizes the faith God has that Job will not stray from his path. Job knows deep down that God has not forsaken him.
This is better explained when one understands God’s character. God has an insatiable desire to know His creation, the human being. Much like a parent yearns to interact with their developing child, so God enjoys continual interaction with humankind. The child images the parent in a way like humankind images God. To image God, is to be like but not the same. But, much like there is an emotional and spiritual disparity between the child and parent, there is also a disparity between God and humankind. Much like a parent provides protection and direction to their children, so does God to His creation. However, one understands that a ...
The Bible teaches and orthodox Christians through the ages have believed that there is only one True and Living God and apart from Him there are no other Gods (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10,11; 44:6,8; 45:21,22; 46:9; Mark 12:29-34).
In considering Job’s companions and their purpose in the interactions in the book of Job, different implications come to the surface depending on the perspective one engages. First, what function would have Job’s companions believed they were performing? Initially, the companions Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar come to comfort Job in his pain and grief, as stated by the author in Job 2:11. So they did, as they sat in silence, present with him, and perhaps this was their sole original intent. Yet, once Job begins to speak and articulate his lament, asserting his innocence, the role of these three shifts to one of rebuke and correction. They claim to speak on behalf of truth and God, determining Job to be at fault and dishonest, persisting in
The relationship between God and his creations humans can be said to be a very complex relationship. Genesis shows us many examples of God's interaction with humans and human's interaction with each other. From the creation of Adam and Eve and all the events that follow afterwards, I shall show what the relationship tells us about the nature of God and mankind.