Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People (Book Of Job)

The Book of Job – Why does God allow pain & suffering?

There is a well-known book written by an American Rabbi named Harold Kushner. The title of his book is that age old question “Why do bad things happen to good people?”

If you’ve never asked that question certainly you’ve thought about it, or at least something to that effect. Christian pastor, author and theologian Dr. R.C. Sproul once commented on this book by Rabbi Kushner and Dr. Sproul lamented the fact that he hadn’t thought of it first, to write a book on why bad things happen to good people.

Dr. Sproul said “that would have been the shortest book I ever wrote, along with the easiest!” Why do bad things happen to good people? It’s simple, they don’t! After all the Scripture says that there are none righteous no not one, and as Jesus told the rich young ruler, there is none good but God. So there are no “good people.”

So that was Dr. Sproul’s answer from a theological standpoint, but when people are going through pain, heartache and suffering and they ask that question, or they ask why does God allow pain and suffering they’re not asking a theological question, they are trying to find the meaning in / and purpose of human suffering. So with that said, turn to the book of Job.

Before we start reading from Job chapter one I think we should recognize the fact that if one does not believe in God, or if atheism were true there would be no answer to this question, there could be no answer! No answer, no meaning not only to suffering but there would be no meaning to any of it, no meaning to our existence! Anything and everything that happens would just be nothing more than cause and effect, random acts, survival of the fittest and in the end nothing really matters. Well, ironically and I guess thankfully even unbelievers and atheists don’t fully accept that conclusion, because deep down they know there is something more.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

Let’s begin by reading Job 1

There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. 2 And seven sons and three daughters were born to him.

3 Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East.

4 And his sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day, and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did regularly.

So right away we see that Job was what you would call a “good man”. It’s not a matter of him being sinless, that wasn’t the case but he was upright, Job feared God and he shunned evil. If there was ever a mere man who could stand blameless before God it was Job. He was a good man, he was also a wealthy man, having many possessions.

Job is likely the oldest book in the Bible, he may have lived around the time of Abraham which was around 4,000 years ago. Back in those days wealth was measured not by money, not even by silver or gold but rather with land and livestock. Job had it all, he had his health, his family and he cared so much about his children he offered up sacrifices to God “just in case” his children may have had evil thoughts in their minds and in their hearts. Everything was well with Job, until one day…..

Look at verse 6

6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. 7 And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?”

So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”

8 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”