To anyone who has suffered loss; to anyone who has wondered if God really cares; to anyone who has been overcome with sorrow and felt abandoned on all sides, the book of Job holds a special place. Job is a story of God’s desire for man’s love. It illustrates the faith that God puts in us and in turn, the faith He desires for us to put in Him. Job is a remarkable literary masterpiece, featuring some of the most beautiful, soul-stirring, poetic verses to be found in all the world. It is a book of practical example, the pattern of righteousness and faithfulness shown by this godly man has been preserved by the divine hand with obvious purpose, so vast are the lessons it teaches us as Christians today (Job 1:22). Job gives a great proof to biblical inspiration as it reveals facts of science that were not known to even the greatest human thinkers for thousands of years afterwards(Job 26:7; 28:25).
It is surely a wretched thought to imagine that this great story of a man’s trust in God through unspeakable trials and hardships was fiction, that it was nothing more than a fantasy dreamed up by a Jewish poet, but modernistic authors with an anti-supernatural bias asserted just this blasphemy. Some have suggested that the book is merely a parable to represent the distress of the Hebrew people during Babylonian captivity. The “pseudo-intellectuals of academia” (Rom. 1:22) have bought into this hook, line, and sinker. I watched a program on the book of Job the other day, and this opinion was represented as being universally accepted. Well, I for one do not accept it, and neither does famed Bible scholar Wayne Jackson. In The Book of Job, he gives 6 reasons why the theory has no basis:
The Opening
The Book commences like in a style to be seen in other Old Testament narratives that are undeniably historical. The opening statement plainly claims: “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job…” When compared with similar statements regarding Samuel’s father, Elkanah (1 Samuel 1:1), and Zacharias, the father of John the Baptizer (Luke 1:5) we find in these similarities good reason to accept that Job was an actual, historical figure
Ezekiel 14:14
“Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,” says the Lord GOD.” We see that the prophet considered him as historical as Noah and Daniel.
James 5:11
James, the Apostle, the brother of our Lord documents his historical existence and call upon Christians to remember “the patience of Job.”
Job’s Homeland
Job is said to be a resident of the land of Uz (the precise location of which is uncertain, though probably in the Arabian desert of east Palestine) a region mentioned elsewhere twice in the scripture by the Prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 25:20 and Lam. 4:21)
Archeology
This also has helped in establishing the credibility of the book. Extra-biblical references to Job appear as early as 2000 B.C., placing him around the time of Abraham. Archeologists have also found record of Bildad, one of Job’s friends dating also from the 2nd millennium.
Mythology
One does not usually consider mythology a proof of biblical inspiration, but in this case, the startling similarity to the Biblical account and the Sumerian and Babylonian accounts have convinced many skeptics.
I suppose that as long as the earth stands men shall challenge the truth of God’s word. It is the Devil’s desire to see the “sword of the Spirit” sheathed and set aside. But we thank God that by His power, grace and providential care, “all things that pertain unto life and godliness” have been preserved through the ages, and shall last forevermore. Amen. – CED