How Is Power Shown In The Book Of Job

The book of Job comes from the Old Testament in the Bible and serves the purpose of teaching one to steadfastly serve God even in the toughest of times. Although God promises to watch over his people at all times, he never promises that life will always be easy. Job lives a prosperous life, which suddenly takes a turn for the worst when the devil intervenes in an attempt to weaken Job’s faith in God. Though many important themes are apparent in the book of Job, a major theme that is blatantly present is the idea of power. Although most think of power as a mighty word or a word containing a strong, authoritative connotation, the book of Job goes to show that having power does not always mean having the upper hand; power can also be humble.
As an authoritative figure, God exemplifies his power in many ways. At the beginning of the book, the devil recognizes the faithfulness of Job. He sees that God provides for Job by blessing him with a wonderful life full of an abundance of flocks of sheep, camels, she-asses and cattle, as well as seven great sons and three great daughters. In return for this abundant life Job praises God fearfully and generously. The devil, convinced he can show God that not all of his people are as loyal as he believes, decides that by torturing Job’s seamless life he could make Job’s faithfulness in God diminish. This would go to prove that Job is only devoted in order to reap the benefits of God. Before the devil can move forward with his plans of tormenting Job, he first approaches God in order to receive permission to wreak havoc in Job’s life. God gives the devil permission so long as he “[preserves] [Job’s] life” (16). God gives the devil free reign on what he can do to Job, with the one exception being that the devil cannot ultimately kill Job. This act of the devil running to God is the ultimate picture to show just how powerful God is and how much control he possesses over the lives of his followers. The devil, who has the power to torture human beings in hell for all of eternity, has to first come to the feet of God and ask for permission to come into contact with one of God’s believers. Not only does God possess the power to control and reign over his earthly beings, but he also reigns over the commander of hell itself. The devil, although powerful in his own realm, is defenseless when put into the same playing field as God. God is big enough to protect his people from the most evil of beings, the devil himself. God’s mighty power is also seen through the die-hard faith of his people, one person in particular being Job. When Job’s life suddenly took a turn for the worst due to the devil choosing him as his prey, God was confident that Job would remain a steadfast believer through it all. Before the devil even laid a hand on Job’s life, God was sure that nothing that the devil could do would make Job turn his back on God. Although Job became very upset with God and could not understand why these horrible things were taking place in his life, he still “did not offend, nor did he put blame on God”(14). This act of Job continuing to love and praise God shows the immense power that God holds over his people. God has made a name for himself as the almighty one, the one whom which all things are created and the one through which all people should live. Over time, God has proven himself so faithful and so in love with his believers that his influence over them has only grown. Even in the darkest of days, his followers still seek him and still choose to praise his name even when they feel they’ve lost him or that he’s against them. God is the almighty rock and his people choose without pressure to serve him steadfastly and always. Contrary to the strong, towering aspect of power, power can also be in it’s simplest form, humble.
This opposing view is seen fervently through Job himself. All Job’s life he was “blameless and upright and feared God and shunned evil” (1) and in return he was given an abundant life with really no issues to speak of. Job did his best to be a Godly man and do what he knew was right by the Lord. Not only did Job make sure that he himself was a worthy man of God, but he When God gave the devil permission to torture Job, Job experienced pain and loss like he never had before. He became infected with a horrible skin disease, he lost all his sheep, camels and children, and he became the outcast of society all in a short period of time. The devil conjured up the most horrible things he could think of and inflicted them upon Job in hopes to break him down and make Job turn against God. However, after all these horrible acts were done against Job, he still vowed that “as long as [his] breath is within [him], and God’s spirit in [his] nostrils, [his] lips [would] never speak evil” (111). Job’s internal fight to persevere in the face of evil in hopes of getting to speak to God about the trials he has been facing, shows true power in it’s humblest form. Job is broken physically and emotionally yet he still looks to God and turns his head from
evil. Similarly, Job shows the most humble form of power when he stands up to not only his wife but his friends as well. After days of being emotionally beaten down by the horrific chain of events that are being put upon him, his wife encourages him to “curse God and die”(16) and his friends try to make him believe that God is punishing him because he deserves it. Even when the one with whom he shares his life and his family with encourages him to turn away from God claiming that his sinless being no longer matters, Job still chooses to love God. With everyone around Job filling his head with negative thoughts, Job, who is obviously confused and distraught, finds power in his faith and continues to stay away from evil-doings in hopes of being able to talk to God about what is going on in his life. Power, no matter if it’s in its mightiest form or it’s humblest sense, still has a common theme, which is dedication. Without the incredible dedication of God to his people, no one would have ever followed him in the first place. From the start God was all for the people and never ceased to stop protecting, serving and loving them in every way he knew how, and with that he gained an enormous amount of trust that led people to seek him even in their darkest days, and the devil even on his best days, to fear God. Had Job lacked dedication, he would have crumbled after the devil’s first attack. Instead, he was able to push through the horrible things that the devil put him through by always seeking God and keeping a watchful eye on his spiritual compass. With this, Job came out on the other side, ultimately being more blessed by God than ever before. All this goes to show that true power holds different meaning for all who possess it; power is subjective.