Was it unfair for Job to suffer?

from the old testament

• The story of Job teaches that suffering is far more complex than simply being the result of unrighteousness. Indeed, it exists because we rebelled against God (Genesis 3:16–19), and thus, at some level, we have brought suffering upon ourselves.
• The book of Job opens up with the clear statement that Job was righteous (Job 1:1–5). Though Scripture’s teaching indicates that this doesn’t mean perfectly righteous (cf. Psalm 14:3), Job might be one considered least likely to suffer.
• Yet Job 1–2 details the fact that not only did he suffer by losing all he owned (Job 1:13–17), the death of his children (Job 1:18–19), and crippling pain (Job 2:7) but that God allowed Satan to inflict that pain (Job 1:12; Job 2:6). Because God allowed it, because Job was righteous, and because Job hadn’t done anything to “earn” the suffering, the question arises as to whether Job's suffering was fair.
• Job thought his suffering was unfair. Throughout the book, Job expressed his frustration and even complained that evil was befalling him despite his righteousness. For example, he said, “Though I am in the right, I cannot answer him; I must appeal for mercy to my accuser. If I summoned him and he answered me, I would not believe that he was listening to my voice. For he crushes me with a tempest and multiplies my wounds without cause; he will not let me get my breath, but fills me with bitterness. If it is a contest of strength, behold, he is mighty! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him? Though I am in the right, my own mouth would condemn me; though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.” (Job 9:15–18). There’s no reason to believe that Job ever learned about the scenes in heaven in Job 1–2. His cries are the weighty words of one who simply cannot comprehend why his suffering was fair.
• When God did respond to Job's cries, He neither blamed Job for the suffering nor allowed Job to blame Him for it. Rather, He reminded Job that He was God and, as God, His ways are unknowable (Job 38–41). For example, He told Job, “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me.” (Job 38:1–3). He was saying that if Job had the knowledge to answer questions only a god could answer, then God would explain to Job why Job was suffering.
• Job quickly realized that he had stepped out of bounds by implying He knew enough to call God unfair. In the end, he said, “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know” (Job 42:2–3).
• God never explained the reasons for Job's suffering to him. Rather, His point was to trust God and His character. Scripture teaches that God is just: “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he” (Deuteronomy 32:4). God never does anything unfair (Psalm 119:68). Thus, everything God does is fair: “Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” (Genesis 18:25).

from the new testament

• Paul, speaking about God’s free choice of Jacob over Esau before they were born, stated, “What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means!” (Romans 9:14). God, as the “potter” (Romans 9:21), has full rights over His creation. More than that, because He is perfectly holy (1 Peter 1:16; cf. Isaiah 6:3), what He does with His creation is always holy and good. That was why He could declare that there was, by no means, any injustice in God.
• We are unable to understand God: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Romans 11:33; cf. Psalm 145:3). Charges of unfairness arise from the inability to understand God’s mind and thus from assuming that bad motives are driving His actions.
• While suffering is bad, God often uses it to make His people more righteous. James encouraged his suffering audience, saying, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2–4). Believers are to count suffering as joy because, through it, we learn to trust God even more, and our faith strengthens.
• Paul, also speaking to those suffering, said, “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). He was not saying that all things are good now. He was saying that everything, even the suffering, is part of God’s plan for our eternal good (Romans 8:29–30).
• There is a day in the future when all wrongs will be made right, and all suffering will end. After Jesus returns (Revelation 19), the world's evil systems will be stopped (Revelation 19:19–21), and He will rule on earth (Revelation 20:1–5). Then He will cast Satan into hell (20:10), along with all who refused to repent of their evil (Revelation 20:11–15). Then God will restore heaven and earth, at which time, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). While there is a time for suffering in this life (cf. Ecclesiastes 3:1–4), there is a day coming when God’s fairness will be seen in how He brings everything to its conclusion.

implications for today

Job questioned God’s fairness because of his limited view of what was happenings and we do the same. God has an eternal view, and what seems unfair to us in the moment would not be considered unfair if we could understand all that God understands about the situation.

God never does anything unfair, though it doesn't always feel that way. What God taught Job, and thus us, was that being God means He has a different and far larger view of things. We do well to trust God even when we don't have answers to the “why?” questions; we trust that God is good (Psalm 119:68) and faithful (Deuteronomy 7:9), never does anything from evil motives (Deuteronomy 32:4), and is all-powerful (Jeremiah 32:17), knowing the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:9–10).

It’s easy to trust God when everything’s going well. What tests our faith is when things aren’t good. Jesus told a parable about seeds in various soils, where those on rocky ground represented those who appeared to have faith but then fell away when bad things happened (Matthew 13:20–21). Satan intended to prove that Job was just such a fair-weather believer. Yet, even while Job was staggering around asking “why me?!,” he never expressed anger at God. He wanted to understand—we all do—but he remained largely righteous because he knew that God was good.

In the end, God never explained to Job why everything happened. While he likely never learned about the heavenly scene between God and Satan, even we who have that insight are still left wondering why God gave Job to Satan (Job 1:8). However, we must listen to God’s reply: He is God, and we are not. When we struggle with accepting something hard and are tempted to blame God, let us remind ourselves that “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).