Topic > The Wisdom of Job - 1495

The Book of Job places a strong emphasis on the series of questions that Job asks himself about God in his state of existential desperation, and through these questions, although he does not receive a concrete answer, he reaches a new intuition. Job goes through a progressive chain that goes from accepting God's action to questioning it until he reaches understanding. Wisdom, in a general sense, is the ability to understand, through the process of acquiring exceptional insight and judgment, uncertain and perplexing matters. In particular, then, The Book of Job addresses questions of existence that are opposed to the fundamental principle of retributivism that consequently disconcerts Job. By acknowledging his lack of knowledge and questioning his friends' assumptions about God rather than blindly accepting a simple retributive view of Him, Job is able, paradoxically, to gain a sense of wisdom simply by realizing what he doesn't know. Questioning God's actions is Job's first step in gaining his wisdom. Job illustrates the danger of living in ignorance, without asking questions, being completely unprepared for the tragedies that befall him. Additionally, Job undergoes a character change when he goes from blindly accepting God's actions to questioning his motives and reasons. Job maintained a sinless life, and even God praises him, saying, “Have you considered my servant Job? You will not find anyone on earth like him, a man with an irreproachable and upright life, who fears God and opposes evil" (Job, Prologue: 8-10). Job has evidently demonstrated his piety before God and has no reason to question his motives because so far everything is going according to the pay rubric; he is sinless and therefore remains immune to the perplexities of life through deep intuition and appropriate judgment. By initially blindly accepting God's actions, Job illustrates the danger of living in ignorance. It is useful to recognize this ignorance to understand why God's ways are incomprehensible and through Job's friends the disproven idea of ​​a simple retribution rubric according to which God acts spreads; furthermore, the views describe God's complex and rather immeasurable system. Job remains in a state of existential despair and ultimately realizes that he cannot probe God in any way, while his friends falsely assume knowledge, which God then rebukes. Asking questions is an important concept that then leads to greater wisdom just like Job does because whoever asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.