Problem: Satan had afflicted Job’s body, and his flesh was rotting away. However, Job expressed his faith in God by saying, “in my flesh I shall see God” (Job 19:26). Does this mean that the resurrection body will be a body of flesh?
Problem: Job seems to imply that God cannot be known by human reason. Paul also declared that God’s judgments are “unsearchable … and His ways past finding out” (Rom. 11:33). On the other hand, the Bible declares that God has revealed Himself to all people (Rom. 1:20) so that they “are without excuse” (v. 20). Indeed, the Bible is said to be a special revelation of God by which we can know Him and serve Him (2 Tim. 3:16–17).
Problem: The Bible speaks against the belief in reincarnation (Heb. 9:27). But here Job speaks of a person returning again after he dies.
Problem: Eliphaz was one of the friends of Job who came to comfort him in his affliction. In Job 5:13, Eliphaz makes the following observation which Paul quotes in 1 Corinthians 3:19: “He [God] catches the wise in their own craftiness.” However, in Job 42:7, God rebukes Eliphaz and his friends because “you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.” How could Paul quote Eliphaz since God rebuked him for not saying the right things?
Problem: The Bible speaks against the belief in reincarnation (Heb. 9:27). But here Job speaks of a person returning again after he dies.
Problem: The introduction of Satan into the story of Job takes place before the throne of God. Satan comes before God among a group identified as “the sons of God.” But, who are these sons of God?
Problem: According to Job 1:5, Job was such a pious man that he even offered burnt offerings for his sons just in case they had sinned and cursed God. However, the Hebrew word used here, and in 1:11 and 2:5, is not “cursed,” but “blessed.” Why do these passages use the word “blessed” instead of the word “cursed”?
Problem: The first verse of the Book of Job introduces the main character as a historical figure who actually existed in the land of Uz. However, modern scholars have questioned the historicity of the man Job. Was Job a real historical person?
Problem: Romans 13:1 informs us that even pagan governments are “appointed by God,” and Peter adds, “submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake” (1 Peter 2:13; cf. Titus 3:1). But it says that what she did was “against the law” (4:16). So, didn’t Esther violate the God-ordained laws of Persia by going before the king?
Problem: It is evident that Esther was selected by God as His instrument to deliver Israel from evil at the appointed time (Esther 4:14). However, as a devout Jew, how could Esther take part in a pagan pageant and then become part of the harem of King Xerxes? Continue reading →
Problem: Although the rabbis at Jamnia, in about a.d. 90, debated whether the book should continue to be counted among the inspired Scriptures, the Book of Esther has enjoyed a long history of acceptance among the books of the Hebrew canon. However, the Book of Esther is the only book in the entire Bible in which the name of God is not mentioned. How can it be part of the Word of God?
Problem: According to this passage, the Feast of Tabernacles had not been celebrated by Israel “since the days of Joshua the son of Nun.” Yet, Ezra 3:4 declares that Zerubbabel and the Israelites “kept the Feast of Tabernacles” after they returned from the Babylonian captivity.
Problem: After an earlier embarrassing defeat because of disobedience to God, Joshua’s forces completely destroyed the city of Ai (Josh. 8:28). But it is still flourishing many years later (Neh. 7:32).