Deconstructing Theodicy: A Fresher Reading of the Book of Job

The Book of Job displays well the reality of the human predicament. However, does the Book of Job provide an answer to the problem it so vividly displays: the existence of God and the reality of suffering? This paper is a quest for an answer, which, if correct, is no. The purpose of the book has less to do with an answer for why good people suffer and more to do with exactly what God has done, and continues to do, to rectify suffering, culminating in the Christ event. Stated simply, the Book of Job exists as a harbinger, to all those with eyes to see and ears to hear, to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ: explaining what to expect and how to respond to a suffering messiah. What follows should not be mistaken as an argument for the interpretation of the Book of Job but rather one suggesting a potential interpretation as an alternative to theodicy.