I hear our religious leaders telling us that certain people are suffering because they desecrated the Sabbath or left church or synagogue. Others, they say, are doing fine because they voted for a certain political party, while those who didn’t are being punished. I even hear that the whole world is in turmoil because of homosexuals or because people aren’t praying enough.

If only homosexuals or liberals or conservatives suffered, then we might be able to come to that conclusion. But we all know that that’s not how the world works.

Why do the righteous suffer?

The Book of Job, scholars tell us based on its usage of a very ancient form of Hebrew, is the first book of the Bible that was put into writing. And that makes sense as it is attempting to deal with this fundamental question of all faiths and religions; “Why do the righteous suffer?” Job is not the most popular book in the Bible, but is one of the most profound.

Job, a monotheist non-Israeli who is the...