Exploring Retributive Justice in Job 9:1–24 in the Context of Christianity in Enugu State, Nigeria

Abstract

This article investigates the idea of retributive justice in Job 9:1–24 in the context of Christianity in Enugu State. In this pericope, Job refuted the inflexible doctrine of his sage friends who interpreted his misfortune from the standpoint of moral transgression, as they accused him of being culpable for the calamity that enveloped him. Job argued that there is no direct nexus between sin and suffering since the righteous and the wicked are indiscriminately rewarded. The study employed literary analysis as its methodology. Like Job of the Old Testament, some Christians in Enugu State experience diverse misfortunes, but their suffering is not necessarily because of their sins. This situation strongly contrasts with the erroneous view of the exponents of retributive justice that every misfortune is the consequence of sin. The study demonstrates that the suffering of Christians in Enugu State is an existential reality that cannot be explicated through the lens of retributive justice. https://doi.org/10.17159/2312-3621/2023/v36n1a8

Keywords

• Job 9
• Retributive justice
• Christianity
• Moral transgression