Job’s declaration – “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” – was his way of absolving God from the responsibility of the afflictions which had come upon him. He was able to do so because of his knowledge of the plan of salvation. He knew why God allows but does not cause suffering in man. “The absence of such precious and plain perspective can result in resentment toward life and, unlike the response of stout Job, in our ‘[charging] God foolishly’ (Job 1:22)”
But the afflictions Israel was to experience as a result of a broken covenant were at a national level, not at the individual level. The concept of national punishments was expressed by George Mason, a delegate to the constitutional convention that produced the Constitution of the United States of America. During the convention, the topic of slavery was bitterly debated. On August 22, 1787, in an impassioned speech, Mason gave this chilling warning that reflects the concept of national punishments: “As nations cannot be rewarded or punished in the next world, they must be in this. By an inevitable chain of causes and effects, Providence punishes national sins by national calamities”
Do not misunderstand what Job was saying. God does not cause man’s trouble; he allows it. This was portrayed accurately in Job 1-2 where God allowed Satan to afflict Job. This concept was clearly taught in a First Presidency message given at the beginning of World War I: “God, doubtless, could avert war, prevent crime, destroy poverty, chase away darkness, overcome error, and make all things bright, beautiful and joyful. But this would involve the destruction of a vital and fundamental attribute in man — the right of agency. It is for the benefit of His sons and daughters that they become acquainted with evil as well as good, with darkness as well as light, with error as well as truth, and with the results of the infraction of eternal laws. Therefore he has permitted the evils which have been brought about by the acts of His creatures, but will control their ultimate results for His own glory and the progress and exaltation of His sons and daughters, when they have learned obedience by the things they suffer.
Job’s declaration – “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” – was his way of absolving God from the responsibility of the afflictions which had come upon him. He was able to do so because of his knowledge of the plan of salvation. He knew why God allows but does not cause suffering in man. “The absence of such precious and plain perspective can result in resentment toward life and, unlike the response of stout Job, in our ‘[charging] God foolishly’ (Job 1:22)”