The old proverb says, “Fools rush
in where angels fear to tread.” We usually learn the Bible through the summary
statements of Bible Handbooks and study Bibles. These are wonderful resources.
The Bible is a challenging book for many reasons. It is nice to have a simple
overview statement to grab onto and get the big picture. But this just never
seems to work with Job.
The Heavenly Council — Background, Not the Theme
(Job 1–2)
If we focus on the heavenly
conflict, we find little to justify that perspective. The opening chapters of
the book reveal a great deal about the nature of the Divine Council and how
their deliberations and discussions affect the world of men. However, that
cannot be the main theme of the book. Were that the case one would expect the
theme to return. A moment of retribution, or the shame of the Accuser when his
plans to make Job blaspheme had failed. Certainly, the Lord's character is
vindicated, but that provides the dramatic background, not the purpose of the
book.
The False Comfort of Binary Thinking
(Job 3–31)
The next oversimplification is to
summarize the book as follows: Job suffers, and his friends have foolish ideas.
I held this false idea for years. Thinking whatever Job says must be right, and
whatever his friends say must be wrong. The comfort of binary thinking can
cause strange misunderstandings and misinterpretations of this book. But this
explanation too falls short. If this were the case there would be no need for
repeated cycles and the growing drama of the thorough arguments. The summary
does more to prove that lesson than the text does, and that is a sign of an
ineffective summary statement.
A Better (Though Still Incomplete) Summary
So, what is going on here? After
reading, studying, and teaching through this book it has become plain that no
oversimplification will give us the right mindset to approach this book. Unless
it is extraordinarily vague. Here is my proposal:
"Friends discuss the topic
of suffering in a fallen world, and God sets them straight by not answering
their questions."
The Great Error About Suffering
(Job 4–37)
The bulk of the book is a set of
arguments that must be read with thoughtful consideration because, as
previously mentioned, the summaries always fall wildly short of the mark. Wise
men evaluate what they know of God, what they know of the world, and what they
know of mankind and try to understand Job's tragedy. If there is a single
proposition that is refuted it is the false idea that suffering is always God
punishing an individual for personal sin. If this were the only point of the
book (which it is not) it would be worth the investment. Mankind is deeply
committed to this concept.
Why does one person's life go well,
while another suffers? One is born to health, and other lives with permanent
disability. Centuries after this great conversation someone would ask Jesus why
a man was born blind — did he sin, or did his parents sin? (John 9:1–3)
Ah, false dichotomy, the greatest friend of our foolishness. Jesus corrected
them with the mind-bending truth: Neither had sinned — this man was born blind
for the glory of God.
Oof. That is a hard gut-shot. That
man born blind had surely suffered immensely. Not being able to see would mean
it would be difficult for him to work, bring challenges in relationships, and
who could count the pain of that disability. We like the idea that it was
someone's fault. It gives us assurance, albeit false assurance, that we are
safe against the pains and losses of our lives because we are doing so well.
The Modern Version of the Same Error
(Matthew 5:45)
A brief departure is necessary, the
modern version of this is far more destructive than the ancient one. The
ancient version of this profound misunderstanding desired to please God and
hoped that such actions would bring protection, safety, and blessing. The
modern version is based upon the secular cult. A person thinks they are healthy
because of their diet and exercise habits. Another person thinks that they are
wealthy because of their diligence or hard work.
This is not to take away from the
importance of personal responsibility and exercise of wisdom — but to bring us
to the point of ultimate wisdom. The rain falls on the just and the unjust
alike. We invest entirely too much effort into trying to figure out why
suffering occurs, and how to avoid it. We have a frightful tendency to despise
those who suffer as we worry that standing too close to them might be like
standing too close to someone who is about to be struck by lightning.
Why We Pull Away From the Suffering
(Job 38–42)
The book of Job gives another
example of why we often distance ourselves from those who suffer. No simple
solution is found. It is not fun standing in front of an unsolvable problem.
Job's friends are clearly trying their best to offer wisdom, comfort, and
encouragement. Tempers get enflamed in the exercise, and choice words are
exchanged, but in the end Job's friends are chastised for their words.
Now that is interesting! Would they
be better off if they had not showed up at all? Yet, while they were corrected,
they were part of a direct encounter with God. It may not have been pleasant,
but it was surely worth it. In a single day they became the wisest men on the
planet in their time. Every reader has benefitted from the lesson that the Lord
taught them.
The Blessing of Wrestling With the Text
The Book of Job is difficult to
read for all the same reasons. When a person suffers there is a great deal of
comfort in the shared confusion and clear complaints of Job. When a person is
not in a place of great suffering it is often easier to look past Job with a
short oversimplification of the book.
The greatest blessing is for the
reader who will wrestle with the problems and challenges of the situation. The
dramatic irony that the reader knows things that Job and his friends do not
know. The reader knows about the drama in Heaven, but the characters are simply
guessing at everything.
The Transforming Power of Careful Reading
A careful and humble consideration
of this book is transformational. To look past our simple actions and pious
platitudes and come to a full and mature understanding of the nature of reality
from the greatest perspective that is available to us. Such an exploration
brings about the ability to suffer, and to comfort those in suffering, with
true biblical wisdom and compassion.
In order to reap these blessings
there is no other prescription but to read the book of Job for yourself!
