Job is a tough book. The beginning (chapters 1-2) and the end (chapter 42) are easy to understand, but it’s everything in the middle that can be difficult to follow. On top of that, at the end of the book, God condemns Job’s three friends for their advice. Even Job repents.
So how can you read this book? I would suggest three things. First, all of the conversation should be increasing your anticipation for what God is going to say (chapters 38-41). Second, because we have the beginning and the end of the story, we know that the main thing Job’s friends are saying is wrong. It is not true that suffering is always caused by sin. Third, recognize that though Job’s friends think they know what is going on, they do not. The reason for this is that they weren’t in heaven when God and Satan had their conversation. Thus man’s knowledge is dependent upon God revealing it. Without revelation (Scripture), man cannot understand God, the world, or life. Two key chapters that help to explain this are 26 and 28.
One thing people miss in Job is God ‘s grace in defending Job against Satan ‘s accusation. Satan accuses Job of only worshiping God for the good that God does for him. If this accusation was allowed to stand, untested, it would classify Job as self-centered and self-serving, and an enemy of God just as is Satan (and unredeemed humanity). God defends Job by allowing Satan to test him, proving that Job worships God because he belongs to Him.
This has direct application to us today, because Satan is still the accuser of the Saints. Since the death of Christ has paid the price for all sin, Satan can ‘t point out our sinful deeds, but can make the same accusation as he did with Job: we only worship God for the good He does. As when Satan “sifted” Peter, God allows him to “test” those he accuses, and their faith again proves that they (we) belong to Him. This helps explain why we see so many trials among Christians.
This also demonstrates our security. As Paul pointed out, we are no longer “slaves to sin” where the consequences of our sin determine our destiny. Instead we are now “slaves to righteousness” where the righteousness of Christ, our new owner, determines our destiny. Thus we find our security by trusting in His claim on us, not by looking at our actions.
Todd, I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on the way the book of Job seems to be attacking various wisdom traditions in the face of the inscrutability and unsearchability of God’s ways. What are the practical conclusions one ought to draw from Job’s being accounted right by God (42:7), in the face of the wisdom tradition set forth by the friends? After all, one can find very similar statements to those of Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar in the Psalms and elsewhere in scripture.
Many thanks for this. What do you make of it that Job’s friends are not recorded as comforting him until his time of testing is over? Do you think part of testing involves being on one’s own as Paul also felt at one point? Any thoughts along these lines?
Anon – I don’t read it that way. I think that Job’s testing continued until the Lord spoke. Job’s suffering continued after their arrival (2:13).
I certainly think that sometimes part of the tests that God gives us involves being alone. I don’t think I see that in Job’s story, though his wife wasn’t such a help to him. I don’t think there’s any glory in not seeking out comfort and assistance from others when it is available. Sometimes one is abandoned and there simply is no one to help, but refusing that is no credit to the believer. Unless we are like Paul, going to places where there is no church, I think we generally won’t be truly alone.
Stratkey – I don’t know. I’m studying Mark now, and if I had thoughts on this when I was in the midst of Job, they have left me. If part of your question is this whether retribution theology is biblical given the denial of it in Job, I would say that God established certain principles which are generally in effect but they are not more certain than God’s freedom to do as he chooses.
From the intro to my argument:
As Sovereign Creator of the world, the Lord demonstrates that he is not subservient to his laws, but he orders the world with a wisdom that man cannot understand apart from divine revelation. Within that wisdom, he chooses to bless ultimately those whose faith is in him.
From the conclusion:
The book of Job is a wonderful encouragement to the saints of the divine wisdom of God in the ordering of his world. Though circumstances are often mysterious and can cause doubt, the revelation provided in this book enables the believer to press on in faith, confident that he is not only sovereign over all things, but he cares deeply for his creatures. Suffering is ordained as a part of this creation, some of it for punitive purposes, and some for disciplinary goals. But even when it makes no sense, the child of God can believe that his suffering is divinely intended and divinely limited. The book of Job also puts the lie to the notion that all suffering is the result of sin, thus easing the minds of those with sensitive consciences. The beautiful descriptions of God as master over his creation should continually call the believer back to meditation and worship.
I don’t know if that is what you’re asking, but it’s probably about all I can do at this point.
Yes, there are the three (or eventually four) friends who came alongside during his suffering and comforted him in 2:13 as you indicated. However, in my question, I failed to make it clear that I had 42:11 in view. I find it interesting that it was at that time that everyone who had known him came and comforted him.
I have not paid much attention to that verse in the past. Looking at it now, I think that the point here is that this is one way that Job was blessed. I don’t think the point is to condemn those brothers, sisters, and others. I suppose it can be taken to say that he was lacking their comfort through the trial. But I think the primary point is that his trial did end, God did bless him, and this included many others previously not mentioned in the story.
Thanks Todd. That somewhat answers my question. Perhaps the difficulty of Job is that it puts the lie to many of the ways in which we apply human (and even revealed) wisdom. God’s ways are not our ways, and even our interpretations of God’s ways go astray. This is a tough pill to swallow.