Job Lesson 1

Adult Class

Job

Lesson 1

The book of Job is one of the best-loved and most-read books of the Bible. Still, it is one of the most unsatisfying books, in spite of its poetic brilliance and grand wrestling with one of the most difficult problems of life: faith in the face of suffering. Many people approach the book to answer the question, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" That, after all, touches directly the plot of the book. Job is a good man, an innocent man and one who loves and worships God. Yet he endures tragedy and torment. His response to the circumstances of his life mirrors our feelings, and he very powerfully speaks our thoughts when we are in difficulty.

The book itself is difficult. The text is very thorny. Even the earliest translators had trouble rendering the text into other languages. There are many unique Hebrew words that must be defined from the context. This is clearly not the Hebrew of Jerusalem and the erudite scholars. It is actually closer to its cousin language, Aramaic. The writer of the book remains unknown to us, and the time and circumstances of its composition are a mystery. There are few historical or geographical clues to help us. Even its setting, the land of Uz, is not known with certainty-although current estimation places it on the east side of the Jordan River in the northern part of Israel.

In an amazing reversal of rational thinking, Job puts God on trial (as it were) for the bad things that have happened to him. He demands answers for his misery. He steadfastly maintains his innocence and challenges God to explain Himself. In this, he anticipates modern man's arrogance, as pungently described by C. S. Lewis:

The ancient man approached God (or even the gods) as the accused person approaches his judge. For the modern man the roles are reversed. He is the judge: God is in the dock. He is quite a kindly judge: if God should have a reasonable defence for being the god who permits war, poverty and disease, he is ready to listen to it. The trial may even end in God's acquittal. But the important thing is that Man is on the Bench and God in the Dock. (essay-God In The Dock)

Job calls God to trial and is overcome when God answers his charge. Unfortunately for us, God never addresses Job's questions, but merely counters with a series of unanswerable questions in return. The point is made: Job is not competent to judge God and neither are we. God was never "in the dock" as Lewis had it. The only question that matters is this: Will Job (and we) maintain his faith in good times and in bad?

Job lived in the land of Uz, in a house within a city. He was a man of great wealth and substance, with hired hands and what was considered the perfect family: seven sons and three daughters. For Job, life was good. He was rich and respected, his children were doing well, and he dwelled in a secure faith in God. His piety was so intense that he offered sacrifices on behalf of his children just in case one of them had sinned.

This is the picture of a man who has spent his lifetime in close fellowship with God. He has never doubted God's favor and has enjoyed the fruits of a life in harmony with the basic Old Testament pattern: if a man does well, he will enjoy good things; if he rebels against God and does evil, he will suffer for it. It is in this context that Job will experience horrible, unimaginable suffering-and his friends will basically echo the standard Old Testament line. In their view, God is just but Job is suffering. Therefore, it only makes sense that Job is somehow guilty before God. In point of fact, though, none of them had access to the first two chapters of the book.

We begin with a tantalizing scene in heaven. God receives his created beings as an earthly king receives his courtiers. Into the throng intrudes the Accuser (the literal meaning of "satan"). God addresses him directly and inquires of his recent activity, then challenges Satan to consider "exhibit A" among His faithful: Job. The devil counters that such allegiance is perfectly understandable since God has bribed Job to love Him. The issue of faith is brought to the center: if God were to deprive Job of all his wealth, Job would turn his back on God. No sooner offered than accepted, and Satan is given power over all Job's possessions although the man is off limits.

In a single day, the devil destroys everything. In a stunning tsunami of disaster, one messenger follows another. The oxen and donkeys have been stolen while all the servants were viciously murdered. The sheep and the shepherds were burned up by a freak electrical storm. The camels were rustled and the servants slaughtered. The children were all killed at once when a whirlwind annihilated the house where they were eating. Job's response is worship God.

Soon, the scene replays in heaven, with the devil again challenging God. In his view, Job's misery was still too remote. Only if Job personally suffers will he turn his back on God. He's given power to afflict, but not kill, Job and he tortures Job with painful boils over his whole body. At this point, his wife can bear the misfortunes no longer and urges Job to "curse God and die." In this, she is serving as the devil's mouthpiece, but it is unclear whether she has herself lost faith in God or is only trying to end Job's torment by urging "assisted suicide," thinking that if Job rebels against God, then God will at least finally put him out of his misery. The innocent man rejects such a foolish approach and holds his integrity.

Job has three powerful friends who hear of his distress and decide to comfort him. Only one hails from an identifiable location: Eliphaz the Temanite comes from a city in Edom. Ironically, the city was well known in the ancient world for its wisdom, some of which has survived in written form. The friends come to Job and in shock and amazement sit quietly for seven days and nights, merely sharing in his pain. It turns out that their silence is the wisest thing they said.

It is crucial to the rest of the book that we remember the first two chapters. It is always tempting to get caught up in the speeches that wrangle back and forth over the suffering of the guilty and the complaints against God. The realistic questions and responses are the necessary backdrop to the main question: will a man be faithful to God even if his life is not richly rewarded now? In pain, will people turn their backs on God and refuse to serve Him, as if He were a powerless or cruel idol?

How important is one man's struggle for faith? How important is our faithfulness in the face of our trials? How honest can we be in expressing our emotions to God? Why does this book speak to our lives so powerfully?