Making Sense of Job
A Textual over view
Job 2:1-6
This passage, as well as 1:6-12, appears to view God through anthropomorphic lenses. This is revealed as Yahweh questions the Satan. "Where have you come from . . . Have you considered my servant Job?" This conversation reduces the relationship between Yahweh and Satan to that of to humans quarreling, not two warring eschatological adversaries. Considering God's omniscience, asking these questions is practically to make a mockery of Satan. Of course God knows where Satan has been and whether or not he has considered Job. If Yahweh didn't know such things, the significance of his reign, through omnipresence and omnipotence, would be inappreciable with respect to the power and freedom in the rest of creation. This aside, we get a rare look into the organization of the heavenly realm in the "assembly of God" (v.1) as all angels come before Yahweh, including Satan. The fact that Satan is present at this congregation is important because of the outward reverence he shows toward Yahweh, though his is God's sworn opponent. Pure dualism does not stand if such a relationship can exist between the authors of good and evil. It is quit explicit that evil (Satan) is ultimately at the mercy of good. Of course knowing this is what makes the theodicy of Job so bazaar, that God would willingly allowing destruction to come to a man.
From 2:7 to the end of the book, the focus of this book is taken off the relationship of God and Satan and placed on Job and his friends. It is important, in this authors eyes, that we remember while reading Job that this story is first and foremost about a conflict in the heavenly realm between God and Satan. The introduction to this book sets up the scenario as God challenging Satan. In fact, as much as both Job's first and Second "test" compound to form the backdrop for the wrest of the book, the real issue ontologically is whether Job will "cures God to [his] face" (V.4), which is test two. Test one had already proven to only draw Job closer to God, though it made no more sense to him than being struck with illness, therefore the rest of the book is spent playing out test two.
Neither chapter one nor two explain exactly why God does what he does in this story, willing utter destruction to come upon his closest follower. Allow we know by the end is that Job is justified in doing anything regardless of out understanding because he is God.
Job 13:13-19
Utter confusion is Job's status. He has given himself to God as best as he can and is now receiving the most severe punishment imaginable. What kind of justice is this? In this passage (13:13-19) Job challenges God to justify these events in his life.
To start with, Job pleads for his friends to stop trying to preach to him their orthodoxy and realize that he is fully aware of the theology they speak of (v. 2), as well as the fact that it fails to make sense of his situation. Such a train of thought is the very reason he is challenging God. Job demonstrates his honesty, as well as his desperation, in verses 14-19 as he explains his knowledge of the consequences of such an action. In verse 14 he admits openly of putting himself "in jeopardy" and latter in verse 19 Job goes as far as to say that if he is wrong in his reasoning he will gladly die in his folly. At the same time, Job sides with God (v.15) trusting in his own faithfulness to be reason enough for God to deliver him (v. 6).
The devastating potential found in challenging the holiness of God is brought to fruition in verses 14 and 16. It is the ultimate ontological irony that a finite, sinful, and effectively whimsical human would contest the decrees of Yahweh. We read in Isaiah 6 how not even the highest of angelic beings dare to enter the presence of God without humility; how much more ominous would it be for a being as irreverent as a human to be in such proximity to God?
Job 42:7-11
The conclusion of Job in chapter 42 may leave some readers puzzled. This is especially true regarding what Yahweh has to say to Job's friends. Their comments seamed to be inline with all angles of logic that can be expected from a spiritually aspiring person. What is even more shocking is the fact that Yahweh verifies that Job has "spoken right" (v. 7) and is not in the wrong, though he insisted on proclaiming the injustice of God in his experience.
As is the case in chapters one and two, Yahweh refers to Job as "my servant". This is momentous considering this title was shared with some of the great patriarchs of the Hebrew people, which is to say that God's favor was with Job and this blessed him with divine leadership!
This passage ends with Jobs kin (brothers sisters and others) coming and comforting him, successfully I might add (v. 11). This is a little suspect considering he had already been divinely reimbursed but it still stands that somehow they could comfort him while Job's friends could not, despite valiant efforts.
What We Learn From Job
Interpreting the story of Job is aided by seeing it from two different perspectives, the existential and theological perspectives. Each produces ideas and conclusions regarding what the story is supposed to mean to its readers. Regardless of perspective, the central theme in Job is the faithfulness of the righteous in the context of theodicy (1), God's justice. Other secondary themes surround the theodicy theme. These include the less grandiose issues of coping with suffering, and opposition to God.
The existential perspective is a fresh way of looking at the story. In this way the story of Job is possibly the most honest look at the human experience in the bible, that is one that is full of suffering and seemingly unexplainable phenomenons. Whenever tragedy strikes, we ask questions of God concerning what the cause was and why it happened to whomever it happened to. Just as often, people close to those who are dealt such a fait try and do their best to consol the individual, and as in this case sometimes fail.
Job's comforter-friends try everything they can think of to understand what has happened to him. They speculated possible ways of reclaiming favor with God. The logic they used was flawed in that they assumed from the situation that God's favor is based on works, instead of faith. At times in our own experience the conclusion that God is punishing us for some wrong we have committed is the only explanation that makes sense, especially in such an extreme case as Job's.
Perhaps a contrast can be made between the failure of Job's friends, who try and comfort him through reason and logic, with the success of Job's brothers and sisters who partake in gift giving to help him (42:11). It could be that in such bazar situations reason is useless and only sheer compassion will do to help a person feel better.
The story of Job gives us rare insights into the workings of God when examined through the theological perspective. Chapters one and two are perhaps the most famous spectacles of the happenings in the heavenly realm in the entire bible. The decision making in the spiritual realm, which results in consequences on the earth, paints a picture of a universe where events happen in a very deliberate fashion. That is, it appears that events don't occur at random but by election at God's hands.
There is also textual evidence of a sort of ontological ranking system. In chapter one and two, Satan is submissive to the agenda of a meeting held by God and accepts the limitations placed upon him regarding how Job will be treated. The third rank in the system is human. In chapters 38-42 Job finally sees God and is put in his place of complete submission to him, showing his infinite superiority over humans.
However, even more questions than answers arise when the book of Job is considered theologically. Why did God have to do this Job? Why did God have to prove anything to Satan? Are God and Satan always that casual about the world in their discourse? Did God have something to prove to Job? Is the story of Job true or is it a parable?
In summary, the point of the book is that amidst even seemingly unjust destruction God is still faithful to the righteous. The theological perspective moves us away from being presumptuous about what is happening in the mind of God (who knows he might be making you an example of faith before Satan). From an existential view, the reader is urged to remember that when we compare even the worst imaginable horror to God it proves to be completely insignificant. I believe that the existential interpretation is what our generation is needing to experience. The message of Job that moves us to realize the magnificence of God in the face of all things, almost in an eschatological sense, is a message that speaks to our present culture. It is so appropriate because the postmodern world often is faced with the problem of justice and evil. Above all of the chaos that is our world, we can have hope in the fact that all of it vanishes in God's presence.
1. Bullok, C. Hassell. An Intoduction to the Old Testament Poetic Books. Chicago, IL, Moody Press. 1979,1988