Each time I have studied Job in the past, I have come away
with more questions than answers. Thanks to the men in my Bible study, one of
whom curiously suggested we study Job, I think I finally have some answers.
There are still plenty of mysteries in Job, but I can say with some confidence
that there is a valuable lesson in the story of Job for believers today.
Before I get to the lesson, take a look at some of the
remaining mysteries. The book opens with an unexplained gathering in some
heavenly dimension. Verse six says, “Now there was a day when the sons of God came
to present themselves before the Lord.”
Everybody pretty much agrees that “sons of God” are angels. The
interesting thing to me is that on a specific day they, “came to present
themselves.” Was this a head count to see if more had joined the enemy? Was it
some sort of performance review? This concept has long fascinated me, to the
point that I have written a novel imagining what angels actually do with their
time and how they interact with humans. (Shameless
Promotion.)
The second half of verse six is equally curious: “and Satan
also came among them.” We know from what follows that Satan had already broken
faith with the rest of the heavenly host and had been banished to earth. What
amazes me is that he still had access to the throne. God seems to casually ask
him what he’s been up to, and Satan answers that he has been roaming around
earth (seeking
whom he may devour?).
What God does next is the real mind boggler: “Have you
considered my servant Job?” God seems to be setting Job up like a golf ball on
a tee… like a clay pigeon in the sling. I imagine a little bit of sour grapes
whine in Satan’s voice when he protests that God has, “put a hedge around him
and his house and… blessed the work of his hands?” Then God paves the way for
the rest of the story by offering to drop the hedge, at least partially. It is
comforting to think that God hedges his children against the enemy, but not so
much that he voluntarily removes the hedge. This is where the weeds get thick
and deep.
As almost everyone knows, the story goes that Job is
subjected to terrible loss, financial and emotional, and after a second
audience with God, Satan is released to pester Job physically. In the midst of
his misery, Job’s friends give him their counsel; it sounds very much like what
people might say today: Job has obviously offended God in some major way to
deserve such harsh punishment. This thinking was still prevalent in Jesus’ day,
evidenced by
his disciples asking what sin was responsible for the man being born blind.
We still wonder. Were the 92,000 people killed by the volcano in Indonesia in
1815 especially wicked? Did the thousands killed in Japan in the 2011 tsunami
offend God particularly? Or the earthquake victims in Mexico… or the famine in
Africa… and so on?
Job does what humans always seem to do: he protests his
innocence, or more accurately, he proclaims his righteousness. When God finally
speaks in the end, His response is quite shocking. He tells Job that even if he
were perfectly righteous, he ain’t all that. To paraphrase, God said, “No
matter how wonderful you think you are, this is not about you. As the one-and-only
Majestic Creator, Sovereign of the Universe, I can do as I please without reference
to you or your friends.” Job’s attempt to put himself on an argumentative plane
with God was utterly demolished. “Does
the clay say to the Potter, ‘What are you making?’”
Humans seem to be hard-wired to desire “fair” treatment. It’s
not fair that babies die; it’s not fair that nice people get cancer; it’s not
fair that some are rich while others are poor. It’s not fair that Job was made
to suffer so terribly. Of course, we like that fact that Job was twice blessed
after he walked through his trial, but if we think the lesson is there, we are
right back with Job’s friends.
It’s not about Job getting his just reward; it’s about God
getting his point across… to the angels (one of whom is called Satan.) Paul told
the Ephesians that the mystery of the ages was being revealed through the
church, “to
the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” My take-away from Job,
nay, the entire Biblical sweep is that God is doing something with this
time-space continuum we call human history that is larger than the universe
itself. Regarding “uneducated and unstable” false teachers, Peter says that
they boldly
and willfully blaspheme angels. Jude echoes this enigmatic idea hinting at
the involvement
of celestial beings who occasionally appear in Scripture, but are seldom
explained.
Apart from the mystery of angelic correlations, one thing is
clear to me (with thanks due to my Bible study partners). Not Job, nor Joseph,
nor the man born blind can sue for fair treatment. Of the man born blind Jesus
said, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works
of God might be displayed in him.” The Master’s next sentence is the real
kicker: “We must work the works of
him who sent me.” Note my italics; Paul picks this up when he tells the
Ephesians, “For
we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
God has a work for each of us. It may be in the dust with
Job, in the pit with Joseph or on a throne with Solomon. We don’t get to
choose. To borrow from Tennyson, “[Ours]
not to reason why / [ours] but to do and die.” That is the correct wording:
“do and die.” Taking up our cross to
follow Jesus (as
he commanded) presumes a pending death; that’s what crosses are for.
Paradoxical though it may be, this is the way to life:
death. Death to self, death to the old man, and yes, death itself may be
required. We, like Job, have no grounds on which to ask why. We must ask what,
where and when. The “where and when” is here and now. The “what” will be
revealed when we open the door before us with our spiritual eyes and ears open.
May we be found humble and ready as God’s servant Isaiah saying, “Here
I am; [use] me.”
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