Bible 101 - Job Chapters 22-42

Presented January 30, 2006 by Phyllis Gilbert

Review: Because of its dramatic monologues and dialogues, Job has often been called the Bible's only drama. And it could easily be staged as such. It contains what all good stories (whether novels or plays) must have: a dramatic situation, a protagonist and antagonist, and interesting characters. God is the protagonist even though the book is called Job; Satan is the antagonist Recall that the Bible itself is a unified literary narrative in which God is the main character (protagonist) and Satan the antagonist; the story's theme is redemption and the complication is sin. And so in Job, these facts about the Bible remain true. We see the protagonist and antagonist in a uniquely personal conversation involving the main human character Job - a behind-the-scenes view of heaven that we encounter no where else in the Bible. The dramatic irony here is that while God and Satan know what is going on and why, Job does not. Neither do his friends. They only know that all that Job had has been taken away from him - wealth, family, prestige and health. They do not know that God's purpose in this is twofold: first, he's showing Satan that not all human beings are alike; those who firmly trust him, do so because they love God, not for selfish gain. Second, God is testing Job. God's tests are never set up to prove anything to God; they are established to prove to us what the extent of our faith is. Think of Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Peter and Paul. The tests each of these men passed strengthened their faith. Job and his friends discuss at length the situation Job finds himself in; Job questions why this has happened to him, and without cursing God, he curses the day of his birth and wishes to die. His friends, holding to the view that Job is suffering because he's sinned and if he confesses his sin, all will be well, confound Job. He asks them to simply be still; their advice, their "wisdom" is unhelpful at best. The one whose voice Job longs to hear is God.

Three cycles of dialogue: As noted on the outline, within the book are three cycles of dialogue from chapters 3 through 27, and we have examined two of them. We'll briefly look at the third, then move to ch. 28 called the "wisdom interlude," and then the monologues in ch. 29-37. Finally, we'll hear God's voice, and understand with Job who God is and who we as humans are. An epilogue concludes the book just as a prologue opened it.

Job 22: In this third cycle of speeches, we hear Eliphaz, Job and Bildad. In ch. 22, Eliphaz opens with a rhetorical question: "Can a man be of benefit to God?" A curious question which suggests that nothing a human being does that's good changes God; God is God. He doesn't need our goodness to make him "better." And he returns to his old drum beat of saying "only the wicked are punished; therefore, Job, you've done something sinful." He also tells Job, "Pray and he [God] will hear you," (v. 27), and we have to wonder why Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar haven't offered to pray with and for Job. Instead, they've simply assumed he's guilty and accused him of harboring unconfessed sins.

Job 23: Job replies that if he knew how to reach God he'd do so. He also says God is watching him, "when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside. I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread." Like David in the Psalms, Job states that God's words are vital to him. In a sense, he's remembering the good times; he "treasured the words of God's mouth" and he lived a good life. Where is it now? What has he done? He still holds on to God and his words, but he's confused because God has been silent.

Job 24: Here we see Job empathizing with those who never had his wealth and station in life: those who beg, who are needy and poor. And yet, he suggests, the poor have done nothing to deserve this kind of life. Injustice is everywhere. He also acknowledges that there are those who live well for a time yet deserve punishment: rebels against God, robbers, murderers and adulterers. God will deal with them in due time.

Job 25: Bildad in a brief statement contrasts God's omnipotence to man kind's weakness, adding nothing new to the argument.

Job 26 and 27: Job agrees that God is all-powerful; he's never denied that. What he does deny is his own guilt. "As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice. . . I will never admit you [my friends] are in the right; till I die I will not deny my integrity. I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live." (27:2-6). In sum, Job says "all your long-winded speeches have taught me nothing about God. I know who he is and I trust him. But you don't know me. I am righteous before God."

Job 28: This speech on wisdom uses an analogy: wisdom is compared to mining for gold, silver and other precious metals or stones. Man, Job says, goes to great lengths, taking enormous risks to find gold, silver, iron, diamonds and rubies. Such treasures, Job says, are underground and hidden; so is wisdom. Wisdom is not obvious, and he seems to be saying to his three "wise" friends, "most men don't have wisdom." God alone is the path to wisdom, he concludes. God has the "big picture," and man does not. "The fear of the Lord - that is wisdom," he concludes.

Job 29-31: Job shifts to his present suffering by recalling the good days he enjoyed. But note how often in ch. 29, he uses the pronoun "I." Here we begin to see Job's pride and perhaps it is the reason God has allowed him to be tested: Job has been blessed with many children, flocks and herds, status in his community, wisdom to advise others ONLY because God has given all of this to him. His use of "I" in saying "I rescued the poor . . I made the widow's heart sing. . . I was the eyes to the blind. . . I broke the fangs of the wicked. . . " show that he takes the credit for all of these worthwhile acts. In ch. 28, however, he's said that wisdom is from God. He contrasts his former state with his present one: "now they mock me" those who formerly regarded him as a great man. He bemoans his afflictions and cries out to God, begging for an answer. He asks God to "weigh me in honest scales, and he will know that I am blameless" (31:6), listing various sins of which he has not been guilty (theft, unfair treatment of servants, lusting after a woman not his wife, telling lies, etc.) Then he concludes: "Oh that I had someone to hear me. . . let my accuser put his indictment in writing." Why is God silent? Job wants answers.

Job 32-37: Elihu, from whom we haven't heard before, now steps forward. He's been sitting and listening, and now, he's waited long enough to add his thoughts to the debate. And we see that he's angry with the three friends and with Job, who, though older than he is, haven't displayed the wisdom he believed older men had. And so he describes himself as "bottled up wine ready to burst" with thoughts he must express. First he says he's as human as Job and both of them were made by God from clay. He repeats Job's statement that since he, Job, is free of guilt, God's dealing him this kind of suffering is incomprehensible. "You want God to explain himself to you," Elihu says, "but God may be trying to tell you and you just don't hear or see it." Elihu underscores what the other three friends have said " God is God and Job is a man." Elihu wants it clearly understood that people get what they deserve; God is not unjust. He continues to defend God's honor and justice against Job's accusations that God is punishing him without cause.

Transitional thoughts: Of all the speeches, Elihu's, though long-winded, does present Job with a picture of God that's undeniable: he is the maker of all men and all things; he is always just in his dealings. Elihu uses many natural phenomena as examples of God's power and wisdom (wind, rain, lightning, heat and cold). And yet Elihu, Zophar, Bildad and Eliphaz all fall short of bringing Job comfort or answering his questions. In a sense, God alone can answer Job's complaints. But his friends could have given him comfort simply by listening to him, praying with him and not heaping more insults and accusations on him.

God speaks: From ch. 38-41, God speaks to Job. Note how God comes to Job - in a storm. Elihu, the last speaker, had referred to God's power as shown in nature. God's voice out of the storm confirms his power. It reminds us of God's appearance to the children of Israel in Ex. 19 - the lightening, thunder, trumpet sounds, earthquake and fire that frightened the people so badly they told Moses "you speak to God; you speak to us, but do not have God speak to us or we will die." (Ex. 20:19). And Moses tells them to let this fear of God keep them from sinning. Now God comes to Job in the thunder and lightening of a storm, and notice that God doesn't immediately say "this is why you've suffered, Job." Instead of answers, God asks Job questions. "Who are you?" he first asks. And then God asks him about creation: "How did I do it, Job? Were you there?" The images in these poetic passages are vivid and clear: "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail?" God asks in 38:22. Or "Does the rain have a father? Who fathers the drop of dew?" (38:28) Or "Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water? Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, 'Here we are'?" (38:34-35). In this series of questions God is showing Job the impossibility of his or any human's ability to answer them; only God can say why the sea stops at a certain point or where and how the raven gets her food. Scientists can tell us when a river will crest or how long the water will remain out of its banks, but they can't tell us why the rain comes in torrents like Hurricane Katrina. They can speculate, but they cannot provide a definitive answer. Only God can. God's questions continue through ch. 40:2, and then Job answers "I am unworthy; how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer - twice, but I will say no more." Job has been humbled; he now understand that God's might and God's ways are mysterious to man. And that's OK. God asks more questions, this time about his justice: Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?" And we can hear Job's heart/mind answering "No; I'd never do that, and if I mistakenly said I could, please forgive me." God's questions about nature's wonders continue through ch. 41, and we are left breathless at God's power, his magnificence in bringing creatures as complex as a "behemoth" or a "leviathan" to life (these terms may refer to dinosaurs and their cousins). Behemoth, we're told, is likely a hippopotamus or an elephant, and "leviathan" a crocodile. In either case, the two animals that are huge and without peer or natural enemy are posed as examples of God's ability. And in view of all these wonders, who is man?

Job 42: Job, humble and contrite, has nothing to say except "I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes." God has, indirectly, answered Job's questions. He is God, and God alone can do what he does. Job tells God "I spoke of things I did not understand," and we, too, often do not understand. We ask God "why?" and we are never satisfied with an answer. But notice that God does not strike Job dead for asking why; he doesn't punish us for asking questions, either. The point is to accept that there are some things we will never understand until we get to heaven. We are not meant to understand; we are meant to simply trust that God is in control.

Epilogue (Job 42:7-17): God speaks to Eliphaz (and we can presume to the other three friends, too) telling him "I'm angry with you." God tells the men who've come to comfort Job that their knowledge of God is incomplete and at times, wrong. He says "Job will pray for you," and God will forgive the friends for their "folly." And then we read that God blessed Job and restored his fortunes. He has twice as much prosperity as he had before. His brothers, sisters and friends came to celebrate his having regained his wealth and gave him gifts. Job has seven more sons and three more daughters (and note, we are given his daughters' names, a departure from the pattern in the OT which generally lists only sons' names), his herds and flocks are double the size they were when we met him, and Job is given another 140 years of life. We can presume that those years are full of wisdom, trust in God, and a faith now strong in all God's ways.

What can we learn from Job? First, God tests those he loves. Second, we may not understand why we're tested. Third, God is God and we are not. In NT times, we know God personally through our relationship with Jesus Christ. Job did not have the mediator we do. We hear him asking for someone to plead his case; we have that "someone," God's son who died for us. And as we're told in Hebrews, we have a high priest (the one who mediates) "who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Heb. 4:15-16). Jesus - fully man and fully God - is the ideal high priest and mediator. Having lived in a human body and feeling the temptations that we feel, he did not sin, but offered himself as a man personally sinless, but "being made sin for us" so that we might be redeemed by his death on the cross. We have the mediator Job did not have. But we also have troubles, trials and tests. In those we are no different from Job. And we'll ask "why?" But we can trust that God is in control. Always. One other lesson: empathize and have compassion on those who suffer. Don't try to advise them or overwhelm them with the kind of words Job's friends threw at him. Sometimes the most loving thing to do is to sit with someone, quietly saying by our presence that we care and we know their suffering is beyond words. (Fr. Tim in the Mitford books did this often.)

Next week: we'll begin our study of the first "book" of Psalms, Ps. 1-41.

Homework for those who want to go deeper:

Let's close in prayer.