During this time of pandemic, many of us have been confronted by a range of emotions that have been a tough challenge as we have endured isolation, economic duress and much uncertainty. We have many, many questions and very, very, few answers. Who was the author when asked if, in spite of his atheism, he met God and what he might say? Bernard Shaw? Whoever it was, his answer was along the lines of ‘why did you provide so little evidence of your existence?’ At times like this, I have heard several people voice that very lament. I can relate…far too easily. I have been guilty of the same sentiment until I discovered my humanity and with it, humility.
Before…
Job is my buddy – the Job of the Bible, that is. What is likely the oldest text in our bible, the book of Job is part of the wisdom literature and it is a text that has stood me well over the years. If you have never read it, this is as good a time as any and if you have some trouble with biblical language, try the Common English Bible or Eugene Peterson’s take in The Message.
For those that have read it, I don’t know about you, but I have always thought that the opening to the book of Job was a bit odd. The first verse: “There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job”[1] has a Grimm Brothers fairy tale ring to it à la ‘once upon a time.’ And right from this curious opening, we are told that Job “was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” [2] Blameless and upright? Who can possible be blameless? Maybe the author hadn’t read Paul or their Augustine yet. And then again….
A key to understanding this characterization of Job rests with the Hebrew translated as blameless, the word tam. It is not describing someone that is sinless, but rather one who is morally whole or complete, integrity. Being “upright” implies a sense of straightness or directness in Job’s affairs with God and neighbor; that is, Job would embody the virtues of love for neighbor, care for the poor and a concern with justice. Job exemplifies religious, moral, and ethical integrity that stems from “scrupulous habits of sacrifice combined with a genuinely righteous character;” [3] a manifestation witnessed in Job’s compulsive and meticulous attention to religious detail in the care and concern for his children’s well-being: “And when the feast days had run their course, Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt-offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, ‘It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.’ This is what Job always did.” [4] Job is faithful then, in God’s way of life to which God himself testifies on two distinct occasions.[5]
Coupled with his bountiful offspring [6] and wealth, Job “was the greatest of all the people of the east.” [7] Yet when all was lost in disasters that would fell any other person, Job’s initial response to the news was remarkable: “Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell on the ground and worshipped. He said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’[8] Job’s rejection of his wife’s seemingly sane conclusion to curse God and die, speaks volumes to the depth of his faith and his integrity:“But he said to her, “You speak as any foolish woman would speak. Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”[9] He is quite confident about the meaning of life and his relationship with God, while all the while, unaware of how much he does not know.
Yet, sitting on the ash heap in the days of silence that follow, suffering has overtaken Job. In chapter three, we encounter a man that is suddenly questioning the value of a life that is filled with dread, confusion and alienation. If life is ultimately to be one of suffering, why “is light given to one in misery, and life to the bitter in soul?” [10] Although he persistently refuses to abandon his faith in the face of his friends repeated and insulting entreaties to do so, Job’s question, and his dawning fear of the enmity of God, cause him not to let go of God, but form the beginning for letting go his understanding of God, himself and life: the necessary step leading to the transformed Job we meet in the epilogue.
After…
The turn comes after God’s first speech from the whirlwind as Job admits to a respectful silence: “Then Job answered the Lord: ‘See, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth.’[11] In verse 40.8, [12] God confronts Job’s limited ‘either/or’ worldview head on with a previously unthinkable challenge of ‘both/and’: that Job can be innocent and God can be just, a perspective that impels Job to a deeper grasp of reality now fully accepted after God’s second speech: Job, stripped of his ego, recants and reconsiders what being human means: “I had heard of you by hearsay, but now my eye has seen you. Therefore, I recant and change my mind concerning dust and ashes.” [13] Ellen Davis argues, “Job’s final words indicate that he accepts correction implicit in the vision and at last claims his integrity of God’s terms, surrendering to a wholeness that he can never comprehend.”[14] The voice from the center of the whirlwind clearly demonstrates to Job that he is not at the center of the universe.
It is a transforming surrender that secures the courage for Job to claim this new integrity and identity with forgiveness, joy and lightheartedness, knowing that things are not at all the same. He can pray for his tormenting ‘friends,’ and perhaps most telling of all, he has the courage to once again have children: to reinvest in family and life with full knowledge of the uncertainties that life entails. The change in Job from a fearful and circumspect man, anxious about the possible sins of his children, to a forgiving, carefree, parent that can name his daughters Dove, Cinnamon, and Eye of Horn Shadow, as well as breaking with all social norms by leaving them an inheritance, shows just how far Job’s character has been changed by his inspirational model, God.
In many ways, the book of Job is posing the great question – Is there a living God beyond what we can imagine? Is there a Being independent of us, beyond the boundaries of earthly life and earthly struggle? Is there a God who speaks with a voice that is not simply projected out of our own human consciousness? Is there a God that can deliver us from the dust? In a word, yes.
Job teaches several faithful responses: speak to God honestly and directly, trusting that God will answer; risk living and loving, even after great pain; and delight in a world that is wild and beautiful and risky, trusting in the faithful God who created and still sustains that world. Job’s willingness to once again embrace life, fully and joyously, is at the very heart of what it means to be human and to engage in faithful living – even when it appears that there is nothing in it for us. Life within the limits of human wisdom is a life of radical faith – to borrow a phrase – it is a free fall into the arms of what our hope tells us are the outstretched arms of God. It is a life that sees the truth of the cross and embraces it.
I can personally testify to the dilemma Job faced. What I once treasured was taken from me when we lost our daughter Sarah. What I once worshipped proved to be a golden calf. Blinded by the greed of wealth, I did not see that my two business partners were stealing from our company and our investors. What I valued turned to dust as our house and cars were repossessed and my freedom was taken from me. In the midst of great pain, I too cried out and like Job, I was changed.
Job was with me at my wife’s bedside when I broke the news of Sarah; Job was at my side as we endured five miscarriages until the gift of Skylar. Job was at my side as we faced living on the streets; Job was at my side all throughout separation from my family while I was imprisoned. Job was at my side in the midst of my deepest darkness and greatest pain and ultimately taught me to see things from God’s perspective; I began to live in joy with my wife and daughter, the greatest gift from God second only to his son: my life was more than restored.
The fear of the Lord, says scripture, is the beginning of wisdom and the lesson that I am continually learning is that through Job and all of scripture, the living God of infinite power, yet infinite mercy, speaks to all of us that have the ears to listen. However much the storms of this life may batter me within and without, I know that I can put my hand in the hand of the man from Galilee. Perhaps you will too.
[1] NRSV
[2] Job 1.1, NRSV.
[3] Carol M. Bechtel, ed., Touching the Altar: The Old Testament for Christian Worship, The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Liturgical Studies Series (Grand Rapids, Mich: William B. Eerdmans Pub, 2008), 183.
[4] Job 1.4-5, NRSV.
[5] See Job 1.8 and 2.3
[6] He is blessed with seven sons and three daughters, the perfect complement of children. See Gerald Henry Wilson, Job, New International Biblical Commentary Old Testament Series 10 (Peabody, Mass: Hendrickson Publishers [u.a.], 2007), 19.
[7] Job 1.3, NRSV.
[8] Job 1.20-21, NRSV.
[9] Job 2.10, NRSV.
[10] Job 3.20, NRSV.
[11] See Job 40.3-5
[12] “Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be justified?” NRSV.
[13] Job 42.5-6. I find agreement here with the arguments for the translation offered by Ellen Davis in Ellen F. Davis, Getting Involved with God: Rediscovering the Old Testament (Cambridge, Mass: Cowley Publications, 2001), 141.
[14] As found in Carol M Bechtel, Job and the Life of Faith: Wisdom for Today’s World (Pittsburgh, PA: Kerygma Program, 2004), 52.
A Prodigal's Periodical 