Tucked in the heart of the Hebrew scriptures, a series of books of ancient poetry and wise dialogues tell us not only about our walk with God, but about the nature of God Himself. The view we get is in glimpses only, but it is an essential view for a complete picture of God.
- Job openly addressed the issue of suffering as not simply coming from the actions of evil in the life of the one afflicted (a common theme of Mesopotamian authors).
- Psalms reflect the worship life and experience of praise of the ancient worshipper.
- Proverbs offer timeless principles of life.
- Ecclesiastes warns of the emptiness of a life lived for self.
- Song of Songs tells the story of romance from the heart of a God who created it.
These writings offer deeply contour and richer texture to our understanding of Who the Master is. At the same time, the book in question (Job) is not definitely fixed in history for us. Sometime near the beginning of the second millennium God dealt with a man who lived on the edge of a dessert southeast of Israel. Based on the notion that the measure of wealth for the man was in animals and children, along with the fact that their appeared to be a Patriarchal rule system rooted in the story – we presume the events recorded were from a time before Abraham, perhaps around 2000 BCE. There was no mention of Israel by the author, the book is silent on the Law or ancient Hebrew worship system, offering some scant evidence to suggest the possibility that “Jobab” of Genesis 10:29 may have been the man of the story, we really know very little about his actual identity beyond the fact that he was from Uz.
The story includes eight major speakers (not including a token sentence from his Job’s wife): a narrator, God, Satan, Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, Elihu and may have been put in this form as early as the time of Moses, explaining how it got acceptance into the Canon of the Hebrew Bible. Some have sought to stress a connection of the Arabian “Uz” with Midianite journeys of Moses – we simply don’t know. What we do know is the story presses an intense and practical demand – and the truth it yields is not a popular one in these days of democracy.
Key Principle: God has the absolute right to tell His story in my life, even if I cannot make sense of what He is doing. I am called upon to trust that He is doing it the best way possible. I am not called to feel the truth, just to trust Him.
Like a lifeguard that comes to the rescue of the drowning, we are often tempted to fight the only one with the power to stop us from going under in broken sobs or bitter rage. We have to come to trust the One we serve – or we will not serve Him as He requires. The issue was not that Job was not suffering because of
sin – he was sinning because of suffering. His sin was the resistance that God could tell His story any way God chose to do so. It is understandable, and still wrong. His elevation of self is so natural to our warped senses that we side with him against God in the fairness issue – and that is the point of the book’s dialogues. Never get to the place where God owes you something. Never get to the place where your compassion votes God’s Word as wrong and your heart as right. God has absolute rights in all things, for only God understands them all.
The story is not unfamiliar, and it is only necessary that we set God’s speech, which is the heart of all that we will examine in this lesson. The prologue of the book has eight parts to it, designed to move the drama from prosperity to potash – a good guy faces what seems to any bystander to be the scathing punishment of an angry God (though that is NOT what is truly happening at all):
Job opens with an opportunity to meet Job- a really good guy (1:1-5). He is described as pure, upright, reverent, distinct, blessed and sensitive to his spiritual legacy. He was consistent in his care for the things of the Lord (1:5). When the crushing news of his economic losses and family destruction arrived in waves, he scarcely had time to catch himself: A succession of four runners arrived to tell him of a Sabean attack on his servants, donkeys and oxen; a lightning storm that incinerated his sheep and servant shepherds; three Chaldean bands that attacked his camels and servants; a wind storm that shattered the home where his children were gathered – killing all the extended family. Job was leveled in his heart by powerful waves of grief and sorrow. Yet in all this, he did not turn away from God. That didn’t happen until his wife and friends went after him to share that he was secretly at the center of the problems.
Off stage of Uz, far above in the Heavens lay the real answer (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-6). God allowed Satan to try to prove that he could remove Job’s allegiance by fouling his blessings. God gave Satan permission to pummel the life of the righteous, so that God could tell His story – the self declaration of Who He is – to Heaven and earth. After attacking his family and wealth, the enemy turned, with Divine permission, to attacking Job’s health in order to press Job into impatience as the enemy hoped for overt complaining and ultimately rebellion. Job 2:7 “Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a potsherd to scrape himself while he was sitting among the ashes.”
Job’s wife called on him to “curse God and die”. Three friends who sat with Job as wise elders of the village for many years, called on him to take responsibility. Eliphaz, the eldest, spoke from his experience, and even from a dream, demanding that Job take responsibility, Bildad spoke from tradition and Zophar from a dogmatic view that stripped Job of any possibility of innocence, Finally, a young servant named Elihu (who sat and listened to the lengthy dialogues) joined in the “eat Job fest”. Our lesson begins when all of their voices fell silent. The friends had pressed and prodded the now deeply discouraged Job. God stepped in to offer the truth – and the truth was not what had been shared up to that point. God offers five truths we must grasp that will help us get through the painful losses of life. They come down to one truth:
Key Principle: I am unqualified to understand the part of His story that God is telling through my life, and therefore must trust Him to do it correctly.
- When we assume that God needs to answer our queries, we assume that God needs additional information because He lacks some knowledge we can provide!
38:1Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, 2“Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge? 3“Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!
- When we press our case to have an explanation for things we believe we undeservedly experience, we assume that we grasp things at a level to understand the answer God could offer. The problem is our comprehension (not simply God’s ability to explain). The best teacher can only communicate to a student that has ample understanding of the foundational truths.
a. We don’t have the experience of how things fit together in the physical world.
38:4“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, 5Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? 6“On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy? 8“Or who enclosed the sea with doors When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb; 9When I made a cloud its garment And thick darkness its swaddling band, 10And I placed boundaries on it And set a bolt and doors, 11And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther; And here shall your proud waves stop’?
b. We have no experience in how light and darkness interact:
38:12“Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, And caused the dawn to know its place, 13That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it? 14“It is changed like clay under the seal; And they stand forth like a garment. 15“From the wicked their light is withheld, And the uplifted arm is broken.
c. We have very limited exposure to the places beyond our immediate context to know how one place affects another:
38:16“Have you entered into the springs of the sea Or walked in the recesses of the deep? 17“Have the gates of death been revealed to you, Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness? 18“Have you understood the expanse of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.
d. We do not truly comprehend where things come from, or how things are prepared to cover events and needs in the physical realm:
38:19“Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And darkness, where is its place, 20That you may take it to its territory And that you may discern the paths to its home? 21“You know, for you were born then, And the number of your days is great! 22“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, 23Which I have reserved for the time of distress, For the day of war and battle? 24“Where is the way that the light is divided, Or the east wind scattered on the earth?
e. We have only the slightest ideas of how the ecosystem is controlled and how physical properties are changed.
38:25“Who has cleft a channel for the flood, Or a way for the thunderbolt, 26To bring rain on a land without people, On a desert without a man in it, 27To satisfy the waste and desolate land And to make the seeds of grass to sprout? 28“Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew? 29“From whose womb has come the ice? And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth? 30“Water becomes hard like stone, And the surface of the deep is imprisoned.
f. We have only seen one side of a small number of the planets, stars and constellations – and cannot intelligently discuss their interactions with any certainty.
38:31“Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, Or loose the cords of Orion? 32“Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, And guide the Bear with her satellites? 33“Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, Or fix their rule over the earth?
g. Virtually nothing in our atmosphere responds to our commands and directions, for we barely can control our own thinking.
38:34“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, So that an abundance of water will cover you? 35“Can you send forth lightnings that they may go And say to you, ‘Here we are’? 36“Who has put wisdom in the innermost being Or given understanding to the mind? 37“Who can count the clouds by wisdom, Or tip the water jars of the heavens, 38When the dust hardens into a mass And the clods stick together.
h. The animal world, once given to the control of man, has been lost in the Fall. We have lost our right to control the natural world, and God has supplied in spite of us to meet the needs of our destroyed system:
38:39“Can you hunt the prey for the lion …prepare for the raven its nourishment.. ..know the time the mountain goats give birth? .. observe the calving of the deer? … 5“Who sent out the wild donkey free? And who loosed the bonds of the swift donkey, … 9“Will the wild ox consent to serve you…39:12“Will you have faith in him that he will return your grain And gather it from your threshing floor? 13“The ostriches’ wings flap joyously With the pinion and plumage of love, 14For she abandons her eggs to the earth And warms them in the dust, 15And she forgets that a foot may crush them… 17Because God has made her forget wisdom, And has not given her a share of understanding. 18“When she lifts herself on high, She laughs at the horse and his rider…19“Do you give the horse his might? … He goes out to meet the weapons. 22“He laughs at fear and is not dismayed…26“Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars, Stretching his wings toward the south? 27“Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up And makes his nest on high? 28“On the cliff he dwells and lodges, Upon the rocky crag, an inaccessible place. 29“From there he spies out food; His eyes see it from afar. 30“His young ones also suck up blood; And where the slain are, there is he.”
3, When we try to force an answer from God concerning our hurts, we assume we are His equals, and have some right as the created to stare in the eye of the Creator.
40: 1Then the LORD said to Job, 2“Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who reproves God answer it.” …40: 6Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm and said, 7“Now gird up your loins like a man; I will ask you, and you instruct Me. 8 “Will you really annul My judgment? Will you condemn Me that you may be justified? 9“Or do you have an arm like God, And can you thunder with a voice like His? 10“Adorn yourself with eminence and dignity, And clothe yourself with honor and majesty. 11“Pour out the overflowings of your anger, And look on everyone who is proud, and make him low. 12“Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him, And tread down the wicked where they stand. 13“Hide them in the dust together; Bind them in the hidden place. 14“Then I will also confess to you, That your own right hand can save you.
4. When we demand of God an answer, we forget that we cannot truly comprehend the power necessary to control the dangers of the world.
40:15“Behold now, Behemoth (Heb: “beast par excellence”), which I made as well as you; He eats grass like an ox. 16“Behold now, his strength in his loins And his power in the muscles of his belly. 17“He bends his tail like a cedar; The sinews of his thighs are knit together. 18“His bones are tubes of bronze; His limbs are like bars of iron. 19“He is the first of the ways of God; Let his maker bring near his sword. 20“Surely the mountains bring him food, And all the beasts of the field play there. 21“Under the lotus plants he lies down, In the covert of the reeds and the marsh. 22“The lotus plants cover him with shade; The willows of the brook surround him. 23“If a river rages, he is not alarmed; He is confident, though the Jordan rushes to his mouth. 24“Can anyone capture him when he is on watch, With barbs can anyone pierce his nose?
5. When we argue with God about our sufferings, we act like the great enemy of God in arrogance. We assume we know how the battle must be fought, and that we are up to the task of understanding the cosmic battle of the ages.
41:1“Can you draw out Leviathan (large marine animal
– Ps. 104:26) with a fishhook? Or press down his tongue with a cord? 2“Can you put a rope in his nose Or pierce his jaw with a hook? 3“Will he make many supplications to you, Or will he speak to you soft words? 4“Will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him for a servant forever? 5“Will you play with him as with a bird, Or will you bind him for your maidens? 6“Will the traders bargain over him? Will they divide him among the merchants? 7“Can you fill his skin with harpoons, Or his head with fishing spears? 8“Lay your hand on him; Remember the battle; you will not do it again! 9“Behold, your expectation is false; Will you be laid low even at the sight of him? 10“No one is so fierce that he dares to arouse him; Who then is he that can stand before Me? 11“Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine. 12“I will not keep silence concerning his limbs, Or his mighty strength, or his orderly frame. 13“Who can strip off his outer armor? Who can come within his double mail? 14“Who can open the doors of his face? Around his teeth there is terror. 15“His strong scales are his pride, Shut up as with a tight seal. 16“One is so near to another That no air can come between them. 17“They are joined one to another; They clasp each other and cannot be separated. 18“His sneezes flash forth light, And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. 19“Out of his mouth go burning torches; Sparks of fire leap forth. 20“Out of his nostrils smoke goes forth As from a boiling pot and burning rushes. 21“His breath kindles coals, And a flame goes forth from his mouth. 22“In his neck lodges strength, And dismay leaps before him. 23“The folds of his flesh are joined together, Firm on him and immovable. 24“His heart is as hard as a stone, Even as hard as a lower millstone. 25“When he raises himself up, the mighty fear; Because of the crashing they are bewildered. 26“The sword that reaches him cannot avail, Nor the spear, the dart or the javelin. 27“He regards iron as straw, Bronze as rotten wood. 28“The arrow cannot make him flee; Slingstones are turned into stubble for him. 29“Clubs are regarded as stubble; He laughs at the rattling of the javelin.
30“His underparts are like sharp potsherds; He spreads out like a threshing sledge on the mire. 31“He makes the depths boil like a pot; He makes the sea like a jar of ointment. 32“Behind him he makes a wake to shine; One would think the deep to be gray-haired. 33“Nothing on earth is like him, One made without fear. 34“He looks on everything that is high; He is king over all the sons of pride.”
I am unqualified to understand the part of His story that God is telling through my life, and therefore must trust Him to do it correctly.
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