Job- Undeserved Suffering
From the end of August until a couple weeks ago we had readings from Proverbs. Many of the proverbs are general wisdom for living a good life. They teach us to anticipate the consequences of our actions.
For example, Proverbs 10:4 says,
“A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.”
Generally, statistically, that is true. If you work hard in life, you are more likely to be prosperous.
And Proverbs 10:25 echoes the thinking of many of the prophets-
And Proverbs 10:25 echoes the thinking of many of the prophets-
“When the tempest passes, the wicked are no more, but the righteous are established for ever.”
The prophets often talk about God’s protection for those who are faithful, and disaster for those who are not faithful to God’s Law. When the people are attacked by an enemy and lose the battle, it is often ascribed to their lack of faithfulness to God’s direction, like having participated in the worship of idols.
So, this kind of wisdom is generally true. It is statistically true. … But we know there are exceptions. We can do all the right things and we can have things fall apart. And once in a while, we can see people do the wrong things- they can be mean, and cruel, and lazy, and we can see them prosper. We can see this recognized like in Psalm 73:3-5
So, this kind of wisdom is generally true. It is statistically true. … But we know there are exceptions. We can do all the right things and we can have things fall apart. And once in a while, we can see people do the wrong things- they can be mean, and cruel, and lazy, and we can see them prosper. We can see this recognized like in Psalm 73:3-5
“For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pain; their bodies are sound and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not plagued like other people.”
So within the Bible we see a kind of dialogue happening between the prophets and the writers of proverbs who say “if you do good, then good will happen to you” and those who say, “I’ve done good, and bad has happened to me. Even more, I’ve even seen the wicked prosper”.
The book of Job is a part of this conversation. The book is probably something like a parable. It is a story told to help us reflect on this dilemma of being good and not receiving good. It is a long book, so it is probably helpful to summarize it a bit as we think about it.
Once upon a time there was a man named Job, and he was the greatest man who lived in the land. Job is blameless. He’s about as good as a human being can get. He lived in a big house, on lots of land, with a big family, and many possessions. Job loves God, and turns away from evil. And God, like a proud parent, richly blesses Job with family and property. God even brags about Job to the Satan, which means “the accuser” or the “adversary”.
Satan looks at Job and tells God, “Yes, he’s good, but what happens if you take away his stuff? He’s only good because you keep rewarding him for it- Of course he’s going to be good. What happens when you take away these rewards for being good? Do you think he would still be good? I doubt it. In fact I think he would curse you right to your face.”
All parents love rewarding their children for doing good. But what happens when the rewards are taken away? Will they still choose to do good? This is Satan’s question for God, “How do you know Job really loves You, or maybe he just loves the rewards you give him? Do You really still think he would be faithful and good if there were no reward?”
God trusts in Job’s faith, and believes that Job will still love him, and that he will still be good without all the rewards. So God allows Satan to take away Job’s rewards. And there is an awful, horrible catastrophe that not only destroys his possessions, but his children as well. Job is heart broken, but he will not turn on God. … But, Satan doesn’t stop there. Next he inflicts Job with painful sores all over his body. And Job sits on an ash pile with a piece of broken pottery scratching at his skin trying to get some glimmer of relief from his suffering. … Job has no clue why any of this has happened.
Job stands as a representative of humanity and is tested without knowing it- Can a human being love God without being rewarded? Can a human being do what is right when there is no personal benefit?
Job’s friends sit with him in mourning for seven days without saying anything, but then they try to help him understand what is happening. Surely God wouldn’t allow this to happen for no reason. Either God is wrong for doing this to Job, which is unthinkable. Or Job has some awful secret sin that he is being punished for. … But, we know that this is not the case with Job. Job knows he has done nothing to deserve this. Job’s friends are trying to help, so they push him to expose the secret sin and ask forgiveness, but they are really only making things worse. Job sits with his friends among the ashes, oblivious to the causes of his suffering, but deeply wants to know “why”. And this is the Job that every one of us can relate to at some point in our life. Why is this happening? We endure some kind of tragedy, or illness, or we lose a loved one, and we want to know why? Could there possibly be any point or reason for it? How could a loving and all-powerful God allow this to happen?
The setting of the book of Job rests in the tension between two questions. On the one hand we have the Accuser’s question,
“Can people love God without being showered with rewards for their good behaviour?”
Satan is saying people will only love God and be good if there is a reward. Without rewards of property and family and protection from pain and suffering people will not love God and be good.
On the other hand, we hear Job’s question-
On the other hand, we hear Job’s question-
“Is it right for God to let those who love him suffer?”
How can God, who is good and all-powerful, watch one of his children who loves Him, suffer and not do something about it?
The setting of the book of Job rests in this tension. And out of this tension arises a third question. In this mystery of undeserved suffering, how do we speak of God? How do we speak to God? Throughout the book, Job expresses his anger to God. He expresses his questions and demands answers, but he never curses God. He never turns his back on God. In fact, he’s the only human in the book who speaks directly to God. … The friends philosophize and try to fit God and the situation into some kind of box, but Job brings his pain to God. He brings his confusion to God. He wants an answer. He maintains his gaze on God in his suffering.
In the end, after everyone has had their turn speaking, God shows up in a whirlwind. And God questions Job about the creation. It is a beautiful poem. To Job’s questioning of God, God asks Job about the mysteries of creation. Job is dumbstruck. He responds,
The setting of the book of Job rests in this tension. And out of this tension arises a third question. In this mystery of undeserved suffering, how do we speak of God? How do we speak to God? Throughout the book, Job expresses his anger to God. He expresses his questions and demands answers, but he never curses God. He never turns his back on God. In fact, he’s the only human in the book who speaks directly to God. … The friends philosophize and try to fit God and the situation into some kind of box, but Job brings his pain to God. He brings his confusion to God. He wants an answer. He maintains his gaze on God in his suffering.
In the end, after everyone has had their turn speaking, God shows up in a whirlwind. And God questions Job about the creation. It is a beautiful poem. To Job’s questioning of God, God asks Job about the mysteries of creation. Job is dumbstruck. He responds,
“See, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but will proceed no further.”
And God replies,
“Gird up your loins like a man; I will question you, and you declare to me. Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be justified?” (Ch 40).
God then asks Job about two creatures of chaos- Behemoth and Leviathan. These are God’s creatures, but they cause destruction. They are creatures of chaos.
Job has a mystical encounter with God. Previously he had heard of God, but now he sees God. And in seeing God and hearing his response, Job is transformed, but is also left speechless. His time for crying out in anger at God has ended when he encounters his Creator. He realizes how much he doesn’t understand, and can only respond with silence.
God then turns from Job, and speaks to Job’s friends- the friends who were defending God, saying that Job must have done something to deserve this because God wouldn’t do this for no reason,
Job has a mystical encounter with God. Previously he had heard of God, but now he sees God. And in seeing God and hearing his response, Job is transformed, but is also left speechless. His time for crying out in anger at God has ended when he encounters his Creator. He realizes how much he doesn’t understand, and can only respond with silence.
God then turns from Job, and speaks to Job’s friends- the friends who were defending God, saying that Job must have done something to deserve this because God wouldn’t do this for no reason,
“My wrath is kindled against you … ; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.”
God then asks the friends to ask Job to pray for them. Job prays for his friends, and God blesses Job once again with family and doubles the wealth he had before.
No answer is given to Job. The reason for his suffering is never given. We will find no easy explanations for our sufferings in this book. What we will find is words to speak to God in our suffering. Job has given us words to speak, and God has said that they are the right words. The friends who attempt to give an explanation for Job’s suffering are in the wrong. Their attempt to reduce Job’s suffering to his own sin, is what angers God. Job’s crying out to God in anger and pain is what God accepts.
The ending of Job is not about a happily ever after. But, it is an ending. It is not a naïve return to the beginning of the book where everything is sunshine and kittens. It is about going through the suffering and coming out the other side after wrestling with God. In Job’s life suffering did not have the last word.
This story, this parable, is a response to the Proverbs and the prophets that declare that if you do right then good will happen to you. … It is not always the way things go. Generally, statistically, perhaps things do. Follow the rules for living a wise life, and often things do go well… But sometimes they go terribly and we can’t seem to see any rhyme or reason for it. There seems to be a kind of chaos in the world that is allowed. And when we feel that way we have Job as our companion. But he isn’t our only companion. … Jesus is God-with-us. As the letter to the Hebrews says, he is the “Son”, the
No answer is given to Job. The reason for his suffering is never given. We will find no easy explanations for our sufferings in this book. What we will find is words to speak to God in our suffering. Job has given us words to speak, and God has said that they are the right words. The friends who attempt to give an explanation for Job’s suffering are in the wrong. Their attempt to reduce Job’s suffering to his own sin, is what angers God. Job’s crying out to God in anger and pain is what God accepts.
The ending of Job is not about a happily ever after. But, it is an ending. It is not a naïve return to the beginning of the book where everything is sunshine and kittens. It is about going through the suffering and coming out the other side after wrestling with God. In Job’s life suffering did not have the last word.
This story, this parable, is a response to the Proverbs and the prophets that declare that if you do right then good will happen to you. … It is not always the way things go. Generally, statistically, perhaps things do. Follow the rules for living a wise life, and often things do go well… But sometimes they go terribly and we can’t seem to see any rhyme or reason for it. There seems to be a kind of chaos in the world that is allowed. And when we feel that way we have Job as our companion. But he isn’t our only companion. … Jesus is God-with-us. As the letter to the Hebrews says, he is the “Son”, the
“Heir of all things, through whom [God] also created the worlds”.
He is
“the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word” (Heb 1:2-3).
If Job was a good guy…
And yet he was rejected by his own people, tortured and killed on a cross. He endured a vicious and humiliating death at the hands of the Romans. … But there was something happening in the midst of that suffering that no one could comprehend. Christ was building something out of that suffering. Hebrews continues, Jesus is
“now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone” (Heb 2:9).
Through that undeserved suffering Jesus built salvation. …
God has not abandoned us in our suffering. He has joined us in our suffering. God does not sit off in the distance watching us suffer. He joins us in all the filth, in the dust and ashes. No explanation is given, but God came to sit with us in our mess. But he will not leave us there. God will not let suffering have the last word in God’s good creation. Jesus will be with us. He will descend into the grave with us, and he will rise with us. Jesus sits with us in our pain and suffering, but he is there to guide us out of our suffering as well. He is there on the other side of our suffering. Life does not end with a cross. The cross will lead to resurrection and life that does not end. Jesus says in the Gospel of John,
God has not abandoned us in our suffering. He has joined us in our suffering. God does not sit off in the distance watching us suffer. He joins us in all the filth, in the dust and ashes. No explanation is given, but God came to sit with us in our mess. But he will not leave us there. God will not let suffering have the last word in God’s good creation. Jesus will be with us. He will descend into the grave with us, and he will rise with us. Jesus sits with us in our pain and suffering, but he is there to guide us out of our suffering as well. He is there on the other side of our suffering. Life does not end with a cross. The cross will lead to resurrection and life that does not end. Jesus says in the Gospel of John,
“in this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
AMEN
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