[Industrialblog,
February 5, 2007]
Note on the Book of Job
For most of my youth, I thought God's answer to Job was the greatest cop-out ever. God won't tell Job why bad things happen to good people, and vice versa. His answer boils down to, when you can make a whale, starting from nothing, maybe we'll talk. I hated that answer, thinking that God, after all, owes us an explanation.
The older I get, the more I realize the arrogance of my own response and the wisdom of God's answer: The truth is, God doesn't have to explain Himself to me. Or any of us. At best, we can hope that He explains Us to Ourselves.
The older I get, the more I realize the arrogance of my own response and the wisdom of God's answer: The truth is, God doesn't have to explain Himself to me. Or any of us. At best, we can hope that He explains Us to Ourselves.
But there's another way of taking it, as well. Job says, "I don't understand why there's suffering in the world." God replies, "Do you understand why there's a world?" Job, thinks about it and says, "No." Goes replies, "Well then, there's no contradiction, is there?" Chesterton put this vastly better, of course.
There is, you know, no very good reason to expect that the creation of infinite goodness and wisdom should be easily understandable by fallen creatures who understand very little else, either. You don't have to think that God doesn't feel like explaining himself to us to believe God has a legitimate reason to be reluctant to do so.
A better example would be requiring someone to understand algebra before you try to teach them calculus.
But with that said, I think that the book of Job exists to debunk the idea that when bad things happen to good people, it is because they sinned. Job was not a sinner, and yet he got stomped in a big way. And at the end of the day Job is justified, not his friends. (Who nonetheless, I think were decent friends, coming to hang with him when he was at his lowest point.)
And God's answer? It isn't an answer. Yeah, you are big, God... ...we are all really impressed down here, I'll have you know.
I mean, think about the story, (and it is a story, in my opinon). Basically God lets the Devil take Job to the cleaners, even killing off his family, just to prove a point. What kind of God is that?
But God does prove his point - and what is that point? That God is all-powerful? That God knows better than Job or his friends? Heck, God should know better, after all God is GOD.... No, the point from the first was that Job was truly a righteous man. And God proves that point... Much to the dismay of Job, his family, his servants, and his animals.
So, yeah, I think that the book was written to debunk the idea that bad things happen to bad people, which was a common belief at the time, and some people still believe to this day.
Peace,
TWS
God didn't say, "I'm powerful and could crush you", he said, "the world is big and complex, and if you don't even understand the good in it, how can you expect to understand the evil in it?"
I agree that it debunks the idea that successful is the same as good; but I think that you're rather badly mischaracterizing God's answer. God didn't intimidate Job. Job said that he didn't understand suffering. God pointed out that Job didn't understand anything else, either. Once Job realized that, he felt better because suffering wasn't a contradiction to what he knew, it was only part of a puzzle that he barely knew.
God's answer is only inadequate if you believe that everything important about the universe can be summed up in a few sentences. The entire point of God's answer is that it can't.
Thomas Aquinas spent his whole life thinking about God, producing some of the best philosophy and theology the human world has ever seen, and towards the end of his life he said that he saw things which made all of his writings like straw. It's just possible that when trying to understand the entire universe, a little humility is in order. :)
And perhaps a bit of patience, too.
Job was a good man from Uz,
Whose life caused a biblical buzz.
He was good as can be,
Steadfast as a tree.
And blessed in all things that he does.
His faith was quite pleasing to God,
But the Devil said ‘Isn’t it Odd?’
I think Job does what he should
‘Cuz his luck is all good.
If things went real sour, he’d curse God.
Well God said “I hear what you say,
That Job’s heart is as pliant as clay.
I think you are wrong
Job’s faith is quite strong
Go ahead, take Job’s blessings away.
Horrid Satan, that very same day
Took Job’s children and riches away.
But Job, though distraught,
Had faith, and he thought;
“The Lord giveth, and taketh away”.
Now the Devil got kind of hot
Things did not turn out like he thought.
But he thought he might
Still prove he was right
And prove ill Job whom Our Lord had wrought.
So Later - inside of a year,
Satan said to God; “Isn’t it queer
How to save their own skin,
The most righteous will sin -
Even Job whom you hold so dear.”
So God said “I see you imply,
That if Job thought that he might just die,
He would sin a whole lot,
-I think he would not,
But go on and give it a try.”
So Satan made Job really sick
Inflicted him with wounds, sores and ick.
From his foot to his head
Job wished he was dead
He was so sorely tried by ‘Ol Nick
Job’s wife didn’t do him much good
She said that she thought that he should
Curse his cruel God
That traitorous clod,
And if Job fell over dead, it’d be good.
But Job with a pious ‘Aum’
Uttered a brief Hebrew poem:
“God can’t only give good,
As you think he should,
Depart from me – with my Shalom.”
Then three friends of Job came to see
How Job still managed to be;
Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar
Came from near and from far
And sat next to Job, knee to knee.
They sat quiet with Job a long while
In true friendship – they showed some real style.
They said not a word,
They looked quite absurd,
With Job they were walking a mile.
Then Job spoke - cursed the day he was born.
His life he treated with scorn,
He wished he was dead,
Or died in birth instead,
His comfortable life was so torn.
Eliphaz, Zophar and Bildad
Gave the best advice that they had -
“Confess all your sin!
-This trouble you’re in,
Must be because you were bad.”
Then God showed up in a cloud,
With a wind and some thunder real loud;
Poor Job and his friends,
Feared that this was the end;
By the Almighty they were all quite cowed.
And God said; “This is not a dig;
But you all forget I’m quite big
Though I’m with you each day,
And I won’t go away,
For piety there is no ‘vig’.
By this speech faithful Job was impressed
Though his friends were rather distressed,
They’d all learned quite well,
That life can be like hell,
And the faithful are not always blessed.
Now Job, who had lost quite a lot,
Was restored – new children he got,
He got back his health,
And twice as much wealth,
And lots of grandkids to besot.
Now I hope that Job’s lesson is clear -
Not to hold things in this world too dear -
Don’t be quick to blame sin,
When folks fail to win.
Because trouble is always quite near.
In any case, it's brilliant. And funny.