Chapter 21 offers yet another of Job’s speeches. Here he begins by
asking: “As for me, is my complaint addressed to mortals?” (21:4) The answer is
“no”. Job’s complaint is addressed to God. Job longs to come before the
Almighty. In chapter 23 he says,
Oh, that I knew
where I might find him,
That I might
come even to his dwelling!
I would lay my
case before him,
And fill my
mouth with arguments.
In short, Job wants to have his day in court.
I had a class in
seminary many years ago where we studied the Wisdom literature of the Hebrew
Scriptures. In that class, we held a sort of mock trial where Job presented his
case before God and Job’s “friends” testified against him. I do not remember
how the trial turned out; perhaps the conclusion was similar to the one at the
end of the book of Job. However, that little exercise helped
us to visually see, and to act out, what was going on in this book. Job longed
more than anything else to come into God’s court and to be heard by the
ultimate judge.
Job’s main question in this section of the book is simply: “Why do the
wicked live on, reach old age, and grow mighty in power?” (21:7) His assumption
is that if God were truly just, this would not be the case. If God were truly
just, the good would prosper and not the evil ones of this life. Job comes to a
similar conclusion as that of the author of Ecclesiastes. From a purely human
perspective, life sometimes seems meaningless, for everything ends in death.
One dies in full
prosperity,
Being wholly at
ease and secure,
His loins full
of milk
And the marrow
of his bones moist.
Another dies in
bitterness of soul,
Never having
tasted of good.
They lie down
alike in the dust,
And the worms
cover them. (21:23-26)
In chapter 22, Eliphaz denies Job’s nihilism outright. Life is not
meaningless. Rather, God is working out his purposes. “If you are suffering
Job, then it must be God punishing you for your sin.” That is Eliphaz’ repeated
response, like a broken record. “Is not your wickedness great?” (22:5) The
solution to this problem, according to Eliphaz, is not to continue complaining against God but rather
to agree with God about one’s sin and be at peace. “In this way good will come
to you.” (22:21)
Eliphaz’ response sounds right, and true, and biblical. There is just
one problem: it is not based upon actuality. Eliphaz’ high-sounding theology is
misapplied. We, the readers, know what Eliphaz does not, because the narrator has told us in the introduction. Job is a righteous man. Therefore, he is not suffering for his sin. There must be some other reason for Job's pain.
Job’s response to Eliphaz, in chapter 23, reaches another pinnacle of
faith. Despite the fact that Job cannot find God in his mess, he continues to
believe that God sees him and holds him in remembrance....
But he knows the
way that I take;
When he has
tested me, I shall come out like gold….
For he will
complete what he appoints for me. (23:10,14)
Despite Job’s pain and depression, he has moments, pinpricks, where
the light shines through.
However, in chapter 24, Job plunges back into
despair. “Why does God not keep office hours?” he asks in 24:1. “Why do those
who know him never get an appointment with the Almighty?” Instead, the wicked
are allowed to do whatever they like. Meanwhile…
From the city
the dying groan,
And the throat
of the wounded cries for help;
Yet God pays no
attention to their prayer. (24:12)
Once again, Job’s stark honesty is startling; if we are honest,
then we too must admit that sometimes this is exactly how life looks. In the
end, there seems to be no hope. “Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters;
so does Sheol those who have sinned.” (24:19) We are back to Sheol again, with
no mention of the possibility of resurrection; the Kinsman-Redeemer is no
longer in sight. This leads me to think that Job’s eloquent, almost Christian
comment (“I know that my redeemer lives.”) in chapter 19 was really the
addition of a later editor of this book.
One more thing to notice: Job never mentions Satan. He attributes all
that is happening in his life to the sovereign hand of God. This suggests that
the introduction to this book, where we meet Satan in God’s heavenly court, was
written by a different author than the main body of the book. Job knows nothing
of the cosmic battle between God and Satan that is being waged over his own
life. If he did know of this battle, would his life make any more sense? Probably
not; the thought of humans having to undergo suffering because of a
cosmic wager is not a very comforting thought.
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