LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?
THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
(A) A little bit over a decade ago, I had a goal to read the Bible through in a year, which then fell apart when I got into the Book of Job. I had no idea what to do with the length and complicated nature of the book. I knew that Job's friends would eventually be accused of speaking inaccurately about God, while Job is credited as speaking truly of Him (Job 42:7). But, throughout the book, Job's friends often do speak accurately of God. In fact, according to Christopher Ash, "one of the very few explicit quotations of Job in the New Testament comes when Paul quotes with approval a statement of Eliphaz ([Job] 5:13 quoted in 1 Cor. 3:13)." That true statement of Eliphaz is from our reading this morning! Meanwhile, though Job is eventually credited with accurate speech about God, he is also challenged for being "a faultfinder" who "argues with God" (Job 40:2), to which Job has to admit that he has spoken "without knowledge... what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me" (42:3). This means that throughout the book of Job, each speaker says both true and untrue things about God, though it would appear that Job's overall framework for how he approaches God is more accurate. But we're not told how. That is what makes many of the chapters to follow so difficult--there is no narrator guiding us to discern which statements are true and false. So our evaluation of the statements to come have to be guided by (1) what we know to be true as revealed elsewhere in Scripture; and (2) what we know based on the overall structure of the Book of Job.
(B) We do know a couple of things from the outset. First, we know that Job is "a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil" (Job 1:1, 1:8, 2:3). So, any statement to the contrary by Job's friends is false: when their understanding of God requires Job to be a wicked man who deserves what he's getting, they are wrong. Second, we know that Job is not suffering for any sin that he has committed (Job 2:3-6). Eliphaz basically teaches a form of prosperity theology. He asks "Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off? As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same" (4:7-8). With a touch of gentleness, Eliphaz even makes the (true!) statement that all people are guilty and stained by sin, so there is no shame in Job admitting that he is deserving of God's anger, somehow (4:17-19). Except that we know, and Job knows, that he really hasn't done anything especially worthy of all the trouble that has happened to him. He is as close as any human can be to an innocent sufferer. As the book of Job goes on, our awareness of this dynamic will expose the wisdom of Job's friends for what it really is: a bunch of religious nonsense that does not correspond with any reality on earth or under heaven. The reality is that the righteous do suffer unjustly, and this means that we can't look to this life to find the reward for living faithfully for God. This makes the Book of Job a great "Yes, but" companion to the Book of Proverbs. Righteous and wise living does generally tend to "work" better than the alternative as Proverbs points out, but that's not a guarantee things will always go well. We live in a fallen world. So as a counterpoint to Proverbs, Job shows us that our hope has to come from something beyond this life, from something that will simultaneously take care of our sin problem, subdue Satan and his pursuit of God's saints, and restore the world to a state where suffering and natural disasters and disease and wickedness do not exist anymore. That's where God's rescue plan through Jesus comes in.
(C) Job points to the Gospel in a number of ways. (1) First, he is an innocent sufferer who, though he makes an offering to cover the sins of others (1:5), nevertheless suffers the wounds of wrath when he has done no wrong. (2) Second, Job's knowledge of his own innocence ("make me understand how I have gone astray," 6:24) reveals to us the need for a vision of God's justice and goodness that allows for upright people to experience significant tragedy in this life. Is there a future, or an afterlife, where the upright are rewarded and suffering is no more? The answer is yes, though the Book of Job doesn't reveal this: instead it shows the necessity for both of those things to be true. (3) Third, there are a couple of statements in our reading today that point to the Gospel. Eliphaz asks, "who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off?" (See Job 4:7.) We could raise our hands to that question and answer, "that's what happened to Jesus." Jesus came among us and became the true and better Job -the truly perfect, completely innocent sufferer- who, like Job in the beginning and end of the book, intercedes for those who have been united to him in relationship and offers up a sacrifice on their behalf. Meanwhile, Job acknowledges that he is guilty of some sin, but he asks God "Why do you not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity?" (See Job 7:21.) We know, even from the book of Job, that pardon for sin requires a sacrifice. But the sacrifices that Job offers can't be a permanent solution. To take care of the sin problem once and for all, a greater offering must be made. That's where Jesus' death on the cross in our place for our sins comes in.
RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?
(B) We do know a couple of things from the outset. First, we know that Job is "a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil" (Job 1:1, 1:8, 2:3). So, any statement to the contrary by Job's friends is false: when their understanding of God requires Job to be a wicked man who deserves what he's getting, they are wrong. Second, we know that Job is not suffering for any sin that he has committed (Job 2:3-6). Eliphaz basically teaches a form of prosperity theology. He asks "Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off? As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same" (4:7-8). With a touch of gentleness, Eliphaz even makes the (true!) statement that all people are guilty and stained by sin, so there is no shame in Job admitting that he is deserving of God's anger, somehow (4:17-19). Except that we know, and Job knows, that he really hasn't done anything especially worthy of all the trouble that has happened to him. He is as close as any human can be to an innocent sufferer. As the book of Job goes on, our awareness of this dynamic will expose the wisdom of Job's friends for what it really is: a bunch of religious nonsense that does not correspond with any reality on earth or under heaven. The reality is that the righteous do suffer unjustly, and this means that we can't look to this life to find the reward for living faithfully for God. This makes the Book of Job a great "Yes, but" companion to the Book of Proverbs. Righteous and wise living does generally tend to "work" better than the alternative as Proverbs points out, but that's not a guarantee things will always go well. We live in a fallen world. So as a counterpoint to Proverbs, Job shows us that our hope has to come from something beyond this life, from something that will simultaneously take care of our sin problem, subdue Satan and his pursuit of God's saints, and restore the world to a state where suffering and natural disasters and disease and wickedness do not exist anymore. That's where God's rescue plan through Jesus comes in.
(C) Job points to the Gospel in a number of ways. (1) First, he is an innocent sufferer who, though he makes an offering to cover the sins of others (1:5), nevertheless suffers the wounds of wrath when he has done no wrong. (2) Second, Job's knowledge of his own innocence ("make me understand how I have gone astray," 6:24) reveals to us the need for a vision of God's justice and goodness that allows for upright people to experience significant tragedy in this life. Is there a future, or an afterlife, where the upright are rewarded and suffering is no more? The answer is yes, though the Book of Job doesn't reveal this: instead it shows the necessity for both of those things to be true. (3) Third, there are a couple of statements in our reading today that point to the Gospel. Eliphaz asks, "who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off?" (See Job 4:7.) We could raise our hands to that question and answer, "that's what happened to Jesus." Jesus came among us and became the true and better Job -the truly perfect, completely innocent sufferer- who, like Job in the beginning and end of the book, intercedes for those who have been united to him in relationship and offers up a sacrifice on their behalf. Meanwhile, Job acknowledges that he is guilty of some sin, but he asks God "Why do you not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity?" (See Job 7:21.) We know, even from the book of Job, that pardon for sin requires a sacrifice. But the sacrifices that Job offers can't be a permanent solution. To take care of the sin problem once and for all, a greater offering must be made. That's where Jesus' death on the cross in our place for our sins comes in.
RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?
There are many things that we could draw out of today's reading beyond what I already mentioned. And we could respond to them in any number of ways. Maybe we could respond with worship to Eliphaz's description of God's majesty in Job 5:8-16. Or, we could consciously place our hope in things beyond how things are going with our current life situation, in contrast to the prosperity theology that Eliphaz teaches in Job 5:19-26. Or we could remember that when we are comforting those in our midst, Job's friends show us how silence and companionship is often a better anwer than offering unsolicited theological prescriptions. Or maybe something else stuck out to you, and you could share that in further comments or replies.
PRAY | HOW DOES THIS BRING US CLOSER TO GOD?
Here is a suggested prayer prompt: "Holy Spirit, help me to be a comfort to those around me when I am called upon. Help me know when to speak and when not to. Help me to live an upright life toward you, like Job lived, even if the reward for doing so is not something that I necessarily experience in this life. Help me to put my hope in You. Father, thank you that you have pardoned my transgression and taken away my iniquity through the sacrifice of your Son. And Jesus, thank you for being the truly innocent sufferer who bore the wounds of justice in my place. Help me to trust in your goodness given to me rather than in any goodness I might be tempted to claim apart from You. Amen."
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