Job - Why?

Lesson 7 - Job-"Why?"

• Job's Situation
• Job's Friends
• Job's Conviction
• Job's Complaint
• God's Answer to Job
• And the Lesson Is . . . ?

Jeremiah had an advantage over most of us - he knew exactly why he was suffering. God had called him to be a prophet, but there was little profit in it for him (OK - another bad pun!). Every time Jeremiah stood on a street corner, in the temple grounds, or in the palace courtyard and proclaimed the word of Jehovah his audience turned against him. Beatings, jail, slander, and plots faced him every time he stood up in public.

He, however, was no dummy! If he kept quiet, he'd be left alone. But when he tried to be silent, to deny the pressing burden to speak, God's word was like a "fire in his bones!" He had to cry out - he had no choice.

Yes, he suffered and he took those sufferings to God in direct, confrontational, emotional language. But he never asked "Why?" He knew exactly why he was suffering.

Job's Situation

May I recommend Job, one "who feared God and shunned evil"? Yes, that's how he's described in the first chapter of the book of Job. Too bad he never read it! That's right, Job never knew why life crashed in on him. All he knew is that suddenly, for no reason whatsoever, everything was ripped from him - possessions, family, and friends.

He woke up one morning, embraced his wife, showered and dressed, and went down to breakfast. The maid handed him his coffee and the Wall Street Journal. Suddenly the door crashed open and the foreman of his camel crew staggered in - "The Chaldeans - your camels - I'm the only one who escaped to tell you!" Others quickly followed like the tolling of funeral bell. The last messenger, covered with dust, brought the worst news . A house had collapsed in a sudden windstorm - his children were dead.

The next morning a distraught but still faithful Job tried to rise from the couch where he'd finally fallen asleep after weeping to exhaustion. He couldn't move. His limbs ached, his joints refused to bend. In a few days his entire body was covered with large, putrid sores. His health broken and his possessions gone, Job dragged himself outside to the garbage dump and tried to figure out what had gone wrong. The last thing he heard was his wife's despairing cry - "Why do you hold on to your integrity? Curse God and die!"

Integrity? Yes, the one thing he clung to was his integrity. He had done nothing wrong - he did not deserve this.

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Job's Friends

Three friends came - Eliphaz, Zophar, and Bildad. Yes, Job called them "miserable comforters," but they were definitely his friends. They came to him when no one else would. They offered Job the best they had - their companionship and counsel. Unfortunately the latter obscured the former.

Gently at first, then with increasing shrillness they tried to justify Job's situation. Their logic was perfect - God is just, rewarding the righteous and punishing the wicked. Job is being punished. Therefore, Job, you have done something to deserve this suffering.

Yet the harder they tried to persuade Job, the harder he dug in his heels. "I have done nothing wrong!" he cried. "I have done nothing to merit this suffering!"

The "discussions" between the four move in three cycles -

1. Chapters 4 - 14
2. Chapters 15-21
3. Chapters 22-31

In Chapters 32-37 a fifth person, Elihu, joins the conversation. Finally in Chapters 38-41 God speaks to Job from the whirlwind and the book concludes in Chapter 42.

Four times in these cycles Job cries out to God -

• Chapter 7
• Chapter 10
• Chapters 13-14
• Chapter 16:6-17:16

These cries of anguish are the basis of our final lesson on prayer.

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Job's Conviction

Throughout the "discussions" Job maintains his innocence, especially in chapters 26-31. When you read these chapters remember where Job "is coming from." He's not claiming moral perfection equal to God's. He is claiming that he has done nothing to merit any of this suffering.

His friends, on the other hand, argue that he must "deserve" them, for God isn't unfair. Job is suffering, therefore Job "deserves" it. There's more depth to their argument than my simplistic summary, of course, but that's how they come at Job.

Job, however, knows that this explanation doesn't fit. "Look around you!" he yells. "The wicked are FDH!!! (FDH - a Hebrew phrase denoting, in English, "Fat, Dumb, and Happy"!) How do you explain that?" There had to be more to it than "sin = suffer." Job didn't know why he was suffering, but he knew it wasn't because of his sin.

Job, of course, is speaking the innermost thoughts of our hears when we suffer for no apparent reason. Have you ever hurt for no reason? Did life suddenly turn against you without cause? Have you ever come face to face with life's unfairness? I think we all have, some far more than others.

What do we say in those times? Perhaps platitudes - "God has his reasons." "The Lord gives, the Lord takes away." "It could be worse." We say these things, but my guess is we say them more for public consumption than out of private conviction.

What do we think in those times? "Why me?" "What did I do to deserve this?" Why is life so unfair?" "I don't deserve this!" "God, what are you doing?" God, why are you doing this?"

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Job's Complaints

Now let's look briefly at Job's four cries and see what we can learn by looking over his shoulder.

His words in Chapter 7 sound almost blasphemous -

Yes, they sound blasphemous, but they may also sound familiar, like a recording our deepest, most secret thoughts when we were or as we are going through our suffering. I doubt if I could have Job's courage and cry out like this publicly, but I have no doubt that I could think these things privately.

In Chapter 9:32-35 he bemoans the fact that God is in full control and he, Job, can do nothing. O, that there were some way to summon God into court as an equal so I could confront him face to face!

Anger, insults, challenges! Job's "prayers" are full of heartfelt, honest emotions. God, leave me alone! God, why are you doing this? Does my suffering satisfy some little whim in your heart? Could I say these things? No! Could or have I thought them? Yes.

In Chapter 13 Job continues his cry for an answer from God -

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God's Answer to Job

Chapters 38-41 give God's answer to Job. When, however, you first read them you might think that God was teaching a biology class instead of listening to Job. Over and over again he challenges Job with natural phenomena - "Have you considered . . .? Can you explain . . .? Do you know . . .?" The first time I read this I shook my head. Job obviously got the point, but I sure didn't!

Now I think I have an idea. Both Job and his friends were speaking from limited information and knowledge. God is making the very point to Job that Job made to his friends: even casual observation shows there's more too it than meets the eye.

Job's friends accused Job of sinning because he was suffering. Job pointed out that everyone could see the wicked enjoying their FDH existence. Job than blamed God for not giving him an explanation. God turned Job's argument against him by showing him that there are many things in the physical world he doesn't understand, much less the spiritual world.

God never gave Job a direct answer as to why he was suffering. Neither did he deny that there was an answer. He simply pointed Job to the unexplainable things in nature and, by implication, the unknown things in the spiritual realm. "There is an explanation, Job, but I'm not telling you right now. Trust me."

Now the personally important question - when will God tell you why you are suffering when, deep down inside, you know you don't deserve it? For most of us the answer is Not in this life. Most of us do not and will not find direct answers to our "Why" questions. Our faith will be stretched, torn, and possibly damaged. It is our task to not let it be destroyed.

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And the Lesson is . . . ?

Summarizing the book of Job is like summarizing the beauty of a glittering diamond - which facet do you describe? It's too rich, too deep to even try. So let's look at a few rays coming from this gem.

1. There are few limits on what we can say to God, especially in times of unexplainable suffering.

Job's cries to God strike us as insulting, degrading, and nigh unto the "sin unto death." God, however, never comes down on Job for anything he says. In fact, in 42:7 he says the Job spoke what was right about him!

2. If God is not offended by honest cries, we shouldn't be either.

What would we have thought had you been sitting next to these people on the ash heap? Would I have wanted to jump up and tell Job to stop talking like that? Would I have been offended? The answer, I confess, is Yes.

Thanks, Jeremiah, for showing me that I can. Now I need to do it.

3. Our suffering has a spiritual dimension.

The book of Job makes this clear in Job's case, and I have no trouble extending it to others like him. Paul hints at this when he writes that the Church shows God's wisdom to those in heavenly realms -

4. Prayer, open, honest prayer is an important part in handling our situations.

Job, Jeremiah, David, and Jesus all turned to prayer in times of deepest need. They wept, hollered, challenged, and plead. God listened and, in some cases, answered. Each eventually left this world, consoled in some part through prayer.

Our God is has enough self-confidence and self-esteem to listen to our deepest thoughts without being offended. We can do something with him that we cannot, in all likelihood, do with anyone else. We can speak our hearts.

OK - that's what I've learned.

Now, what have you learned?