JOB: VICTOM OF GOD'S PRIDE?
I do not believe it is possible to understand how Job felt during his time of suffering. Almost everyone at some point in their life experiences times of trials and very well intentioned people tell us to “remember the suffering of Job” as if remembering other people’s suffering should bring us some sort of comfort. But is it even possible to be able to relate to Job? When we read the book of Job, we understand what took place before his suffering, or rather we understand exactly why he is suffering. We watch as Job time and time again wonders why this is happening to him or wishing in vain that he had died when he was born. It is as if we are standing above him attempting to comfort him. It is as if we are saying; “It is going to be O.K., Job. It was Satan that brought this into your life to test you or rather to test God. Wait until the end; you will get double what you had before”. We forget that Job cannot hear us and is being driven crazy trying to figure out why this is happening to him.
So how much comfort can we take from remembering the suffering of Job? We understand the reason why he is suffering—or at least we think we do—but we do not understand the reason why we are suffering. The fact of the matter is that it is possible for people who are suffering to be comforted by the reading of Job. But how? The comfort that we receive from the book of Job as we suffer is from the knowledge that Job is restored in the end. Like a movie where the main character has just been caught by the bad guys, we know it will be O.K. because the main character is Indian Jones (and we have already seen this movie).
I would like to explore some questions: what actually took place in the throne room scene, was God unjust in allowing Job to suffer when he had done seemingly nothing to deserve it and what can this book teach us about suffering—how it affects us and God’s role in it?
The book opens by introducing us to the main character. We read in Job 1:1 “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” (ESV) The characteristic of ‘blameless’ that is ascribed to Job indicates that he was not a hypocrite. Job lived according to the truth that he taught; in other words he practiced what he preached. The problem that Job’s three friends will have later is the idea that people suffer because they sin and not just little every day sins but actual cause-you-to-gasp kind of sins. They thought that was the reason why suffering enters into a person’s life. The author wants to make it clear right at the beginning that this is not the case with Job. He was a blameless man, and yet as we will see he suffers more than most ever will.
Job was both Godly and rich, very rich. The description of his wealth is lost on us today with our first world supermarkets, Wall Street, and money market accounts. Now if we were told that he had a few billion in a Swiss bank, a private Jet, and season tickets to an NFL team (I would suggest the Bears), then we could understand. When we read of his wealth (valued here in animals) we need to understand that the amount of wealth described here is at the Bill Gates level. He was blessed with sons and daughters whom he loved and cared for not just in physical, material needs but in every need. Job was diligent in his spiritual care for his family. Acting as their mediatorial priest, he would offer sacrifices for his children just in case one of them had sinned in the night. He did not wait for a scandal. He understood that sin was an ongoing characteristic of humans, and he cared for his children, body and soul.
The setting for the beginning of the book is impressive to say the least: the very throne room of God. Commentators disagree as to where this is referring to. Hywel R. Jones says that it is not to be seen as in Heaven because Satan would not be able to have access to Heaven. Driver and Gray in the International Critical Commentary say that it is Heaven. Derek Thomas, agreeing with Jones, sees a problem with the location being Heaven. “That Satan should be present among the holy angels of heaven’s court presents obvious problems. It is true that the text does not refer to ‘heaven’, but it does indicate that God is present in this location and it is difficult to imagine where else it might be.” It is always hard to talk about ‘location’ when referring to God, and I do not believe that it matters to the story. The author is trying to emphasis God’s sovereign rule over the universe. We are given the depiction of a military scene where the general gathers his troops to give out orders. God’s subjects are required to give an account for their activity.
Verse six tells us, “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD and Satan also came among them.” The phrase “the sons of God” is intriguing. Who are the sons of God? Are they angels? Are they good angels or evil angels or both? The listing of Satan as “came among them” is interesting as well, because if all of the angels were there would not an additional listing of Satan be redundant? It could be that Satan is out of place at this gathering, or it could also be a way for the author to introduce the character. Hywel R. Jones says; “It is therefore the duty of all the angelic hosts to attend. And Satan comes too, not as a gatecrasher but out of necessity, because he too is one of them!”
In any case we are told that Satan was there. There is a question whether or not this is actually the Satan or if this is a literary device attempting to portray the antagonist in the story. Driver and Gray refer to the Satan character as “The Satan.” David Thomas agrees,

The word ‘Satan’ means ‘adversary.’ Some translate it the ‘accusing angel,’ and suppose that the being represented here is not that great arch-enemy of souls, the prince of the power of the air, so often spoken of in the New Testament; but some high officer in God’s spiritual kingdom, whose mission it is to inspect and test the moral characters of God’s children in this world, and to report the same to his Great Master—a recording angel.
It is true that the interpretation from the Hebrew would be “the Satan.” It seems very odd that there would be an angel in the heavenly realm whose task it is to bring into question the dealings between God and His people. It makes better literary and spiritual sense that this angel would be a fallen angel who would seek to destroy someone who is obedient to the Lord. Derek Thomas, quoting J.I. Packer, believes that it is Satan himself. “The mentality of Satan is a mystery whose depths we can never plumb: not just because Satan is an angel, while we are men, but also because Satan is purely evil.”
The conversation between Satan and God is very interesting. As Satan presents himself before God, he is asked where he has been. Satan answers, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.” (v.8) The LORD immediately inquires concerning whether or not Satan has noticed the LORD’s servant Job, adding that there is no one like him on earth and that he is a blameless and upright a man who fears the Lord and avoids evil.
This raises a question, why would the Lord ask this? It is almost random. It would be easier to say that God is guiltless of any provocation against Job if Satan had come to the LORD and started to criticize the LORD concerning Job which then would have prompted the LORD to defend His and Job’s honor. But this is not the way it is written. The LORD is the one who brought up Job in the first place. Matthew Henry in his commentary on Job says, “The question God puts to him concerning Job: Hast thou considered my servant Job? As when we meet with one that has been in a distant place, where we have a friend we dearly love, we are ready to ask, ‘You have been in such a place; pray did you see my friend there?’” This may have been the tone that the LORD was using. This is also a story and the author would have needed some way to introduce the conflict. If however, we were able to blame God for dealing with Job unjustly, this would be evidence for that. Satan here has answered the inquiry from the Lord and has not sought to attach any of the LORD’s subjects. It is God who puts Job front and center before the one whose very name is accuser.
Another area of study for this book is whether or not this was a parable or an actual account of a real story. Both sides have argued for many years and the argument continues. The reality of this story can have some bearing on how we interpret it. If the story is an allegory our focus would be shaped much more symbolically, focusing on the nature of God. If this is a historic account, we would need to read it focusing on the interaction between Job and God. Both views end up touching on the same themes; however, I believe that if this is merely a story it would dull the message regarding our understanding of who God is and how he deals with His people.
True to his name the accuser accuses God of blessing Job in such a way that his blamelessness is called into question. “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land”(v. 9-10) God has protected Job and blessed him abundantly. It is like politics in Chicago, as if the LORD has bought Job off so that Job might be a mighty example of an obedient servant for Him—a religious “you scratch my back, and I will scratch yours.” This is Driver and Gray’s assessment as well. “Yahweh has given a good price to the man for the life which pleases Him so much; and the man has had the sense not to imperil a good bargain by failing in his part of it.”
In verse 12 the LORD answers, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” The use of the term “very well” indicates that there is more going on here than we have a recording of. There seems to be an unspoken understanding in the question/answer dialogue that the reader is not privileged to understand. Satan is calling into question the very integrity of God. He is implying that the only reason why someone would be a follower of the LORD is because of blessing. The friends of Job would follow the same logic but from their perspective. They held that only those that are followers of the LORD will be blessed. Those that disobey God will be cursed.
If both Satan and the friends are correct in their understanding, the best way to test this theory is to remove all of the blessings that the Lord has given Job. By bringing devastation quickly and in one day, you would leave little doubt that the hedge of protection surrounding Job had been removed. The severity of the removal is incredible—everything that Job possesses including his children are taken from him in one day. There can be no doubt to Job that this was an act of God.
What was the motivation of Satan? Was it to prove that God’s people would be faithful through adversity, or was it to discredit God? I believe that it was to discredit God, and not just that but to make God a mockery. Hywel Jones makes an interesting point. “If all that Job had were to be taken from him, he would not just put Jehovah out of his mind temporarily, but renounce him openly and permanently”
It is hard not to see Job as a pawn in this game. Satan is seeking to humiliate the LORD, and the LORD is seeking to prove that the devotion that Job gives is much more than out of gratitude for riches. But what about Job? Was there something that he had done to bring this on himself? The fact of the matter is that he did not do anything to bring this anguish about. In verse twenty, Job did not see this as the result of some great evil that he had done. The LORD was the one who gave, and He has every right to take it away. Often our initial reaction is the right reaction. As time goes by, our sinful heart can turn our true understanding into false reason. The question remains, was Job just a pawn? In one day, all that he had had been wiped out. His riches were stolen, his children were killed, and he was left with a wife, his health and a few very lucky servants.
Chapter two opens up with a repeat of chapter one. Once again, the sons of God are coming before Him and Satan is among them. The same question is given and the same answer is given. The LORD adds to His boast concerning Job. “He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.”(v.3) Job is still faithful to the LORD even though all that he had had been taken away from him. It is unclear how much time has passed between that fateful day and this second throne room scene—a month, a year, two years? There must have been enough time for Job to have proved that he would not denounce God. He had remained His faithful servant and though now poor still worshiped.
The LORD brings out an interesting aspect regarding the former confrontation. He states that it was Satan who had incited God to afflict Job. The premise of this paper is to examine if God was unjust in afflicting Job. If the LORD’s intentions were for some spiritual teaching of His own, why would He have needed to be incited by Satan? If God had no intention whatsoever of testing Job or of using Job so that some spiritual principles could be taught to his people, why did He allow Satan to insight Him? Was Satan the one who was really in control?
The LORD’s boasting over Job’s faithfulness is almost too much for Satan to handle. You can almost see Satan’s fists clinched and his shoulders drooping as he yells, “Skin for Skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh and he will curse you to your face.” (v. 4-5) Satan refuses to acknowledge that Job could possibly be a genuine follower of the LORD. To Satan, no one can be that devoted. Sometimes it is impossible to see in others what is vacant in our own lives.
Once again the Lord allows Satan to afflict Job. Satan is allowed to harm him physically, but he is not allowed to kill him (something that Satan no doubt would have liked to have done). Matthew Henry in his commentary believes that the reason why the LORD tells Satan to be the one who actually afflicts Job is because the LORD would have had no delight in the task. Satan on the other hand enjoys this type of work so it was best to let him do it.
Job is stricken with boils from head to foot. He stank, he hurt and he was humiliated sitting in a garbage pile scrapping the puss off of his body. Formally Job had been a highly respected person who would bring a room to silence merely by entering it. Now he was barely recognizable and the butt of people’s jokes. At least he still had his wife.
David Thomas in his commentary believes that Satan corrupted Job’s wife instigating her against him. Derek Thomas and Augustine agree. “Job’s suffering was not confined to physical illness. He was also to know the pain of an unfeeling, malcontent wife … Augustine refers to job’s wife as diabolic adjutrix—the devil’s advocate” I have heard sermons that sought to exonerate Job’s wife ranging from “she got it half right, half wrong” to “she was a virtuous woman. “ I do not believe that she is without blame, although I think that calling her the advocate of the Devil might be a bit harsh. It would be wrong for us to forget that she too is suffering; she has lost her children, her livelihood, and for the most part her husband.
She had been the wife of a highly respected man and a mother of many children, a sign of great pride in that part of the world at that time. She may have even had pity of her husband—seeing as he was already as good as dead, she merely was giving him a suggestion that would help him into the grave. Cursing God would have brought about swift, deadly judgment from the Almighty. Along with the tragedy of losing her children and all of her wealth, she also may very well have had doubts about her husband. She may have thought Job guilty of some great evil. Why should her understanding be any different than Job’s three friends? Lest I exonerate Mrs. Job too easily, I have to point out that her husband’s estimation of her advice was that it was foolish.
The throne room scenes are over, and Satan disappears from the story. Job is left to be “comforted” by his friends, and as the days pass he begins to long for the end to his suffering. His friends show him kindness by sitting and waiting with him for a week before launching into their speeches. I suppose they meant well, but meaning well and getting it wrong is not without its consequences. Job chapter 42 tells us that unless Job prayed for the three friends the Lord was going to kill them. This judgment was based on their incorrect assessment of the situation that Job was in and by a misrepresentation of the truth of God.
They believed that God blesses the righteous and God curses the unrighteous, a very easy doctrine to believe when you are rich. Throughout the book Job desires two things: one is that God would hurry up and kill him or that he would have died the day he was born. The second is that the Lord would come and meet with him so that he might plead his case. He wanted to have this audience with God so that he could ask what he had done to deserve this. It seems that to a degree Job was under the same impression as his friends that the LORD blesses those that do good and afflicts those that do evil. His first reaction to the affliction was that “the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord,” (Job 1:21) but in Job 13: 2-3 Job says, “What you know, I also know; But I desire to speak to the Almighty and to argue my case with God.”
I said it was to a degree that Job was under the same impression as his friends because Job goes on to chastise his friends for misrepresenting God. “Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay.” (13:12) His friends have absolutized the truth that God blesses those that are good and punishes the wicked. So if Job is being punished, he must have been wicked. Job pointed out to them that there are many wicked people that are rich and live a life of ease; the reverse is also true that the righteous often are poor. He longs for someone to come and mediate between him and God.
What Job is basically saying is that God works different ways with different people so that it is the LORD that decides who will be blessed and who will suffer. Satan’s accusation was not calling into question the faithfulness of Job, he was calling into question the goodness and character of God. Satan was accusing God of exactly what Job’s three friends believed. That God enters into a relationship with man along the lines of a “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” relationship. So in defense of Himself, God allowed Satan to bring judgment on Job. The question then is does God have or does He not have the right to do what He will and still remain righteous?
Job has been asking for two outcomes to his distress: his death or a chance to put God on trial. In chapter 38, Job is given that chance, and in a great example of “be careful what you wish for” the presence of the Lord is overwhelming. After three cycles of speeches where Job’s friends seek to convince Job that he must have sinned and Job defending his innocence, the group of men are left sitting in silence on a trash heap having made no progress. A great whirl-wind breaks onto this earthly stage and calls those assembled to attention. This is quite a contrast to the assembly of angelic beings at the beginning of the book. According to The New Bible Commentary, the use of the whirl-wind by God was “an old symbol of divine revelation” There is no doubt about who is speaking to them.
“Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: ‘Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’” (38:1-3) A problem that Job has had since this all started was limited knowledge. He was attempting to figure out what the LORD was doing, and his conclusion was that God was wrong in punishing him when he was innocent of any wrong doing. Job like all of us wanted a reason for his suffering; sometimes the not knowing why is the worst part of any affliction. So the Lord comes to enlighten Job regarding who God is and why He does what He does.
The LORD accuses Job (as well as his friends) of “darkening the counsel by words without knowledge.”(38:2) The many words that have been spoken in regards to trying to figure out why this has happened to Job has done nothing more than to make the matter harder to understand. Like trying to find a lost quarter at the bottom of a pond, the more you move your feet looking for it the muddier the water becomes. God’s call for Job to listen is much more then getting his attention. Hywel R. Jones points out, “Here is a call to arms, or to a wrestling bout, but the combat is to take place in a court of law.” This was much more than Job waiting for an answer; the LORD was going to enter into the debate that Job had been having since chapter four.
The question that I have been exploring is whether or not God was just in His dealings with Job. It is here in chapters 38-42 that we are given the answer-- yes. It would have been helpful to Job for God to simply explain to him what happened at the beginning. Job was a devoted follower of the LORD and would have been honored to know that he was being used by God. He would have understood that God was demonstrating to the great accuser that Job was a faithful servant based only on his love for God.
This is not what the Lord does for him, He was under no obligation to do so. Instead the Lord demonstrates to Job that God is the sovereign ruler of all of creation, over the heavens and planets, over the birds and the beasts. In chapters 38-39, the LORD asks a series of rhetorical questions concerning the mysteries of this universe. Can Job tell Him how the eagles know it is time to fly south or how horses can run so fast and jump so well? Was Job around at the very creation of the planets? Was Job privy to why the mighty waves only go so far up the shore? The point in all of these questions is to show Job that he is limited in his knowledge and understanding. The Lord has created and determined wonderful mysteries that Job will never be able to figure out. The point is that because Job only has partial knowledge of the way the Lord works, he should be still and trust in the Lord.
Job’s reaction in chapter forty demonstrates that he gets the point. In verse two God asks Job a very crucial question, “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?” Job answers in verse four, “I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth.” A more accusing and to the point question from the Lord is in verse 8, “Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?” The best understanding that Job had was contained in his assessment of losing everything back in 1:20-22. “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And said, Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.” Job understands this now and covers his mouth and is silent in the presence of God. He realizes that he is devoid of understanding and should trust in the Lord’s power and wisdom.
In chapter 42, Job speaks with greater knowledge and wisdom, “Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” (v. 3) Job is humbled and repents for his mistrust of the Lord’s intentions. He understands that the Lord has purpose for everything He does and He is under no obligation to explain Himself to anyone.
This same truth is put forth in Romans nine by the Apostle Paul. Paul was discussing God being sovereign in election. He chose Jacob and not Esau before they were born, not based on anything that they had done but for His own reason and purpose—reasons that are only known to Him. Paul anticipates the question, “How can God be just if He does this based on nothing but Himself?” Paul answers this,

What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, for this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. (vv. 14-18)
Again Paul anticipates the question,

You will say to me then, ‘Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?’ But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? (19-21)
Our understanding is limited. We can try to understand why the Lord brings different types of circumstances into our lives, and I believe we can even ask for knowledge and understanding. But there are times when we will struggle through affliction with very little understanding as to why it has happened to us. I ask again—Was the Lord unjust to Job, can the Lord be unjust to us? No. Psalms 145:17 tells us, “The LORD is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.” When we doubt this we need to remember, “the Lord gives and the Lord takes away blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21)