Job, Another Story of Hope

My understanding of the basic point of the book of Job in the Bible is that it is about
justice and the human point of view that a righteous, Godly person is entitled to a
relatively painless, easy, and prosperous life. This point of view is not supported by the
book of Job nor by the Bible in general. We are not entitled to anything.

I believe that God does not keep tight control over every-day events, for the most part.
God designed the world to run mostly on its own. Good things and bad things happen to
good and bad people randomly and according to natural processes.

Certainly, there are some factors that tip the scales in favor of those who live good and
Godly lives. One factor would be the fact that bad behavior tends to be followed by
unpleasant natural consequences.

Another factor is that God really does respond to prayer – according to a complicated
system involving quantity of faith, perseverance in prayer, and the wisdom and
knowledge of God (the various other factors that are part of the total picture that God
knows about and we do not). All these things are part of what determines how God
chooses to answer prayers.

Also, there really are people, like Job, around whom God chooses to place a hedge of
protection. (Job 1:10) This, I believe, is also about prayer. Hedges of protection are
made of prayer, the individual's prayers for himself and other people's prayers. The
strength of any particular hedge is dependent on the previously mentioned factors --
faith, perseverance, and the wisdom of God.

However, the fact remains -- we do not earn the right to protection or prosperity by our
own goodness. God chooses to protect as a special blessing. We are not entitled to it.

Job had 3 good friends. They wept with him and sat silently with him for 7 days, sharing
in his grief and suffering. They did not speak until after Job spoke. But when they did
speak, being human, they said the wrong things. They seemed to have a strong need to
make sense of the suffering so they did what humans tend to do. They tried to find
someone to blame. People need control. They have a hard time accepting that
sometimes, when bad things happen, it is no one's fault. God was not pleased with what
Job's friends had to say. But he did not punish them. He assigned Job to pray for them.

And Job, being human also, allowed himself a time of complaining, self-pity, and
questioning God. But he chose not to give up and not to “curse God and die” as his wife
recommended. And when God's time came to speak, Job listened. He corrected his
thinking errors. He was obedient to what God asked him to do.
Was Job treated unfairly by God? I would say no. Job was not entitled to protection and
prosperity and God removed it for some period of time which was probably at most a
few months or even weeks. Job experienced all his fair share of suffering, pain, and grief
in those few months or weeks rather than to have it spread out over his lifespan (which
was somewhere around 200 years). (Job 42:10 to 16) If we look at the overall picture,
Job was an extremely blessed and fortunate man.

So if we identify with Job because we are going through a time of grief, suffering, and
great loss, then we can also identify with Job in the hope that his story represents. The
time will come that God will speak.

Sometimes we have doubts and think that God is not going to speak to us. But a few
months ago, God expressed it to me this way -- God is speaking to everyone, but not
everyone is listening.

And how does God speak to us? He speaks to us through the Bible. He speaks to us
through other people whom he sends to comfort us and share insights. He speaks to us in
dreams. He speaks to us in a quiet voice sometimes when we least expect it. And at
other times, God expects us to seek him out.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NIV) "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord,
"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then
you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek
me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

RoseDQ December 26th, 2008