I was doing some studying today for my Master’s degree (in Hermeneutics), and came across an article that talked about how the book of Job deconstructs itself. That is, the message it seems to espouse is undermined by the book itself.
I’ve always thought the book of Job was a bit of a large, sprawling, confusing beast. We like to take a few bits of it and sprinkle them into worship songs ("Though he slay me, yet I will hope in him…" – "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away: blessed be the name of the Lord") but what do you think is the message of the book of Job? What is its point? Are we supposed to emulate Job when we suffer? Does it explain the reason for suffering or just how to suffer? Or is all of this irrelevant and it’s just a story about one guy?
We could look at it as simply a curious story about an ancient rich guy, but since we view it as "Scripture" it seems like it ought to speak something to us today. What do you think that "something" is? How have you looked at the book in the past? What benefit have you gotten from reading it? What questions do you have about it?
Just curious.
You might be interested in this online commentary “Putting God on Trial: The Biblical Book of Job” (http://www.bookofjob.org) as supplementary or background material for your study of the Book of Job. It is written by a Canadian criminal defense lawyer, now a Crown prosecutor, and it explores the legal and moral dynamics of the Book of Job with particular emphasis on the distinction between causal responsibility and moral blameworthiness embedded in Job’s Oath of Innocence. It is highly praised by Job scholars (Clines, Janzen, Habel) and the Review of Biblical Literature, all of whose reviews are on the website. The author is an evangelical Christian, denominationally Anglican. He is also the Canadian Director for the Mortimer J. Adler Centre for the Study of the Great Ideas, a Chicago-based think tank.
Job often reminds me of this:
http://images.despair.com/products/demotivators/mistakes.jpg
because his suffering was more for our benefit than his. He never got to see the good that came out of it. I feel like i get these main things out of it:
1) We don’t always get to know why.
2) Trust and praise are always possible, no matter the pain, no matter the silence of God.
I have had to apply both points to my life a lot lately and am very grateful for Job’s tale.
I find that the Job’s friends start off giving great advice and then end up changing and blaming Job for his troubles. I like how his friends think they are so spiritual but end up being completely wrong. Also at the end of the book God never explains why Job had to suffer but Job just repents and is content with just hearing from God. It is an amazing book.
What kind of friend are you, do you have all the answers?
Do you need to have all the answers for everything that happens to you?
Try Katharine Dell’s little bok, “Shaking a Fist at God” – she shows the structure of Job as an ancient story re-written with a large edit in the middle, and unpacks themes like irony, engagement with God in honesty, … excellent stuff.
Thanks all! Some great stuff here.