a quarrel with God

the story of Job (part 2 of 4)

introduction 

Isn’t it incredible that some of our most prolific and unrecognised poets are actually teenagers? With all the hormones raging and the emotions in complete turmoil, the significant number of teens express themselves using poetry. That poetry may not be particularly good, but it is a natural and appropriate medium for expressing the questions of our heartache.

Humans often think that whingeing during times of suffering is inappropriate and unbecoming. But isn’t it interesting that Jesus uses the words of David to express His own anguish: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Ps 22:1, Mk 15:34). In this respect, Jesus sanctifies and legitimises the complaint against suffering, while the story of Job legitimises the use of poetry to complain about suffering —have I mentioned yet that the book of Job is an extended poem?

Job 23:1-17

Then Job replied:

²“Even today my complaint is bitter;

his hand is heavy in spite of my groaning.

³If only I knew where to find him;

if only I could go to his dwelling!

⁴I would state my case before him

and fill my mouth with arguments.

⁵I would find out what he would answer me,

and consider what he would say.

⁶Would he oppose me with great power?

No, he would not press charges against me.

⁷There an upright man could present his case before him,

and I would be delivered forever from my judge.

⁸“But if I go to the east, he is not there;

if I go to the west, I do not find him.

⁹When he is at work in the north, I do not see him;

when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.

¹⁰But he knows the way that I take;

when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.

¹¹My feet have closely followed his steps;

I have kept to his way without turning aside.

¹²I have not departed from the commands of his lips;

I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.

¹³“But he stands alone, and who can oppose him?

He does whatever he pleases.

¹⁴He carries out his decree against me,

and many such plans he still has in store.

¹⁵That is why I am terrified before him;

when I think of all this, I fear him.

¹⁶God has made my heart faint;

the Almighty has terrified me.

¹⁷Yet I am not silenced by the darkness,

by the thick darkness that covers my face (Job 23:1-17).

After Job is made to suffer by Satan, and after his wife ‘rips his heart out’, Job’s friends —Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar— come to visit and console (2:11-13). They sit with him for a whole week —they just sit with him, because his suffering was so great. What admirable friends they were to recognise that, sometimes, there is nothing that can be said that can relieve one’s suffering. The best thing a friend can do in such situations is to just be available. There is much consolation provided by a ministry of presence!

Unfortunately, Job's friends begin talking, after seven days and nights, and ruin all the good support that they offered. Essentially, they debate with Job and accuse him of stubbornness in not admitting to any unconscious wrongdoing, if not conscious wrongdoing. They deduce, illogically, that, since he is suffering, he must have committed some injustice (cf. 22:5-11).

The passage that we have read together summarises Job’s response. For Job, the problem is that, in his suffering, God appears absent. Job has no comprehension of why he has been made to suffer. While he has stated twice previously that he willing accepts this suffering as a necessary part of his faith journey (cf. 1:21-22, 2:10), Job here more fully reveals his own worldview, which apparently includes a limited understanding of God.

a complaint against God

Job wants to present to God his case against his suffering (23:2-4). He does not expect God to argue back, but simply wants God to hear his plea (:6). Job does expect that, by presenting his case, the virtue of his appeal would cause God to release him from suffering (i.e. change His mind) —a theology not unlike that of his wife and his friends (:7; cf. 2:9, 4:7ff). “Job’s problem is not that of pain, nor even suffering in a wider sense, but the theological one, why God had not acted as all theory and his earlier experiences demanded he should.”

Job wants to understand the meaning and purpose of his suffering. He wants to ask God, “Why? Why me?” But God appears to be absent, unavailable, unconcerned (23:8-9).

Job believes God to be the source of his suffering (2:14; cf. 7:19ff), a belief and a suffering which lead him to despair of life (23:17; cf. 3:1ff, 6:8-9).

What case could Job possibly make in his own defence? That he is righteous (23:7, cf. 13:15b-16) —a fact clearly acknowledged by God, although Job does not know this (1:8, 2:3)— and that justice demands his suffering be relieved.

Are Job's questions wrong? His questions? No. His assumptions? Yes. His suffering is not a question of his lacking righteousness, despite what his friends and wife believe. His suffering has a completely different source.

what use is there for suffering?

Is God avoiding Job? No. 'Desert' experiences are consistent with the spiritual journey, and are employed by God for our testing and spiritual development. H. L. Wilmington’s Book of Bible Lists indicates that there are 25 reasons why Christians suffer:

1.     To produce the fruit of patience (Rom. 5:3; James 1:3–4; Heb. 10:36)

2.     To produce the fruit of joy (Ps. 30:5; 126:5–6)

3.     To produce the fruit of maturity (Eccles. 7:3; 1 Pet. 5:10)

4.     To produce the fruit of righteousness (Heb. 12:11)

5.     To silence the devil (Job 1:9, 10, 20–22)

6.     To teach us (Ps. 119:67, 71)

7.     To purify our lives (Job 23:10; Ps. 66:10–12; Isa. 1:25; 48:10; Prov. 17:3; 1 Pet. 1:7)

8.     To make us like Christ (Heb. 12:9, 10; 1 Pet. 4:12–13; Phil. 3:10; 2 Cor. 4:7–10)

9.     To glorify God (Ps. 50:15; John 9:1–3; 11:1–4; 21:18–19; Phil. 1:19–20)

10.   To prevent us from sinning (2 Cor. 12:7, 9–10)

11.   To make us confess when we do sin (Judg. 10:6–7, 15–16; Ps. 32:3–5; Hos. 5:15; 6:1; 2 Chron. 15:3–4)

12.   To chasten us for our sin (1 Pet. 4:17)

13.   To prove our sonship (Heb. 12:5–6)

14.   To reveal ourselves to ourselves (Job 42:6; Luke 15:18)

15.   To help our prayer life (Isa. 26:16)

16.   To become an example to others (2 Cor. 6:4–5; 1 Thess. 1:6–7)

17.   To qualify us as counsellors (Rom. 12:15; Gal. 6:2; 2 Cor. 1:3–5)

18.   To further the gospel witness (Acts 8:1–5; 16:25–34; Phil. 1:12–13; 2 Tim. 4:6–8, 16–17)

19.   To make us more than conquerors (2 Cor. 2:14; Rom. 8:35, 37)

20.   To give us insight into God’s nature (Job 42:5; Rom. 8:14–15, 18)

21.   To drive us closer to God (1 Pet. 4:14; 2 Cor. 12:10)

22.   To prepare us for a greater ministry (1 Kings 17–18; John 12:24)

23.   To provide for us a reward (Matt. 5:10–12; 19:27–29; Rom. 8:16–17; 2 Cor. 4:17)

24.   To prepare us for the kingdom (2 Thess. 1:5; 2 Tim. 2:12)

25.   To show God’s sovereignty (Rom. 8:28; 1 Cor. 10:13; Ps. 66:10–12; Gen. 45:5–8; 50:20)

None of these reasons are arbitrary and none of them depend on our righteousness. All 25 of those reasons indicate that there is purpose and meaning to our suffering, unfortunate as the experience may be.

Can God legitimately be blamed for Job's suffering? God is not the cause of Job’s suffering; Satan is the cause (1:9-11, 2:4-5). As we discovered last week, it could just have easily have been another source: other adversaries of God, nature, other people, even ourselves. Nevertheless, God does allow the suffering (1:12, 2:6), for all the reasons previously mentioned. In this sense, then, God is not to be blamed for our suffering, but to be thanked —although this sentiment will certainly be missed by atheists!

will we quarrel with God?

Perhaps the more important question for us to consider is, Does God allow debate? Our theologically-trained Christian instinct would respond with a “No!”, but the witness of the Bible is “Yes”. While Job is chastised for questioning God because of his inability to comprehend the ‘bigger picture’ of creation (38:1-4ff), God still responds to Job’s presentation of his case and invites Job to discuss the issue further (40:1-2).

If we accept that God allows debate, can we acknowledge that God changes His mind? In the case of Job, God does not change His mind or defend His actions. Yet, in other examples, God does indeed, at some level, change His mind in response to discuss with His people. Consider the situation of Moses’ hesitance to lead God’s people out of slavery in Egypt (Ex 3:7ff). God guffaws at Moses’ attempts to avoid this call and provides miraculous powers (4:1ff) and Moses’ brother, Aaron, and his public relations consultant and speech writer (4:10ff). Also, consider the example of Abraham’s plea for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 18:16ff). God reveals to Abraham that He is going to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and Abraham negotiates on their behalf. Abraham is proved wrong, but this fact does not belittle the debate between God and Abraham.

Finally, consider God’s invitation to His people to “humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chr 7:14). God could very easily heal the land anyway, but He invites His people to participate in the process through prayer and righteousness. If they will not participate, then He may not act. We are invited by God to participate in His decision to act or not to act. Why invite us to participate in this way if our prayer does not actually carry any weight?

conclusion

The story of Job’s debate with God highlights for us that God is accessible, although awe-inspiring. Our creator, governor, preserver is holy and just, “high and exalted” (Isaiah 6:1); the all-powerful and all-knowing sovereign King-Above-All-Kings. Who could ever legitimately enter His presence? (Eze 1:28, Dan 8:17, Rev 1:17). Yet, He is also a god who desires an intimate relationship with His people, whom He lovingly refers to as His children and coworkers (1 Cor 3:9, 2 Cor 6:1).

As such, we are afforded the right to enter into His counsel (Eph 1:9-10, cf. Acts 20:27). He allows us to question Him, to challenge Him, to complain to Him, to weep on His shoulder —the Psalms are replete with such instances. God is not distant, although it seems that way sometimes. When He does seem distant or absent, it is always for a greater purpose than we can imagine (Rom 8:28).

response

The story of Job is a comforting story, which utilises an illustration of suffering to reveal that God cares for us deeply; His majesty puts our suffering into proper perspective. The apostle Paul reminds us that, “no testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing He will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it” (1 Cor 10:13). This may be no consolation to those in the midst of suffering, but it reminds us that life has meaning and purpose despite suffering.

Again, Paul encourages us that, “suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Rom 5:3b-4, NRSV). Call this perspective on suffering a crutch? Fine! But at least I know that I have someone to whom I can complain about my suffering, someone who actually cares and can do something about it. Despite God’s majesty, He is accessible to me and to you because He wants to be.

Do not be disheartened by His apparent distance. Be assured that your suffering is meaningful and will result in the fruit of the Spirit being realised in your life. Let us pray that we would be mindful of His love for us when He seems far away, and that we would be open to receiving His strength when our suffering makes us feel weak.

sermon delivered by Ian Forest-Jones
at Hurstville Church of Christ
on Sunday, 15 October 2006 at 10am
[email]

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