What does one do with the book of Job, really? Just the very nature of the book, the very subject of the book, lends itself to the potential of misinterpretation, or the misuse of the concepts in the book to form platitudes, simple answers to the problem of pain. I think there is even a danger of proof texting, of pulling out what one wants to see and molding it, twisting it, forming it in order to see or to hear the answers one is seeking.
Yancey seems to approach the book of Job carefully, keeping all of these potential pitfalls in mind. He not only recognizes and appreciates the fact that the scriptures here speak to suffering, but he has used Job himself as a basis for his own writing on that subject. But Yancey sees beyond that first layer, and has come to the following:
"I have concluded that Job is not about the problem of pain at all. Details of suffering serve as the ingredients of the story, the stuff of which it is made, not the central theme...Seen as a whole, the book of Job is about faith...At root, Job faced a crises of faith, not suffering. And so do we."
So, faith. Job as a book about Faith. Such a difficult thing to grasp. Will Job retain his faith? Will he lose his faith? Did he have faith in the first place? How does one even define faith? I do not understand it, I do not even begin to pretend to understand the complexities of what it means to possess, to grasp, to obtain faith.
Yancey respects, and urges his readers to do so as well, the literary features of this writing. He likens it unto a play, written by a brilliant playwright. We, the audience, are quickly given the plot in two short, concise chapters. And then begins the dialogue between Job and his friends, who espouse several different theories on the problem of pain. The tension builds, Job gives his answer. And then the pinnacle, God's response.
I wish to add here Yancey's words, since I cannot do the justice that he does in capturing these moments:
"God's speech seems most striking in what it does NOT say. In fact, the speech avoids the issue of suffering entirely, astonishing after 35 chapters full of nothing else. Why does God sidestep the very questions that have been tormenting poor Job?
God's choice of content leads back to chapters 1-2, the origin of Job's drama as seen 'behind the curtain'. Job and his friends have been discussing suffering because, trapped in the 'ingredients' of the drama, they can see nothing else. God, of course, has known all along that the real question traces back to the original challenge of Job's faith. Will a human being trust a sovereign, invisible God even when everything around him confutes that trust?"
So, what does that mean for us? What does this mean for me? What does this mean for me? I do not know. I wish I did. I know only that the book of Job, my personal and private reflections on the words found on those pages, have had a profound impact on me. I find myself OK in the wake of reading them. I find my self settled in the wake of reading them. I am reminded through Yancey's reflections that Job is a book that my personal Jesus would have read and would have been familiar with, and I like that. I have written much on Job, I have thought much on Job; I have attempted at times to even borrow Job's words as I seek to try to communicate with God. I have reflected much on Job's words to God in the passage below:
2. I know that you can do all things
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3. 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.
4. hear and I will speak;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.
5. I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees you;
6. therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes
Oh how I question. By nature I am a questioning soul. I want to know. I like answers. I like knowledge and understanding. Job had questions, too. I like that. And I like that he asked them. He was not afraid to ask his questions. And I find myself settled, agreeing with Yancey when he says:
"The book of Job affirms that God is not deaf to our cries and is in control of this world no matter how it appears. God did not answer all of Job's questions, but God's very presence caused his doubts to melt away. Job learned that God cared about him intimately, and that God rules the world. That seemed enough."
And, I also find myself praying, please God, help that be enough for me as well.
So true and fitting for my life right now. Thanks, I needed the reminder.
ReplyDelete