Job Speaks

Job now begins a speech (12:1 – 14:22) that is his longest until the final soliloquy in the book.

The Trial of Job: Orthodox Christian Reflections on the Book of Job, by Patrick Henry Reardon

Job 12: 1 Then Job answered and said: 2 “No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you! 3 But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Indeed, who does not know such things as these?

Job now has heard from all three of his friends. He begins by demonstrating he can dish out sarcasm when offered sarcasm by his friends while in his pain. He tells them: You have told me nothing that I don’t already know; in fact, you have offered little more than what is accepted as common knowledge. You mock me and ridicule me, the one who is just and blameless.

Unlike his three friends, Job knows there is a mystery involved in his sufferings, and he endeavors to identify it.

Tell me something new, for goodness’ sake. We know that the wicked sometimes prosper. By the same token, is it not possible that the just sometimes suffer? It’s a great question!

Of course, God governs the world and all things, including the destinies of men, but if the prosperity of the wicked is compatible with the governance of God, might not the suffering of the just also be consonant with the governance of God?

Who among men has so clear an understanding of God that God can be reduced simply to a component in some human theory of justice?

I think it is meaningful that this last question focuses on a “human” theory of justice. God is just, but the battle being fought is one beyond human understanding and unfathomably bigger than any one human being. The consequences and effects of such a battle cannot be judged just or unjust at the “human” level.

Job offers no theory of justice in chapter twelve. Instead, he offers that God can do and God does. Don’t pretend that you see things as God does. The beasts and the birds know this; ask them and they will tell you.

Job’s friends are no wiser than Job is. The difference: Job is suffering, while they are at ease. They use this advantage to pass judgement on him, who differs from them only in his suffering.

Job 13: 1 “Behold, my eye has seen all this, my ear has heard and understood it. 2 What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you. 3 But I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God. 4 But you forgers of lies, you are all worthless physicians.

His friends are speaking of what they know, speaking for God; Job has actually addressed God. None of his friends have spoken to God; Job does not pretend to speak for God. Job wants to reason with God, not reason about God. Job wants a real conversation with God, not a philosophical examination of His deity and authority.

Further, all the reasoning about God from his friends has been nothing but lies. They do not perceive that God’s ways are mysterious and inscrutable, instead they elaborate a moral theory that discredits Him by denying the subtlety of divine wisdom. Better if they would just keep quiet.

Job asks a series of unanswerable questions, bringing out the ignorance of his friends on the topic of God. He then begins reasoning with God; his trust in God will never be destroyed.

Job 13: 15 Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him. 16 He also shall be my salvation, For a hypocrite could not come before Him.

His standing with God is his sole concern, he wants nothing more than to be pleasing to God. Job knows that there is something more going on in his life than meets the eye. Were this not the case, then his suffering would be senseless. Job does not view that God does things senselessly.

If these sufferings cannot be interpreted as divine punishment, then what do they mean?

This is what Job is trying to sort out, to feel his way toward. Job recognizes that there is more happening than meets the eye. This pain in his heart is far more stinging than the afflictions in his flesh.

Job 13: 20 Only two things do not do to me, then I will not hide myself from You: 21 Withdraw Your hand far from me, and let not the dread of You make me afraid. 22 Then call, and I will answer; or let me speak, then You respond to me.

In chapter fourteen, Job turns from considering his own suffering to considering the human situation or condition.

Job 14: 1 “Man who is born of woman Is of few days and full of trouble. 2 He comes forth like a flower and fades away; He flees like a shadow and does not continue.”

Even a tree has more hope than a man – cut it down and its roots remain; it can grow again, with its roots buried deep in the earth.

Job 14: 10 But man dies and is laid away; indeed he breathes his last and where is he?

God knows that this is not so for man; Job offers a hint that he does as well: if God calls him from the grave, Job will respond. Job’s hope is a prelude to a higher promise. It is not a theoretical hope; Job demonstrates the faith of Enoch:

Hebrews 11: 5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Job cannot justify this faith with logic, or theoretical arguments; he cannot defend it against his critical mind. Therefore, by the end of the chapter (and the end of this soliloquy), Job falls once more into despondency:

Job 14: “But as a mountain falls and crumbles away, and as a rock is moved from its place; 19 as water wears away stones, and as torrents wash away the soil of the earth; so You destroy the hope of man.”

Conclusion

And in this, we see Job’s dilemma. If he consults with that which he holds deep in his soul, Job knows that he loves God and he strongly suspects that God loves him. Yet, when he considers human existence through the lens of critical (human) thought, he only sees doom with death at the end.