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SUFFER THE SLINGS AND ARROWS: DIALOGUES WITH JOB (Being Published) Though an army encamp against me My heart shall not fear; I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. Psalms 27:3,13 Introduction “Have you considered My servant Job?” This was God’s question to Satan as he tested God with the possibility that love was only a means to an end and not an end in itself. Sometime in the mid to late 80’s I read an article by Philip Yancey in Christianity Today Magazine on Job. This article began my fascination with that Job. I am thinking that the article was an excerpt from an upcoming or recently published book, but I do not know which. I kept (and still have) most of the articles that interested me from that period, but I was not able to find that particular piece. Since that time, I have read more articles on his story; I have read the book many times over; I have listened to lectures and sermons on Job; and I have read books that dealt with what some claim to be the greatest piece of literature ever written. Many secular and religious critics, alike, agree that Job is an exceptional work both in the beauty of the text and the level of its thought. It continues to make its way into the “great literature” lists and anthologies. The story has confounded, angered, and excited readers for what may be 1000’s of years and it continues this trend today. I have heard that it is the oldest book in the Bible and that it may be one of the oldest pieces of literature in existence (there are, of course, disagreements on this matter). For the purposes of my story, I have dated Job’s life around the time of Abraham (2100 BC). As such, I have tried to be somewhat true to my understanding of the culture of that time as I describe lifestyles, living quarters, furnishings, food, dress, and customs. The thought processes presented in this narrative is, I admit, clearly western and tinted by 4000 years of history (50 of which are my own). Therefore, the direction of the dialogue is colored by my experiences and the conclusions are the answers that I have gleaned by placing Job’s story up against the narrative we call the Bible--the story of God reaching down to man and man reaching up to God. I love the Old Testament. It is life as one encounters it in a world ruled by sine. Its heroes are real people with real issues who try their best to make life work as it should, yet end up short of the mark. This is where God continually tries to intervene, but only with the cooperation of his subject. For the past 3-4 years, I have read and re-read the Old Testament with great enjoyment and passion. In the Old Testament one discovers real people, living real lives, dealing with real circumstances in the middle of a very real and very fallen universe. For the most part, these folks understand that the best way to make things work as they should is to connect with God, but most fall short of this goal and few ever sustain this connection for long. Even the man described by God as being a “man after My own heart”, David, ( I Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22 ) had issues that would lead any modern observer today to recommend that he be placed in a strict counseling regimen (if not in jail). His Psalms depict extreme bouts of depression, anger, joy, bitterness, and revenge. His son, who many believe wrote the best how to book ever—Proverbs—and one of the greatest love poems ever (Song of Solomon) ended up (again what many believe) writing the most dark and pessimistic book in the Bible (Ecclesiastes). One sage has said to live is to suffer and the people of the Bible are no different. One of the most endearing aspects of the Bible and one that lends credence to its claim as being inspired is the fact that it does not gloss over the foibles (and many are stupendous) of its great men and women. It even records them railing and shaking their fists at God (Moses, David, Elijah, David, Jeremiah, and Habakkuk). They are not super-beings. These people confront great dilemmas, make great mistakes, and suffer great consequences. God is always present, however, reaching down and offering to pull them out of the muck (Psalms 40). The Old Testament is about individuals who endure life and it presents a loving, patient God Who never, ever gives up (even as He declares His most destructive edicts, He always follows with a proclamation of some future opportunity for reconciliation with the accomplishment of Christ being the ultimate reconciliation—Isaiah 50-66). The story of Job encapsulates the story of the Old Testament and is applicable to all. Job, as LaGard explains, takes us back before the prophets, before the teaching of the law, before the promises “to a man who is not even one of the children of Israel . He is just a lone human being who finds himself in terrible suffering for no apparent reason.” (F. LaGard Smith, The Daily Bible, Job and the Problem of Suffering) It tries to make sense out of a fallen existence as it answers the question of, “Can man love God for who He is, or does man need to be bribed in order to love?” Then, “Is love that results from bribery really love at all?” In a broader sense the question is, “Is it possible to have a pain free universe that offers freedom of choice, i.e. the freedom to love or not to love?” I hope that the reader discovers from my presentation of Job that suffering can only make sense when the answers to these questions come from outside the realm of the pain-producing circumstances, that is from the realm where there is ultimate meaning and purpose, from the realm we call the Kingdom of God. Indeed, it can be successfully argued that a world without pain would be meaningless and banal. Discomfort motivates and total complacency creates apathy which leads to atrophy. Pain accomplishes two things in us. It builds character and it drives us into the arms of God. Job encourages us to rise above the suffering and find contentment in God Himself….not in His provisions. Seek God’s face, not His hand. Why is character important and why must we be forced to seek the arms of God. These arms are our destiny. It is what we were designed for. Augustine said it best 1600 years ago: There is obviously, then, some kind of blissful vision reserved for us; and if at present only a partial glimpse may be caught through a glass in a dark manner, yet the radiant beauty of that beatitude which God stores up for them that fear Him, which He perfects for them that hope in Him, utterly transcends the power of speech. It is for this that our hearts are being trained in all the hardships and trials of this life. Do not feel surprised at being schooled amid toil: you are being schooled for a wondrous destiny. (On Psalms 36, Serm. 2; trans. ACW 30, 274-275) Let’s call this being schooled in character. It has been said that God is more interested in our character rather than our comfort. Character, I believe, must play a role in enhancing the relationship with our Father as we walk the paths of eternity. I believe that the quality of that relationship is the rewards that Paul speaks of and the crowns that John envisions. This is not our home, eternity is and it will be defined relationally. God offers us the opportunity to prepare for that home now. The nature of my presentation here is mystical and relational, not theological. Look for delineation of truth in Scripture not in this book. I do not deal with salvation except to hint at it in Chapter 5, “Is There a Formula”. Even there, Job is (by implication from Hebrews 11) looking forward to that unknown we now know to be Christ who is the only way. This book deals with suffering and how to best endure; and that endurance comes from a diligent pursuit of God. To be honest, I fear that relatively speaking, I have not suffered. Do not discount my word; however, truth is truth regardless of the messenger. I have endured difficult times to be sure, but I must admit that these were mild and cannot be compared to the level of sufferings endured by Job and many thousands since. Suffering of this magnitude may or may not come my way. If it does, I may shake my fist at God as Job did (or I may not); however, I am confident that God will be faithful and patient. He will emerge at just the right time and we will talk. From that point, the circumstance may or may not change, but God and I will walk the road of life together and it will be that togetherness that will make the difference between endurance and defeat. Have you considered God’s servant Job? Read on and consider him now. Enjoy. Wayne Wilson Cabot, AR June 2009 Note: All quotes from Scripture are taken from the English Standard Version. He who binds to himself a joy Does the winged life destroy; But he who kisses the joy as it flies Lives in eternity’s sunrise. Eternity, William Blake …even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it [the sinful city destined for wrath], they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness. Ezekiel 14:14 Preface FULLY HAPPY? In the land of Uz, there lived a man, righteous and God-fearing, and he had great wealth, so many camels, so many sheep and asses, and his children feasted, and he loved them very much and prayed for them. "It may be that my sons have sinned in their feasting." Now the devil came before the Lord together with the sons of God, and said to the Lord that he had gone up and down the earth and under the earth. "And hast thou considered my servant Job?" God asked of him. And God boasted to the devil, pointing to His great and holy servant. And the devil laughed at God's words. "Give him over to me and Thou wilt see that Thy servant will murmur against Thee and curse Thy name." And God gave up the just man He loved so, to the devil. And the devil smote his children and his cattle and scattered his wealth, all of a sudden like a thunderbolt from heaven. And Job rent his mantle and fell down upon the ground and cried aloud, "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return into the earth; the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord forever and ever." Fathers and teachers, forgive my tears now, for all my childhood rises up again before me, and I breathe now as I breathed then, with the breast of a little child of eight, and I feel as I did then, awe and wonder and gladness. The camels at that time caught my imagination, and Satan, who talked like that with God, and God who gave His servant up to destruction, and His servant crying out: "Blessed be Thy name although Thou dost punish me," and then the soft and sweet singing in the church: "Let my prayer rise up before Thee," and again incense from the priest's censer and the kneeling and the prayer. Ever since then- only yesterday I took it up- I've never been able to read that sacred tale without tears. And how much that is great, mysterious and unfathomable there is in it! Afterwards I heard the words of mockery and blame, proud words, "How could God give up the most loved of His saints for the diversion of the devil, take from him his children, smite him with sore boils so that he cleansed the corruption from his sores with a potsherd- and for no object except to boast to the devil 'See what My saint can suffer for My sake.' But the greatness of it lies just in the fact that it is a mystery- that the passing earthly show and the eternal verity are brought together in it. In the face of the earthly truth, the eternal truth is accomplished. The Creator, just as on the first days of creation He ended each day with praise: "That is good that I have created," looks upon Job and again praises His creation. And Job, praising the Lord, serves not only Him but all His creation for generations and generations, and forever and ever, since for that he was ordained. Good heavens, what a book it is, and what lessons there are in it! What a book the Bible is, what a miracle, what strength is given with it to man! It is like a mould cast of the world and man and human nature, everything is there, and a law for everything for all the ages. And what mysteries are solved and revealed! God raises Job again, gives him wealth again. Many years pass by, and he has other children and loves them. But how could he love those new ones when those first children are no more, when he has lost them? Remembering them, how could he be fully happy with those new ones, however dear the new ones might be? But he could, he could. It's the great mystery of human life that old grief passes gradually into quiet, tender joy. The mild serenity of age takes the place of the riotous blood of youth. I bless the rising sun each day, and, as before, my heart sings to meet it, but now I love even more its setting, its long slanting rays and the soft, tender, gentle memories that come with them, the dear images from the whole of my long, happy life- and over all the Divine Truth, softening, reconciling, forgiving! My life is ending, I know that well, but every day that is left me I feel how earthly life is in touch with a new infinite, unknown, but approaching life, the nearness of which sets my soul quivering with rapture, my mind glowing and my heart weeping with joy. Father Zosima, Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Book VI, Chapter 2