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Last Sunday we had the privilege of presenting Bibles to our new Third
Graders. I challenged the children with these words: “Learn its
stories and study its words. Its stories belong to us all, and these
words speak to us all. They tell us who we are. They tell us that we
belong to one another, for we are the people of God.” There are
some wonderful stories in this book, stories that I fear have gone
unearthed for a long time. There are wonderful people in this book,
people that belong to us that I fear may have never been met. I
thought it would be good for us to do some summer reading in this
book. In doing so, we would like to introduce you to some old
friends you may have never met.
One of the earliest writings in this book is a story about a man named
Job. Many of you may have heard of this man and his troubles, but I
wonder if you have ever really met him. I wonder how many of us have
taken the time to read his story, all forty-two chapters of it, found
in the book of the Bible that bears his name. Time will not allow me
to read the entire book to you, but I would like to tell you the story
– give you the Kip Notes in hopes that this taste will prompt you to
read about this old friend you may have never met.
The story of Job is
a great story and it begins as all great stories do – “Once upon a
time…”
Once upon a time there was a man named Job who was a very happy man.
He had everything anyone could ever want. He had lots of kids, a
devoted wife, good friends, and possessions that left him in want of
nothing. Job was also a good man who loved God and served him daily.
Then one day, everything came crashing down on Job. The Sabeans stole
his oxen and donkeys and killed the servants tending them. Lightning
struck near the sheep and fire destroyed all of them. The Chaldeans
raided and took all of his camels, slaying some more servants. His
children were all together when a tornado took out the house where all
of them perished. Job and his wife were left with nothing. Life had
dealt him some terrible blows. Job wept, but he still held fast to
his faith. He said, “I was born with nothing, and I will take nothing
with me when I die.”
Then Job himself became quite ill. Sores broke out all over his
body. He was forced outside of the city gates, where all the sick
people were quarantined to protect the healthy people. Somewhere out
near the city dump, the once wealthy Job sat scraping his sores with
broken pieces of pottery. His wife had had enough. She told him to
curse God and die, but he refused to do that. Apparently, she went
home, because we don’t see her again for forty chapters. Job’s
friends came to visit him. They barely recognized him and wept when
they saw him. Life had dealt him some terrible blows. They sat with
him for seven days, not saying anything. What could they say? I can
imagine Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar sitting there and start to say
something, but catching themselves:
The other day I was
at the market…(too trivial)
Remember that time
we were all out camping… (too cheerful)
Last week, my son
brought me…(too insensitive)
So they said
nothing.
Finally, Job broke the silence and let out a cry that has been heard
throughout thousands of years, “Why, God! Why?” He cursed the
day he was born, wondering why he had not gone from the womb to the
tomb in Job 3:11. Life had dealt him some terrible blows.
Job’s Comforters: That’s when his friends
felt compelled to say something. What they said has caused them to be
forever known as “Job’s Comforters”, which, of course, they were not.
Eliphaz simply said, “Bad things don’t happen to good people. What
did you do wrong? God must be correcting you.”
Bildad said, “Your children must have done something wrong to have
prompted that tornado to sweep them away. That’s what happens to
godless people. Hang in there and repent of anything you may have
done wrong.”
Zophar said, “You know, it could be worse. You are actually
getting off easy. God is punishing you less than you deserve.”
Each of these men actually offered three speeches to their friend in
pain. Job, of course, had his say in response to each speech. The
poetry is quite inspiring and really ought to be read aloud.
Elihu, the young pup who showed on the scene considerably later, gave
all his advice in one fell swoop. He said he had been quiet long
enough and proceeded to let Job and his three friends have it. Then
he said what everyone believed, “God sends sickness to correct
people. God sends blessings to people who please God. If one obeys
God, one lives in peace and prosperity. If one disobeys God, that one
is to be punished. Job, you are sick and penniless. The evidence is
clear that you are being punished for something very bad that you have
done.”
Now before we completely write these men off as insensitive and
ignorant oafs, let me say two things on their behalf. One, it is not
easy to say the right thing to people in pain. Words are often
inadequate and perhaps even offensive. I was a hospice chaplain years
ago. One day I went up to the inpatient unit and heard about
Beverly. Beverly had cancer and was dying. Her family was exhausted
and took advantage of a respite provision under hospice care, where
Beverly would come into the unit for a few days, allowing the family
to get some rest at home. During her stay, Beverly became disoriented
and tried to get out of bed. She crawled over the bed rail and fell
on the floor while the nurse was out of the room. The fall caused her
hip to fracture and she was in no state to endure surgery. They
medicated her for pain, but the pain was so great that she was
unconscious for the most part. I am convinced that even in those
unconscious states, be it drug induced sedation, a coma, or end of
life weakness, people are able to hear others in the room. So I went
by Beverly’s side, let her know that I was there. Then I struggled
with what to say next. I have no idea what prompted my mind to think
or my mouth to say the absurd statement that I uttered, “I understand
you have had a tough weekend.” I understand why Job’s friends said
nothing for seven days and even after that really had nothing
appropriate to say. It is not easy to say the right thing to people
in pain.
The second thing I will say about Job’s friends is that they did not
say anything that Job had not wondered himself. It was common then,
as it is now, to believe that if we are good and follow God’s
expectations for our lives, then all will be well. For most of Job’s
life that seemed to work and he was careful not to take what he had
for granted. Job would often get up early and pray for his children,
he would feed the poor and look after the widows and orphans. The
more he gave away the more he was blessed. It all seemed to work fine
until the day that earth opened and swallowed his life as he knew it.
Job’s Confusion: So out by the city dump
he sat confused by the theology he once held and the experience he was
now enduring. He was angry and he said so. He wanted to speak with
God face to face about the whole matter and he demanded such. He
started to notice that evil men weren’t punished for their misdeeds.
In fact, not only did they get off scot-free, some of them actually
profited from their mistreatment of others. He continued to look out
and saw hurting, wounded, and dying people crying out to God and God
seemed to not respond to their prayers.
Rabbi Harold Kushner captured this confusion beautifully in the book
born out of his pain, When Bad Things Happen to Good People.
Though he often said that the question is not, “Why, God?” but rather,
“What now, God?” It is interesting to note that much of the book does
ask the question, “Why, God?” Sometimes we are confused by life and
need to be able to verbalize that confusion. The story of Job gives
us the permission to do just that.
Job’s Confidence: Yet in the midst of
Job’s confusion, he expressed a confidence that continues to inspire
hope. In Job 19:25-27 he declared:
25For I
know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon
the earth;
26and after
my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God,
27whom I
shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My
heart faints within me!
Job was confident that in the end, God would be revealed to be God and
Job would be restored. His confidence reminds me of another
individual who continues to inspire people with her words. Fannie
Crosby was stricken blind at the age of 6 weeks. She became famous as
a pupil and a teacher at the New York Institution for the Blind. She
also happened to write over 9,000 hymns. One day a preacher was
speaking to her and told her what a pity it was that she had never
been able to see. She told him that her blindness was a wonderful
gift. When the preacher asked why she said, “When I get to heaven,
the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my
Savior!” Fannie Crosby had a confidence all during her 95 years
on earth that she would see some wonderful things. She wrote about
them and we sing about them. Please stand and join together in
singing these familiar hymns paying close attention to the references
of seeing that frequently appeared in the lyrics of Fannie Crosby.
Job’s Confrontation: Job too was confident,
but he desperately needed to confront God on the inequities of life to
which he had become so familiar. So God honored that. He finally
showed up in chapters 38-41 nearly blowing Job over in a whirlwind.
He reminded Job that it was God, not Job, who created the heaven and
the earth. It was God, not Job, who provided for goats, deer, wild
horses, eagles, ostriches, and even the scary monsters of whom men are
afraid. God was God and Job was not.
The scene reminds me of the movie, “Forrest Gump”, when
Lieutenant Dan was angry with God for not letting him die in the
jungles of Vietnam where his legs were destroyed. The scene is where
Lieutenant Dan and Forrest are out at sea when a hurricane
approaches. Lieutenant Dan straps himself to the boat and shouts at
God during the entire storm and as the storm passed, Lieutenant Dan
made his peace with God. The movie doesn’t quote the book of Job, but
I could almost hear it in the quietness of the morning after the
storm. Listen to Job 42:1-6 and the differences that confronting God
and being confronted by God made in Job’s life. It is found on page
__ of your Old Testament. Hear now the word of the Lord:
Then Job answered the Lord:
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 declare to me.’
5I had
heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you;
6therefore
I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
Job came out of the crisis with his comforters, his confusion, his
confidence, and his confrontation with God - a different man. He came
out having been with God, having seen God. H. H. Rowley wrote,
“Job found an answer to his problem. For at the bottom this was not a
problem of theodicy, but a problem of fellowship…His restless spirit
found rest when he rested in God.”
Job is a friend of mine, not because of the answers he provided, but
because of the questions he raised – questions that are still raised
today. “Why, God! Why?” and somewhere in the boldness of these
questions we meet God and our eyes see him as never before. May
our restless spirits find rest when they rest in God. Amen.
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