Job 3-42
The poem of the trials of Job is a fascinating read. I really wish I could read and understand the original Hebrew because the language and flow of the poem is probably lost in the translation. It took some real focusing when I first started into the book. I kept getting lost in the language and the characters. I’m thankful for all the footnotes and extra information that is included in my Bible. I don’t think I fully appreciated the advice from Job’s buddies the last time through. These wise old men from the early days of civilization all provide some great insight and observation of the nature of God. However, even though they may speak some truth they also are condemning their poor friend for wrongs and trespasses that he did not necessarily commit. The lesson I gained from their statements was that even though they were wise in understanding the nature of God based on the information they had at the time it is arrogant to assume you can possibly know everything about God.
The poem runs in a set of three cycles. Each cycle starts with Job and is an interaction with each of his friends in the same order. At least up until chapter 31. After that some other character pipes up that was not mentioned in the previous chapters. He claims to be the ‘youngest’ of the old men, but he kind of just shows up out of nowhere to reprimand everyone.
Satan: The Accuser, the one that accuses man of breaking the Laws of God and reports back to the Creator. Being the one that focuses on the negative aspect of humanity over thousands of years would probably skew the perspective of an individual. This story sort of presents a prologue for the story of the Enemy, as he is referred to in the New Testament. You see the beginning of the rebellious nature of this angel as his accusations switch from humanity to a challenge of God’s omnipotence.
Job: The righteous sufferer. The poem revolves around his perspective that he is an innocent man suffering for no good reason. Time and time again he brings up the fact that he has led an honest life and been a decent human being to all those he has come in contact with. He has always been loyal to his God and given him praise for all the blessings he has received. Even when he is at his wits end and covered in sores he does not accuse God of doing wrong. He simply wants an answer as to what he has done to offend God. I was really drawn to the passage Job 13:26 where Job hints at the fact that he knows he has done something wrong or some things wrong and it may have happened in his early days. We are all idiots in our late teens and early twenties, no matter how good we want to be. Everyone makes mistakes. Yet, to Job the punishment does not match the crime. He simply wants an explanation.
When God shows up at the end and gives the Ultimate Beratement (my favorite part, btw) the response to Job is righteous indignation and almost a mocking tone when God asks if Job had ever caused the sun to rise or the oceans’ tides to change. God never tells Job about the stakes at play with Satan’s challenge. God makes it very clear that there is no need for the approval from the creation to rule as the Creator sees fit. However, God does offer praise to Job in the fact that Job represented the Creator the most accurately compared to the other guys.
Eliphaz: The name of Job’s first friend is an interesting one. Eliphaz is called a Temanite in the text. Teman is a major city in the ancient land of Edom. In the book of Genesis we find the name Eliphaz again, as the eldest son of Esau, nephew to Jacob (Israel), and the father of the Edomites. The name is believed to have been chosen because the perspective of Eliphaz’s argument to Job is based in Edomite philosophy. That philosophy being grounded in the principle that the righteous people of the world do not suffer, possibly even conquering death. Only the wicked suffer and in equal measure to their sin. He believes that Job is either lying to his friends or to himself about the sins that have warranted this punishment.
However, when God shows up he is shown the error in his logic. The same God is also the healer in life as well as the one who punishes. Eliphaz believed that these two things were based only on whether a person does good or does bad. Very black and white. God convicts Eliphaz of having a false understanding of Divine Dispensation. Job understands the fact that, from a human perspective, things work much more randomly.
Bildad: Another fun name to dissect. Bildad is referred to as a Shuhite from the lands near ancient Chaldea (Babylon) and Arabia. These people are supposedly descendants of Shuah, the son of the Patriarch Abraham and his second wife Keturah. Bildad has a slightly softer approach and tries to offer support for Job. Yet, he always ends up sounding like Eliphaz only a little more so. In fact there is almost an hysterical element as he ramps up his argument and accuses Job of speaking wickedness and impiety towards the Creator of All Things. Bildad even goes so far as to say that Job’s children deserved to die for whatever sins they committed.
Zophar: Probably the quietest of the three he is by no means the least harsh. He is referred to as a Naamathite, but the land of Naaman is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible and I can’t find a lot of information about it. One thing that was interesting is that the name Zophar is a Gentile name. Gentiles were non-hebrew. He kind of sounds like he might be the oldest and he kind of rambles on and on about the consequences of sin and how Job is getting what he deserves. Zophar is pretty blunt and really rips into Job accusing him of being a really wicked person.
Elihu: Where did this guy come from?!? According to the text he is descended from Nahor which can be traced back to the descendants of Shem, son of Noah. He definitely has a softer and kinder approach towards Job than the other three, but that doesn’t stop him from cutting the poor guy down. Elihu argues that the righteous and the wicked suffer and prosper equally. However, it is always at God’s discretion as to why these things happen. A wicked person may prosper by the standards of the world, but eventually God’s justice will be meted out. He claims that the righteous may suffer in the present to avoid an even greater sin from arising in the future. Sometimes suffering is used to make the person stronger or even a warning sign of future dangers. After Elihu speaks he is again gone from the story and God shows up for his big monologue. Interestingly enough Elihu is the only not chastised by God, like the other three friends, for misrepresenting the nature of God. Job is also given praise, after a heavy lecture, as being the only one that represented the nature of God correctly. Not sure what happened to Elihu. Some think he may have been inserted later on in the construction of the Old Testament as a counter argument to the other three friends similar philosophies.
