Week 30, July 21–27: Nehemiah 12–Romans 16

• Sun      7/21     Job 1–2
• Mon     7/22     Job 3–5
• Tue      7/23     Job 6–8
• Wed     7/24     Job 9–11
• Thu      7/25     Job 12–14
• Fri        7/26     Job 15–17
• Sat       7/27     Job 18–19

This week we move back into to the OT after finishing Romans. Job follows Ezra-Nehemiah in canonical order in our Bibles, though it is not placed there for chronological reasons. We really don’t know much about the date of the events of Job or the date the book was written, or even who wrote it. However, we really don’t need to know those things to understand the book. In fact, the anonymity of the author and the unknown time period in which it was written and in which its events take place all provide an openness for us as readers to see the book as relevant to us no matter what our context is in the world and in history. Its message is one God’s people has found to be deeply meaningful in what it communicates about God and about how he relates to his people. It is a book that speaks to the vastness of our Creator God, and our relative smallness in comparison. It also speaks to the unseen realm in which the Lord sovereignly operates, and it sheds light on the sometimes-mysterious ways we fit into his cosmic plans.

The opening two chapters serve as an important narrative prologue that frames the rest of the book. We are let in on some inside information Job and his friends know nothing about, information that would significantly reshape the way they are understanding the suffering Job is experiencing. This privileged perspective we get as readers gives us a God’s-eyed view of what went on behind the scenes between the Lord and the adversary, Satan. We know that God allowed Satan to strike Job and bring great suffering in his life. The cause of Job’s suffering is the attacks of Satan, which God allows. We also know the divinely authoritative assessment of Job’s character; he is upright and blameless (1:1, 22) and he fears God (1:8–9), which is the Bible’s defining feature of righteous, godly wisdom (Prov 9:10).

Job’s suffering is not a result of his sin. This truth undercuts the basic premise of the argument Job’s three friends relentlessly try to make in response to his cries of lament. Essentially, they believe Job is suffering because he has sinned, and they are trying to convince Job of this and persuade him to repent. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar apply the concept of retribution theology to Job’s situation. Retribution theology, in a nutshell, is the idea that if you sin, you will suffer. This is a biblical concept; one that can be seen clearly all over the Bible (for example, Deuteronomy 28). But Job’s friends have reversed the logic of retribution theology. They assume that it also means if you suffer then you must have sinned. Their assumption is the same as that of Jesus’ disciples in John 9, when they see a blind man and ask Jesus, “Who sinned, this man or his parents?” (John 9:1–2).

The book of Job is a corrective to this kind of misapplication of retribution theology. Job’s friends know their theology, in part at least. Maybe they know the Torah or other parts of the OT. But they misapply their theological understanding and assume things that should not be assumed. Yes, it’s true that sin has consequences and will ultimately result in devastating suffering. But this does not mean all suffering is a result of sin. The book of Job corrects this faulty theological logic, and in doing so it gives us comforting perspective on our suffering and the suffering of those we love.

Job is a unique and fascinating book for many reasons, and one of its distinctive features highlights some important interpretive principles. Job’s friends have some very insightful things to say, and some of what they say, taken on its own, is theologically true and profound. Take for example this stanza from Eliphaz:

“As for me, I would seek God,

     and to God would I commit my cause,

who does great things and unsearchable,

     marvelous things without number:

he gives rain on the earth

     and sends waters on the fields;

he sets on high those who are lowly,

     and those who mourn are lifted to safety.

He frustrates the devices of the crafty,

     so that their hands achieve no success.

He catches the wise in their own craftiness,

     and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end.

They meet with darkness in the daytime

     and grope at noonday as in the night.

But he saves the needy from the sword of their mouth

     and from the hand of the mighty.

So the poor have hope,

     and injustice shuts her mouth." (Job 5:9–16)

This sounds a lot like something we would read in Psalms. However, some of what Job’s friends say is absolutely not true, particularly in the places where they accuse Job of sin. This highlights the importance of considering context in our interpretation. If we were to take those faulty statements on their own, out of the context of the whole book, then we would be misreading the meaning of those verses.

In this notion we are also reminded that when we read we are seeking to understand and respond to the meaning intended by the author in the text. Our main goal is not to interpret what the characters in the passage are saying. Rather, our goal is to interpret the words on the pages of the Bible. Another way to put it is that the inspired meaning of Scripture is in the written text (2 Tim 3:16–17), not in the words of the conversation between Job and his friends. This concept is important in a book like Job, where it’s obvious some of what Job’s friends say is not true. And it is something that’s good to remember in the rest of our reading through the Bible too.