Job is not the hero, God is.
Some things to note in paticular:
the one thing Job desired most was to die. And that is the one thing God would not allow. In the end of the narrative we see that God was focused all along on the heart of Job. He was not interested, at this point in Job's life, with his deeds or words.
All his kids are dead
All his servants are dead
All his camels, donleys, and oxen are stolen
Now it is down to him.
Job 2:5
"But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!"
And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life."
Here we see that Job will not die. This will become the greatest evil that Job will experience.
Satan suggested the following to God "But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!" (1:11)
So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.
Job 2:8
And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes.
Job 2:9
Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!"
At this point Job's wife was externalizing her feelings. This evident in the text. Feelings she knew were also her husbands. He was known as a great man...but she knew him as a man, one who lost everything and filled with pain inside and out. She could not hold back her honest thoughts. She was truthful and asked her husband to be true as well.
But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
Here we see the text is specific that Job did not sin with his lips. We know that a person sins in his heart. This detailed editorial given in the text is redundant and is meant to make a point. The point is that Job was using what some might call today 'Godly words'. Thes are used to mask truthful emotions that that might give evidence of a fear, doubt, even hate.
Now when Job's three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place--Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. For they had made an appointment together to come and mourn with him, and to comfort him.
We see the whole narrative that Job could not see. Because he did not heed his wife's advice God could not enter into the discussion he desired to have with Job. He would have to suffer the 'help' of his friends for the next 35 chapters. (ever experience that?)
But finally, his sinless 'lips' mentioned in 2:10 can no longer hold in the truth of his self-rightous heart. And God can enter into conversation with him. And have a real heart to heart. This was the intent of God all along. To reveal Jobs heart and reason with him concerning its condition.
Remember that He held two meetings for this specific pupose.
Job 1:6. 2:1 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.
Job 38:1
THEN the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:
Job 38:2
"Who is this who darkens counsel
By words without knowledge?
Job 38:3
Now prepare yourself like a man;
I will question you, and you shall answer Me.
Now, will you read this in a popular commentary (or any)? Will you consider that Job's wife was not evil? I don't know, maybe not. Will this understanding help you consider the trappings of your own heart? Will it help you to trust that God is not a bully and can take, wants to hear, anything you feel that is true? I hope so. He really is love.
No comments:
Post a Comment