The Unanswered Question of Job

Scripture reading:

Outline

Introduction: Why didn’t God answer the question?

God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts

God’s justice is higher than our justice

God’s

Introduction

The story of Job is something that most of us are familiar with. Job is this righteous millionaire with ten children who loses everything all of a sudden. His livestock, his children, all his assets are taken away. He even loses his health, to the point that he gets sores all over his body. That’s the first two chapters.

Now Job’s got three friends. We’re introduced to them at the end of the 2nd chapter. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. They hear about what’s happened to him, and they try to comfort him. But they’re not very good at it. Why? Because they think that Job’s done something to deserve this punishment. Job says he’s innocent. They say he’s not. He says he is. They say he’s not. He says he is. They say God is a God of justice who doesn’t let bad things happen to good people, and so that means Job must’ve done something wrong.

Job 4:7–8 (NASB95)

“Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright destroyed? “According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity And those who sow trouble harvest it.

So according to this logic, if you do good things, good things will happen to you. If you do bad things, bad things will happen. This is called the retribution principle. You reap what you sow. That’s what Job’s friends are saying.

And the thing is that Job agrees with them. In fact, I think anyone that’s read the book of Proverbs would agree as well. Except for one thing: Job hasn’t done anything wrong.

Job 7:20 (NASB95)

“Have I sinned? What have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target, So that I am a burden to myself?

And so these debates go on and on. Fast-foward to chapter 38, and God actually shows up. And God interrogates Job about the way the world works. He asks Job over 70 questions from chapters 38-41. And Job can’t answer.

And so he confesses that God is the almighty God, and he humbles himself.

We’re now at the end of the story. At the end, God says that Job has spoken rightly. Job’s friends, on the other hand, have spoken in error, and they’d better ask Job to pray on their behalf.

Job 42:7–8 NASB95

It came about after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has. “Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him so that I may not do with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.”

So God affirms that Job spoke rightly about God.

And the story ends with God blessing Job with twice as much wealth as before, and the same number of children. So he’s got ten children on earth, and another ten in heaven waiting for him. It’s a happy ending. Perhaps one of the happiest endings in all of the Bible.

But you’ve probably noticed that there’s something’s missing. Something that doesn’t feel quite right. Job wanted to know why he was suffering. But that goes unanswered throughout the entire story. God just showed up and asked Job a long list of unanswerable questions. God doesn’t actually answer the question Himself. This is the key to understanding the message of Job. So what do we learn from God not answering Job’s question?

Wisdom has more to do with trusting God and less to do with trusting our perspective

First, wisdom has more to do with trusting God and less to do with trusting our perspective. The Bible says that God’s ways are higher than our ways. As human beings, our view of things is so limited that we don’t see the full picture.

Job knew he didn’t do anything wrong. He also knew that God was a God of justice. And so the only way such injustice could happen to him was if God neglected him. And so he accuses God of neglecting him.

Job 30:19–20 (NASB95)

“He has cast me into the mire, And I have become like dust and ashes. “I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me.

But when God shows up, God reveals that He’s actually very involved with every single thing going on in the universe. It’s all in Job 38-39. God challenges Job to a science quiz about the constellation of the stars, the birthing of mountain goats and deer, the way an ostrich cares for its eggs. That’s how involved He is in the world. He’s intimately involved. He’s never dropped the ball.

Job 39:1–4 (NASB95)

“Do you know the time the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the deer? “Can you count the months they fulfill, Or do you know the time they give birth? “They kneel down, they bring forth their young, They get rid of their labor pains. “Their offspring become strong, they grow up in the open field; They leave and do not return to them.

God is flaunting His knowledge of zoology. All this to say that His ways are higher than our ways.

As human beings we might go through terrible experiences and suffering for no apparent reason. We might lose our status, wealth, or even our children and family. All these things that Job lost, we could lose them too. But instead of trying to explain it away or to assume that God’s stopped caring, we’re called to trust in Him.

Psalm 139:16–18 (NASB95)

Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You.

God doesn’t have to explain Himself to us. He isn’t answerable to us. He is God, and we are His creatures.

God’s justice is higher than our justice

Job’s friends thought they could explain God’s thought process. They thought they had Him figured out. They assumed that God rules the world only based on this retribution principle, and so Job must be suffering because he did something wrong. That was their perspective, and it’s got truth in it, but it’s not complete. And so God says that they spoke in error.

To address this issue, God dares Job to run the universe for a day.

Job 40:10–12 (NASB95)

“Adorn yourself with eminence and dignity, And clothe yourself with honor and majesty. “Pour out the overflowings of your anger, And look on everyone who is proud, and make him low. “Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him, And tread down the wicked where they stand.

What’s God saying? Go ahead. Apply your retribution principle to everybody. See what kind of world that becomes. Every good deed is rewarded and every bad deed is punished. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth. Have you heard the saying, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”? I don’t want to quote Ghandi in church but he’s really gets the point this time. In theory it sounds right, but it would be a world where no one could stand before God.

Psalm 130:3–4 (NASB95)

If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.

God’s answer to Job does not explain why righteous people suffer, because the cosmos is not designed to prevent righteous people from suffering. Job questioned God’s design, and God responded that Job had insufficient knowledge to do so. Job questioned God’s justice, and God responded that Job needs to trust him, and that he should not arrogantly think that God can be domesticated to conform to Job’s feeble perceptions of how the cosmos should run. God asks for trust, not understanding, and states the cosmos is founded on his wisdom, not his justice.

Job challenged God’s justice, and God responded that Job doesn’t have sufficient knowledge about our complex universe to make such a claim. Job demanded a full explanation from God, and what God asks Job for is trust in his wisdom and character. So Job responds with humility and repentance. He apologizes for accusing God of injustice and acknowledges that he’s overstepped his bounds.

God asks Job questions about creation that Job cannot answer. But these questions can only be answered by someone who created the universe. Someone who, like Job, speaks rightly about God. Someone who intercedes for His friends. Someone who, like Job, suffered as an innocent man.