The God Who Is Beyond Us

Last month in January, Christian activist and author Shane Claiborne published an article titled, Inauguration Week Was A Collision of Two Christianities. Claiborne noted the prayer service which took place at the National Cathedral at which Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde delivered a sermon highlighting Christ’s virtue of mercy and urging those within the new presidential administration to be people of mercy. The backlash which came from prominent evangelical pastors was striking, not only criticizing the Bishop’s message, but literally characterizing her as being demonic. Claiborne’s conclusion: there are two completely different versions of the Christian religion which exist in this country at the moment. These are two Christianities which both claim a connection with the Bible, but other than that they look absolutely nothing alike. They have completely different ideas about who God is and about what it means to live as a person of Christian faith. I wonder how this can possibly be the case. I understand there are perhaps some difficult passages and perplexing issues which result in differing perspectives on a variety of topics. But to be so completely opposed that the entire mission and vision of what it means to be a Christian moves in entirely opposite directions is both notable and out of the ordinary.

Or is it? Might there be other examples even from within scripture itself where people’s perceptions and perspectives on what it means to follow God have been vastly different. To be sure, we see that is the case in the gospels by the differences between Jesus and the Pharisees. But I want to turn our attention to the Old Testament, in particular to the book of Job. In Job we find an entire book of the Bible devoted to the question of who God is, and what that means for our lives. And in the book of Job we examples of people who think they have it all figured out, yet are completely wrong. I think it is worth our time to read through this book of the Bible and consider the question of who God is and what it means to follow God in light of those who ask the same question and get it wrong.

the book of Job forces us to ask tough questions we might otherwise want to avoid

Job is a challenging book to read. I will admit that right now. But that is what makes the book of Job so valuable to our understanding, it forces us to ask tough questions we might otherwise want to avoid. And it leads us to tackle challenging issues that do not have simple answers. Questions like: what does God’s justice look like? and how can a God of goodness allow evil to exist? These don’t have easy answers, but the story of Job forces us to take a look at these.

helpful to read through the entire book

There are a few logistics that will help make this message series more complete. First, I cannot preach through all 42 chapters of Job in a four-part series. This is why there is a daily reading schedule that is available which breaks the entire book down across the the next four weeks. On Sundays, then, the messages will focus on some of the major themes which come up in the book of Job and I will be using a patchwork of passages from within Job to highlight those themes. You will see that even today we are taking a few verses from here and a few verses from there and stringing them together. If you spend time during the week reading through Job, you will have a better concept of how these seemingly random verses we are using on Sundays fit back into the larger context of Job. That will be helpful.

most of Job is poetry — dialogue back and forth between Job and others

trying to make sense of why these things have happened to Job

Second, it is good to understand something about the book of Job itself. Perhaps you are familiar with the story. A conversation takes place between satan and God about Job’s upright piety. Satan says, of course Job is upright and pure, you’ve blessed him with everything he could ever want; why shouldn’t he be upright and blameless? God says to satan, go ahead and do your worst, you’ll see that Job’s piety is not based upon his circumstantial blessings. And so satan is allowed to take everything. His flocks and herds are taken away, his sons and daughters are killed, and he himself is struck with illness and disease. This is the narrative story in the book of Job, and all of that happens in the first two chapters. The narrative stops there and it does not pick up again until the last half of chapter 42. Chapters 3 through the first half of 42 are not narrative; it is poetry. The vast majority of Job is written as poetry which plays out extensive conversations between Job and a handful of others. These chapters are lengthy monologues all trying to put some language around the central issue of explaining why this has all happened to Job in the first place.

most of Job is wisdom literature — placed in the Bible along with Proverbs and Ecclesiastes

Job lived during the time of the patriarchs — same time as Abraham

This is why the book of Job is placed within the wisdom literature section of the Bible. It is considered wisdom literature in the same sense that Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are written. It is good for us to remember a prominent feature of wisdom literature in the Bible. These are books of the Bible in which the authors make observations about the world around them from their own perspective which they claim to be generally true in most cases. Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes are not pronouncements of God’s will and promises as much as they are the authors’ attempts to make sense of the world around them in light of what they know about God (right or wrong). That’s good to remember because Job is filled with pronouncements about God that are incorrect. We do not know who the author of Job is or have a clear idea about when he lived. It seems by the description of his livelihood and wealth being dependent on flocks and herds, as well as the description of his family structure that he lived during the time of the patriarchs. This puts him during the same time as Abraham, in which the patriarch of the family served as the priest for the family making sacrifices on their behalf. Other details are left out. We do not know where Job lived or how he even knows about God; the author does not consider that important to the story.

1-2 — narrative 3-27 — three cycles of dialogue with friends 28-31 — interlude 32-37 — monologue of Elihu 38-41 — God speaks 42 — Job’s response and final narrative

The basic flow of the poetry goes like this. Job has three friends who come to comfort him in his distress; and each one of these three friends takes turns explaining to Job why God has let this tragedy happen. And each time Job gives a lengthy response. There are three cycles of dialogues that take place like this—all in poetry. It goes from chapters 3-27. Chapter 28 is marked as a separator on wisdom. In chapter 32 a fourth friend shows up to give a series of poetic speeches. And it is not until chapter 38 that God finally speaks upon the entire matter. And God’s speeches are not answers to the accusations which Job brings; just the opposite, God’s speeches are filled with nothing but questions, and no answers.

We are diving into the poetry today at the point in which the first of Job’s friends tries to explain and make sense of all the calamity which has fallen upon Job, and Job’s response to this. These are selections from chapters 4-6.

Job 4:7–11 (NIV)

Job 4:7–11 NIV

7 “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Where were the upright ever destroyed? 8 As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it. 9 At the breath of God they perish; at the blast of his anger they are no more. 10 The lions may roar and growl, yet the teeth of the great lions are broken. 11 The lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

Job 5:8–9 (NIV)

Job 5:8–9 NIV

8 “But if I were you, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him. 9 He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.

Job 5:17–18 (NIV)

Job 5:17–18 NIV

17 “Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. 18 For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal.

Job 6:24–30 (NIV)

Job 6:24–30 NIV

24 “Teach me, and I will be quiet; show me where I have been wrong. 25 How painful are honest words! But what do your arguments prove? 26 Do you mean to correct what I say, and treat my desperate words as wind? 27 You would even cast lots for the fatherless and barter away your friend. 28 “But now be so kind as to look at me. Would I lie to your face? 29 Relent, do not be unjust; reconsider, for my integrity is at stake. 30 Is there any wickedness on my lips? Can my mouth not discern malice?

Job’s friends: God always rewards the righteous and always punishes the wicked; therefore you must have done something sinful for God to bring this suffering upon you

These samples from chapters 4 and 5 show the basic line of thought coming from Job’s friends. And the passage from chapter 6 shows Job’s response to the suggestions of his friends. The essential argument coming from Job’s companions goes like this: God always rewards the righteous and always punishes the wicked; therefore you must have done something sinful for God to bring this suffering upon you. The suggestion these friends have for Job is to confess whatever sinful thing it is he has done so that God will restore the blessing.

Job’s response: God has brought no charge against me for any wrongdoing

The problem is that Job does not know what sin he has done. As you read on through the many chapters of Job’s response to his friends he contends that God must bring the charge against him and show him the error of his ways. However, God does not respond; no charge is ever brought against Job from God. Job does not find it very comforting that his friends keep on insisting over and over again that this calamity is Job’s own fault.

Why Job’s friends think this: consider Psalm 1

But why would his friends continue to say such things? Why do they think God works this way? The writing of Job predates the Psalms, but it is revealing to place their line of reasoning next to an example such as Psalm 1.

Psalm 1 (NIV)

Psalm 1 NIV

1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. 4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

on the other hand, consider Jeremiah 12

Psalm 1 only seems to confirm what Job’s friends are telling him. Those who live in ways of righteousness receive the Lord’s blessing, and those who are wicked receive judgement. These are not comforting words for Job to hear from his friends. Looks like you are receiving judgement; guess that means you must have messed up, Job. We have our modern equivalent to such advice in today’s world, although we tend to soften it a bit. It is not uncommon; I have been on the receiving end of it, and I imagine some of you have received such comments before as well. Some struggle or trial comes along and a well-meaning friend says something like, I’m sure God has something good planned in all of this. That—by the way—is the wrong thing to say to someone who is going through a tragedy. Yes, we would certainly like to think that God’s justice will make things right for faithful Christians who fall upon hard times. But those are not helpful words to hear in the moment. In fact, we could find examples in scripture in which such an understanding of God’s justice is in question. Consider the complaint of the prophet in Jeremiah 12.

Jeremiah 12:1 (NIV)

Jeremiah 12:1 NIV

1 You are always righteous, Lord, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?

As much as we would like to think the Hindu idea of karma exists within God’s justice, a simple observation of the world around us tells us that it does not. Sometimes the bad guys come out on top. And sometimes the good guys end up losing. But according to Job’s friends this cannot be the case. They think there must be a one-to-one correlation between Job’s actions and Job’s suffering.

the mistake of Job’s friends: they see God’s actions not as possibility, but as certainty

God MUST ALWAYS reward righteousness with blessing, and God MUST ALWAYS punish sin with suffering

It is not a question of possibility. It is a question of certainty. Let me explain what I mean by that. Is it possible that God brings suffering as a correction to sin? Yes, it is possible that God does this. Is it possible that God brings blessing as an outcome of faithfulness? Yes, it is possible that God does this. But Job’s friends are not pointing to the possibility; they are claiming this is a certainty. By their claim, God MUST ALWAYS reward righteousness with blessing, and God MUST ALWAYS punish sin with suffering. The problem is that this kind of certainty reduces God to just being a genie in some kind of magic lamp. It is not we who serve God, rather it is God who serves us. In fact, if you know how to play the system right and live the right way, God is obligated—he owes you—the blessings you wish for.

God is not a slave which we own by unlocking the right formula of living

the point which the author wants us to think about: God is not ours to control

author sets up this question: how can Job trust in a God who is beyond Job’s understanding and control?

And to all of this, the author of Job writing this wisdom literature wants us to know that God is beyond us. God is not a slave which we own by unlocking the right formula of living. God is not ours to control. There is a mystery to God that is simply beyond our capacity to contain. It leaves Job—and all of us—in a rather tenuous place; having to trust a God that we cannot control. And yet this seems to be the direction in which the wisdom writer is taking us at this point in the story. Job, you are just going to have to trust the God who is beyond you even without knowing the answers. Job does not like being in this position of suffering without knowing the answers. He does trust God; but he does not like it, he struggles to hold that trust. Here again, the wisdom writer is simply pointing to a general observation seen in our world. Who among us does not struggle to hold onto trust in God in moments when everything else around us falls apart?

Job finds a way to moves towards accepting God as trustworthy even when trusting God is difficult

That is as far as we get today; a recognition that God is beyond our control, but still trustworthy, even if that trust is not easy. Stick with me as we keep diving deeper into the wisdom of Job. Next week we tackle the issue of when God seems to make no sense to us at all. And from there we will start to see how Job’s ability to trust in God even in times of uncertainty begins to develop.