The God Who Baffles Us

This is week number two through the book of Job. If you are going along with the daily readings, I will admit that we are stuck in the thick of it right about now and we are just going to have to keep pressing our way through. Yet, there is a point to this place in the book where it feels like Job and his friends are just spinning their wheels and the conversation just does not seem like it is going anywhere constructive. It seems like the author of Job does not want to rush us out of that moment too quickly. And so today we are simply going to have to follow along with Job and remain stuck in this middle place for a week.

Let me recap the big picture so we can see the setting for these passages. Remember that the entire book of Job begins and ends with short sections of narrative story about the life of Job. And then the vast majority of the book is poetry that is meant to get us thinking about how God interacts with his world. These chapters of poetry are mostly dialogue back and forth between Job and some of his companions. It is not until chapter 38 that God finally shows up and has something to say about it. Today we remain in that middle section of Job going back and forth with his friends trying to make sense of all that is happening in Job’s life.

Once again this week I am choosing a patchwork of passages taken from Job as a sample of the themes which come up in the book. And today I happen to be taking passages that are the words of Job himself. (It is unclear if chapter 28 is Job speaking, or the author of the book interjecting his own thoughts.) The collection of verses I am using today represent something of Job’s struggle to explain the situation in which he is stuck.

Job 9:22–24 (NIV) 

Job 9:22–24 NIV

22 It is all the same; that is why I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’ 23 When a scourge brings sudden death, he mocks the despair of the innocent. 24 When a land falls into the hands of the wicked, he blindfolds its judges. If it is not he, then who is it?

Job 28:12–23 (NIV) 

Job 28:12–23 NIV

12 But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell? 13 No mortal comprehends its worth; it cannot be found in the land of the living. 14 The deep says, “It is not in me”; the sea says, “It is not with me.” 15 It cannot be bought with the finest gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver. 16 It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx or lapis lazuli. 17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it, nor can it be had for jewels of gold. 18 Coral and jasper are not worthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies. 19 The topaz of Cush cannot compare with it; it cannot be bought with pure gold. 20 Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell? 21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds in the sky. 22 Destruction and Death say, “Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.” 23 God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells,

Job 31:16–23 (NIV) 

Job 31:16–23 NIV

16 “If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary, 17 if I have kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless— 18 but from my youth I reared them as a father would, and from my birth I guided the widow— 19 if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing, or the needy without garments, 20 and their hearts did not bless me for warming them with the fleece from my sheep, 21 if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, knowing that I had influence in court, 22 then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint. 23 For I dreaded destruction from God, and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.

Job 31:35–37 (NIV) 

Job 31:35–37 NIV

35 (“Oh, that I had someone to hear me! I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser put his indictment in writing. 36 Surely I would wear it on my shoulder, I would put it on like a crown. 37 I would give him an account of my every step; I would present it to him as to a ruler.)—

return to the courtroom scene (Hebrew word satan means “accuser”)

There is courtroom language going on here. That seems intentional. Remember that the entire narrative of Job begins in a courtroom. God is holding royal court in heaven with his angels coming forward to present before him. It is in that heavenly courtroom scene where we first hear the opening argument coming from Satan. I know we use Satan as a proper name for the devil, the fallen heavenly being who appears in the garden of Eden in Genesis 3 to tempt Adam and Eve. But in the Hebrew language Satan is not a proper name; it is a word that simply means “the accuser.” And that is all that is happening in the opening chapter of Job. The accuser comes into the heavenly courtroom and makes an accusation. Job has every reason to be upright and righteous before God because God has blessed him with every possible reward. Take away the blessing, and Job will abandon his righteousness, the accuser claims.

now Job is making the accusations

That was the courtroom scene which set up the premise of the story behind Job. And now in these verses we go back into the courtroom. This time it is Job making the accusations. Job is the one who is insisting that he has not been shown any wrongdoing, and he demands that God give an answer to him. At this point in the book, God himself remains absent from the courtroom. Let’s pause today and take a snapshot of this moment in the story of Job, from there, let’s consider how this moment in Job plays into the larger story of the Bible. And ultimately let’s consider how we in our world today fit into this moment in Job’s story as well.

Job is confused by what God is doing and has reached the end of his patience

God is supposed to uphold justice — Job wants an explanation

Start with the snapshot. You get the sense from these readings today that Job is baffled by what God is allowing to happen in his life. Job is confused by what God is up to and Job has reached the end of his patience, demanding an explanation. Recall from last week how Job’s friends tried to explain this whole mess to Job. Their argument is that God operates the world on a system of cosmic justice in which righteousness is rewarded with blessing and sin is punished with suffering. Job’s friends keep saying over and over again to Job that—by this explanation of God’s justice—surely Job must have sinned and done something wrong to incur God’s wrath like this.

Job’s friends explain that there must be sin in Job’s life

Job replies that God has not accused Job of any wrongdoing

Job’s defense insists that his friends’ idea of God’s justice does not apply to this situation. We find Job in these chapters struggling between two possibilities. Either God does not uphold justice—in fact, Job suggests the possibility that God may be unjust. Or, Job along with all human beings are incapable of knowing and understanding the justice of God. We see that expressed in the words of chapter 28 in which the wisdom of God is compared beyond the most valuable possessions of this world, to which the author concludes that this wisdom of God is unattainable; humans simply cannot possess it. This is the moment in the story in which Job finds himself stuck. He both wants an explanation from God—in fact, he demands it. And he is confronted with the reality that no satisfying explanation is available.

Job finds himself stuck in this moment of struggle — how can he move forward?

The question before us today, then, is this: what is Job going to do about this? Consider the options Job has before him.

option one — Job can decide that God is unjust

retribution principle — justice means that God MUST reward righteousness and MUST punish wickedness

One option is to declare that God is unjust. This would—in a way—align with what Job’s friends are telling him. Remember that for Job’s friends, everything they believed true about God hinges on what academic theologians call the retribution principle. We might think of it more like the Hindu idea of karma. Job’s friends insist that this is the way God works in the world. Righteousness is rewarded and sinfulness is punished. In other words, God’s retribution must always take place in order for justice to be maintained. Job’s friends conclude—according to the retribution principle—that this means Job must have sinned. Job, however, is confident that no sin has been pointed out to him. Hence, Job’s conclusion according to the retribution principle is that God in unjust. And there are moments in these chapters of speeches by Job in which he struggles with confronting that very conclusion. If the retribution principle is true, then there is no way that God can be just.

I recall such an instance. Back when I was living in Kalamazoo and serving as a chaplain, there was a weekend when I was covering the overnight shift Bronson Hospital when an injured patient from a very tragic car accident was brought in. The patient’s injuries were such that his heart stopped as the ambulance arrived at the hospital, and attending doctors had to make a decision if they would attempt to keep this individual on life-support machines. As the loved ones gathered in the ER waiting room, the family’s church pastor showed up to be with them as well. I still remember the pastor’s insistence that they should all pray for a miracle of healing and believe that God will answer this prayer with a miraculous healing. I suppose this pastor meant well; just trying to provide a glimpse of divine hope in a moment of shock for this family. But it could have come differently. It is not as though I don’t believe in miracles. But the medical assessment in this instance indicated that this man had already succumbed to his injuries and only hospital machines were keeping his blood flowing and his lungs breathing.

questioning what I think God’s justice should look like leads to this admission: maybe God is not who I thought he was

I remember this occasion because of a follow up conversation I had with one of the family members after this incident. He didn’t want to share his thoughts with his pastor who had insisted they all pray and believe for healing. His quiet confession and admonition to me in a secluded corner of the waiting area echoes Job’s struggle here in this book. He was not sure what to believe anymore in this moment. Like Job’s friends, this man accepted a view of God that operated on the retribution principle. I prayed for a miracle of healing like I was supposed to; I believed in a miracle of healing like I was supposed to. But my brother died. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Is it because I didn’t pray the right way? Is it because my faith is not strong enough? You see where this is going; according to the retribution principle this outcome could only possibly mean that this man and his family must have done something wrong for God to deny a miracle of healing. Or—just like Job—this man wondered if perhaps God is unjust. His statement as such came in the form of a question: how could God let something like this happen? He was not stating this out loud to me in that small hospital corner because he wanted me to answer that question right then and there. It was more of an admission on his part: maybe God is not who I thought he was, and right now here in this moment I am not entirely sure who God is.

That’s huge.

The story of Job faces this exact same moment. And I really do think it is safe to say that every single one of us either has faced, or at some point in life will face, that exact same moment as well. We all either have faced or will face a moment when our confession before God will be the same: maybe God is not who I thought he was. This confession is not an abandonment of faith. It is, however, an acknowledgement of the struggle. Is it possible that God meets us in those moments of struggle? Let’s return to the story of Job.

option two — Job can decide that God is just, and Job is unable to understand

A second option for Job to consider is that God’s justice is not confined by the retribution principle. This means that everything Job had previously thought about how God’s justice is supposed to work in the world is thrown into question. Job is not happy about this option either, because it leaves him with no answers. This, in fact, seems to summarize Job’s disposition at the middle point of the story. Job has no answers, and he is demanding that God gives him answers. But is Job ready at this point to hear what God has to say? I think the answer to that is no, because God remains silent for several more chapters in the story of Job.

did the disciples understand Jesus?

Let’s fast forward for a moment into the New Testament gospels. There is a very insightful confrontation between Jesus and Peter which fits this same paradigm. We see it in Mark 8.

Mark 8:27–33 (NIV) 

Mark 8:27–33 NIV

27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” 28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” 30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. 31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

the disciples are willing to believe in Jesus; but Jesus is not who they think he is

In one moment Peter gets it. He correctly declares that Jesus is the Messiah. And then in the very next moment Jesus rebukes Peter because he doesn’t get it. Peter and the other disciples are still thinking that the Messiah was meant to be a political savior who would overthrow Rome and restore the nation of Israel to military dominance in the world. On the one hand, they have faith in Jesus and pledge themselves to follow as his disciples. On the other hand, they really have no idea what God is actually up to. The disciples are willing to believe in Jesus. But Jesus is not who they think he is.

gospel story depends on God doing what only God can do by God’s own design even when nobody else understands it

Can you blame them? I don’t think so. Sure, we all know the biblical story of the gospels now. But back then in the moment do you really think you would have ever guessed that God’s plan to save the world would come about by sacrificing himself on a cross? The Bible has examples over and over again of people being confronted with the reality that God is not exactly who they think God should be. Maybe Job’s predicament and that moment I shared in a Kalamazoo ER waiting room is not one bit unique at all. It is a moment that is baked right into the gospel story itself. But at the same time the gospel story entirely depends on God doing what only God can do by God’s own design even when absolutely nobody here on earth could see it coming or understand it. I am fairly confident that if God’s plan for salvation depended on my designs and my expectations it would not have turned out well at all.

Job is not offered an escape from his moment of struggle Job is beginning to find a path through his moment of struggle

And so, just maybe, being in this place along with Job has some value after all. Having to admit that God is not always who we think he is just might be for the better. Job still has questions about how God’s justice works. None of this provides an instant escape for Job to be released from his moment of struggle. It does not work that way for Job and it does not work that way for us either. However, it does provide Job with a path forward through his moment of struggle. Do you want to know more about what that path forward looks like? Stay tuned and come back next Sunday. I promise you, this is where the story of Job will begin to turn from despair to hope.